Blast from the past

Found this old artwork, a bit battered.

Need to remount it, and iron out kinks.

From a time in the 80's when I did lots of pics
on textured coloured paper.

1987 - makes me feel old!

It is entitled 'Children of the world'.

Competition with Play Doh

To win this 'build a model with Play Doh' competition would
be great, $10,0000 would be handy right now.

No actually, I really need that money to fix poor Rosie my car.
She needs thousands spent on her.

So radio station KIIS and Play Doh combine, to let any age
person build a model, preferably of the prize they'd like to win.

Well a trip to Paris would be nice, and still money left over to
fix my car.

Now Play Doh and I have a bit of history. We didn't buy heaps
of the stuff, well commercially, because everything is somewhat
expensive isn't it ?

We did buy some, and also some tools, then it became quite a
collection of second hand modelling tools. Around the
neighbourhood  from garage sales or op shops, we gathered,
until we had the best collection of kiddy modelling tools in town.

A breakthrough - was finding out you could actually cook your
own, on the stove top. From cheap basic ingredients, add food
colouring to dye.

You could even add glitter of you wanted. So I made a fair bit of
the stuff for my 3 kids, and they had fun at their little clear perspex
table out on the deck.

So it took me back, doing this again years later. I had donated their
tool kit, to a friend with younger kids when mine grew out of it.
So had to find replacement gear from kitchen utensils, clay
modelling tools etc.

I made lots of the basic colours, intending to intermix to get
secondary colours. Making black was going to be tricky.

I had to come up with something eye catching, different, and
probably topical. Miss Piggy and Kermit's break up had been in the
media lately, so that was my spark.

So a spa was fashioned, from a recyclables base of styrofoam
boxes our plumbing parts had come in.

Then the two figurines were modelled, and held together with
armatures of wire and toothpicks and skewers.

Play Doh is not really intended for fine modelling detail, I soon
realised, many frustrating hours later.

After one stage of nearly throwing it in the bin, I decided to
persevere. There was deadline of only 3 days. Make or break time.

Think of a quirky title. Make a Parisian backdrop with the iconic
Eiffel Tower. Photograph and submit. Well, being technology-
challenged, ask your daughter to submit.

It's done now, and really I don't think I could have done any
better, due to the degree of difficulty with dough, and time
constraints.

C'est la vie!

 The plain dough, ready to colour.

 Basic colours, and a marbled one for the edge of the spa.

 Spa made, cover all in Glad Wrap as dough dries out and salt crystals start to show.

 Make a backdrop of Paris skyline at night, as seen through a window. 

An old frame was used for this and a pic printed off the Internet.

 Cocktail glasses not so great - but as they were last I was well and truly over it all by now!

 Miss Piggy at first was way too busty, it had been hard to calculate her size, no reference showed it really well. So after a comment by my daughter on this, it was decided to give her a breast reduction.

The couple in happier times.

Cooking Fun and less waste

Sustainable cooking, trying to have less kitchen and food wastage.
The Internet, and in particular Pinterest, have lots of great ideas.

We always have left over Burrito bases, so it seems you can make
all sorts of nice cooking projects with these.

I use the term 'cooking' loosely here, because nothing was complicated,
in fact it all came together so quickly.

Pizza bases, parmesan crisps and sweet spiced cookies all from the
basic ingredients. So if you suddenly had to produce things for visitors,
or just spontaneous extra food there you go, and fast.

The cookies I put my own stamp on, using a heart shaped cutter and also
cinnamon, to make them tasty and pretty.

They can't be too unhealthy either, just the finest dusting of vanilla sugar.
A sprinkle of cinnamon, and they are wafer thin, so a sugar hit but not
really substantial. There is a little greasing with veg, oil.

Parmesan crisps were strips cut and basted with veg. oil. then sprinkled
with fresh grated parmesan cheese and the powdered kind too.

Thin and crispy pizza bases, first puffed in a pan. Then top and bake with
favourite toppings, less base more topping flavour.

 These bake quickly and are thin, and only mildly sweet, not sickly over-sweet.

Store in an air tight container, will last for days.

 Pizza bases that are a good size serve for one personal pizza = 4 slices.

The parmesan crisps. These were probably the favourite, very crisp and savoury. 

Pretty patterns left behind on the baking tray, 

from dusting cookies with vanilla sugar and cinnamon.

Muogamarra in the Spring

Here is a selection of wildflowers at this national park, not far
from where I live.

It is only open for 6 weekends a year in Spring. Nearby is Pie
In The Sky cafe, convenient for coffee.

Way too busy there, queues of people, a Bikie haven, so off to
Cowan general store for an ice cream and our quiet lookout all
to ourselves.

 Scribbly gum bark.

Great vistas at the park, and below an interesting rock feature. 

The stone plate has a hole right through it, big drop.

 To finish, a break at the lookout at Cowan.

Exhibition looms

This is another week, another batch of printmaking flurry.
Last week as we go off on school holiday break for a fortnight.

Prints to ponder, finishing off, selection, titles, prices, framing,
a bit of last minute pressure.

 While I could grab people, amongst all the activity, to contribute to a newsletter 

for June, a foundation member of nearly 4 years. She may find it difficult to 

return for a while, due to health issues, so we sent some of our shared experiences. 

Maybe she can come to our opening of the show at the library.

 Monoprints with leftover ink, cheerful messages from members.

 Pockets for special pieces, interesting and different papers.

 The story page of our group.

 Some of Vivienne's work, above and below.

 Marianne's Jenolan rock formations.

 Caroline's sketches and prints of fern fronds.

 Studying results from the press. John and Marianne.

 Inky roller.

 Mikaela hard at work. Studies of fellow commuters to be immortalised in drypoint.

 Very important staple - morning tea cake, warm from the oven, home-baked goods.

 Love our studio's door knob, have put this in my artwork before.

 The balcony that runs from our studio, looking over the giant Lilly Pilly.

 Rustic elegance of an old fireplace and mantle.

 Mechanical marvel, our press.

The little sign that leads into the room.

Press Gang day

Here is a page of Press Gang activity, we are gearing up for our
next exhibition.

 The front desk where John holds fort, good reference books on printmaking, 

the roll, maybe examples of various print methods.

 Interesting ink colours being prepared in readiness for collagraphs.

 Caroline's framed mixed media and collaged works, incorporating some woodblock and stitching.

 The press where magic happens, we wait with baited breath to see the results revealed.

 Our sink, painters have been here before us.

 My pile of prints, decisions to be made, a tree or not a tree (to be added)?

 Helen hand carving vinyl.

 2 different collagraph plates, mine and Cecily's, showing shapes and textures.

 Inking up Vivienne's collagraph plate, native fauna.

 Berri's reduction linocut. Showing the various stages and results. 

 A good mottled effect in the centre of this flower.

 John displays the results of Cecily's fish print.

 Very experimental, pre-washed paper with food dyes used as you would 

watercolour,then overprinted with a drypoint. I'm very happy with this, 

thanks John for choosing the right positioning of the landscape.

 The drying racks filling after a productive day. Berri suggested this shot.

Rather than wasting this lovely shade of blue ink, Berri 

attempts a monoprint using a spoon as a barren  tool.