Team Sockmonkey

I am so pleased that the show is up, finished and now left to look after itself (more-or-less, thanks to Nikki, the kind proprietor at Hudson). I am so pleased to be able to wake up and curl my toes and think “today is a day when I can do what I need to do without feeling like I should be doing something else”. I have a few loose ends to tidy up and a couple of client projects to finish but mostly I am free (for three months until small child number two demands attention 24-7) and suddenly my head is busting with ideas and projects and things that need organising.

A while ago, Carrie was so very kind and sent me a pair of the traditional sock-monkey socks – the ones with the red toes, and they have been sitting there waiting to be transformed. Last week I thought I might finally start turning them into a monkey. I had vague notions of getting it done in time for inclusion in the show, but as you can see here she/he is still nude and needs more work. My mum knitted her/his amazing little red hat and it immediately makes me think that she/he should join Team Zissou and go out and make an underwater doco. Perhaps that should be the inspiration for the rest of his/her outfit… except it will no doubt have to include pom-pom braid.

But today it’s all about buying new pre-schooler shoes ready for the cool weather (before AJ’s slightly bizarre shoe size sells out completely) and new pants which are actually long enough to cover her ever-lengthening legs.

Hudson Clothes Show 2006

Tomorrow is the opening of our show at Hudson! Here are the details:

Works by:
Christina Gordon (above middle)
Claire Robertson (above right)
Van Sowerwine (above left)

at

Hudson Clothes
229 Carlisle St Balaclava
Vic 3183
Australia
(03) 9525 8066

Open every day 11am – 5pm

Show starts on Monday 27th February 2006 and runs through the month of March.

It’s an exhibition of toys and prints and acrylics on canvas. Each of us are presenting some 2D work as well as a selection of our soft toys or dolls. Here you can see my first attempts at something other than digital art. It’s been freaking me out!

You can find Van and Christina’s galleries of images at the above links, (mine are up now on flickr… terrible, terrible photos!! Where did the light go?)

At this stage my pieces will not be available online, but through Hudson. If you are interested in purchasing a piece, please email me* as soon as you can and I will place you on a waiting list (per item) just in case something doesn’t sell in March – first come, first option to buy.

*email me here: loobylu ( a t ) loobylu ( d o t ) com

home stretch

My work progress has been severely slowed since mid last week – Amelia came down with a nasty virus which developed into Croup by Thursday night. We didn’t take her to hospital as each time she woke up and had one of those horrible barking, gasping, crowing fits accompanied by her understandable hysterical panic, we managed to calm her down enough and get her back to sleep. There is nothing worse (well, I am sure there is, but nothing worse in this last week) than lying awake listening to your fitfully sleeping child breathe raggedly through swollen airways. Anyway, she’s still miserable but doing much better and currently having a rare mid afternoon sleep. We have her on some medication which apparently tastes revolting and had her gagging and shouting “UGH! Mum! It smells like babies!” yesterday. I am not sure she knows yet what a baby smells like exactly, but I guess it must have been pretty bad.

And today I have managed to get down to it again, and am waiting on a couple of under coats on canvases to dry so I can move onto the next layers.

I am feeling a bit bad about this upcoming show. I wanted to have so much more done than I will have, but work and life and being pregnant and tired seemed to play more of a part in the last couple of months than I figured it would. Ain’t it always the way? I am just glad that it’s a group show because I am excited to see what Christina and Van come up with. From what they have told me over the phone we will all complement each other so well, and be so vastly different. Mind you, at the same time as I am complaining about running out of time, Christina has put her back out, and Van has been overseas promoting her film at Sundance (and getting sick while sleeping on the floor of a condo with 15 other people) so we make a good threesome!

Dusty

I am working like crazy to get some things ready for next month’s show at Hudson. So I decided to procrastinate and sweep the studio floor. Perhaps this enormous dust bunny (which was gathered from under my work table alone) will give you some idea of how out of control the studio is. At this rate I think the dust bunny might have to make an appearance at the show as some kind of installation – at about 70cm across it is my most impressive creation so far!

Good things in Melbourne this week

Following on from Yarnstorm’s lead, I thought I might do my own version. Here’s are some of the good things from my week:

Seeing that Amelia enjoys Pre-school and has even made her first friend although she has trouble recognising her from session to session because of the change of clothes. “Is that really her? Yes, I guess it is, her hair cut is the same”.

Finishing some more paintings for the Hudson show:

Fish n chips on St Kilda foreshore

Lunch with Ben and Suze and the kids followed by a walk up to the nearby park to eat ice-cream and listen to live music with huge amounts of people huddled in the shady spots.

Having early Sunday morning coffee at the Camberwell Flea Market with my good crafting buddies Cass, Kylie and Ms Honey and remembering how incredibly good it is to get together with them, and how inspired I am when I come away.

Discovering the joys of Prahran Market with not one but three organic fruit and veg stalls and an organic butcher.

Rain! Lots of it.

Taking a trip to buy doors from a second-hand, building demolition place and finding hundreds and hundreds of old doors to sort through… only to just happen upon an wonderful old door with two glass panels in it, one etched like this:

Reading Howard’s End and finding it far more interesting than I would have previously imagined. The characters are complex and the situations compelling.

Planning a weekend away in the “big smoke” with Big-P, our last hurrah before child number two graces us with her presence.