and finally for the year...

merry christmas to you all ...
i hope you all have a safe, happy and inspiring time .

thank you for all your kind words
and support this year...

k x

a blossom says "i do..."

this weekend
my very dear friend erin married her true love bill.
the wedding was beautiful ... just beautiful

and on sunday night i had my annual
christmas party, a small but magical gathering this year.

there's a quote i love that says:

life is not measured in the number of breaths you take
but in the number of moments that take your breath away

and this weekend
the joy and love and friendship
that surrounded me was nothing short of inspiring...

and it was a timely reminder
that despite the parts of life that are hard to carry through each day
the beautiful moments and the people that surround you
(those near and those far)
are to be treasured and never to be taken for granted...

and a...

partridge in a pear tree
(or a bird in a christmas tree)

this ornament is by my talented and very dear friend
rebecca ryan...
bec and her partner tim
make the most magical things
from clay to soap to things made of cloth...
clay paper cloth their business
has stalls at the bangalow and other markets
around the gold coast and northern nsw...

bec and i share a birthday, literally,
same day, same year, born in the same city
just on opposite sides of the river...
she has a spring palette to her work
and i autumn,
bec is a constant inspiration
both artistically and how she lives her life...
i am lucky to call her friend...

a touch of joy on friday

my dear friend roxanne
and i exchange an ornament every year
and even if weeks (and indeed months, seemingly years)
pass with not much catch up our special friendship remains,
as does our tradition...

my ornament arrived today wrapped ever so beautifully
with a piece of jade plant as decoration
... the parcel was good enough to hang on the tree ...

i know how much roxy loves reading all the inspiring
blogs out there so this is a thank-you to her
and all those other readers who (although i don't have a comments
component to mine) tell me through email and letters
how they read and find inspiration amongst my
(and others) ramblings...

your ornament is in the post roxy girl
merry merry. x

HO HO HO .

i love this HO HO HO. starry ornament
by a fellow potter and friend across the seas: rae dunn

in the seventies tradition...

...but a more recent addition:

you got to love a disco ball...

living in the seventies...

i was a child of the seventies, so my collection

was started early in that decade with this sparkly number...
it still twinkles brightly
even though every year it loses a bit more glitter...

how lucky we are...

my dad used to be a journalist for our state newspaper

the courier-mail and he would bring home off cuts of paper -
so during my childhood we always had
a never-ending supply (it seemed) to write and draw on...

i remember very clearly one day when i was very young
my mum telling me how lucky i was
to have paper to draw on,
because when she was a little girl (growing up in a remote bush town
just after the second world war)
they would soak off the jam labels from tins and
use the paper the bread came wrapped in as their
writing and drawing paper...

this has always stayed with me,
both in the realisation of the fortunate life i have lead
(especially in terms of materials and freedom for making art)
and also in our use and re-use of materials and
the consequences for our dear earth.

this story leads me to the image above...
every year my mum and dad would give each of us kids an ornament.
when i left home i took with me a beautiful and eclectic collection
that still decorate my tree to this day...

every year they still give us one, and now i give them one too.
and it is this sense of memory, love, and history
that is the ethos in the ornament-making part of my business...

last year mum gave me the ornament above,
a match box, covered in discarded wrapping paper and ribbon
with an unwound paper clip as the hanger...
she said she gave it to me so i would never
forget that the beautiful can be made in times
of leanness, or struggle (or sadness).
that beauty can be made out of the recycled and cast aside...
and also, that we should never forget how lucky we are.

it is one of my most favourite ornaments now
because of its meaning... and because it reminds me that
i am never to old to learn a lesson
(even if i think i know it already...)

over the next week i will show you other special ornaments
in my collection, but i thought this a nice way to start.

words

this week i bought a painting that has words on it...
beautiful sad words

and above is a piece of work
i have as part of my ceramic collection in my home...
it is by english ceramic artist cj o'neill
the words cut out around the plate read:

today there is no wind to hold me back

as i write new poetry, collect art works,
read books, watch films, listen to music...
i am aware more and more of the power of words...
how they can enrich, and also,
how they can tug at your heart...
this isn't anything new (of course !), no revolutionary thought...

but this time of year, and at this point in time,
i think it so important not just think it,
but to say, to write words to those we hold dear...

