Tuesday, February 26, 2008

blue

I sometimes feel a little strange putting a title on these posts, does anyone even read the title? I know I don't, especially if there's a nice image leading my eyes away from it.

I finally finished this wip for a little lady's birthday. He (or she - it's up to birthday girl) still needs a bed and quilt for sleeping of course so there is still some more work to be done.


The original intention was for it to be a sleepy dog with big floppy ears but it kinda looks like a dog crossed with a bunny. A donny? Anyway, I think I'll let birthday girl decide what it is. Incidently, this is my first creation made from scratch. Yeah, I know, it's only taken me a year to get around to not using someone else's pattern for presents.


Oooops... I tripped and my credit card fell out of my purse and landed on some nice things. Like these fabrics from Quilt Fabric Delights;


this tape, it's as cute as a row of toys;


plus a subscription to Marie Claire Idees. It's in French but that doesn't matter because the images in it are so divine, and so inspiring. I picked up the last issue when we were in Nice and have been obsessing over it since. I can't find it anywhere in Brisbane so of course I had to subscribe (you see when credit card goes wandering there has to be justifications).

I'm ending with this photo of a little doll (aka birthday girl) I hung out with at the Andy Warhol retrospective at GOMA. She picked the colour combination herself and I have to say I don't think I could have done a better job!



turtle time

I finally got these out again and finished them




The pattern is from Wee Wonderfuls. It'll be a little while before they find a home and because we have major storage problems I had to stack them on top of each other on a shelf, which made us laugh ...



... because it reminded us of these turtles we met in Athens.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Documenta 12, Kassel, Germany

Some highlights from Documenta 12 in Kassel.

Ines Doujak's Siegesgarten, a 17 metre long flower bed dealing with colonialism;


The fine detail of white silk embroidered with Hu Xiaoyuan's hair in her work A keepsake I cannot give away;


Sharing our lunch with a local;


The slow and methodical movements in the Trisha Brown performance Floor of the Forest;


The curve of Ai Weiwei's outdoor sculpture Template after it collapsed during a storm;


The breathtaking gardens around Museum Fridericianum;



Oversized stuffies in Cosima von Bonin's installation Relax – it's only a Ghost;


Stepping inside the thoughts of Mary Kelly and Ray Barrie's Love Songs: Multi Story House;



The peaceful surroundings of Kassel;


Iole de Freitas' Untitled inside Museum Fridericianum ...


and outside;


and finally, a detail of Sanja Iveković's bright red field of poppies.


While there were some curatorial disappointments of Documenta 12, it was still worth the visit and the town of Kassel itself provides a visually pleasing getaway.

Monday, February 18, 2008

over the weekend

It was a busy little weekend visiting the Andy Warhol exhibition at GOMA, catching up with friends, cleaning out the fabric stash, 50% off all fabric at Lincraft, the new issue of Readymade and a little bit of crafting on the side, including another set of these coasters;


some cat ears and tail for a friend;


and a little work in progress.

Friday, February 15, 2008

me, a ghost and bart simpson

Only when you're an Aunty could you possibly be seen pictured alongside a ghost and Bart Simpson (I know it's probably obvious but I'm the one at the top).


A good friend also pointed out this amazing artist that I had to share. This section in particular. I mean, you can just imagine every process involved from the initial idea to drawing to drafting to prototypes and final product, it blew my mind just thinking about it. And how amazing are the materials! We're still wondering where felt like that even comes from?


Wednesday, February 13, 2008

new things

hmmm... maybe not an ideal pet but I love the way she lines up her valuables so perfectly.


Even though I'm obsessive about caring for my clothes, I've only ever spent under $30 on an iron. Big mistake I soon found out when I purchased this beast.


I love the way it glides over fabric and presses everything to perfection. Now I just need to do something about my scary ironing board cover (warning: this image is not for the faint hearted!)


One of my pet hates in life is walking out of a movie, falling in love with the dialogue and kicking myself for not reading the book first. So I picked up Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner.


half way through and highly recommend it.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Easing back into it

It's been a long time coming but my creative energy has finally been restored thanks to the many creative people on the net. It's been a busy week. There's been cards



another set of these coasters for a birthday present (pattern from here http://allsorts.typepad.com/allsorts/2006/11/crisscross_coas.html)


washing fabric for my next 2 projects


plus lots of brainstorming, list writing as well as trying to perfect the art of poached eggs. Certainly not restaurant quality but here's my best to date.


any tips for improving them?

Singapore

A while ago I said I was going to post about each city we visited on our trip... but then I got carried away with other things over the Christmas break, so instead, every couple of days over the next few weeks I'm going to post visual delights from each city. Here's the first stop, enjoy.

detail of a temple,

chinatown,

some random alley,

a Muslim cemetary,

fresh dates,

the skyline,

Arab Street,

and the Lantern Festival.