third bird

new pattern idea

2011-04-16T21:31:00.004+10:00

designer profile

2011-02-13T14:19:00.002+11:00

A little feature of my designs in todays paper.

just a little something fresh

2010-11-17T09:57:00.003+11:00

Just popping in quickly to add a bit of colour and brush off some cobwebs. I only have two more weeks left of Uni and then I am a free lady to blog as much as I would like to.

Until then - back to the books!!

white on oatmeal

2010-08-10T18:45:00.003+10:00

Yes! A twiggy tea towel. Was nice to be back in the studio today and to print a new design. Am really loving the texture of these oatmeal tea towels and am rather pleased with how they turned out.

quilted cuff

2010-08-09T15:50:00.002+10:00

What began as a quick little gift idea for a friend - this afternoons cuff making turned into such a great way to use up small scrap pieces of fabric lying around in my studio that I ended up not just making the one, for my friends birthday, but a whole heap of them. Perhaps they may just have to come along with me to the next handmade market...

twiggy

2010-08-06T19:45:00.002+10:00

This is a new pattern that I have been working on - inspired by a little arrangement of twigs that I was playing around with. I think it still needs a little tweaking but am pretty happy with it so far.

handmade living

2010-07-24T23:22:00.003+10:00

Am very excited to be able to share with you all, a sneak peak of the gorgeous new creation of the handmade market and shop handmade team. In support of both these highly successful ventures - is a publication that features many talented designers and inspiring ideas, how-to's and much more.

I may even have a little something to share with you all in there too - but you will just have to wait to find out what!! Luckily we don't have to wait too long - it is due to be released early December...just in time for Chrissy!! You can even pre-order a copy here!!

Formosa Design

2010-07-09T09:56:00.003+10:00

Pictures by Formosa

One of the great things about being a resident at Megalo Print Studio is getting the opportunity to meet other designers such as the lovely Jennifer Berney of Formosa Design .

Formosa, which is Latin for 'beautiful', is true to its name. The hand-printed textile range which is inspired by Australian nature is beautifully printed on high quality 100% organic cotton hemp fabric - using water based inks. This wonderful blend of natural design and process is brought together to create a gorgeous hand crafted range - including cushions, t-shirts, bags, tea towels and more.

You can read more about Formosa and her gorgeous collection here!

Buckles

2010-06-22T19:17:00.003+10:00

Ha! Found it, finally! Having just retrieved this image from the buried file, full of disregarded pattern ideas and random experimentation - I am inspired to dust it off and reconsider its potential as a fabric print. With the new range that I have in mind - well, I think so. Stay tuned!

Line

2010-06-22T10:56:00.005+10:00

Maija Louekari

Miina Äkkijyrk

Gosia Wlodarczak

I have been preoccupied with line imagery lately and thinking about a new direction for my work. Not that I plan on moving away from the organic shapes and textures that I have become comfortable with - but more a way of complementing and exploring these elements.

Last year, in exploring ideas in my honours work, I experimented briefly with a bind contour drawing of suitcase buckles in my collections and put this drawing into a repeat design. I remember being really intrigued by the finished pattern (which I am desperately trying to find in my poorly organised hard drive) and thinking about exploring this idea further. Blind contour drawing is a process I really enjoy and often a starting point for my design process.

Above are some artists who instantly spring to mind when I think about line and design. Marimekko designers; Maija Louekari and Miina Äkkijyrk and Gosia Wlodarczak's work are examples of the energy and freedom that I am interested in exploring - combined with bold areas of colour! My mind is already full of ideas!

Nami Yamamoto

2010-06-16T11:55:00.002+10:00

Radiant Flux (detail), 2008,
handmade paper: abaca with phosphorescent powder

Miniature Garden, 2006, cut paperMiniature Garden, 2006, cut paper

So, I may have let my little weekly 'pocket collection' series slide, for now, but may have just come accross the inspiration to kick me in the bum and begin collecting and arranging again. Yamamoto uses her disparate collection of natural and man-made ephemera to inspire her beautiful paper-cut series. Her arrangements are simply stunning!

New Shop Handmade display

2010-06-15T22:01:00.004+10:00

I have borrowed these images off the gorgeous Shop Handmade blog which captures their new shop display featuring loads of my products. Very exciting, indeed! Can you spot the chickens? These were a creation of my mother (aka, second bird) using off-cuts of my hand printed fabric. Thank you, Handmade ladies! You're wonderful :)

making up for lost time | happy things and sharing the love

2010-06-15T19:52:00.008+10:00

To get my blog rolling again after my long absence, I aim to honor a blog award I was given by the lovely Jo, over at Joe Bloggs. Admittedly, I am usually rather lazy when it comes to things like this and often guiltily let them slide.

The rules of the award are:

1. Thank the award giver (done!)

2. List 10 things that make you happy.

3. Pass this award on to 5 others.

10 things that make me happy

1. The number one happiest of all is, of course, my beloved pooch Xena! She is an endless source of entertainment and after almost 7 years of snoring loudly at my feet, I really can't imagine life without her goofyness.

Xena boating

2. Brooches! I have accumulated quite a collection over the years and really don't believe an outfit is complete without one.

3. Cardigans. What better place to put a brooch then on one of these classic pieces of clothing.

4. Orange things. Another rather obsessive compulsion.

5. Op-shops and flea markets. Great places to find orange things.

6. Long baths. A few bubbles and a good book and I can quite happily kiss a few hours goodbye.

7. Pattern and colour. Well, it wouldn't really be very textiles student of me not to have a happy place in my heart for these.

