books.... beyond words

I was so busy getting ready for uni that I didn't get time to share the news of my work's selection for 'Books.... Beyond Words' - at East Gippsland Art Gallery - 8 August – 1 September 2009


I was delighted to receive the emailed notification - and then I was a tad confused... I had entered 2 works for possible inclusion in the award/exhibition.... but the note I received didn't indicate which one had made it through the initial selection process....


was it my very large piece from the end of 2007 'herstory'?







(this is a snippet of the piece - in real life it is more than 4m wide!.... you might notice I also use a snippet for my blogspot banner)



or had one of my most recent works - 'verbatim'.... a 'carved' 2 volume dictionary - been selected?





welllllllll..... it turns out BOTH pieces are shortlisted for the award



how nice is that!


here's the spiel from the gallery's website....

'Books ... beyond words aims to showcase excellence in expression, innovation in concept and in the use of materials in contemporary artists' books as well as pushing the boundaries of the definition of ‘book' and exploring it as sculptural form.'



so if you are travelling past Bairnsdale in August - I suggest you check it out (and drop me a line how it looked - as usual, I won't get a chance to see it)

ahhhh it's good to be home!

Only a few moments ago I stumbled through the door, weary from my return drive all the way from Morwell today (6.5 hrs drive.... through what at times feels like the wilderness....)

this is what much of the trip looks like (only not with such a lovely straight road...)



most of the time the view was a bit more like this.....


(yes in case you were wondering - I WAS taking pics whilst driving - slap my wrist I'm a naughty girlie!)


I've been down at the Gippland campus of Monash University attending the grandly named 'winter symposium' - this year is my last trip (wheeeeeeee!) as part of the MVA I've been completing part time with Monash over the past 2.5 years so I was primed to to catch up with fellow students, check out what they are all up to and hopefully to give a solid presentation of my work and ideas ..... There were some truely inspiring stuff - and I should follow up and drop a few links to folks work.... maybe when I'm not so stuffed!

here's a little itty bitty glimpse of SOME of the bits I lugged down...





most of my stuff I presented in a digital format however....



ahhhhhh I'm so relieved to have that finished with - I still have a further 6 months of studio work to complete (and of course the fun of assessment) before I'm done with the MVA... but I feel like the hardest part is now over. I'll see this place again in November...







Oh BTW - this is what the drive in to the uni from nearby Morwell looked like each morning.... yummy soupy fog... (I was NOT driving whilst taking this pic!)




makes you feels toasty and warm doesn't it.... (have I mentioned already how pleased I am to be home?)

time for uni....

I'm packing up the car with all my wares preparing for the looooooong trip (close to 700kms... through what I like to refer to as 'the boonies') down to my uni tomorrow

This will be the last time I have to attend the Winter Symposium as part of the Master of Visual Arts course I've been undertaking over the past 2 and a half years (finished in November..... I'm dreaming of it now..... ahhhh). I've been very busy in the studio (and outside...) over the past few months creating new works. I'm feeling very positive about the current direction of all my work. Apart from 'Ex Libris', most of my current work hasn't been seen anywhere or by anyone outside the family yet.... so I'm nervous but excited about 'unveiling' it to fellow students and staff down at Gippsland.

When I return I might feel up to posting a few pics here.... wish me luck (my presentation is the first one, on the first day.... again....)

bookiness

PHEW! I'm flat out trying to get everything done before I have to head off to uni in a couple of weeks time - I've got soooooo many bits and pieces in various messy stages of incompletion....

Question: what do you do when you are so over committed you can't tell which way is up any more?

Answer - well you spend the long weekend taking a book making workshop with the amazing and (I can now confidently add) delightful Caren Florance of Ampersand Duck


WOW - I've come home refreshed and recharged (and now another 2 days behind schedule..... ahh well it was worth it)



Apart from checking out her phenomenal work (of course I was too over-awed and entranced to manage to get a shot or two - bummer!) - the best bit of the time was just listening to her chat about all things booky (PS I learned all about the Lifeline book events in Canberra - oooooo so excited)


here is a taste of some of my thingys from the 2 days.....






.... but my favourite activity without doubt was learning about coptic binding.... looky here's my first effort....





I'm so pleased I could burst!


I thoroughly enjoyed the meditative process of binding... I just wish I could have taken a pic of all 13 of us sitting huddled around Caren (far enough away from each other to not render our nearest neighbour blind via a wayward sewing action - the beginning threads used for coptic binding are extraordinarily LOOOOONG). Check out Caren's pics and thoughts on her visit over at her blog....


here is my favourite piece of the weekend - (no it's not mine....) the covers are discharge-dyed velvet - isn't it lovely!