My Mantra:

Money is an abstract concept which distorts the value of life

More Altered Books

I have been embellishing my book sculptures with leaves and nails, representative of  natural and manufactured  environments. 
We live a long way out of town although it won't be long until we too are swallowed by suburbia and the wallabies that graze on our front lawn will be gone for ever.
Everyday as I drive through I see new housing developments springing up where wallabies, tawny frogmouths, echidnas, koalas, bandicoots and possums have lived.  All iconic Australian fauna, doomed to extinction because of man's insatiable desire for a quick buck. 
They are also carving up all the red soil farms for small lot housing estates.  Mind you the developers don't seem to be responsible for providing any infrastructure for these sardine tin estates they make so much money out of.
We used to get feather gliders visit our yard but we haven't seen any since small lot housing has been built at the back of our acreage estate.  The estate we live in has covenants to protect wildlife, things like no cats, only one dog - fenced at all times, only fencing and clearing building envelopes so wildlife has safe passage through properties and plenty of bush to live in, low speed zones etc. but the small lot housing estates have none of this and their feral animals will soon be dining out on all the lovely little creatures that have always thrived here long before our arrival.

Favourite Word Today:

BIBLIOPHILE n. (F.fr G. biblio, to write  -  and philios, friend) A person who collects or has a great love of books

Gingko Leaves - Tokyo

Gingko Biloba leaves in December - Meiji Temple - Tokyo. Beautiful place, beautiful patterns. I'll have to take my new camera back there and take some more photo's one day soon.

Abandoned

I am absolutely intrigued by abandoned properties. The empty energy they radiate, immediately discernable from spaces which are still inhabited. The possible scenarios of their abandonment and all the subsequent ramifications. The way nature steadily claims back rightful ownership.
For me, these buildings highlight the transience and ultimate futility of human toil and the necessity to keep working at the manufactured state of being we create as shelter from the natural order of things.

Photocopy Storyboards

An unexpected quiet Saturday morning and enthusiasm to share an abundant archive of images lead me to post another blog today.
Ever since I was in high school (many, many years ago) I have enjoyed photocopying objects and ephemera, transcribing them into artworks through composition and hand colouring.
Usually insignificant objects like ticket stubs or trinkets.  On their own  they aren't that significant but are somehow invested with importance to me through memories and personal experiences and in their grouping together create personal story boards.

Altered Books

Herewith some altered books I have been working on.  I have found a new vigour for creativity with these little things. I derive much pleasure from seeing where the book wants to lead me, it's like a makeover for discarded objects and they seem to sing with new life when the transformation is complete.

Faded Glory

Herewith some images I took a while ago at a property nearby.  The area I live in had been agricultural until the tsunami of urbanisation hit, now there are just pockets of farming land left.
This property has been owned by a few generations of the one family and when they arrived from the Darling Downs they brought their timber two bedroom house with them on the back of a truck.  They have always been in the habit of never throwing anything out, just piling it up in the sheds.  You never know when you might need something.
Sadly, there is only one aging member of the family left and she is constantly fending off developers who are encroaching all sides of her property.

Leaf Portraits

Another series I have worked on, on and off for the last couple of years:  "Leaf Portraits".  Drawings of leaves from native trees, found around my home, executed on Arches paper in pen & gouache or on discarded book pages in oils  (the paper is sealed first to prevent the medium eating into the paper).
Not botanical works by any means, merely observational works.
Dubious image quality unfortunately, but I am certainly no expert in that field.

Beginnings of a Blog

I have been playing around with old discarded books and experimenting with different processes to transform them into sculptural pieces and interesting photos.