Scenes from a bookish weekend

1. Shane Jones and I with our dear friend, Annie Drum, at the signing of her stunning debut novel, Don’t Forget to Remember Me on Saturday morning at Collins Booksellers in Lydiard Street, Ballarat. 

2. Snapped on Sunday afternoon: Louise Jennison and Gracia Haby at their wonderful stall at Melbourne Art Book Fair in the Great Hall of NGV International, Melbourne.

3. A bird’s eye view of Melbourne Art Book Fair 2026 from the balcony of the Great Hall.

4. A delectable Lamington - or what’s left of it - at Ballarat Railway Station cafe (devoured prior to Saturday’s  book signing and included in this post especially for my London-based, Lamington-deprived Aussie friend, Bev Murray). 

Congratulations, Annie, Gracia and Louise. We feel blessed to have such lovely and talented friends and are thrilled with our book and zines haul.

Return to the Royal Melbourne Show

  

Shane Jones and I had an absolute ball with our friends Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison back on Thursday, 22 September, the first day of our first Royal Melbourne Show in three years. 

It seemed half of Melbourne had the same idea; apparently this was the first time in history that it completely sold out. 

Several years ago, Gracia and Louise took over from Shane and I as judges of the Painting and Printmaking Prizes, and we were there as their guests. 

The new Makers’ Pavilion was a joy. The following views show a mere fraction of its many and varied delights.

It was terrific meeting artist-in-residence Jackie Jackson of Jax Studio Melbourne, whose stand was a highlight, especially for lovers of printmaking.

The animals are always high on our list of favourites.

This was the first time I’ve seen a display of eggs, and these were spectacular.

In May 2021, we lost our dear friend, Jill Kellett, and the world hasn’t been quite the same since. Jill was a huge fan of the Royal Melbourne Show, and sometimes visited as many as four times each year. At her memorial lunch, Louise, Gracia, Shane and I made a pact to toast her memory at the next Show. Who knew we would have to wait so long to do so?

Jill is pictured below, snapped at the vintage show bags exhibit in the 2018 Royal Melbourne Show. The 2019 Show was the last one before the pandemic and the last we would spend together.

(As a rule, Jill disliked being photographed, but the oversized replica of a vintage show bag offered enough cover for her to be comfortable with this shot). 

We were unable to dine at the posh Showgrounds restaurant this year, but chips and potato cakes in the dining hall were just as much fun, if not more so. I’m sure Jill would have loved it too.

Pictured below: arrival of the splendid G&L Chip and Potato Cake Brigade.

Afterwards, it was back to the fairgrounds, including more animals, and a return to the Makers’ Pavilion.

Heartiest congratulations to Alistair Fowler for taking out First Prize and Best in Show (Ceramics) - for his beautiful work, Moss the Pony. We were thrilled for him. Alistair is the younger brother of Jill Kellett. She would have been completely over the moon. 

For Shane and I, it was a particularly delightful surprise seeing our sister-in-law Rosemarie Jones, Group President of the Central Highlands Country Women’s Association of Victoria in the renowned CWA cafe.

Directly below, Shane offers you a virtual scone. I can assure you they were even more delicious than they look. 

Thanks for the new memories, Gracia and Louise. It’s been a long time in between Shows, but it was certainly worth the wait. 

The 2022 Royal Melbourne Show began on Thursday, 22 September and ended on Sunday, 2 October. 

Will we be there next year, I hear you cry? Need you ask?

Melbourne Art Book Fair 2018

Captured in the above snapshot by Jill Kellett is a memorable moment from yesterday's visit to Melbourne Art Book Fair 2018 at NGV International. Pictured L - R are Shane Jones and I with our friends Louise Jennison and Gracia Haby.

Shortly afterwards I took part in Regional Arts Words (RAW), a panel discussion hosted by Regional Arts Australia.

L-R: Mary Jane Warfield, Angela Rivas, Lindy Schneider and myself snapped during yesterday's RAW panel
discussion during Melbourne Art Book Fair 2018 at NGV International. (Photo credit: Louise Jennison).

