Full Moon in Abbotsford

‘He who has two women loses his soul. He who has two houses loses his mind.’

(Introductory proverb to Full Moon in Paris, Dir. Éric Rohmer, 1984)

Shane Jones and I still have a way to go before our respective houses are sold and we move full-time to Ballarat. I haven’t lost my mind yet, but have certainly misplaced it on several occasions. 

Meanwhile, Shane’s two-storey warehouse apartment in Abbotsford, our home for 21 years, has never looked neater or more clutter-free (for us) and is just about ready to go on the market. The last two views show part of his ground floor studio.

End of an era

It’s amazing what you find when you’re having a major clear out, for example, this snippet from THE AGE newspaper, dated Wednesday, April 24, 2002. The article focuses on the challenges faced by artists who are based in inner-city areas, in our case, Abbotsford. There is a long history of artists discovering affordable areas in which to live and work, then being forced out when they become fashionable and prohibitively expensive. The article contains some inaccuracies - for example, our soon-to-be-former studio/dwelling most certainly wasn’t purchased with the aid of a government grant. Aside from that, it’s spot on.

West Side Story

Lately Shane and I have been so flat out and distracted (see previous post), it would have been easy to miss the powerful Opera Australia production of West Side Story at the Arts Centre Melbourne, which we saw last night. Fortunately, we’d purchased our tickets well before we dreamed we’d be in the throes of house moving. The story (based loosely on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet) and the sublime Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim score have lost none of their edge or relevance, moving us from laughter to tears, from shock to despair to hope in the blinking of an eye. The dances are breathtaking, the entire cast impeccable. In fact, everything about this production is perfection. 

This morning we've both returned to scrubbing and packing with a renewed spring in our step. 

My world... and welcome to it

Not Drowning, 1996, oil pastel, 160 x 120 cm. Collection Grafton Regional Gallery, NSW.
Acquisition of the 1996 Jacaranda Drawing Award. 

At present, I'm trying to keep my head above water as Shane and I tackle a slew of odd jobs and renovation projects before selling our respective properties and moving into our new home.

New carpet is being laid in my old Ballarat house this week. Our furniture and other possessions are strewn everywhere, including the kitchen, sunroom and my studio.

The contents of the boxes below, labeled 'Library Books', are from our personal library. Rest assured, they are not overdue library books!

Ideally, we'd have preferred polished floors, but the condition of the floorboards is too poor.

Before the carpet can be laid, Shane and I have to paint and install new skirting boards.

Meanwhile, in the Ballarat sunroom, a steadfast Alice guards our possessions.

As stress levels mount, however, she wisely decides to follow in the footsteps of her namesake and escape through the looking glass.

While the carpet installation is under way, we're in Melbourne, madly finishing numerous odd jobs, cleaning, clearing, rearranging and decluttering the contents of Shane's Abbotsford house before it's placed on the market on May 1. The agent is sending over a photographer on Tuesday, so the pressure is really on.

In the meantime, work deadlines, including a forthcoming solo show, are piling up. Despite my best efforts, it feels like I'm sinking fast. I may just throw in the towel and follow Alice into Looking Glass Land, where, with any luck, a clean, organised, workable studio awaits me.

More progress views

Pictured above and below: an as yet untitled work in various stages of progress.

The Other

Another painting that's nearing the finishing line, although it seems to me that the works in this series will never be quite finished. There's always a hair out of place somewhere.

Top: The Other, acrylic on linen, 40.5 x 30.5 cm. (Progress view).

VOYAGER

The Untold Want

The untold want by life and land ne'er granted,

Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find.

Walt Whitman (1819 - 1892)

Pictured top: Voyager, acrylic on linen, 40.5 x 30.5 cm, considerably reworked and near completion.

For earlier progress views of Voyager, go HERE. 

Brilliant Brolly part 3

A quick follow-up to yesterday’s Brilliant Brolly twilight fundraiser at Duldig Studio museum + sculpture garden. A dynamic auctioneer ensured excellent results from the donated works in the public auction, opening with my brolly, Sunshade (pictured background centre).

There were some delightful entries in the open competition, all of which were silent auctioned. The Brilliant Brolly campaign certainly brought out the latent creativity in many of the entrants. Several of my favourite brollies were made by people who insisted they weren’t artists and couldn’t draw. 

It was an evening to remember and such a fun and creative way to raise funds for this truly unique museum.

Brilliant Brolly part 2

Here’s hoping the sun will come out from the clouds for today’s Brilliant Brolly extravaganza at Duldig Studio museum + sculpture garden.

The museum’s months-long Brilliant Brolly Campaign will culminate at twilight, from 5 - 7 pm. This is your chance to own a truly unique artwork and support this remarkable house museum’s campaign to raise funds to care for its nationally significant art collection and extend its outreach programs.

For those not familiar with the Duldig Studio, it’s the former home and studio of Viennese-Australian artists Slawa Horowitz-Duldig (1901 - 1975) and her husband, sculptor Karl Duldig (1902 - 1986).

Brilliant Brolly is a homage to Slawa, who was also the inventor of the folding umbrella. The prototypes, plans and documentation pertaining to the umbrella, Flirt, which she patented in 1929, are on view in the museum.

Numerous artists have hand-decorated specially donated umbrellas for Brilliant Brolly, and the results are spectacular.

I’m one of several artists who were invited to create an artwork for auction. My contribution, Sunshade, is featured here.

AUCTION ITEMS
• "Light as a Feather" Headpiece by Milliner, Lynette Lim of Love Lotus Millinery
• Printed Silk wearable textile by Susan Dimasi of Materialbyproduct
• Umbrella designed and decorated by Deborah Klein
• Umbrella designed and decorated by artist Judi Singleton

To place a bid, go here: https://www.32auctions.com/ArtistCreations

For further information, go here: https://www.duldig.org.au/brilliant-brolly/