studio light

i work in a beautiful space
an enclosed verandah
where natural light floods in as i work
( above is a photo of a special order for a friend )

i am so busy with store orders
at the moment
that my online store is still a week ( or three ) away

but in the meantime have had some requests
for my limited edition prints,
so if you were interested
( as they are numbered, and limited )
feel free to email as i can
send them via mail order invoice
they are $70 each

thanks for your patience and your encouraging emails
on all the new work i've been creating . . .

cherishing the little things . . .

today was a good day and i am grateful for that . . .

this morning my sister and i visited the shop
of one of my dearest friends . . . she always makes me smile . . .

there i bought the beautiful little ceramic flower (above)
that sat atop my friend cate's wedding-shower-high-tea-present
( this afternoon's activity )
and it was there i sat with the fabulous madeleine
who i am so pleased to say now has a blog too
( check it out HERE )
and i also got to chat with the delightful danielle
who runs the gallery kiln in paddington

then i headed to the ideas festival with my brother & sister
to listen to a talk about robots (yes robots) by helen greiner

truth be told robotics isn't something i know anything about
( or for that matter am interested in )
but it is one of my brother's major passions
and the field where he wants to work . . .
so it was good opportunity to go into his world
and embrace new things . . . the surprise though is that
i took more from the talk than just new information
and time with him . . .

helen's humbleness and humour
and her passion for her path in life spoke volumes.
amongst the scientific nature of the talk
she spoke of the pitfalls and mistakes,
the non-believers and the believers,
of ethics and of time . . .

and in the journey home
(after my brother answered some of my questioning questions)
the three of us discussed
something that really had little to do with the actual talk
and more the metaphor that came from it for us :

that the way helen explained her work
seems to be with the knowledge that
the work she does is greater than herself . . .
she is part of it, in it, but a vessel for the work
to happen . . . maybe this is true passion

you get the distinct impression that she knows
that time will pass, that some of the things she hopes for
and works hard for
may happen in her lifetime, but many will not,
she knows it is all about the steps.

it reminded me of the quote i love by isaac newton:

if i have seen farther than others
it is because i have stood on the shoulders of giants

so for this poet/potter (whatever i am) this talk about robots
spoke to, and reminded me somehow
of patience and persistence . . .
and that whether you are a potter or a plumber
a runner or a robotics engineer
we are all part of now and a stepping stone to the future . . .

there's irony in there somewhere or is irony not the right word ?!

so . . . the day started with sarah telling my sister and me
that her precious daughter miss a was
soooooo excited this morning
because she found the pink tutu she thought she'd lost
and my sister remarking that there's something for all of us
to be learned in that simple joy

. . . to
an afternoon of beautiful conversation with inspiring women . . .

to a talk on robotics !

the day kept giving me these little things to cherish
and i thought i'd share them with you
( and remind myself of them too: i need that at the moment )

but now it's time to turn the lights, computer
and other electrical things off for our dear earth

night night
x

for today . . .

a mountain keeps an echo deep inside itself,
that's how i hold your voice
- rumi

( flowers from my mother's garden picked fresh today . . . )

shop-girl tricks of the trade

i have worked part time as a shop assistant so as to follow my art
for, well, lets just say many many years . . . ( since high school )

i've finally taken the plunge, and have ( with some sadness )
decided to leave the book shop i've been working
at for the past 5 years . . .
so as to give paper boat press my full-time work attention

one of the most rewarding and seemingly
unaware things that has come from being a shop girl
has indeed been the thing (although maybe innately)
that has helped my business grow . . .

by being on both sides of the counter
as the seller and the stockist i've learned so many things about
retail : from customers and their requests
to pricing and display . . .

and one of the most important things i've learned when creating
a product range like i have with my ceramic tags and
pencils is the importance of point of sale

point of sale : that little thing that helps display your product
cleanly, neatly, and hopefully stylishly . . .
it can be something that retailers are grateful for and
also something that can help in the initial sale of work
( especially with a quirky or unusual product )

i have also found it useful in working out wholesale ordering quantities
and, it does show your thoughtfulness of display
which in a busy store can never be underestimated ( trust me )

point of sale can also keep the overall aesthetic
of your product range(s)
in sync with each other, branding your work ( in a way )

above is the point of sale
for my new product range of pencils
they have started to be dispatched to stores,
( i'll soon list the stores that stock them )
but they are available online at biome NOW

my online store will be up and going soon . . .
you can take the girl out of the shop
but not the shop out of the girl ( it seems )

limited edition prints

another of my new works can now be announced . . .

