Contemporary Arts Society Annual Exhibition

 

I have submitted two of my cyanotypes from the three rivers exhibition and several unframed pieces with plant material embedded in mitsumata paper. Plus ten of these cards will be available for just $4 each.

Alcove Christmas Sale

 The Alcove Art Shop is holding it's annual Christmas Affair at the Box Hill Community Centre for the next couple of weeks. it opened on Monday, I haven't seen it yet but am on duty this Friday evening and again on Wednesday next week so hopefully there will still be some bargains left for my Christmas shopping. I finally got around to putting some books together using Gelatine prints, cyanotypes and some batik papers.

cyanotypes on hanji for the covers and random cyanotype on the outer pages of each section, paper inside is zercal

Gelatine print on handmade paper for covers and on outer pages of each section, paper inside is zercal

Batik on handmade paper covers zercal pages with hanji surrounding every second section

I was invited to be part of 'Camberwell on Canvas' an exhibition that is held in shop windows around the Bourke road hill. I entered one other time when the theme was 'What you like about Camberwell'. This year the theme was tied in with the shop where the work is displayed. The organisers supply a blank canvas for each participant. My shop is a Malaysian restaurant called Masak Ku (my food), I visited one night to try the food and come up with an idea for the work. Just inside the restaurant is a fish tank with some beautiful tropical fish, I took some photos with my phone and made negatives and positives of a couple of them. I wanted to connect the fish with the restaurant and felt that the Malaysian kite Wau represented Malaysia. I made the kite shape from some non slip plastic sheet with little blobs all over then drew on it with permanent marker and tied some thread to the ends and left space for the negatives. I used hanji coated with traditional cyanotype chemicals for the image then glued it to the canvas. I called it Wau ku, my kite. It is currently in the window of Masak Ku, 732 Burke Rd, Camberwell VIC 3124.

Wau ku Cyanotype on hanji

Workshops and Exhibition

I am teaching a cyanotype workshop for Papermakers of Victoria on the 29th March and thought it was about time I added to my blog, I see it has been over two months since my last post. At the workshop we will be making digital negatives and coating some handmade as well as watercolour paper and fabric and will be hoping for a sunny day. The pictured cyanotypes are some of my older works, two from 2007 and one from 2010 and the black and white is a negative that I will use as an example in the workshop. 

Leek flowers, negative

Cyanotype, Clouds over Bundoora 2007

Cyanotype on handmade kozo Nest 2010

Cyanotype and collage on handmade recycled paper Greetings from India 2007

I am also teaching for Fibre Arts Australia in July this year and I have recently made myself a new mould and deckle (making one will be part of the workshop) and used it to make a book for the up coming exhibition being held at Stonehouse Gallery in Warrandyte by a group from Papermakers of Victoria. Thereby killing two birds with one stone as it were!

The River 2015

The River 2015

The River 2015

The River 2015

The colophon for my book, the case/cover is a cut down posting tube.

The River

Gail Stiffe 2015

Extracts from ‘Siddhartha’ by Herman Hesse 1877 - 1962

Paper a mix of cotton, hanji and wood pulp along with NZ flax and mulberry bast.

Original digital images inkjet printed onto NZ flax paper with archival inks.

Edition 1/2

The invitation for the exhibition at Stonehouse Gallery.

Too busy to blog???

I notice it is almost two months since I last blogged. I have been thinking lately that I have been spending too much time working for and promoting other peoples practices and not enough on my own. I have been spending a lot of time helping with the organisation of the next IAPMA Congress that is happening in Fabriano Italy from 1-6 July. And yes, I will be attending and having some holiday time in Paris, Amsterdam and Rome before the congress.

Connections cyanotype on handmade cotton paper

Nexus - detail cyanotype on hanji

These two pieces will be exhibited as part of the member show in Fabriano, they are on their way to Italy now, I have my fingers and toes crossed that they'll arrive safely. Back in 2000 the work I sent for the members show failed to arrive. Three of the boxes arrived back in Melbourne in January 2001 and one was delivered to the Tuscany address a couple of months later.

This dress is currently in Jeonju Korea but due to the ferry disaster there won't be shown until some later date. All public events have been cancelled or postponed.

I have made a few journals lately including a new series of Melbourne icons. It all started when I made my daughter who is currently living in Netherlands a cardboard Christmas Tree and Vegemite jar ornament. Since I had the photo of the Vegemite jar I put it on the cover of a couple of books but they were deemed to breach copyright so I started again with some Vegemite on toast, lamingtons and twisties. They in turn led to using photographs of some Melbourne landmarks, The Skipping girl and Luna Park.

Skipping girl

Skipping girl inside

Skipping girl

Luna Park

Lamingtons

Vegemite

These books are currently available at Open Drawer and The Alcove Art Shop, not on Etsy yet.

new work

Some new books

 

And cards featuring cyanotypes

And an artwork for 'Camberwell on Canvas', runs from 14 November to 1 December 2013. The piece is called Cinema, coffee, clothes, culture, Camberwell and consists of a series of lino prints on discs of paper made from cotton and plant fibre. The background paper is made from yukka and daphne bast fibre.

weekend activities

I had a pretty good weekend, very social but with a bit of creativity and a bit of oohing and ahhing. First up Saturday was the first Papermakers of Victoria meeting for the year and Dineke is putting together an occasional publication by pulling out all the instructions that have been in the Deckle Edge over the years and we were trialling some of the decorative techniques on different papers.

Cold wax and dye on sewn plant fibre paper

Rust on kozo, handmade recycled and commercial papers

fold and dip in paper dyes on plant fibre and recycled papers

wax rubbing and dye

These four were recycled paper with hercon sizing that had previously had cyanotype then sewing following the lines of the cyanotype, top left rust and tea, right cold wax and dye, bottom left untouched, bottom right folded and dipped (because of the hercon the dye didn't really get taken up).

Sunday was the first 'T'arts' gathering for the year and several of the group had been to India last year and brought along with them some books they'd purchased plus photos of the trip. Ruth also brought along the outfit worn by her Indian daughter-in-law at the Hindu wedding ceremony. The skirt alone weighs 15 kg it is so heavily beaded.

The top

the skirt

the shawl

the hem of the skirt.

Just beautiful!

I also came home with four bags of fabric, mostly furnishings to donate to the group tight knit world who make things for underprivileged children and adults.