I have started a new stitch journal, something to occupy my hands when I need to stitch, or just need a distraction. I have made a video showing the journal on my YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/OUVZ0ZZBoBA
Most importantly it is with me as I travel through Spain and the UK. While I have not been able to stitch on it as much as I would like, some additions have been made.
What happens on one side is reflected on the other side.
Most recently I spent time at the archaeological site of Castro de Castromaior, an Iron age Fort and one of the most significant historical sites in the Northern Iberian region. Here I sat and stitched while admiring the stone walls of the ancient buildings, a technique which is still being used in local village houses.
My video at Castro de Castromaior, Galicia, Spain 30 June 2023
Pure form: Japanese sculptural ceramics*, is a new exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia showcasing Japanese ceramics from the 1950s to the present day.
Installation shot of work, (foreground to background), Object (nogata), saiseki zōgan, Kishi Eiko, 2005; Shell-shaped covered vessel (Kai futamono), Koike Shōko, 2009: No.3 Erosion, Shingu Sayaka, c. 2020; Untitled, Katsumata Chieko, 2021; and Box Batter-17, Mishima Kimiyo, 2017.
The exhibition spreads across several rooms and is breathtaking in it’s array of forms, textures and graphic presence. I had only a limited time to draw in the gallery today. The hardest thing was to decide what to sketch first.
I started with a darkly glazed vessel by Mihara Ken, whose concertina-shaped folds reminded me of Issey Miyake garments.
Sekki, Mihara Ken, c. 2010, Matsue, stoneware and glaze, collection of Raphy Star. Sketch, graphite on paper.
Next to the work of Mihara Ken was a form by Misaki Mitsukuni. The surface, which I was unable to do justice to, is created by the artist rubbing slip into the surface, which he has described as ‘Rothkoing’.
Turning my chair I could see another work by Mihara Ken, a form that appeared as if folded out of sheets of clay. The glazes were very subtle blue greys and deep brown.
Genesis (Kigen) no.1, Mihara Ken, 2013, stoneware, glaze, National Gallery of Australia. Sketch graphite on paper.
Finaly, I did a very quick sketch, part contour drawing, of Kaneshige Kosuke’s work, Tall sculptural form, c. 2006.
Tall sculptural form, Kaneshige Kosuke, c. 2006, Bizen city, stoneware, collection of Raphy Star. Sketch, graphite on paper.
*Pure form: Japanese sculptural ceramics is accompanied by an extensive catalogue (which I will be looking at for quite some time).
The exhibition and book are by Russell Kelty, Curator of Asian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia.
The exhibition runs until 6 November 2022 at the Art Gallery of South Australia. Get there if you want to see some amazing ceramics!
My lock down project appears to have become filming and learning to edit video footage from my smartphone. It is certainly a challenge as it turns out I can’t find a local adult education class for the editing suite I want to learn – Da Vinci Resolve- however with the help of YouTube I am muddling through. I am trying to locate a good online class instead.
Filming a video with my jury-rigged studio set up.
In the meantime I am having fun exploring the video options on my phone and then seeing what I can do with it.
I tried to load a video here but apparently my pay level doesn’t allow for videos on WordPress 😪. I may never make it to Hollywood but I am having a lot of fun.
Oops I should be better at marketing. I forgot to say that you can find me on YouTube by searching for ‘leonieandrewsart’ or following this link.
WARNING this post contains a nude portrait. (It’s OK, it’s not me).
It seems there is a trend amongst my artist friends to be doing self portraits. So I am jumping in, along with Carol Haywood and Rose Davies to share my recent versions.
I started drawing myself in March and then quickly fell by the wayside. I recently got re-inspired by Jennifer Higgie’s book the Mirror and the Palette, looking at the herstory of the self-portrait.
Highly recommended, fascinating and a darn good read.
The portraits of older women artists are often the most experimental. Perhaps the most visceral portrait I know is by Maria Lassnig, (1919- 2014), painted in her 80’s, it really sorts the women from the boys. I saw it in Amsterdam in 2019 and it certainly hit me in the gut.
Oder du ich (You or Me) Maria Lassnig, 2005, oil on canvas , private collection.
Alice Neel has also painted an unapologetic nude self-portrait in her 80’s, which is on display in a current retrospective of her work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. See here for a online veiwing of the exhibition.
You will probably be relieved to know that I don’t have the guts of Lassnig or Neel to do nude self-portraits. Maybe later. Maybe when I turn 80.
So here are the portraits I have made so far. Most, with the exception of the watercolour, have been sketched on paper roll from Ikea.
Self-portrait. Acrylic marker and brush pen.Self-portrait with watching painting. Pencil.Self-portrait Night repair. Collage and brush pen.Double self-portrait. Gel pen.Self-portrait with blue lips. Pen and ink, acrylic marker.
leonieandrews 