Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Open Studios!!

Ooh so sorry little blog! It seems I rarely post here... I promise to try harder!!
Just a quick update!
Dandenong Ranges Open Studios is happening again this year -should be a fun weekend! 
16 and 17th of April (less than 2 weeks away, eek!)
For more information please visit the website - lot's of stunning artists are involved! 
You'll find my profile page there too :)

And please follow my Facebook or Instagram for more regular updates ;)








Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Tangled Woods and Skies Above




Ahhh I've been very busy these last few months...the time has gone so quickly! But this is what I've been working on - a solo exhibition. Inspired by my trip to Scotland (oh how I wish I could have stayed there longer!) but also by stories and myths I've read over the last year or so. It's a stunning little gallery - all old worldly wooden beams and whitewashed walls.... I just hope I have enough work to fill it! :)

"Tangled Woods and Skies Above"
Solo Exhibition at Montsalvat in the Residents Gallery.
26th August to 27th September
An exhibition inspired by Story. Depicting a world of dark forests and strange earth magics, mysterious forest folk who are feared by those who travel the safe paths through the sky...
Exploring a collection of characters - forest dwellers, fey folk, sky ship travelers, nomads trading on the forest fringes and lone adventurers who brave the green depths to find a shorter path...
So come along and make a day of it and explore the stunning Montsalvat grounds (adult admission is $14) 
smile emoticon
It is a truly magic, old worldly place and I am so excited to be holding a show there!
I'll be sitting the gallery on sat the 29th in lieu of an opening night so come and say hello!
-I'll also be there on Sun the 13th Sep for the inaugural Arts Festival tickets are selling quick so get in there!
Hope to see some of you there! xx


Here's a selection of smaller works that will be in the show...I'll share the larger pieces later
Ancient One

A Northern Trader

The Autumn Cloak

The Soothsayer

The Green Maid
And some imagery of Montsalvat if you've never been there...magic hey? ;)
(images are from the Montsalvat website)
















Friday, July 17, 2015

the enchanted harp...

Beauty to be found over on Terri Windling's blog as usual - this time dealing with the myths and stories surrounding the celtic harp...just my cup of tea! It is such stories that inspired me to learn the harp when I was younger :)
My favourite tale I've copied below...

-----

"Into the Woods" series, 39: The Enchanted Harp

A tale from Scotland's Isle of Skye relates how music first came to those lands. A poor youth found a strange instrument (a triangular harp) floating in the waves. He fished it out, set it upright, and the wind began to play the strings -- an eerie, lovely sound the like of which had never been heard. The boy could not duplicate the sound, although he tried for many long days. So obsessed did he become that his widowed mother ran to a wizard (a dubh-sgoilear) to beg him to give her son the skill to play the instrument -- or else to quell his desire for it. The dubh-sgoilear offered her this choice: he would take away the boy's desire in exchange for the widow's body, or he'd give him the gift of music in exchange for her mortal soul. She chose the later and returned home where she found her son plucking beautiful, heavenly music from the strings of the harp. But the boy was horrified to learn the price his mother had paid for his skill. From that moment on, he began to play music so sad that the birds and the fish stopped to listen. And that, concludes the old Scottish tale, is why the music of the harp sounds poignant to this very day.

Read the rest here : 

http://www.terriwindling.com/blog/2015/07/into-the-woods-series-39-the-enchanted-harp.html

"The Holly Tree" by Marja Lee

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Interlude...

Ohh so much to catch up on...poor little bloggy blog...But I'll be back soon, with travelling tales, new art and exhibitions on the horizon...
but these are the thoughts i'm hanging onto at the moment-

"When it's over, I want to say: all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it's over, I don't want to wonder
if I have made of my life something particular, and real.
I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened,
or full of argument.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world."

-Mary Oliver



Saturday, May 31, 2014

oh little bloggy blog, what shall we do with you!

Ahhh I'm not very good with keeping my little blog up to date am I? Oh dear! I admit, I've been updating my facebook art page so much more as usually it's more a quick sharing of images rather than long winded or detailed blog posts.....but detailed, magical, thought provoking posts are something I love to read myself on other peoples pages....I just cant seem to find the words myself! Ah well, I just need to do what I can do, let things flow and not put too much pressure on myself...words and ideas will come...one day...hehe :)

For now, some inspiring quotes and poetry and new (ish) works that I have not shared on here as yet....



