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2011

JVC Gibbs copyright 2010

JVC Gibbs copyright2010

Let me ask you nicely to  look forward to this new year in anticipation with the same wonder, enthusiasm and openness of a child. Given of course that this child, for the sake of conversation, led a safe, happy and secure life.

In retrospect, I also found it (looking at the prospect of a new year through a child's eyes) fascinating if I look back at the dying days of December 2010. Remember how miserable, gloomy and wet those days have been?

I think it reflected faithfully how sad and somber I felt for the year that has been. It has been a year full of promises, of luck, love & prosperity but none has been forthcoming.

Every year, I hoped that it will be different, each one starting with bright optimism  but then by June the year never fails to get rather shabby  and doldrums flood. Then for some reason, as soon as the month has a 'ber' at the end of the name, we all seem to have collective amnesia and hope springs out of the barren and frigid July  and August. Why ever not?

The answer is very simple. Summer will come again and the sun cheers up Australians like the 'Go Aussie Go' jingle. Nothing dark and evil ever happens under the blue, sweltering southern sky, or does it? The deaths and  devastations of bushfires says it all.

To make this sweet short story even shorter, let me recall for you how quickly we forgot the gloom and we hear no more of the sad litany of rain on a galvanised iron roof. Instead we hear of sunburn, mozzie bites,  hats, cricket,  vomit on trains, seagulls (How come we never see seagulls when it is cold and dreary?), cicadas in the afternoon, barbies, crook tummy from the food left out too long out of the fridge,  salads with fetta, cucumbers & tomato but called all sorts of continental names instead to sound posh (and pretentious), sunburn flaking off, full cafes and people waiting for tables in vain, people wearing skimpy clothing that should not have seen the light of day, sickies and other stuff you only hear about downunder but you get the drift mat'. I am now drifting into a sad parody of  the written equivalent of the Aussie twang or that rising intonation, turning every statement into a question. 

So, I would better stop here while I am ahead. Oh well, I was looking at this new year through a child's eyes but the one which was once inside me is rolling his eyes at me right now.

ANMM volunteers Christmas party, 2010

Summer berries with vanilla mascarpone

Have you ever been to a function and the food is attractive and appetising, you feel that you would rather look at it than eat it? I did! I went to the Australian National Maritime museum volunteers christmas party 2010 at the Bayside gallery, Darling Harbour. The view was absolutely stunning, the people I sat with, Mr & Mrs Flavin, were charming and interesting, (who also happened to win one of the door prizes, courtesy of Captain Cook cruises), and that memorably and finally, the food was divine. I think that when it comes to the aesthetics of food presentation, it is the plating in regards to colour and plate that appeals to the eye and the nose is the key. It certainly was not disappointing to the tongue as well.

Spring 2010

We are now on the last legs of 2010 but unlike last year, we have a very wet start of  summer. I am not complaining but just appreciating the beauty of the natural world and the awakening to new life. This positive outlook and hope for the future in my life is reflected in a lot of optimism in Australia today. The prosperity and growing financial confidence is very obvious and we all start to be feel confident in flexing our credit cards again.

A word of caution though, try not to overdo it and spend beyond your means this holiday season. Why not spread your money around? For example transfer your money from account to account (unless of course you have a huge amount put aside already, in which case it might be better off in a term deposit, but by then this advice is really irrelevant to you dear reader, since this post is for financialy struggling people, like this author for instance).
Hope is in the air and when there is hope and optimism we are likely to see the beauty of nature.

ECOLOGIC- about freshwater

As an educator, I have always been conscious of how we, artists & designers (specifically those specialising in the practical and material based disciplines like ceramics, textiles, wet photography, jewellery, glass design and the fine arts of painting and sculpture, etc) that consume a lot of fresh water. It seems to be a huge concern for all of us that we must be ethical in managing and disposing of waste water, finishing chemicals and solvents because it makes sense financially and ecologically. You might find this teachers resource useful.
(FRESH WATER (Image provided by treehugger.com all copyrights reserved))

Freshwater is not only the most valuable resource in the future but also right here and now. Australians today buy expensive and wasteful bottled water arguably more than any country in the world.
Find out more and see the Powerhouse museum exhibition or click on the above teacher's resource link.
You only have to visit any convenience stores springing up all over Sydney and see how many brands there are on offer but that's not my point. It stands to reason why green business should try to manage our fresh water supply while it is the rainy season (the wettest year since 1959). 

Official thanks to Baulko art faculty

I thank the Baulkham Hills High School creative arts faculty for my wonderful and memorable internship. The art show was of extremely high quality and I have a better understanding of teaching in secondary schools. Thanks to you!

Baulkham Hills High School wonders

Baulko main quadrangle, sans students

Baulkham Hills School at the end of the day

The year 7 classes I taught were very talented, it was a joy to teach them. Thanks so much guys for being the best students I have the privilege to teach!

PHOTOS FROM THE 2010 ANNUAL BAULKO ART EXHIBITION

Poster made by the 2010 artshow volunteers

Mini-paper sculptures by Ms Eakin's classes

8RD3 Visual Arts Drawing exam top scorer

Adam L scored top of his class in the drawing exam on the seated figure. The principal, Ms Lynne Searle remarked, 'The foreshortening is very well-observed, wonderful!"

8GO2 Visual art, Drawing exam, top scorer

Z D Pruksapun received top marks in drawing the teacher, Ms Gibbs.

9Y Marina Art Study, images for Central Coast Advocate review

1 John Olsen, Entrance to Seaport of desire 1964 Synthetic Polymer on paint on canvas, 167.6x213.4 cm AGNSW

2 Wendy Stavrianos (B. 1941 Australian) Night Curtain 1983 Acrylic and wax on canvas, 172 x 240 cm.

3 Claude Lorrain (1600-82) Landscape with Ascanius Shooting the stag of Sylvia 1682

Oil on canvas, 120x 150 cm. Presented by Mrs W. F. R. Weldon in 1926 Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

4 Jeffrey Smart, (B. 1921 Australian) Underground Car Park 1993 oil on canvas 76x110 cm

5 Mandy Martin (1952 Australian) Lake Julius 1994 Oil on Ochres and pigment on Linen, diptych, 152x550 cm Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery Sydney

(Scanned from Israel, Glenis (1997), 'Places & Spaces' in Artwise, Milton Queensland, Wiley & Sons, p.90-91.) Republished for educational use only. The copyright is attributed and the creator of this website is indemnified from any changes/DAMAGES/LIBEL due to UNKNOWN parties revising this page without the author's authorisation or knowledge.

GHS 10x reinterpreted object

Congratulations! It was a very successful unit. I love your chairs. Your teachers are very proud of you.

Dissecting Art, science & medicine

Spectacular Bodies
Dr Fae Brauer speaks at the College of Fine Arts, UNSW
6:00 pm Tuesday April 20th Cnr oxford st & Greens Rd Paddington Sydney NSW 2021
Main lecture theatre, EG02

7RD3 expressive portraits

GHS-7GO2 hero-image distortions-expressive portraits