newst pieces

there are a few art competitions deadlines coming up, and this is a great motivator to get some artwork that has been in the works for a while.

this piece is made to fit on a backing board that i had a friend make for me. i have had it for a while but have finally decided to use it, and i am really liking it.

 

this is a collection of small squares that i have been working on that are part of a new series about exploring my local area.

 

and these are the photos from the photographers. i went to a new person to get my work shot. i like the results, a bit of drama in the lighting but i think it works. and i never would have thought about shooting black on black work, on a black background but it seems to work.

this is the final image of the favourite 4 smaller squares, again drama in the lighting and a black background.

 

i also got this piece re shot at the photographers, to see who it went with mirror, and again i like the result. although it does not look like mirror, it does give the same feel as how the piece looks at times when you live with it, as it changes all the time in the light and as you move around it.

so now is the waiting game to see if i am successful and shortlisted for any of the art prizes. and if not i have at least made some new work and some new discoveries in photography of the work.

recenlty in the studio

i have been in the studio trying to make a few new pieces before the end of the year.

I have been using mirror and using the sandblaster to removes areas of the mirror from the back.

 

i like the affect but i am not sure if it is too hard to see. 

maybe the images need to be simpler?

these are professional shots in the studio. its almost necessary for this work to be able to see it properly.

i think i need to keep working on this idea, its not quite there yet.

but there is something....

this image above worked quite well. one mirror is the positive of the image and the other is a reflection and the negative of the image. i find it really interesting. this is hanging in my house now - trying to see if it is working. but i think i will investigate the reflection, positive negative again in my work.

i have also been working on a 3 panel black fire polished piece

here is the studio image of it.

and some detail images

i have entered this one into an art competition. i find out in the new year if i was successful.

around the studio

things seem to be moving slowly lately. lots of different things on the go, but progress seems to be happening slowly. here are a couple things i am working on.

deb and i had a brainstorming session making foam templates for a potential new product. a good start but more to do.

 

this is a mirror that i have sandblasted an image through some of the mirror. i like it but it is tricky to get a good view, not sure what to do next. a few ideas, but more time and resources are necessary.

this is a bronze compass that we had cast up for a commission

 

it was to be installed last week, but the site is not ready yet,

 

so it will sit in storage for a few weeks until the client is ready.

concrete drawing update

the concrete drawings have been completed and ready and waiting for over a month now.

they are wrapped up in the warehouse awaiting the go ahead for the install.

 

this was supposed to be mid May but the project has been delayed - but it looks like we might begin the install next week.

 

in the meantime we have had some glass sheets laminated.

 

you can see the 3 layers of glass and the 2 layers of laminate in this cross-section.

 

although small these units are precious, costing almost $1000 each! just to make. then we carefully shaped each one to fit inside the bronze buckets. this laminated glass will become the "water" in the bronze buckets sitting on the "water" concrete drawings.

 

we have also had this tall sculptural "ladder" unit made. 

 

it has been powder coated, and will be installed with the concrete drawing and a bucket with glass water on top.

not long now.

artwork around the house

i am cleaning out my studio slowly. i always need to de-clutter and sort through my space before i can begin making new work. in this sorting process i decided that i wanted to hang some of my artwork around my house. this way i can clear out the studio, but also i can spend time with my work up and out of boxes.

 

i installed the forest road 16 slumped piece in my kitchen

on one of the rammed earth walls near the back door i installed the birch tree forest black panel

 

it relies on the right light but to see it clearly but i think it works here

 

another black tile with image of the city roof tops of kiev is positioned over the sofa in the lounge area

and a triptych of branchy trees is located at the base of the stair case.

its been this way for almost 2 weeks now, and i am really enjoying having the artwork hanging around the place.

and my studio has less stuff in it now. just need to find a few more pieces a good home, and then i can starting thinking about what i want to make next.

bronze update

these photos were sent to me by the bronze fabricator. he is working on the patinas for the buckets. 

the buckets will be set on the concrete drawings we have made.

 

this set of buckets has a green patina. right now it is a bit full on but they will be rubbed back a bit and then these will get installed on the ripple concrete drawing

 

 this bronze bucket finished with a brown patina looks perfect.

eventually this will be installed on a tall ladder metal unit that we are still fabricating and that will sit in this reflection concrete drawing. the black ripples are to be the reflection of the ladder unit sitting in the water

 

the bucket on the chair bronze component is meant to have a grey patina. as it is it is still too patchy for us, but it can be changed, so we will wait and see what happens to the patina.

 

eventually this sculptural element will be set on this concrete drawing of the reflected sky.

we are still working on the metal ladder unit, and all the buckets will also have a glass component to them. these are being laminated as i type. and we should be able to begin our portion of work on them in the next couple of weeks. not much more to go now.

Access All Levels

back in july i blogged about a project deb and i were working on that involved large mirrors and looking through a new university building that was being built.

Last month we finally completed the installation and positioning of the large mirror artwork. it is called Access All Levels.

its a tricky artwork to document as it relies on mirrors and the space within the building itself. but here are the images.

above is the final view. what you are looking at is a mirror located in the main entrance on the building that you see on approaching the building. when you look into it you see the view out the top of the building back. this view is bouncing through the building and off of two other sets of mirrors. 

these are the second set of mirrors that the first small mirror reflects the view.

the above image has the back of the small mirror at the bottom of the image, the second set of mirrors at the top of the image and some people walking through the space to give you a sense of scale.

this is the third set of mirrors located in the middle of the building that bounce the view of the sky down to the second set of mirrors.

it was a big project to work on, and it took many people's efforts to make it happen. 

this is what the Flinders university wrote about the project:

"Responding to the architectural vision of Flinders at Tonsley, the artists revisit the basic principles of light, refraction and reflection through their site-specific installation Access All Levels. The work, inspired by the voids and expansive light wells that are a feature of the building, speaks directly to the architects guiding design principles – to capture connections, reveal the purpose and create a place you would rather be.

Large scale custom designed mirrors extend lines of sight, opening portals to unexpected vistas and offering viewers an uncanny experience of seeing through the building. Cleverly positioned reflective glass transports the unsuspecting from the ground floor to a view from the third floor, enabling them to look around corners and back to where they have come from."

one + 3

 i am in a group show that opened yesterday called One + 3. more info on that here.

 

the show includes myself, Kate Sutherland, Andrew Bartlett and Deb Jones. Andrew is the one and we are the three artists he invited to work with him and made some collaborative works.

we installed the exhibition last week.  it was pretty straight forward,

this is the promo on the wall for the show.

there are plenty of people involved in setting up the work and figuring out the layout of the pieces.

 

as well as work collaboratively we also put in some of our own work separately. 

 

this is some of kate's work

 

i made a new wall piece for the show

 

this is the piece as documented by the photographer.

the collaborative piece i made with andrew is this bookcase. he made the furniture and i created the glass panels to sit in the doors.  it was a great project to work on. 

i don't have any photos of the exhibition yet, or professional ones of the cabinet yet. but will post some once i have them.