an art gesture a day....

I've been enormously peeved by multiple aspects of the art world for a mighty long time - and some of that has come to a head lately.... feeling totally annoyed after my Impact trip (oh my but the pretentiousness of some of the presenters at Impact was almost too much for me!) I launched into writing my 'process' chapter.....

BLAH!

you know how you shouldn't go shopping on an empty tummy? well you should try writing about your art when you are feeling sick and tired of arrrrrrrt....

I struggled on valiantly - and handed in a pretty pedestrian initial draft - then abandoned writing and considered abandoning the whole Higher Degree (well for a few hours anyway...)

then I thought 'hang it all - I'm just going to do something silly, just for me for a bit'

the very next day 'an art gesture a day' was born...  and I immediately threw myself into the challenge (its now day eleven....)

something strange and mysterious is happening  - my annoyance is disappearing... my joy in making is returning.... my well is filling.... my mood is lifting....


and gosh darn it - even though its designed as a lightning quick art movement - some of the bits and pieces created are .... DAMN GOOD! damn it!




hmmmmmm there's something in this idea



(to be continued...)



....

book culture zine...

 

the third in my ongoing zine series... 

'Book culture'

 front

(featuring a detail of  'Navigo')

 inside features a mini print of  'Ex Libris'

  turn the page for a small view of 'Fahrenheit 451'

back

(a little flotilla of encyclopaedia boats from my ephemeral work at SotE)

this zine is archival inkjet
on 160gsm recycled paper

  edition of 50

 it's A4 - folded to 10 x 10.5cm

and comes in a DL envelope (100% recycled paper)

 

This is the third in a small series of related zines

and like the other two it features a pithy booky quote 

 

 

...

 

tiny promo zine...

Whilst in a zine moment - I also made a small 'promo' concertina zine
- containing a handful of book/site/installations

front

inside

...

The Enemies of Books zine...

The Enemies of Books

front

inside

lift the first image for the second inside spread

back

the little zine is archival inkjet
printed on Mohawk Superfine

very limited edition of just 20

it's A4 - folded to 10 x 10.5cm

and comes in a DL envelope (100% recycled paper)

another zine from a small series

each zine contains a blend of photos of my ephemeral artworks

and some of my other related photographs

along with a pithy booky quote

....

book passions zine...

I'm up to my nostrils in exegesis writing 

(the 'process' chapter is giving me all manner of grief)

I forgot to share the little zine I created in response to my art-in-res stint in Byron Bay


'Book Passions'

 front

inside

 lift the page for another interior double spread

 back

the little zine is archival inkjet
on 160gsm recycled paper

very limited edition of just 20

 it's A4 - folded to 10 x 10.5cm

and comes in a DL envelope (100% recycled paper)

This is the second in a small series of related zines

'Book Passions' features ephemeral bookworks and pics from my time
as artist-in-residence for Byron Bay Writers Festival 2011
along with another pithy booky quote

....

far enough...

I'm currently exhibiting a piece as part of 

'Far Enough - Aesthetic responses to the Far South Coast'

at the Bega Valley Regional Art Gallery

Rhonda Ayliffe

Kooraban Koalas

Archival inkjet photographic print
58.0 x 140.0cm

my accompanying art statement...

"In spring of 2010 I heard a strange sound emanating from the forest of the Kooraban National Park behind my home. It was a mixture of a bellow/roar/grunt of monstrous proportions. Surely someone or something was being killed in a hideous fashion in the depths of the park. Weeks later, as word of the dreadful sound passed around, I received a call from Chris Allen, aka National Parks koala survey man – and over the phone Chris made a frighteningly accurate imitation of that scary sound: “What you heard was a male koala announcing his territory”. Wow. What a way to find out that you live next to arguably the most vulnerable koala population in the land of Oz..."

Kooraban Koalas is the photographic record of an ephemeral work, set up in the Kooraban National Park, at the site Chris and I surveyed in January this year.... the piece (in various manifestations) has been in the works since the day trip surveying Jimmy's Creek site with ANU folk back in April....

I have been deeply touched by the story of the koalas of the Kooraban - leading to my small participation in the Kooraban koala surveys and contribution to the documentation of local koala history (the document will be publicly released later in the year I think). Although I'm aware its not at all discernible in the displayed photographic work, this piece mostly represents my unfolding ideas about the blending of knowledge and site, art and practical work....

....

at impact 7...

