melbourne love

I love living in Melbourne. I grew up in a small country town with a population around 4,000. As a creative person it wasn't always the best, resources, inspiration and like minded people were quite limited. Don't get me wrong, I love were I grew up for so many reasons, the fresh air, the closeness to nature, the friendliest, most down to earth people. My parents still live there and I love to visit but when it comes to such creative goodness as the lot listed below, I'm reminded how grateful and how full of love I am for Melbourne.

Be quick finishing tomorrow... Catherine Campbell, Mel Stringer, Eveline Tarunadjaja and Andrea Innocent - A to Z at Brunswick Bound 361 Sydney Road, Brunswick.

Now - 7th November, Ghostpatrol & Miso - Nesting and Dying at Metro 5, 1214 High Street, Armadale.

Opening tonight - 16th November, Leah Bartholomew - Where the Dry Leaves Fall at Gorker Gallery, 395 Gore Street, Fitzroy.

Opening 6th - 29th November, Kat Macleod - The Tiniest Spark at Lamington Drive, 89 George Street, Fitzroy.

Congratulations to both Leah and Kat on their debut solo exhibitions.

gift shopping

This week I have been busy filling my lunch breaks with gift shopping, it seems to be the time that all events come at once. I'm sure you know what I mean, every calendar has its cluster of celebratory events, doesn't it? Anyway, along the way I found these chocolates which I thought were pretty neat and this cutie little Liberty print hankie I know my Nana will think is nice and sweet.

little red hearts

An experimental neck-piece featuring a cute, wooden, kitten button that was a gift from the very lovely Ms Teacups.

sweetness

Scratches on hand from Millie the cat.

Today I cut up some ribbon that coincidently perfectly matched the ring I was wearing. How super sweet is that? The ribbon also made a very pretty mess. Two super sweet coincidences in the one morning, I hope this is a sign of a great week ahead.

While cutting I listened to more sweetness from the lovely Melanie Horsnell!

And tonight, Im off to my drawing class. I have been going to this class every Monday night for the last few weeks, sadly this means no more Brown Owl nights this year...all good things must come to an end, right?

Stay tuned... if I'm feeling game I might just share some of these Monday night drawings with you over the coming weeks. It has been quite a journey so far.

taaag - you're it!

image from here

So, you've probably played this yourselves and are quite familiar with the drill but this is my first time thanks to sweet Hollie from Hokey who has tagged me, to tell you, 6 little things about myself - here goes!

The rules:

• Link to the person who tagged you.

• Mention the rules.

• Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself.

• Tag six other bloggers by linking to them.

• Go to each person's blog and leave a comment that lets them know they've been tagged.

1. I share my birth date with Elvis and David Bowie...and want to know why I didn't score any musical talents.

2. The middle finger on my right hand (I am right-handed) has a slight raise on the left side near the first knuckle from colouring in and drawing every spare minute as a kid. I suspect I held those pencils a little too tight!

3. Green is my favourite colour.

4. In Grade 6 I was the tallest kid in my class and I haven't grown much since.

5. On the back of each of my arms I have a freckle in the exactly the same spot. This is one thing I have consistently liked about my appearance...weird, I know.

6. I still have my wisdom teeth.

The 6 people I am tagging are: teacupsontreetops, blissinateacup, Ché and Fidel, emjie, vejacecilia and katiecrackernuts. And to you 6 play along if you want, if not that's ok too.

ta da!

Finally, the vest I've been knitting for what seems like forever is complete. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, a major bonus is that it actually fits. I must admit though my first attempt was way too large and had to be unpicked!

The very unique button, which I love is from here. A bit of a button splurge for me but I'd been waiting some time for a reason to purchase one of Laura's divine creations and thought as the vest only had one button hole this would be a fantastic opportunity. I really love some of the more delicate patterned buttons she creates but felt the one I chose was more suited to the chunky-ness of the vest. If you like you can also see more of Laura's work over here.

list two

illustration by: julie verhoeven, image from here

Following on from my last post this is another list, although this one isn't exactly a wish list...more of a favourites list. A list of some of my favourite illustrators. There are many so, so many, too many to mention here, however, for this post I thought I'd share 5 local (Australian) illustrators and 5 international illustrators. A tough task (to narrow down to 5 each that is)!

So, appearing in no particular order here are some illustrators that after viewing time and time again I never tire of, their styles are always inspiring, always entertaining and always leaving me wanting more!

I hope you enjoy following the links and looking at these talents as much as I do!

AUSTRALIAN
Eveline Tarunadjaja,
Justin Lee Williams
Beck Wetzler
Kareena Zerefoz
Catherine Campbell

INTERNATIONAL
Kate Wilson
Kime Buzzelli
Tina Berning
Seonna Hong
Julie Verhoeven

Some more just for fun... Yoko Furusho, Stina Persson, Nara Yoshitomo, Mark Ryden, James Jean, Deanne Cheuk, Lilly Piri, Kelly Smith.

books, glorious books

image from here

Following on from yesterday's post I thought Id share a little wish list with you. My book wish list that is. There are many, but here are 5 near the top at the moment.

Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life
Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft and Design
Over and Over: A Catalog of Hand-Drawn Patterns
Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils and Silk Screens
Simply Pattern by Viction:ary

What's on your book wish list?