Monday, November 30, 2015

What's in the toybox? exhibition: video walkthrough

As promised, for those of you who can't make it in person:
(There is another work in the exhibition which I was asked not to photograph, for copyright reasons. Which was sad, as it was one of my favourites. But thanks to the power of the interwebs, you can see Kendal Murray's Produce Goose, On The Loose here, and more of her work here.)

And if you'd like to view the whole of the short film The traveller by Anna Glynn, you can do so here.
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27 November - 24 December 2015
An exhibition of works particularly for children but also suitable for adults in need of a little nostalgia in the lead up to Christmas.  From original book illustrations to colourful sculptures and hand-made wooden toys by local Goulburn Woodworkers, there's something  in the toybox to delight everybody.
Civic Centre, Bourke Street
Goulburn N.S.W.
Tel. 02 4823 4503

Open Monday - Friday 10 am – 5 pm,   Saturday 1 pm – 4 pm  (Closed Sunday and Public Holidays)

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Bloody exhausted

I've been to Goulburn Regional Art Gallery three times in the last three days. That's a 177 km (110 mile) round trip each time (probably more, if you take the train as I did yesterday).
Wall sign in a gallery that reads 'Imagine how small the humans must be to live in such a tiny place'.
 I even dressed up for the opening!
Woman in a gallery, holding  a glass of wine next to an exhibit and showing the tails on her coat.
Man looking at a miniature scene exhibited in a gallery.
Four-story dolls' house, on display in a gallery.
Miniature clay figure and dog, looking at a window space in a gallery exhibition.
Miniature clay figure, building a dog house out of bricks in a gallery, with a dog looking on.
But now I'm a little bit stuffed, and a little bit grumpy, as my phone doesn't seem to want to save the photos I think I've taken.

So I'll probably spend tomorrow's digital sabbath in bed, and tell you more about the opening and the exhibition on Monday...
_________________________________________________________________________
27 November - 24 December 2015
An exhibition of works particularly for children but also suitable for adults in need of a little nostalgia in the lead up to Christmas.  From original book illustrations to colourful sculptures and hand-made wooden toys by local Goulburn Woodworkers, there's something  in the toybox to delight everybody.
Civic Centre, Bourke Street
Goulburn N.S.W.
Tel. 02 4823 4503

Open Monday - Friday 10 am – 5 pm,   Saturday 1 pm – 4 pm  (Closed Sunday and Public Holidays)

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Bloody exhibitionist...

Woman standing next to a display caseWoman standing next to a display case in a gallery with two 1/12 scale miniature scenes in it" one a cafe, and one a holiday cottage. with two 1/12 scale miniature scenes in it" one a cafe, and one a holiday cottage.
 Yep, that's me. Posing next to my completed builds at Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, in readiness for tomorrow night's opening of the What's in the toybox? exhibition.

But here's where it all started two and a half hours earlier, when I arrived after a one-hour drive from Canberra:
Table in a gallery in front of an empty display case. On the table are various cardboard walls and floors of miniature scenes.
I'd dropped my 'work*' off last Friday and knew at the time that I'd need to make another trip to put it all together before the opening.

Lovely Goulburn Regional Art Gallery had my plinth and perspex case in place, a table ready for me to work on, and...
View across a gallery during install, showing a table with a miniature scene being put together and various artworks in the background, mounted or still in packaging.
 AFTERNOON TEA!
A mug of tea and a plate of cakes and biscuits on a table with tools for a gallery install, including rubber gloves, a tape measure, an extension cord and something wrapped in bubble wrap marked 'fragile'.
(That was a bit special and unexpected. I now want to be in every exhibition they mount.)