another piece of cj's work i have says on it:

we are made of stars you and i

(and we are) k x

letters...

make words....
and words, in turn, make poems:

of love...
of distance & the absence of it....
of glimmers of hope....
& of whatever, which-ways, and maybes.... . ... .

to market to market...

one of the nicest things about being in a market
is being able to see & purchase work by other artists...
above is 2 great little pieces i bought from brisbane potter ky curran
on the weekend at the GoMA markets...
i bought a few other bits and pieces from ky & other stall holders
but some of them will be christmas presents
so they can't be revealed .

despite the hot day brisbane decided to give us
(and i mean hot)
the market was a successful day & there were lots of crowds
to support locally made & designed work.

it was a lovely chance to step out into the world
& meet the people who buy my work...

one lady commented to me that she had been
collecting & following my work since i first started
making my inky poem collage cards 12 years ago !!
this sort of feedback makes all the hard work worth it...
especially when the year is winding up and
i am so tired & emotional from exhaustion
& other parts of life that crowd my heart.

thank you to all those other creative souls who shared
saturday's market... you are all so inspiring

yesterday a quick trip...

to sydney for a few reasons

(the image above being one of them)

enough said...

how lovely

to be featured in the new issue of InsideOut

with one of my friends and favourite ceramic artists
mel robson

we both use text in our work:
mel with recipes, letters and other forms of handwriting
(of which she says she is obsessed... really obsessed)

& me on vessels with my own poetry,
and on quote tags with quotes by some of histories
greatest thinkers, writers and artists...

at the moment my poetry vessels are low on stock in
some stores that stock them
this is due to sales of the work (which i am grateful for)
and also due to the amount of work i am able to produce
my apology's for this.

this saturday i will have a small collection
of poetry vessels at the GoMA markets
(as mentioned in the previous post)

and the remainder of these after the market will be sent to
the gallery store at the queensland art gallery
and coming up roses at balmoral...

details of these, and other stores
are on my stockists page HERE

THIS COMING SATURDAY...

the 6th of december...
i will be having a stall at GoMA
at their (now second) annual
CHRISTMAS DESIGN MARKET

so for those of you who couldn't make it to my show last week
i will have a similar range of stock including:
poetry vessels
ornaments
quote tags
earrings etc...

i hope those of you who can,
can make it along...
do some local christmas shopping,
have a coffee in the sunshine by the river,
and visit our state art gallery all in one outing !

just click on the invite image above for clearer details
and a full list of stall holders.
(please note: cash and cheque sales only)

more blue

my studio needs such a clean out after the frantic pace
of the past few months
one more show to go (at GoMA) next saturday
and the personalised star orders to get to stores...

and then maybe a clean up, after a few days of rest !

in a corner of my heart

this colour .. .. ..... .

in a corner of the studio

a patch of blue... . ...

yesterday...

it was so lovely to see
so many friends and collectors at
my christmas show yesterday,
to know that all the hard work is received so well,
and to see my work fly away to their new homes as gifts
during these trying times...

i couldn't have got by without the help
from my friends -
lisa, sarah, anna, teresa, jenny, erin,
& my beautiful sister tiffany
(who flew from sydney for the weekend ! )
you gals are the best !
i am so lucky to have such
amazing, inspiring, & supportive women in my life...

we raised a lot from our tea and coffee
donation jar for our friends who have lost their homes
in the recent storms too... thanks so much

AND for those of you who have asked and couldn't make it yesterday
on saturday 6 december i will have a stall at the
Gallery Store Christmas Design Market
at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane
(i will post more details of that market soon)

and after that... i will come up for air i hope...

i've seen fire and i've seen rain...

what a week it's been in brisbane

my parents home at the gap was damaged in the storm
(a new roof & carport and a lot of mopping up is still needed
and my mums precious garden she's cultivated
for 40 years now will need a lot of repair)

and their neighbourhood (my childhood-land)
as a whole has been badly affected,
with two of their long time neighbours losing their homes...

nearly six years ago the home i was living in was burnt down,
and although (because i lived in the granny flat) i didn't lose
as much as my dear friends who lived upstairs,
the toll it took at the time was great...
so i know what they are going through first hand !

