Next July join me and a fabulous yoga teacher, along with Anna, your host at the beautiful Vila Nilaya in Bali for 6 days of luxurious fun and special look after your creative self and pamper with pools and yoga.
Check out the details, bookings being taken NOW!
This wild wooly weather has made me take stock and finally pull my thoughts together enough to update this website!
I actually apologise for the delay and hope you enjoy all the new things on offer, from a new small collection on show at Linton and Kay Mandoon till August the 27th, to new works.
Workshops on offer for this term as well as news of a very exciting workshop retreat in Bali… I know, warm and sunny! But hold your horses it is not until next July. It is though time to give it some thought as they book out quickly and two places are already booked.
There is another incentive, the “Earlybird” discount.
Full details and booking: www.villanilayabalibeach.com
More currently Studio Sessions are starting are just starting up for this term and there are 3 places available in the Tuesday Sessions.
Eight Session 10-3 ending on the last week of term September 18th.
This term we looked at landscape through the eyes of some West Australian Artists. It was enlightening and freeing to have a different view of our world and liberating to have the pallet chosen as well as quite an eye opener to use different brushes and styles. The results were sensational and even the artists not the favorites led to some stunning admissions of pleasure!
A two night Lino Design/Print workshop was held this term at the Stirling Street Arts Centre that was a lot of fun. Once the fear left the participants there was a lot of fun and some pretty impressive results, along with ArtGeo workshops on the same theme. I have had a great time teaching last term and thank everyone for their adventurous spirit, really look forward to engaging with you all this term.
As for my work I have managed to fit a bit of painting in!
I found myself a bit stuck in my ways and needed to jump out of the comfortable space I had been in.
So armed with some new colour palettes and materials and a big bunch of dead flowers I began again.
Life had been showing me in lots of ways the inevitability of age and the joys that come with it. An ageing Mum and a mirror in my bathroom were all too clearly evidence of time marching along. My way of coming to terms with it is to find all the beauty possible in things that we cannot change.
My Studio Sessions class gave me a huge bunch of protea and banksia, they were gorgeous. I photographed them fresh and drew them a lot. It wasn’t until I was stuck, many months later when looking for something to get stuck into drawing, I rediscovered them.
I gave myself some new rules so I could not solve problems that arose in the usual way, you know, like when you cook and something is missing…you reach often for the same solutions. Time to ignore them and move on, so armed with a new range of colours to choose from and the process shaken up a bit off I went!
The work has been a joy to paint and I have loved the whole process and the finishing of work that is still mine but has challenged me and taken me a little further in the journey for the perfect painting. I do know that will never happen, and god forbid the day it does, because I will be done, and then what?!
On the topic of change, there has been a lot this past year. My husband has semi retired so time is moving at a different pace and in someway more flexible, in others hard for me to work out. Still it is more good than bad and luckily he has a new project so the world is not tipped all upside down!
We have a new baby, Ruby. She is a fur baby of the miniature schnauzer type, so lots of time playing and training and generally loving the new addition to our life.
Things to look forward to this year keep coming, show at Linton and Kay Mandoon now on, working towards exhibition here in the studio in May next year for the Dardanup Art Trail, lots of fab workshops coming up and some time to keep on learning.
Enjoy.
It is hard to not get excited for me when all the work is coming together, some has gone off to the framers, the photo’s are being sorted, invitations printed and even new business cards.
It is a strange thing that creates utter chaos in my life, having an exhibition. The order of things get tipped upside down and usually fall back in place in time for the opening (hopefully).
Bit of peep to illustrate the point…
It insinuates, new growth, and a kind of settling in to the world. We have lived here for nearly seven years, the garden is a little younger than that but has absolutely flourished. The home now looks like it was always here.
I feel like I have always been here too, the lovely community around us for support and fun, the amazing landscape and this sensational studio. So with your indulgence, I think I too have flourished.
The new work is different. I began each differently, and deliberately stepped way out of my comfort zone to play with new pallette’s and build the works in new ways. I have all the same elements of texture, repeated pattern and intense layering. It has all just been done in new ways.
This year the work on show will be my exhibition Flourishing.
Just down the road at Peppermint Lane Lodge will be a Sculpture Trail. It is the second year Kim has put together and this year is bigger and better than the last.
She has created some works herself and many local artists will be transforming her property into a walk full of surprises.