8. Art journals. My handbag would feel naked without a moleskin, a glue stick and scissors. You never know when that inspiring idea may come along that you need to document straight away.

9. My studio. It is in boxes at the moment until I move into my new house (which has a spa bath!! oh, happy place) and I feel really weird not having all my bits and pieces around. Here is a pic of my old studio space at art school last year. I love to surround my creative space with inspiration.

10. Blogging. An endless of source inspiration and happy connections and conversations with friendly, creative like minded people.

Now to share the love

Am passing the happy baton onto the following:

1. To a lovely new blogger, Jiah. Also a student at the ANU, School of Art. We were students together and Jiah is now in her final year and is very much a watch-this-space designer. Her patterns are gorgeous and I encourage everyone to visit her gorgeous blog!

2. Handmade romance. Her beardy brooches make me smile!

3. Betty Jo of Lino Forest. I happen to have three of her brooches and I think you all should too!

4. Colour and Sound. Because her turquoise collection is to die for.

5. And finally, Nicole of freshly blended. Her beautiful blog is consistently gorgeous and this girl has one amazing eye for great design!

blog infidelity

2010-06-15T18:20:00.003+10:00

It has been way too long between posts!

I am ashamed to admit that I have been cheating on this blog with another and it was a painful experience, indeed. The "other" one was part of an assessment item in the full-time course that I have committed myself to this year. Full-time being an understatement!! Between all the essays, pracs, presentations and..ahem...blogs, I haven't really had much time, let alone head space for this blog. But things are about to change as I am moving into my winter break and a new exciting few months ahead.

At the end of last year at the ANU grad show, I was awarded a three month residency at Megalo Print Studio in Canberra which was part of the School of Art's Emerging Artist's Support Scheme. I will be embracing this opportunity to develop new patterns and colours, followed by a new range of wares to showcase them. Ideas are already in process so stay tuned!

2010-04-05T20:51:00.002+10:00

Some very exciting news! The shop handmade, GRAND OPENING! Friday 16 April at 9am!

Shop Handmade is the extension of the very successful Handmade Market and will showcase a huge selection of talented designers and handmade goodness. Head on over to their blog where you can get updates and sneak peaks of whats in store at this exciting and stylish new addition to Canberra's city centre.

happy easter everyone!!!

2010-04-02T18:13:00.000+11:00

canberra handmade market

2010-03-30T21:03:00.011+11:00

What a weekend!

My very first Canberra Handmade Market was a huge success and went off without a hitch. I had loads of positive feedback and clever suggestions which has left me brimming with new ideas.

The new location at the Kamberra Wine Company had a really great atmosphere and the friendliness of the other stall holders and the super amazing organisers made the whole day a really enjoyable experience!

and the winner is...

2010-03-15T16:47:00.003+11:00

...Lucky ( or sometimes not) number 13. Congratulations Phill!! Thanks to random.org, you are the proud new owner of this here lovely, hand printed tea towel. And thanks to Phill's awesome suggestion - this series now has the new name of spin cycle!!

Thank you to all the lovely comments and ideas. It would have been so hard to choose a name myself. Hooray for computer generated randomness!

partly cloudy

2010-03-04T20:15:00.004+11:00

As previously mentioned, I have been decorating some cute little vintage plates with cloudy shapes. This is for a group exhibition that I am part of, called Partly Cloudy.

Partly Cloudy is a group show which will invoke a variety of interpretation of one of the most beautiful and fleeting, natural formations - the cloud. A group of Canberra based artists will assemble their work throughout the exhibition space creating a quirky, beautiful and billowing experience that will leave you wanting to lie down and watch the clouds go by.

I am very excited and can't wait to see all the other ideas and interpretations at the opening night. Will take lots of photos!

turbine cushion

2010-03-04T20:02:00.002+11:00

From the kitchen to the couch, the turbine print has found a new home. I was quite excited about getting away from the books yesterday and playing around on the sewing machine and was rather pleased with how these cushions turned out. Can't wait to so some more!

pocket arrangement | week 8

2010-03-04T18:31:00.003+11:00

With assignments coming out my ears and exhibitions and markets to prepare for, my little arrangement series has been put on hold. In fact, nice long walks with the dog have become quick throws of the ball and then back to the books, which has meant less collecting. This afternoon I made the effort and took the time to look around and find some new objects. There were lots of cute curly gum leaves that were catching my attention today!

Have crammed two weeks into one to catch up so excuse the rushed arrangements. Will try and find some time to draw some inspiration from them soon!

pocket arrangement | week 7

2010-03-04T18:26:00.003+11:00

sneak peek

2010-03-01T22:50:00.002+11:00

Have been busy decorating some cute little vintage plates for an upcoming exhibition. More info soon!

GIVEAWAY!!!

2010-02-25T20:01:00.008+11:00

Lucky I looked in my diary just now otherwise I would have completely forgotten that today is my blogaversary! That's right, one whole year of blogging!

To celebrate, I have decided to have a giveaway of my most recent printing excitement...the wind turbine tea towel!

To enter, just leave a comment with perhaps a suggestion of a more exciting name for this series. Wind turbine tea towel just sounds so drab but is the best that my poor, stressed out brain can think of right now. For an extra chance to win, perhaps a little blog post to spread the love!

