Anney B.

Pretty as a Picture

2012-02-04T21:43:00.002+11:00

After running our workshops, Mechelle and I had a look at the 2011 Archibald Prize portrait exhibition, which has come and goneskis. The Archibald Prize is basically a portraiture prize of Australian people distinguished in their field, mainly the arts. Ordinarily you have to pay to go see the show when it's on display at the Art Gallery of NSW, but people who came to Casula got to see it for free without it being too crowded. Also, if it wasn't free, no one in the area would actually go see it.

Looking at artwork with my sister is sooo funny and embarrassing because she is such a brutally honest critic. One memorable quote was, "What is that? Look at it, she looks like she's doing a poo!". Thankfully the artist wasn't around to hear that. Mechelle's advice for anyone who wants to be in the Archibald is:

1. Paint the subject either hyper-realistically or totally unrecognisable

2. Make it GINORMOUSLY BIG!!!

I'd personally love to paint Lee Lin Chin or Jenny Kee one day. One day!

These works were our personal favourites. I have long been a fan of Del Kathryn Barton and Lucy Culliton ever since I found out about both of these artists from one of my art teachers Lorna Grear, who is also an amazing artist. Lorna encouraged me to consider studying art at university but I didn't think my decorative, ornate, "pretty" and..."feminine" style of work would fit in. So she told me about Del Kathryn Barton.

Mother (A Portrait of Cate)

Del Kathryn Barton

Mechelle and I both love Del Kathryn Barton's work. We were both talking about how she has received criticism from some for becoming formulaic in her style because she is such a commercial success. But we both agreed that it didn't bother us and that we didn't think of those things when viewing her work. Why cut people down because they're successful? Not our style! I love her work because it's proudly "feminine" and reminds me of a patchwork quilt with lots of complex colours, patterns and textures interwoven together.

Ray in Paris

Lucy Culliton

Lucy Culliton is another one of my favourite artists. Her palette is sorta similar to Australian artist Rupert Bunny and reminds me of smudged makeup or ice cream melting in the sun. Her work is very "sunny". Culliton paints ordinary, everyday things and makes them super beautiful and obviously loved. I love her cake paintings, her knitted doll paintings, her cactus paintings- basically, I love all her work!

And one day, when I'm a squillionaire, I'll buy a painting or two!

Anney B

A Girl's Best Friend

2012-01-18T21:04:00.003+11:00

Here are some photos from the second workshop Mechelle and I ran at Casula Powerhouse for the school holidays. This time it was origami paper jewellery making. This workshop was a bit more challenging in trying to keep the kids motivated. I was very surprised that not many of them knew what origami was to begin with. Once one had given up, it had this domino effect that created this sea of scared children crying out "Miss? Miss? Miss!!!". I had to keep telling them, "I know this looks tricky, but I want you to keep trying, don't give up. I know you can do this!"

And they did! Once they had made a couple of things, they had confidence to make more. Here are some of the students, there were more but they had to go home. There were a few familiar faces from the mask making workshop. I wasn't sure if there would be any boys since it was a jewellery making workshop but there was one, who was a very good sport. He's the one in the photo playing a triangle, you can't miss him.

They made paper rings, watches and necklaces which were then decorated with glitter and pom poms etc. GLITTER EVERYWHERE! The decorating part got them most excited and I think it was because they finally had a chance to be creative, rather than follow instructions. I was told by a couple of lively rebels that they didn't like following instructions. Some also used the paper cubes as smuggling devices for craft supplies, which made me chuckle.

I'm sure that when they heard they were going to a jewellery making workshop they were expecting something along the lines of threading pasta onto string, but I knew this wouldn't challenge them, especially for a two hour workshop which is why I thought origami jewellery would be good to teach. I think they did really well.

We even got a sweet little present from one of the more advanced students. Thanks!

I hope they were inspired to learn more about the art of origami at home- a very inexpensive, challenging and rewarding way to have fun. More importantly, I hope it gave them more confidence in themselves and their abilities.

Anney B

Skin Deeper

2012-01-13T23:05:00.000+11:00

Last week Mechelle and I ran a school holiday mask-making workshop for 6- 12 year old kids at Casula Powerhouse. Not only did the kids have fun, so did we! We were both amazed by their creativity and super personalities- kids are really entertaining.

The workshop coincided with the 2011 Archibald Prize Exhibition which was on display at the time at Casula Powerhouse, so the class learned about portraiture, Pablo Picasso, Cubism and abstraction. (This is me!)

Portraits were drawn onto a paper plate in the same manner as Picasso by combining the side and front profile in one face. The eyes were cut out, colours and shapes were painted in and outlined in black...

and finally the masks were decorated with pipe cleaners, glitter and pom poms etc.

(Mechelle's on the right) There were moustaches, hair braids, eye glasses, crowns, bows and teeth galore. Stripes were all the rage.

Unfortunately the elastic to help attach the masks to their faces went missing at the end of the lesson which is why they're all holding up their masks by hand. But they didn't seem to mind.

The whole experience reminded me of how fun making art was as a child. There was no over analysing, fear of judgement or striving for perfection- it was just about being free, having fun and getting messy! So I learned a thing or two as well.

Anney B

Bad But Useful Business

2012-01-13T01:25:00.001+11:00

What's new pussycats?

My apologies (again) for the infrequent posting. I bear good news...The camera has finally been reunited with the battery charger. I have to say, it is really hard to blog without a camera!

This post is going to be a bit long. Here are some photos of my major project last year that I wanted to share with you which I produced under A LOT OF STRESS!!!

This work is entitled Bad But Useful Business. It was inspired by a quote from art critic Robert Hughes in his documentary The Mona Lisa Curse which I highly recommend. In the film he talks about how art's cultural value has become insignificant to it's monetary value and celebrity status, at the hands of the commercial art market. I decided to explore the idea of the artist functioning as a commercial brand and whether the tension between making art and making money could be reconciled. Inspired by Australian artists/designers Ken Done, Jenny Kee and Reg Mombassa, I turned my Alien Nation artworks into a range of merchandise that I displayed in a shop/gallery installation.

I BECAME A MACHINE!!!

To set up the installation I painted the walls as a tribute to Ken Done. Ken Done is notorious for his art merchandise which often gets labelled as tacky and commercial. I actually like Ken Done. I can appreciate how he has bypassed the gallery system, made his work accessible and recognisable and earned a living from his art- something most artists would like. But I can also see how mass production can either alter or diminish art's meaning. I thought painting the wall would be a good way to reference the importance of art's originality and how this has been expanded upon.

Welcome to my shop, where all things are for sale except my soul! I made only one of each product mainly because it was affordable, but it also transformed each product into an art object.

I painted the fan and sewed the tea towel and apron. I was inspired by artists like Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst who often outsource the production of their work. I took advantage of external and online services to create some of my products and also combined this with hand-made craft techniques. I accept that there are different ways to make art but I also gain great satisfaction from making things myself. Note the teacup with my own face on it... sometimes art is about shameless self-promotion.

I was also inspired by the Surrealists and how they sought to bring together the internal and external world through the surrealist object and their interactive and experiential approach towards the typically sterile, "white cube", gallery experience. I made this fetching ensemble after Salvador Dali's and Elsa Schiaperelli's famous lobster dress. I hand painted and sewed the dress and matching felt prawn hat. It's pretty funny on. I'll show you later.

I decorated some Ikea plates using water slide decals...

I painted an umbrella in the style of Pop Art (which was all about mass production). It's also similar in style to artist Margaret Preston, whose works have been turned into an array of merchandise at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Sometimes, there are practicalities to think of in the business of art. I could never afford a Margaret Preston and I'd be happy to settle for an umbrella or print instead. Keith Haring wanted to incorporate art into everyday life and had a store called Popshop. His works are still being made into merchandise and they are pretty good examples of merchandising done well. It can be done!

More products including a puzzle, colouring in book, framed poster and...

postcards...

handkerchiefs using computer printable fabric...

a mini canvas print...

hand painted babushka dolls...

a snow dome...

and some fridge magnets. I made these using Fimo clay which you hand form, bake in the oven and glaze. Most of these haven't survived due to a few overzealous fridge door slams!

I also sewed and decorated an apron using iron-on transfers of broken beer bottles.

Finally we have a handbag, key-ring, Dali-esque brooch and compact mirror...

Some of these things I had made with the help of Woolworths Photo Gifts. (No this isn't product placement, just letting you know, OK?)

I also had some silk scarves printed but they didn't arrive until later. I'll post them once I find them. Not only was this project costly, it was a nightmare to make, assemble and dismantle! I also had a hard time painting the walls back to their original state.

Ahh, the joy of suffering for your art!

Anney

Please Explain...

2011-12-05T19:56:00.001+11:00

Here are the works that were displayed in my recent solo and graduation exhibition which I wanted to share with you and explain in a little more detail. Of all the paintings I have ever produced these are the works that I'm most proud of so far.

The title of this series is "Alien Nation" because they deal with the alienation I felt growing up between two cultures as an Australian-born Laotian and having a lot of cultural assumptions imposed on me.

As you know, I love collecting (hoarding) and my collection of souvenir silk scarves inspired me with their composition and stereotypical icons. I thought they went well with the idea of feeling like a tourist, not belonging.

This painting depicts Asian female stereotypes such as the "hyper-sexual Dragon Lady" (think Lucy Liu in Charlie's Angels) or the "genteel China Doll" (think Lucy Liu in Charlie's Angels) or "gold digger/ prostitute"(Lucy Liu...you catch my drift). Sometimes my "Asian-ness" fools people into thinking I'm this alluring and mysterious exotic fruit- when I'm not. What also annoys me is when people assume I'm from China. There are so many different Asian cultures in the world (besides China) and within Laos there are many ethnic groups. Being a Laotian-Australian would also be different from being a Vietnamese-Australian, for example. I remember I went for a job interview at a donut shop when I was younger and was asked whether I was an illegal immigrant (who happened to have an excellent Australian accent). Another time, I was turned down for a job at a cake shop with Asian owners because I wasn't Chinese. Go figure. Another thing I can't stand is when people speak to me or my parents in broken English. We speak English too, thank you very much!!!

In this painting I have depicted Australian, "bogan" and "westie" stereotypical suburban images such as the abandoned shopping trolley, dumped mattresses, broken beer bottle and burning car. All these things reference real life problems certain low socio-economic areas have, but of course these things don't define all the people that live in them. Just because someone is Australian, doesn't mean they automatically like sport, meat pies and beer or have a pet emu in the backyard. When I was a girl sometimes I'd try to be more "Australian" by pronouncing words incorrectly or pretending to like "footy". Oh dear.

In the centre I painted "Lynne", a character from an old Australian comedy skit show called Fast Forward. This is her:

No it's not a shrine to myself, I promise! This painting is a more accurate portrayal of my culture with symbols of things that inspire me or have shaped my identity.

In the top left corner are a few of my favourite artists- Frida Kahlo, Jenny Kee and Margaret Keane. Jenny Kee is a brilliant artist/ designer who was huge in the 80s and famous for her colourful knits and silk scarves. Jenny Kee was one of the few Asian people I saw on TV growing up. The only other person was SBS newsreader Lee Lin Chin who according to some, looks like an older version of me.

