All at sea

Driftin' by Dan Hicks (excerpt)

Sittin' in the shade of a tree
That was meant for me
A little tired from sun and
Sittin' there to feel the breeze
And the memories
I let my thoughts go runnin'
No major discoveries
I just let myself ride
Why was I so at ease?
I can't decide

Sittin' 'neath the tree idly
That was so shady
I let myself envision
Thinkin' of the dreams
And the scenes I could see
For me
And what was my decision?
I knew that the sun was out
But how long would it shine?
Soon closing in, no doubt
But I had time

And I'm driftin'
No, no direction
Chasin' thought after thought
Driftin'
Into reflection
And I don't want it to stop

A Glamorous Occupation

Above: Longshore Drifter Choker with textured cuttlefish castings and Orepuki pebbles.

I recently visited Kangaroo Island for a week and stayed with family at Vivonne Bay- a glorious beach on the Southern Ocean. I had a wonderful time exploring the coastline, playing with the kids and veging out in the gentle southern sun.

Above: Wrecker collecting cuttlefish bones - photo: Roy Ward

There were plenty of big fat cuttlefish bones for me to collect for my casting and plenty of room in my backpack for them after I'd emptied out the pressies for my rellies. Most of the fragile bones survived the trip back on a budget airline with my wintery clothes packed all around them though you can imagine the smell of 50 or so damp, barnacle encrusted cuttlefish and how that may permeate ones woollens!

Now I don't normally smell too good when I step off a plane after travelling all day and I was hoping that neither man nor beast would get close enough to be overcome or aroused by the vapours. All I can say is it's a testament to the olafactory disabling symptoms of hayfever that my friend actually stopped the car and picked me and my backpack up from the airport.

Of course the stink continues into the home studio with the casting process which subjects the cuttlefish to temperatures 800 deg+ and I thank the stars that my flatmate also suffers from hayfever. Maybe I wish I did too.

Walk up Eildon

Pill Hill

Above: The concrete crust
bottles smashed
their messages lie
sometimes
the crow crows

Below:
Dark fluids
swirl and elude
seeking an opening

to flood

the fish fishes.

Between:
You and I
brittle concrete
the shell shells.

Boomerang Swingers

I've been slack with the online stuff lately - busy, busy me. Yep I've been busy with lots of new activities.

Including teaching at the BIA, wholesale orders, avoiding my new computer which though finally out of its box and plugged in needs software installed before I can do anything, visiting friends & family, enjoying life etc. But now that I have commenced 3 mths long service leave from my Uni admin job, I'm running out of excuses and finding time for some new designs.

Like these Boomerang Swinger and Retro Swinger earrings made from recycled laminex (contemporary) and sterling silver that I gave birth to last week. Despite the pointy geometry you'll be glad to know it was a quick and easy labour and the pairs of twins are doing just fine.

I love these 50's boomerang shapes that you see in architectural details of bridges, houses, carparks and on barkcloth and laminex/formica of the era and reproductions of today. It seems boomerang patterns have quite a following among the lovers of retro as a basic google/flickr search reveals.




Above is the rather wonderful and in the process of being lovingly restored Boomerang House courtesy of Boomerang Thang who did not mind me using his photo: "in true boomerang style, I say, give it away and it will come back to you". So long as it doesn't hit you in the head I reckon.

The Windbag Award

Recognition at last for the amazing Florence Forrest.
The Windbag Award.
Made from a schist pebble from Windbag Creek, st silver, 24 ct gold.
You rock Florence!

Qantas Inflight Mag Feb 2008

This came out yesterday and I've been fielding requests for the Famous Bullet Cuff. Eeek - one of the major problems with recycling is running out of a specific type of material and not being able to get on the phone and reorder. So it's back out to the rifle range for me as soon as I can convince someone to drive me there- a bit too far on the old push bike!

If anyone is travelling on Qantas, please tear out this page for me.

Count Me the Stars

This sterling silver necklace made from my recycled silver scrap (a genuine Wrecker piece) is a commission for a dear friend, Kylie Johnson. Little did I know when I first met Kylie nearly 30 years ago that she would become a published poet and successful artist. Although I probably should have guessed from all her crazy drawings and letters.

We both grew up in the same street and did Junior Red Cross together with Kylie's talented and artistic mum who was such an inspiration to us. Reconnecting with Kylie in recent years through mutual friends and joining the Umbrella Collective has been wonderful.
Kylie's gorgeous book, Count Me the Stars, published by Murdoch Books is being launched tomorrow night at GoMA, Brisbane. The necklace that the glamorous author will be wearing is inspired by the book cover art. The book is printed on 100% recycled paper just as the necklace is made from my melted down silver scrap. I was so happy with the way it turned out as I was trying to capture the essence of Kylie's artwork and fuse it with my own approach. It makes me so happy and proud to be part of this celebration.

