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indie art & design blog
decks pics
Following up from my last post, here are some photos of the deck artworks. Thanks to Nicole for sending through these images from dexhibition at Panic Urban Streetwear & Counter Culture! At the top is artwork by SMC. Pictured below (left to right) is artwork by Max Berry (Sydney), Nicole (Melbourne), Junior, SMC (Sydney), Deam (Melbourne) and Ears (Sydney).
Pictured below (left to right) is artwork by Luke Ryan (Melbourne), Eaten Rabbit (Melbourne), Petite Mort, Max Berry (Sydney) and Nicole (Melbourne).
commission: wedding head band
A new commission has been added to the Jobs & Commissions page... Can you help Jody & create her ideal wedding head band? See details here...
dexhibition at panic
dexhibition opened over the weekend at Panic Urban Streetwear & Counter Culture at 28 Johnston St, Fitzroy, Melbourne. On display is a collection of artworks that use the humble skate deck as a canvas. dexhibition features over 24 skateboard designs by both established & up and coming artists from Melbourne & Sydney including:
deb, pete @ devils ink, pierre lloga, luke ryan, pep, junior, deam, slap, kid zoom, omer, caleb, smc, phibs, trog, eaten rabbit, que, i like things, drew, six one, nicole, agoe, petite mort, max berry, ears.
Though I haven't visited the Panic store/gallery in person, they also look to have some interesting clothing & accessories including Melbourne label deliri'art & Sydney label My Genocide Clothing. Panic is dedicated to supporting emerging designers, musicians, film makers and artists by providing a space where these people can exhibit, create and perform. Somewhere to visit next time I'm in Melbourne!
christmas gift guide 2007
The festive season is upon us and with the "big day" just around the corner, we'd like to help out with some gorgeous gift ideas! We've selected a wide range of different goodies to suit Christmas stockings of all shapes & sizes.
love jewellery by geneine honey
love is a Melbourne based fashion label begun by Geneine Honey in 2002. Geneine uses her whimsical and intricate drawings as a source of inspiration for her designs, which include jewellery pieces and accessories in shapes that hark back to the innocence and romance of childhood's imaginary worlds. Pictured above is the "Girl and Bunny Brooch Set", a gorgeous duo available in a mirror finish or black acrylic. (AUD $45).
I fell in love with these wooden birdhouses when I first saw them at Made590. One lucky friend may just receive the wooden finish Birdhouse Necklace (above left) for Christmas. That's if I don't give into temptation & keep it for myself! The Birdhouse Brooch on the right has an ivory acrylic bottom layer. The contrast between the cream-coloured background and the darker delicate wooden pattern is very pretty. Both are available as necklaces or brooches for AUD $35 each.
Aren't these clever? They have hinged joints just like a real wooden doll! Titled "I wish I was a real boy/girl", they are just adorable and you can choose between a wooden (below) or handpainted finish (above). Once again, they are available as necklaces or brooches, for AUD $55 each.
Can we tempt you with a shiny red apple or a forest mushroom? I have no doubt that these red mushrooms (toadstools!) are laced with trickery, but I reckon those apples look trustworthy! You can try these fruits of the forest as necklaces or brooches, all are AUD $35 each. (They are available in a number of different finishes.)
Pictured below is the "Printed Tote Bag" featuring the beautiful illustration upon which the "Girl and Bunny Brooch Set" is based. The silhouettes of the Girl & Bunny are surrounded by their forest friends, drawn with such delicacy! The tote bag is fully lined with pocket and magnetic clasp. It has been digitally printed and is machine washable. For more love & hate, you can view their comprehensive catalogue at www.lovehate.com.au, or visit one of their retail stockists:
NSW: Bulb (Double Bay), Bang Art and Gift Shop (Potts Point), Made590 (Newtown)
VIC: Little Salon (Fitzroy & Melbourne City)
WA: Remedy (Fremantle), More (Subiaco, T. 08 9381 8085)
QLD: Queensland Art Gallery (Brisbane), Maiocchi (Fortitude Valley)
SA: Flourish (Hyde Park), Storison (Hahndorf, T. 08 8388 7331)
TAS: Cocoon (Launceston), Small Rhino (Hobart)
ACT: The Hive (Braddon)
mens tees by pocket
Pocket Designs is one of my favourite new discoveries. Based in Perth, this graphic designer has created a number of t-shirt ranges which make perfect gifts for our better halves! In fact, the above picture features my partner showing off his brand new birthday present... He's wearing the "Seventh Armoury" design in black with a yellow print - a special glow-in-the-dark edition! The t-shirts fit well & are a lovely quality. Also in his personal wardrobe are the "Tokyo Puppeteers" and "Soldiers V2" designs pictured below. The prints are inspired by Japanese anime and come in a variety of colour options. I particularly like "Soldiers V2" printed in aqua on a navy tee. The styling of the designs themselves is great - sleek & cool. The expression on the puppet's face in "Tokyo Puppeteers" is so twisted!