In the top centre is a sewing machine. Mum taught me to sew from a very young age and worked very hard as a machinist when she first came to Australia, which made her very sick. A lot of my art reinterprets things she taught me as a girl to speak of the things I experience as a woman and I use sewing a lot in my art making.

In the top right corner is a still from one of my favourite movie musicals "The Sound of Music". In the centre left is my ukulele which is a very multicultural instrument if you look into it's historical origins. Music really does make the people come together!

In the centre right is an iconic Australian (maybe New Zealand) pavlova- which tastes pretty good considering it's whizzed up chicken placenta and cow udder milk fat.

On the bottom left is a dancing Laotian girl in traditional dress. Most Lao girls are taught how to hand dance when they're little as a rite of passage. It's a very graceful, ladylike dance. I painted her in front of a slice of watermelon because my grandfather was a watermelon farmer in Laos. She's surrounded by Euphorbia flowers, a common plant in many Laotian gardens. My connection to Lao culture is sadly, somewhat watered down. With my parent's displacement from their homeland came an inevitable loss of culture. For example I can't speak Laotian very fluently (although I know all the swear words and delicious foods).

On the bottom centre is my old humble fibro house which hopefully won't give me an asbestos related disease in the future...

On the bottom right are some musicians I love- Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and Prince. African American music has its roots in African music but it has evolved into something of it's own that within itself has branched off into different directions. Similarly, cultural identity and traditions fuse and evolve to create new hybrid manifestations. I guess with second generation Australians, we are at the early stages of this evolution which is why we experience a bit of an identity crisis. Although, this won't ever change people's perceptions and judgements.

Anyway, I hope this gives you a bit of insight into the meaning of the works.

My point is, people are just people!

Anney B

COFA Annual 2011 Opening Night

2011-11-29T15:12:00.001+11:00

Hey Everyone!

Long time, no blog. Things have been incredibly busy with moving house (I only unpacked the last two boxes last night), my sister's wedding, uni assessments and the COFA Annual! The Annual is a huge exhibition of graduating students from the College of Fine Arts. Yes, I have hopefully finished my Bachelor of Fine Arts (awaiting results!). How exciting!!!

Here are some photos from the opening night. Our camera battery charger has gone missing since my sister's wedding so I had to use Pasquale's camera (my new brother-in-law), so I apologise for the bad quality photos in advance. This also means I can't share with you some of the photos from my sister Mechelle's BEAUTIFUL wedding juuuust yet. So be patient!!!

I didn't get to take many photos because I was an hour and 15 minutes late- family communication woes, city traffic woes, wet weather woes, parking woes, having to run down the fire exit because we couldn't find the elevator woes, running in high heels from the other side of the campus woes AND involuntary crying woes... But we got there!!!

This is me with my long time friend Simona who reassured me throughout the night and reminded me not to have a nervous breakdown. I made the dress especially for the occasion. Not as dumb as I look hey, hey, hey?

Here I am with some of my classmates from Painting and Drawing. From left to right: Jessica (who has a beautiful opera voice and shares my love of musicals), Ainsley (who has the sweetest giggle and does magical things with pencil), Lauren (whose artworks take you for a swim under the sea and makes great sandwiches) and Alice (who loves to dance)!!! I'm so happy that I came to study because I have met some wonderful, super talented people and I wish them all very happy futures in whatever they decide to do with their lives. There's more talented people I wish to mention, but I'll save that for another post.

This is me with gorgeous fellow red lipstick lover Pia. Pia is a very articulate lass, talented artist, sexy pants wearer and guitarist in a band called Bridezilla.

This is Jeremy, amazing drawer and my replacement Patrick Swayze at the after party- a great finish to two incredibly stress filled years of hard work, breakouts, weight gain, sleepless nights and tears. Let's do it again next year in Honours! Yay!

Thank you to my family and friends for coming along and supporting and encouraging me, thank you to the lecturers for teaching me to accept criticism and helping me to be a better artist and thank you to everyone who appreciates my work.

Anney

P.S- Here's my profile page on the COFA Annual site where you can view some of my other work. For some reason it says that I studied from 2007-2011 which isn't actually true. I went to TAFE 2003-'04 and completed my BFA from 2009-'10. I'm not a perpetual student!!!

The End

2011-10-30T18:26:00.001+11:00

For those of you who missed my "Home Sweet Home" Exhibition, here are some photos as promised.

This series is entitled "You Are What You Love".

On the left is a painting of my papier-macher box collection and on the right are some prints from my Cornycopia zine.

My brooches which you can buy online here.

I hand drew vintage plates with images of screaming women from old movies.

This painting series is entitled "Alien Nation" which I will tell you more about later on.

A drawing of my old bedroom.

My quilt entitled "Everyone I Have Never Slept With." The title was inspired by Tracey Emin.

"Spoons" on the left and "Touchy Feely" on the right. I probably should have given it a bit of an iron beforehand. Please ignore the wrinkles!

Here I am with some fellow classmates after a fun excursion to the AGNSW.

Meet Eyvette, Kelly and Amy.

A big thank you to everyone who came to see the show, the love is much appreciated.

Hope you all like my work!

Anney B

It's All About Me

2011-10-22T14:53:00.001+11:00

This week my work was featured in the local paper. How embarrassing! I spoke to stylish journalist Louise Goodwin about my solo show at Kinokuniya Books and photographer Armen Deushian had the difficult task of taking a flattering photo of me! We talked about art, ate oranges and Mechelle made some vegetarian chicken nuggets. Be warned, if you come over to our house we will stuff your face with food!

You may notice in the article, that I am currently a student at the College of Fine Arts. My beans have been spilled! Yes, I am studying at university right now as a mature age student. Studying at this point in my life has been very challenging. While my friends are getting married, popping out babies and paying their mortgages, I have been painting pictures! Hooray... I had a quarter life crisis and decided I needed to do the things that I have always wanted to but didn't think possible. Uni is kinda like the baby I might not ever have. My style of work has changed so much and I really feel that my studies have helped my work improve dramatically. I do miss having money though. Finally, I am closer to realising my dream of being a poor artist, all I have to do now is die!!! Just kidding.

Is there something that you have always wanted to do? Do it, and don't worry about what others say, you can only try! I believe in you!!! Climb that mountain, save up for that trip to Hawaii, stand up to that jerk and tell that special someone you love them! Raaaghhh!!!

Anney B

P.S- By the way, my show will end this Monday afternoon so make sure you go see it! For those who can't make it, I will share photos soon.

Love Vintage

2011-10-16T19:18:00.000+11:00

Last weekend Mechelle and I went to the Love Vintage Clothing Show with Kelly and Lyndsay to find some beautiful dresses for Mechelle's wedding day, which is really soon!!! Exciting but very stressful at the same time!!! I found the dresses were a bit expensive but the majority of items were rare, hard to find garments. We did find a few well priced things but obviously not $5 items you'd stumble upon in an op shop. Aaah, well. I didn't buy anything, but I had fun looking at all the beautiful ladies of all ages in beautiful dresses and hanging out with the girls.

Day 1

This lady won "Best Dressed". Where do you find a dress like that? I 'd like to know!

Here is Jessica and Kelly Doust, vintage author and craft expert. Kelly has also blogged about my brooches here. She has good taste!

Here we are with the beautiful Lyndsay and Kelly. Look how colourful we all are!!! I made my dress myself from a vintage reproduction pattern. Mechelle is wearing one of my Dirndl dresses.

Day 2

We came back for more on day two with our mum to look at the other stores we missed out on. We thought we'd try and enter the best dressed award but we were late on both days. We are never on time for anything!

Mechelle was going for the Queen Mother look, I was going for the Gauguin island girl look and mum was going for the "my daughters forced me to wear this" look.

$200 hats anyone? I'll take 10 please!

Here are a few ladies from The Lindy Charm School For Girls.

Fellow blogger and bespectacled young lass.

This lady had the best stall in my opinion, so many nice dresses in one spot!

I'm saving up my money for next year as of right now!

Anney B

Home Sweet Home

2011-10-14T18:02:00.001+11:00

Hello everyone,

I am currently having an exhibition entitled "Home Sweet Home" in Wedge Gallery at Kinokuniya Books. Make sure you go have a lookie cookies!

The show ends on the 24th October 2011.

Gallery hours:

Monday: 10am-7pm
Tuesday: 10am-7pm
Wednesday: 10am-7pm
Thursday: 10am-9pm
Friday: 10am-7pm
Saturday: 10am- 7pm
Sunday: 10am-6pm

More photos coming soon!

Anney B

TINA 2011

2011-10-04T12:31:00.000+11:00

Brrrrr!!! Mechelle and I had another fun but bitterly cold day at the annual This is Not Art Festival last weekend. TINA is a great place for people who don't quite fit in nice and neatly into the white cube gallery space. I brought my latest zine with me, my new brooches and lots of washed vintage jumpers because I knew it would be freezing cold and I sold almost all of them! I love going to the TINA Fair each year because I always find nice and cheap vintage clothes, make new friends, eat yummy food and get to hang out with my sis- oh, and make a bit of pocket money.

This year's turn out was a little smaller than last year and all those who came braved the pouring rain and a scary, loud, bladder leakage inducing thunderstorm!

I bumped into uber nice and uber talented photographer Maja Baska, who made some adorable cookie faces for sale. Hooray for sexy chicks with glasses!

"Come to Anney, I want to eat your face! Muah hahahaha ha ha..."

This is Maggie who made some great ginormous fridge magnets from scratch which I loved .

This is her friend who made some funny pencil cases using recycled romance novel covers. Ooh sexy! And clever!

This lady hand embroidered this pillow with diamond knuckle dusters. This is not art? I think it is!!! POW!

This is my friend Fayroze who I met at the Blacktown Zine Fair ages ago. I remember that we all didn't sell much (it's Blacktown) but I made an awesome friend! It's always nice to bump into her for a bit of a chit and a bit of a chat. Fay makes her zines out of calico and each one is a hand sewn labour of love, a bit different to the other and very beautiful.

I LOVE GOZLEME!!! I have trouble pronouncing it but it is yummy stuff. Hello Zaza!

See you again next year TINA!

Anney B

Close to Heart

2011-09-08T09:39:00.000+10:00

Have a lookie cookies at the new range of brooches I've designed as part of a collaboration with two very special sisters, Lyndsay and Kelly from Made By White. I couldn't wait to show them to you!

I was inspired by the romance and whimsy of the theatre and the ballet and my love of musicals, so there's slight references to Edgar Degas' ballerina artworks, West Side Story, Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, Swan Lake and Shakespeare's Othello. Wear them over your hearts and "think of meee... think of me fondly when we've said goooodbyeeeeeeee..."

Dance Practice

These were partly inspired by the fluffy skirts of the girls in West Side Story the musical film.

"I like to be in America
Okay by me in America
Everything free in America!"

Loveless Swan

This brooch has the heart cut out so whatever colour you're wearing will show through underneath.