At 3 pm I was a bit worried.
Various walls and floor of a miniature room, laid flat on a table in  a gallery, in front of an empty display cabinet.
Woman peering worriedly over the walls of a miniature scene.
 But soon was on a roll, recreating a version of something I'd made two years ago.
Woman posing happily in front of an empty dolls' house miniature cafe scene set up.
Here are some progress shots (because, even as a blogger on a deadline, you need to stop and take photographs, don't you?)
Woman in a gallery during install, marking something with a pencil on  a table in the middle of the gallery.
Woman in a gallery during install, pulling book tape of a roll  in the middle of the gallery.
 Tucked in my corner, things started to come together,
Dolls' house miniature scene on a table in a gallery during install, with gallery staff talking in the background.
Two dolls' house miniature scenes, being built on  a table in a gallery during install.
 while the gallery staff finished other parts of the exhibition in the background.
Dolls' house miniature scene, being built on  a table in a gallery during install. In the background, two gallery staff discuss placement of signage on the wall.
And then, just on closing time, I was done.
Modern dolls' house miniature cafe.
Woman peering through the door to the toilet in a modern dolls' house miniature cafe.
(And the lovely staff stayed five minutes late to help me load the pieces into my display case.)

(* Because it was my work, but it was a kitset work, not a completed work at that stage.)
_________________________________________________________________________

27 November - 24 December 2015
An exhibition of works particularly for children but also suitable for adults in need of a little nostalgia in the lead up to Christmas.  From original book illustrations to colourful sculptures and hand-made wooden toys by local Goulburn Woodworkers, there's something  in the toybox to delight everybody.
Civic Centre, Bourke Street
Goulburn N.S.W.
Tel. 02 4823 4503

Open Monday - Friday 10 am – 5 pm,   Saturday 1 pm – 4 pm  (Closed Sunday and Public Holidays)

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

More good mail

Just as I was starting to think that today's blog post would involve pictures of paint drying (and how exciting is that?), I checked the mail and found a package from Kitty and Kat Miniatures waiting for me. (How lucky am I? It's the second good mail day I've had in less than a week...)
Selection of small scrapbooking paper pages, miniature books and a wrapped parcel peeking out of a bubble bag.
The package was full of  goodness: some small scrapbooking sheets,
Selection of small scrapbooking paper pages and dolls' house miniature books, tinsel, pottery and accessories with a note on a table.
a selection of design books (made by Kat),
Selection of five modern dolls' house miniature books on design, one of which is being held between a finger and a thumb.
 a tiny gnome figure,
Tiny dolls' house miniature gnome ornament, being held between a finger and a thumb.
 and some lovely blue pottery.
Two pieces of dolls' house miniature pottery with blue glaze.
Also included were two packages of tinsel (also made by Kat), a magnifying glass, a letter A for my collection and a thumbtack wall piece.

Thanks Kat! I can't wait until I have the time and head space to start making scenes again so I can use some of these...

Monday, November 23, 2015

Porch post

After the weekend's trip to see Ann from Victorian Dollhouses, and extra roof beams ordered cut and in the mail to me (thanks to the amazing Karen at JWT Dollshouses and Miniatures), things are definitely looking up on my HBS Creatin' Contest build..
Dry fit of a dolls' house shed kit, with stained weatherboarding taped to the sides and pergola posts and struts taped in place.
 So much so that I ventured into the next step: building the pergolas for the sides.
Dry fit of a dolls' house shed kit, with stained weatherboarding taped to the sides and pergola posts and struts taped in place.
 The first trial is bodged together with bits from the kit that I don't think I'll be using, just to get an idea of size.
Dry fit of a dolls' house shed kit, with perspex and weatherboarding taped to the front and pergola posts and struts taped to the sides.
Ideally, I think the pergolas should be double the width, so my writers can sit outside when it's raining without getting wet, and even move their desk onto it on fine days, if they feel like a change of scene.*
Dry fit of a dolls' house shed kit, with stained weatherboarding taped in place and white sliding door frames fitted.
I also cut down the centre wall to fit and was most chuffed to find that my dodgy cutting isn't so obvious when the wall's in place.
Inside rear view of a dry fit of a dolls' house shed kit, with a central wall installed.
Inside front view of a dry fit of a dolls' house shed kit, with a central wall installed.
Speaking of chuffed, I returned from my weekly digital sabbath to find this in my inbox:
Etsy notice celebrating the first sale in my shop.
(*While looking at this picture of the sliding door frame installed without the doors, I suddenly saw a future version of the build with the pergolas covered in and turned into a tiny bathroom and kitchenette area. Oh dear. I'd better forget that idea as quickly as I thought of it...)

