Myriad Me

Sculpture by the Sea 2012

OMG!

It's Sculptures by the Sea!

The Sculptures by the Sea exhibition at Cottosloe beach is in (on) the only gallery I've visited where I've had to wear sunscreen, remove my shoes and dodge the surf lifesavers running along the sand and carrying boards to the water. Well, if you're going to live alongside a vast white sandy and shimmering aquamarine coastline you may as well make full use of it...

There was an happy upbeat vibe as children ran along the sand gawping and giggling while indifferent teenagers sunbathed next to exquisitely constructed structures; families set up in the shade of the larger sculptures and hundreds of people smiled, ambled, chatted and enjoyed the sculptures.

It was interesting being on exactly the same level as the art, being able to walk under, through and around it (and ignore the 'no touching' signs!). Art in a bricks and mortar gallery is usually raised to eye level or above, brightly spot-lit, on a platform or surrounded by a barrier: everything about it screams out that 'THIS IS ART'; there is no mistaking it's allocated importance in the way that it is removed from you.

But here there was almost an irreverance, a lighter-hearted interaction with the pieces set on the sand and atop and under the trees on the dunes and grassy banks next to the ocean. These crocheted spiderwebs clung to a copse of native trees:

and these grey discs turned lazily in the breeze, suspended from taller trees.

One of my favourite pieces was a wooden shed, the roof of which was covered in tiny holes mirroring stellar constellations. Inside the darkness of the shed it turned blinding sunlight into twinkling starlight. Another was this wire double-funnel shape with a long tunnel down the middle:

And the winning entry? A dump truck made from children's foam playmats!

The exhibition is on until March 19, if you're in Perth then go!

You'll love it, I promise.

(Photographic note - I am struggling to shoot in the blinding sunlight of this town. All of these pics were taken in manual mode at 100 ISO. Somewhere on the sand I lost my spare battery so I'll have to upload pic specs later when I have my remaining battery charged!)

Market Girl

In the last week at school there was a Christmas market and families were invited to apply to set up a stall. On the very last day of submissions I hastily filled in the application form, stuffed it into the box and thought nothing would come of it. As it turned out there was a shortage of crafts to sell (but an abundance of food stalls) so we were accepted. Eeeek. That meant we had to make things, and fast...

We are now masters (mistresses?) of covering buttons with fabric and using them to then make bookmarks by attaching them to enormous paperclips, or threading hair elastics through them, or sticking them to magnets, or making hair clips. We so enjoyed making and then selling them, and I have to say that my girl is quite the charismatic saleslady! We covered our costs, made a modest profit and had a whole lot of fun along the way. Maybe there is an Etsy shop in me after all... and I have been meaning to start listing some photos for quite some time. Hmmm. It's a project for when I have a little more time.

Little Artiste

The Art Gallery of WA might have overzealous security, second rate (but nonetheless somewhat interesting) art (sorry but my last local gallery was filled with Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Canneletto, Boticelli, Titian, Da Vinci, Seurat, Reynolds, Cezanne, Vermeer, Rubens, Gainsborough, you get the idea), but they do at least always have an area or an activity for the kids. And friendly staff. And an awesome cafe.

Our most recent foray was into still life, and a little person was thrilled to have her work up on a wall in the gallery.

My little artiste. My little love.

Outskirts 2011

We stumbled across an art, fashion and design festival in Northbridge at the weekend in a post-dimsum haze of culinary and social satisfaction.

Outskirts 2011 filled the streets of Northbridge with a treasure trove of pop-up shops, mini art galleries, a vintage market, artisans, musicians, burlesque ladies reclining in shop windows (you try explaining nipple tassles to a 4 year old)...

There were free badges to collect to encourage you (and your small people) to explore hitherto unexplored locations, to venture into places you might not have ever set foot in otherwise. In one gallery books folded and cut dangled from ropes, words akimbo...

Outside the door of another shop was the box below. Does anyone still make mixtapes? Apparently so! I'm tempted to see if I can still buy tapes anywhere so I can do a swap... although what would I play it on in this digital age? It did get me thinking about what would be on a current mix tape if I was to make one...

The rain held off as we watched graffiti artists at (legitimate) work, admired the trinkets and creations of jewellers and artists in various reclaimed spaces, swept through the vintage clothes sale en route to fuel up the small people (I *know*, but sometimes the timing is just not right) and savoured the afternoon of unexpected pleasures.

Perth if you keep on giving me events like this I might start to love you just a little bit...

It was a good day.

 

A life in miniature ~ in the dolls house

When Sophia was 2 1/2 she received a dolls house for Christmas.

