Thumbing through Chinese Mythology

So departure date is looming... 2-and-a-bit weeks! Excitement is making me 'ping' out of bed in the mornings. A strange phenominum indeed!

Beyond the stress of leaving Australia for 4 months & agonising over what I will need to buy & pack, I also have lots of paperwork to get through, some clients orders to make, lots of shifts at work, tax, voting, house cleaning, some dinners & a concert in Melbourne to get to. I have at least 200 un-replied to emails that have snowballed into a psychologically traumatising mind bomb. This is why my poor blog has taken a back seat too. No time! No time! Too much to do! Er!

In the few quiet moments I have, I have aspired to read as much as I can about China & in particular I have found myself thumbing through a dusty Chinese mythology from my bookshelf. Turns out that I actually own this book & have done for about 20 years... what a strange kid I was.

My favourite story so far is the Chinese creation story that explains that a giant magical turtle had it's 4 legs chopped off by the god of creation (who was tired of holding up the heaven from the earth) & it is they that hold up the 4 corners of the earth. I imagine that it was a bit bigger than this turtle.. however basically doing the same job. Just imagine the match box is the earth.

Bugs, beetles, moths & butterflies

I love insects because they are like gemstones on legs. Many of my designs try to capture the beauty, intricacy and delicateness of natures little warriors. I found these little critters totally alluring, I mean how often do you get to have such a long hard look at something so beautiful? Never! They are always just a flash in front of your eyes. The texture and radiance of them is extraordinary. Viva la bugdom!!

I won the China Residency!!! :-)

HOORAY! I won the grant to go to China in September! I am sooooo excited! I am gonna make art! art! art! in China! China! China!!!! For 3 months! I am riding a massive high because I really wanted to go... really really... really.. 
First of all I love travelling, secondly I am a Buddhist and thirdly I am bursting at the seams to make things.

This 8-week artist residency is located in one of the most fascinating and ancient creative centres in China. The Pottery Workshop is an artist’s residential retreat offering artists from diverse cultures and skills the opportunity to interact, learn and create. It is situated on the site of an old National Porcelain Company Sculpture Factory in Jingdezhen China and is surrounded by hundreds of small and independent craftsmen and artists with every kind of ceramic skill; clay producers, throwers, sculptors, mould makers, blue and white decorators, overglaze decorators, glaze and colour shops, kiln firing workshops, brush makers, black smiths, box makers and shippers. What a dream come true...

This residency will stimulate and develop my existing skill base, whilst introducing me to a plethora of ancient Chinese decorative skills through a variety of workshops and lectures. Other participants and I will meet international and local artists/ craftspeople on a daily basis and do workshops with them. This 8 week residency will inspire growth in current practices as artists thrive in a vibrant atmosphere, surrounded by working artists and right in the heart of this fascinating city.

WHEN: 9th Sept- Dec 2010

I wanted to participate in the residency to the Pottery Workshop because the time is right for intensive artistic growth for me. Using my leadership qualities and amalgamating them with my zest for action and spirit of adventure, I believe I will experience inner and outer transformation in my arts practice by going to China. This cultural and artistic immersion will facilitate a journey into my inner world where I will create new ideas, gain insight into unknown fields of knowledge and perpetuate dramatic self experience. The creative wisdom gained here would be the beginning of some promising projects and mark the start of my transition into becoming a full time artist. 

The Workshop offers me an amazing opportunity in so many ways. It would allow me to exist in the art head-space that I enjoy so much. Going to China would infinitely inspire me as I would meet fellow artists, experience Chinese culture, learn new skills and acquire knowledge in a supportive and well resourced environment. I also look forward to meeting the masters and teachers in Jingdezhen, and being given the opportunity to share my own skills and experience in jewellery, ceramics and drawing with my Chinese hosts.

I also intend to do side trips to Beijing, Xian and Shanghai to experience the other Chinese artistic highlights such as the National Arts & Craft Museum, The Great Wall of China and the Terracotta Warriors.

The knowledge and skill acquired in this residency, is something I could not obtain in Australia. The amalgamation of practical contact, observation of masters at work, facilities and inspiration from fellow students will be invaluable nourishment. This learning experience will be vital for my art practice and will allow me to inform and enrich the local and national arts scene back in Australia.

