Since Sturt Craft Centre don’t seem to be doing a summer school in 2025 I’m spending an early weekend in Bowral this weekend.
In the 20 years Nicola and I have been coming to Sturt we’ve never come here at this time of year: the light is spectacular, the greens are so green, and some of the paler greens are almost fluorescent. The houses seem whiter and greyer. It’s lovely.
We wandered into the Ngununggala Gallery, which is an old dairy outside of Bowral/Mittagong, this afternoon, more or less by chance, and had a most inspiring time. these thoughts are in no order, but more to remind myself
Having seen the play “Sunday” last week at the STC, about Sidney Nolan and his relationship with Sunday and John Reed, at Heide outside of Melbourne, I was pleased to see one Sidney Nolan (and read the blurb which mentioned things I’d seen in the play). The opening of the play made me hanker for a time of making colours on canvas as well, along with the recent Google Photos reminder of pieces I did in 2014, which were versions/copies of Dubuffet’s work which were vibrant colours and which I applied to newspaper photographs and other group images. I want to do that again.
I was struck by this painting. The colours first, and then when I photographed it I noticed that it had a Monet Avignon cathedral vibe. Then later the “object” in the thick of the image feels like a horse rearing. whether it is or it isn’t, I plan to take the idea of an image, or even an actual collaged image and turn it into something like this by painting over it.
There were a lot of artists I’d never heard of, and a larger percentage of women artists than I have seen in a long time (yay!).
I’m also keen to get some still life happening (maybe if I get out the paints and make an easel-like structure in my studio I can paint some still lives, kill two birds with one stone). May have to reconfigure the way the shelves are to give me space to do that, but that’s all doable now the bathroom reno is done and I have an air conditioner in my studio for summer! Could also still life with collage, which I’ve done before – also here in paint.
There’s also a Michael Kmit painting of the three wise men from the Christmas story which was so vibrantly coloured. It reminded me that I have had plans to design a pack of cards for a long time (since it was an assignment at Enmore TAFE when I visited in the late 1990s).
Other things on my list to make which surfaced (again) this weekend:
- a tall giraffe (3d)
- the tiny house project
- cork earrings
- laminated paper earrings
- a felt cube to house tissues
- “ghost” pyramids
- A tiny birdcage/bandstand with figures in it
- round felted cushions for the dining room chairs
- elaborate hooks for hanging towels etc
- a chandelier with all of my leftover beads, and the giant rings I bought for the purpose but forgot why
- a tiny matchbox-sized box to contain jewellery/earrings
My “make it” folder in Google Photos is brimming with ideas.
here are the gallery photos