Congratulations Kylie! And great work on the new website and blog! We knew you'd join us in the 21st Century and it was well worth the wait.

New Years Day Frags

Squally showers

Damaging gale force SE winds possible
near the coast,
while winds inland will be fresh
and gusty and also from the SE.

Battered past fragments wait under the SheOak
Turned over exposed
New years eve recycling
Champagne wastes on a beer budgie
Blown curlywigs obscure the path
While we approach.
the next
moment, day, year
never to arrive.

MoB Workspace Studio Sale 2007

Get on down to City Hall, Brisbania on Thursday and Friday for this:

You won't regret it. And it is the last one I'll be in after leaving the space earlier this year.

Flatliners in Deep North

Flying Pig

All you need is love

Frutti Tutti Cowboys & Indians

I created this selection of Flatliners for the Toy Box exhibition at Kick Arts Shop in Cairns. Opening Fri 23 Nov and continues until Sat 29 Dec. Xmas shopping preview with discounts Thurs 5-7pm.

The melty men were Policemen, Cowboys and Indians. They couldn't take the heat of our deep north.

Now I am Bound for here this weekend for some chillaxation.

What's on the beer fridge this week?

Lovely Liana and her knitwit bangles and knitwit friends Bibi Locke and yours truly in MX Magazine yesterday.
Circulation 500 000.
What can I say?- it is such a pleasure sharing the limelight with Liana especially when you have to make like Elton John with her wares. And you can really tell how much she loves having her photo taken. What a babe!

Delightful Things for Christmas 2007

The Umbrella Collective is a bunch of artists united by friendship. Our annual Christmas sale is on this weekend. Come along if you are in Brisbane! Preview of work for sale here.
saturday 17 november 2007
9am - 2pm

delightful things direct from the artists

st francis theological college
233 milton road milton
entrance via baroona rd

parking available
cash or cheque only

umbrella collective
www.umbrellacollective.blogspot.com


ARTISTS:

florence forrest
flying star toys

shannon garson
porcelain

kylie johnson
paper boat press

liana kabel
plastic girl jewellery

rebecca ward
jewellery

Wrecker in Sunday Age 11/11/07

Some nice things were said in this article. Mine is the bullet cartridge cuff. The rest is Liana Kabel's and some Haul billboard bags.

Thanks alot to my ex, WJK for taking the beautiful and HUGE photo of Liana's earrings. One day I will be able to forgive your treachery! Maybe after watching back to back Eckhart Tolle DVDs for a week. Or a 100 years.

---

Sunday M
11 Nov 2007

*conditions apply

*conditions apply

I really crack myself up sometimes.

Get these crafty characters at this:

The Nibble Project

Here is a sneak peek of the project Shannon Garson and I have been working on, launching 17 Nov at Umbrella Collective. Porcelain, silver and gold are worked together in delicate designs to remind you of food, nurture and love.

The fox went out on a Chilly Night (because the fox has to feed his family too!) and Nest series:

The fox went out on a chilly night,
He prayed for the moon to give him light,

For he'd many a mile to go that night,

Before he reached the town-o, town-o, town-o,
He'd many a mile to go that night,
Before he reached the town-o.

Balanced Diet Baby Cakes and Cinderella rings and Eat Ya Peas Series:

Attach of the Vovos and 100s and 1000s brooches:

Arc Biennial + more

I am so proud to be included in the exhibition, To be confirmed that is on now at QUT Art Museum, Gardens Point, Brisbane as part of the Arc (Art Design and Craft) Biennial. To see my work among such an excellent overview of the contemporary scene in Queensland is a great honour. There is even a proper catalogue for the show- see above and click to enlarge. The show is on until 2 December and if in Brisbania is a good opportunity to get out of the humidity and see some though-provoking and engaging new art.

There is a Jewellery Party as part of the Arc program Thurs 15 Nov 5-7pm where you can buy our fabulous wares.

I also have swag of products in a fantastic new book that is out this month variously titled Cool Hunting Green (Aus) , Cool Green Stuff (USA), and Green Hunting (UK out in 2008) by Dave Evans who I met at the Arc Biennial, a lovely chap. A couple of the pages are scanned below:

Oh the irony

City North News 11/10/2007

Separation Jewels

Brooch: Blair Smith.

