Well this is later than planned, everything has been happening regarding our upcoming move to Brisbane so it’s been like dejavue or take 2. Anyway I have to post this now as I’ll have more to blog soon I’m sure.

So last Friday I went with some new friends to an exhibition in Perth called “Picasso to Warhol: fourteen modern masters” check out the website on the link here.

It was great as I have never actually seen the actual pieces of work by these famous artists, I’ve seen so many of them in a book but to see them in person and read their stories was fantastic.

As well as works from Picasso and Warhol, the exhibition featured work from Matisse, Pollock, Mondrian, Leger, Duchamp, Miro and more. What I liked best was seeing the journey of some of the painters, especially Mondrian who started painting landscapes but found as he tried to capture the colours and the patterns, the beauty of it all his work became more and more abstract. I suppose I like this story best due to being able to relate to it slightly, I see all these amazing colours of nature around me and I’m not a great painter and I just know I will be disappointed if I try and capture it. So many artists are inspired by nature, it almost makes me feel queasy reading that another artist or maker is inspired by the environment around them and I have written it myself but really, it is so hard to truly capture.

During the podcast you can listen to on the link I’ve posted above, the narrator explains that “Mondrian was an uncompromising artist always striving to make his inner ideals come alive, and in doing so he was pushing forward so his art became a real life part of the world, and not just a picture of it.” I found this very inspiring.

I also loved Warhols’ screen printing, here are some of the photos I took.

The thing that struck me about Warhols works was how I or anyone could have printed these today and you can see a lot of imperfections in the printing which is part of the charm, but to have his ideas was groundbreaking focusing on the media and culture during the 1960′s.

As well as the exhibition I also went to Perth Upmarketc which happens a few times a year showcasing local designer makers. There we’re some great stands all located at the University of WA grounds which were fantastic.

My favourite was a pottery lady with her label called Eucalypt which was my absolute favourite and I would have loved to buy all of it. There were a couple of wool weavers who made beautiful scarves called Vectis Ori. Then a print designer with a label called Mokoh with designs featuring graphics of Fremantle and the Australian wildlife. A print designer who designs prints for cushions called Formosa, made from linen fabric was very high quality and really well designed and finally on my way out I came across a coffee shop with their own brand of chai tea called Chai Baba which was lovely on a warm afternoon.

Visiting the market, it definitely gave me some inspiration to start making again although non of my friends will be there which will be weird. I collected cards from all the makers and I’ve put them in my travel journal with comments so I can’t forget who they are.

Today I’ve finally finished making the pattern for the tea dress I’ve been wanting to make for a while now. I think it’s right, I’ll have to make a mock up first to find out for sure before cutting the actual fabric, especially the front bodice section. As it has smocking you have to add in to the pattern, which sort of throws things out so you don’t quite know if its going to fit together, so fingers crossed.

So lots and lots of things going on here at the moment.

Tomorrow we’re flying to Brisbane so we can suss it out, where to live and work so  I can’t wait, I’m sure I’ll post some pictures at some point.

Oh and the big news of today is George has arrived in Perth, finally and he’s now settling in to his new kennel home, we’re hoping to go and see him soon. So I’ll leave you now with a lovely picture of our handsome boy.