Happy Christmas

What's real?

Last weekend Trev and I went to see the Gotan Project. It was great. From the moment the musicians walked through the floor to ceiling fringed curtains in their 3- piece suits and fedora hats it was an exhilarating blend of live music and new technology. I love it when artists hit the perfect balance between old and new. Potters often have arcane arguments (mainly at conferences and sometimes on arcane e-mail applications) about what is "real" pottery. It is implied that the only "real" potters are those who make the work from start to finish with their own hands. This artisan approach emphasizes skill over concept. When I was at art college the opposite was true of the painting department, so much so that I graduated with a major in painting without ever using oil paint at all!

Both approaches are ridiculous. Every kind of art is real. The only thing to ask when feeling art is "Does it move me?". How it is made and what tools are used, are all subservient to the final result. The Gotan Project captured the exhilaration and warmth of live music with the accordian, violin, guitars, grand piano and beautiful voice of Cristina Vilallonga while the two musicans on the mixing desk were using amazing new technology which I can't even really describe (it had flashing lights and computers and samples of voices and music). Each element heightened the essential values of the others until there was a glorious blend of old and new with the geeks on the computers one minute, and hitting an ancient percussive instrument known as a cow bell the next!

making tracks

When I did these I was thinking about walking through the wallum with my children.
Last time I did this Sweet P. got tired and I had to piggyback her. I lost my new sunglasses.
The wallum swallowed them up and in the glittering, sparkling, scratchy, wallum with the bright hot sun bearing down I looked and looked for my sunnies as the little girls sat under a banksia wilting and sucking their thumbs.

We didn't find the sunnies ...but the shy wallum did reveal her treasures as we saw many many of the elusive vanilla orchids with their pale,unphotographable mauve spots.

Lately.........

Here is some of what I've been doing...... Exploring the wonderful world of the medieval beasties. Mermaids were originally seen as monsters and often depicted in medieval beastaries with wings and feathered legs ending in wickedly taloned toes.


These Beasties are cavorting their way over to "Drift" at Point Lookout on Stradbroke Island.

Spots have a habit of migrating . My new favourites are these spotty butterflies. I like the craziness of the spots and butterflies. I had the crazy, clashing patterns of High Victorian Chinoserie in mind when I started these.
They will be featuring at the Young Designers Market , this Sunday at Southbank. Please stop by (especially if it is rainy!)