 |
| 'Healing,' mixed-media 2022 |
 |
| 'Bird Lady,' 2022, mixed-media |
Not sure how happy I am about this finished piece. Its something I have wanted to make for a while and typical of those sort of pieces it never works out the way you picture it in your head.
I have been collecting my conures tail feathers for ages and still I didn't have quit enough to cover the cone, opting to finish it with some of the budgie and bourke feathers as well.
I wanted the feathers to stick downwards rather than outwards , like hair. Of course the feathers have also faded with time, loosing their luster. When I fired the cone the original face blew off so I had to use a previously fired face to replace it. This sort of worked out for the better as I then used molted chicken feathers for the crown around the face, the break made the attachment of the feathers easier.
I think it is a piece I will go back and fiddle with, adjust it as Bertie my conure looses her tail feathers in time. See if I can make it look less mangy.
The piece is made up of pit-fired ceramic, sinew, and feathers.
 |
| 'White Homers,' 2022 |
It's tough but I'll keep going. Have to.
Appointments. It's exhausting
Art and the animals keep me going, keep me grounded.
 |
| Amazon, 2022, mixed media |
 |
| detail |
 |
| detail |
 |
| detail |
Amazon is a new sculpture that I have been working on and off for a while now. It seemed to change as life threw its little life changing hurdles at me and this piece reflects that.
It is made up of a large goose egg, from one of my own geese, which has been, pierced, stitched, and wrapped. A piece of a snail shell representing a breast pokes out of the wrapping of the figure.
She is balanced precariously on the narrow part of the egg, braced for a fall. Gently placed on a piece of plated sinew which sits atop a wooden base.
The face of the sculpture is ceramic. Specifically it has been pit-fired and polished with bees wax. She is almost balding but the illusion of hair is created by again wrapping her face with plated sinew. Wrapped in a false comfort.
The Amazon women of history would cut off a breast to make them better archers, better warriors, to take lives.
Now as women in some cases we have to have our breast or breasts cut off to save our own lives, this is the new Amazon.
.jpeg) |
| 'Untitled,' 2022 |
I finally finished this drawing today. Well it's more of a collage. The monoprint at the base is done by the artist Dawn West. When Dawn sends gifts she uses her old prints to wrap them. I always keep what I can. This bit was hanging in my studio and I was compelled to use it. When I first worked on this it didn't work out (see below) with some advice from Dawn I cut out the feet and print and placed them on a new piece of paper. Keeping just a small bit of the small silver fish drawings. Adding pressed flowers and drawings of forget me nots.
If you are familiar with the artist Arno Kramer you may see some inspiration in this piece from his work. The feet actually were from a drawing I did of one of his pieces, in the gallery I occasionally work at, of feet. Arno also cuts out his drawings and re glues them onto other drawings.
He is an amazing artist and I would highly recomend looking him up especially if your practice is drawing based.
 |
| 'Where you left me,' 2019 |
 |
| Colour on the Farm series, 2022 |
May be ages before I get another photo. If I push it I probably wont get any. All for fun.
I have been using a jig to cut out these wooden pigeons from recyled wood that I have poached from around the property. Ive never used a jig before so am quit pleased with the results. It is unfortunetly quit difficult on the hands and arms so I have to take alot of breaks between each session. Im not sure when i will be cutting again as am in a bit of a flare up, the frustration is unreal.
The idea is to have as many as I can of these wooden pigeons. painted using the ink and gouache wash off technique. I then used a wood cutting tool to create texture and emphasis the lines. They will be hung slighly off the wall in a large flock. I was going to have free standing arms raising up from the ground towards the birds but now i am not so sure. These would also be made of wood. I as also thinking of making a set of lungs, in ode to all those fanciers who have had to give up the hobby due to getting pigeon lung, but in hindsight this seems to literal and a bit of a bore.
You can see (just about) my original sketchbook idea below.
What I do think would be interesting would be using one of the pigeon cutouts as a wood block and printing another flock going in the opposite direction in just plain black. Shadows. If you have ever observed pigeons flying they tend to fly in a loop.
The hardest part as always will be finding somewhere to display it, if I ever finish it...Like so much of my work and othe small installations I have made they are packed away as soon as they are made.
A small poem I did quickly one day. Not quit finished. 'Ode to the Pigeon Keeper.'
The pigeon keeper,
The pigeon men and women,
The boys and girls,
The sound of the silvery flutter of wings on air.
The mad rush of beating flapping wings on breath,
The smooth touch of the pigeons breast.
The gentle flutter of the heart, beating madly and the softly
with knowing and trust.
Inspecting each tail feather and wing with care.
Ode to the pigeon keeper!
What love you give,
What hearbreak,
To each bird you call your own,
knowing they could never really be owned.
That they could leave if they chose once set free,
Each night counting them in,
Glad they are safe and are home.
I suffer terribly from fatigue, as part of the fibromyalgia package. No amount of sleep, healthy eating, vitamins, magic potions or yoga can fix it. The frustration is insurmountable. It restricts me daily and is a constant fight against my own body. Ive had to leave my part-time job due to the fatigue. It is not fun falling asleep while other people are in the room or trying to talk to you. And driving, that is an anxiety filled ride that is best to be avoided when things are really bad. it effects my speech, cognitive abilities and has turned me into a simple mess.
I don't know which is worse the chronic pain or the fatigue. Probably the latter as it makes everything worse.
I took the above image yesterday with my phone and then added the text, in some way trying to purge the tiredness and share my frustration via my Instagram.
It seems the Instagram algorithm has me more hidden than ever, not that many would get it, but it is nice in some way to think that someone out there might understand.
As I walk the path to the place where I dump the waste from mucking out the pigeons, ducks and hens, in the woodland garden, I have noticed a daily increase in cast off broken snail shells. No doubt the remnants of a hard earned meal of either a thrush or perhaps a blackbird. Small stable stones on the path used to bash the shells so breakfast can be gained.
Yesterday I found a wing along the path. Perhaps breakfast was cut short for some unlucky diner? No doubt one of my young cats, or maybe the local feral. Or even the blasted fox could have made quick work of the little bird.
Either way I felt a few photographs needed to be made.
New drawing based on a drawing from my sketchbook-pain diary
 |
| 'Nesting Pain,' 2022, mixed-media drawing (pencil, pressed flowers) |
 |
| drawing from the pain diary |