Winner will be announced on March 14. Good luck!

turbine tea towel

2010-02-19T18:14:00.004+11:00

Was so nice to get back into printing again today. I haven't had my hands on a squeegee since the end of Honours and was really beginning to miss the process.

I had the chance to print the Wind Turbine pattern which I designed for the wind wash exhibition, organised by Megalo Print Studio/Galley for next month. Am really happy with how it turned out and can't wait to experiment with different colours.

moving house

2010-02-18T20:41:00.002+11:00

The last few weeks for me has been absolutely nuts! Have committed myself to an extra year of full-time study and was completely unprepared for how intense the work load is. It has only been two weeks and all the reading is making me feel dizzy!

On top of this I have been moving house, which is always a huge ordeal for me as I am a ridiculous hoarder, with a 'compulsive collecting disorder' as I am now calling it after realising just how many suitcases I actually own. They had been pretty spread out at my previous house, hidden in cupboards, stacked in the garage and arranged in my studio. It wasn't until I piled them all together and needed to make an extra trip just for them that I realised it's probably time to stop purchasing them!

Not the best photo, but you can get the general idea!

canberra handmade market

2010-02-17T13:46:00.002+11:00

Some very exciting news that I have to share is my acceptance to participate in the very lovely Canberra handmade market (and being included in their very stylish advertising above!!). This is a quarterly market that showcases some very crafty and talented folk with a focus on handmade goodness.

This will be my very first market experience and I am currently busy working away making things from my previous designs and developing some new ones which will have their debut at the market.

pocket arrangement | week 6

2010-02-15T20:41:00.001+11:00

pocket arrangement | week 5

2010-02-04T16:38:00.002+11:00

There really is something about flat, rusted bottle tops. They always catch my attention and I go through phases of collecting them and then chucking them out. Am happy to have finally given them a purpose by including them in my arrangements. I love the organic, circular shapes of them, which is a shape that I am constantly drawn to and appears in quite a lot of my designs.

This weeks arrangement is loaded with pattern inspiration. Especially the acorn shapes. Lovely!

wind turbines

2010-01-26T13:54:00.002+11:00

Another pattern idea for "windwash". I think I'm liking this one better for a tea towel print, I think?

pocket arrangement | week 4

2010-01-26T13:48:00.003+11:00

My walk yesterday was amongst lots of gum trees as you can tell by these arrangements. Very gum nutty, indeed!

wind turbines

2010-01-25T22:59:00.003+11:00

This is a (very rough) repeat pattern idea that I am working on for an upcoming group exhibition that I am going to be a part of.

The theme is "winds of change" and will consist of printed tea towels that will be hung around certain locations in country NSW. It sounds like it will be really lovely. Will post more information about it soon.

digital drawing

2010-01-22T22:28:00.000+11:00

pocket arrangement | week 3

2010-01-22T12:57:00.004+11:00

Its exciting that this arrangement series will also act as a tangible reminder of road trips and places I visit, as well as walks with my dog. This particular arrangement has a number of coastal treats from our drive home from Bellingen yesterday. Its nice to observe the different colour variations from different areas.

sunshine and good times

2010-01-22T12:38:00.004+11:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have had two weddings to attend to in the last two weeks! Both of which were in really gorgeous parts of Australia.

Bellow are a few snaps of the Bellingen area where we were lucky enough to spend a whole week swimming in the beautiful oceans, cristal clear rivers and what more can I say...just check out the view we had from our accommodation! Bliss

:: giveaway winner ::

2010-01-05T18:59:00.002+11:00

With the help of random.org, I now have a lucky winner to announce for my first ever blog giveaway.

Congratulations to handmade romance. You are now the owner of this cute little cup, decorated by hand using hand screenprinted ceramic decals.

I encourage you all to pop over and visit the handmade romance blog, there are loads of inspiring things to look at (including a very cute staffy):) She also has an etsy shop where you can buy yourself very unique, one-of-a-kind broochy goodness!!

A big huge thank you to everyone who has stopped by and given me feedback. I now have a good idea of what are the more popular colours and designs. I also have a whole heap of new favourite blogs to visit.

pocket arrangement | week 2

2010-01-04T23:25:00.003+11:00

OK, so I know it's still technically only week 1, but this is always what happens when I begin a new project, I get impatient and ahead of myself. I've justified it by the fact that I will be away for TWO weddings in the next two weeks so may not get a chance to post things. I am sure though, that I will also find lots of new fab things on my travels to post when I get back.

Don't forget, my giveaway ends tomorrow. Will be randomly selecting the winner in the afternoon so there is still some time!!

birch seed

2010-01-04T22:20:00.005+11:00

Check out how much this little guy has opened up since I found him a couple of days ago on the ground. I really love birch seeds. They will definitely be featuring more and more in future designs, I'm sure. In fact....

another quick sketch:

a rather lovely rolling pin

2010-01-04T21:48:00.003+11:00

Was making home made pasta tonight at my mothers house and asked her if she had a rolling pin. "yes," she said, "the one you made me".
I opened up the bottom draw and my year 7 wood class came flooding back. I remember it being one of my favourite classes (besides textiles, of course) and I also recall making a spice rack, a little wooden stool and a wind mobile.
I felt rather proud of myself, rolling my homemade dough with my hand made rolling pin. Very DIY housewife!

pattern inspiration

2010-01-04T00:53:00.004+11:00

week 1: Digital drawings

pocket arrangement | week 1

2010-01-02T23:17:00.006+11:00

On long walks with my dog, I am constantly filling my pockets with all kinds of little things that grab my attention along the way. I find the interesting shapes and textures of random bits and pieces, both natural and man made, to be inspiring and often sparking a creative idea.