Pictured below are details of the "Metalight" and "Wasp" designs. The "Wasp" print comes in yellow on a coal coloured tee which I just love. The larger part of the design (featuring the wasp) is printed on the back with a selection of honeycomb shapes & vector lines on the front. Fantastic! The Pocket tees range from AUD $60-$70. Visit www.pocketdesigns.com.au to see more of the range, or stop by one of their retail stockists:
ONLINE: Teknoscape
NSW: Crazy Horse (Newtown, T. 02 9519 2199, Darlinghurst, T. 02 9326 0800), Haku (Potts Point, T. 02 9380 8768), Oxi Clothing (Newtown)
VIC: Kids in Berlin (North Melbourne), Tomorrow Never Knows (Fitzroy, T. 03 9495 6645), Robio (Fitzroy), Moji (South Yarra, T. 03 9824 1104), Villain Store (Brunswick)
WA: The Pulse (Perth, T. 08 9322 7210), Atlas Divine (Leederville, T. 08 9444 4663), Ginza (Subiaco, T. 08 9381 6067), Lucky Stripe (Fremantle, T. 08 9336 6299), Locale Clothing (Floreat), Method Clothing (Mt Lawley), Tade' (Applecross, T. 08 9364 7891)
QLD: Ginza Swim (Paddington, T. 07 3369 1131)
christmas sponsor:
christmas cards by dudley redhead
Hunting for unique Christmas cards & gift tags? These adorable designs are made by Dudley Redhead, otherwise known as Sydney-based designer Tara Axford.
Each Note & Tag set (pictured above, AUD $15.00) includes:
3 x Christmas Bunny & Wren Postcards measuring 110mm x 135mm. They have been professionally printed on 215gsm gloss card, have rounded corners and are blank on the reverse. Post to a friend or attach to a gift!
3 x Christmas Wren Button Badge Gift Tags measuring 70mm x 110mm. The button badges have a pin back & are a lovely little bonus to your gift!
The Christmas Wren Gift Tags are also available individually for AUD $3.00 each.
May all your parcels be prettied by Dudley Redhead's illustrations! Christmas Cards & Tags are available from Georgie Love's treasure of hand made pleasures at www.georgielove.com, and you can find the Dudley Redhead blog at https://accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?continue=https://www.blogger.com/blogin.g?blogspotURL%3Dhttp://dudleyredhead.blogspot.com/%26bpli%3D1&followup=https://www.blogger.com/blogin.g?blogspotURL%3Dhttp://dudleyredhead.blogspot.com/%26bpli%3D1&passive=true&go=true.
prints by eveline tarunadjaja
Eveline Tarunadjaja is an exciting young artist who was born and raised in Indonesia. At age 15, she moved to Melbourne where she has lived for almost 10 years. Her work has been exhibited over the last couple of weeks as part of the "Cups and Cuddles" group show at Per Square Metre Gallery in Collingwood, along with fellow artists Andrea Innocent, Catherine Campbell, Crystal Hartley, Lilly Piri, maricormaricar & Nobuko Washiyama.
Many of her artworks are available as stunning & very reasonably priced prints through her web site at www.lovexevol.com. Pictured above are the prints "Wait" (AUD $40, 15 x 20cm, pen, coloured pencils & markers) and "The Blue Dress" (AUD $40, 15 x 20cm, pen & markers). I love the effect of limited areas of bright colour, especially where the background colour of the paper is peeking through. Both are simple, graphic works where the detail lies within the careful linework. "The Blue Dress" was actually featured as the free poster in Frankie Magazine issue #15. Both of these works were created in a little drawing journal Eveline filled with imagined characters and words that got stuck in her head.
Eveline finds inspiration in the feelings evoked by little random experiences... doings, sayings, conversations, people, stories, artist, movies, films & music. The next four images are good examples of the artistic results! I love the colour & humour embraced by "Tomato Head" (above left, AUD $45, 18 x 26cm, pen, acrylic & digital artwork). Eveline says she often produces "something that's really dumb" - "Tomato Head" was drawn when she was thinking just too much & her head started to feel like a big heavy vegetable!
In contrast, "Airfish" (above right, AUD $40, 18 x 26cm, pens & markers) is something really personal. It is about a dreamer... "unreal thoughts float like fishes fly..." The original artwork is also available framed for AUD $250.
