(For special people only)

The way I know and practice it is that fine art is created by hand one piece at a time. So why give out a business card that’s been run on a macheeeeeeeeen! (aargh!) not to mention a few hundred times like a photocopy and yells: ‘I’m mass produced because there’s no time and its cheaper to do it this way’! Oh too sad, couldn’t do that to my ‘art’ representative could I?

Two of three kinds of cards. Hard ground etching with embossed 'soula' & stamped details

(more…)

It gets exciting now, and scary… I always have to prepare myself for the mirror image that faces me straight off the press, and maybe this isn’t so strange because I scratch my subject the way I see it (right reading, right?), and I work on it, over and over, right reading, right? Then suddenly it transforms to wrong reading but that’s the end result, that’s what remains as right reading, wrong forever! Did you get that?! (more…)

Indeed! Match the inspiration with a little pain relief and add a few parts capacity and I’m off to a magnificent and very happy start for 2012. I had to make the most of my new-found limits and although some might wonder how the term, ‘making the most of it’ can be matched to Canberra, I can honestly say I had a great time and feel very, very fueled!

Sadly, I can’t show you much. It seems you can go to the Louvre and snap your USB sticks off across 40 acres (!!!!) of art but not here. Australian displayed art is clearly a more protected species so I am unable to deliver as many snippets of inspiration as I would like. And no, I’m not upset I can’t make t-shirts, or my own eye wear cloth cleaner, I just want to capture the mood in exhibitions, the scale, that live action of standing in front of such power, have an overall record of what might be my favorite room of the exhibition or a glance between visitors to a tantalising snippet of my favorite piece. That’s special. Magical. Unfortunately, unattainable. Thats it then, I’m going to the Louvre… (more…)

Thanks Theo!!

You’ve cleaned my plates, (and safely), and now all they need is sweet scratching.

I’m at ‘blank canvas’ status, for me that means ‘where do I start, which of the million things that I want to do do I choose?’ and the terrible accompanying thoughts, ‘how long will my capacity hold out, this has to be a short task’. That part is a killer!!!

But I’m happy I can say I went for it yesterday during my year’s final life drawing session with Meredith, I began with one plate and then just kept going… it’s the only way to loosen up and let go of the ‘I’m scratching on a plate’ panic.

To add to the thrill, pain or no pain, yesterday’s session had to be a fuel up in preparation for the dry art period that’s coming with festivities (not to mention it’d been weeks since I had a session and was going to burst!). (more…)

So theo, tell us a little about your art side?

Unfortunately, for me, I am not an artist but I do believe that I am artistic. I love and appreciate art in all forms and am an admirer for fine art, sculpture and photography. I also see art in interior design and architecture which both also interest me very much. Then there is also the ‘behind the scenes work that I do involving art. Having married an artist I am never short of having a stretcher to stretch, a copper plate to file or a canvas to prepare for Soula to paint. May not sound very exciting but at the right time it can be quite soothing and meditative when you get lost in the rhythm of this preparation work.

What do you like most about it?

What I love about art is the way that an artist can express themselves through their work. However, I also like it when there is not much to be interpreted, but rather when an artist can capture an object or person for what they are through their desired medium. A still life produced accurately, a line drawing of the human body or a photo of a face can do so much to move me.

What don’t you like about it?

Art (or the art world) annoys me when it becomes pretentious or politically driven. Eg: an abstract piece from an unknown artist consisting of black paint on a canvas can go from being worth $100 and titled ‘black canvas’ to being worth $10,000 by being titled ‘The darkness after a terrorist attack’. I do respect when an artist produces a piece and provides his/her meaning behind it, however there is a fine line between determining when a piece is being produced purely for financial gain as opposed to being produced simply because the artist is doing what they love to do.

…and now be honest, what’s it really like having an arty wife?

Its wonderful. I am lucky enough to be surrounded by her creativity and artwork. We get to discuss, look at and appreciate art locally and when we travel and are putting together a very modest collection of pieces we like (and can afford). Then I get to meet all her arty friends. I meet other artists, photographers, printers, sculptors, gallery owners, etc. Its a great part of our society to be involved with and you simply cannot have a conversation with them without a glass of wine – perfect!

This is such a brilliant idea!!! I couldn’t pass up the chance of having my sketchbook travel the world (and then live forever in The Brooklyn Art Library). After all if I can’t travel why should my children miss out hey? Fly, kiddies, fly!

So basically I registered online, ordered my sketchbook and became super friendly with the posty for a few weeks until he finally handed over my parcel. On arrival I must admit I was disappointed, it was a small sketchbook… so I had a few words to myself, “Soula, you always have to push don’t you, always have to set a much larger target. Remember you’re battery operated now and a small sketchbook is actually sufficient for you, probably even pushing it”. I can’t STAND that voice of reason. (more…)

(Excerpt from Origin of Image website)

It’s a tough project to design something for ‘family’. Our Soula needed a website for her artwork, can you hear the alarm bells? So we have art and design, which steers it? Is it design first, then the art, or just art or just design… hang on, let’s just ask Soula how she wants her site to look…

As if that’s going to work, that’s the whole problem, Soula wants her yellow cupcake and to eat it too! In fact she laps up both personalities claiming that she can’t choose between them, and in fact needs both and has incorporated both in her life all the time!!!

So, let’s ask Theo. He’s good at this, he has those account managing qualities. Surely he can micro manage this. “How about we outsource it?” Well thanks for that Theo, a great idea. I see where that’s coming from. “You’re too close to it, be the bigger person, hand it over…”

Eventually we got there. Care to comment? Please do, via the OoI facebook page or on Soula’s website.

Ecriture Infinie is an art project by Bili Bidjocka:
www.ecritureinfinie.org

My Moleskine Lifelong Friends by Soula

Well I can’t put the Infinite Writing information better myself. All I’m going to do is let you all know that I’ve been included in this fabulous project and you can be too. Or you can simply enjoy reading about it and learn where writing stands today (and at the very least hit this link and like my image!).

The following is text from the ecritureinfinie website:

A rite of passage.
Ecriture Infinie / Infinite Writing is the celebration of a 3500 year old invention: handwriting. For generations, men and women have put pen to paper to spread revolutionary ideas, request payments, run inner monologues, declare their love, make up stories, send death threats. What now? (more…)

(As seen on ooi.com.au)

We’ve found it! Affirmations for creatives. As if any designer is going to fall for flowery, self indulgent thoughts that are purely directed to our confidence and feed the ego! Pff!. We are naturally talented in that way, ego is very healthy thanks. What we require is STIMULATION, stir up that left side of the brain and get us churning towards the next big idea.

Open manifesto, go on and stimulate us!