Inspired by the flickr group 'organized collection', and as a loose continuation of ideas from my last years research project, I have decided to record these little trinkets as a weekly project to inform new pattern inspiration.

Each week, from now to the end of the year, I will organise and group these finds and photograph the arrangement. Throughout the week, I will draw from this arrangement, working with mixed media; including collage, drawing, digital manipulation etc, to develop pattern suitable for printed fabric.

I am hoping this challenge will keep me inspired throughout the year and it will be interesting to see how the arrangements vary along the way.

GIVEAWAY

2009-12-26T23:44:00.003+11:00

To celebrate the opening of my new etsy shop, featuring my new range of ceramics, I have decided to have a GIVEAWAY!!

Up for grabs is one of my tea cups, which is decorated by hand, using hand screenprinted ceramic transfers.

To enter, follow (if you are new) and please visit my shop and leave a comment below to let me know which are your favourite designs. Given that each heading is the same, copying and pasting the link is perhaps the easiest way.

For an extra chance to win, you can help me spread the word about my giveaway on your blog.

The winner will be drawn on the 5th of Jan.

Good luck and have a great new years :)

2009-12-25T14:40:00.000+11:00

its a wrap up

2009-12-21T17:41:00.003+11:00

Done and dusted, as they say. After four years, I have finally graduated!

I have had a week of so to recover from all the celebrations and excitement and thought I would share a few pictures of my final few days.

The graduation exhibition was a huge success and I had an overwhelming response to my ceramic range. As a result of this I have had few Christmas orders and so not to waste kiln space, I have been very busy over the last few days producing new stock which will be in my new etsy shop very soon!! Will keep you posted!

red dots!!

Packaging my sales

Final drinks in the empty workshop to celebrate the end of four years.

A sneak peak of new stock in the making

new brooches

2009-12-03T22:00:00.001+11:00

Today I transformed some of my hand screen printed linen off-cuts into these cute little brooches using some wooden discs that I've had lying around for a forgotten project.

They turned out quite lovely. They have the smoothness of the wood, whilst still maintaining the texture of the linen. A really nice combination of fabric and wood, with that hand made touch! I think I'll have to wear one to my grad show tomorrow night!

honours assessment installation

2009-11-24T21:39:00.008+11:00

Oh, my poor neglected blog!

I have been very quiet lately as I have been frantically preparing myself and setting up the gallery for my final assessment which was last Monday and then recovering from the immune system crash that followed! Have been very tired and sniffly since but hooray...I am ASSESSED!!

Have had the usual anti-climax feeling that follows a years hard work being wrapped up in 15 minutes, which is now being replaced by the dreaded feeling of finding out my results on Monday....eeek!

I keep having flash backs of ridiculous moments in the assessment when my predictable nerves prevented me from articulating anything and having almost no connection with my work what so ever. It was all quite scary. I then look back over the year and remember all the ideas, hard work and pride that I do have with what I have achieved and what do grades really mean anyway, right?

So here are some pics of my assessment installation. I was really happy with how fresh and open the display looked. Having not seen all my work out all together, I was a tad worried that it would look too busy and colourful. The space worked well as giving a sense of an interior and despite some lighting issues, it all came together quite well.

Left wall: Ceramics, Cushions and Collages

Back wall: Fabric lengths, Chairs

Chair detail

Back-up work.

cutlery collages

2009-10-31T23:28:00.004+11:00

I have been working on this small series of collages to exhibit alongside my textiles and ceramics as a visual explanation of my design process and how I respond to an everyday object to generate pattern.

I was quite excited about the different shapes and patterns of these orange handled utensils and was hoping to emphasise these unique qualities in the collages.

Am really glad that I chose to use the white box frame opposed to the black, the colours appear to be much more vibrant and fresh.

my creative space

2009-10-23T22:59:00.003+11:00

...is the kiln!!

This week has been all about finishing my ceramics in preparation for my final assessment in 3 weeks. This stage is by far the most nerve racking part of the process. I did do a test fire, however with different ceramics to the ones I decided to go with here. To my relief, they turned out beautifully, even more vibrant than when they went in!!! YAY

You can view more creative spaces here.

bentwood progress

2009-10-11T21:50:00.003+11:00

After a lot of TLC and elbow grease from a very patient friend of mine, these bentwood babies are finally coming together. Getting them structurally sound was one thing, but figuring out how to upholster them was another. After lots of problem solving, I have finally been able to do a mock up. Am pretty pleased with how they are looking and have been busy printing the finished designs.

I made the decision to use layered abstract shapes so that each chair could be a similar design but with a different composition and colour.

Using a template of the chair I was able to move it around the design to select a composition.