#HBSCreatinContest2015 

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Nice and clear

When I visited James at Victorian Dollhouses last weekend to buy some tile sheet to complete the build for the Goulburn Regional Art Gallery exhibition, I mentioned that my next step was to get the front windows cut at my favourite perspex place. His wife, Ann, said that if I popped down this weekend she could do it for me.

Who was I to resist such an invitation?
Half-built dolls' house miniature kit, on a bench with tools.
As I put the pieces of the kit together so she could see what I was working on, I had a bit of a whoopsie:
Beam from a dolls' house miniature kit, snapped in half.
 At which point Ann introduced me to a miracle glue, Hafixs professional glue (see a video demonstration), which had my beam back together in seconds.
Person holding two pieces of broken dolls' house beam together.
Bottle of Hafixs professional glue held up in front of a mended beam in a dolls' house kit.
We then got down to the nitty gritty of working out exactly what I wanted, and as Ann realised I had no idea what I was doing, she drew me a diagram of how to design a window to support the perspex.
Person drawing a diagram of how windows are built.
And suggested I should build the front first and then she could cut the perspex to fit my windows, rather than my original plan which was to cut the perspex then build the front around it.
A diagram of how windows are built.
After some more discussion we decided that the safest approach would be to cut a piece of perspex to cover the entire front, then build the walls and window frames onto it.

She introduced me to her Olfa p-cutter, which cuts perspex quickly and cleanly.
Olfa P-cutter on top of a piece of perspex.
 And, before too long, she had measured.
A piece of perspex held up in front of a dry-fitted dolls' house kit.
Person measuring and marking a piece of perspex against a beam.
Person measuring a piece of perspex.
scored,
Cutting a piece of perspex with a p-cutter.
and split
Bending a piece of perspex along the cut line.
A piece of perspex broken in two along a cut line.
 a piece of perspex that fitted the front perfectly.
Holding a piece of cut perspex up against the front of a doll's house kit.
For me, it was another moment of 'Gosh, things are easy when you know what you're doing'.

#HBSCreatinContest2015

Friday, November 20, 2015

The aftermath

This morning was a mad dash to complete my two scenes before I was picked up by a friend to deliver them to Goulburn Regional Art Gallery for their 'What's in the toybox' exhibition, which opens next week.

As usual after a major project, my studio is in complete chaos.
Work table of a miniature artist, in a complete mess.
And, even worse, have a large cutting mat and tools in the middle of my kitchen floor: I found myself moving from over-crowded spot to over-crowded spot in search of somewhere to finish the next part of the work before the deadline.
Large cutting board, ruler, stanley knife and various bits of card and paper on a kitchen floor.
We drove through 40 degree (104 Fahrenheit, for those on the other side of the world) heat* to reach the gallery, and were diverted off the highway because of a grass fire*, but it was worth it to spy this at the entrance:
Pamphlet rack on a wall containing pamphlets for the 'What's in the toybox' exhibition and various related public programmes.
 and these little houses in the exhibition before the one I'm in:
Ronnie van Hout's 'Cold shoulder to cry on' sculpture of a house on legs in a gallery.
Ronnie van Hout's 'Timing that Flawed' sculpture of a house with legs in a gallery.
Once I got home and did some research on the artist, Ronnie van Hout, I was delighted to discover that he is not only a fellow kiwi, but that he also created 'Fallen robot', one of my favourite sculptures in Lower Hutt, New Zealand...
Ronnie van Hout's 'Fallen robot' sculpture of a metal robot in a pond.
High on my agenda for the next couple of days is some serious down time (possibly including some TV-series binge watching) and napping, hopefully not at the same time. And some major house cleaning and organising.

(*How can this be? It's only November!)
_________________________________________________________________________
27 November - 24 December 2015
An exhibition of works particularly for children but also suitable for adults in need of a little nostalgia in the lead up to Christmas.  From original book illustrations to colourful sculptures and hand-made wooden toys by local Goulburn Woodworkers, there's something  in the toybox to delight everybody.
Civic Centre, Bourke Street
Goulburn N.S.W.
Tel. 02 4823 4503

Open Monday - Friday 10 am – 5 pm,   Saturday 1 pm – 4 pm  (Closed Sunday and Public Holidays)