Welling Forest Cottages and Conference Centre have artists involved in the trail and are a fully licensed venue for food and wine tastings, certainly worth a visit.
On display will be the work of Michelle Gauntlett, who some of you will remember. Previously she has had collections of her jewellery. This year she too has taken a new path and will be showing Metal Forms made from precious metals, along with a small range of jewellery.
We will be offering homemade pies, soup and muffins on the first weekend, along with a taste of local wines. So would love to see you here, come hang out in the courtyard, relax and see some great new works.
It is the end of April, a very long time since I sat down here to make a post. almost 6 months. My guess is a lot of you have given up on me and who could blame you! So I am going to make this worth your while…
Since the crazy time of Christmas I have been very focused on working and keeping the energy safe and going. I confess that I have been tested a lot by housefuls of guest, lovely visits from family staying over, the gorgeous warm weather, sailing and of course a wedding. A wedding in the family is always exciting but when you are the MOB, well, should I say no more. Other than it was a beautiful day filled with lots of joy and love.
This weekend my studio was doubling as a recording studio for the lovely Kirsty who spent most of the holiday hiding and laying down tracks of her new song. It was amazing to see the creative process is not that dissimilar to that of working on canvas. The idea, the laying down of the layers and the mixing up of all those things, removing things along the way and adding others. The finished CD played in the stereo was a joy and it felt like I was at the birth of a special thing.
The vegie patch has been pulled out and all the summer goodies totally ended now, ready to sow for the winter/spring crops. I found under the overgrown silver beet, a beetroot the size of a very large pumpkin and needed help to pull it out. I should have taken a pic but covered in mud and a timeframe to finish prevented me doing that.
Since the beginning of December I have been painting madly, sending new works to Yallingup Galleries whilst trying to get a body of work for the Dardanup Art Trail, which is in less than a month’s time.
Saturday 17th/Sun 18th May 10-5pm. ART TRAIL
Our focus this year is on Landscape, and as I mentioned in the previous post I have been having a bit of a play with that. The works are coming along nicely and combined with works by Joy Barlow, Lynne Mitchell, Sherryl McBrandeth, the walls should be bursting with lots of different views of the world.
Michelle Gautlett and her jeweler friends are bringing a range of specially crafted precious things to add some glamour to the studio. Works in precious metals, stones and found objects. All with a nod to the theme.
Christine Sefton will be bringing along her knitted wonders and her way of using the landscape theme is to make warm winter things out of beautiful yarns inspired by nature. She has also focused on knitting warm vest, both functional and fashionable to keep cozy whilst outdoors.
This year we have the addition of some gorgeous homemade goodies that you can buy and hang out in the courtyard and picnic on. Liz Eastman formerly of ASPENZ Cookery school and Kitchen shop in Bunbury is making pies and soup to warm your cockles…have been taste testing and know they will be very welcomed!
There is a good chance of some live music sessions from Kirsty Hulka and hopefully some wine tasting available too.
Way too much to miss out on! Hoping to see and catch up with lots of familiar faces.
Tomorrow is the start of the next round of Studio Sessions. We have had some amazing days in the last sessions, with great achievements both artistically, and in a culinary way too. Fine wine and a remarkable spread of food with the bring and share plate idea. Think it may have become a bit much of a focus so this time we decided to just have one of us make soup/bread and one make something sweetie for a treat. Food aside, each week to start the session we did some drawing, that mostly just had all calling for the wine to be opened! Getting outside the zone of comfort can be fraught with worry, but as we have seen each session, it also shines the light on hidden abilities and opens up a new world of enjoyment.
Each person has come to these sessions with a different ability and desire to produce and for lots of different reasons. What is glorious to be part of is to see the respect, sharing and encouragement and the diverse products that appear at the end of a few long days of laughing, painting and eating fab food.
It is also amazing to hear the reasons for committing both financially and time wise, the general feeling is that this is a sacred time, making space in busy lives to honor the creative is important.
There are two places only become available at the last minute. Please contact me if you would like more info.
I alluded earlier to protecting the creative energy and have to confess, writing about my world is not as easy as painting!
I do understand though that it is a good thing to share the joys and the tribulations and that hopefully those with the same tribulations will feel less isolated.
Working on my own all the time is a luxury, but at times it is hard to keep the discipline and balance with everyday life, and technology is one of the hardest things to appease!
