Love

Photograph -fresh and perky by Rushay

Occasionally, at night just before going to sleep I can start churning and thinking about really sad things. I do not know why this happens but its a really bad habit! Walking through every room in my Grandmother's house (she died recently) is a classic. Its almost like I am testing myself for how I react to pulling out the old memories; just checking on how grief has evolved? Or how I would manage if something really bad happened in the future. Thats a fun one (!).

Needless to say it can be difficult to sleep so I ask my husband for a 'nice image' because he's THE best at that. So he winges a bit because you know he is half asleep and then goes quiet..... but about a minute later in the dark he says, totally dead-pan voice, the most perfect thing- a mental picture with no possible negative associations.

"Three baby birds in a nest".
"G's paper streamers".
"Warm sun on grass".

I just love it x! because it always a new one and you know its actually quite hard to NOT choose something like 'ocean' which can, if you are melancholy and prone to it, turn dark. For example 'ocean'- ok mental picture...... lovely blue water.....horizon......far.....deep.......whats under the surface?...a shark! friggen jaws munching and crunching..scenes from drowning in that movie The Piano and then its all down hill.

So anyway I thought I'd share my cheesy haiku moment with you.

PS there is a most beautiful blog full of relaxed sunshiney images here x

Today's Mascot

by laihiu

I am printing 'Perfect Circles' as meterage today which is exciting. I will be bringing G with me so hopefully Carly & I can keep her occupied whilst we set up- usually this works and she will read books and paint but when G wants to help it gets tricky with the ink and all. Still I think its really cool that she can be a part of my work.

Family Dispersal

photo from here

As someone from a big family it feels a bit like there is an echo if there isnt at least one sibling within cooee and for the first time tomorrow there will be no siblings and no mum within.... well looots of distance.

With one sister in Sydney, another in Melbourne, another in London and a brother in Glasgow it all feels a bit spread out particularly as my mum is in the furthest of places an island off the coast of Scotland. Before mum went we worked out that she hadn't been alone for more than 12 hours in 40 years. How liberating for her!

I decided to check out exactly where my mum has escaped to and discovered the spiritual island of Iona surrounded by turquoise water :-) How's the serenity!

Get Down

Going for walks, going to the park, chats, cuddles, I love it all but getting down on the ground and playing choo-choo or lets put baby into bed I just cant get into it! I just dont have the patience. Do you have any tips?

In G's room though there is a carpet on the floor that sister S gave us and I love it so much that I can spend a little longer than usual on the floor building blocks and looking for snails under the bed!

This Week

I have to say today was pretty grey on many levels- the weather for a start I just feel the gloom when its over-caste. I went to Nest Studio and moved things around which I love doing and we did a new window but it just wouldnt work ya! I was rushing to pick up G from Auntie S's and when Carly and I rush it's a bit like a comedy skit. Most days are a juggling act at the moment I have never worked this hard at keeping a balance- and its NOT working!!!!! But here are some pictures of the good bits from this week which include G playing hide and seek and truly believing we couldn't see her; her first car drawing (looks like a tank!) and a few new additions to Umbrella Prints.....
PS xoxooxo hi Mum in Iona

Rage Playlist song #7

James Brown-Sunny
Paris 1961 by Bobby Hebb
I love this song and James Brown and his very last note of this performance.

Perfect Circles for Umbrella Prints

I really enjoy the process of screen printing when you can just play and see what happens- there is no pressure and you getting back to the cloth, you and the ink. As well as having a small line of fabrics printed professionally for meterage, Carly and I muck around in the studio and print small runs for fun and we call these fabrics Test Patterns (which we will be including on the Umbrella Prints website at some stage).

Recently we printed Sunshine and Snow; with Carly doing the underlying Sunshine imagery and me testing out my Snow Circles over the top. When separated the prints look totally different from very bold and contrasting to light & ethereal.

The Perfect Circle design comes from a five metre long papercut called Circle Storm I cut for the exhibition Paper Cuts a few months ago. I wanted to call them 'perfect ' because it's your eye that makes them perfect by seeing circles where there is no actual circle line-just ink to an imaginary edge.

So here is a glimpse of the first fabric in a range of Perfect Circles for Umbrella Prints :-)

Grazie- Decor8 and Domino Magazine

A while ago Umbrella Prints was contacted by the lovely Holly Becker (decor8) to let us know we would be included in an American Domino Magazine's gallery of her favourite fabrics on Etsy! Well, it has been posted and we are stoked to be included amongst 15 textile designers from around the world, 7 of which are Aussies doing their thing, yey.

