Rumble...all the words.

Not wanting to flog a dead horse or anything...but (Re: Kate Derum Award) my artist's statement was edited ...quite a bit, and I thought I might have come off sounding kind of mean or un-loving about my dear children, who I love a lot.
So here it is in it's entirety

“Rumble”

As part of male guinea pig’s ritual of asserting their domination, they growl or ‘rumble’. Part of the performance involves yawning at each other. Caught in a moment, this natural yawn becomes a silent scream.

Am I the guinea pig in my domestic environment? Mother to two young children, I often feel tested and scrutinized, trapped and claustrophobic. (this is where it ended in the catalog) New and unproven ideas are often on the menu of a new mother…

I looked at our new pets, and found them interesting and funny to draw. While I was painting, and then weaving this image I realized I felt much more akin to these little guys than I realized.

It’s an artificial world that this guinea pig inhabits; menacing shapes lurk on the horizon. It’s beautiful and strange.

Cheers

r

Kate Derum Award for small Tapestries 2013

Monika Beniulyte, With Love.....14x20cm

I love this tapestry so much, and I was very happy when it won the prize for the

 Irene Davies Emerging Artist Award.

I like this tapestry because it embraces new(ish) technologies, of I think, laser or ink jet printing onto a beautifully woven surface. How exciting to see something utterly contemporary in a tapestry show.

Anton Veenstra won the main award with his tapestry Everyman clown. 

Here are some pictures from the exhibition.

I also really liked Tim Gresham's piece Acqua scales, which is hanging above mine.

So sorry it's blurry...I was a bit blurry too, not alchohol, weepy tears...

when people started talking about Kate, I just went all sad....I guess that's ok.

I liked this one too, mainly because of the fabric-y nature of it.

Shubankar Ray, Man in meditation

And how fabulous to meet this lovely artist Kyoko Imazu! She is currently doing a residency at the Australian Tapestry Workshop. Learning to weave too! She is a very good artist, and you can see her work from the link.

There was a lot of build up for me, just getting around to doing my work, now, I just have to get on with making more work...work work

A little look back

Seeing as I'm in this Kate Derum Award exhibition, I thought it important, or at least relevant to talk a little bit about my teacher and mentor.

This is a bit of a ramble of thoughts, so don't be too critical of my meandering ways...writing has not really ever been a strong point. :)

 

It's interesting how when we're in the middle of something, we have no sense of perspective about what we're doing, or even how valuable or precious the time we're in, is.

This is how I feel about my time at Monash university during the mid 1990s.

That is where I first met Kate Derum, as my lecture of Tapestry, as part of the Fine Art Department.

To be honest, after Kate passed away, I kind of went off making tapestry, it made me a bit sad.

As time goes on, my interest in making and looking at tapestry is returning, 

(pretty enthusiastically I might add)

  I'm ready to re-visit tapestry as process, aesthetics, historically and symbolically.

I don't think enough can be said on the importance of Kate's emphasis on drawing. Whether it be through traditional means or collage or painting. Her course always was based solidly on expressive image making .

I learned how to be an artist from Kate... I was always artistic, but through Kate I learnt about process, about reading, working on, and through an idea.

She was great teacher and artist. It's great that she can be remembered through this award.

That is why it is very special to be included this year in this show.