i had so much support and love around me at that time
that i got through it ok in the end...
and i pray that those affected now, will too.

there was one lady who at the time of my fire
kept bringing meals around
to my mum and dad's home (where i was relocated for a while)
and collecting things for me from her church,
a lady i've known all my life,
and now with these storms it is her home that is lost...
so this sunday at my christmas show the tea and coffee
donation jar (and then some) goes to her and her family...

so if you are popping in on sunday...
have an extra cuppa (or two)
and support the neighbourhood i grew up in:
i am grateful in advance... x

photo above: my darling friend sarah's styling goodness for the show...
(i didn't want to post an image of the street, there's enough pictures on tv...)

finding time (somewhere)

for words... . .. ...

getting through the work

this year has seen such growth in my business...
and in my dedication to my poetry and one off pieces.

paper boat press couldn't be where
it is today without the support of my friends and family
that help it in so many ways...

from those oompaloompa's (as they like to refer to themselves)
who work in the studio with me... spending time with them is a joy...
to my circle of ever encouraging friends (you know who you are)

to my dedicated mum and dad, who, over the past few months
have showed me so much support it's hard to put in to words.

a few years back my mum had a bad fall off a ladder
and had to give up work, which was very hard in itself...
but through my business expanding
she feels gainfully employed earning a modest little income
sponging the green-ware and tying ribbons etc.
working from her home, at her pace, when her injuries let her...

so it isn't just about me, and my dreams
it's about the little community this growth has created.

and i suppose the knowledge that the thousands of little ornaments
and quote tags have been touched and made by many
wonderful people, just puts more love in each piece,
well, that's my take on it anyway...

it's not always black and white.

this is a must for all of us who know that
life indeed has many a grey area !

one of my most dearest friends kate knapp
who also happens to be one of my favourite artists...
has just had her first book released -

it's not always black and white

i've been privy to the pages of this book for
a long time now, but seeing it,
holding it, reflecting on the wisdom kate shares with us
through these pages and whimsical drawings
is renewed in each look...

congratulations kate !
you make my life so colour-filled
& help me everyday through the greyness...
for this, i am forever blessed...

another sneak peak

some other little bits and pieces for my christmas show
cork-board pins...

when in japan earlier this year
i picked up so many great little stamps.

in my clay work i usually use my own designs,
vintage buttons,
or lots of other bits and pieces -
but sometimes it's nice to mix it up...

so between the japan-holiday stamps
& the desire not to waste as much clay possible -
here's a little sample of the pins that are a new addition to my
previous designs from last years show...

sneak peak

the june page sneak peak of the calendar i've created

especially for my christmas show...
they are off to the binders this week.
my 2009 calendar
has a quote on each month to inspire and reflect upon
as we venture through another year...

real living...

as paper boat press
has grown through the years,
and more than ever over the past year -
i've had the support of so many fabulous magazines
that have featured many facets of my work

and, in the latest real living
i've been so lucky to have
4 different features throughout the mag
(including the wonderful shot above)
thanks so very much to the LOVELY team
at real living
you make this boutique brisbane business very grateful !

i was also very honoured to get a corporate christmas order
from them as their gift of choice this year...
i'll post a photo of the little package
i created for them soon
(once the gifts go out to their clients of course...)

christmas show...

paper boat press

christmas show

sunday 23rd november 10am – 2pm

st francis theological college
233 milton road, milton, brisbane.
(entrance via baroona road)

this years show will feature:
christmas ornaments
(including some that aren't for sale in stores)
quote tags and small tags
poetry bowls
my book: count me the stars
wall sculptures
pendants and earrings
cloud brooches
an illustrated calendar
greeting cards
and lots of other surprises...

i hope you can pop in for a bit of christmas shopping
and a cup of tea... k x

floating studio

amongst my busy days at the moment
making thousands of quote tags and ornaments
i still find time to make work that is also dear to me...
my poetry bowls...

my studio seems to float into every room of my home
(and on to many a surface)
my coffee table yesterday afternoon for example
was full of these unfired and sponged back pieces of my heart...

