A birthday break in Queenscliff

Deborah Klein, A Man, a Woman and a Duck, 1996, linocut, 30.5 x 46.5 cm. Photo credit: Tim Gresham 

A week ago it was my birthday and my partner, Shane Jones, treated me to a short break at seaside Queenscliff for some much-needed R&R. We both grew up by the sea, Shane in Mordialloc and me in St. Kilda. Although we now live further inland (our time is currently divided between Abbotsford in inner-city Melbourne and Ballarat in regional Victoria), seaside towns have never lost their magic for either of us.

A Man, a Woman and a Duck, the linocut pictured above, is loosely based on the two of us and the place we once lived. It was made back in 1996 when we shared a Victorian house in Blessington Street, St. Kilda, just minutes from St. Kilda Beach (the street runs directly to the seafront).

The print is currently available at Queenscliff Gallery and Workshop, which, like me, recently had a birthday. It has just turned one year old. Heartiest congratulations to the gallery and its founders, Theo and Soula Mantalvanos. Their sea change was the direct opposite to our journey; they moved from inner city Melbourne (in fact, their former home was not all that far from our place in Abbotsford) to this most picturesque of coastal towns. You can find Queenscliff Gallery and Workshop HERE, although an in-person visit is far more highly recommended.

Shane and I stayed at the Vue Grand Hotel, the largest hotel in Queenscliff and one of the finest examples of high Victorian architecture one could ever expect to see (although it does have several close rivals in the town). The hotel was built in 1881-82 and partly rebuilt after a fire in 1927.

My favourite part of the hotel is its secluded courtyard. We celebrated our arrival on Sunday afternoon with a glass of pink bubbly before heading off to the opening of the exhibition, Place, at Queenscliff Gallery and Workshop.

Based on Theo's recommendation, we dined at Athelstane House, conveniently located diagonally across from our hotel. The food was sensational.

While we were dining there was a short-lived shower. We stepped outside to discover golden rain-washed pavements and the Vue Grand bathed in moonlight:

It wasn't all that late, but the opulent hotel lobby was deserted. It was fun to explore it when no one else was around:

The hotel dining room, snapped the following morning after breakfast:

Afterwards, we walked along the cliffs by the lighthouse:

Then we ventured down to the beach, where Shane wrote a message in the sand (Debois is his nickname for me):

Thanks to Shane, it was one of the happiest ever.

Surprise package

Proof that good things come in small packages, these two copies of KROM's brilliant Grammy-nominated CD, MEKONG DELTA BLUES, have just landed in my mail box. My drawing Virginia Woolf and the Lighthouse (1992) was used by designer Anya Minko as the basis for the artwork. Thank you so much, KROM, with with extra special thanks to Anya Minko and Christopher Minko.

IMPRESSIONS 2016

Recently I’ve been working on a linocut for IMPRESSIONS 2016, the biennial fundraiser for the Australian Print Workshop. My print, The Odd-numbered Plait, is a numbered edition of ten. Directly below are a series of progress views of the work, all of them taken in the Ballarat studio. 

I used carbon paper to transfer the image to the block

This was the result

The image was fleshed out with india ink and a touch of acrylic paint, then cutting began

A much later stage of the cutting process

The finished block

During printing some of the background area started to fill in, thus the masking
tape 'bandaids' 

The final print rests on the press bed.
The Odd-numbered Braid, 2016, linocut, 20 x 15 cm, edition:10

IMPRESSIONS 2016 opens on Friday, 25 November at 6 pm. The exhibition will run until 25 February, 2017. 

NOTE: The APW Gallery will be closed during the Christmas break. Check their website for details.

As the following list attests, the lineup of artists is huge, and includes a considerable number of Living Legends:

