Awesome artists who reclaim and re-use

At Eveleigh Market I met a fellow cardboard afficionado... A customer showed me the cardboard handbag she'd bought from him, so I went to the other end of the market shed to check it out.

"I work with cardboard too!" We both started waxing lyrical... "I love it! It's simple but elegant... It's raw... It's abundant... I love the 'fluting' inside... yeah, the corrugations, I love the edges too!" Well, something like that...

His name is Jeff McCann... he's from Wagga Wagga but was having an artist's residence at Gaffa Gallery in the Sydney CBD. 

One of Jeff McCann's paintings on cardboard - image via Between the Sheets of Cardboard

Jeff makes cardboard handbags/satchels, they're folded into a delicious pillowy shape, with brown paper tabs along the sides. He says he likes cutting up the big brands and featuring bits of text and colour. I do that too in my collages. Sometimes he does that, other times he decorates with original drawings. My friend Kirsten bought one with a gorgeous Fox on the front.

Jeff McCann's flute handbags - image (left) via www.jeffmccann.com.au Photograph by Rory Madigan. www.omigadesign.com. Image (right) via Between the Sheets of Cardboard

Find out more about Jeff's work here at The Cardigan Threads Collective.

Jeff was sharing a stall with Nina Baker, from The Side Project. Nina's work is awesome! It's edgy and beautiful. Some of Nina's jewellery designs feature thin strips of metal collected from the street - they've fallen out of street sweeping machine brushes. 

I snapped one up at a previous market! It's got two strips of metal, some bright yellow teardrop beads and a tiny pearl, on silk thread. 

Read more about the street sweeper jewellery here - and also here

I also love The Side Project's brooches - photos printed onto aluminium sheet - quirky images like burlesque beauties from a bygone era, Australian scenes - street signs, suburban homes. More images here at sideprojectcollective.com

This one's mine all mine. Ain't she beautiful?!

Mind you, this is just the "side project"- more on Nina's jewellery here

That is one of the great things about doing markets - meeting other like-minded people who love to create. 

Paper Now

Image: Bronwyn Berman, The Eternal Dance, 2011 Source: bronwynberman.com.au


Love this work by Bronwyn Berman, so really must try to get to this curated group exhibition at Incinerator Art Space - 2 Small St, Willoughby. It's on until 4 March 2012.

"Paper Now comprises thirty works by eleven Australian artists who share a common approach to their current practice through the use of paper as the primary medium... They cut, fold, stitch, etch, stamp, trace, draw and paint on and with paper highlighting the sensuality and fragility of this extraordinarily versatile substance."

Cardboard couture

Cardboard (and paper) is so versatile! There are so many interesting projects out there.

Here's a promotional campaign for the Laforet Grand Bazaar, in Harajuku, Tokyo:

Image source: Design Boom. Read more about the project and creative team here

Guerilla Crochet

Guerilla knitting hit Sydney a few years ago, and it still brings a smile to my face. The other day, I discovered some delightfully quirky guerilla crochet close to home, when I went out for an afternoon walk.

A lovely vine creeping around a wooden pole, with a mixed bunch of crocheted flowers and leaves. Love it!

Read more about Sydney's most famous guerrilla knitter, Denise Litchfield... and a little "how to guide" in case you get the urge!

Hidden nature

Walking past a painted mural on a corrugated iron fence in Newtown, the deteriorating paint caught my eye. It was split, cracked and bubbled, with rust? Straight away, it reminded me of natural decay.

Then as I looked closer (with my camera), I began to see beautiful colours and textures, which again reminded me of nature...

...leaf veins... sun-baked mud...

...coral reefs... viewed from the air...

I got caught up for a moment in this hidden world.

Colour!

Wandering on the internet, looking at other design blogs, so much out there to inspire!

Thanks to Matou en Peluche (Samantha Battersby), a Sydney artist who does lovely retro-style drawings, I saw these beautiful aerial photos of tulip fields in the Netherlands. 

Like a giant woven textile!

Images from here via here and here.

Eco graffiti

This street art has really captured my imagination, it's so poetic and whimsical... living graffiti 'made' from moss.

Eco graffiti by Anna Garforth and Eleanor Stevens. Image source: www.yatzer.com

 

Apparently, a mix of yoghurt and sugar was used to stick the moss onto the bricks.

Another method is to blend moss with yoghurt and sugar and then paint it onto the wall. After a few weeks of being watered with a spray mister, the moss begins to grow.

Eco graffiti by Anna Garforth and Eleanor Stevens. Image source: www.yatzer.com

 

Beautiful, harmless, and moss feels so beautiful to touch!

Eco graffiti by Anna Garforth and Eleanor Stevens. Image source: www.yatzer.com

 

Read more about this project by Anna Garforth and Eleanor Stevens

Creative re-use

The discards of the creative process can be just as interesting as the finished product, maybe more so!

At Spacecraft textile studio in Melbourne, the backing cloth covering the printing table becomes saturated with different elements of each successive design. Rather than simply throw these away, Spacecraft find chance compositions and then sell them as backing cloth "paintings". They also turn the backing cloth into soft cube seating.

 
Source: spacecraftaustralia.com

Spacecraft, you make re-use look sooo good!

Admiration - Rosalie Gascoigne

I've long been an admirer of artist Rosalie Gascoigne. I find her work, and her story, really inspirational. Born in New Zealand, she worked in Australia from 1974 to 1999. She established a reputation as one of Australia’s foremost contemporary artists, yet had her first serious exhibition at the age of 57.

