New Year’s Greetings from my Ballarat studio

Directly above is the painting on my studio workable at year’s end. Near completion and as yet untitled, the diptych is acrylic on canvas and measures 37.5 x 15 cm. The work will be part of my solo show, Rückenfigur, at Queenscliff Gallery, running from June 23 - July 17, 2022. 

Meanwhile, behind me as I worked was this: 

Pictured above: Alice, devoted studio cat and Muse.

As always, thanks for finding time to visit my Art Blog, especially during the extremely challenging year that was 2021. Wishing you all a safe and happy 2022.

Compliments of the Season

 

May your cup of Yuletide cheer runneth over and wishing you a happy, healthy and fulfilling 2022. Warmest thanks for dropping by and for all your support throughout the year.

Following are some views of our house set up in readiness for the Festive Season. We have two trees, dating from the time we had separate houses, but the smaller tree, pictured below in our entrance hall, remains our sentimental favourite. The big tree is upstairs in the cinema room and the two photos that directly follow it are the entrances to my studio and our small library which are also on the first floor.

We’re celebrating very quietly again this year, although a couple of family members are coming over for drinks this evening and a handful of friends will join us for afternoon tea on Christmas Eve. Shane, Alice (pictured above) and I plan to spend Christmas Day at home, but in the evening, COVID permitting, Shane and I will drive to Melbourne to reunite with a small group of dear friends, some of whom we haven’t seen for nearly two years.

Meanwhile, to see what I’ve been up to in the studio lately, visit my sister blog, Moth Woman Press, HERE.

However you plan to spend the holiday season, may your days be merry and bright, now and in the coming year. 

MORRIS DANCER

Pictured top: Lino block for Morris Dancer, 15 x 11.5 cm. 

This was the first work I undertook as part of the forthcoming artist book, Illustrated Women, but it wasn’t the first block from the series to be carved. You can see that one in my previous post. The subject is embellished with selected motifs from an embroidered three-fold screen designed by May Morris for Morris & Co, circa 1888. (See below).

SUNFLOWER - a linocut in progress

Pictured above is a progress view of Sunflower, one of several linocuts planned for Illustrated Women, a forthcoming artist book. The lino block measures 15 x 11.5 cm.

Two earlier developmental views are directly below.

For more about this fledgling project, which is now officially a goer, scroll down to SUNFLOWER, my blog post of Thursday November 11, or click HERE.

A landmark birthday

Thank you all so much for the warm birthday wishes I received yesterday. They meant the world - I’m truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends. It’s not every day a girl turns 70. Huge thanks to my love and life partner, Shane Jones, not just for making the day especially memorable, but for his strength and support, particularly over the past 12 months. I couldn’t have managed a quarter of what I’ve achieved without him. Needless to add, Alice was on hand to help us celebrate. Although Shane and I did get out and about (our very full day was sandwiched between breakfast at the Yacht Club on Lake Wendouree and dinner at historic Craig’s Hotel) these photos were snapped in our upstairs cinema room. The flowers are from Sue and Barbara, two very dear friends in London. For health reasons, I’m not supposed to be going overboard with cake, so we comprised with two cupcakes. They are rather dwarfed by the candles - after all, 70 is a big number. 

A true Renaissance man, Shane has been studying guitar and musical composition over the past year. As a surprise birthday gift, he composed a short, exquisite work for guitar, Deborah’s Pictures, and commissioned his music teacher, guitar virtuoso Daniel Nistico, to perform the work against a backdrop of my prints and paintings, thanks to the wonders of technology. Directly below is a fragment of the music, followed by a screenshot of the recital. The link to Daniel’s superb performance is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdCwXi3bdLI 

Thanks again, everyone.

Jazz age memories

I’m delighted to learn that two of my early, rarely seen relief prints, Jazz age memories and Sunny Sunday afternoon (not pictured), both 1985, are now part of the permanent collection at Geelong Gallery, thanks to the generosity of donors Conrad O'Donohue and Rosemarie Kiss.

Both works were made shortly after I graduated from art school and are a continuation and development of the still lifes and interiors on which I was primarily focused in my final year of undergraduate study. The subject matter was drawn from my immediate surroundings. When I began the series, I was living in an early 1940s apartment in Westbury Street, St Kilda East. 

As shown in the following photos, snapped in the living room of our house in Ballarat, the Art Deco clock and vase, together with the wind-up gramophone and record cabinet are still treasured possessions. All were purchased in London, where I was based for most of the 1970s - the clock, vase and gramophone cabinet at Portobello Road Market and the gramophone at an antiques fair in Alexandra Palace. I remember the gramophone came complete with a scratchy 78 rpm record on the turntable - Mel Torme’s classic recording of Rodgers and Hart’s Mountain Greenery, which I love to this day. I wouldn’t have paid more than a few pounds for any of these objects, but purely for the precious memories they hold, each and every one is priceless. 

The two ceramic sculptures seen in the preceding three photos are by Melbourne-based artist, David Pearson. Aside from a fragmentary view of Untitled 17, Shane Jones’s surrealist  glove painting directly above, top right, remaining artworks are by me. Click on images for a clearer view.

Pictured top: Deborah Klein, Jazz age memories, 1985, linocut on handmade paper; edition 4/25. Geelong Gallery, Gift of Conrad O’Donohue and Rosemarie Kiss, 2010. © Courtesy of the artist.