Art in Beijing

Prior to making this trip to China, I decided I would apply to attend an art residency in Beijing, to coincide with Brianna doing her 12 month university degree at Fudan and Shandong.
I was thrilled to be accepted for a Residency at Red Gate for August, September 2011 or January, February, March 2012

Red Gate Residency has been working to develop an initiative to bring innovative individuals working on socially and environmentally responsible projects to Beijing. 

The Red Gate program offers the time and space to work in a studio environment with local and international artists. There is a competitive application process with two main deadlines a year for six, two to three month residencies. 

Red Gate assists all participants to connect with the art scene, meet local Chinese artists and source art materials.
So of course we had to visit the Red Gate Gallery. http://www.redgategallery.com/location This incredible space has an exhibiting factor of ‘wow’. We met the director, who was charming, informative and in my good books, as he gifted me with a beautiful red bound collection of exhibiting artist's works ...what is there not to love?

We were taken to Feijiacun, to the Beigao studio compound to meet the director Ms Zehui, who is helping Crystal with the Red Gate residency program. We were shown the impressive studios and met some of the very talented residing artists.

However, after serious consideration, I decided that the first option of one month for September 2011 was too short a time to immerse myself in any serious body of work (and interrupted my stay with Brianna) and the second choice was smack bang in winter.( I know I would not be able to endure the extreme cold of a typical Beijing winter) 

I have been granted permission to re apply for another date.
So we decided to continue with the ART theme, with a visit to the innovative and exciting

798 Art District, at Dashanzi.

There are sooooooo many studios to look through.
White space Beijing, Beijing Tokyo Art project, Art Scene Beijing ...

798 photo Beijing and The Long March space are all worth a visit.

There are book shops, cafés and nik nak shops a plenty.
You could spend days at this sprawling feisty art hub.
Oh! Yahhhh! We did eat some seriously tasty food in some very funky café environs, while observing some fascinating behavior by the attending crowds. . . . .

Yep! Great stuff!!

We soaked up lots of inspirational ideas and left with a renewed desire to get on with some serious CREATING !!!!

What more could one ask for???

We will return.

Progressive canvas

Jennifer Hamilton 2010

Work in process

Here it is 2010 and we are starting, the letting go . . . . .

The Progressive canvas project.

We have now established who is involved.

There were quite a few interested, but not all shared the same 'joy of process' and reasons to be involved, that we do. Those who will contribute will have to be willing to have their works contributed to, painted over, changed and all together altered during the process.

They must have a studio and be willing to share process with other members. They must be willing to photograph each step and maintain good documentation for final presentation.

The group have spent the last week discussing the size, width and other properties of the canvas, on which the works will be done.

We have drawn up an outline of guides for the continuing progression of the work and are now about to start !

Someone asked, ' why do it . . . what are your desired outcomes . . . who gets to keep the works? " . . . . . Well, I guess the reason to do the works . . . . . is to form a group who meet regularly. To share our knowledge of different processes in a practical, functional form, in a creative way. . . . . while learning to let go of what we can be too precious about. Hopefully throughout the project we will break down some of our inhibitions & blocks . . . so we can see what changes will improve our own art practice.

We will meet each month to show what we have been doing and to have a practical demonstration of processes applied to canvas's. We then meet the following month to share thoughts behind our individual applications during that period and swap works.

We are starting with 9 canvases each. We each start our processes as we desire and then they are passed on to the other individuals in the group . . . . .until everyone has contributed to each canvas.

The project will start in the first week of February, with the last meeting being in the first week of October. At the end we each will have 9 canvases . . . . one from each individual involved. . . . . with their contribution being at the beginning, middle or completion.

In October, over a long deliciously indulgent weekend, we will have a final show and tell with works and presentations at the Rusty Roo. We will share some final learnt processes and make any final marks to our canvases . . . . it is then that we will decide if we wish to exhibit the 36 canvases . . . or start the process again.

I'm looking forward to the sharing. . . . the camaraderie is already evident, the processes already suggested . . . . limitless, the ideas and the learning to let go . . . . frightening . . . . . . . but, I'm excited!

I will keep you posted !!!