I bought it as an undecorated wooden flatpack and spent hours and hours lovingly building, painting, decorating and stocking it with all manner of miniature goodies.

It was one of the items I was desperately hoping would arrive intact from the UK and was so relieved when it did.

I was even more relieved that Sophia still wanted to play with it.

Dinosaurs like taking baths in this household.

And dogs doze in the laundry.

I might have to look into getting a few more beds for the nursery.

And for the poor little rabbit sleeping on top of the bookcase in the master bedroom!

Of all the miniature items I think the rocking horse and the food are my favourites.

  

I love being invited by Sophia to play with the dolls house with her. When she eventually wanders off I find myself still doling out tiny pieces of fruit onto tiny plates, and putting tiny vegetables in the tiny copper pot on the stove for their dinner. It transports me back to my dolls house, and my childhood.

 

I know that one day she will grow out of it, and it will be moved under a dust sheet to the back of a cupboard. But I hope she remembers this dolls house when she grows up. So much of my love is contained within it.

 

Photos by a 4 year old

On an early morning sojourn to the markets I need caffeine so we order and sit down.

Sophia knows I carry my iPhone with me. Everywhere.

'Mum'

(she has started to call me 'Mum' more and 'Mummy' less. She keeps growing, this little/big girl. Slow it on down baby)

'Yes babes'

(she sometimes calls me 'babes'. I can't think where she gets this from)

'Can I play with your phone?'

'Yep' I say as I hand it over. It's not like it's the first time.

With a few quick swipes and taps she's into Hipstamatic. She's IT savvy this one.

'Mum hold this'

I barely pause mid-conversation to take the coin and keep talking while she shoots.

My chipped nails are electric blue, a paint-job by my 7 year old niece. My hair is almost black thanks to a recent home-dye job.

'Mum hold this one up now'

She is lining shots up. I start to pay more attention. She is moving the phone around trying to get the placement she wants. That's my girl.

'Mum, look at me'

I strike a pose because I know it will make her giggle. And that's something always worth hearing.

She snorts.

'Muuuuum!'

I look at my girl.

My incredible, bold, sensitive, funny, sweet, shy, kind, creative, bright little love of my life.

And she takes my picture.

Little Jackson Pollocks

One of the Montessori ways seems to be to encourage children to recognise their own good work, to develop and internalize the ability to know when they've done something well and to not need to seek external validation for their efforts. It's helping them recognise when they've done a great job, the best one yet, as well as when it could be better. And they learn to be proud of what they do. We tend to shun hubris in the adult world seeing it as intrinsically linked to arrogance and ego, but taking pride in your work, being proud of your achievements is, for me, something worth learning.

Sophia was so proud of her work in her class's art exhibition this week. She knew she'd created something *good*. And boy was I proud of her and her big happy smile. My little girl. My little love. My little artist.

 

She wants to be an artist...

If you ask Sophia what she wants to be when she grows up she answers with "an artist". Sometimes with "song writer" (thanks no doubt to the musical influence of our uber talented singer/song writer friend Liz - if you have kids, buy her music, it totally rocks) but mostly 'artist'. I know these will most probably change, but it thrills me that she finds value in creating - images, sounds, words, abstracts - that she seems to derive pleasure and satisfaction from them in equal measure.

Today it rained. And rained. And rained some more. So we stayed indoors and found our way, with her cousin, to the free school holiday activities at the local shopping centre. Today it was chinese lantern painting, a tie-in to the new Kung Fu Panda movie. A most serious exercise for my little girl.

Every colour was considered and waited for if someone else was already using it. Her little hand hovered over one, then another, then another paint pot before she finally selected the one to work with next. It was a joy watching the concentration on her face, and the smile when she declared her masterpiece finished. Arms, hair and shirt paint smeared, she held her lantern aloft to show me, proud of her work.

My precious little artist. You make me so proud; Long may you create.

Aardvark letterpress love

"Begin in delight & end in wisdom"

I had to buy this Aardvark print when I saw it in the V&A last week. I love their manifesto prints - both the retro feel and the sentiments. I think I'm going to redo my blog header to include 'beginning in delight and ending in wisdom'!

Zoetrope at the V&A - a mini magic lantern!

Zoetrope at the V&A - Matt Collishaw's mini Magic Lantern

This exquisite zoetrope by Matt Collishaw creates the illusion of moths fluttering towards a lantern, and is the mini version of its big brother which sits in the cupola of the V&A's tower until mid-March. As it is immobile for several seconds and then spins in low light before the strobe lighting creates the illusion you can glimpse how it is constructed.

Brilliant, and enchanting, it made me feel like a big kid full of wonderment and grinning with the magic of it all.