Mari ADAMS, Greg ALEXANDER, Penny ALGAR, Rick AMOR, Brook ANDREW, Raymond ARNOLD, Rosalind ATKINS, Susan BARAN, Elizabeth BARNETT, Alexis BECKETT, Louise BLYTON, Emily BOYLE, Matthew BROUGHTON, Peter BROWN, Rob BROWN, Kate BUTLER, Violeta CAPOVSKA, Lauren CARTER, Raymond CARTER, CIVIL, Peter D COLE, Dianne COLK, Marisa CORRAL, Vicki COUZENS, Beth CROCE, Suzanne DANAHER, Aleks DANKO, Philip DAVEY, Yvonne DAY, eX de MEDICI, David de ROACH, Clive DICKSON, Louise DONOVAN, Graeme DRENDEL, Lesley DUXBURY, Peter ELLIS, Farimah ESHRAGHI, Paula EWINGTON, Kasia FABIJANSKA, Tama tk FAVELL, Michael FITZGERALD, Angela FOLEY, Julie FORRESTER, Graham FRANSELLA, Alex GAME, Zoe GEYER, Janet GOLDMAN, Kate GORRINGE-SMITH, Kaye GREEN, Andrew GUNNELL, Fiona HALL, Richard HARDING, Vicki HARMAN, Greg HARRISON, Anton HASELL, Katherine HATTAM, Jarmila HAVA, Carolyn HAWKINS, Euan HENG, Jackie HOCKING, Judy HOLDING, Alex HOTCHIN, Kate HUDSON, Clare HUMPHRIES, Suzanne HUTTON, Anita IACOVELLA, Kyoko IMAZU, Chris INGHAM, Callum JACKSON, Georgia JANETZKI, Shane JONES, Gina KALABISHIS, Andrew KEALL, William KELLY, Alexi KEYWAN, Hyun-Ju KIM, Martin KING, Jenny KITCHENER, Barbie KJAR, Deborah KLEIN, Hertha KLUGE-POTT, Helen KOCIS-EDWARDS, Damon KOWARSKY, Tim LANE, Jo LANKESTER, Georgia LAUGHTON, Christine LAWRY, Alun LEACH-JONES, Libby LETCHER, Bruno LETI, Kevin LINCOLN, Eloise LINKLATER, Nina MAGEE, Ellie MALIN, Margaret MANCHEE, Harley MANIFOLD, Marion MANIFOLD, Jennifer MARSHALL, John MARSHALL, Marie MASON, George MATOULAS, Tommy MAY, Mitch MCAULEY, Janice MCBRIDE, David McCALL, Stephen MCCARTHY, John McCLUMPHA, Laith McGREGOR, Paula McLOUGHLIN, Robert MIHAJLOVSKI, Lewis MILLER, Louise MINAHAN, Allan MITELMAN, Simon MOORE, Hannah MURRAY, Janice MURRAY, Kate NEAL, Tom NICHOLSON, Liz NORRIS, Chris O'DOHERTY (aka Reg MOMBASSA), Peter O'DOHERTY, Emmet O'DWYER, Allison ORTON, Jan PALETHORPE, Margaret PARKER, Larry PARKINSON, Jon PATON, Brian PIEPER, Catherine PILGRIM, Michael PITSON, Jutta PRYOR, Fleur RENDELL, Michael RIGG, Jennifer ROGERS, Robert ROONEY, Georgina ROSS, Kate RYAN, Gareth SANSOM, Gwen SCOTT, Jan SENBERGS, Simon SHERRIN, Julia SILVESTER, Andrew SINCLAIR, Jennifer SMYTH, Anne SPUDVILAS, Lisa STEBBING, Mervyn STREET, Deb TATE, Andrew TAYLOR, Deb TAYLOR, Georgia THORPE, Gera TONGE, Wayne VINEY, Anne VIRGO, Susan WALD, Deborah WALKER, Thornton WALKER, Lee WARD, Louise WEAVER, Peter WEGNER, Gali WEISS, Sophie WESTERMAN, Simon WHITE, John WOLSELEY, Pedro WONAEAMIRRI, Tinping WONG, Amanda WOODMANSEY and Kate ZIZYS

Australian Print Workshop

210 Gertrude Street
FITZROY, Vic, 3065
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm

Goldfields Printmakers End of Year Brunch

On Saturday morning, November 19, the Goldfields Printmakers held their final meeting for 2016 at Kitteltys, the Art Gallery of Ballarat's elegant cafe.

There was much to celebrate. It's been another busy year for most of us, both individually and collectively, and 2017 is shaping up to be busier still. Much of this is due to to the vision and indefatigable energy of our founder and co-ordinator, James Pasakos. With Christmas looming ever closer, it's a notoriously difficult time of year to get everyone together - nevertheless, it was a terrific turn-out.

Among those pictured here are (clockwise): Penny Peckham, Jackie Gorring,
Melissa Proposch, Josephine Walsh, David Pudney and Loris Button

Pictured above (clockwise): James Pasakos, Penny Peckham, Jackie Gorring, Dianna Orinda-Burns,
Anne Langdon, our treasurer, Melissa Proposch, David Putney, Loris Button and Kir Larwill 

The food was marvellous. That's me in the bottom lefthand corner tucking into a scone. (Photo credit: James Pasakos).

Afterwards some of us adjourned to the Federation University printmaking studio in Lydiard Street to collect our works from the Goldfields Printmakers show, Elemental, which premiered at Latrobe University Visual Arts Centre, Bendigo, back in February, then travelled to Adelaide College of the Arts in May. This was my first visit to the studio; it's a beautiful space: airy, light-filled and extremely well-equiped.

Centre: Melissa Proposch and Anne Langdon

Relief prints on the drying rack, alongside a huge woodblock

Ballarat Show 2016

Last weekend marked the 150th anniversary of the Ballarat Show. Shane Jones and I have been attending for the last 4 years and every time we pronounce it the best ever. This year was no exception. On Saturday, November 12, our friends Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison came for the day. It was their first visit to the show, and I'm fairly sure it won't be their last. For all of us, the animals provided some of the many highlights.

There were donkeys:

baby alpacas:

and this fine frog, surely a prince in disguise.

We met an exotic grasshopper:

and an extremely laid-back snake, pictured below right with Louise Jennison

- and in the following photo with Shane.

There were some champion pigeons.

We even got to hold one of them. That's me on the right

- and in the next two photos, Gracia Haby.

We also encountered some ferrets.

The next generation of Moth Women and Homo-insecta even put in an unexpected appearance.

The students were from Year 5

I couldn't find a label indicating which school has been studying my work, but loved their artworks and took it as a tremendous compliment.

As if that weren't enough excitement, there was pig racing

and a diminutive circus pony.

The day ended on a spectacular note when Louise was plucked from the audience to take part in this hair-raising lariat act.

She and her fellow "volunteer" hid their nerves like real troupers. Thankfully they both came away with their noses intact.

They took well deserved bows, as Gracia, Shane and I breathed a collective sigh of admiration, tinged with relief

- and swifter than the crack of a whip, our visit to the Ballarat Show was over for another year.