Bathurst Regional Art Gallery

Friday 3rd December was the opening of my exhibition title 'Second Nature' at Bathurst Regional Gallery (BRAG). I have been anticipating this show for quite some time and the day arrived not without a few hiccups. I received a call moments before leaving my home in Wentworth Falls from BRAG gallery director Richard Perram to inform me that a major storm had permeated the section of the gallery my work was hung. Thanks to the staff of BRAG, my work was whipped from the walls and rehung in another part of the gallery. It could be seen as a positive instead of a negative thing, because the rehang looked fantastic. I am so grateful to friends that travelled out west to support me. I'd like to thank Maxx Liong,  Felicity Jenkins, Sandra Winkworth (See her blog HERE), Peter Shepherd, Lindsay Duncan (See his blog HERE), Tim Millett, Michael Jackson, Jason Clarke, Jaime Quezada, Geoff White, Sanae, Marj Barnwell, Mary Blackwell, Gordon Fleet, David Oon, Craig Loxley and Leanne Knight. These friends and family joined me to celebrate the exhibition afterwards at 'The Church Bar' wood-fired pizza restaurant. 

Opening the same evening in the gallery was the paintings of Graham Lupp 'Building Faith' and photography by Peter Adams titled 'Ore what!' a photographic show documenting 60 Hill End residents. All these exhibitions run until the 23rd January 2011 at the Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, 70-78 Keppel Street Bathurst, NSW.

After a hectic month of finalising the last of the works for the show, moving house from Katoomba to Wentworth Falls, and fitting in life's other responsibilities, I am ready to put my feet up for a week or two and think about what I'd like to accomplish in 2011. The new year will soon be here and I am looking forward to setting up my new studio then a trip over seas to Malaysia and India. Fodder and inspiration for new work I hope!

I wish my blog followers and friends a very happy and joyful Christmas season!

Basketry of Today

I am one of 10 artists selected by artist /curator Virginia Kaisar to exhibit at Katoomba Fine Art, in an exhibition titled. 'Basketry of Today', which opens today (6th November, 2pm) and runs to the 29th November. Artworks may be seen online HERE. 
Katoomba Fine Art is located at 98 Stuarts Road, Katoomba.

About the exhibition, Director Geoff White says;

What is a basket? Simplistic definitions relate to functionality, with basket-making seen as a craft with traditional origins. Yet contemporary basketry is challenging perceptions, pushing the boundaries of sculptural expression and blurring the line between craft and fine art. Colour, materials, texture, form and even smell can each be a feature of basketry, while basket-making technique or some concept of vessel can also be distinguishing features. 

‘Basketry of today’ is the title for this exhibition, which explores the notion of contemporary basketry and fibre art. The show has been curated by Virginia Kaiser, a renowned Australian basket maker, with an international reputation. Virginia has been at the forefront of contemporary basket making in Australia for the past two decades and has selected 10 leading artists, who each have contributed new works to this amazing exhibition.

​Silent 0910.1

Your Time Starts Now

In the tradition of Sydney Morning Herald's 'Good Weekend', I answered a few questions and answers from the section titled- 'Up Front'.....

My earliest memory is.....

Playing in the neighbours cubby house which was a 2 room bungalow. I was impressed.

My school report usually said....

Darren is a quiet child and could improve if he applied himself.

I don't like talking about....

Cruelty to animals.

My mother and father always told me.....

The Horse is better dressed than me

'Two wrongs don't make a right' or 'today is the first day of the rest of your life.' At 8 years old, none of that made sense to me.

In the movie of my life, I'd be played by....

Shia Labeouf

I wish I had....

Access to a never ending supply of money to travel whenever I wanted.

I wish I hadn't ....

Taken so long to be comfortable in my own skin

My most humiliating moment was.... 

Tugging on the principal's trousers at assembly as a 3 year old and mistakingly calling him daddy in front of the whole school and my horrified mother.

My guiltiest pleasure is....

People watching

My last meal would be...

Risotto

I'm very bad at....

I no longer wear red skivvies

Remembering things and being able to speak in public

The book that changed my life is.... 

'A fish out of water' by Helen Palmer (I was 4 when I read it)

It's not fashionable, but I love....

Singing along to bad eighties hits in the privacy of my car

My worst trait is...

Arriving too early to things.

My best trait is....

For others to answer.

My greatest fear is....

Dying in a plane disaster (morbid I know)

The hardest thing I've ever done was....

Surviving my first relationship.

I relax by....

Illegal means. Kiddin... usually by blanking out if front of the telly.

I miss my voluminous locks of hair!

Words, Words & More Words

I have an annoying habit of having several books, magazines and other articles on-the-go, in an ever ready stream of information to engage a dull and hungry mind . If I was adept at multi tasking this would not be a problem, but I'm not. Perhaps it is just a sign of the times....our teeny tiny attention spans drive us  to seek out sound bites and tid bits of information from many sources (lest I get too bored and need to take up knitting). I recently read an article from June 2010 in the the New York Times online, titled

'The Defense of Computers, the Internet and Our Brains' which stated -

 'There is a lively discussion and some concern that computers, the Internet and multitasking are extracting a mental price.' -Nick Bilton. 

I would probably agree in that I am incapable of reciting anything of value that I have read (apart from the above quote!) in the past week. I get cantankerous with my inability to retain information and be able to spit it out at will. I  have a friend whose party trick it is to recite lines from obscure movies. You throw a movie at him and you can see the screenplay roll across his eyes. I tested him with 1985's 'Breakfast Club' to which he replied - "You just bought yourself another Saturday, spoken by Principal Richard Vernon." 

I'd be lucky to save my relationship by remembering my partners birthday and our anniversary. 

Self deprecating aside, I would like to put in my blog from time to time, the books, magazines and articles I am reading, so that in the future I will be able to trawl the archive of my blog and remember what I was reading so as to not make the mistake of re-reading something I forgot I had already read!! @#$&*

For my birthday in August, Maxx bought me a beautifully presented volume on Fred Williams published by Murdoch Books. I had purchased a similar volume, from Murdoch, a month before on the painter Ian Fairweather. They are treasures which I would hastily grab in the event of a fire, well before my diaries of several years ago! 

Last week I spent a night discussing future exhibition plans at Penrith Regional with fellow artist Peter Williamson. On his coffee table lay a book titled 'The Artist's Lunch' by Alice McCormick and Sarah Rhodes. I found a copy on the Readings website where I also found a copy of 'Defining moments in Art' by Mike Evans. 

Concurrently, the magazines; 'Dumbo Feather', 'Artist Profile' and 'Australian Art Collector'have torn off pieces of paper  locating the articles I am up to. Don't get me started on the podcasts I need to catch up on!

There's just not enough time in the day....