In prints such as "Animal Hoodie (Octopus)" (above left, AUD $40, 16 x 26cm, pen, markers & coloured pencil), Eveline has depicted imaginative items of clothing that whe would love to have or make. She also plays with the idea of "semi-porn, because it's fun and funny!" "Familia Octopie" (above right, AUD $30, 16 x 26cm, pen) is about "a royal family of octopus that capture two humans and force them to have sex with each other". Enough said! The prints are printed on to 240gsm fine art paper, and are unframed. To view these works, and many more, visit https://www.lovexevol.com/. You can order online through the site, making them ideal Christmas presents.
The two works pictured below were exhibited in "Cups and Cuddles" and the originals will be availble for purchase very soon. They are so beautifully drawn & the fine lines curl & twist in rhythm with the natural grain of the wood.
linen by out to lunch
Out To Lunch's Lucy Bromell has created an elegant range of hand-printed and uniquely Australian tableware. The collection is inspired by native flora, and features four different designs - Banksia, Stem, Casuarina and Eucalypt, each of which come in a range of natural colours all organically printed on linen, cotton and silk. Pictured above are the "Casuarina" and "Banksia" linen napkins. Both are available as a set of four napkins for AUD $64.
Two of the "Stem" designs are pictured above. The table mats have a matching coloured trim which frames the delicate print beautifully. They retail for AUD $88 for a set of four. Once again, the set of four napkins is AUD $64. The earthy colours of the prints & natural texture of the fabric would surely look gorgeous atop a wooden dining table!
The contrast is striking in these black on natural linen "Eucalypt" designs. The table runner is AUD $70, and the matching table mats are AUD $64 for a set of four. Depending on who is cooking on Christmas Day, the full size cotton aprons below (AUD $55 each) could also make lovely gifts. (Perhaps not the best idea though for someone who has been slaving over a baking turkey with all the trimmings!) Either way, there are plenty of gorgeous Out To Lunch products to choose from & you'll find them online at Moose: Art for Living.
t-shirts for all by wildgarden
Wildgarden is a gorgeous Australian label born out of a desire to create products featuring simple, yet sophisticated designs produced by hand. The talented designers are Sydney-based sisters Nancy & Jessica Lim. They are inspired by the environment which surrounds them - both natural and urban. You may also know of these two from the Modamuse online store & blog - another wonderful site featuring the work of independent designers from Australian & New Zealand.
Wildgarden is currently offering 25% off everything in the lead up to Christmas! They have a colourful range of screen printed t-shirts for all of the family. Here we've included our favourite summer styles for women & a few for the little ones too! Pictured above are "Radiate" which features a striking metallic silver print (above left, AUD $34.50) and "Floss" with a white branch motif across the front (above right, AUD $33).
These singlet designs show off Wildgarden's love of colour & form. The graphic layering of black & grey in "Twiggy" (above left, AUD $31.50) look fantastic & I also really like the placement of the stylised, floral-patterned bird in "Fly Away" (above right, AUD $31.50)
The "Winter Blossom" tee (above left, AUD $34.50) would be really versatile. With an assymetrical lavender blossom branch motif placed high on the shoulder front and back, it would look equally striking worn casually with jeans, or dressed up with a pretty skirt for day or night. The fitted styles of these tees lend themselves to such situations! The Spiro print (right, AUD $34.50) looks great in yellow & white on an ashphalt-coloured tee. This retro design is also available in pale blue & green on olive.
Aren't these children's designs gorgeous? Pictured above are "Birdy Jazz Trio" (left) and "Elephant Walk" (right), while "Ducky" appears below right. All are AUD $25.50 each. I think I'd quite like "Birdy Jazz Trio" in a grown-up version! We couldn't resist including the "Bossanova Shopper" black cotton tote - at AUD $9.75, it's a steal! To see more Wildgarden designs & place your order online, visit www.wildgardendesign.com.
christmas sponsor:
feature artist: marian hosking
A week or so ago I retrieved from my post office box an intriguing parcel from Object Gallery. I was delighted to find inside brochures & an invitation to hear the artist Marian Hosking In Conversation with Kevin Murray. This artist's talk and exhibition is part of a series Craft Australia is presenting on "Living Treasures: Masters of Australian Craft".
So on Saturday 10.11.2007, I arrived at 11am (well, a little late if truth be told) equipped with my moleskine notebook, and hoping to discover some of the inspirations, motivations & processes involved in creating the incredibly beautiful jewellery pieces included in this exhibition.
