It's all happening!

February already and I’m only writing the first blog of the year! I think January went in a blur of making, trying to finish works to photograph, in order to attach them to gallery applications. This finally happened on one of these very hot weekend afternoons down at Matt's shed, where he used his ninja-like forklift skills to get me above the very large works. He basically made a cherry-picker for me by strapping an IBC onto the tines and mast of the forklift.

 There’s been a lot of writing towards gallery submissions, grant applications, and articles for TEXTILE Fibre Forum. The last one of these I penned covered the many rejections I received last year for various submissions to both galleries and competitions. As I was proofing the final draft, I received an email advising of the very opposite – an ACCEPTANCE! What a wonderful start to the year! I have been accepted to the Artist in Residence programme at Police Point, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, for a two-week period in June. I'm very much hoping to see and photograph ice and snow formations and patterns in the nearby mountains, and/or bioluminessence in the harbour. Even if neither of these are in evidence, I'll still be able to respond to another fabulous coastal shoreline. A few days after that finishes, I will move over to Ballarat for a week, where I will be doing an exciting workshop with Alysn Midegelow Marsden at FibreartsAustralia. Called Metal Cloth to the Max, it will involve using “industrially produced fine cloths woven from pure metals in copper, bronze, brass and stainless steel, adding colour using techniques such as heat, sprays, embossing powders, patinas and paints”. And of course, the sewing machine. So June-July is a huge month of professional development, which I think will have an amazing effect on myself and my work.

Police Point - see - there's Gatekeeper's Cottage!

Metal textiles in Alysn Midegelow-Marsden's work

Next week I install Algalrhythms at Lockyer Valley Regional Art Gallery, it’s fourth edition as it were. I visited the space in January and dicovered that it is large and lovely, although a little dark, and that signage is not included, so this weekend I am painting my own on a canvas – you’ve GOT to have a title! I have used the ancient technology of the Overhead Projector to trace it on, which absolutely fascinated Matt's grandson!

Next Friday afternoon, the 10^th, I will be giving an artist talk at 5:30pm on the conception and creation of this exhibition from my artist residency on King Island in 2019, before Janet de Boer finally gets the chance to open this exhibition at 6:30pm! If you can come along, please let the gallery know with an RSVP. Algalrhythms will finish its life at Dogwood Crossing, November 18 2023 - January 27 2024.

A week or so ago I dropped my phone face down and lost what little I had on there, so a few of these images have had to be copied from my posts. The biggest loss was cat photos, and to be honest, I have millions of our girls looking adorable already. Because they just are.