"Luna" a private commission (2014)
 " I write for the child in everybody, that part of us that is aware and open and courageous. It's also that part of us that isn't afraid to explore the mythical depths, that vast part of ourselves we know little about and which we often fear because we can't manipulate or control it. That's where art is born."
- Madeline L'Engle (found via Myth and Moor)


"Lyra and koti" (2013)

"Green Children"
 Dazed they were, and scared, 
lying on the cold stones,
their arms and legs green.
Not the dark green of ivy,
not the yellow green of apples
ripe on the summer bough,
nor the deep green of the ocean
where it leans against its bed.
They were the green of leeks,
of the new-furled feather fern,
of the early leaf breaking soil.
When they opened their eyes,
their eyes were green, too,
and the little hairs on their arms
were inchworm green.
They spoke a green language
which the trees and flowers knew
but which we did not.
The boy died of a wasting,
the girl lived on,
eating broad beans,
forgetting her green tongue
growing whiter each day,
till she was christened
and married and all all white.
Not the white of milk
after the cream is skimmed off,
nor the white of October snow,
nor the white of a spring lily,
waxen and still,
nor the white of sea pearls
formed within the shell.
She was the white of the old moon
that shines over the hall. "

(by Jane Yolen - much loved and the idea of 'green children' has inspired many of the pieces below....)


"Wildling" (2014)

"Strange Journey" (2014)

"She spoke a green language" (2014)

"In the greenwood when the world was young" (2014)

"Fae" (2014)

"The Green Child" (2013)


"....when a bird cries out,
Or the wind sweeps through a tree,
Or a dog howls in a far off farm,
I hold still and listen for a long time.
My world turns and goes back to the place
Where, a thousand forgotten years ago,
The bird and the blowing wind
Were like me, and were my brothers.
My soul turns into a tree,
And an animal, and a cloud bank.
Then changed and odd it comes home
And asks me questions. What should I reply?"
-Hermann Hesse



work in progress......








Sunday, December 29, 2013

New beginnings at the tail end of the year...


"The Seed Keeper" 2013
More new work to come... :)

Friday, April 12, 2013

Trying to begin...

"May what I do flow from me like a river, no forcing and no holding back, the way it is children" 
-Rainer Maria Rilke

I've been having a strange year so far... finding it difficult to start projects, and when I finally do, it's very hard to knuckle down and get the work done and not be distracted.
But things have been ticking along, slowly, slowly.
I feel like I have turned some sort of corner at least - I've begun writing again, something I used to love when I was in high school but something that I seem to have had a huge block about since. It's like I could never get into the right mind set, but that, thankfully has now been cracked so I hope it continues...don't know if the stories are any good but at least I'm writing!
This is a very dear wish of mine - to write and illustrate my own children's books, instead of just illustrating other peoples...so we shall see...
So this above is my affirmation for a while :)

I've also been very much enjoying the discussions about daily "rituals of beginning" on the Myth and Moor blog  - my daily rituals at the moment are not very conducive to creatively so it's something that must be worked on and there's much inspiration to be found on Terri's blog.

I have many plans for the next few months - I need to work on products for my online shop, ideas and illustrations for children's books to work on, commissions to start and of course, to share more thoughts on here.

For now I'll leave you with a couple of paintings I've managed to complete in the last few weeks :)


"Following the Moon Paths"

"White Star"

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Sunday, December 2, 2012

And the weeks go by...

Well, it's been a busy few weeks...thank you to all you beautiful people who came to the "Shapeshifter" exhibition and also those who came and found me at "The End of the Line Festival" up here in Belgrave. And of course a huge giant thank you and hugs to all those who bought artwork! I couldn't get by without you :)

I thought I'd share some photos and images of the events...I'm afraid there's not many and they aren't the best, but ah well, they give you a glimpse. More can be found on my Facebook page here

"Hedge-dweller" from 'Shapeshifter'

"Mother of the Mountain" from 'Shapeshifter'

"Wood Wife" from 'Shapeshifter'

"Lost Children" and "Trickster" from 'Shapeshifter'

"Wood Witch" (centre) from 'Shapeshifter'

"Crow Mother", "Daughter of Dana" and "First Shaman"

The shapeshifters :P


And at the "End of the Line"...

My stall at the end of the line...bit of a weird set up as the wind and sun were playing havoc with us all day!

Just a small section of the market, there was lots more round the corner...and music and art exhibitions happening up and down the main street

View down to the little market stage, we had beautiful live music all day

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

"Shapeshifter"

An exhibition of work inspired by mythology and story... I'm very excited to be part of this exhibition, it's going to be beautiful!
Showcasing the amazing talents of illustrators - Cameron Brideoake, Creature creature, Luka Va, Luke Whitten and Me!


here's some sneak peeks..... :)

One of my pieces...

Creature creature

Cameron Brideoake
Luka Va
Luke Whitten