Gascoigne worked mostly with found materials: drinks crates, road signs, floral lino, enamelware, galvanised tin, corrugated iron and masonite. Some of her most iconic works are abstract grids of letters and word fragments - black text on yellow backgrounds, found on wooden Schweppes soft-drink crates and reflective road signs.

Rosalie Gascoigne exhibition at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square, Melbourne 2009:

Source: aliasfreq at flickr.com

Source: aliasfreq at flickr.com

Photo: Justin Fox

More information about Rosalie Gascoigne:

• Learning resources - NGV Australia
• Transcript of a 1997 interview with Rosalie Gascoigne by Stephen Fenely

Recently I read on Indesignlive about a Melbourne artist, Brett Coelho, who has also been inspired by Gascoigne. Brett Coelho worked as a graphic designer for 10 years, before becoming a full time artist working with found materials and exploring nature as a theme in his art. His work celebrates the ordinary, finding beauty in the most unlikely of places. He has recently collaborated with Bleux Design who have produced prints for architectural use.

Image: Brett Coelho / Bleux Design Source: indesignlive.com

Image: Brett Coelho / Bleux Design Source: indesignlive.com

Read more about Brett Coelho and Bleux Design at indesignlive.com.

 

Awe-inspiring indigenous art

A highlight of my trip to the Northern Territory in September was the Desert Mob 2010 exhibition at the Araluen Arts Centre in Alice Springs. It's an annual exhibition of art from Aboriginal communities across the Western Desert region spanning the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia.

We only had a short time there, but as I hurried from room to room, I felt exhilarated by the explosion of colour and the diversity of painting styles plus weaving, pottery and sculpture.

Here's a few pics of the exhibition catalogue:

Front cover of the catalogue: Harry Tjutjuna. Wati Ngintaka, Wati Nyiru, Wanka and Kungka Tjuta, 2009. Acrylic on linen 202 x 264 cm. Araluen Art Collection. Purchased from Desert Mob 2009.

Left: Sadie Singer. Old trucks, 2010. Acrylic on canvas 100 x 120 cm. Iwantja Arts.
Right: Nyarrapyi Giles. Warmurrungu, 2010. Acrylic on canvas 182 x 179 cm. Tjarlirli Art.

Left: Tommy Mitchell. Wakalpuka, 2010. Acrylic on canvas 101 x 76 cm. Warakurna Artists.
Right: Tiger Palpatja. Piltati ka Wati Tjakura, 2010. Acrylic on canvas 199 x 122 cm. Tjungu Palya.

 

Back in Sydney, I went to the open weekend at Art Gallery of NSW for the Art + Soul exhibition, and also loved the associated ABC tv series presented by curator Hetti Perkins and directed by Warwick Thornton.

Hetti Perkins, Art + Soul, ABC tv series 2010. Source: www.abc.net.au

One of the most astounding moments in the series, for me, was watching Aboriginal artist Mr Giles 'sing' a painting by another artist. Although he had never seen the artwork before, he immediately recognised and understood its story. It gave me goosebumps to realise the depth of meaning contained in these abstract works.

Marrickville Women's Salon

The Marrickville Women's Salon is a group exhibition which is showcasing the work of over 40 female artists living or working in the Marrickville area. It was officially launched by the Marrickville Mayor on the day of the federal election.

Here are a few photos of the opening and the gallery:




Huge thanks to local artist Ellena Rados for putting together the show!

The exhibition is on until this Sunday 5 September 2010 at ESP Gallery, 228 Illawarra Rd, Marrickville.

Cardboard love

I find cardboard such an inspiring material, it's sturdy, versatile, and either recycled or recyclable.

Design boom featured a couple of cool new cardboard designs this week:


move-it cardboard cart is intended for users without transport who need to move large boxes from a shop to their home. The cart is composed of a handle and a set of wheels which stick onto any size box. Designed by David Warwick Graham.





'my space' is a cardboard folding/pop-up play area for children developed specifically for small apartments which lack the space for a play room. It can be folded up and stored behind a door or under a single bed. Designed by Liya Mairson.


When I was young, my older sister won a cardboard spaceship. Man, I loved that thing!

 

Inspiration: beauty in decay

I'm trying to understand why I find rust, decay and peeling paint beautiful. From seeing other people's photos and artworks, I know I'm not the only one. I'm sure there are whole artistic movements based on this. But I'm untrained in art theory or history, so I struggle to find the words to explain myself.

I really relate to this quote from UK artist, Fiona Long "As I walk around the streets of London, on my way to college or work and when I’m out and about, going to galleries I see art everywhere. It may not be art to anyone else as it isn’t obviously beautiful, it isn’t made by an artist and it isn’t in a gallery, but I keep seeing elements of aesthetic quality and beauty wherever I look. I intend to explore the beauty of what many see as ugly, imperfect elements of our urban environment."

Life seems so rich when you find beauty everywhere!

A while ago, I heard about the Japanese aesthetic called Wabi-sabi. "Wabi-sabi acknowledges three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect... Characteristics of the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity (harshness, roughness), simplicity, modesty, intimacy, and the suggestion of natural processes."

I would love to learn more about this...

Local graffiti

This abandoned shopfront sign on King Street was a perfect canvas for a stencil artist.

Took these photos a while ago, so not sure if it's still there, I guess street art is always changing.

The peeling vinyl sign has different shades of blue and white, faded lettering, splatters of paint, lots of imperfections and details.

Maybe it doesn't look like much at first glance, but once you start zooming in on something like this, you 'find' so many different compositions.

Here are some of my faves...

Does anyone know this artist's name?