a tiny world of disproportionate curiosity;  a place where the traditions of art, fashion and theatre often coalesce in the surreal

30 April 2011

{Mirka}


The Mirka exhibition at 
finishes tomorrow.


Mirka Mora and the circle of artists she belonged to,
have been of such inspiration to me and my work.

Books on her art, and that of the rest of the Heide Circle ,
have been at my fingertips ever since I can remember...

the exhibition catalogue
is available here online

her use of symbolism... flowers, birds, angels, dolls, animals;
'primativ style; mythical, fairytale themes and vast portfolio
metamorphosising as painting, sculpture, mosaic and more,
has captured my vivid imagination ever since I was a child.



Mirka Mora with her soft sculptures

My grandmother Clare, learnt doll-making from Mirka at 
the CAE in the 1970s and produced many beautiful mythical
creatures and dolls in this house where I am now living.

She and my grandfather ran a kind of folk art gallery up here
with a regular weekend market selling local arts and crafts,
and had glass cases built in which Clare exhibited her dolls.

doll by Clare K. Woods (my grandmother)

I spent endless hours as a little girl watching my
'Nana' create all manner of beautiful art objects.

Strangely enough, where we were living in the city for 3 years,
was directly across from Mirka's old studio at 8 Rankins Lane.

my 'Heidi' doll

I would stare at it every day from my own tiny workroom...

How nice it would have been to have popped into Mirka's on
my breaks for a cup of coffee and a chat about doll making.

Ari outside the doorway to Mirka's old studio



is one of my favourite places to visit around Melbourne

the old farm house at Heide

I love the history of the place, and I love so much the work
of the artists that it (and John and Sunday Reed) supported.

Girl by Joy Hester 1957

The gardens are so beautiful, especially th kitchen garden,
and the modernist building is a really incredible space to visit...

Heide II

But it's such a pleasure to me, being able to walk through
the old house since it's restoration, and imagine what it would
     have been like...

as a sanctuary for artists through the 1930s to the 1950s


John Reed cutting Joy Hester's hair 
while Sunday Reed Watched

29 April 2011

Welcome to the Dollhaus


There is so much beautiful 
vintage, handcraft and artwork


pouring out of every corner of
my studio at the moment.



I've been playing around with some ideas for photo shoots
...outfits, poses, settings, lighting, props
...there's quite a lot to consider


my grandmother made the stained glass window in the 1970s 


will be opening very soon...



27 April 2011

Once Upon A Time


'greetings from the wonderful world'



my collage works on vintage card circa 2008

Well, we finally went to see the Disney exhibition at 
ACMI last Friday... and it was really truly wonderful!

I know a lot of people have issues with the world of Disney... being a corporation... past political alliances... the faceless no. of artists creating each piece that the Disney name is then put to... but the work itself, especially when one is given the 'oh so rare' opportunity to view it up close and personal, is simply incredible.

Walt Disney was definitely a visionary, I'll say that about him!

ONCE UPON A TIME: WALT DISNEY
THE SOURCES OF INSPIRATION FOR THE DISNEY STUDIOS

I purchased this fabulous book a few years back.
It's available here online and is well worth a read.

When you think about it The Walt Disney Studios have had
just as much influence on art and artists (if not more) as they
themselves have been influenced by the work of others...



The Saddest Place on Earth: 
The Art of Camille Rose Garcia 

24 April 2011

Mister Rabbit


more rabbity rabbits here 

FROHE OSTERN


I love this guy so much... I just had to post him again,
I hope you all have enjoyed a beautiful Easter.   xox


22 April 2011

{miss polly jean}


I've been listening to this a lot lately 
whilst driving to and fro along the freeway- 


of this most incredible songstress,
I am a most adoring fan, I must say,
yet it's the same with every album...

it always takes time for the love to grow,
like a flower slowly coming into bloom.

The longer I listen,
the deeper I fall into the richness
& the poetics of each new work.




And that, is something which I very much
enjoy about the music of Polly Jean Harvey.

Her work is so skillfully & thoughtfully crafted.



part of a collaborative series
I created with Jonathan 2009


Over the years, her songs have provided so much
inspiration for my own creative endeavours, that I feel,



from 'The Devil's Playground' 
a series which I am currently working on


 although we are complete strangers to one another,
we are also kindred spirits journeying side by side.


19 April 2011

the beauty of nature


All these lovely fairytale themed posts
reminded me of these little works of art...


which I created for an exhibition back in 2003 at 
Linden: Centre for Contemporary Arts 


It was a collaborative effort between myself
and the very talented Motoko Kikkawa.

papercut by Motoko Kikawa

The exhibition was entitled:

Flower Bird Wind Moon

which is the literal translation of the characters 
forming the japanese term Kachofugetsu.

Together these characters translate as

'The Beauty Of Nature'.


In the tradition of japanese art,
any one or all of these symbols will
 be included in any work depicting 
the beauty of the natural world.


This concept formed the basis for 
our explorations in this exhibition
and the inspiration for our artwork.

17 April 2011

sehr schön


just like something out of a dream


knowing that places like this really exist, 
makes me love this world, 
all the more...



found via little lost love: also beautiful 

12 April 2011

the broken

Allegory of The Four Elements
by Mark Ryden


Hair Hat
styled by Nagi Noda

The below images are from the Broken Label

-a brief collaboration between
American lowbrow artist Mark Ryden
and Japanese pop artist Nagi Noda

The fabrics in themselves were an incredible thing.


Nagi Noda died in Sept 2008, so sad.. she was only 35.

The Broken Label became a single range of women's wear
that was only available in Paris and Tokyo for a short while after 
her death, and is now incredibly sought after the world wide....


a fairytale world

image found via this dreamy Etsy store

Sasha who owns Astral Boutique has one
of the loveliest profiles that I have ever read.

The life she has created sounds simply beautiful,
and her home seems like the kind of earthy,
art-filled place that we hoped to create too,
when we left the big smoke behind last year.

If I lived anywhere near Grass Valley,
I should very much like to pop into Sasha's
for a cup of tea, some lovely music,
and a wander through the woodlands.

I love 'the bush', it has it's own mythical beauty,
 but a part of my spirit (perhaps the german part),
forever longs for faraway fairytale forests.

 Visit Sasha's store here for pretty bohemian vintage,
or to just take a peek into the world in which she lives.

10 April 2011

Nathalie Lété





Anthropologie 
also have a lovely selection of 
Nathalie Lété 's work available here 

...how I wish they shipped internationally...


06 April 2011

The Blue Wall




I painted a wall in our house this beautiful blue.

Above are the artworks which now reside there,
in-between two archways.  They are as follows...

                       1. the goblin mask
                           made and worn by a friend to my 23rd birthday

                       2. 'Madam' from The Living Doll
                           (a series which I am currently working on)

                       3. The Moon by Ariel Gray (then three years old)

one of the archways is rectangular and the other is rounded;
one was carved by my grandfather and the other  by my father.

The wall itself is really a work of art,

and I would include a photo of it here
if our house weren't so messy,

ah, but mess is such a part of life for artists (and kids)...



perhaps our very world was born out of such chaos, 

perhaps

04 April 2011

kirei


via Lylybye (via Vogue Japan May 2011)

Kate Moss 
photographed by 
Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott 

The Sky Last Night


It's been years since I lived in a house where I could see the sky.
Now we live on the side of a hill and gaze out over the valley.
At dusk we watch the sun descend over the hills and 
can see the sky, as she dances her way into night, 



from every room in the house.


of course living on a hill makes it difficult to clean the windows...