A PASSION FOR TAPESTRY: opening night

Red Comb #2 (2007) based on a detail from my painting 8 Women (2005) wool and cotton, 15 x 16 cm
Woven by Cheryl Thornton 

A PASSION FOR TAPESTRY, which opened last night at the Australian Tapestry Workshop, comprises 18 small tapestries from the private collection of Tuppy Cole, all of them acquired from the ATW. The exhibition includes Red Comb #1, woven by Rebecca Moulton (fourth image below). For a clearer view of Red Comb #1 sans reflections, go HERE.

Revisiting Red Comb #2, woven by Cheryl Thornton

An unexpected surprise was the accompanying exhibition of tapestries from the workshop’s collection, including Red Comb #2, woven by ATW master weaver Cheryl Thornton (pictured top). I was thrilled to see this little gem again. I admire Cheryl’s work enormously and it’s well represented in both shows.

L-R: Cheryl Thornton and I outside the Australian Tapestry Workshop in 2007

Pictured with Red Comb #1, woven by Rebecca Moulton

The red comb tapestries were commissioned by the ATW in 2007 and are based on individual panels from my multi-panelled painting 8 Women (2005). In the intervening years, life has come to imitate art. My own locks are now the same shade as the intricately woven hair in both tapestries.

As the following photos will hopefully attest, a visit to the Australian Tapestry Workshop is highly recommended.

Opening address by Antonia Syme, Director of the Australian Tapestry Workshop. On the right (holding the bouquet of
flowers) is tapestry collector Tuppy Cole

Centre, left: ATW Director Antonia Syme, centre. Far right: ATW weaver Chris Cochius with Shane Jones

Photo credit for Red Comb #2: Viki Petherbridge. The photos of me (taken on an angle to avoid reflections) are by Shane Jones.

The exhibitions continue to 1 February, 2019.

A PASSION FOR TAPESTRY 
Australian Tapestry Workshop
262 - 266 Park Street,
South Melbourne VIC 3205

Gallery hours: Tuesday - Friday, 10am - 5pm

PASSION FOR TAPESTRY

Red Comb #1, 2007, 39 x 39 cm, woven by Rebecca Moulton at the Australian Tapestry Workshop
Collection: Tuppy Cole. Photo credit: Vicki Petherbridge

In 2007 the Australian Tapestry Workshop in South Melbourne commissioned two tapestries based on my hair ornament paintings. (I had to double-check the date, because I simply cannot believe how many years have passed since then).

Red Comb #1, which was woven by ATW weaver Rebecca Moulton, is part of an upcoming exhibition, PASSION FOR TAPESTRY: Small Tapestries from a Private Collection. It has set me off on a short trip down Memory Lane. The following photos were taken at the Australian Tapestry Workshop, all those years ago.

Red Comb #1 on the loom

Weaver Rebecca Moulton at work on Red Comb #1

L- R: Shane Jones, Sara Lindsay and Rebecca Moulton

L-R: weavers Chris Cochius, Robyn Mountcastle, Cresside Colette, Tim Gresham and Cheryl Thornton. Cheryl wove
the second tapestry based on my work, Red Comb #2.

Rebecca Moulton and myself at the opening of ATW show in which the newly-completed
tapestries were launched

PASSION FOR TAPESTRY: Small Tapestries from a Private Collection

Artists: GW Bot, Belinda Fox, Graham Fransella, Helen Fuller, Deborah Klein, Pauline Nangala Sunfly, Nusra Latif Qureshi Weavers: Sue Batten, Grazyna Bleja, Chris Cochius, Amy Cornall, Louise King, Sara Lindsay, Rebecca Moulton, Laura Mar, Cheryl Thornton

Opening celebration: Tuesday 13 November, 5:30pm Exhibition: 7 November 2018 - 1 February 2019

A Passion for Tapestry is an exhibition at the Australian Tapestry Workshop of small tapestries from the collection of Tuppy Cole, long-term friend and supporter of the ATW. Throughout her long association with ATW, Tuppy has collected many wonderful tapestries. The exhibition features 18 small tapestries, woven since 2004, by weavers at the ATW. The collection includes tapestries that interpret designs by significant Australian artists, as well as tapestries based on the weaver’s own designs. Many of the works are experimental and demonstrate the open possibilities of the tapestry form. Together, the exhibition presents a diverse snapshot of contemporary tapestry, and the imaginative styles of ATW weavers past and present. PASSION FOR TAPESTRY  Australian Tapestry Workshop 262 - 266 Park Street, South Melbourne VIC 3205 Gallery hours: Tuesday - Friday, 10am - 5pm

HOME SWEET HOME

After being such a huge part of our lives, it’s still hard to believe that PATTERNS OF COLLECTING/From the Bower at The Johnston Collection is over. (See also previous post).