Standing Ovation

The petal on the rose actually dangles like it's falling from the rose and the ring is a sparkly reflective mirror piece.

Love Token

This brooch also has dangly, sparkly bits.

A big thank you to the girls for all their hard work, patience and creativity. All the detailed pieces were laser cut and hand assembled by them. I'm really pleased with how posh they've turned out. Support independent designers!

Buy! Buy! ;)

Anney B

Moving On

2011-09-05T15:31:00.001+10:00

Hello friends!

I have some very exciting news to share with you... Our family is moving house! My father suffered a mild stroke late last year and our new place is more appropriate for our circumstances. Moving house is always a bit of a hassle but it's a good feeling to leave the past behind, carry the good memories to your new dwelling and start again.

I have always wanted to blog about my bedroom but I was a bit unsure about revealing such a private space. But since we're moving and the space will no longer exist I thought it would be good to document it, and besides, nothing exciting happens in there anyway! Wink, wink...

Tour begins now...

Welcome! As you can see the walls are orange- "Pink Fire" to be precise. I was inspired to paint my room this colour when I was in High School. Margaret Olley, who recently passed away, is one of my favourite Australian artists. I remember going to a retrospective of her work and her paintings were displayed on the same coloured wall, along with pieces of antique furniture decorated with domestic objects in the same style as her still life paintings.

You've seen this quilt before, I have resorted to making my artworks as functional household objects since I've run out of wall space to hang them! Most of my things are from the markets, off the side of the road or second hand stores. Oh yeah, and that's my baby Gidget- shhh, she's sleeping...

This is my "studio". I've decorated this area with some old embroideries that I've collected. I don't understand why people don't appreciate them more, so much cost and labour goes into making them. I wouldn't be surprised if they were made by some poor unfulfilled, under appreciated and insanely bored housewife.

And finally, these are my clothes, all secondhand. They're like my children- I wash them, I mend their tears and I love them!

Hope you like my boudoir as much as I do. I will miss my orange walls.

Anney B

Crazy for Vintage

2011-08-20T20:11:00.000+10:00

Hello Lovers!

I have recently opened my very own online vintage store on etsy called "Senile Grandma". The name is inspired by my philosophy that there's absolutely nothing wrong with old, mismatched and sometimes smelly things!

I thought opening an online shop would be a good idea since I come across some really nice things that deserve a good home all the time. All of my items are cleaned and repaired by me also. Things are a bit slow on etsy compared to ebay, but as a technologically impaired person I find the listing process much more simpler and easy on the eyes. So far I have had one sale. Yay! I still haven't figured out postage related things but I'll try to sort all that out eventually.

I will try and list a few items every few days so please pop by for a browse.

Anney B

P.S- I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for my last lazy poor excuse for a blog post. I have been very busy with creative things that I can't wait to share with you!!!

Anney's Top Ten Songs Currently Being Played to Death

2011-07-16T21:07:00.008+10:00

In no particular order:

1. "In California", Have One on Me- Joanna Newsom

2. "The Song of Solomon", The Red Shoes- Kate Bush

3. "A Sorta Fairytale", Scarlet's Walk- Tori Amos

4. "You and I", Be OK- Ingrid Michaelson

5. "China Bird", Gung Ho- Patti Smith

6. "Those Thieving Birds (Part 1) Strange Behaviour/ Those Thieving birds (Part 2)", Young Modern- Silverchair

7. "Settle Down", Kimbra

8. "I Follow Rivers", Wounded Rhymes- Lykke Li

9. "The Magic", The Deep Field- Joan As Policewoman

10. "Clair de Lune (performed by David Oistrakh)", Claude Debussy
(P.S- I found about this beautiful song from watching a Joni Mitchell interview, NOT from a certain vampire movie soundtrack)

x

Anney B

Who Stole the Cookie AND the Cook-Cook-ie Jar?

2011-07-05T09:54:00.009+10:00

Mechelle and I had a lovely weekend in the country searching second-hand stores and markets. We had so much fun finding goodies to add to our collection as well as admiring the gorgeous stars and filling our lungs with clean country air. I cannot get over how magnificent the night sky was, it was truly awe inspiring and more beautiful than any vintage sequined evening gown ever made! Country people are so lovely too!

Here's a few new additions to my vintage ceramics collection. I bought both of these 1950s hand painted cookie jars for $10 each! Vintage things are becoming a little bit harder to find these days and a bit expensive too which isn't the end of the world I guess, but when you do find a bargain, it's very exciting!

This jar is different all the way around...

See?

See? See?!!

And I found this dish for $2! Good for...holding carrot sticks and other sticks of the vegetable variety. Yay!

x

Anney B

Stab 'n' Stitch

2011-07-05T08:21:00.006+10:00

I made some recycled paper books from old zine printing mistakes that I've been hoarding for some time using a method known as stab stitching. I had some help from a fantastic book I highly recommend for anyone interested in book binding, self- publishing or zines called "How to Make Books- Fold, Cut & Stitch Your Way to a One-of-a-Kind Book" by Esther K. Smith. Apparently stab stitching is a Japanese technique that originated in China- so I guess it's... Chinese? These books are simple and relatively easy to make although potentially self-injurious because it involves using a tailor's awl. Watch your fingers! Each page is different and these are great for scrapbooking, notes and sketches. I plan to sell these at the annual This is Not Art fair later this year. Waste not, want not.

x

Anney B

I Love Lucy

2011-06-17T18:39:00.006+10:00

Here is another one of my recent projects.

After reading the first chapter of the Poetics of Space, I was inspired by the quote "All that glows sees" or "Nacre voit" meaning "Mother of Pearl sees". I started sketching some images of Lucille Ball by warping her face in a circular grid that was erased after the drawing. Each circle is like a pearl reflecting an alternate transformation of reality. I Love Lucy was one of my favourite shows as a girl. The reruns of course, I'm not that old. Who could forget the time Lucy smuggled a ginormous cheese sausage onto a plane by pretending it was her baby and then eating the entire thing, making the air hostess think she was a cannibal? Or the time she was wrestling a lady in a huge wine press?!!

These images then evolved into my new zine .
As you can see all the images were miniaturised for the green background.

It's made up of 3 separate pages folded and glued together.

Each colour was printed separately.

...And it folds out like an accordion. It kind of reminds me of a string of pearls. I plan to send these out to zines distros. Hopefully people like them!

Using the warped grid technique I was also inspired to create this drawing which is made up of multiple spoon reflections of my self. I was exploring the idea of how reflective surfaces in a domestic context can create the illusion of expanded space and multiple cosmoses.

Hope you like!

x

Anney B

Chit Chat with Kit Kat

2011-06-17T12:46:00.004+10:00

Hello giblets! Earlier this month, I gave a short artist's talk along with Kit at The Paper Mill as part of the The A4 Paper Festival presented by The Paper Convention Collective. I spoke about why how I got into making zines, what I love about them, the process involved, The Rizzeria and shared a few favourites from my collection. I'm not the greatest public speaker so I considered this great practice.

Here I am pictured with fellow zine makers, bloggers and crafty lasses Kit (left) and Jemma (right) with our respective zines which we traded in the end.

Thank you Kit and Jemma!

x

Anney B

Bling, Bling, Why Don't You Give Me a Call?

2011-04-24T16:45:00.009+10:00

Hello darling dears, sorry for the infrequent posting of late. I assure you I am still alive!!!

Here is a project which has been on my "things to blog about" list for a while. I designed and made from scratch a one-off three piece silver ring set. The last one apparently looks like a doodle, but it's not- I promise!

First I cut out the basic shapes from thin wax slices with a saw and filed them down to shape.

I took them to Palloys who created individual moulds from the wax pieces. Silver was poured into them and they came back to me looking like this. The lumps you can see on the bottom of the rings are from the opening the silver was poured into. I sawed these lumps off and then used different grades of files and sandpaper to create a smooth surface- a process which took hours and hours.

Finally, I gave them a buff with some silver polish and this was the final result!

The rings are interchangeable and can be worn separately too, so it's almost like a toy. A lot of the things I make are inspired by nostalgia. According to some psychologists, nostalgia is a kind of "tonic" for emotional pain. Like Barbra says, "What's too painful to remember, we simply choose to forget". This idea inspired me to research the sensual silhouettes of old love potion bottles in the design. The process of wearing down the silver was similar to the way nostalgia wears away pain, so my design was exploring the illusion of pain. Ironically, it fits on my ring finger! I know you probably don't see all of this in the final result, but it's funny how anything can inspire you.

Speaking of jewellery, here are some amazing Frida Kahlo inspired brooches my sister Mechelle has designed as part of a collaboration with Kelly and Lyndsay from Made By White which are available online from their website. With the exception of Frida Kahlo, not many people can pull off a mono brow. I'm still working on a range of my own, so stay tuned!

x

Anney B

Hipster Training School

2011-03-05T22:45:00.006+11:00

Last week I ran two zine workshops at my former High School which I attended almost 10 years ago. I was a little nervous because I don't have particularly fond memories there and I thought the girls would eat me alive! The only thing I really liked in High School was art class. Every other subject was pointless to me and I learned so much, not only about art but about people that were just like me- which made me feel somewhat "normal". I totally related to Van Gogh being poor and sad and Frida Kahlo thinking she was ugly. Totally. Art teaches you to think laterally.

Day 1

The girls were studying Alice in Wonderland but were given the opportunity to make a zine based on their topic of choice. I explained to them that it was important to make art that was unique, personal and from the heart. One young girl decided to make a zine on bullying which I found very touching.

I received a sweet little thank you present from one of the students.

Day 2

You probably can't see them very well but on the windows are white painted clouds. That was me being "rebellious". That's the trendy Miss Coleman in the middle there. I remember Miss Coleman invited photographer Anne Zahalka to speak to us when I was in year 12. Anne Zahalka autographed my Visual Arts Process Diary and wrote "Dear Anney, all the best" and then I got into Artexpress! Hopefully I was selected because my work was good, but I think having her signature in my art book made this Westie look very hip and happenin'!

It made me really happy to see the girls who had never heard of zines before, thoroughly absorbed in reading my collection of zines. Hopefully, they were all inspired and will be producing fabulous zines.

A big thank you to Miss Coleman, Miss Land and all the girls!

x

Anney B

Busy Hands

2011-03-05T21:41:00.007+11:00

Last week Mechelle and I had a table at the annual Kino Craft Fair. It's always great to see all the lovely new things up for sale each year! Here are a few things that caught all four of my eyes.

Sweet embroidery and glamourous pegs by alfalfa

Plushies by Cecilia Mok

Costume kitty ears by Nekochii

Macarons! Hey, it's not craft but it does attract a lot of customers! Nom, nom.

Hand embroidered brooches from Handmade by Abbie

Paper Geisha dolls

Hand embroidered totes by Naomi from Happyend Designs

I whiled away the hours by flipping through the pages of Barbra Streisand's latest book, My Passion For Design. Did you know Barbra Streisand, the most successful female artist of all time, buys things from thrift stores? AND, she has so many antiques that she houses them in the basement of her mansion, which has been designed as a themed street of shops! AND, she has a napping room and a gift wrapping room! She also has really beautiful hands.