The irony is we still haven't been noticed by the local Messenger newspaper!

Here is the link
and to have a look at everyone included just use the scroll of images below.
How exciting.

One Big Beautiful Printing Table

In my garage there is everything you could ever want to print your own fabric- there is a long, specially padded table with specially welded to the right height legs and a pole with G-clamps I designed especially for measuring to the mm repeats. This table cost a lot of money and a huge amount of hassle to build and set up. There is just one problem, I dont ever feel like going in there to use it.

In my attempts to not be alone in the garage printing I have used the floor inside, the pavement outside and the kitchen table and more recently Carly's art table at Queen Street. I reckon its akin to my avoidance of the 'white page'. Its way easier to approach a piece of paper that has a blob on it or is kind of ripped at one corner or even better comes from a supermarket pad with lines on it that has been kicking around the house for years; than approach a pure, pristine, expensive piece of the best quality white paper thats sits expectantly waiting for your jittery lines.

I guess its is eventually a process of doing what works for you. Which means Im selling my beautiful table so that it can be used by someone else as it was intended and as it should be. Feel free to contact me if you are or know this person!

Dreaming in Red

Carly and I picked up the keys to our new shopfront/showroom/gallery/beanbag cafe on Rundle Street in the city today- we are just about to wash the windows and plug in the new coffee machine .......oh.... well it was a nice dream I had for a moment on the way to work this morning.......someday that'd be ex....and to the people who HAVE leased this building don't change the colour its perfect!

Umbrella Prints at MCM

It has been a big couple of weeks for Umbrella Prints.
Carly and I are excited to have our screen printed fabrics sharing the walls with the likes of Marimekko at the wonderful store Mid Century Modern.

This Saturday's art class

Children paint the best pictures.

Crute pancakes

G spotted this first- and he was upside down at the time! I thought we could sell him on ebay but then we ate him.

Track #6 Sweet- Love is Like Oxygen

Sticking with the theme (air, water, breathing) I just get a kick out of this film clip - all that hair, all that glam and all that drama (!)

Sweet- Love is Like Oxygen

Today and Zena Holloway

Sea Horse- by Zena Holloway via www.appliedartsmag.com

My sister had something to show me today that she knew I would LOVE and I do-
Zena Holloway's ethereal beautiful photographs.

They remind me of when I used to hold my breath under water at the pool and just float and all sounds were muted and distant and its really peaceful.......la la la.......floating....la, la..... (and then you pop up and someone's screaming "A! you have to get out NOOOOW we are GOOOOOING!" and the lifeguard has been taking special notice of you wondering if your drowning and its so LOUD!).

What I meant to say is Zena Holloway's photographs are just gorgeous and for a moment you feel immersed within them.

Breathing Underwater

I love drawing its my meditation. I was really lucky to grow up around artists who were uninhibited, unafraid and unselfconscious. Their drawings flowed from their arms directly onto paper and it is/was the most beautiful thing to watch. We werent allowed to use rulers or rubbers- in other words no editing! Which was great because it meant we learnt to adapt 'errors' which would usually end up as the best feature in the work.

All of my designs for printed textiles or prints come from my drawings. Although I think computers are amazing tools and I am crap (but learning) to use one, I cant see myself ever using a computer to design a repeat from start to finish. I need my pen to feel in control; I feel all a bit out of control on a computer, like its going to just eat up my pixels at any moment (which is what happened just then when it ate my first version of this post grrrrr) and like its not really me making the marks- something about connectedness -hey is that a real word. Im no ludite or anything I just loike mee pencils.

Here is one of the many drawings that hasnt ended up as a design for textiles....yet/ever?
G is asleep..... it is peaceful.........breathe ooooouuuuutttttt.

Track #5 Heart of Glass-Blondie

Partial to glitter and glitterballs and disco and record players. There is no other song that reminds me of the beauty of a record and that particular sound and how much I loved discovering music (and her hair and that dress)!

Song #4 The Verve- This is Music

Ultimate cool band, song and filmclip (all of their filmclips).

If I were a man in a band this would be it.

I am having so much fun doing this faux Rage Playlist and fingers crossed C got a ticket to see them in Glasgow.

The Verve- This is Music

Words Are Everywhere!

The penny dropped for G this week; whilst at a bakery eating a sausage roll with sauce for breakfast (long story/short menu!) G noticed amongst the shops sign-writing a 'G' and pointed it out "Mummy! a G!" and then whilst walking home she suddenly realised the words on everything; on windows; on the sides of bikes; on the sides of machines and was absolutely rapt
. Anyway...it was a very groovy moment together.