Weekend of watercolor . . . and printing

It was a delight to share the Rusty Roo with a group of creative individuals with a HUGE capacity to share, enjoy and experiment.

It could have been a disastrous weekend. The weather was a true B.....

It was dusty one minute, cold, then hot and then without a moments pause it was cold again.

Yes ! Nature was at it's most tempestuous, which could have led to temperaments being frayed . . . .but, NO !! this delightful group just changed their clothing, according to the atmospheric unpredictability, dusted off their art works, made jokes and generally got on with the task at hand.

Wonderful !!

Watercolours have never been high on my list of creative art forms to be viewed regularly or tried too often . . . well ! I have to say that after this weekend workshop with, Mia Clark, Jennifer Hamilton and a group of experimental watercolor artists . . . I have now changed many of my previous assumptions.

The gum Arabic on Mylar with water colour . . . printed onto wet paper; the glad wrap, detergent, metho . . . stretched and streaking across salt encrusted rag; the sponging, dripping, dragging, melding, melting and mixing was relentless.

I was in awe of the enthusiasm. The sharing of ideas and outcomes. The ability to try just about anything suggested . . . with real gusto.

Really great ! Thankyou for sharing your enthusiasm, skill & laughter.

Thankyou Sue, the bolle in the morning was soooo much FUN. What a hoot with the uneven surfaces, cockatoo's screeching and wallabies watching, set against a back drop of mountains shrouded by morning mist . . . . . . . or was it dust ?

We all agreed . . . . it is what everyone should do prior to a full breakfast of PERFECT eggs and bacon.

Ikebana's rule !

Thankyou to everyone from the weekend, who have emailed and forwarded pictures. I will post as many as possible, so you can share.

That slash of red . . . Ha ! So strong and unexpected.

The red leaves against the soap woods bands of cream & grey . . . Yeh !

Trees have leaves . . . . . .But ? look at those shadows !

The leaves look like a snaking line of caterpillars.

What else can I IKEBANA

What a treat. Ikebana in the Landscape,

with Lily Karmatz.

Lily is an artist whom I have respected and admired for years, her work is mainly ephemeral so does not constantly grace the walls of exhibition venues, but in it's short life it speaks volumes with its originality and ability to delight the viewer. http://www.artislily.com/

We gathered Friday night on the Rusty Roo veranda to watch the spectacular sunset over the Wivenhoe Dam. Sharing wine, food, stories, adventures, misfortunes, regrets and hopes, we started to glimpse the group gathered and comprehend the new experience to be shared.

Saturday morning in the bright light of day, everyone was encouraged to participate in the two hours meandering bush walk, through the Rusty Roo landscape. All were encouraged to SEE what nature has to offer. The materials FOUND were looked at for their mechanical possibilities in future installations, but Lily also stressed that of equal value was their part in helping ourselves to look at nature, and seeing ourselves as part of it.

Lily does not attempt to teach Zen philosophy, but tries to help us realize that the creative spirit is all around us in nature. If we give it time and observe what it has to offer it has a peace and tranquility that we can take into ourselves.

Zen explains that the act of creation comes from within. In art, the brushes, paints and canvas, and even vases, flowers themselves constitute the tools and materials with which the artist works. However, the creative spirit comes from the inner self and, through flashes of inspiration, the artist, creates existence from non-existence, and

finds satisfaction in the creative process.

Zen defies rationality, or any attempt to make sense of it, instead it occurs when you let go of your every day reality, letting it pass you by and feeling the gentle breeze that it creates as it passes.

We were encouraged to use the found objects in the environment, and enhance them with the colour of the flowers supplied. We were also encouraged to make space for our works so that they had room to breathe.

Zen masters were some of the strongest earliest advocates of recycling and reusing available materials. They have a great respect for nature. They recognize that we are reliant on nature for food, sustenance and natural resources, but also realize their responsibility as its care takers.

We were encouraged to appreciate each arrangement as a frozen moment in its life, a symbol of natural but fleeting perfection. The budding, the blooming and the wilting should all be appreciated.

Lily demonstrated the basic elements of the ancient art of Ikebana that has influenced her creativity for years. The heaven, earth and man were sought and explored. Then we took ‘ a leg walk’ to view the installations that she had constructed, prior to everyone’s arrival. We were then guided to find a quiet spot to make ourselves peaceful, to conceive fresh ideas as they come to the surface.