for a long time i've been asked for some prints
or etchings ( wall pieces really ) of my some of my poems. . .
and after finding the delightful alischa
from bespoke press
this task seemed to unfold naturally and beautifully
( and also of great importance to me i was able to
source such a project locally )

it was important to me to keep a simplicity and whimsy
to the poems . . . as well as creating a well made piece of art

surprisingly ( or not so really ) letterpress was the perfect fit
with a similar process of pressing words and colour :
this time not into clay, but paper . . .

alischa has sent through some photos of the
printing of the work from the last few days
( this project has been many months in the making )
and although i haven't seen these in real life yet
the photos show me that this is the beginning of a
lovely working relationship !

alischa has been encouraging, ever helpful, and a joy to
commission such a project from . . . x

soon these signed & numbered limited edition poem-prints
( there are 2 different ones to be released )
will be available through my online store
and in many of my stockists

bithday bubbles and letters ...

today in the studio we had to have a spot of bubbly
because the dear miss jenny
( my studio helper and above all precious friend )
is celebrating a significant birthday next week . . .

and although there are more celebrations to come
and that having a glass of bubbly
and piece of cake usually doesn't need an excuse . . .
today was a bit more special

we did get a little bit of work done too
( above is the beginnings of a installation piece
for a show i'm in next month - more on that sooner to the date )

and the bubbles floating past the stars on these
vintage glasses was an inspiring sight in itself
and another reason to share a piece of this studio day . . .

happy happy birthday miss jen
you are one in a million
x

exhibition . . .

this weekend an old friend from my art college days,
stephen brasch,
is having an opening in brisbane
of his new paintings . . .

stephen paints landscapes ( both urban and rural )
in the places that surround his suburb and his travels.

some places in our world may be considered
banal or unimportant compared to
the major sweeping vistas of the sea or large open landscapes
and can therefore be given less credit than may be due ( i think ). . .

for the quiet and sometimes overlooked places that surround us
( in our homes, our cities, our small towns )
are part of the tapestry of us, our country, and our time
more than we may realise in this busy world of now . . .
they can be little signposts, places of quiet industry
and places of truth.

although this may seem a stretch and although
stephen and i have only had fleeting converstions of
such things . . . these thoughts have lead me
to think of one of my favourite artists giorgio morandi

morandi painted (some might think) merely objects and vessels
but on closer thought and inspection
he indeed painted little patches of universe
morandi once said :

everything is a mystery, ourselves,
and all things both simple and humble

stephen's work is honest and beautiful
and this show will be well worth a look if you are town

visitors . . .

today i had some lovely visitors to my home and studio :
sibella court
( fabulous stylist, her shop the society inc in paddington, sydney is
so interesting and eclectic & worth a visit if you are down that way )
chris court ( photographer & brother of sibella )
and the delightful freelance writer
lollie barr

they were the team from grazia mag
who had come to shoot and write a story
on me and my work . . .

as i was being interviewed in my lounge room
sibella styled parts of my dust & clay filled studio for chris to shoot.
above are snaps of little corners that weren't how i'd left them
but not far off . . . ( photos i took after )
it's an interesting process to watch how others
visualise and style your space while still honouring your look . . .
i felt safe in sibella's hands though . . .

the only downside - having my photo taken
not something i like having done most of the time
let alone for a magazine . . .
but they made me feel
very calm and relaxed despite my unease with such things

maybe i just don't feel glamorous enough for such a fashion mag
when most days i have clay under my fingernails and
a dirty clay-splashed apron on . . .

my dad . . .

life's journey is circular, it appears.
the years don't carry us away from our fathers -
they return us to them
-michel marriott -

( photo above : my dad sometime in the early 70's )