amazing artist studios by Joe Fig

www.joefig.com

Such a great discovery via the clutter of Joe Fig's inside the artist studios
which are 11 x11 table top sculptures.

my work - Aboriginal Australia Map canvas

So I have made it to the end of this first stage and I have now drawn what is thought of a indicative map of the indigenous nations.

As a starting place I have based my work on the map of Aboriginal Australia – created by Dr David Horton and produced by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

The Indigenous Map is just one representation of other map sources that are available for describing Aboriginal Australia. This map indicates only the general location of larger groupings of people which may include smaller groups such as clans, dialects or individual languages in a group.

Now I need the courage to take the next step and for a night or so that courage has been hiding.

my work - the canvas develops

Slowly slowly I am starting to map the climb to the top of this creative mountain.

I thought that this may be an 18 month task this crazy idea, so I would take a photo at each stage to document how it develops and share it on my blog.

All Sunday I worked away and at 11:30pm last night I made it to 80 percent of mapping the indigenous countries of Australia on my charcoal outlined Australia. Th map is based on countries and how Australia could would have looked before the European invasion.

stitched portraits, a-m-a-z-i-n-g

Via A Cup of Jo the discovery of artist Daniel Kornrumpf

Such amazing work, just when my last nine months of stitching was on the decline from my own doubts about the medium, I have been saved.

thank you interweb, thank you Daniel!.

my work - the canvas

Well today I started on my way to develop a new work on a really big piece of canvas. I have a mad idea to pull together the current ideas into a one hell of a big piece of work.

What am I thinking.....part of the idea is stitch my way around Australia..... my fingers already ache but then mad ideas like this can turn into something horrible or wonderful. Maybe in some months I will be able to know more.

the myth of primitivism:perspectives on art

At the moment I am reading The Myth of Primitivism edited by Susan Hiller. It is a very dense read but great at being thought provoking specifically in relation to my current project where I am starting to explore the impact of being a white non-indigenous Australian. This book is following another heavy read of White Out: How politics is killing black Australia by Rosemarie Neill. Tough books, hard topic and in no way do I think I can currently grapple the complexity or issues that is highlighting but I am trying.

I am faced with my own guilt and I am also confronted by how unhelpful almost self indulgent this can be for dealing the current situation.

I highly recommend both these books, particularly for Australians as we try to deal with our history along with the current crisis we are faced by the inequalities that many Indigenous people are experiencing this very day.