Finally, the fabric is stretched around foam and attached to the base. YAY

Am currently waiting for the wax to dry on the chairs before I can insert the cushions and see how they will look as a finished series. Will keep you posted!!

cushion detail

2009-09-29T14:45:00.003+10:00

this is a little detail of how my cushions are coming along, all the covers are sewn, I really only need to tidy up the stray cottons and finish the inserts. This is an idea of how the colours look together. There is also a grey one which completes the 5 colours.

procrastinating

2009-09-27T09:17:00.003+10:00

I should be writing my studio report and NOT blogging and posting pointless photos of my dog!! She does, however, look as bored as I feel. Would much rather be outside chasing a ball with her than being couped up in front of my computer. At least the weather is awful which makes it slightly less tempting to be out there.

fergus

2009-09-26T08:54:00.007+10:00

I have never been one of those lucky people that win things, but when something comes along that is both vintage orange AND a brooch, it just couldn't have gone to a better home!! I was the very lucky winner of this orange owl brooch by Betty Jo. Liz Jones of Betty Jo creates one off jewellery pieces made from recycled vintage lino, pre loved buttons and all quirky ribbons. I was lucky enough to have been given one of her brooches for my 30th birthday earlier this year and to now have two...WOW. You can check out more of her creations here at her inspiring and colourful blog, Lino Forest.

Gorgeous packaging!! I love parcels :)

Fergus and friends

studio report

2009-09-25T22:00:00.003+10:00

Things may be a little quiet on the blog front over the next week. Am recovering from an intense two day cushion sewing fest where I managed to get all my 15 covers pieced and sewn together ready for assessment. Am really happy with how they turned out :)

My goal for the coming week is to lock myself in a library cubical and make a solid attempt at finishing my final studio report draft. This stack of books is a good start!!

cushion pieces

2009-09-18T21:35:00.002+10:00

I spent the entire day today printing pieces of fabric for my cushions. I will be exhibiting 15 cushions in 5 stacks of three in groups of colour. The colours that I have settled on are grey, yellow, pink orange and blue. Today I printed and heat pressed (my least favourite part of the printing process) my orange, blue and pink pieces. Hopefully they will be all finished by the end of next week. Then there is still my chairs left to print and upholster, my collage series, my lengths, my ceramics..oh, and a 5000 word report to finish too :( all to be done in 6 weeks. Yikes!!!

white on natural

2009-09-16T23:05:00.004+10:00

Oh dear, I would have to fall in love with this colour combination at this stage of my project. Just can't seem to justify the cost of linen at the moment and have already settled on my finished work ideas. Ah well, can always piece these samples into my cushions and day dream of massive linen lengths later when I'm no longer a poor uni student!

printing , cutting and arranging

2009-09-16T22:41:00.004+10:00

Yikes - this is a time consuming project!!
Am hand screen printing and sewing 15 floor cushions for my exhibition. The largest size is 85 x 85cm to the smallest which is 45 x 45cm. Have only printed and cut 6 so far and that took ALL day. And this is only one of 6 body's of work all due in November. Argghh

colour, colour, colour

2009-09-09T21:00:00.002+10:00

Today was all about mixing lots and lots of colour!
Earlier this semester I did a four day colour workshop with Merv Moriarty which gave me a greater understanding of practical colour mixing, colour matching and the relationship of colour. Towards the end of the workshop Merv gave a quick demonstration on Illustrator on how to lock a chosen set of colours into a colour wheel and spin them around to see the different variations of colours within the same tonal range and hue.
I sat in an Illustrator class with the second year students who were practicing this method and creating digital colour swatches and got a quick lesson in how to do this with the five colours that I have been using. The result from this was a great excuse to perhaps introduce some pink into my work! I mean, who doesn't love a bit of pink pared with grey? May sound pretty awful if pink isn't your thing but below you can see how it seems to blend nicely with my other colours.
I am usually quite meticulous at keeping a record of my recipes but unfortunately I was in a bit of an experimental mood today and the up side of this is the most beautiful navy blue that I have ever mixed and the down side is that I'm not entirely sure how I quite got it. Ah, well..it's still lovely all the same.

wednesday inspiration

2009-09-09T08:42:00.006+10:00

It is just by coincidence that the artists I chose to post today are both Queensland based artists. There must be something in the water there because both these artists work are just amazing and use the ideas of collecting in such an inspiring way.

Donna Marcus is a collector of vintage kitchenware and aluminium tins and arranges them in to these gorgeous patterned compositions and sculptures. The original purpose and familiarity of the object seems to be lost in the beauty of the arrangement.

Donna also has breath taking collections and sculptures of jelly moulds which I will find a picture of and post.

Victoria Reichelt is a painter who's inspiration comes from collections of ordinary object. The process of collecting, arranging and photographing the objects, she says, is as important as the painting itself.

Of course the suitcases caught my particular attention. If you didn't already know, I am quite obsessed with vintage suitcases. You can view my collection here.

hint of colour

2009-09-08T20:28:00.002+10:00

For my final exhibition I am planning on having some lengths of fabric on one of the walls to show my patterns on a larger scale and as an over all design. To relate this back to my ideas about the notions of collecting, I am planning on using the repeat pattern as opposed to my randomly placed designs as it is the patterns created when grouping and the repetition of form and colour that I find interesting in collections of objects and am hoping to emphasize this in my work.

As each length will be the same repeat, I want to add an individual touch to each one to highlight the the unique qualities of an individual object in a set. Today I was experimenting with the same repeat and different hints of colour to try and get different effects.

I am still trying to get my head around the theory and conceptual side of my project which is why some of the above may not have made any sense. At least the patterns may be pretty to look at.. I do hope so!!

yellow and grey

2009-09-08T19:47:00.004+10:00

Just can't seem to get enough of this combination at the moment, especially mustard and citrusy yellows and chartreuse..mmmm, yummy!

