28 November 2013

behind the scenes with Emma de Clario

Firstly, a bit of housekeeping!  I have decided to rename the {art love} project to This Wild Song.  {art love} is something that I've featured in my newsletters where I showcase artists that I've discovered and loved, I wasn't 100% on calling the artist portrait project the same name.  After reading a poem that featured in one of Emma de Clario's paintings I realised that This Wild Song was the perfect name.  You can read the poem on the This Wild Song blog here.

Emma is the first artist I have photographed and her portrait with an in depth interview is now live on This Wild Song.



I photographed Emma on a bright sunny day and had her lie in the bed of poppies in the shade for that even but bright light.  The theme for these portraits is for the artists to become a part of their work, and for that reason I'll be using an aperture of at least 11.   I shot Emma's portrait on 400 speed Fuji film for the high aperture and to bring out the green in the poppies, and the final shot was f11 with the shutter speed at 60.  I had the film processed and scanned by Hillvale which is a new lab in Melbourne and I definitely recommend them, the service is reasonably priced and super fast!

What I find interesting about Emma's work is how she applies beeswax to her paintings as the final layer, plus she often incorporates photos taken on her phone.  I love these layers in her work and I wanted to bring that into the photograph so I held a piece of dirty glass over the lens as I took the shots.

Please visit This Wild Song to view Emma de Clario's portrait and interview, and don't forget to follow us on facebook as well x

25 November 2013

pop up shop at The Art Room


This year I've begun working at The Art Room which runs art classes and workshops for adults, and is located in the Cotton Mills in Footscray (Melbourne).  I'm teaching photography for beginners and some workshops, plus I'm also working behind the scenes such as redesigning the website.

For this years Maribyrnong Open Studios, The Art Room hosted a fantastic day with lots of events.  There was an exhibition of the students work, a free drawing workshop, you could meet the teachers and find out about the upcoming classes, and a pop up shop of my work and Merryn Trevethan's new home wares range Stochastica.

Teaching is something I never ever thought I'd be confident doing but I was brave and tried it, and surprisingly I really enjoyed it!  I'm looking forward to teaching some more next year, and if you have any suggestions for workshops you'd like me to teach please let me know.

Places to classes are limited to if you'd like to join The Art Room's mailing list please do so here.

20 November 2013

the first {art love} portrait!

I spent Tuesday morning with the lovely and the talented Emma de Clario shooting the first official {art love} portrait yay!  That's our it's a wrap photo above...

I had a so much fun hanging out with Emma and I'm loving how this project is turning out to be a collaboration with myself and the artist I'm photographing.  I'm already finding it so fulfilling and I've only just begun!  I have so much energy for this series, and so many ideas, and I'm totally bursting with fruit flavour (Reality Bites quote unquote).

I dropped the film off today and can't wait to check out the scans, but in the meantime I will be interviewing Emma about her work so stay tuned for her feature in the not too distant future.....

The Question Not Asked 
© Emma de Clario
see more examples of Emma's work at http://emmadeclario.com

16 November 2013

a portrait of spring


This has to be the coldest, windy-est, rainy-est November Melbourne has ever seen!  Summer is just around the corner, can't you tell?

12 November 2013

Maribyrnong open studios

I'm super excited to be hosting my first pop-up shop with Stochastica at The Art Room on the 23rd of November!  Open studios is always a great day and as well as the pop-up shop there'll be a drop in drawing workshop, plus the teachers will be on hand to answer any questions you have about the classes offered.  For all the info and to RSVP please check out The Art Room FB event.


I'll be selling some of my smaller prints like the dolls dresses, save on postage - come say hi!

11 November 2013

disposable camera project


These are my photographs from the Disposable Camera Project which was hosted by Colour Box Studio in Footscray.  It was a super fun little project where you picked up a disposable camera, took your shots and returned it within twenty four hours.  Colour Box Studio has all sorts of great things going on!  Be sure to check them out at colourboxstudio.com

23 October 2013

sometimes artists get the blues.

To be honest I’ve experienced a bit of a slump with my personal work this year.  It’s a messy combination of life getting in the way and not having very much time to commit to my practice, and a loss of confidence.  I think all practicing artists would feel like their career is a bit of rollercoaster, the only way through is to ride the waves and keep working.

copycats
It’s said that there are no new ideas and perhaps it’s true, but it really sucks when someone copies your work.  I’ve had some of my ideas ‘appropriated’ and it can definitely get you down if you let it.  I recently had a well known artist clearly borrow from one of my photographs.  ‘Why is this famous person copying me AND getting all the glory??  Haven’t they got enough glory!’ ...you get the woeful picture.  The best thing you can do is rise above it, try to take it as a compliment, put your blinkers on and continue on your path creating work that is true to you.


Post Exhibition Blues (or the PEBs)
Exhibiting a solo show takes a crazy amount of work and time.  You’re focused on a body of work for at least two years.  Then it’s hung on the gallery wall for two weeks.  And then it’s finished.  This is when you fall in a heap and the Post Exhibition Blues show their ugly heads. 

One piece of valuable advice given to me was to work one year in advance.  This means you have your work ready to show for the following year, which gives you plenty of time for marketing (learn how to create media packs here), and it also means you’re not so close to it when it’s being exhibited.  For me this is a good thing as I can look at the body of work objectively plus I seem to be more relaxed when I'm already working on the next series, ergo a much more enjoyable opening!


loss of confidence
I completed my degree in 1998 and have continued to create since then with some breaks like when I travelled, had babies, or have woken up with no confidence.  Most artists I know suffer from self doubt as well and I’m not sure why that is?  Maybe because art can be such a solitary practice and you start second guessing yourself, or because it’s so personal and sometimes we find it difficult to really put ourselves out there. 

I know one common cause and that’s comparing yourself to the others.  With the wonderful interwebs we have access to so much knowledge but it can also be a hindrance, causing us to be overwhelmed with information overload.  The cliché is true, the only artist you should compare yourself to is you.


sometimes you fail
Recently a friend helped me shoot a new self portrait and after spending a precious child free day editing it, I sat back and looked at it with fresh peepers.   It was not good.  At all.  I was so disappointed that it didn’t turn out how I imagined!  Again, I let it get to me for a bit but then I remembered that sometimes ideas don’t work out and that’s okay.  Perhaps the idea will develop further into something else?  What have I learned from this shoot that will be useful for another idea?  Like all of these situations a change of perspective is all you need to turn your frown upside down.  And yes I know that sometimes that’s easier said than done :)


When you’re feeling low try to;
  • look back through your achievements and reflect on what you’ve learned along the way
  • look to the future and list your goals, make sure you dream big!
  • take a break from the internet
  • get some fresh air and hug a tree
  • rest, relax, and have some fun
and most importantly...................


be kind to yourself x

15 October 2013

onefourfour

I'm super excited to be curaating my first project and it's a big one!  It's called onefourfour and I've invited twelve artists to create art to twelve themes over twelve months.  The project will begin in January and the art works will be posted on the onefourfour blog

In the meantime I'll be revealing the participating artists over on the onefourfour facebook page...


09 October 2013

print giveaway!!

To thank my lovely subscribers for their support I'll be giving a print away from my etsy shop!  To join the mailing list please pop your email address here...  Good luck everyone!