i love clay in all its stages, but at this point i feel very connected to it
maybe because it is raw, honest, and fragile
kind of like my poetry (and maybe a bit like me too)

frankie you're my *hero*

one of my favourite mags around is frankie...
although they say they are aimed at 20-somethings
& i am well (and truly) deep in my 30's, i still love this mag !

it actually reminds me of my favourite magazine
from my teenage years
an australian one called HERO....
anyone... anyone... bueller... bueller... ???

i couldn't find any images of it on the web,
& fear that without a big rummage under my parents home
i may not be able to unearth any copies i may have saved,
but how i loved it -
i poured over every page: the design, the articles,
the poetry... everything about it spoke to me
(and yes, unless i'm mistaken,
its 80's design would still stand up today)

AND when forming one of
my dearest friendships in my early 20's
with the wonderful sarah b
we discovered not only
our mutual love of music (anything neil finn)
7 inch single collecting (now i-tune downloads)
and so many other movie, craft, and art related matters...

most of all, & even though it was only around
for a few short years in the eighties, we both read HERO...
this is what truly sealed our friendship !

we both read frankie now
and today, after all this rambling, and trips down memory lane
i must thank the fabulous frankie mag
for the plug of my work in their newest edition.
frankie, you are my new hero...

today i'm distracted

& doing anything but what i need to be doing...
(glazing... making... wrapping orders...)
i've been cleaning out a few parts of my home
& stumbled over this...
a small collaged paper boat press philosophy
i wrote back in '95 or '96 when i was starting my business.
then there was poetry and greeting cards
now there is so much more,
but it is nice (though a little reflective)
to see that what i thought for my business & my art work then,
i still do today

fusions

fusions, home of the

australian network of clay & glass artists
(the old queensland potters association)
has reopened...
there's now a beautiful gallery space at street level
& the old church it was previously in has been revamped as well:
it is simply beautiful with its mezzanine gone,
& polished cement floor.
it all makes for an inspired & honoured home for
the wealth of potters we have in this country, this state, this town...
it has been many years in the making by many a dedicated person,
all of who deserve a huge congrats !
the opening show, featuring too many potters to name (here),
is well worth a look.
it's on the corner of malt & brunswick st
fortitude valley, brisbane

bless their cotton socks

being ever so supportive :
the great team (and most of all the wonderful beverley) from
the kickarts shop
have used my work in an ad again...
this one goes in a mag next month
this sort of thing
makes my working life so rewarding, thank you. x

counting stars

stars (with hopeful words) keep emerging from my kiln
above is an image of piles from yesterday morning's kiln load...
a corporate chrsitmas gift order for a
great australian homewares magazine.
this year has been about counting stars in so many ways...
now, i've just got to hope,
that the wish i ask of those stars
that sparkle in the night sky comes true too ...

insideout

one of my favourite people (and artists)
lincoln austin
has a new exhibition: insideout that opened today at
andrew baker art dealer
lincoln's work has a stillness and complexity to it
that constantly inspires me...
his beautiful spirit and quiet intelligence
falls into every corner of each sculpture and work on paper...
meet the artist friday 10th october 6-8pm

these busy days...

the other day my dear friend anna popped in for a cup of tea and

bought her lovely little son flynn to visit as well...
he made his own creations in the studio -
it was great to see play happening in my cluttered workspace.
i'm soooo busy at the moment getting my christmas orders made
that i am very much missing those times of play in my own work
(and in the day to day as well)

and as usual, it seems,
it is in children that we see the greatest messages
of what life is really about...

and, for the record flynn rolled the clay all by himself !

sentimental fool

for those who know me... i am... well...

a sentimental fool...
and really, this is why christmas ornaments
have become a part of my work...

for every year, no matter how crazy life gets,
how far away from those we love we may be...
the act of putting an ornament - a memento -
on a tree or hanging it in your home
can remind us of where we have been, where we are
& that what lies ahead is an unknown...

the past few years i've offered these
personalised stars to a select few stores here in brisbane,
and this year the lovely team from biome
are selling them online, the orders close strictly october 31
just press the link button to biome
on the side bar if you would like to order...

for sale online

one of my favourite stockists (& shops for that matter)
biome
now has a small range of my tags for sale online
with a larger selection to come...
& they are also offering my
personalised christmas stars online as well...

orders for these close strictly October 31st

work to be done

how i wish there was more time in my days to put my feet up...