My collection of hair ornaments that featured in all three iterations of the four-person touring show (originally titled FROM THE BOWER: patterns of collecting), is now reinstalled in our Ballarat living room, where it disguises an unsightly air conditioning unit that wouldn’t be out of place in the Bates Motel.

Second from the right is Blues in the Night (2006), one of my paintings that drew inspiration from the collection.

The paintings centre left and far right are by Shane Jones. 

THE GIFT OF THE MAGI

Victorian hair jewellery, L-R: bracelet, brooch and watch fob. Collection: Deborah Klein

With Christmas Day nearly upon us, and New Year's Day following closely behind, planning for several projects in 2017 is already well under way. One of these is From the Bower - patterns of collecting, an exhibition focusing on the collections of four artists, namely Carole Wilson, Louise Saxton, Loris Button and myself

The following excerpt is from our our combined artists' statement:

Each of us connects with or interrogates our collection in myriad ways, at both a subtle level and more literally. For some of us, the material and objects collected form the very fabric of our art, whilst for others it is a source of inspiration and imagery.  We source our objects from opportunity shops, junk shops, garage sales and markets, both at home and while travelling. Andre Breton said of flea markets "… I go there often, searching for objects that can be found nowhere else, old fashioned, broken, useless...” (1) We can also add: objects that are disused, discarded and even disinherited.  Opportunity shops and flea markets are in a way a kind of ‘bower’ where objects are gathered, and which reflect the lives of many other people.

Among my own contributions to the show are a substantial collection of hair ornaments and a small collection of Victorian hair jewellery (pictured above). Gathered together, the objects put me in mind of a story I've loved since childhood, The Gift of the Magi (1905) by the American writer, O. Henry. Hair, decorative combs and a watch fob are central to this, one of his most beloved tales, which unfolds over another Christmastime, long ago. To read The Gift of the Magi, go HERE. To learn about O. Henry and read more of his stories, go HERE.

FROM THE BOWER - Patterns of collecting can be seen at Warrnambool Art Gallery from 18 March - 12 June, 2017. 

It then travels to the Art Gallery of Ballarat, where it will run from 29 July - 17 September, 2017. 

Full details will be posted nearer the times.

---

[1] Plant, M, “Shopping for the Marvelous: Life of the City of Surrealism” in Surrealism: Revolution by Night, Canberra: National Gallery of Australia, 1993.

Hair Ornaments

A project that consumed a substantial chunk of time over the Christmas break was the rearrangement of my collection of hair ornaments. Some are Spanish peinetas; others are of Asian origin. The majority are western, dating from the early twentieth century onwards. Many were sourced in antique markets; several contemporary hairpins were discovered at Camden Lock Market in London. I'm also fortunate to have received some exquisite ornamental combs as gifts.

A sizeable number of combs and pins were the basis for particular works in the Hair Ornaments series, exhibited at Charles Nodrum Gallery, Melbourne in the exhibitions Tease (2004) and Forget Me Knots (2007). A handful also served as models for individual works in the installation Iron Butterflies, which featured in the group exhibition The Body at RMIT Project Space, Melbourne (2007) curated by Dr. Richard Harding.

The hair ornaments were originally displayed en masse in a studio I briefly occupied in our place at Abbotsford; it's since become my partner Shane’s workspace. After I bought the house at Ballarat, selected jewels from my modest collection were pinned to a notice board intended to cover a singularly ugly 1970s air conditioning unit in the living room. During the past week I painted the pin board a vibrant white; the hair ornaments are now shown to far greater advantage.

This prompted me to acquire and paint a second notice board for the studio, to which the remainder of the collection is now attached. By and large, the end of my comb collecting days coincided with a change of direction in the work. In recent years, however, I’ve acquired several additional examples, including the hand painted wooden birds from China (see studio notice board below, bottom right) which I am now able to display for the first time. If combs ever make a return appearance in my imagery, it will most likely be prompted by these distinctive specimens, which also draw their inspiration directly from the natural world.

Red Comb #3, 2004, oil pastel on paper, 75x56.5cm. Private Collection. 

Red Comb #5, 2004, oil pastel on paper, 75.5x56.5cm. Private Collection.  

Eight Women, 2005, acrylic on canvas (8 panels) 60x120cm (overall). Collection: the artist. 

Iron Butterflies, 2007, RMIT Project Space (installation view), cut-out linocuts, dimensions variable.
Collection: the artist.