These are some simple, layered patterns that I was playing around with yesterday that I am hoping to use in sections of my cushions and perhaps the upholstery of my chairs. Still playing around with ideas and hoping to make final decisions for my finished works, although all this sampling is just making the decision process too hard with too many different patterns to choose from!!

grey on natural linen

2009-09-07T20:03:00.003+10:00

Today I was experimenting with different types of fabric that I am hoping to use for a range of cushions for my assessment. It was a nice change to print onto a more earthy fabric as opposed to the white cotton I have been using.

tea cups and clutch

2009-09-06T21:54:00.002+10:00

Things are finally coming together and it's nice being able to put things together and see how they work as a range. Am beginning to think about display possibilities leading up to assessment and the final exhibition.

before and after

2009-09-03T13:13:00.002+10:00

Yay!!!! My transfers finally arrived the other day. Yesterday was very exciting playing around with all the different colour and composition possibilities. I managed to also get a few in the kiln overnight to see how the the colours fire and they are amazing. Am really happy with how this series is coming along.

creative space

2009-09-03T13:08:00.002+10:00

This is my desk at uni and where I have surrounded myself with my collection and colour inspiration.

repeat patterns

2009-08-31T09:27:00.004+10:00

Have been polishing up my repeat pattern skills over the last few weeks. Having done placement printing for so long now and the time consuming task of drying each print and washing out each screen before the next layer, the repeat printing has been a nice change.
These two samples were printed very quickly as a small test run and I also blocked areas on the screen to print a second colour.
Besides the obvious printing errors and the lack of ink in the grey sample, I am pretty happy with how they are coming along.

Playing with scale, I have also printed some smaller repeats with the same pattern to translate into cute clutches. It's always exciting when you finally see your patterns in context.

sample print

2009-08-12T21:35:00.002+10:00

Finally got some of my "jelly mould" motifs onto screens to print, however today was one of those days and most of my screens turned out a bit dodgy and washed out. That on top of the 'too tired to print' mood that i was in today, quite a few mistakes were made. The bright colours did make me happy though and all in all, am rather pleased with how these designs are coming along.

simple colourway | repeat pattern

2009-08-11T21:12:00.003+10:00

manufractured: the conspicuous transformation of everyday objects

2009-08-01T22:48:00.003+10:00

This book was a lovely surprise that I received recently and is such an amazing reference to my research at the moment. It is full of so many great artists who's work crosses the boundaries of art, craft and design - combining the handmade with mass produced materials. Definitely a MUST read!! You can check it out here!

gretchinmist GIVEAWAY

2009-07-31T16:04:00.007+10:00

Golly gosh - I do love brooches and I do love giveaways and I am very excited about this one as you will be too if you follow this link!!

Gretchenmist creates the most beautiful hand painted, wooden brooches and pendants. Her use of colour is gorgeous and who wouldn't love to be in the chance to have their very own wearable piece of art. You can visit her blog and fall in love with her designs here. Good luck!!

digital pattern

2009-07-30T10:30:00.002+10:00

Playing around with different placement and colours. Will be mixing my colours hopefully next week so I can do some sample prints. Can't wait.

littlechrissy GIVEAWAY

2009-07-29T14:57:00.007+10:00

If you like the look of these GORGEOUS brooches as much as I do, then head over to the the blog of the very crafty and talented littlechrissy . These are part of her very new Woodland series, and to celebrate her 100th post she is giving her lucky readers a chance to win not one, but two of these babies...plus some other tasty treats!! You can find out more here. Fingers crossed!!

bentwood obession

2009-07-28T11:15:00.002+10:00

Ooo-la-la!! Found these babies for an absolute BARGAIN at my local trash and treasure. Having done some research on Bentwood's, I can really appreciate what a score this find is.

They are in questionable condition, however a special fixer man who has taken an enthusiastic interest in these, believes they can be restored back to their original glory. He was a little broken when I mentioned that they may be spray painted bright colours to complement my fabric designs though!!

Will update their progress.

colourway

2009-07-28T10:56:00.004+10:00

jelly mould drawings

2009-07-28T10:45:00.003+10:00

ceramic transfer samples

2009-07-28T10:23:00.002+10:00

It has been a while between posts so I thought i'd share a few things I have been up to lately.

Am now in the second half of my honours year which leaves very little time for experimentation and I have had to begin making final decisions towards finished works.

I was busy over the break doing some more sketches of my Jelly Moulds and have done a few mock ups in Photoshop of how I am hoping them to look on ceramics. Using ceramic tranfers was a way I was hoping to push my technical skills and show my pattern design on a different surface and complement my fabric designs.

Am really excited about these and just hope that the real ones turn out as pretty as the samples!

placement printing

2009-07-10T10:53:00.007+10:00

Step 1: Clean white fabric stapled to the table. Such a contrast to the busy backing cloth!!

Step 2: Large paper cut-out brown dots. Texture created using crayon wax resit from a rubbing off my wallpaper.

Step 3: Grey Shapes, randomly placed.

Step 4: Green shapes, randomly placed by eye.

Step 5, 6 and 7: Grey transparent paper cut-out, Red dots and Grey opaque circle shape.

Step 8: Opaque white paper cut-out circles.

Step 9: Orange flowery shape.

Step 10: Setting up paper cut-out shape for the next shape.

Step 11: Charcoal shape.

Detail shot of charcoal shape.

Step 12: Grey spiky shapes.

Step 13: Green circle shape. The fabric is beginning to get lost in the backing cloth.

Step 14: Transparent brown dots. Paper cut-out.

Step 15: Charcoal flower shape.