There are engagement rings, wedding rings, toasters and parties galore when couples get together. But when you separate you suddenly have half the property, half the friends, distressed children (not true in my case fortunately) as well as a broken heart and ten million forms and paperwork changes to deal with. After being in a relationship for nearly 16 years, it is surprising how much lives become intertwined and pulling apart all the tendrils, emotional and practical, can be fraught. But worth the effort in some cases, including mine.

When the cracks could no longer be ignored and we were travelling in New Zealand earlier this year, I purchased a piece of jewellery, the choice of which must have come from the knowing and truthful part of me, as my conscious mind was still stuck firmly in the sand of a relationship that we'd long grown out of. The work is by Blair Smith, renowned designer-maker who I'd worked with at Shed Workspace, Dunedin.

I chose the piece simply because I liked the composition and the strange poetry of its lines and construction. Laboriously handsawn from his own-made ingot it reminded me of Blair's attitude- never afraid of hard work. Heavy metal old-school industrial approach to construction fuses with a graphical intelligence switching between 2d and 3d forms. Like Blair, a bit rough around the edges but strong and true. Some tiny air holes revealed in the centre of the ingot where he'd sawn. Bold tool marks from the saw, file and pliers. Decorative scratched surface that is more about an aesthetic than construction. A strong springy pin and catch. Silver very bright and tarnish proof, though stamped 925 (925 parts silver to 1000 parts) - I believe Blair makes up his own alloys containing a much higher percentage of silver. That's how they do things in New Zealand.

Try as I might though, I could not find the pun he usually hides in his work that so often seduces the wrecker part of me. Al I knew was that I had a powerful emotional and visual response to the piece that just kept growing.

I still spent ages choosing between it and a few other shortlisted brooches and earrings as I listened to the conflicting voices of heart and mind. When I told David McLeod of Shed of my final selection, he told me something quite surprising. The piece actually says "9/10". Now that I know this it is hard not to see it. A reference to the old adage "Possession is 9/10s of the law" Blair apparently made it after going through a similar chain of events that I was to begin 3 weeks later when Wayne and I made the decision to separate. Suddenly I loved the piece even more although it unsettled me greatly and I tried to shrug off the strange set of emotions that were assailing me at the time.

Now the piece is cherished completely and along with David McLeod's unlit, dead and really dead matchsticks, the perfect jewellery to wear on settlement day- tomorrow.

It is not surprising that the separation of possessions should be one of the areas where many separating couples come unstuck and one of the areas we had to steer through carefully. Maybe because we are taught not to feel things directly but through objects, these become much more significant than the particles they are made up of. Or maybe we need these objects to help us to feel properly - in our unenlightened state they help us to work through our issues as we get to some truth or in some cases a story that pleases and bolsters the mind and can unleash all sorts of destruction and chaos.

Separation is a life passage that so many people have gone through before but also a transition that some discontented people spend a lifetime avoiding so I am grateful that I was able to get to where I am now. Sometimes it feels like a personal failure, society seems geared to keeping unhappy couples together for all sorts of reasons but mostly I feel proud of both of us and positive about my present and future.

1, 2 ,4 ,8 ,16 ,32 ....

Mitosis Charm.

The number sequence is 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 etc. The exponential growth of splitting cells. The power of 2s. The heavy silver bauble is like a splitting ovum, that first moment of conception. A fusion of a scientific approach to fertility and something more intuitive, like a sympathetic magic for our time.

A gift for a friend who has been helping me in the last few months.

I hope it works. The last two people who were given them now have lovely babies. The other person who has one doesn't but then she is 55 and more in the market for grandkids so fingers crossed for her in that department!

Hoopies

Hoopies are named after the giant Hoop Pines (Araucaria cunninghamii) that built Brisbane. Descendents of these magnificent trees still loom, most noticable in the evenings, silhouetted against twilight skies on crowded inner city streets.

Above: Photo of Hoopie at Elidon Hill reservoir by Wayne Kington, Copper etching, Rebecca Ward

But today’s built environment is constructed from all sorts of other new materials which are cheaper to produce, sometimes ugly and at other times quite attractive and interesting to the human bowerbird. So my hoopies range is made from the bits and pieces you might find on a modern-day building site: coke bottle lids, rubber washers, plastic, paper, laminex, and bits of old hardwood left from what was demolished beforehand. The circular hoop shapes are still evident though as an echo to the once magnificent hoop forests of our region.

I am putting hoopies in a show coming up soon at MoB Store- The Summer Collection - opening Wed 3 October 5:30pm - come along (RSVP 3403 4355 Mon 1 Oct).