Return of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 51

Week 51: Family

"Family tree". Collage of wrapping paper, light card and coloured cartridge papers, on corrugated cardboard. Characters (only partially glued to cause natural shadows when photographed) sketched in finepoint black Sharpie - no pencil lines - with highlights in watercolour and white Signo ink.

Update:

Week 51: Family II

"Nativity family". Freehand cut silhouettes in red and gold Quill Metallique cards, with some deliberate shading from the directed lighting. Collaged onto Quill glitter-finish Galaxy card.

Week 51: Family III

"Mr Minotaur & son". Black Biro and watercolour "family tree" portrait miniatures in plaster frames.

Success at the Penrith District Show

This year, after years of encouraging school students to enter arts and crafts into the local Penrith District Show, I finally submitted five pieces of my own work. A few weeks ago, I had six pieces of my past 52-Week Illustration Challenge art professionally framed, and another ten secured into custom-cut mounts, with the idea that I might exhibit them somewhere. Well, suddenly the Penrith District Show was imminent - but the competition categories offered for adult artists were a little disappointing for what I had to hand. Most of my framed pieces were the more fragile (often slightly-3D) collages, to protect them - and, alas, there was no adult "Collage" class in the 2015 rules! Drat! So I had to scrounge some extra frames, and steal mounts from other artworks, to get my five "legal" entries (the rules were also strictly limiting entries to five per person, and there was no guarantee that all entries would be displayed). Luckily, "Portraiture" was open as to choice of media, so I hoped that two collages with faces in them might work?

Above is: "Week 17: Fluffy" (2015, entered in "Watercolour" class), "Week 14: Whimsy" (2015, entered in "Portraiture, any medium" class), "Week 31: Shakespeare" (2015, entered in "Drawing, charcoal" class), "Week 19: Eat II" (2015, entered in "Portraiture, any medium" class) and "Week 7: Watercolour" (2014, entered in "Australian landscape" class).

"Whimsy" was successful! An Encouragement Award yellow ribbon and a cheque for $100.

Alice? It figures!

Clockwise, from top left: Dodo, Alice, Humpty Dumpty, Gryphon, Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter, Mock Turtle, White Rabbit.

I ran across eighteen Kaiyodo "Alice's Adventures in Figureland" for display in the school library last night. I collect dodos - and have always coveted my late uncle's larger Royal Doulton ceramic dodo, based on John Tenniel's design, from the Lewis Carroll novels ("Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the looking glass"). This little dodo was hanging on the front of a peg in a favourite toy shop - and I loved the quality of these irresistible little figures. I accidentally picked the right Alice (out of four possibles), too; when I got her home, I realised she came with half of Humpty's wall. Today, I glued them all to a wooden base and grassed it with model railway "grass".

More "Alice" stuff on my other blog can be found HERE! (Scroll down)

I drew this dodo in 1981:



I bought this beautiful ceramic one, by a local artist, in the early 80s:



Papo brand plastic dodo figurine:



And here's my holy grail, from Royal Doulton:



But look, there's more!

Rally ho!

Loving it!

Just back from Mr Kim, the framer! Three Patrick Owsley sketches of "The Impossibles" (from the Hanna-Barbera series, "Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles") and a Spanish gum card!

I saw the set of three paintings on eBay - the cartoonist has an online store - just a few days after my gum card of "Los Imposibles" (sic) arrived from a different "Buy it now" auction.

Rally ho!

Watchu tolkien 'bout?

Framed Middle-earth map in my school's new BER library.

Hahaha. A friend just compared me to the Valar of the JRR Tolkien books. Tolkien Gateway, the Tolkien wiki, says: "The Valar (like any of the Ainur) have no fixed shape."

Especially after Christmas, methinks.

I do like the sound of Irmo (aka Lórien), "Master of Dreams and Desires".

Something to keep in mind for the new year.

Star Trek framed!