Step 16: Transparent grey, textured paper cut-out circle.

Step 17: Green dots.

Step 18: Grey opaque small, scalloped shaped dots.

Step 19: Pink dots!!! Was working very intuitively with colour choices and was very excited about the pink. I think it made all the difference. I decided that now that the cloth had pretty much merged into the backing cloth, that it was time to finish.

Step 20: Final layer of opaque white, flowery shapes and it's ready to pull off.

Finished...YAY!!

Detail photo. This is my favourite part, observing the interesting patterns that are happening in cropped areas of the over all print.

some jelly mould love

2009-06-16T12:12:00.002+10:00

Here are a few Jelly delights I have come across lately.

This gorgeous "Chunky Mod" ring by Shauneil. I just love the colour and, of course, it's both jelly and jewellery...what more could you want?

Yes, that's right folks...glow in the dark jelly. This magical creation is by Bompas and Parr. They have all sorts of culinary delights over at their web site, go check it out!! I only wish this was around back in my blue light disco party days!!

This wind chime idea by SPedigrees is a rather cute way to make use of a jelly mould collection.

These retro cookware charms by incrediblejewelry are just adorable!

Perhaps some inspiration for your next landscaping idea?? These Jelly Stones were found here at Keyser Soze.

And for the garden again..what a great idea to use the Moulds as an indoor, or outdoor pot? This Tiny Garden by theslugandlettuce101 is fantastic!!

And finally..these Pendant Jelly Lights by Kitchen Critic are a fantastic way to recycle objects and create a very unique touch to your interior!!

mid year review

2009-06-16T11:16:00.003+10:00

Half way through the uni year already! This is quite a stressful thought as second semester always goes twice as fast as the first and there is soooo much to be done.
Here are some pictures of the work that I had up for my review. I think it has come along a bit since my crit. I have the next five weeks to sample a bit more and play around with new designs.
Am thinking about narrowing my collection focus down to just my jelly moulds and seeing how far I can push my designs using just the shapes and pattern generated from these. I have been doing a few more sketches to play around with.
I kind of like the idea of aiming for a "collection" of textiles, which are directly inspired by a "collection" of objects.

inspiration overload

2009-06-12T19:32:00.003+10:00

FINALLY - I am now the proud owner of this crafty bible, which is the creation of the very talented Pip Lincolne of Meet me at Mikes. I was very excited about the book having already had a taste of one of the crafty pleasures when this cute wheatie toy pattern was in Frankie Magazine and I made it for a baby shower gift using my own printed fabric. I think the same baby will be soon be spoilt with another crafty creation.
It is definitely a must-have for any crafty persons bookshelf.

before and after

2009-06-03T20:35:00.001+10:00

before and after
Originally uploaded by third bird

my attempt at re-upholstering a vintage foot stool with one of my recent screen-printed designs. very poorly photographed but you can get the idea!

thinking about chairs

2009-05-28T11:02:00.001+10:00

thinking about chairs
Originally uploaded by third bird

this is a digital mock up of an idea i have of upholstering a miss match of old chairs with my designs. the problem is finding the right chairs!!!

pattern collage

2009-05-20T22:49:00.002+10:00

the main focus of my research into the big wide world of collecting is how collecting and, in particular, the objects in my personal collections, inform my artwork and design process. is the act of gathering, grouping and arranging an object for display in the home similar to the process of gathering, grouping and arranging pieces of paper and ephemeral for a collage and perhaps, the random placement of motifs, shape and colour printed onto cloth?
because collage is an important part of my design process, i am aiming to incorporate the act of collecting into a series of collages for my final body of work at the end of the year. to complement this, i will also be approaching my printing in a similar way. working with the idea of random placement and layering to create a collage of prints onto cloth.

below is a sample of different patterns and shapes layered together to create a "collage" composition.

texture and shape

2009-05-16T10:54:00.002+10:00

i was playing around this week with ways of generating texture. i always seem to forget about the really basic fun ways of screen printing, like wax resist!
for these i used a crayon to make a rubbing (directly onto the screen) of my wallpaper texture. i then used a hand cut-out stencil to layer the blue shapes over the print.

first semester crit

2009-05-08T22:03:00.003+10:00

here are some pictures of my work on display for our workshop crits yesterday that i talked about in my previous post. it really is an exciting thing to gather everything up from our confined studio spaces and hang it all on the wall to be able to stand back and have a look at what is going on. you really get a sense of what is working together and what isn't.

i was really happy to see how the figurative and non-figurative shapes work together. i felt there was a nice flow throughout the body of work.

below are some more samples using the shapes from my jelly mould collection. this time i left the textured elements out and worked with introducing more bold, semi-figurative shapes.

digital design process

2009-05-08T20:29:00.011+10:00

yesterday at uni i had my first semester crit. this is when we get the opportunity to pin all our work up, get it away from our studio spaces and talk about it to the entire workshop and get feedback.

i'm a bit of a retard when it comes to talking in front of groups of people and manage to get myself all worked up for nothing, i talk at a hundred miles an hour and even get the shaky hand or leg or both at the same time. this is totally ridiculous considering it is only for 10 minutes in front of people i am completely comfortable around.

anyway, besides this slightly painful side of yesterday's crit process, i am quite excited about where i am up to with my design process and really enjoyed getting feedback. there were two ideas in particular that were very exciting and will experiment with over the next few weeks but firstly, i would like to share a little bit of the design process of a some of my latest work.