When the Internet was first available to us mere mortals there was so much excitement at what we could do. My reservations were that it would be just one more thing, a little like cleaning out the fridge (don’t mention the oven!) that we have to squeeze into our days. And it is…I am excited by the connections we can now all make and the opportunity for getting seen around this world of ours but struggle to keep up sometimes. It uses different headspace than I am used too. So at this point I will apologize again for my tardiness but use the painting as my excuse.
I have been doing two bodies of work consecutively and they are challenging in their own ways. There is excitement as I enter the studio each morning, frustration at times by the things that get in the way, but a feeling of trust that all the separate things going on in here will come together as a genuinely strong body of work keeps me going.
I have recently been given a large collection of old linen and lace. So far there are two works that have it embedded in them. The generosity of a friend, who did not want to keep it any more but needed it gone from her hall cupboard, is very welcomed. I find things come when needed and this rush to the canvas and easel that so far looks great. I am happy with the warm and the colors, the texture is simply gorgeous and hopefully the works will themselves become heirlooms with the energy of the past embedded in them and reserved for a long life.
So on that note may you all go diving into your hall cupboards and come out with bounty to start you on a journey of creative endeavor. If not feel free to send it my way!
Until next time….promise it will be soon….
Nearly the end of November already!
It has been a busy time since the Exhibition at Linton and Kay.
The show was a great success and had wonderful support.
There are still some works for sale at Linton and Kaye if you are after that special Chrissie gift!
The Bunbury Regional Art Galleries has taken ten pieces on tour. They have hung a small show at Northcliffe at the Gallery where the Understory Sculpture walk is and runs till Dec 15.
Since then I have been working on some new works, a large landscape for my husband. He feels sad because the paintings in the lounge room keep going to new homes! So it was time to shower him with special attention and a big new painting. It is a bit of a diversion for me but still has all the “Jenni” elements in, lino printing, pattern and stencils. The image is one of a few I have been hanging out to play with. I di a small one for the Art Trail as our theme was Images of the Valley. It was fun and so there will be a few more to come.
I took lots of great pics when we had a controlled burn here a few years ago and they have been waiting patiently for me to get to them.
To see the image, go to the Gallery section and click open New Works.
I have been playing around with Encaustic as a medium too. It is totally compelling and smalls great too!
Whilst I have a seriously long way before I feel like I am the one in control…there have been some small finished works at Yallingup Galleries and they have been very well received. It is such a rich and luscious medium to work in and the transparency and floating layers are just beautiful.
Once again, check them out in the new works section. Some are still available at Yallingup Galleries.
This terms workshops have been fantastic. The results from all participants has been sensational and far surpassed all of our expectations!
From raw beginners to much more experienced artists there has been a lot of exploration, courage to try new things and great conversations between all those who attended. The being with like minded people can be almost all the inspiration needed.
Each workshop has given me so much energy and I thank all those who have made them a great pleasure to facilitate.
The highlight of course was the Weekend Art Camp at Wellington Forest Cottages and Conference Centre.
Wendy’s amazing catering ensured we were never remotely hungry and it was so good to keep working and have someone cooking and then serve the remarkable results up for us. She is an artist too!
Wendy with Sunday Morning Tea!
The guests were from varying levels and interests and made for a fun group. From exploring things outside their comfort zone, to chilling on the couch’s with a good art book by the roaring fire they all made the most of each minute. Michelle and I were kept busy well into the nights!
The overall consensus was “We want more!”
Most felt it would be good to make it 4-5 nights so there would be a bit of time to explore the Park, hang out with friends in the cute cottages and generally chill a little, but still have an intensive art time.
So the cottages are about to be booked for the same time next year and my guess it you better is quick!
Studio Sessions
For the past six weeks, six upcoming artists have joined me in the studio for the day, to work on their projects with my help. The theory was that I too would work alongside them, so they got to see it happening too…well that did not happen too often but the workshops were a great success and the bring and share lunches, a feast, with wine an integral part of the day, to get the juices flowing and aid relaxation of course. Almost medicinal!
It has been great having the studio filled with energy and noise. I am looking forward to 2014 and doing it all again. If you are interested in becoming part of this, please contact me to put your name on the list.
Realistically I am probably not going to doing a December post so it here I wish you all a Very Happy Xmas and Creative New Year. Thanks to all who have shown me support in many ways this year, it is much appreciated.
Lots of Christmas Joy and Love.
Jenni
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