ArtExpress Turns 30 – That’s MUCH Older Than its Artists

Tags

Archibald Prize, Art, Art Express, Art Gallery NSW, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australian art, creativity, Exhibition, Higher School Certificate, New South Wales, Painting, Sulman, Sydney, Visual Art, Wynne Prize

‘Love the Home You’re In’ by Lochlan Howard
St Francis Xavier’s College
(Image from here)

Arguably, the Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in the Australian art scene. Along with the Wynne (best landscape painting of Australian scenery, or figure sculpture), and Sulman (best subject painting, genre painting or mural project in oil, acrylic, watercolour or mixed media) Prizes, the Art Gallery NSW is currently exhibiting the entrants for 2013. It’s almost un-Australian not to go.

Well, even though I am not an Australian, I tootled along to see the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman. I go every year. All good. But, what I was really looking forward to was ArtExpress…

Regular readers may recall my post from last year on ArtExpress 2012 (here). ArtExpress is an annual exhibition featuring a selection of outstanding student artworks developed for the art making component of our Higher School Certificate examination in Visual Arts in New South Wales. It includes a broad range of approaches and expressive forms, including ceramics, collection of works, documented forms, drawing, graphic design, painting, photomedia, printmaking, sculpture, textiles and fibre, and time-based forms. And it is
A M A Z I N G. What these students achieve is mind-blowing, and this year was no exception (although I think 2012 just nudged ahead for me).

‘Double Think’ by Aoife Coleman-Clarke
Rose Bay Secondary College
(Image from here)

‘Babel’ by Rachel Cronin
Loreto Kirribilli
(Image from here)

‘Sweet Simplicity’ by Milli Wheeler
Oak Flats High School
(Image from here)

‘Conscience Vote’ by India Gates
Wenona School
(Image from here)

‘After Leonardo’ by Alexis O’Connor
Wenona School (a cracking year for Wenona School!)
(Image from here)

2013 marks the 30th anniversary of ArtExpress at the Art Gallery of NSW. If you haven’t yet made it to the exhibition, you have a few more days to do so. If you’re not in NSW, you can check out the works here.

The Carmichael Collective’s Creativity Crusade…

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Advert, Art, Branding, bug memorial, Carmichael Collective, Carmichael Lynch, Colour, community, creativity, culture, Minneapolis, Photograph, Piñata Anatomy, Psychology, Urban Plant Tag, Whimsy

Urban Plant Tag: Stop Sign by the Carmichael Collective
(Image © Carmichael Lynch 2012)

Something colorfully quirky for your weekend… I love coming across clever creative gems like the Carmichael Collective. I like a little alliteration, also…! There’s not so much information on their website, but I can tell you the collective is “an ongoing project from Carmichael Lynch, a creative company based in Minneapolis, MN. Everything you see on the site is just creativity for creativity’s sake. If you like it, share it.” I like it, so I am!

And if you want to see more, they ask you to follow them. “Or, don’t. It’s totally 
up to you. After all, art is in the eye of the beholder.” Creative pragmatists! Who would’ve thunk it?

So let me share a few of their creative bits ‘n’ bobs…

There’s more in the brilliant Urban Plant Tag series:

Urban Plant Tag: Street Lamp by the Carmichael Collective
(Image © Carmichael Lynch 2012)

Urban Plant Tag: No Parking Sign by the Carmichael Collective
(Image © Carmichael Lynch 2012)

Urban Plant Tag: Bench by the Carmichael Collective
(Image © Carmichael Lynch 2012)

The clever people at the Carmichael Collective are also the ones responsible for the wonderful Piñata Anatomy that has been popping up all over the inter-web lately:

Piñata Anatomy by the Carmichael Collective
(Image © Carmichael Lynch 2012)

And, then there’s the slightly eccentric and enchanting Bug Memorials:

A Fly Remembered 2012 – 2012 by the Carmichael Collective
(Image © Carmichael Lynch 2012)

A Moth Remembered 2012 – 2012 by the Carmichael Collective
(Image © Carmichael Lynch 2012)

A Wasp Remembered 2012 – 2012 by the Carmichael Collective
(Image © Carmichael Lynch 2012)

When you check out the Carmichael Lynch purpose (or mission statement, for you HR types!), they say, “Our enemy is complacency, mediocrity, the conventional. We rally against the ordinary and hold sacred the power of the new: to transform, to instigate, to delight, to create devotion.” I may have become a disciple…

If you’d like to learn more about the Carmichael Collective or if you’d like to join their movement, head over to their site here. I’m sure there’ll be some more kooky creative work coming soon…

Aesop – Smells Great & Looks Good

Tags

Aesop, Australia, Balanced Life, Bathroom, beauty, Brand, Cosmetics, creativity, culture, Gifts, Homewares, Lifestyle, Merchandising, Product Design, Retail, Shopping, Sigmund Freud

Aesop Advertising Header on Seek.com

I’m a girl. That means I like things that smell nice and look good. Stands to reason, really. I’m also quite a loyal customer. I’ve worn the same perfume since I was 16 years old (but that’s a whole other story). When I find a product I like, I tell people about it. Sometimes it’s the little things that make you happy.