Saturday evening with the magnificent sunset, we once again shared thoughts, food and wine while watching the light, reflections, patterns, designs and layers created from our arrangements and the Suns last rays. We had a delightful meal and a vibrant bon fire, which some of our local friends gate crashed !!. The sound of singing, guitar playing and laughter were relished, well into the night. This definitely was not Ikebana, but a delightful arrangement of another kind !



By involving ourselves in the activity of arranging and changing the image and tone of the arrangement/installation/construction, we were encouraged to do it with respect, care and love, to foster an atmosphere of serenity and peace. The more we observed, the more would be discovered and the meaning emerges.

TAKING TIME


Some people found this an easier concept to achieve than others, for it is no easy task for those with ‘little time’, to use some of this precious commodity to do NOTHING, but most managed to use some to allow nature to find them.

Sunday arrived all too quickly. ‘Go forth, discover, BE & create’, was the herald of the day.
Outside, it was hot, really hot, but we walked, talked, looked at art, ate, drank, laughed, looked again . . . . . . and something happened.


What people are capable of inventing over two days always stymies my preconceived notion of ‘what is possible’



Sunday afternoon, 10 intrepid travelers set forth on our last journey for this workshop, spanning the hills, cooled by itinerant breezes, we glimpsed each others ideas.

The results were an exciting and memorable collection of floating, waving and woven forms in diverse materials. Found materials, including the obscure such as abandoned fencing wire, discarded railway sleepers, rusting railway pegs, ceramic power conductors, as well as a considerable number of natural fibers, such as Grass tree sticks, bark fibers, prickly jungle vines, lichen embossed rocks and a multitude of colorful leaves were sourced and used.

Each installation contained more surprises as you observed the minute variations in color and texture.

Although many thoughts come to me by working a painting or print, my art is ultimately rooted in sharing. I re-engage my ideas by constructing a social space. I see the shared meals, shared demonstrations and the people that fill the “Rusty Roo,” as large collages.

The outside rambling walks, which include selecting destinations and routes to investigate and explore, are also like collages. Venturing to a new previously unexplored pocket, reminds me of my childlike sense of wonder, in the new discovery, the re-discovered, the recycled, which becomes the reinvented.

Once again, I thank everyone involved for their input/output and ability to share generously. What a treat.


I look forward to recieving some more images to post over the next few weeks.( My battery died before Sundays walk . . .so no last pics !)

Next workshops http://www.rustyroo.com/

Watercolour with Mia Clark September 25 - 27 FULL
Mixed media with Jennifer Hamilton & Sharon Lee
16 - 18 October
Botanical observational drawing FULL

Creativity . . . finding inspiration

Hi Sharon and Cameron.

". . . . Thank you so much for a wonderful week at your magical property. Sharon thank you for the delicious food and great generousity of spirit, with your art information and equipment. I was telling a friend about the wonderful time I had and also mentioned putting on weight from all the magnificient desserts. He thought I had been to a health retreat (he goes to a retreat place each year). I told him it was healthy food for the heart and soul, with dessert as the reward.

The 3 brown canvas's with red thread added are now on display in the Annerley library and I am still telling friends that I cant believe I have "done" brown.

Hope you like these photos. With much thanks Denise . . . . "

P.S. Felicity continued to work prolifically adding to her pieces, making things from leaves and doing flower arranging around my house until she left on Monday. It was delightful to watch.

Sight . . is something I use every day. . . . yet often I forget how fortunate I am to have this asset, that brings such delight.

After the rains the foliage is lush and green, the flowers bountiful and the bird life abundant.

It comes as no suprise that I find inspiration from playing with flowers and vessels at sunset. There is an infinite bounty of spectacular reflections and micro visions with the end of each day.

Ikebana at the Roo

The Light radiating through the bottles made them look like expensive crystal. The shadows and reflections bounced and danced. Then the brilliant oranges and reds of the evening sunset permeated the entire landscape. It was lovely. We spent the time between sipping wine and Ohing! and Ahhing and taking more pictures.

Link to; The Rusty Roo