As an Australian citizen I appreciate the incredible influence Asian culture has on our country. Our continent is placed centrally in the Asia-Pacific region which affects our social climate, political and trade concerns, as well as our food and cultural practices. I believe that the more alliances and relationships that Australia can forge with surrounding countries the more understanding and acceptance we can have between us. There is much potential value for all parties involved in liaising with our Asian neighbours and I wish to be a part of this alliance.

Now time to go and celebrate! POP!!!

Contracting before expanding

Sometimes our lives contract before they expand. I can feel mine doing it at the moment. I am aware that I am in the middle of shifting from one stage to another in my artistic life. I have spent the last couple of years growing, studying, learning and absorbing. I feel full to the eye balls with inspiration, and grumpy that there is never enough time spent in the studio! Hopefully if I get to go to China then I will have 2 months solidly in a fully equipped workshop.

I was starting to feel a little discouraged at my lack of output the last few months, as there has definitely been a lack of progress. Now I realise the progress has been internal. Sometimes this is simply the way life works. The contraction and expansion of the inner and outer world. Like a catapillar that confines itself to a tiny cocoon before it grows wings and flies, I am experiencing the darkness of the potent cocoon.

I need surrender to the experience, so that I can move through the tightness and into the opening on the other side quickly. So many ideas, just need to make the time to create. My old foe- the delicate life/ work balancing act.

Checklist of creative jobs

Busy busy times! 
1. I just finished applying for a residency to China today- TICK! I have been working on it like crazy for the last 2 weeks. If I get it, Ill be off living in a little village in China for 2 months making ceramics. I did ceramics as a minor so it wouldn't be too much a of a shock to the creative system. Going to China would be a complete cultural immersion in a fully equipped workshop under the guidance of a Japanese porcelain master *shudder with excitement*. I have dreamed about doing a residency like this for so long that it is almost real in my head. I really want to go!! Wish me luck! I find out in 8 days if I get it.
2. Back log of client designs completed, now to email sketches and quotes to those very special people (you know who you are)- TICK!
3. Finalise jewellery designs for 'Frauleins Orchard' (opens in June). The ideas are still percolating around in the whirlwind of a creative storm in my head- HALF A TICK!
4. WILD THINGS exhibition. Facebook orchestration of the cleverest animally creatives in Adelaide- TICK X 1000! I had an awesome response from people wanting to illustrate or sculpt their totem animals... never had so many emails in one week in my life! 
I have chosen the goldfish as my totem animal. I love them because they are transparent, graceful and dreamy. They lay lots of eggs of potential baby fish too (symbolising creativity). They live in water (symbolising emotion) amongst sea creatures and water plants. I love the little glimmers of iridescence in their scales. They remind me of my favourite gemstone, the MOONSTONE.

WILD THINGS LINK


5. Going to some special friends parties and Shayla's fashion parade in Circular Quay in Sydney next week- Can I fit it in? :( :( :( - UNTICKED but still a possibility.
Happy day to all!

Frauleins Orchard

Featuring // 

Clockwise from top left: Georgia Gabrielle Jewellery, Naomi MurrellJewellery/Illustration, Elisa Mazzone Illustration, Katrina WeberJewellery/Textiles, Anna Creasy Illustration, Ruby Chew Mixed Media, Peta Alannah Chigwidden Painting, Joelie Croser Illustration.

Opening night // 

Wednesday June 2nd, 6pm

Urban Cow Gallery, 11 Frome Street, Adelaide

Exhibition runs until June 28th 

The Show //

A concept born from nuturing talented young female creatives in Adelaide, Urban Cow Studio presents a harvest of works from these eight nature-loving artists and designers. Working in the heirloom varieties of painting, illustration and jewellery, this collective continues to nurture one another’s ideas, cultivating a creativity that promises to blossom into a rare display of colour and beauty. The artistic fruits of the Fräuleins are ripe for the picking!

Oriental Pendants

To pearl or not to pearl.

It's a lovely Sunday Autumn afternoon in Adelaide and it's my day off. The weather is mild and some rosella parrots are twittering in my tree outside.

Today I must sort through this parcel of pearls that has arrived from the Great Barrier Reef. I need to decide which of these stunning natural pearls I want to use for an upcoming exhibition in June. I have some grey Tahitian pearls, some Indonesian golden keshi pearls and some champagne pearls from Broome. The more I look at them, the more I realise they are an exhibition in themselves. Pearls evoke memories of sailing trips, the sea and playing on the beach not orchards!

I shall stare at them for a little longer, then I think I may have to go back to the drawing board conceptually. I must decide today on what jewels to accompany my illustrations of birds in the show.