Just some recent scribbles.  Unfortunately my scanner sucks so the tones don’t really show up.  There is quite a bit of pink in the Europa sketch, and I’m hoping to work more on the last image, fixing the hand and making the jellyfish explode into colour.

I’m really digging jellyfish at the moment.

Goodbye, my best friend.

I’m just on my way to work for the day, but thought I’d stop by to share a couple of recent discoveries when searching for vintage fabric inspiration.  Firstly, Bella Dia is a US-based blog filled with beautiful hand-made objects, craft tutorials and resources.  One Red Robin is a Melbournian creative with the most gorgeous plushies I can remember seeing!  Who could resist this ‘bembe peg bear’?!  It’s available at Modamuse.

My husband, Sebastian (aka little-scale), was on the Australian ABC tv show, Good Game, tonight. He was interviewed as part of a feature on Australian chiptune music, together with Brisbane artist, Alex Yabsley (Dot.AY) and Sydneysider, Tom Gilmore (10K free men and their families).

gear

You can watch the episode online from the Good Game website.

A new litter has arrived at cloudsparrow.etsy.com! For custom orders, contact me at the store – I’d be happy to bring a plushy into your life.

Goodness! It has been a while since I’ve updated, huh?!  To be honest, I’ve just been having far too much fun out in the sunshine.  For a start, I have been working on the motorcycle (my lovely 1980 Honda CB250RS) and when I haven’t been working on it, I’ve been riding it!  Oh, and when I haven’t been doing either of those things, I’ve been chatting with the nice folks over at vjmog.com (the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Owners Group).

Craft has gone out the window for a little while.  My needlework lace has been replaced with oily rags.  But what can I say, the sunshine has been just beautiful.  So please excuse me while I head out for a ride!

xox

I just thought I’d post this opening paragraph to an article featured on the Yahoo! frontpage today:

Learn a Genuinely Useful Skill

First, learn a genuinely useful skill. Abstract art and conceptual sculpture are great if your parents are wealthy. But if times are lean, as they are for most of us, learn to do what people need done: [my italics] medical care of all kinds (the shortage of nurses gets more acute every week, and wages are skyrocketing), accounting, engineering that is used in defense, and any kind of work connected to the criminal justice system (crime is an ever-growing menace)…”

Which gets me thinking, how much value do we really assign the arts?  And how much should we?  Is it ‘needed’ at all, and what would we do without it?  Hmmmm…..

I wrote an article on this theme for the last issue of dB Magazine (Adelaide).  Unfortunately it’s not up online as yet, but you’ll find it in Issue 642, 11 Marh – 17 March 2009.

I’ve known Joanne O’Callaghan for a number of years but recently she has moved interstate to pursue a career in theatre. Her award-winning shows have sold out consistently at the Adelaide Fringe and traipsed their way through the regular Melbourne circuits. Joanne’s controlled and dominant voice, together with a natural flair for comedy, have seen her performing in solo shows such as Ca Va?, which we were most fortunate to see last night.

However, there is another side to Jo that brings all of her skills into alignment, and that is her passion for Op-Shopping. As a long-time expert on all things second-hand and vintage, Joanne brings her passion together with her theatre skills (and a big bus!) to immerse participants in an afternoon filled with fun, theatre, and a whole bunch of bargains along the way.

See Jo interviewed on 9am with David & Kim.

See a review of her Op Shop tour by the Independent Weekly.

If you’re in Melbourne and looking for cheap thrills in this time of economic meltdown, Jo might just have the solution you’ve been looking for.

As our favourite independent undeground venue in Adelaide, we of Hidden Village are proud to announce that we will be performing at the

Gallery De La Catessen once again!

Director, Luke Altmann writes of the festival that “April marks the end of the fourth year of musical activity at de la Catessen. To celebrate, a selection of musicians with a special emphasis on those working in Adelaide’s underground, experimental, and academic fields will present a series of concerts from April 12-23.

The performance schedule includes:
ALEKSANDR TSIBOULSKI & JACOB CORDOVER: Classical Guitars
DAVID KOTLOWY: prepared guitar, ruined piano, shakuhachi
ADE SUHARTO: dance
STEVEN KOTLOWY: bowed metallophones
DEREK PASCOE: saxophone
JASON SWEENEY with Tristan Louth-Robins: Panoptique Electrical
CHRISTIAN HAINES: technology
TRISTAN LOUTH-ROBINS: technology
MINIMAX featuring Luke Harrald (computers), Derek Pascoe (saxophone) and Chris Martin (piano)
BITCHES OF ZEUS, solo sets and trio by Daniel Varriccio, Patrick Saracino and Mourgos Grund
ADAM PAGE SOLO
HIDDEN VILLAGE

Hidden Village (little scale and cloud sparrow) have a substantial online following and are internationally recognised in the contemporary chiptune community. They are re-discoverers of common discarded and nostalgic electronic entertainment equipment such as atari, game-boy, and commodore-64, as well as inventors of the electro-acoustic laser and water instrument the toriton.

The closing concert of AFUM is one of Hidden Village’s major performances for 2009, and will feature a keyboard controlled walkman-melotron, singing bowls, and live VGA hacking.
- Luke Altmann, Gallery De La Catessen

Be there, or be somewhere else!
7:30, 23rd April 2009

It was my beautiful older sister, Stacey’s, 29th birthday last week.  With a combination of lacking finances and newly-acquired embroidery skills, I decided to make her a small keepsake and put my rudimentary skills to use to make a monogrammed handkerchief.  I transferred the lettering in washable pencil, then backstitched the outline and finished by filling in with satin stitch.

I know it’s not really ‘done’ these days, but I’d like to think she likes it and perhaps tucks it away somewhere safe.  Or else uses it to wipe up her baby’s sick, or lets the kids tear it up beyond use – I don’t mind either way!