because i am using my collections as a starting point to develop pattern for printed cloth, i thought it might be a useful experiment to use photoshop filters to simplify shapes directly from an image of the jelly moulds.

below is a detail of one of one of the moulds.

i then used the photoshop filter 'stamp' to simplify the image.

doing the same with another detail photo, changing the colour and layering them together.

in an earlier post i used this same filter on an image of my whole collection and really loved the flower shape of my smallest jelly mould. here i have copied it it randomly onto the top layer.

these are a few quick sketches in my visual diary from looking at the moulds. i am really interested in the relationship of bold shapes when layered with illustrative motifs. i chose the large flowery motif to layer with the image.

finally, this is where i stopped. as a little composition i was really happy with how the shapes were working together and the texture was a nice addition from the very bold, flat imagery that i was printing last year. and of course, the colours...these combinations are from my vintage telephone colourway from earlier post.

AND....these are some samples of this design printed onto cloth.

jelly mould shapes

2009-04-27T12:27:00.003+10:00

painting with acrylic on ply-wood today, i was experimenting with shapes that i have always been attracted to, which also can be extracted from my jelly moulds. i was painting these compositions looking directly at the moulds. i have also been trying to keep a restricted colour palette, keeping in mind future screen-print possibilities.

more collection pattern

2009-04-24T19:46:00.004+10:00

these are my vintage copper-coloured, jelly moulds that i accumulated from the local opp-shops. i have always liked these as a little series and, of course, for their patterns.
today i was playing around on photoshop again and just by simplifying the shapes with a filter, i am really excited about the new ideas this has generated.

my collection

simplified in olive green (from my canister colourway)

two more colours

below is a collage that i was playing around with, combining shapes from my ceramic collection and jelly moulds.

i loved the colours in this one so much that it became my new header!!!

texture texture texture

2009-04-22T22:19:00.003+10:00

found about 10 rolls of this vinyl wallpaper at the opp-shop last week thinking it might be interesting to draw and collage with. it has a really rough, textured surface which i also thought could be fun to screen-print onto. unsure of if i'd really use that much of it, i only bought 2 rolls. now that i have finally unwrapped it and done a few quick samples using pen, paint and both soft and oil pastels, i am quite excited about it. am definitely going back to buy the rest tomorrow!!

drawing from collection

2009-04-22T13:05:00.003+10:00

today i have been playing around on photoshop with some shapes and colour taken directly from photos of my suitcase and ceramic collections. Also a bit of drawing and collage to playfully get me back into generating ideas for pattern.

more pattern inspiration

2009-04-21T10:23:00.002+10:00

pretty colours and patterns of lichen on a wall in japan last year.

circular shapes on rocks at the beach in tasmania late last year.

colour

2009-04-20T00:35:00.003+10:00

i have been thinking about using my collections as direct inspiration for developing a colour palette. i really love the huge variety of colour you can isolate from an image.

new inspiration

2009-04-20T00:09:00.002+10:00

have been a little quiet lately on the blog front. perhaps all the easter excitement and, of course, uni holiday's!!
well - have been thinking about my concept a lot lately and came to the conclusion that my "everyday" is a tad broad and needed to narrow this down a bit. i have also realised that i have been getting way too ahead of myself and, therefore...very lost.
so, back to the drawing board!! i am a bit of a collector and my lecturers at uni are always telling me to look at my collections as inspiration. although i have to an extent, i have realised that i have been missing something that has been right in front of me the whole time. after taking a few detail shots of two of my collections, my next step is to draw and play around with these shapes and colours to try and develop something fresh and exciting.

sample run and new labels

2009-04-07T19:05:00.004+10:00

today i printed a very small run to make a bag sample. when i got home, my new labels had arrived in the mail - just in time to put on! it was a complete coincidence that the label colour was the same as the print. very pleased!

turning 30

2009-04-06T15:12:00.002+10:00

twas my birthday last week - the BIG 3-oh!! the only way to really celebrate is with vodka jelly shots...yum. so much fun to make as well!

i got very, very spoilt for my birthday. was especially excited about these brooches from my lovely bf. i am finally a proud owner of my very own betty jo design after wanting one for about 2 years now. and, of course, lost in the woods. am still a bit shattered about losing my fav pink and white bird brooch at a smelly night club one big night out. i wore it everywhere! to have a new one...wow! the gorgeous little tree is by oak. so very spoilt!!

lucienne love

2009-04-01T12:05:00.004+11:00

lucienne day deserves a whole little ode of her own! i am in constant awe of her colours and compositions. she was definitely a pioneer of her time!

inspiration

2009-04-01T11:54:00.005+11:00

today it was quite cold and miserable at uni and the library became my friend! i am a huge fan of twentieth century design - especially british and scandinavian textile designers of the 50's.

here is a little ode to one of my favourite books, twentieth century pattern design by lesley jackson. it is just beautiful!

warm bloggy feeling

2009-04-01T11:00:00.004+11:00

this mornings lovely comment by joyce from pattern and perspective felt like my initiation into the blog world and the warm fuzzy feeling that comes from connecting with other creative types. thank you joyce!

pebble fever

2009-03-31T12:34:00.003+11:00

tis all about pebbles at the moment....

pattern

2009-03-27T11:06:00.004+11:00

some more digital / drawing today

pattern collage

2009-03-26T11:05:00.004+11:00

having a little play around on photoshop today, collaging patterns together. i really love the different effects that can be created.