Two of my books, Fallen Women and There was once... The collected fairy tales are available from the Regional Arts Victoria stand at the book fair, which runs until 5 pm tomorrow.

For more about RAW, go HERE. For more pictures of the event, visit Moth Woman Press HERE.

FOTP2018

L-R: myself, Gracia Haby, Theo Strasser and Louise Jennison at FOTP2018, Melbourne
  Town Hall. Photograph by Shane Jones, courtesy of Gracia and Louise.

Yesterday afternoon's Sticky Institute Festival of the Photocopier 2018 was bigger, brighter and better than ever, but, like many eagerly anticipated events, it was all over far too quickly. This year Sticky Institute received an unprecedented number of applications from zinesters (around 250 in the end, I believe) so all but zine distros were required to share a table. When your zine neighbours are Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison, with Theo Strasser on the adjoining table, this can only be a good thing.  We had a fabulous day. For me it was the best zine fair ever, which is saying something. I for one can't wait to do it all again next year.

Meanwhile, for an overview of FOTP2018, go to Moth Woman Press HERE.

Royal Melbourne Show 2017

Herewith is Catchup Post No. 2. It begins with several photos documenting my second consecutive stint as Printmaking Judge in the Arts, Crafts and Cookery section of the Royal Melbourne Show (23 September - 3 October). This year first-time Painting Judge, Shane Jones, and I joined forces to judge both sections.

Judging took place on Saturday, October 9. We were very ably assisted by Catherine and Helen, two delightful women from the Country Women's Association. There was a lot of work to get through, but we had an absolute ball. 

Shane Jones casts his eyes over the printmaking entries

- and some of the painting entries

L -R: Shane Jones, Catherine (standing) and Helen 

Printmaker Sharron Okines was a multiple prize winner (a First and a Third) with two linocuts from her Kitchenalia series. Her exquisite work, Kitchenalia 1020 (Nan's Crystal Bowl) not only gained a blue ribbon, but was also awarded Best In Show against several strong contenders. Congratulations, Sharron!

Admiring Sharron Okine's prize winning works, Kitchenalia 1020 (Nan's Crystal Bowl),
top left and Kitchenalia 1012, bottom left. Photo credit: Shane Jones.

RASV judges and other volunteers, including CWA members, are certainly well looked after. Lunch was a fabulous spread.

L-R: Shane Jones, Helen and Catherine

Judging continued until well into the afternoon. Immediately afterwards, I lost no time in checking out the rest of the Arts, Crafts and Cookery entries, including hats:

Some wondrous cakes:

And impeccably crafted woodwork.

We returned to the Melbourne Show Grounds as visitors on October 2, when we joined our friends Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison for what has become an annual occasion. An added bonus was coinciding with our mutual friend, Jill Kellett, who took the following photo.  It was also great to catch up with our lovely boss, Ramona Barry, head of Arts, Crafts and Cookery. 

Pictured L-R: Gracia Haby, Ramona Barry, Shane Jones, myself, Louise Jennison and two ceramic pigs.
Photo credit: Jill Kellett

As always, our favourite part of the Royal Melbourne Show was the animals. Directly below, the reigning champion of the Rescue Dog High Jump, having just scaled what seemed like an impossibly high wall with relative ease, takes a well earned bow.

Equally riveting was the short hair cat judging. We are fortunate to be acquainted with Jill Kellett's sister, Dr. Kerry Fowler (pictured below) who is one of Australia's most respected cat judges.

This was the first public appearance of the dear little fellow pictured immediately below. It was hard to believe - Tiger was laid back, affectionate and clearly adored people, all of whom returned the compliment. In the immediate background, right, are Jill Kellett and Louise Jennison.

Another highlight was visiting the goats.

L-R: Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison

Photo credit: Shane Jones

Next year Gracia and Louise will be joining the RASV team as paper and book binding judges. Meanwhile, the four of us are eagerly anticipating our visit to the Ballarat Show in November!