We had a couple of new additions to our regular items. Mechelle hand printed her drawings on to calico tote bags using a Gocco, which were really popular.

I made some felt roses. I love felt, it doesn't fray and holds its shape really well. I sold quite a few but I think I would've sold more on the day if they weren't attached to Mechelle's bosom. Warning: May attract bees!

I love being creative with Mechelle!

x

Anney B

People Who Need People

2011-02-07T20:29:00.012+11:00

"Everyone I Have Never Slept With"

Now here is another project that I've been working on for the past 6 months. It's my first quilt so there's quite a few mistakes, it's not squared and I forgot to dot one of the "i"s AFTER I had sewn the layers together! I was inspired by artists such as Ghada Ahmer, Tracey Emin, Faith Ringgold and Miriam Schapiro. The idea here was to reinterpret computer generated imagery so I took the handmade tactile aspects of quilting and juxtaposed them with my myspace top friends list to explore the relationship between the real and the artificial as well as how quickly technology changes and becomes outdated.

I chose myspace because it basically is a wasteland and considered by many as a social networking failure. I got rid of my myspace recently, it attracted a lot of strange people. As you can see, my "friends" are either dead, celebrities, musicians or fictional characters. With the advent of social networking sites, human interaction has become increasingly superficial. Digital communities are designed to bring people together however, in reality they serve as security blankets for the socially inept (me) and cause people to lose touch with the real world. My name is Anney B, and I'm addicted to facebook.

Quilting started as a communal tradition amongst women who would back in the day, get together for quilting bees and make quilts, eat, share recipes, gossip and have lots of fun. There was a theory that quilts were secret maps to help African American slaves find their way to freedom. This theory has been discredited but many of my so-called friends on myspace are coincidently African American musicians.

Dinah Washington is one of my favourite singers of all time and a great interpreter of songs. Even when she's singing about sadness and loneliness you can still feel her inner strength. Her voice is very distinctive and she is one sassy lady worth youtubing young'uns!

Anna Mae Wong was a beautiful Chinese American actress from the 20s and 30s who encountered a lot of discrimination in her acting career and personal life. (Her name is actually spelt Anna May Wong, but this was how it was spelt on one of her profiles.)

This is a close up of Nina Simone's eye, another one of my favourite musicians. What I love about her is that she wasn't afraid to get ugly and moody. She may have sounded like she was having a really bad day, but she was a woman with feelings damn it! And principles!!!

This is another close up of gorgeous Mexican actress Lupe Velez. I tried using different stitches to mimic drawing marks and to emphasise the fact that it is handmade.

But when you think about it, quilting and the internet are both for people who basically need to get out of the house more. A lot of my works lately have been about loneliness, sad but true. How many of your friends on facebook are actually your real friends? Hmmm? And who has 217 friends?!!

x

Anney B

Touchy Feely

2011-02-07T19:38:00.006+11:00

OK, so you may be thinking "Hmmm, this Anney girl hasn't been doing anything creative lately has she? All she blogs about is going to concerts and stuff her sister does!". Well people, it's just that I have been a biiit busy with some mammoth projects. Here's one.

This work was an exploration of alternative mark making and different ways of seeing. I was inspired by Victorian-era floriography (the Language of Flowers), simulacrum, Pointillism, Ishihara colour blindness tests, Chuck Close and pixels.

Each felt circle was labouriously hand cut and sewn. It's about 160cm wide.

This project has greatly shortened my life span, understandably.

Can you tell what it's supposed to be yet??? A flowering cactus of course! I was also playing on the phrase "Human Nature" by using a man made material to express a human quality, in this case physical and emotional disconnection with the environment and each other. Why a cactus? Well, I thought it was a very fitting symbol for all the lonely people out there with spiky exteriors who deep down, yearn to be touched. Awww...

x

Anney B

See Ya Sia! Come Back Soon!

2011-02-07T18:11:00.007+11:00

Last week Mechelle and I went to see the amazing Sia. Yay! My favourite songs with the most personal significance would have to be Day Too Soon, I Go to Sleep, I'm in Here and Oh Father. Soon We'll Be Found is also a favourite. And so is Clap Your Hands. And You've Changed. And all of her other songs!

We didn't get to be right in the front this time because of stressful parking woes but we still had a pretty good view. It's not always easy being little. It was soo stinking hot! Funky smells everywhere!!

Have a look at Sia's amazing D.I.Y invisibility costume! It worked really well except when she smiled or opened her eyes, of course. She is an amazingly talented live singer and that's what singers should be able to do right? Sing well live! Throughout the night audience members kept throwing gifts for her on to the stage- jewellery, love letters and even crusty, dirty underwear! So gross... What I loved about her was that she was really down to earth, engaging with the audience, complimenting us on our singing and saying "I love you!" all night. Sia is so funny too! Especially when she swears. An annoying thing happened though when she was singing Breathe Me, a really emotional song. She had her concentration face on, was pouring her heart into every word, all eyes and ears were on Sia alone. Then when a poignant silent gap in the song came along, an audience member cried out "LOVE YOU SIA!". How annoying! Let the poor girl sing I thought to myself!! Anyway...

To top off the night, Sia went for an impressive costume change to go out with a bang... or should I say POP- twirling bubble blowing wings! Bubbles floating into the audience everywhere!!!

Romance.

x

Anney B

Heart Stabbers

2011-02-07T16:52:00.006+11:00

Hello possums! My sister Mechelle has created a new cheeky limited edition brooch range for this year's Art by Design Exhibition at Kinokuniya Books. The red lingerie isn't part of the brooch by the way, it's her business card. Each brooch is hand painted, laquered and made with love. Pat on the back Mechelle!

x

Anney B

Music Makes the People Come Together

2010-12-13T10:15:00.011+11:00

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings came to visit Sydney recently. Yay! As you may already know, I am a huge fan and there was no way I was going to miss it.

They were supported by virtuosic Mexican Mariachi band the Victor Valdes Trio. Mechelle and I always try and be in the front row because of our height and dodgy support acts are something we are used to enduring, but these guys were AMAZING!!! This man plays a mean harp and does things with maracas you never thought possible! I was thoroughly entertained.

This time around there were a few new different band members and it was impressive to see a couple of back up singers and a female bass player! Sharon Jones is an amazing live performer, her boundless energy, sassiness and bold stage presence is truly inspiring. As someone who is a bit timid at times, all I kept thinking was "I WANT TO BE YOU!!!". I have to say, I felt the performance was too short, I wanted more. More! More!! More!!!

At the end of the night, we were shooed out by security and felt a bit sad that our fun had come to an end.

Oh, but it hadn't!!!

Mechelle and I were waiting to cross the street for some late night pizza when somebody tapped me on the shoulder- Mr Binky Griptite! And yes, his grip is tight.

While Mechelle and I waited for our half vegan/ half vegetarian pizza to be baked, the final scene from the movie The Bodyguard starring Whitney Houston was playing on their TV and the shop lady was singing "and IIIIIIII will always love youuuuuuuuuuu, IIIIIII will always love a- youuuuuuuu!!!!!". She had a beautiful voice and we started talking about how even though Bobby ruined Whitney we still loved her. I thought the whole bonding with strangers over music thing was rather cute.

We saw a couple of band members having some trouble hailing a taxi so we gave Joe (left) and Fernando (Mr Coco Bongo, right) a ride to their hotel with our photographer friend Kim (middle). We also entertained them with a midnight snack of some yummy pizza. Laotian hospitality even in a moving vehicle, mum taught me well.

And then, we got to hang out with Sharon and friends!!! I love her even more now. We had cha cha lessons and she showed me some of her beautiful fringed and sequinned costumes. Please excuse my hair, it was really late. I'm so awkward when dancing with a man taking the lead and I'm sure it's even more hilarious to watch.

We also talked about our family health issues and it just goes to show that superstars are people too and whatever you have to deal with in life, you just have to keep fighting, keep singing and keep dancing! Thank you Sharon, thank you Dap Kings and thank you Kim!

And sorry mum for coming home at 5am.

x

Anney B

Space Invading

2010-12-06T17:43:00.007+11:00

Hello strangers. Things have been very stressful for the Bounpraseuth clan lately, so it has been a while since my last post. I will try and catch up on everything that's been happening lately and battle on despite the puffiness of my tired eyes and weariness of my heart- my cookie is tough!

The biggest news I have to share is that a few of Mechelle's zines are currently on display at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra as part of the Space Invaders exhibition! The exhibition ends on the 27th February, 2011. Here a some photos we took when we were down there.

People were able to peruse zines displayed along with examples of street art such as stencilling, graffiti, paste-ups, posters and stickers etc.

Here is Mechelle holding the exhibition catalogue picturing her Public Transport zine on the upper left hand side. Before zines, Mechelle would always tear up her artworks because she thought they were never good enough. Drove me nuts. Anyway, zines have really opened up a new world for Mechelle and given her a lot of confidence and validation to carry on making art. Congratulations lil sis!

I held this zine very close to my heart, only because it had a picture of Prince on it- I absolutely ADORE this beautiful man. I can't really remember exactly what it was about because I have a tea strainer for a brain, but it was funny and made me laugh.

There was also a zine fair to coincide with the exhibition.

Galleries are nice places to tune out for a bit and the N.G.A has a great collection of famous and important artworks. I loved how in amongst the works by Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Roy Lichtenstein there was a huge yellow vomit-like splash on the floor by Lynda Benglis. Would you believe I was able to admire a pretty Monet lily pond artwork all a lonesome without a huge crowd blocking my view as well? There's also a stunning Aboriginal art collection including works by Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Fiona Foley and Albert Namatjira. There were other great ones too but you know, the whole tea strainer thing... I must say Canberra has such huge roundabouts!

I also made two different prints from my Cornycopia zine for the annual Art By Design exhibition at Kinokuniya and "Food Fight" at the Sweets Workshop as well as some kitschy plates which super sweetie pie Jenna has blogged about.

And now, back to life, back to reality.

x

Anney B

Artycaf

2010-10-18T20:11:00.002+11:00

I had a few of my older works in an exhibition entitled, "Ladies, Please Bring a Plate". It was kind of like a bake sale of a few food related artworks that I have been hanging on to and am really needing to let go of since I am running out of wall space at home- I really need to learn to let go!

This was organised by Freya Jobbins who I studied art with a few years ago. Freya is a gutsy lady who is passionate about art and laughs really, really, really loudly! As well as being a talented artist she is also the curator this new space called Artycaf- a gallery, shop and cafe located at Narellan Library that also serves as a training facility to teach hospitality skills to people with disabilities. What a fantastic initiative!

x

Anney B

TINA 2010

2010-10-12T10:22:00.004+11:00

Here are a few snapshots from our day out in Newcastle for the 2010 TINA Zine Fair. As usual, we were late and it was freezing cold but we had lots of fun nonetheless. We traded zines, made some connections and found some great vintage bargains! Zine fairs are a great opportunity to meet people that have purchased our zines through distros and hear about how much they appreciate them. These are words that I use frequently when I'm there: zines, rizzeria, cold and thank you! I'm curious to experience Newcastle on a sunny day. That would be a nice change. I wanted to whoop some (BEEP!) in the spelling bee that night, but it was a long drive back to Sydney, so victory eluded me.