Limited edition film clips - Star Trek (2009)

I picked this up yesterday from Greenlight Memorabilia Works, who have a stall in The Rocks' weekend street markets. Mine is #16 of 250. Very cool!

I accidentally made a self-portrait in my first attempt to backlight and photograph the film clips:

Andrew gets framed

I was wandering through Spotlight (in Nowra, NSW) and noticed this rather cool UR1 International "Lifetime 9 Opening" black frame for $40 - nine frames, but all-in-one construction - perfect for displaying the three Andrew Günsberg 365 portraits I bought from him (mounted pics now affixed over the existing frame boxes), the little exhibition description cards (still with their orange "sold" stickers), a print-out of the official poster, plus the two pics he took on that final day of the exhibit. I saw the frame while on vacation - and raced back the next day to buy it when I realised it seemed tailor-made for the job!

Today I picked up my professionally-framed Map of Middle-Earth (by JRR Tolkien), which I have had made up to match the 2010 "Premier's Reading Challenge" poster (starring my school students!). Both framed prints are destined to hang in our new school library when it's finished. The Middle-Earth map used to hang in my bedroom (from el cheapo 70s plastic poster hangers) from 1977-1984, then it got rolled up and shunted off to the garage, where it was badly water-damaged. Two house moves later, it looks even more "antique"!

The local framer has done a magnificent job. I'll post a pic ASAP.

"I'm late, I'm late!" - Framed and hung... at last!

Today's pic is a photo of some favourite old photos.

I finally got around to framing my 1992 Central Park, New York "Alice in Wonderland" statue pics a few years ago, and finally found a place to hang them a few weeks ago. Until then they'd been cluttering a corner, and getting moved around the floor every time I vacuumed.

At about ten to midnight, I realised I needed a subject for my 365 Photos project, and well, here it is. Click on the link above about to see the actual pics.

Framed!

I had my "Magic Circle Club" photograph professionally
framed, along with Max Bartlett's autograph!

Max very kindly inscribed a little card for me, so I could include it with the amazing still from the set he gave me a few months ago. He says, "To Ian - Great to chat about the memories of the show and meet someone who enjoyed the production. It was great to meet you - Max."




Me - when I first discovered
"Magic Circle Club!"

On the ninth day of Christmas

Yesterday Jack and I managed to avoid the downpours of rain and spent about an hour walking briskly through historic Parramatta Park. I was pleasantly surprised that dogs were permitted, as so many public places actively discourage them, even when on a lead. We had to "stay ten metres from children's play areas and barbeques", but the rain had already scared away most of the park's users for the day.

After that, Jack got to visit Punchbowl, and a little white Maltese terrier he knows: she's the very cheeky Jessie and we are always guaranteed many belly laughs when the two of them romp together. Jessie demonstrated how she can spin in the air 360 degrees, and Jack showed off the new trick he's been learning: "Sit, drop, roll!", complete with an often-hilarious howl of embarrassment when he doesn't wish to do it again. (Who said you can't teach a middle-aged dog new tricks?)

Needless to say, he's still passed out on the couch, poor little guy...

How curious that I ended up going right past Punchbowl Public School, where I was teacher-librarian from the beginning of 1991 till the end of 1997 - and here I am this week describing Christmas ornaments from that period of my life! I now present today's batch, as we continue to journey back through time:



Above left: For 1990, the cross-eyed, stuffed polar bear carries an empty sack on his back, and can presumably be filled with sweets, although I've never done so. Another purchase from the Lakemba pharmacy/newsagency. (I'd forgotten how many of my collecton came from there.) The tiny dragon and knight ride a wagon, and comprise the smallest ornament in my collection. One year it got left on a branch when the tree was stored away. Purchased from Grace Bros. in Roselands.

Above right: For 1989, the miniature rocking chair, made of real wood, is a simple, yet bold, statement on the Chrismas tree. It came from Grace Bros. in Roselands. The round wooden frame, containing a small, handmade reindeer tapestry created by my sister-in-law, Michelle, was included in my Christmas gift from my brother's family.