It took a bit longer to get setup than I had planned for, but last week I finally got all of my glass set up and I was back on the torch again. My studio in Murray Bridge is considerably smaller than the room I had in Mount Gambier, so there were a few challenges in getting set up, but finding some excellent secondhand furniture helped a lot. Luckily I am used to working in a small room (Mount Gambier was really quite decadent), and it has been nice to compact everything again. It feels good.
Things I like about gallery duty in T’Arts:
I’m working in T’Arts tomorrow. Maybe you’ll drop in for a visit?
Life?? It’s complicated!!
Yes, I agree, it’s even complicated telling you the story about this exhibition, and where I fit in. Maybe I’ll just start at the very beginning!
Here’s a little about what you can expect from Stephen’s exhibition:
For a plant to emerge a seed must first die! Hence renewals … often unplanned/unconfined, be they Vegetal or Human…. are crucial for generational change. The Skillitzi artworks’ quasi-chronological titles hint at only one potential avenue for the contemplative viewer. Indeed, mature-aged musings tease out multi-leveled, tangential and often confusingly-complex lessons, retrospectively.
Here sundry regenerating mixed-media Glass/Metal dioramas set out naturalistic scenes for didactic life-relevant scenarios… so feel free to ‘navel-gaze’.
Passive but convoluted land/seascapes are peppered with lifeforms. Fish, birds, plants unconsciously migrate throughout their three-dimensional environments… we Homo Sapiens do likewise but with cerebral evaluations perhaps over-cooked. Sculpture echoes a life lived!
I’m really looking forward to seeing Stephen’s exhibition, and I’ll be featuring each of the artists from the Resonate Exhibition over the next few weeks.
For my exhibition at Gallery M, I am using 5 different types of recycled glass.
I have not used a lot of Bombay Sapphire Gin glass in the past, so I am really looking forward to melting some. It’s a great colour, with a bit more blue than a wine bottle.
I’m looking forward to putting all of these collections together.
So, I think I have nearly got everything set up again. I am waiting for a shipment of glass to arrive before I pack the glass away, but otherwise, I’m really pleased with the new studio, and I can’t wait to start making beads again.
I am working on some new beads and jewellery for a group exhibition at Gallery M. It is called “Resonate” and features work from Ivana Di Stasio, Cindy Durant, Sheryl Glassmith and myself. We all work with glass primarily, so there will be lots of glass on display.
I am focusing on recycled glass: a few different varieties of glass, and a few different styles of necklaces and earrings.
I will let you know about opening nights soon! Yes, there are 2 openings for this exhibition.
I am honoured to be the Artist of the Month at the Murray Bridge Regional Gallery. The beads are all made from recycled glass, I have used wine and beer bottles, and embellished them with different coloured glass and gold leaf. It was exciting to see my name in the window yesterday when we walked to Blockbuster to sign up for video membership!
We have moved.
We are still unpacking.
This was the view on my walk this morning.
I think I’m going to like it here!
Back to work soon.
I tried this new style of earrings (small hoops) for my Artist of the Month window display at Murray Bridge Regional Gallery, and I am so glad I did!
First…it’s good to try new things and push your work.
Second…I created a little hoop earring that even I want to wear! I kept the prototype, and added a little red bead to it.
Third…this becomes an interchangeable pair of earrings! You can take the drops off, and add different beads/drops as you like. Or, just wear the hoops on their own. I really like a versatile piece of jewellery.
The earrings are so comfortable and light to wear too (bonus). I’m already looking forward to making more of these.
It all started with a request from an artist for some purple or pink or red beads in this style, made from recycled glass. When it finally clicked on how I might possibly do that, I was hooked! I have really enjoyed making these beads (these ones were made from a wine bottle), and I am really loving how the jewellery has turned out. The hoops are something new for me, and I love that you can take the little bead off and possibly change it for different beads down the track.
I have loved putting this collection of recycled glass bead jewellery together, and I can’t wait to deliver it to Murray Bridge Regional Gallery on Tuesday 12 January!