This is our table. Pasquale was being interviewed about his zine "Night of A Thousand Tales" which was illustrated by my sister. Dear Pasquale, please make another zine. Sincerely, Anney B.

This is Emily Hasselhoff's colourful table!

Wally! Where are you?

Until, next year!

x

Anney B

The Paper Mill

2010-09-30T22:34:00.006+10:00

A couple of weeks ago, I went to see Sydney's brand spanking new volunteer artist run space- The Paper Mill. As well as lots of wall space, a workshop, a zine shop and library, there's a really sweetly decorated kitsch toilet that I have to admit was the highlight of my visit and the best work of art there!

As you can see, the zine area is still a growing baby and there is room for plenty more, so send in your submissions people! Can you spot my zines? And Mechelle's?

Here is one of the Paper Mill's co-coordinators Sian and friend Sioni (?) that I met on the day.

Speaking of zines, Mechelle and I are looking forward to this years TINA Zine Fair in Newcastle this weekend. See you there!

x

Anney B

Look at me, I'm Anney Bee!

2010-09-30T21:37:00.006+10:00

Well butter my muffin! It was only because we live in a small world that I recently discovered a couple of pages from my humble Cornycopia zine are in the October 2010 issue of Real Living Magazine. I wonder why they didn't let me know?!!

Many people have suggested that certain pages would make great prints, so that is now definitely on my to do list.

Thanks to John and Emma from Sweets Workshop for your sharp eyes and thanks to the stylish Briar for liking my art!

x

Anney B

Little One

2010-09-20T11:15:00.008+10:00

Last weekend was the opening of Mechelle's exhibition entitled "Little One" at Sweets Workshop. "Little One" is a show of risographs inspired by childhood nostalgia, created in 1940's children's book illustration style. What a mouthful!

This is the 50's dress Mechelle got in Melbourne that I was telling you about!

Mechelle also unveiled her latest zine entitled "Little M" which I am sure will be very popular!

Here is Mechelle with John and Emma from Sweets.

My small contribution to all the frivolity.

Those who made it to the exhibition received a free paper hat made from riso boo-boos.

Congratulations to my talented little sis. I am so proud of her and the things she's achieved so far. Love you lots Mechelle! You smell.

Make sure you go see it and buy tonnes of stuff! Exhibition ends 7th October.

x

Anney B

I Stare Because You're Beautiful

2010-09-20T10:37:00.008+10:00

This year's Fifties Fair- so many pretty ladies and dresses everywhere as usual!

Best Dressed Judge Pia Anderson

How good is this photo? Snap!

This is the very gorgeously photogenic Miss Pixie from Boogie Bop Dames.

Talented sisters Maja and Freya Baska.

Blue lollipop lips

Va va va voom!

Aloha! Yeehah!

Friendship sandwich with Simona!

x

Anney B

Piece of Hoofkake

2010-09-20T09:56:00.007+10:00

While we were down in Melbourne, Mechelle and I also visited Hoofkake which is a new gallery and shop created by Emily and Kake which also supports other artists. I am a big fan of Emily Hasselhoff's artwork. Mechelle and I first met Emily at a zine fair and we both fell in love with her colourful, whimsical and psychedelic artwork. The shop is an artwork itself !

x

Anney B

Is That Vintage? Pardon Me as I Undress...

2010-09-20T08:58:00.005+10:00

On our safari through Melbourne, Mechelle and I also went to see "Australian Made: 100 Years of Fashion", currently on display at the National Gallery of Victoria. This exhibition took my breath away. This collection is sooo beautiful with the most intricate laces and the tiniest hand stitching- oh the artistry! There were also a few paintings on display so you could picture how the clothing was worn on the female figure. It's hard to believe women lived their day to day lives in the past with such elaborate and restrictive clothes on. I think it's because we're amazing. The exhibition was very dimly lit, perhaps to help preserve the clothes but it made the whole experience very sexy!

The exhibition ends 23 January 2011.

x

Anney B

Eye Candy

2010-09-17T22:17:00.008+10:00

As you know, Mechelle and I are crazy for vintage clothing, so when we raided Melbourne's shops we were like two little girls squealing in a lolly shop. Most things were out of our budget but it was still fun looking at everything and we did find a few bargain gems. Clothing back in the day was so beautiful and well made. For me, it's satisfying enough to admire the skilled workmanship or the colourful print of the fabric.

Circa Vintage Clothing have a great blog- very historically informative with lots of beautiful pieces. Everything in this store is in fantastic condition- I get so annoyed when I see a vintage dress that has been mutilated so it that it will sell on ebay. Here I bought a silky flower print scarf because that's all I could afford!

Clara Fox was a bit camera shy, but here are her elegant friends. I felt like I was in an old movie or photograph observing them from behind the red change room curtain. Unfortunately, nothing I tried on fit me properly but Mechelle found a great fifties dress for $39!

This lady was so surprised when I asked to take her photo. It was as if she didn't know how stunning she was. Modest and gorgeous inside and out!

Retrostar Vintage Clothing has sooooo much stuff! I found a couple of great 1940s dresses which I have worn to death since! Sometimes you can get a bit sweaty under the armpits in them though and I've caught my skin in the metal side zipper a couple of times. Ouch!

If you want to find really inexpensive vintage clothes and don't mind making a few minor repairs, then I recommend going to Episode Clothing.

Hope this is helpful to my fellow vintage lovers.

x

Anney B

Meet Me at Mikes

2010-09-06T10:55:00.003+10:00

This is us popping in to visit Meet Me at Mikes in Fitzroy, Melbourne. It was cold! Brrr!!!

But as soon as we walked through the front door...

...we felt instantly warm and cosy! Meet Me at Mikes is a sweet store filled with handmade crafts, craft products, clothing and vintage knick knacks, run and beautifully decorated by the very crafty author Pip Lincolne (the lady pictured on the left).

Mechelle bought a black ballerina dress and this was her bag which was quickly stapled together for her. Good thing it didn't rain!

I must say, Melbourne has very spiffy looking shops with lots of personality.

x

Anney B

Sticky But Not Icky

2010-09-02T12:33:00.003+10:00

Mechelle and I paid a visit to the cosy Sticky Institute in Melbourne. We have always sent our zines via snail mail but had never been there in person.

This zine entitled "Night of a Thousand Tears" is a collaboration, written by Pasquale Barilla and illustrated by my sister Mechelle. This zine has been very popular! Besides this zine, we were delighted to find out that all of our zines had completely sold out!

Here is Elle. Elle has great taste in music! Hi Elle!!!

Hmmm...If only Sydney had a zine shop too...

x

Anney B

I Heart Melbourne!

2010-08-27T21:18:00.005+10:00

Mechelle and I went to Melbourne recently! Yay! It wasn't our first trip there, but this time we got to see the arty farty Melbourne we've always wanted to see as mature young laaay-deees! I will be sharing our adventures in separate posts because there is no way I can moosh all the fun into one! Notice how using an exclamation mark makes me seem like an extremely happy person?!!!

On our first day we went to see the Tim Burton Exhibition at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. Weeeeee!!! There was no photography allowed but there were a few photo opportunities available.

This is what greets you as you walk into the building. This is Tim Burton's little way of saying "Top of the morning to ya!".

zoom, zoom, zoom!

I have no idea what this is!!!

"I heart Melbourne too!"

There were some amazing costumes, drawings and props on show. My favourite part of the show was a trippy glow in the dark installation. It is an incredibly large exhibition that took us 3 1/2 hours to survey- so much beauty, so much pain!!!

Boy, that Tim Burton dude sure is one super talented guy!

x

Anney B

Eyes on the Prize

2010-08-02T11:52:00.005+10:00

I'm getting ready to update my art website, so I've been snapping away with lots to update. My sister created the site for me using "Web Design For Dummies", bits of twig and sheer smarts, but the time has come for change! Some of my old paintings make me cringe but I think that's a good thing because it must mean that I'm becoming a better artist.

Here are some better quality images of my works that were on display for the Liverpool Bicentenary exhibition. Each work was based on a fairytale and that was because of the association with wish fulfillment and escapism. I took lacklustre suburban imagery (burnt out cars, hills hoist, dumped mattresses, etc) and "Backyard Blitzified" them- as in, I gave them a bit of a makeover.

This work was based on the story of Cinderella. Liverpool is definitely a Cinderella suburb- a bit daggy, overlooked and neglected but possessing potential for greater beauty. That's putting it nicely. I replaced the glass slipper with a thong and a burnt out car with a burning pumpkin carriage. Our backyard is next to a field and stolen cars are always set on fire there. Boredom is a big problem in the 'burbs.

Here we have a reference to "The Princess and the Pea" which was a story about social climbing that made fun of aristocratic snobbery. The second hand Barbie was a reference to status and in Liverpool's case- low status. This one's entitled "The Princess and the Pee". No need to elaborate on that.

Finally, this painting was based on "The Wizard of Oz". The fields of poppies have been replaced with fields of weeds. The Emerald City is made up of giant chess pieces from Liverpool Plaza near our iconic fountain. It's an acknowledgement that despite whatever direction I take, Liverpool is still my home even with all it's flaws.

By the way Liverpool Art Prize is happening again very soon so make sure you enter. You probably won't win, but you might get hung!

x

Anney B

P.S- My zines have been blogged about here and here. Woot toot toot!!!

Monkey Business

2010-07-25T15:18:00.009+10:00

Last week after Mechelle and I attended the Sweets Workshop opening, we also dropped off some zines to the very friendly Rachel from Urchin Books in Marrickville. Would you believe, Urchin books will not be taking any profit at all? Believe it!! However, 50 cents of zines under $5.00 and $1.00 of zines priced more than $5.00, will go to The Australian Orangutan Project. The rest goes directly to the zinemaker.

Urchin Books is a lovely second hand bookstore and we found some great bargains including David LaChapelle's "Hotel LaChapelle" for $30! I found a beautifully illustrated children's book from the 1940s called "The Bartered Bride" based on an opera of the same name. It's a comedy about a girl who cleverly avoids an arranged marriage to marry her true love. Nawww....

So if you love cheap books, zines and orangutans, go visit Urchin Books!!!

x

Anney B

Sweet on Sweets

2010-07-18T20:29:00.006+10:00

This weekend we attended the Sweets Workshop Grand Opening Weekend. Sweets Workshop is a brand new retail/ gallery space in Summer Hill stocking art, craft and design related things including... zines!!! It is run by two very lovely people, Emma and John, who are very keen to support artists and independent designers, so feel free to send them an email for further information.