Portrait of Marian Hosking
Image from Craft Australia
"With a career spanning almost 40 years, Hosking is one of Australia's foremost contemporary jewellers and silversmiths... Her work is concerned with rich surface patterns and textures. This reflects her particular concerns for the natural environment, allowing her to echo the forms and motifs found in nature." -Object Gallery
Throughout her career, Marian has always worked with silver. She loves the whiteness & lustre as well as the colours & blacks that occur during the making. Rather than the shiny surface most of us associate with silver, her works have a soft, tactile surface - a quality which seems to give the delicate layers & shapes their own voice. She feels that through working with the one material over period of time, she has developed her own language around silver - a metal which she feels is her own.
Marian Hosking, Round Leaf Gum Brooch, 2006. 925 silver
Dimensions: 10.5 x 8cm
Photographer: Julian Hutchens
Image from Craft Australia
Early in her career, Marian worked in both Scandinavia and Germany. The Scandinavian aesthetic was primarily concerned with form & function. However, in Germany, jewellery was considered a more conceptual practice (more fine art than design). Her time spent in Germany was an enormous influence on her career.
Marian's return to Australia in the early 1970s reconfirmed her love of nature. She appreciates the structure & architecture in nature and likens the layering & description of motif to drawing. I was interested to learn that Marian relates her approach to the two-dimensional fields of photography & drawing. She doesn't construct forms, but "uses existing forms and works in a much more graphic & two-dimensional way". -Marian Hosking Once created of course, jewellery has the additional aspect of movement on the body itself.
Marian Hosking, Two India vessels, 2007. 925 silver
Dimensions: Left: Round vessel, 2007 - 15 x 9cm;
Right: Oval vessel - 130 x 10.5 x 6.5cm
Photographer: Julian Hutchens
Image from Craft Australia
"As a practitioner and educator, Hosking's influence has been far-reaching." -Object Gallery She co-founded Workshop 3000 in 1981 with the intention of creating a shared studio space to maintain the comraderie of the university outside of the university walls. At this time, she was making jewellery that challenged the idea of precious and many audience members were surpised to learn that she had made protest badges from silver. Since then, Marian has exhibited her work in many group and solo exhibitions, both in Australia and internationally. She has taught at both RMIT and Monash Univeristy, where she is currently the Head of Metal & Jewellery. Marian considers teaching a very important part of what she does & finds education a little addictive. She is currently undertaking a PhD.
Marian Hosking, Gum Twig Chain, 2007. 925 silver
Dimensions: 68 x 3.5 x 2.5cm (d) approximate
Photographer: Julian Hutchens
Image from Craft Australia
Marian is represented in Australia by Gallery Funaki, which was established by internationally recognised maker, Mari Funaki in 1995. Marian considers that "Gallery Funaki has transformed contemporary jewellery in Australia". It is a venue with an international audience, exhibiting works by international artists. It has shifted the way in which jewellery is seen in this country and people are now much more discerning.
The focus piece of this particular exhibition is the "Tall Tree Project", an epic & sculptural work designed with the unique Object Gallery space in mind. The work commemorates a giant tree recently discovered in the Gippsland area.
In an interesting inversion of the jewellery making process, the tree is not being used as a motif. Instead, the jewellery has been made to fit the tree, in a scale we don't normally associate with this art form. While this work draws our attention to what we've already lost in our natural environment, it demonstrates a sensibility to nature rather than a grand statement - an approach displayed throughout the work on exhibition.
Marian has recently been working with Trinh Vu at Monash University. Trinh's current multimedia projects focus on the use of 3D computer graphic technology to experiment with different methods of generating synthetic images. Marian has begun to experiment with using computer based techniques to create her designs. However, one significant obstacle at this point is that silver can't be laser cut. When asked why she doesn't use aluminium, Marion expresses her environmental concerns regarding the extraction of bauxite. She has been tempted by pure tin & would pursue this idea if she could source it in sheet form. However, tin is such a soft metal that it tends to disappear into the rollers if rolled too thin. It will certainly be interesting to see the work Marian produces next, and if the influence of new media is evident in the final jewellery & object pieces.
If you live in Sydney, make sure you visit this wonderful exhibition! The work is intricate and beautiful & admission is free. I thoroughly enjoyed the artist's talk and was so inspired by the work on display. "Marian Hosking: Jewellery" is on at Object Gallery from 10.11.2007 to 13.1.2008. (St Margarets 417 Bourke Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010. T. 02 9361 4511) The accompanying 120 page monograph is available from the gallery for AUD $49.95. If you won't be able to make it, but would like one of the flyers for your sketchbook/journal, email me your address & I'll send you one by mail. If you do see the exhibition, leave me a comment with your thoughts! I'd love to hear your responses. You can find Marian Hosking's web site at www.marianhosking.com.au