Last week I went to Melbourne
to attend Impact 7 international printmaking conference
(with the assistance of a grant from Regional Arts NSW... thanks RANSW)

I was there to set up the small exhibition for Book Art Object...

and present as part of Open Portfolio...

I also managed to catch a few interesting chats and keynote speakers 

(so many things to choose from)

and check out a heap of other booky/printmaking exhibitions on offer

and take in the sights of Melbourne....

The best bit was a trip to Beautiful Silks in Fitzroy 

where I collected a whole bunch of supplies 

to try out as part of the next major bit of work for Codex Infinitum...

 mmmmm threads, yarns, cloth, ribbons.... 

I'm looking forward to getting my hands really into these 

as I trial a few of my gestating ideas about books and creek 

and using materials found on site....

...

and second place goes to....

ME!

that's right - I was awarded second place
in the annual Gippsland campus

research poster competition

(remember I shared a piccie of my poster here)

small happy dance

(it was only second place after all....
but I do like the idea that my arty research mixed it with
the engineering or medical or education boffins
and came out almost victorious!)

Byron Bay Writers Festival

I have completed my stint as artist-in-residence at the Byron Bay Writers Festival....
and an interesting time it was too...

I set up a project specific blog here

where I experimented with mobile blogging as an active part of my residency.
I've also ruminated on the experience at my usual bloggy home.

During my brief residency I completed 3 main off-site ephemeral installations
(books books and more books)

 

I worked onsite from Thursday August 4 -
when I set up a collaborative sculptural piece using the slave labour
of Northern Rivers high school students to make
thousands of origami book hearts to complete a version of a book tower work

On the main festival days (Friday 5 - Sunday 7 August)
I completed more ephemeral book installations onsite 

and also spent the days binding my latest very loooooong book -
which certainly got the public's attention -
allowing some lovely conversations to develop.

I was really pleased with the work I was able to produce in the very short stint

and I'm keen to complete some of the pieces -
turning work into a small zine (or two)
a small photographic series
and perhaps a blurb book

we'll see

I will continue to work on my loooooong book

(it's a loooong way from completion)

but I also have a monster load of other arty commitments
over the next short while!

....

research poster...

Completed over the last weekend - my academic research poster for art and design display at gippsland campus (and for the academic research poster competition....)

(click for monster embiggen)

slow growing...

my slow book is slowly growing...

in the evening,
the fire is glowing,
our kidlins have stared dreaming their dreams
(we are early-to-bed, early-to-rise farm folk, so kidlins are usually fast asleep by 8pm)

I get out my booky bundles and start stitching... 

the book creature spills from my lap and along the lounge chair

it's almost 2m 'long' already (how did that happen?)

often one of the beastie cats curls itself inside the book coils...
careful not to tread on the pages - good cats!

I pat the cat and the book 

and go back to stitching

With hands engaged, my mind can wander

I am thinking about my forthcoming BIG road trip to Byron Bay Writers Festival

for my stint as the Festival's first ever artist-in-residence

(gulp)

 I've decided to take this emerging book creature with me

(I'm sure it would appreciate a good road trip -
just as I would appreciate the comforting presence
of a book to stitch...)

...

meetings....

 The last few days have been all meetings meetings meetings... 

Yesterday I was at Bermagui...

 

Arts Network meeting - special guests included Elizabeth Rogers (CEO Regional Arts NSW), Libby Christie (Australia Council Executive Director Arts Funding), Lindy Hume (Sydney Festival Director, chair South East Arts).....

 Bermagui ('bermy') is one town over from my hometown... a small fishing port (and now the fishing industry has all but collapsed.... so it's a town in transition...)

(looking through the boats and water toward Gulaga and my home at Sams Creek - to the left and at the base of the mother mountain)


As soon as I got home it was phone meeting time - with the director of Byron Bay Writers Festival - trying to work out details of my forthcoming appointment as festival artists in residence...... hmmmmmmmm its going to be 'interesting' - I'm very much having to make my own way with this residency (and as the inaugural AiR I am feeling a bit of the pressure to 'get it right'...... ahhh if only I had more time.... only a few weeks until I have to hit the road and weave a bit of booky magic... yikes)



...

down monash way....

 Winter Symposium 2011

day time - talk talk talk ....
night time - talk talk talk ....

 mulled red wine

 this year - a small collaborative book project to punctuate the talk talk talk.....

 

 (my contribution)

 

lovely covers and book collation by Rosalind Atkins

(lovely)

then home again home again

(yay)

...