Sweethearts

Sweet Deals

Sweet Stuff

Short and Sweet

x

Anney B

Winter Flower

2010-07-15T10:15:00.003+10:00

These are a recent addition to our frostbitten and wilted winter garden, known as "Flowering Kale". They are part of the cabbage family and each head is comprised of different coloured leaves, not petals- so they're not a flower but have a lot of resemblance to a rose. Apparently, they are edible, but I think they're far too beautiful to eat!

x

Anney B

Kitschenalia

2010-07-13T12:05:00.004+10:00

Here are a few excerpts from my most recent labour of love entitled "Cornycopia". It's a zine of drawings of some vintage kitchenalia objects from my growing collection. The cornucopia is an ancient symbol, with roots in Greek mythology and symbolises fertility and abundance. I played on this word in the title and called this zine "Cornycopia" because it oozes schmaltz- which I love. Each colour was printed separately and drawings were back to back, so as you can imagine I wasn't on a sentimental journey when printing these! (Told you I was corny.)

x

Anney B

I See Red

2010-07-13T11:51:00.003+10:00

This is another one of my latest zines using only red and black ink. It's filled with evocative drawings of all things red. I made so many errors with the registration and tried to print 50 copies but only ended up with 40, which gave me very sore red eyes!

x

Anney B

Australian Dream

2010-07-13T11:07:00.009+10:00

This is one of my latest zines called "Little House" which has been very popular, mainly because it's very cheap but also I think it's very nostalgic and takes people back to their Play School days. Remember those days, when you didn't have to worry about things like... "rent"? This zine is about as close as I'll ever get to owning my own home, I think!

x

Anney B

Winterland Markets

2010-07-11T23:18:00.005+10:00

My sister and I are recovering from a few late night new zine printing benders plus a weekend at the Winterland Markets held at Carriageworks. Here is our stall on media night. This is me wondering, "Who on earth are these people?". We decorated our stall with some delightful tissue paper pom poms with the help of a Martha Stewart tutorial to go with the wintery theme. They're very easy to make, low cost and very effective, I think.

There was a mini ice rink, great for bumping into other people.

It was a very long and cold market but we had some great warm and fuzzy company from Kelly and Lyndsay from Made by White.

I bumped into my very trendy high school art teacher Miss Coleman who was always very nice to me, even though I was a bit of a dag.

Warm winter woollies for sale.

This beautiful giant mobile by Dinosaur Designs hung from the ceiling. One day I will be able to afford your jewellery...one day!!!

We managed to wake up early for the regular Eveleigh Markets just outside the venue on Saturday for a bagel and blini breakfast. It wasn't expensive as I thought it would be and there was a great family atmosphere, a bit of celebrity spotting and lots of pet dogs. I'm scared of dogs, even little white ones so my sister held my hand while I tried not to emit my fear scent.

Winterland continues for the rest of the month. We won't be there but check it out anyway and support the little people!!!

x

Anney B

P.S- Here are some more photos of opening night taken by lovely photographer Maja Baska.

Due Respect

2010-06-21T13:05:00.004+10:00

I caught up with the lovely Patricia Johnston (F.R.A.S., B.A. Dip. RAS., Dip. Fine Arts, L, M, N, O, P, X, Y, Z) recently when I went to see her group exhibition at the Royal Art Society N.S.W. This exhibition entitled "Painter's Odyssey" also included artists Susan Farrell, Marion Stroud and Nola Tegel.

Patricia and I studied Fine Arts at TAFE together a few years back. Patricia always wore colourful scarves and smelt of rose oil perfume. Patricia is a highly skilled artist who could whip up a beautiful painting in one lesson. I always enjoyed listening to her recount tales of her extensive travels around the world as well as her kind words of encouragement and artistical advice. Patricia is a great example of someone who leads a rich and full life by constantly staying busy doing the things she loves.

x

Anney B

All Together Now!

2010-05-30T18:55:00.003+10:00

Here I am with fellow "Ukulele for Beginners" classmates at the end of our final lesson at a local community college. In the centre is our tutor Mr John Chandler- ukulele teacher extraordinaire, Hawaiian shirt collector and frequent traveller to aforementioned exotic island nation.

We learnt about the history of the uke, listened to a few famous players, different styles of playing, learnt how to play simple tunes such as "You Are My Sunshine"and were shown all the basics in order to get us started on our own. I found it challenging, fun and inspiring!

Next on my list of things to learn is hula dancing, fire breathing and palm leaf hut weaving (wink, wink) but my first priority is lots and lots of practice!

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."

x

Anney B

Poetree

2010-05-19T20:31:00.006+10:00

Last week my family and I went to see a beautiful bonsai show held by the Illawarra Bonsai Society at Bankstown Sports Club. Strange venue to have a bonsai show you may ask. Well, Bankstown Sports Club holds it's own in the category of "strange" to be quite frank. Going there is always a laugh. It is such an over the top, tacky suburban venue complete with an indoor rainforest with waterfall and coy carp pond, a cave where a band covers Dean Martin songs, Tuscan villa and Victorian-era train carriage themed restaurants and a blinding rainbow fluorescent poker machine section (the babysitting area, awful isn't it?).

Back to bonsais. Bonsai is an ancient art form which is all about trimming down a tree so that over time it mimics a mature tree. What stood out most were the graceful trunks which resembled a generous brushstroke and the age of some of these trees. There was one bonsai on display that was 100 years old!

My apologies for the inferior quality photos...

We were definitely inspired to try out a bit of bonsai, one day.

x

Anney B

Hangin'

2010-05-10T17:01:00.005+10:00

I found these really sweet coat hangers at the op shop all for $1. The coat hanger was apparently Joan Crawford's weapon of choice but here they have been transformed into fine examples of female thriftiness and ingenuity. When I worked at a craft store, we used to always have old ladies buying meters of plastic tubing and I never really knew what for until now. To quote a lady I once served, "You've got nothing better to do when you're waiting to die". Oh those crafty oldies, they have such a wonderful sense of humour! $1 well spent.

x

Anney B

Finders Keepers 2010

2010-05-09T16:30:00.004+10:00

My friends and I went to the Autumn/ Winter Finders Keeper's Market this weekend and I had to share some fantastically creative adorable knitting with you. There was also some yarn bombing action throughout the premises, something which I have always wanted to try out. I will get back to you on that one!

x

Anney B

All Dressed Up

2010-05-09T13:54:00.007+10:00

Saturday May 1st was Free Book Comic Day at Books Kinokuniya. Members of Norvus Ordo - Star Wars Costuming Alliance of Australia, customers, cosplayers and staff showed up in their best comic or manga costume. Norvus Ordo is made up of volunteers who each have their own professional Star Wars costume and participate in things such as conventions, charity and fundraising events etc. There was also a mini craft, zine and comic fair- things which don't really have anything to do with each other but have cross-over appeal AND helps the store sell lots of books! Lots of fun for everyone!!!

Someone thought this was a pepper shaker. It is in fact a dalek from Doctor Who!

When I told this lady I thought her outfit was great she told me how her mother said it was a "hooker's dress". Oh mum...

And the best dressed award goes to...

Underneath this scary potato sack is uber talented comic artist W.Chew Chan.

Here is a bow I reproduced from an old scarf I found at a hospital charity stall. I used lots of fabric remnants that I have been hanging to. I'm still thinking of a way to modify the pattern so that it is reversible.

Here is my multi-talented friend Leigh Rigozzi drawing a picture AND practising his scarf modelling skills.

Here are some cute earrings made from sculpey my sister Mechelle made. They were hand modelled, baked, glazed and put together.

This is Arlene aka Arlene Texta Queen. She is a phenomenal artist! She traded a pair of Mechelle's earrings for a couple of cheeky colour-in-nudes and rub-on-bikinis. My sister and I first met her at This Is Not Art a few years ago when she bought one of Mechelle's handmade sailor play suits and we always bump into each other at fairs and things.

This is me as Betty Boop. Not many people knew who I was, they just thought that this was how I normally dressed!

x

Anney B

A Star is Born!

2010-05-09T13:06:00.003+10:00

Here is a hilarious video my friend Simona made last year to audition as a children's television presenter on ABC 3. I first met Simona about 14 years ago in high school. She was wearing a giant plastic red dome on her head for Red Nose Day. As well as being a talented artist and fashionista, she featured in a documentary called "Big All at Once" which aired on SBS television a few years back. Simona has always been gutsy and fearless, a really positive and happy person despite whatever goes on in her life, and most importantly a really supportive friend- hanging out with her always involves lots of fun and hysterical laughter!

Simona would've been a great presenter! What were you thinking ABC? Obviously, you weren't!

x

Anney B

Old News

2010-04-30T10:08:00.004+10:00

I was featured in this week's "Liverpool Leader"- one of our local newspapers, which was all very exciting!

I spoke to the lovely Zilka Grogan, who asked about my recent zine workshop, the upcoming MCA zine fair and zines in general. I was also very flattered that photographer Armen Deushian liked my paintings on display at home. I always welcome positive and negative feedback about my work because I believe a good artist should always seek ways to grow and improve on their work. Our house was also filled with the wonderfully pungent fragrance of tripe, which dad was cooking at the time- another reason why I am vegetarian! I was very surprised after reading the article that I managed to put together coherent sentences after getting three hours of sleep, three nights in a row.

Unfortunately, my sister Mechelle was not able to be in this picture too and I feel that credit must be given to her for some of the artwork pictured behind me. I also have to give credit to my mum for "borrowing" our neighbour's newspaper after accidentally throwing our copy away in the wet recycling bin!!!

x

Anney B

Hiding in the Bushes

2010-04-25T01:14:00.007+10:00

Today I went frolicking in the field and was inspired to share some wonderful examples of d.i.y topiary that I stumbled upon.

I have always been fascinated by the creative things people do in their spare time (a.k.a cultural anthropology). Some people like to bake cakes, some paint pictures, some like collecting stamps, some make whimsical forms out of leafy shrubs and then you have other people who like to steal other people's stuff.

A few months ago, some potted orchids that I had bought for my mother were stolen from our backyard, which really broke our hearts not only because our private space had been disturbed but also the fact that we didn't get to see them in full blossom. I remember as a young girl my mother would always take me to visit this elderly couple who were bonsai fanatics. Their tiny backyard was a beautiful peaceful haven filled with delicately manicured plants of every shade of foliage. However, they were forced to protect their garden with a makeshift barbed wire fence due to thievery. Perhaps this is why topiary is so popular around here. You can't steal something permanently rooted in the ground, can you now?

La vie en vert

(The ones pictured below were taken by my mother visiting some relatives)

"Honey, have you fed the pet emu yet?"

A lot of love, time and patience goes into creating a topiary and I imagine that's it's a very gentle, meditative process. I think reflecting on beauty brings great peace to our hectic lives. Wouldn't you agree?

x

Anney B

Hairy Tales

2010-04-21T22:02:00.006+10:00

Well, well, well what an exhausting stressful few days it has been! My sister Mechelle had the opening of her amazing first solo exhibition at Kinokuniya, entitled "Hairy Tales". My sister's trademark would have to be her long luscious hair and the show was basically all about all sorts of hair- old nanna hair, beards, moustaches, bad hair cuts and bad hair days.

Hand drawn vintage porcelain

Laser etched wooden brooches- these have an interesting smoky smell.