christmas orders start to be delivered in the next month or so,
soon i will have a link that lists all the shops
(and the online shops too)
that will stock my christmas ornaments.
as well as those stores that stock quote tags & poetry pots.
for those of you who have emailed about where to buy...
sorry for the delay.

my cup runeth over...

today i visited my precious friends lincoln and leonard
i always leave their company enriched and inspired...

life is busy, too busy i feel at this moment in time...
and a long overdue cup of tea and conversation was just what i needed.

i am often writing here about the people, places, and moments
that inspire me as an artist and poet...
and today i came away with more
than a bunch of lavender from their garden
and other profound gifts that seem too generous to mention here...
i left with the knowledge that my life
is more beautiful for knowing them...
and that sharing a morning with friends is a gift
that time can not take from me
my cup runeth over...

above: close-up of a wire sculpture of lincoln's

magnolia girl

my friend shannon has spent a year documenting
a magnolia garden...
a beautiful process, and now even more so in its result...
shannon's exhibition opens this saturday in maleny

written in clay....

my heart......

long overdue photos...

as is the case in life: days, weeks, and months pass all too quickly !
i have been meaning to post these images for the longest time,
so for those that have been waiting my apologies...
it has now been six months
since the launch of count me the stars

finally, i am sharing some photos of that very special night !
taken by my old school friend matthew,
the images remind me how lucky i am :
not only have a collection of my work published,
but also to have the love and support of the many people
who came along that night... (as well as those who did so from afar)

1 in the forecourt (under the stars) at the GoMA Brisbane
2 my hand signing a book
3 my dear friend lincoln, who graced the night
with the most beautiful of speeches... again, thankyou x

aqua vitae

this week sees the opening of the group show AQUA VITAE

that i am a part of with my friends of the umbrella collective

showing at kick arts in cairns,
we all created work in response to water...
i use clouds often in both my poetry and ceramics,
so for this show i expanded on ideas that i had already started -
and made a suite of cloud wall sculptures...

in the creation of this work it was the shadows and shapes in between
i found most surprising and ultimately rewarding...
(kind of like life really)

the show runs until august 30

a blossom in melbourne...

my dear friend erin had a stall this past weekend
at the life in style trade-fair...
i went down for the weekend with friends
kia and sarah as a bit of a cheer squad for erin,
do a bit of ordering for paper boat press,
and to have a couple of days away in wonderful melbourne too

for erin's full report on her adventures,
and all the other great brisbane gals that i caught up with too
(including the lovely jane, kylie, and tiel)
erin's post says it all...
it all looked so great erin, you are an inspiration!!!

a handful of stars...

so as to use every bit of rolled clay i can,
the other day these little stars appeared from the spaces in between...

as my studio helper ms jenny was moving them onto a board
her hands were covered in stars...
i treasure these moments of happenstance in a busy days work

christmas (for paper boat press) is here...

orders from my stockists around the country

(and overseas) have started flooding in...

every year i create a new bird design
& above is this years...

closer to christmas i will be sending a
mailing list email out letting you all know what stores
will have stock of my christmas work,
& also those stores that will have them
for purchase online.

join my mailing list here to keep up to date,
or keep an eye on these news pages
for i will post information here as well...

keep calm and carry on

the fabulous mel robson has an exhibition
of her beautiful and profound work
opening at jan manton art this weekend...
the exhibition runs until august 16th

mel is such an inspiring ceramic artist.
i am so lucky to have a lovely little collection
of her work within my home...
and even more lucky to call her a friend.

drop in to see the show if you get a chance,
knowing mel, and her dedication to her art -
you won't be disappointed !

in the studio

i've been cleaning out my studio...
a new shelf to store work arrived this week
(a birthday present from my ever-encouraging parents)
and my mum gave me this piece of peach blossom from her garden...

it is so important to me that my work space inspires me...
i am very blessed that the view from my
studio is so beautiful too:
i over look old buildings, a 19th century church,
and a rambling garden...

the vase is one i bought
when i was in japan earlier this year
from a local potter in the historic town of takayama

this studio holds so many things other than work

gifts from my mother's garden...
pieces from journeys and travels...
memories of stolen moments...

and today, these are the things i am grateful for