a month or so ago i asked my friend tim hillier to follow me around for a week and make a little movie for me to use as an intro to my semi-permenant talks(s). this is what he made:
i’m really happy with it. thanks tim x 10000000. to see more of tim’s work check out his website or vimeo channel. thanks also to jason james for making the titles and max crumbs for letting me use his amazing track speaker milk (free download here!). gosh i love having talented friends.
1. vase obsession: i brought this one from mr.kitly and i’m filling with stolen-from-the-street pre-spring blossoms to max out it’s prettiness (at swim two birds pot holder from mr.kitly too).
2. re-discovering peter and the wolf: it was my absolute favourite when i was a kid (below is the record we had) and now my kids are loving it too. ari in particular, who listens to it low through headphones at night while he goes to sleep. we downloaded this version.
3. heading to brisbane: to speak at semi-permenant (melbourne one as well in 2 weeks). even after my recent flurry of talks the thought of public speaking still makes me ill, but i am looking forward to enjoying some queensland sunshine, checking out kirra’s show, and also hanging out with lovely leah all weekend long. as part of my presentation i’m including some words of advice, such as:
4. dreaming of spring outfits: i’m longing for that feeling of just wearing one layer and open toed shoes (fingers crossed i’ll get slice of that action in QLD). my current dream outfit includes: PAM dress, object and totem necklace and tsumori chisato espadrilles (available from pet shop girls)
5. guest editing lost and found newsletter: you can read my favourite melbourne tips here, and keep checking lost of found’s FB page to win a competition which will include an afternoon of shopping, lunch and my company in the very near future.
some other things currently happening on my computer: max crumb’s “maidenhair“, eat this food, and booking holidays.
any brisbane tips please send my way! in the meantime – BRING ON SPRING xx
i am giving a talk at this years ‘craft and design as a career‘ event put on by fantastic organisation craft victoria. it’s an all day event on the 16th of august, held at the NGV (i think?). lovely ebony from hello sandwich will also be talking, as well as many other good peeps. my talk will be focusing on collaborations. if you are interested, you can book tickets here. there is also a little studio visit and interview with me on the craft victoria blog today (above pics by beth nellie).
while we are on the subject, i will also be talking at this year’s semi-permenant conference: in brisbane (30th august) and melbourne (14th/15th sept). more details here.
happy friday!
… shit has been busy. yes, i know i proclaimed back here that year was going to be less busy, but at the moment it’s not working out like that. for good reason too. some things i’ve been up to:
* my trip to sydney for the opening of megan morton’s ‘the school‘. we were treated to a class on how to make flowerbombs with hollie hipwell. as you would expect from MM the school is nothing short of perfect, and the class was super dooper fun (and pretty). i got to meet lexi there too which was equally as fun. also in sydney, i also visited my friend Di’s beautiful place for breakfast (teal wall, cerise couch – how could i not take a sneaky photo?).
* it was easter and school holidays. i failed miserably at holidays this time. yes we did a few things: attending sebo’s annual easter egg hunt was one, but i was light-on with the organisation of playdates and other activities to amuse tyke. he would have happily spent his whole holidays on his ipod and playing minecraft, and even though this was a tempting solution for me too, i just could not watch that happen (much), so spent a lot of my time throwing non-screen suggestions his way while i madly wrote emails and scrambled through deadlines. not fun, for either of us.
* raph was on the circle! although this will come as no surprise to some – raph has been getting press left right and centre lately. between the melbourne magazine’s top 100, articles in the finincial review and pretty much any other type of printed matter he has been a downright media whore in the past 12 months. thank-god he works hard and his food is delicious and all the hype is well-deserved.
* new tee-shirt samples of prints i made for irony summer collection arrived. they look so nice. i love japanese printing so much.
* massive amounts of activity in the studio – cleaning, organising, cutting, painting, photographing.. all for the good reason i was talking of above. my big news (drumroll) - i’m working on a book! a big book. not just showing my work, more showing how i work, and other things too. it’s exciting/stressful/amazing/overwhelming all at once, and needless to say taking up a lot of my time, so please do excuse me if blog posts are few and far between the next few months. i’ll try and keep updated as much as possible (and if not, there’s always my instagrid. apparently instagram is the new blog anyway)
one more thing: i’m speaking at field trip on friday. as per usual, the thought of public speaking is making me want to vomit, and i’m kicking myself for agreeing to do it, but even if i suck the i the conference will be amazing. tickets available here.
there’s been quite a bit going on here, albeit at a more relaxed pace in line with my new working order. here’s some recently completed projects:
1. field trip: jacky winter don’t sleep. in between adding a whole new section to their ever expanding creative suite of peeps and starting a consultancy business, jeremy has also curated a pretty amazing conference – field trip. there will be more expansive post on this in the near future (as i am one of the speakers. gulp), but for now, it’s just about the artwork – which i was lovingly asked to do in a 3 day turn around. but, you know, i don’t mind a bit of pressure, so it all went well, and i’m pleased with results. plus who could resist a brief where i got to draw my favourite tools of the trade and put faces on them too? more details on the conference here.