Risographs

watercolour paintings and drawings

These watercolour paintings would have to be my favourite works in the show. They are portraits of a few of her favourite "World Beard and Moustache Championship" (WBMC) contestants. Also, check out this great link for more impressive beards!

"Birdman"- This work sold on they day. Yay!

"Hairy Tales" and "The Little Book of Bearded Chaps" -two new zines by Mechelle, most popular.

"Ooh ahh, ooh, ahh..."

vegan chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and ganache

vegan lemon scented cupcakes with strawberry icing

I stayed up until 3.30am making these cupcakes. The things we do for love. (..."The things we do for love!"...)

The exhibition ends Monday 26th April so make sure you go have a squiz! Prices are very reasonable and range from $6- $250.

Congratulations Mechelle!

x

Anney B

Zine Workshop

2010-03-25T20:34:00.006+11:00

I ran a zine workshop this week at Casula Powerhouse for a group of lovely young ladies from my former high school Liverpool Girls, introducing them to the wonderful world of zines. Since, they're currently studying Alice in Wonderland in art class, they were asked to design a quick zine based on the story and there was a lot of collage cutting and pasting action.

Here's what they came up with!

It was nice to catching up with my amazing former art teacher Miss Coleman as well as former fellow student now art teacher, Helen. It has been almost 10 years since I attended high school. It felt very strange being called "Miss". I'm really beginning to feel my age...

A big thank you Ivana from Casula Powerhouse and to all the girls for being so polite and enthusiastic!

x

Anney B

Heart Shaped Box

2010-03-14T14:02:00.004+11:00

Here are some Kashmiri papier mache boxes my sister and I have collected from our many second hand store visits. I have yet to find two that look alike. As their name suggests, they're made in Kashmir from recycled paper pulp.

The Kashmiri's have been making these for quite a while since the 15th or 16th century. Each is hand painted with very fine detailing and you can see the Persian/Muslim/Indian influence in the overall design.

They're probably not worth a lot of money and you can still purchase brand new ones from hippie, new age stores but I prefer the pre-loved ones for their unappreciated beauty.

x

Anney B

Young Women's Day

2010-03-14T13:35:00.003+11:00

Monday the 8th of March was International Women's Day. To raise awareness of this day, Blacktown Council held their first Young Women's Day last Friday. Yr 9 ladies from various high schools were invited to participate in an enjoyable and educational day.

Here is a photo of some fellow volunteer workshop facilitators- lovely people. Believe it or not, I wore one too- on top of my vintage 50's dress of course...

The ladies were given a brief history of women's struggles, were informed about local services, educated about taking care of their health, were encouraged to contribute to their community and basically be inspiring people. We also had an amazing, healthy vegan lunch. For once, the meat eaters had no choice! Muahahaha...

Each girl also received a strawberry plant and a project journal that I designed, so hopefully they were inspired to start their own community projects. I hope my plant doesn't die.

x

Anney B

Kino Craft Fair 2010

2010-03-01T23:54:00.005+11:00

Our table.

Happyend designs

I'm sorry, but I lost this lovely lady's details!

herbert and friends

Skull Monkey

Linnet Good

Lulu Miniatures

Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild of NSW

Kikuri

Mechelle's latest rizzified print

My latest paper doll print, also printed at the Rizzeria.

x

Anney B

Beauty in the 'burbs

2010-02-25T14:18:00.004+11:00

Photographer Louise Hawson has included details of my Living Liverpool paintings in her blog "52 Suburbs" which documents her search for "beauty in the 'burbs". Check out her amazing photography and see if Louise has journeyed through your suburb!

x

Anney B

Decoding "Coded"

2010-02-20T10:24:00.011+11:00

I paid a visit to Blacktown Arts Centre the other day to check out the "Coded" Exhibition currently on show. It's a show consisting of different responses to life in suburbia, it's landscape and memories of growing up in it. I think. My mum sat outside. She's not really big on art. I highly recommend everyone go see this show, it's a yummy bag of all sorts with a great shamozzle of photography, illustration and installation.

Vaughan and Vincent O'Connor are brothers and artists. Here they search for beauty amidst suburban decay. I thought these photos were really lovely. They look like old abandoned farmhouses by the coast that have been weathered over time by the salty sea air somewhere chilly, posh and romantic like England. But, they're not. Tricky, tricky!

These polaroids of weeds pushing through the concrete also struck a little "ting" in my heart. They suggest to me the idea of survival and rising above barriers towards light or positivity. I first met Vincent at a youth art display and he had this amazing huge tattooed calico teddy bear he created with his brother. Then I contributed to a show they curated and met Vaughan. They are very nice, lovely, young lads!

Here is an artwork by Kat Smolynek. I just wanted to sky dive into these squishy Blacktown baba's. Kat does a great Russian accent.

Here is a detail of an artwork by Jason Wing . You have to see it in person to experience it's amazingess fully. He also has an artwork on show at Casula Powerhouse right now too, by the way.

Here is a work by P. Johan. Neve which is literally painted on the wall so it will be a very sad day when it's painted over once the show ends...tear.

Here is a series of works by the uber talented Leigh Rigozzi. I first met Leigh at the MCA Zine Fair when I encountered his beautiful zine entitled "The Time You Were in Paris" which is basically an illustrated letter. You must own this zine! My sister and I also attended one of his zine workshops. Leigh creates amazing zines and beautiful works of art.

Black on black zine. Trippy!

Go see "Coded" now... or some other time convenient for you. So much talent. Us Westie's aren't as daggy and uncultured as you think!!

x

Anney B

Project Journal Project

2010-02-20T10:23:00.020+11:00

I was recently asked to design a project journal for Young Women's Day which is coming soon at Blacktown. They will be printed and given out to young ladies on the day to hopefully encourage girls to start their own projects and groups.

I based the scrapbook activity style journal around very girly kind of imagery which I thought would be an interesting contrast to the empowering sentiment behind producing the journal.

Hopefully the young lasses like them on the day and I can't wait to see the finished product.

x

Anney B

Bake Off!

2010-02-20T10:23:00.019+11:00

Photo by Mechelle Bounpraseuth

My sister and I went to support our lovely friend Stacy who was a competitor in a vegan bake off. It was held at a pizza cafe in Newtown which strangely wasn't vegan but sold vegan food. I guess it's good for socialising with carnivorous friends. All her entries were her own original recipes such as Passion Fruit Slice Cupcakes, Lavender Shortbread and Cherry Ripe Chocolate Cake pictured below. Her Passion Fruit Cupcakes were the best in my opinion, especially the tangy filling.

Photo by Mechelle Bounpraseuth

Who said 13 was a bad luck number?

This is Mechelle and I before we slipped into a sugar coma...

Photo by Mechelle Bounpraseuth

After judging, all the food was shared amongst everyone. Communal carnage! Nom, nom, nom.

Photo by Mechelle Bounpraseuth

In the end, Stacy basically won most of the categories and rightly so! According to Stacy, she had never won anything in her life prior to this so it was a very emotional moment for her. But it wasn't about winning or losing, it was about sharing and caring. Naaaw...

Congratulations to Stacy!

x

Anney B

Aloha Ukulele!

2010-02-20T10:21:00.009+11:00

I finally got a ukulele! Isn't she beautiful? I've named her "Gidget" after the fictional 50s/60s surfing girl character who I remember watching as a little girl.

After much research my sister and I went to Gladesville Guitar Factory. I wore one of my favourite Hawaiian dresses too. While we were trying to find a car parking spot, I could see all these people walking around holding ukuleles. Inside the store were all these talented children playing ukuleles like experts. Inside I knew we had come to the right place. A helpful gentleman named Paul kindly helped me select a ukulele and treated my sister and I to a private ukulele performance. Apparently, they sound different. After a while I couldn't tell, so I chose one based on aesthetics. Please don't judge me!

They also showed me this helpful site. So far I can play a bit of Marilyn Monroe's "I Wanna Be Loved by You"- but clumsily. I'd love to get lessons but a lot of the ukulele clubs are a bit far away. The ukulele is actually increasing in popularity, mainly in areas closer to the city. YouTube has been pretty helpful. Speaking of the devil, check this out! Oh, and this. Sigh...

From now on my nails will be short on the left and long on the right. Hopefully people don't think it's my nose picking hand.

After I chose my uke, I discovered that I had a rice cracker stuck to my butt the whole time, which was rather embarrassing.

Owning a ukulele makes me feel closer to Hawaii, which is a place I dream of visiting one day. It has been described by Margaret Keane (one of my favourite artists) as "paradise on earth".

Aloha!

x

Anney B

Opening Night

2010-02-20T10:20:00.010+11:00

Hello lovely peoples! Due to technical difficulties, I have unfortunately been neglecting my dearest blog for four weeks, even though I have had so much to share with you.

Here are the finished paintings. Don't tell anyone, but the last painting was actually supposed to be in the middle. There were some amazing works on show and it was so busy that I didn't get a chance to meet any of the other artists. I'll post better quality pictures of the works in the show later on and explain to you what they're about OK? OK.

As you can see, I wore the second hand ballgown that inspired one of the paintings. It was really tight!

I had to hide my giggles when the mayor gave a really unintentionally funny speech. A couple of notable quotes off the top of my head were "This exhibition captures the very essence of Liverpool. Not vanilla essence or any other essences you may think of" and "for those who haven't seen the 200 Faces exhibition... it's pretty scary". She seems like a very down to earth lady.

A big thank you to all my beautiful friends for supporting me on the night. The exhibition ends in April so make sure you go see it in the flesh!

x

Anney B

Liverpool Goes to the Ball

2010-01-24T00:09:00.004+11:00

Hello petals and sausages!

You are warmly invited to attend the opening of the "Living Liverpool" exhibition, in which three delicious paintings I have been squirreling away on these past few weeks will finally be showcased at Casula Powerhouse to commemorate 200 years of Liverpool. There will also be works by other amazing artists, including one of my favourites, Gina Sinozich.

I will be wearing a hideous bad 80's ballgown inspired by one of my paintings and hopefully if you are brave enough, you will be too.

Hope to see you there!

x Anney B

Love and Happiness

2010-01-12T19:44:00.011+11:00

Earlier this week my sister and I went to see the legendary AL GREEN!!! Tickets sold out with the bat of an eyelash but thankfully, we snapped up some last minute ones on the day of the performance for an unbelievable $25 each as part of a Sydney Festival promotion! Hallelujah!!! My poor sister slept in the queue from 3.30am at a temporary booth which opened at 8am. I would've joined her but couldn't. She wasn't alone at least, with some people bringing mattresses to sleep on for a cosy night on the city street. I LOVE my little sister!!!

It was our first time inside the State Theatre. It is an absolutely beautiful building with Art Nouveau and Art Deco furnishings such as ornate gold frames and mirrors, red velvet upholstery and curtains with gold tassels, marble staircase and statues and an enormous chandelier. Very posh! A packet of chips was $4.00!!! Unfortunately, no standing or photography was allowed... but here's a couple we got away with.