I wish we could see perfumes as well as smell them. I’m sure they would be very beautiful. (L.M. Montgomery, ‘Anne of the Island’)

Today, I’m telling you about how much I like my Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Wash and my Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm. They both smell nice and they both look good. They sit side by side in my bathroom. I cannot remember how many times they have been replaced.

Do you know the Aesop story? Founded in 1987 by Aussie entrepreneur Dennis Paphitis, grooming brand Aesop has gone from strength to strength over the past few years. Aesop has signature stores throughout Australia, as well as in Paris, London and Zürich, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, with outlets in Europe, Asia, Canada and the United States. They have lovely androgynous apothecary-style packaging, very clean brand identity and beautiful smelling botanical products. The Resurrection range features anti-bacterial mandarin and rosemary. It is truly yummy.

I quite like the Aesop philosophy to a balanced life – “We advocate the use of our products as part of a balanced life that includes a healthy diet, sensible exercise, a moderate intake of red wine, and a regular dose of good books.” How much red wine do you think constitutes a moderate intake?

And, you gotta’ love an organisation that puts a quote like this on their website:

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. (Sigmund Freud)

Oh, and their retail shops are g o r g e o u s. Seriously. Worth a visit if you haven’t already been.

If you would like to know where your closest Aesop stockist is, or perhaps buy some of their product online, head to their website here.

(Images sourced from here)

Love Lace – Make Lace Not War

Tags

Arts, Australia, community, Crafts, creativity, culture, Design, Exhibition, Fibre Art, Lace, lace exhibition, Powerhouse Museum, style, Surface Design, Sydney, Textile, Travel, Visual Art

'Shadows of Memory' by Michele Eastwood
Materials: Textiles. Close weave calico laser cut into silhouettes, which are backed onto a dissolvable fabric and the fine threads are couched, holding the figures in space.

I know, I know – yesterday I talked about the ArtExpress exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.  Today I’m bringing you news of another exhibition, this time at the Powerhouse Museum.  What can I tell you? – I’m mining a theme. I’ve also had visitors from New Zealand staying.  You may get more of the same tomorrow!

The Love Lace exhibition is an impressive show of 130 Lace Works by 134 artists from 20 different countries. Each artist displays their passion for lace in this beautiful (if a little dark) exhibition of winning entries and finalists in the Powerhouse Museum International Lace Award.

To be honest, I had read about the Love Lace exhibition and, despite a keen interest in surface design and fibre art, wasn’t that motivated to go and see it. Well, I was pleased to be proved wrong. It is well worth a visit. The works are amazing, and my wee nephew even got to make slime from scratch as part of the school holiday programme. 

I am loving this renaissance of traditional arts and crafts with a modern interpretation.

'Nanduti Lace' by Griselda Gonzales
Materials: Linen needlework lace

'White Guilt' by Ashley Shepherd
Materials: Cotton, machine embroidered onto water-soluble fabric and burnt with incense sticks

'Collar of Petrified Lace' by Wendy Ramshaw
Materials: cut stainless steel, powder coated

Front: 'Intersect' by Tania Spencer
Materials: Knitted galvanised wire using s spinning ginny, fencing tools, pliers and bolt cutters. The wire is hand bent around the jig and then woven together.
Back: 'Lace Fence' by Joep Verhoeven
Materials: Bobbin lace technique using galvanised steel wire, fabricated in Bangalore, India

The Love Lace exhibition runs at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney until April 2013.

If you don’t live in Sydney, you can check out the Love Lace exhibition online at the Powerhouse Museum Website (here). Alternatively, another great reason for you to come and visit!

Sydney-siders, get thee to ArtExpress 2012…

Tags

Art, Art exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, ArtExpress, Australia, community, creativity, culture, Galleries, Higher School Certificate, Illustration, Sydney, Travel, Visual Art

Part of 'Flourish' by Hanna Clements of Sydney Girls High School
Expressive form: Sculpture

If you live in Sydney and have yet to see the ArtExpress 2012 exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, you have just one week before it’s too late. It is well worth a special trip to the Art Gallery just to see this wonderful exhibition. Trust me on this.

ArtExpress is the annual exhibition of outstanding student artworks developed for the art making component of the Higher School Certificate examination in Visual Arts for 2011. So, for the uninitiated – the artists who make up this exhibition are school students of around 17 years of age, give or take a year.

Every year I am blown away by the artistic talent we have bubbling away within our secondary schools. Have a taster…

'A Collection of Post Cards from Wits End' by Lisa Koesterke of Mullumbimby High School
Expressive form: Collection of works

'A Collection of Post Cards from Wits End' (Detail) by Lisa Koesterke

'Healthy Living' by Anna Zhong of James Ruse Agricultural High School
Expressive form: Painting

'Stigmata' by Georgia McGlennon of Ascham School
Expressive form: Photomedia

'...a thousand words' by Christopher Fiorini of St Patrick's College, Strathfield
Expressive form: Photomedia

ArtExpress is a free exhibition and will be on show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales until Sunday, 22 April 2012.

