Success at ArtSydney09!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who came and visited my stand at ArtSydney09 on the weekend. It was a pleasure to meet lots of new people and show them paintings from each of my exhibitions.

To tell you the truth, it was a bit of a hard slog manning your booth for 9hrs or so each day. But one of the highlights of the show was meeting my fellow artists whom I hope to keep in touch. Here are some pics (bad) of the show.

My Family of Art!

My paintings are like my 'children' I guess. I look at them with pride and a sense of achievement especially when they're finished, framed and hanging on the wall. As I'm getting ready for the show which starts tomorrow, I am going through the 20 paintings I will be selling - some are old, some are very new but they're all very special to me.

Take for instance, my first exhibition 'Food for the Soul, Live to Eat!' back in 2004. It celebrated my love of food, my childhood (growing up with parents who worked in the restaurant business) and my travels to Asia and Europe sampling new dishes and sharing wonderful meals with new friends. Food is such a great way for us all to connect. Unfortunately, 'Pizza with Jesus' has long gone but here are a few goodies which will be on show.

'A Taste of the Ocean'

'The way to a man's heart...'

'Life is a Chocolate Box'

'Family of Spoons'

Sneak Peek

Have been busy sampling my new cushion range but now looking for sewers to sew for me! Where have all our sewers gone? I don't think Mum will be able to cope with the orders. This new range will be launched at Magnolia Square Markets next month in Melbourne.

Don't forget to come and visit me at ArtSydney09. I have some free passes to give away - just email me with your name and address details.

New Fusia Cards

I received stock of 3 new Fusia Cards which are now available in my shop.

Enlightenment

Delectable

Finishing Touch

He works hard for the money!

Apologies for the lack of blog entries - such good intentions to make sure I do it every 2nd day or so and then I get consumed by my work. It's all good, of course and I wouldn't change my job for anyone's. Here's what I've got on my plate until the end of November - design 3 new ceramics/ tabletop collections as well as a quilting fabric range, a new exhibition at the end of October (which I am painting new stuff for now), launch my new signature range of cushions & finalise sampling (I have my poor Mum chained to the sewing machine!), paint 6 new card designs for Fusia and design some new products & display for my new stall at Magnolia Square in November. Don't feel too sorry for me - I am heading off to Cambodia and Vietnam for 2 weeks in early November.

Here's some eye candy of some of the things I've been working on:

Sewing Samples

Antique Kimono Cushion

Some magnolia inspiration for ceramics

New Painting for Art Sydney 09

and a bit of baking!!!

Kangaroo Island

Last weekend we went to Kangaroo Island off the coast in South Australia for a special 40th Birthday Celebration. It was wonderful - the girls got dolled up to the nines, there was a surprise performance from Bob Downe and the guys looked like penguins on the beach in their black dinner suits! During the day, we hired a 4WD exploring the island, re-connecting with old friends and visiting local food/ wine providores.

Exploring the island's national parks

This is the life!!

The local King George Garfish - yumo!

Remarkable Rocks

Admirals Arch

ArtSydney 2009

I will be exhibiting next month at the ArtSydney Show from 22 - 25 October at RHI, Moore Park. My studio looks like a bomb has it; there is paint, paper and teacups everywhere as I am madly working on new paintings for the show. I will have my own stand in 'The Studio' area - S9.

Looking forward to seeing you there. Keep the dates free as I will be giving away tickets to the show. If you haven't already joined up to my mailing list, now is the time. Am off to Kangaroo Island this weekend for a friend's 40th Birthday. And a bit of R&R!

Coming full circle!!

I've just come back from a short trip to Melbourne where I have been digitally printing my designs and sourcing the most gorgeous silks/ trims for my new range of limited edition cushions which will be launched later this year (hopefully next month)!

For those of you who don't know my background, I actually did my degree in textile design where I specialised in screen printing fabrics, mixing pigments and preparing screens. So I feel like I have come full circle, returning back to textiles! Except this time there are no dyes to mix or toxic fumes or getting ink on my clothes.

Printing my designs

Sampling and approving various designs & colourways

Some of my cushions will be made from antique kimono fabrics!

Going Ga Ga over Gorillas!!!

One of the most amazing experiences in my travels, would have to be visiting the Silverback Gorillas in Rwanda. It was magical and a bit surreal at the same time. We spent 2 hours climbing through jungle & stinging nettles up a crater to see the 'Amahoro' family which means peace. It wasn't like your Sunday stroll in the park but it was well worth it. When you first see them, a part of you thinks they're people dressed in 'gorilla suits' but you know it's not. We got very close to them, almost too close. I narrowly avoided being knocked over by a couple who came charging down the hill!!

It would be remiss of me not to mention Rwanda and what it was like being there after the horrific genocide. It is a very beautiful place; very hilly and lush with greenery. The local people were lovely and were very appreciative of tourists visiting their country. Their smiles were beautiful!

They all thought I was 'Jackie Chan'!!

There was a sense of renewal and a feeling of optimism; lots of building/ developments going on. Even though the people are unified, you can see the sadness behind their eyes. We were fortunate to visit the Genocide Museum on the last day of our trip there. I say that because if we had gone there the first day, we wouldn't have enjoyed our time there so much. I recommend everyone to visit.

Adventures in Africa

Last week I returned home from an amazing 3 week trip to Africa. We went to Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia. The trip was unforgettable in more ways than one and I am now inspired to do some African paintings & designs. The colours, patterns in nature and wildlife are unique and beautiful. I thought that I would share with you some of our photos and experiences.

Our first stop was Ngorogoro Crater where we stayed in a tented camp along the rim of the crater. There was an abundant amount of wildlife including rhino, elephants, zebra, flamingoes, cheetah and lions. It truly is an extraordinary experience seeing wild animals in their natural habitat. We then flew into the northern heart of the Serengeti where we witnessed the wildebeest migration - millions of wildebeest make their journey north to Kenya from Ngorogoro in search of rain ripened grass for grazing.

Photos of Rwanda and Ethiopia to follow.........