Echoes of Nature: Solo Exhibition at Off the Kerb Gallery : Friday Feb 4th 6pm-9pm

Please join me at Off the Kerb Gallery, 66B Johnston St, Collingwood. Opening night Friday February 4th from 6-9pm. Exhibition runs from Feb 4-25. Gallery opening hours are Thurs & Fri 12:30pm-6pm, Sat & Sun 12-5pm.

Echoes of nature is a collection of playful, intricate works inspired by the patterns created in nature. This body of work stemmed from drawings I made during a month long stay at the Julia & David White Artists’ Colony in Costa Rica in 2009. Crumpled, dying leaves captured my attention and then my imagination to re-create something original.

  I like to use ink to draw my illustrations: I can make distinct, solid lines yet still create a sense of flow and movement. 

  I’m fascinated with repetition: I love making copies, and copies of copies…they’re never really quite identical. The photocopier is an important element of my creative process – it allows me to make quick copies of my work, but also to enlarge, reduce, crop, reverse and modify my images in countless ways.

  Collage then takes me back to that childhood feeling of joy and playfulness: I cut things up, add bits, take away, move things around, stick them down and then add even more ink. Guided by intuition, this method allows me to re-construct the natural forms to create new, yet similar images that echo each other. 

  As I explore the endless possibilities of creation, I hope to evoke a feeling, a memory or reaction and inspire you to stop, reflect and appreciate. The final arrangement allows the eyes to play.

Please join me at Off the Kerb Gallery, 66B Johnston St, Collingwood for the opening night on Friday February 4th from 6-9pm.

Linden Postcard Show : Saturday February 5th 1pm-5pm

Linden Postcard Show, Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts, 26 Acland Street, St Kilda. Opening day Saturday February 5th 1pm. Exhibition open from Feb 5th to March 26th. Gallery hours 1pm - 5pm Tuesday - Friday, 11am-5pm Sat & Sun.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Linden Postcard Show, but I've made 2011 my first ever entry!

Featuring small scale works in all mediums from thousands of artists, the annual Linden Postcard Show is the wealthiest open entry competition in Australia. With a plethora of prizes such as the $5000 Linden Award,  $2,000 Palais Theatre Management Artist Support Award , $1,000 Yarra Trams Award, $1,000 St Kilda Art Supplies Award and the chance for 6 Postcard winners to each receive $250 and have their work reproduced as Linden Postcards, I couldn't let this amazing opportunity slip by. I've entered three of my most recent monoprints for judging.

 

Opening celebrations start from 1pm on Saturday 5th February with bar and live music. Please join me at the Linden Centre and wish me luck!

Wishing you a happy, healthy, creative New Year!

Just a quick hello to wish everyone a Happy New Year! To kick off 2011, I've been very busy in the studio working towards preparing for my very first solo exhibition, which will be happening in February at Off the Kerb Gallery - but more on that later! Here is my new studio helper, Zuzia, the ragdoll cat, adding her thoughts (and fur) to a new collage composition. I'm really excited about 2011 - lots of fun and creative things coming up in this Melbourne town and I'm ready to get my hands dirty. Watch out for my newsletter coming to your inbox soon! Creatively, Maja