My Productive Year Begins ….

2012 is the “YEAR OF THE FARMER” so I’ve decided to define my year with reference to the farmers’ and gardeners’ growing cycle.

January … FALLOW

•  I spent the month thinking about the residency and which of my many ideas I should try to do during the year … a daunting task!

February … TILLING THE SOIL

•  I spoke to some of my many friends who work in a wide range of mediums, and we discussed ideas for collaborations and projects.
•  I’m starting this blog to record of my residency, and this is all new to me, so I’ve been on a steep learning curve!

Now the real fun begins … I hope you’ll stay tuned!

March … SOWING (and maybe even some sewing too!)

• The seeds of creativity are now planted in my mind-field. Many projects will get underway, some as solo creations, and others as collaborative ventures.
• For the remainder of the year I’ll be working at the Gardens on the first Tuesday and third Monday every month. Please visit, say hello, and watch me working with my friends.
•  View my work on display throughout March at Indooroopilly Council Library (level 4, Indooroopilly Shopping Centre)

April … GERMINATION

• Tiny shoots will begin to appear as evidence of the productive year ahead.
• Watch for progressive images of my ‘Flowers of Friendship’ project and other exciting developments.
• Activities for children (and young-at-heart adults) will be happening during the Easter school holidays.
• View my work on display throughout April at Corinda Council Library (641 Oxley Rd, Corinda)

May … SPROUTING

• The shoots are growing longer, nurtured by the inspiring backdrop of the Gardens environment
• And the roots are developing nicely too – stretching out in all directions gathering nutrients from the fertile minds of my creative friends
• View my work on display throughout May at Toowong Council Library (level 4, Toowong Village Shopping Centre)

June …GROWING

• This will be a busy month with many activities and projects
• World Environment Day will be celebrated on 3 June.
• Winter Solstice Celebrations will occur (16 – 24 June).
•  I will stage an exhibition of my work to date in Richard Randall Art Studio (22 – 29 June).

July …BUDDING

• A chance for the young ones to enjoy time in the Gardens with Far Out Forests activities (3 – 5 July). 
• Other exciting school holiday activities will also be scheduled.

August …FLOWERING

      The Gardens will burst into life with the promise of Spring.

• Paper cranes and cherry blossoms will decorate the Japanese Garden during Japan Week.
• Skilful spiders will spin magic webs to grace the trees.

September …FRUITING & SEED FORMATION

• During the holidays, children will have many opportunities to create and play

October …HARVESTING

• All my projects will be nearing completion, and no doubt I’ll be working hard this month to get all the finishing touches completed.

November … DISTRIBUTION OF THE PRODUCE

• This will be a marketing exercise to encourage people to come and see the fruits of my labour during the year. 
• I will be staging an exhibition in the Richard Randall Art Studio (6 – 15 November). 
• The residency culminates with a display of my work in conjunction with the botanical artists (29 November – 2 December).  

A Taste of Things to Come ...

I am still finalising details of the projects, activities and artworks that I plan to complete during my residency.

In the meantime, here’s some images of my work currently on display until 3 March at the University of the Sunshine Coast Gallery, Sippy Downs (open Mon -Sat, 10am-4pm).

The exhibition is entitled BERBAGI, which means ‘sharing’ in Indonesian. This symbolises the friendship and shared experiences during an art-holiday in Bali. On display is work by nine other Queensland papermakers and two Balinese paper artists.

Food for Thought

These parcels are my replicas of food wrappings from Bali. They have names like ‘Packets of Perseverance’ and ‘Containers of Contentment’

… made from natural-fibre papers.

Scattered Offerings

Balinese women and girls create a variety of offerings (from leaves, flowers and found objects) in preparation for the Hindu festivals. Once scattered on the ground, or placed in a shrine, these offerings are abandoned. Folding my photographs of these offerings into origami shapes was a meditative and relaxing experience.

… natural fibre papers and printed photographs. 

 

Kim Schoenberger took this photo

of me at the opening

An Exciting Year Ahead

WOW … what an exciting year this will be for me!

 

I have the privilege of being the 2012 Artist-in-Residence at Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mt Coot-tha.  I will be demonstrating and running workshops for adults and children throughout the year, as well as exhibiting my work.

For those who don’t know me, I am passionate about calligraphy and lettering, and for this reason I have chosen “THE LANGUAGE OF NATURE” as my theme for the year. I will use letters, words and symbols as the inspiration to create hangings, artist books, sculptures and wearable art. I work with all types of textiles – fibres, paper, yarns and fabrics.  I love the tactile qualities of the materials and I enjoy playing with textures and colour combinations.

I am a member of many craft groups, and I plan to work collaboratively with many of my colleagues throughout the residency. I will be working at the Gardens on regular days each month, as well as at other special times.

I HOPE YOU’LL CALL PAST AND SAY HELLO!

or visit my website www.triciasmout.com.au