Al Green's performance was phenomenal! He sang with so much feeling and expression behind every single line. He has the most radiant smile. He hit the high notes with such power even though he was nowhere near the microphone. He danced all through the show like a spring chicken, repeatedly wiping the sweat off his brow and flicking it at the audience. He even fell to the floor and made a perfect right angle with one of his legs in the air!!! (I think he was being naughty.) He had MALE back up dancers. He is so cheeky and funny. He's such a happy person! He was the only person in the room wearing a suit. HE CAN SING!!!

AND... he gave out roses and kisses to the ladies in the front row!!! So jealous. What a sweetie pie!

My favourite part of the show was when he performed a medley of songs by artists that have inspired him such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and the Stylistics. I love a good sing-a-long!

Here I am wearing a cheap vintage 80's does 40's dress. Can't remember exactly how much it cost but it was under $10. My hand bag was $5 from the markets!!! My shoes were $8. It's written in bright red texta on the tread, I imagine by an old lady at the op shop wearing baby blue eyeshadow with a baby pink lipstick covered cigarette hanging out of her mouth at the same time. Please excuse my hair which disintegrated in the heat.

By the way, see that bald headed man standing directly under the sign? That's Peter Garrett!

Thank you Al Green for the love and happiness.

aaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!

x

Anney B

Uninspiring Inspiration

2010-01-01T13:42:00.004+11:00

Why on earth am I taking photos of bad ballgowns, dirty mattresses and wet laundry on the washing line? They're the inspiration behind a few paintings I have been busy working on for an upcoming group show. All will be revealed in due time. You're all invited by they way!

x

Anney B

Dust Collecting

2010-01-01T11:50:00.008+11:00

Hello fellow bowerbirds! Time for a bit of show and tell.

Here are vintage necklaces my sister and I have collected over the years.

Here is my glass fruit collection so far... The orange and the banana were a gifts from my sister. They were $1 each from the local flea market!

I love collecting 50's/60's kitchenalia! You can tell if something ceramic is from that era if it' s fruit, vegetable or animal themed, cutesy, quirky looking, a bit thick, made in Japan and painted in pastel colours. These pieces all together were under $5.

I got this amazing teapot set from my local op shop. It's not as vintage as it looks. It has an inscription which says "Duncan Ent. 1994". Perhaps it was an unpainted kit which someone painstakingly hand painted. Not too sure. Anyway, I just think it's so kitsch and definitely one to hang on to! Both sides are different too as you can see.

The people I buy things like this from always give me a funny look as if to say "Why on earth do you want this?!!" of which I am secretly grateful for, keeps prices down. I bought this cute dish very recently from our local junk market for $2! It reminds me of that sleazy french lobster in the Little Mermaid. The man I bought it from looked at his wife and smirked when I agreed to pay $2 for it. Little did he know, little did he know. Hahaha!!!

x

Anney B

In Bloom

2010-01-01T11:02:00.007+11:00

Yesterday morning on the eve of 2010, I took some pictures of my mum's dragon fruit plant which is in bloom for the first time and it is MAGNIFICENT! This blossom is huge, about the size of a dinner dish.

Dragon fruits are a very delicious, exotic and alien looking. I presume it's part of the cactus family. We ate tonnes of these when we were exploring Laos. If you haven't tasted a dragon fruit before, it has the fragrance of moisturiser and the texture of soap with little exfoliating bits in it. My description probably won't inspire you to try it but believe me, it is lovely! This fruit also features in Frida Kahlo's paintings. It is most sexy.

While I was snapping away in my pj's this thing buzzed overhead. It was a helicopter on it's way to put out a bushfire somewhere. Looks like a bug!

2009 has definitely been a stressful year and I'm sure 2010 won't be any different. Keep all eyes out for the happy moments to inspire us to warrior onward and upward despite!

x

Anney B

Wild Things

2009-12-14T18:35:00.004+11:00

Last week I went to see "Where the Wild Things Are" after much anticipation. I bought the book for just $10 at Borders (one day only sale)! I remember seeing the story read on a children's TV show as a child but never got my hands on a copy until I heard about the movie. It probably should have been the other way round, just goes to show how technology has destroyed romance.

I LOVE the illustrations in this book! I know it makes me seem like a lazy bimbo but I rarely read novels. I adore children's picture books because they can be poignantly to the point and their ambiguity allows the individual to use their own imagination to articulate the unspoken parts of the story.

What I didn't like about the movie. I found it a bit too long, perhaps I have developed a short attention span from not reading enough 500 page novels. I understand translating such a short book into a feature film required some padding out of the story but I felt like it was a bit too obvious and unnecessary in certain parts of the movie. It was also a bit scary and rough...a bit WILD!

What I loved about the movie. I loved the amazing costumes and the overall aesthetics. In the movie, they make this beautiful stick thing with orange flowers poking out of it. Awe inspiring! I wanted to cry during this really emotional part of the movie but was worried about ruining my eye makeup and then realised it was waterproof later on and didn't feel like crying anymore. I loved how every character had obvious imperfections. Everybody is a bit wild somewhere deep inside. Watching this movie gave me a strange urge to howl at everything.

This is my friend Kat. We became friends after mutually admiring eachother's vintage dresses. Here she is with her Carol doll which she won from a vending machine first go after we went to see the movie! $2 well spent. The subsequent $8 we wasted trying to get another doll, not so well spent. Drove us all WILD!!!

RAAARRGGHH!!!

x

Anney B

Finders Keepers

2009-12-09T18:20:00.005+11:00

Last Friday my sister and I went to check out the Finders Keepers Markets for the first time ever. It was fun spotting all the people who were off to Finders Keepers at Redfern train station. You could tell by their interesting outfits. Finders Keepers is all about supporting emerging independent designers and artists. We are thinking of applying to have a stall there next time, so we thought we'd go and get an idea of what it was like.

We were followed by a skipping girl on our way there.

Here is the beautiful lady behind Belle de Jour. All her dresses are reproductions of vintage 50's dresses from her own personal collection.

Here is Kelly and Lyndsay of Made by White and their lovely and very popular stall. Have a look at their blog post on Finders Keepers. They are the Picasso's of the jewellery world- prolific, prolific, prolific!

Look what I got! I love this adorable brooch set so much I haven't taken it out of it's packaging yet. I just pick it up and stare at it all the time.

Another favourite stall was The Empress Dowager's New Jewels which sold jewellery made from cute fabric yoyos. The lady on the left was very bubbly and enthusiastic!

Finders Keepers was so busy on the opening night and each stall was crowded with people. Everything was quite polished, well presented and professional looking, taking DIY to another level.

See you next year! Maybe.

x

Anney B

2009 Liverpool City Art Prize

2009-11-16T16:30:00.014+11:00

Last Saturday was the official opening of the recommencement of the annual Liverpool City Art Prize at Casula Powerhouse, since undergoing spiffy-fication for quite some time. Tickets were $15 for artists and $25 for their friends to raise money for Rotary Australia . It's a HUGE complex! Food was served by girls from Liverpool Girls High School, which was the one I attended in my hey day. Ahh, the joy of work experience.

This is what my sister and I wore to the event. Dress code was "dress your best". Everything except for Mechelle's handmade bow was an op shop treasure.

Here is my pretty as a picture friend Michelle admiring some artwork on display, wearing a beautiful vintage 50's dress my sister found at the second hand store for $5!!! An old man spilt red wine on it and fortunately it didn't do any permanent damage. Phew! Hope he didn't drive home afterwards.

Here are some artworks that I really liked. I didn't get a chance to write down the names of the artists and their work so I apologise for not crediting them in advance.

It's a bunny on a mound of sugar or salt. I think sugar. Enough said.

This middle painting reminded me of the amazing artist Joe Sorren.

This was painted by a 7 year old! Insert positive adjective of admiration.

Babushka! Enough said.

I loved this painting. Not really a fan of the perspex and chain, but the flowers were exquisitely painted.

Ceramic cupcakes! Also in the "youth" section. Naaaawwww...

I'm a big fan of tomatoes and red lipstick and all things red, which I think is why I was attracted to this painting. I think the lady looks a lot like Australian singer, Tina Arena.

Finally here is my entry! It's one of the works from my "Sexy Librarian" series entitled "Winds of Change".

The exhibition ends on the 31st of January, so make sure you go see it!

x

Anney B

The Joy of Public Transport by Mechelle B

2009-11-12T19:59:00.003+11:00

Here are a few pages from my sister's latest 10 page zine as promised, which were a huge hit at the This is Not Art Zine Fair not long ago. These were also printed on the Riso and are filled with beautiful drawings based on real life experiences, overheard conversations and oddball characters on the choo choo. They were also stitched by hand on the sewing machine. A lot of work went into these!

You'll laugh, you'll cry. They can be purchased online from Sticky Shop and Bird in the Hand Zine Shop for just $10. Get your hands on one of these before the silverfish make a meal out of them!

x

Anney B

Art by Design 5

2009-10-26T00:11:00.005+11:00

Today, I went to the opening of Art by Design 5 at Kinokuniya Books. Yes, I know what you're thinking. It's somewhat taboo uploading photos on Facebook or blogging about things on the same day they happened. Makes people think you have no life. But, in actual fact, I do have a life and am simply making sure my "things to blog about" list does not become reeeeaaallly long! Anyway, it was quite a successful opening with lots of people, lots of lovely, creative, arty things and cake!

There were some sweet shadow boxy, collage-y type things featuring fabric covered buttons which I think may have been removable brooches by Eileen Chong.

Some feathered headpieces which reminded me of the film "My Fair Lady".
"MOVE YOUR BLOOMIN' ARSE!!!"

Here are some more of Mechelle's hand drawn vintage teacup and saucer sets. The red set sold on the day! Yay! The blue one is still available by the way. Hey, that rhymed! Exhibition ends on the 21st of November...hint, hint, nudge, nudge.

Some gorgeous hand felted scarves.

Two paintings by Akina who is obviously influenced by the great, great, great Mark Ryden. One of these also sold on the day.

Here I am with my latest painting "Dollhouse", which is a painting of a dollhouse. Notice the dollhouse in the painting? It's not as polished as my other paintings, I was going for a more Impressionistic approach. A lovely lady gave my sister and I a beautiful pink dollhouse when we were younger and when we grew up, we gave it to our neighbour's children to play with, but they ripped the front door off, exposing all the rooms and used it as a shoe holder visible on their front doorstep... I know!

Here's Mechelle with her spiffy limited edition prints. She sold two on the day! They're available unframed behind the counter and are also very affordable.

Here's us two with the lovely curator of the show Naomi who kindly invited us to be a part of the show. Naomi is responsible for the quirky headpieces, rosettes and jewellery made out of miniature food. Naomi is always impeccably dressed and accessorised! By the way, I'm wearing the dress I bought from the Fifties Fair for $20 reduced from $30!!! Judging from the tag it's a 70's dress but I don't think it looks it and I try to pass it off as 40's or 50's. I wear it to death! Overuse of exclamation mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mechelle and I have decided to try and do more things non Kinokuniya related in the future, so we'll see how that goes.

Stay tuned folks!

x

Anney B