“Stop the rot, keep moving”

Art portfolio- my work, Studio news/blog

Its been a while since I wrote to you, but October was a wonderful, intense, creative, and thankfully productive month for me, and I hope for you too?!

I am pleased to announce that I finished the commission which occupied most of my time in the studio. I am really chuffed that I finished it on the time I set aside for it. My self-imposed ‘deadline’ was for the end of October. I allowed myself to focus on it for two months. I need deadlines (but is there not perhaps a better word for it, since deadline sounds so final) ;-P

“You are born, you die, and the rest is just marking time.” (James Joyce)

I had the pleasure of having Kleinjan Groenewald over for a photo shoot yesterday! I will share some photos from this shoot over the next couple of months!

I was also introduced to Ike in October. His owner says that he always smile for the camera:

he was the inspiration for a new “family member” – The Good Boy!

The Good Boy

And he is off to join the rest of the clan in this collectors home:

Other news is that I had to get reading glasses/goggles/spectacles! I was diagnosed with PRESBYOPIA which is just a fancy Greek word meaning: “Old and eye.” “Presbyopia is the name given to the condition of the sight which develops as a natural senile change” (quoted from an encyclopedia) I was so stressed out about my appointment with the Optometrist, but I am glad I went, since now I can enjoy reading again. I am just curious why most of the frames for glasses are made out of plastic! eek! Anyway I am celebrating by reading a book I found in the library: “The secret dairy of Hendrik Groen 83 1/4 Years old”

“Biologically speaking you become superfluous on your fortieth birthday or thereabouts. Since the children are born by then, approaching self sufficiency. That is when slowly but surely the rot starts to set in with hair loss and reading glasses. On a cellular level too things start going wrong. You have more and more errors of division and multiplication. A slowing metabolism leads to a weaker nervous system which also makes the mind to weaken. One thing is clear: “Use it or lose it” from the book …..

I really enjoy spending time with Hendrik Groen. Like him I also “rarely say what i want to say. I tend to choose the path of least confrontation. My specialty: wanting to please everybody.”

In other news:

I painted the wall in my studio a dark grey, in preparation for my next ‘Studio exhibition: The Haunted Stitch” coming soon…watch this space. 😉

I will also be participating an a group show in November…more about this a bit later:

Other news: Feel free to visit the stockroom at MContemporary gallery for some available work, or feel free to send me a message:

Until we speak again….”Stop the rot, keep moving” Hendrik Groen

The Atom’s family and little ogres…

Art portfolio- my work, Studio news/blog

Good morning!

Studio news update:

Atoms Family 520 x 320 mm Vintage photograph, cotton thread and rubber 2019

The “Atom’s Family” and “Little ogres” will be hanging out at the 3rd Karen Zoid “Art in the time of Corona” art auction now running on her Facebook page, until 7pm tonight.

Little Ogres 2019

Here is a link for those of you that want to check it out:

Keep well and stay safe.

xxxx

Remember to sleep with your eyes open…a reminder

Art portfolio- my work, Studio news

Remember to sleep with your eyes open (detail)

Dear friends,

Just a quick reminder that I’ll be sending out a preview art-catalogue tomorrow the 13th of September (lucky number)!

This catalogue will feature available work for the upcoming BaardskeerdersBos Art-route on the 22nd and 23rd of September 2018.

If you’d like to receive one, feel free to let me know and I’ll put you on the mailing list. A big thank you to those who have sent their e-mail addresses to me already. I appreciate the interest in my work.

Remember to sleep with your eyes open 2016

I’m looking forward to share it with you…there is a couple of surprises in there.

As they say: You snooze you loose 😉

p.s the photographer of my work : Kleinjan Groenewald

 

 

Winter Update (studio news)

Art portfolio- my work, Studio news/blog

Whew, since we last spoke, I decided to embrace change!

My studio is my happy place

Studio view (photographer Kleinjan Groenewald)

so I will focus on that and use my time and space wisely. But since it is school holidays, I aim to go out and have fun with my boys too!

Normally winter is for hibernating, but I feel relieved that I finally got around to sort the files on the computer, re-arrange the studio, and to meet up with a professional photographer to document my work…

Above is Kleinjan Groenewald in action. He can do magic with light, and agreed to document my work at my house in Stilbaai…all the way form Cape Town. I met him through a mutual friend and then things just happened from there., but I think it was fate…anyway, You can also check out his other work at: www.kleinjangroenewald.com

So with new photos of most recent work…I started to update my website!

It is still a work in progress. I decided to have less labels and to upload the more recent work. In the future I would like to add a section for ‘installation images’ as well. I am open to comments, suggestions, criticism and feedback.

The line-up with regards to exhibitions is very exciting until October this year, and I hope to keep you up to date with good quality images.

best wishes until we speak again.

xxx

 

winter of my (dis)content..

Studio news/blog

I’ll admit…t’s been a while since I’ve posted something on this blog, but alas,…I’m still here 😉

Been thinking a lot about change:

There are 31,530,000 seconds in a year. A thousand milliseconds in a second. A million microseconds. A billion nanoseconds. And the one constant, connecting nanoseconds to years, is change.
The universe. From atom to galaxy, is in a perpetual state of flux. But we humans don’t like change. We fight it. It scares us. So we create the illusion of stasis. We want to believe in a world at rest, the world of right now.
Yet our great paradox remains the same. The moment we grasp the “now”, that “now” is gone. We cling to snapshots. But life is moving pictures.
Each nanosecond different from the last. Time forces us to grow. To adapt.
Because every time we blink our eyes… the world shifts beneath our feet.

Every day, every moment, every nanosecond, the world changes. Electrons bump into each other and react. People collide and alter each other’s paths.
Change isn’t easy. More often, it’s wrenching and difficult.
But maybe that’s a good thing. Because it’s change that makes us strong. Keeps us resilient.
It teaches us to evolve. (quote of the day from the series Touch)

Winter is here, and here is what’s happening in the studio:

  1. coming up in July is a group exhibition titled: FLUX-  which will form a part of the main Visual Arts program of the Vrystaat Arts Festival, 8-14 July 2018. More details to follow later.
  2. excited to be invited to participate in a group exhibition: Black Humour at Fried Contemporary in August. Watch this space for details.
  3. September and October holds the promise of interesting things to happen, but for now, I aim to deep -clean the studio, add finishing touches to works in progress, re-write artist statements, sort out folders on the computer, document artworks, and figure out how to take better photographs of my work. I’ve tried, and even called in help from my husband, as you can see:but maybe it is time to phone a professional. 😉

So dear friends, keep warm, embrace change and we’ll speak soon. xxx