(All images sourced from here)

Waking Up With Dan Golden’s ‘Positive Energy’

Tags

Art, Colour, Contemporary, creativity, culture, Dan Golden, Humour, Interior design, Photos, Pillows, Positive Energy, Rugs, Social Commentary, Textiles, Tom Waits

'Positive Energy' Rug

OK – now that I’ve woken you up with Dan Golden’s ‘Positive Energy’ rug (are you feeling it, yet?), let me tell you a wee bit about the man and his quirky, fun and fabulous work…

Dan Golden and his partner in crime, Jen Huh make up the art & design team that is Dan Golden Studio, based out of New York. The firm specialises in concept development and is currently designing new textile, lighting and furniture collections. They recently launched a range of home decor products for CB2 (which now ships to Australia!).

Dan Golden’s art and design work has been featured in many magazines and websites including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Fast Company, Interior Design, Veranda, The LA Times, Shelter, FORM, Angeleno, David Report, Behance and MoCoLoco. And now, it has been featured right here in This Sydney Life, too! 

While I was tinkering about preparing for this post, I came across a CB2 interview with Dan.  Two things jumped out and really stuck. 1) the man is a massive dog lover.  He has a dog named Nutley (who is clearly massively loved), and 2) Apparently, years ago — when he was a waiter/aspiring singer-songwriter – he met Tom Waits. HE MET TOM WAITS! Dan says that Tom’s advice was to “be original and not try to be like anybody else. This advice was simple and true, and applies equally to being a designer.”  Looking at Dan Golden’s work now, I rather suspect Tom Waits’ advice was heeded.

The Dan Golden Studio pieces all have a recognisable design handwriting to them – for me, they are contemporary and clever, fun and humorous, uncluttered and, sometimes a wee bit ironic. I think it’s all great.  But then, I kinda’ like anything that looks good and makes me smile or think…

Check these out:

'So Long Suckahs' Rug

Safe Place rug

I want me one of these 'Jazz Superheroes' pillows

'Morphine is the Best Medicine' pillow

'Hole to Another Universe' Wall Sticker

Do you have a favourite Dan Golden piece?

(All images sourced from Dan Golden Studio)

Emily Barletta and Her Red Thread…

Tags

Artist, Colour, Crafts, creativity, culture, Design, Emily Barletta, Exhibition, Fiber art, Fine art, Maryland Institute College of Art, Photos, Stitch, style, Thread

Fresh after her recent exhibition at the group showing, ‘The Sum of the Parts’ at the Maryland Art Place in Baltimore, the very talented Emily Barletta has just added some new works to her portfolio.  I think they are gorgeous in their simplicity, especially when compared to some of her more complex (yet equally fab’) pieces.

Have a look some of the new stitched pieces and see what you think:

Untitled (big circle) by Emily Barletta (2011)
thread and paper

Untitled 2 by Emily Barletta (2011)
thread and paper

Untitled 10 by Emily Barletta (2011)
thread and paper

Apparently, Ms Barletta has loved needlework and crafts since her childhood in Utah.  After graduating from Baltimore’s Maryland Institute College of Art with a bachelor’s degree in fibre arts, she embarked on a path utilising techniques she had previously used in her hobbies and applying them to fine art.

I love the way her work has an organic feel to it, and the way she interprets old home-style crafts into incredible and detailed modern works of fibre art.

I would love the ‘untitled 10′ piece for my wall.

Alternatively, a bowl of these would make me happy:

Untitled (rocks) by Emily Barletta (2010)
thread, felt, and rocks, mixed sizes

Go and check out some of her other work at EmilyBarletta.com.  It’s amazing!

(All images sourced from Emily Barletta’s website)

Blog Stalking ‘Were I So Besotted’…

Tags

Blog, Blog Stalk, Blogging, Brooklyn, craft, creativity, culture, Design, Embroidery, Fibre Artist, Iviva Olenick, London, Photos, Pratt Institute, Social Commentary, Stitching

When I lived in London, I remember walking home from work in the wintertime after the sun had gone down.  I loved it. It was dark enough for lights to be turned on, but not late enough for curtains to be drawn.  I could see into the windows of houses as I walked past. Those small snap-shots into other people’s living rooms were fascinating to me.  It was especially wonderful at Christmas-time…

I suspect many of us in the online world take the plunge to enter the blogging fray after a period of blog stalking*.  I will admit to my share of this.  It’s a little like looking into other people’s living room windows.  You get a wee taste of their world.

One of my earliest blog finds was Were I So Besotted.  Brooklyn-based Iviva Olenick is a hugely talented fibre artist who creates the most beautiful and original narrative embroidery.  She calls her small-scale, usually autobiographical pieces her ‘hand-stitched blog’.  Her work is both charming and honest.  I love it.

'Williamsburg Hug'

'How We Met Sunset Park'

'Fulton Park'

'Cowboy' (for friend, Sarah's birthday)

'Sweetie'

Iviva is active within the embroidery community.  She runs workshops at venues like the Textile Arts Center and teaching stitching at the Pratt Institute.

If you have some time, go and check out her blog, Were I So Besotted.  It’s gorgeous.

(All images sourced from Iviva Olenick’s blog here)

*blog stalk: to religiously check a particular blog of interest for any new content