FEAR Zine Market

The time flew by at yesterday’s FEAR Zine Market at Femxle Experience Art Rebellion. But if you missed it, don’t despair. This may have been FEAR’s first zine market, but I have it on very good authority that it won’t be their last.

It was an honour to be invited to participate in the inaugural event and a treat to hang out with some seriously talented zinesters, including Tas Wansbrough (photos 3 & 4 above) and Charlie Timms-McLean (photos 5, 6, 7 & 10 below). It was lovely to meet you in person at last, Charlie. 

Thank you to everyone who called in, including Theresa (photo 8 below). I hope you enjoy your zines!

Huge thanks to the fantastic folk at FEAR for having us and for all your hard work in organising this event. Ballarat is very lucky to have you. 

A visit to Playing in the Attic

Yesterday Shane Jones and I paid a visit to the delightful Playing in the Attic in the tiny town of Talbot. 

It’s always a pleasure to meet some of the locals, on this occasion, Misty, “the most popular horse in town” and Trudy’s adorable dogs, Iris and Zelda, named for authors Iris Murdoch and Zelda Fitzgerald. (Coincidentally, I’ve just made a small painting inspired by the latter).

Trudy has been stocking my books and zines for several years. The main purpose of our visit was to drop in my latest zines, Rückenfigur - The turned figure, Vols 1-3,  and replacement copies of  There was once… The collected fairy tales, but the shop is such a treasure trove, we seldom emerge empty handed. 

BMI Maker Market

A big thank you to everyone who dropped by the Moth Woman Press table at yesterday’s BMI Christmas Maker Market at the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute and to all those who made purchases. We met some lovely people and the friends who stopped by for a chat made the day complete. Thanks also to the amazing Shane Jones for assistance above and beyond the call of duty and to the BMI for having us. We couldn’t have wished for more thoughtful, considerate, helpful or better organised hosts. I’m delighted to hear that the BMI Library’s fundraising book sale was a huge success too! 

Photo credit for top pic: Shane Jones. 

For a detailed and informative article on the history of Mechanics’ Institutes, go HERE.

An Englishwoman Abroad (Part 1)

 

For the past few days we’ve had a visitor from London to stay, one of my oldest and dearest friends, Sue Verney (pictured to my right in the above photo). Sue was keen to visit the APW George Collie Memorial Award exhibition at the Australian Print Workshop Gallery, and on Thursday we caught the train to Melbourne, our first rail trip since pre-pandemic days. It was a real treat, a vast improvement on travelling there by car. I love train travel and hadn’t realised just how much I’ve missed it. 

In tandem with my prints in the APW exhibition are a series of displays of my artist books and zines in the gallery window, with additional book art displayed in the gallery space. Most are available for acquisition, should you desire one, or even several, of your very own.

The APW gallery is open today until 5 pm.
Gallery hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm. 

The exhibition is current to October 1.

Photo credit for top pic: Shane Jones.

Rückenfigur: the zines

 

In an effort to calm pre-exhibition opening nerves, I’ve been keeping my hands busy and my brain reasonably focused by making a couple of eight-page mini-zines. 

Personally, I think zines are pretty cool, not that mine necessarily are. I do enjoy making them though, although it’s been awhile. In August a selection of my books and zines will be on display at the APW in Melbourne and over the next 6 - 12 months, two or three artist books are planned, so it’s good to be getting back in the zone. 

The zines shown here are illustrated with paintings from my show at Queenscliff Gallery and share the same title, Rückenfigur, which, as their subtitles reveal, loosely translates as “the turned figure’”. These are volumes 1 and 2. A third volume is in the pipeline.

The opening event for Rückenfigur, the exhibition, is this afternoon from 2 - 4 pm (see previous post). I know some of you are planning to attend and can’t wait to see you there. 

FOTP 2020

Featured here are selected highlights from yesterday's 2020 Sticky Institute Festival of the Photocopier Zine Fair. For the first time - and hopefully not the last - the event was held at the historic Meat Market in North Melbourne.

The Meat Market and surrounding area area hold many memories for me. In the 1980s, I worked for a couple of years as an administrative assistant at the Print Council of Australia. During that time, the Print Council established a gallery and office in North Melbourne after their original base in Collins Street was demolished. Subsequently, the PCA moved into an office at the Meat Market, where they remained for some years before relocating to their current office in Fitzroy.

Shane and I drove to the Meat Market from Ballarat. We were a little early and had an opportunity to see inside this magnificent building shortly before the hoards of stall holders and zine fans arrived.

In recent years, all exhibitors, apart from zine distros, have been allotted a half table, owing to the sheer number of zinesters requiring stalls. This year there were over 450 stallholders over the two days that the zine fair was held. Andrew Pilkington, pictured below, shared a table with me. I couldn't have wished for a more convivial neighbour and thought his zines were terrific. In fact, his first sale of the day was to me - and vice versa.

I was doubly blessed with zine stall neighbours because on the table to our right were our good friends Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison (centre and right). To their left are Gracia's parents, Elaine and Peter Haby.

There was a sensational turnout and the entire affair ran like clockwork. As always, we could only marvel at Sticky Institute's peerless organisational skills.

After spotting the splendid George Costanza tee shirt sported by a zine fan (below, centre) Andrew and I discovered we share a mutual enthusiasm for the legendary TV sitcom, Seinfeld.

Thank you, Sticky and the Meat Market for having us, and warmest thanks to all who stopped by the Moth Woman Press stall and helped me raise funds for Wildlife Victoria's Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

At the day's end, it was announced that Sticky hope to hold the 2021 Festival of the Photocopier in the same venue. My fingers are firmly crossed.