2. poster for stonefield: i actually designed this end of last year. i think it’s being sold as a print, i’m not exactly sure by where or by whom (useful much?), but i really liked it so i wanted to put it out there. and if you don’t know, stonefield is an all-girl band made up of four (very young and talented) sisters from country victoria. if rock is your thing you should check them out. they are pretty kick-ass.
3. artpark journal: i was asked by all-around-ace mr.paul mcneil to submit something for artpark journal #3. no brief, just whatev’s. this is what i did. you can get a copy of artpark journal at various places around the traps, and also through their webstore. it’s FREE (although you do have to pay a tiny postage fee if you get it online).
4. “geometrical” gocco print: i made this for the homemakers market last weekend at the richmond weekender (which was so nice btw). it’s the most multi-coloured of gocco prints i have ever attempted, and i’m liking it’s vibe. it’s an edition of 20 (8 on craft paper, 12 on white paper), they are just over A6 size and priced at $17. i have a few left, if anyone out there is interested please email me.
in other news… this weekend i’m making my annual pilgrimage to golden plains. can’t wait. i’ll be working the till in the beatbox on sunday (mostly likely in a desperately hangover state), so please come and visit if your around (taco truck will be in attendance too!). happy weekend!
well, it’s been a rather eventful 2 and half weeks. equal parts strange and amazing. i feel like have barely had time to breathe, let alone sit down and write a blog post. but now i do, so strap yourself in for one extra wordy post (or go to your next bookmarked blog now – i promise i wont be offended).
first of all, last saturday, i gave a talk organised by tess maccabe at the creative womens circle (tess’s work is so great, btw). i met loads of nice ladies and felt like it went well, and came home feeling you know, pretty great really. but, a few hours later, we had a very bizarre incident where i found a homeless guy wondering around our house smoking a cigarette. when i asked him what he was doing here he said he was from another planet and had built this house and needed to stay here. “ok” i said, alarm bells going off in my head ”but you can’t smoke in my house”, and escorted him outside and tried to help him.
he was desperately confused and could barely put a sentence together (although he did know a lot about living on another planet), and after trying to help him for 10 mins and him continuously trying to get back into my house, i ended up having to call the police. although slightly scary, above all it was strange and sad, and all i can think is how could you possibly exsist being in a state like that, day in, day out? i’m sure he had meds somewhere, but how could he even remember when to take them, where they were? where is the help for these people?
another event, which has been a little overwhelming to say the least – my search for an assistant. since my last blog post i received over 90 enquiries for job descriptions and over 40 applications! WOWZERS! i honestly had no idea their were so many talented folk out there who would consider working for me?! applications have now well and truely closed – thanks to all who have applied. it has turned out to be a full-time job just sorting through all the folios, and if you have not heard from me, you will soon.
some other good things that have been happening:
i became an auntie! raph’s bro rudin and his lovely lady brooke gave birth to baby zedrin last week. in true rashid form, he is a total champ, and we are all besotted – especially tyke and ari, who are so excited they finally have a first real blood cousin. everytime we visit tyke can’t keep his hands off him – its very sweet indeed. i am planning on kissing and squishing and spoiling him to bits everytime i see him (as every good auntie should).
we found a ladybird nest in our backyard – there is not much better than finding a few dozen ladybirds crawling around your backyard on a sunny winters day. for me anyway. nature is the best.
i finished a great job for NAB: it’s a book given to kids when they open a bank account, about how to save money. the above is a small sample (more soon – we are updating our site). it was one of those unbelievable jobs where everytime i submitted work the feedback was ”perfect” (thanks JW for hooking it all up – you guys rule!). it’s also the closest i have got to achieving my most long-standing dream of illustrating a children’s book. hopefully there will be more of that in the future.
pop-up shop and open studio at harvest workroom: starts on wednesday (22nd), and will co-incide with my mobile workshop next weekend. the pop-up shop will have all things from my beci orpin line and also some prints and will be open every day 12-4 (except for the weekend when the workshop is). i will also be in residence at the harvest workroom for 10 days (or there-abouts), creating new work based around folk tales with paper and screen-printing. its the first time in ages i will be making every thing by hand – i’m not even bringing my design security blanket (the computer)! scarey! i will be having a little work-in-progress opening the following wednesday (29th), (but only if the work turns out good) more details next few days (or email me for info before then).
that’s about it for now. thanks for reading the wordiness. enjoy your weekend!