Rustnstuff: 05/12

Friday, May 25, 2012

A gesture on Friday

Still tucked away in a hospital bed, at least this time in Maleny, but managing to do some sketches and take and alter the odd photo.

This is my sketch book with the work I planned to do today; until pain intervened. Taken using PhotoCamera.

The same sketch book page altered.

Some plans for some posts and fonts...

Ahh, the view! This looks like it was taken after mind-altering drugs, shame I'm not on any.

And some sunny sunflowers for Edith-Ann and Carol.

Thanks for all the good wishes support, etc. I hope to be back bashing metal soon.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Home on the mountain

Well one can only have so much excitement in the city before it becomes a tad boring looking at ceilings.

So today Fiona brought me back up onto the restorative mountains.

The last couple of days have been a little painful healthwise but in the end not life threatening. I had a virus of the sack around my heart. Some folk get sinus or chest virus but oh no not good enough - why not go for a heart sack virus? As they say in the ads - don't try this at home - I just don't recommend it - it hurts.

I had a bit of an event in the emergency area which resulted in a young (and I must say strong) woman pummelling my chest (CPR) until I just had to wake up and get on with it. However, that exuberant chest massage has left me a tad bruised and sore; and all the tentative breathing has resulted in a slightly collapsed lung. Still I'm well on the way to being dangerous to myself and others again.

Big thank-you to all those folk who sent good wishes etc.
It will take a little time for me to get into thrashing metal but that will happen. All photos taken with the trusty iPhone and altered.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Flowers on Friday

A brief post on Friday flowers on behalf of Barry!

He's having a short stay in hospital and so no real art got done. He received these flowers today, so we figured we could blog on Friday flowers - they are beautiful, artistic and allow for the almost compulsory Friday alliteration. But without the usual bubbles to follow!

He plans to resume normal transmission soon, stay tuned.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Shop is up and running

It seems that for a long time Fiona and I have been planning and promising to get our Shops up and operating on our websites. From time to time we haves been asked how can folk buy our stuff on-line. The day has finally arrived and the 'mini shops' have been tested and launched. We have also revamped or websites a bit as part of the shop development.Yippee!!

You can check out my shop by clicking Barry's Shop; and Fiona's shop by clicking Fiona's Shop.

We have had to set a policy for our shops. In the main, our shops will have items for sale that are not held in any gallery stockrooms or physical shops; and most will be light and robust for ease of posting. This means I will mainly have bowls, leaves, light incense burner and my Found and Formed Jewellery. Many similar lines and pieces will also be sold through the studio and in particular will be for sale during open studio days.

I built shelves in my clean studio to set the shop pieces aside so they do not get confused with what is on display and for sale through the studio (601 MVR).

The studio will have many other heavier pieces for sale such as my Light Catchers; personal shrines; other larger bowls; and outdoor sculptural pieces such as the 'posts' - similar to those below.

Of course these other items are also for sale by request. It has taken us some time but we are pleased that we have finally achieved our goal regarding our Shops.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Snow in autumn?

For some reason the Camellias on our block have just gone ballistic this year - heaps of growth and loads of flowers. We have had many beautiful specimens this year.

But we have also had masses of beautiful petals falling amongst the cuphea bushes and flowers - from the deck they look like snow amidst the foliage.

On the terraces below the house we have planted 40+ Camellia bushes. They are graded in colour to move from white-pink to very deep red pink as the bushes are spaced from the rock river towards the boundary of the block.

The plan is that we (Fiona really as she is chief pruner in our household) will prune the Camellia bushes into tree forms so that folk can walk along the terrace under the lowest branches of the small Camellia trees. We planted the Camellias about 2m apart; and are now thinking that is far too close and therefore may need to make every second one a tree and the others a small bush - a work in progress.

Friday, May 11, 2012

The water carrier

Our beloved Chief COMA Coordinator Ken Munsie has once again sent the word out that there shall be another COMA exhibition - this time in Rosetta Books a bookshop and the theme will be: The Twelve signs of the Western Zodiac. The exhibition will run for 3 weeks - 1 June to 22 June.The space is limited and therefore the pieces are to be small. 3D pieces are to be no bigger than 10x8x4 inches.

I have chosen to create a piece that represents my star sign - Aquarius. So Friday afternoon was, in the main, given over to COMA creation and completion. You can see from the photos below I have made a sacred water carrier-pourer (Carrier for the water of life) that has a slight Japanese temple influence. This piece reflects the fact that the Aquarius sign is usually portrayed as a water pourer or carrier.

The vessel is made from parts of a small brass pump from an old backpack spray; a copper rivet; a brass door stud; and the handle fashioned from another brass object from my 'collection'. I left most of the original patina in place - looks like it could be an old sacred object.

I also got time to finish the small light catcher with the swinging encased crystal - I think I will call this piece Circle of Light. The cogs and the brass perforated circle polished up beautifully.

A good Friday afternoon in the studio (garage and great outdoors). Now I hear 'a few bubbles' calling - so I best answer them.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

On moons and mushrooms

Like so many others we have been experiencing the most amazing moons over the past week because of the super moon phenomen. Most nights have been clear and cool-coldish so the moonlight has been extra bright and size of the moon has appeared extra big.

I can never take very good shots with the zoom on the iPhone camera; but with a bit of drifting cloud I got to play with the grainy texture and drifting clouds.

When we took delivery of a load of mushroom compost I thought we might get a repeat of the incidental mushroom crop from leftover spoors like we did last year. Initially nothing happened for a couple of weeks - disappointment!!. And then we had the rain and now mushrooms are bursting out all over. So there have been a few kilos harvested. Good news for many as we can share the bounty.

And just to finish on a slightly OTT photos below: one a double worked photo with an overlay of fake lightning; and the other with the Paper Camera app and then reworked a bit.

Never alone when you own an iPhone!!!!

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Leaf Fragments finds a new home

Fiona and I did another longish car trip to Goondiwindi (5 hrs each way) on Saturday and today to pick up the pieces I had entered into the Goonidwindi Aspects Art Show.

As you can see from the photo below Leaf Fragments (aka 'Big Leaf') was given an award but was not the competition winner. However, a local person liked it, wanted it and bought it. So Leaf Fragments will now reside in Goondiwindi. The new owner took us to her new home to show us where she planned to install the work - on a pale greyish rendered wall at the entrance to the house - perfect position - wall mounted.

The organisers of Aspects Art Show reported that the leaf was well received; and you can see from some of the footprints on the piece that some young ones got up and personal with it. It is a very robust piece and could handle the traffic. Photos of the other works I entered as they were presented at the show-exhibition follow.

The organisers of Aspects Art Show (Natalie Woods, Kate Owen and Kate Dight) should be very proud of the tremendous body of work they pulled together from all ages and a number of mediums; and for the curating of so much art in the corrugated hanger pavillion - congratulations to them.

It was good to take part in this art event that had so much energy and was seen by so many. We are tired from the trip but happy.

Rustnstuff

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