By George! (II)

‘George Barbier – The Birth of Art Deco’, edited by Barbara Martorelli, published by Marcilio EditoriThis beautiful and inspiring book monograph on George Barbier (1882–1932) depicts a broad spectrum of his work, from the earliest pieces signed with his pseudonym Edward William Larry, to his work for the theatre, fashion plates, almanacs, book designs, advertising, erotica and more.

Barbier’s subjects are nearly always lighthearted, but his linework is exquisite, the design of the detailed patterns intricate. There are quite a few instances where the rough sketch is shown next to the finished illustration, which is fascinating to see.

Sketch and final illustration of Mademoiselle Sorel en grand habit, 1924La Belle Hélène from Personnages de Comédie, 1922One short chapter describes the painstaking pochoir stencil technique, which Barbier fully supported, far preferring it to the quality of prints obtained by contemporary photomechanical methods.

Happily, printing methods have improved vastly since then, and this book is beautifully produced, both in design and reproduction. The paper is thick and creamy, a gorgeous foundation for the illustrations, and puts my old 70s and 80s books on Art Deco illustration to shame. Although it was an expensive purchase, it was well worth it, for there is so much to look at and take in with every illustration.

A selection of covers of ‘La Guirlande des mois’ and ‘Falbalas et Fanfreluches’ almanacs

Getting My Hands Dirty

A selection of ’snappy‘ ceramics

A while back I did a short course in ceramics at the College of Adult Education in Melbourne. I had not stuck my fingers into any clay since I was in junior high school, but I had very strong memories of the pleasures of working with clay. I loved the squishy feel of it; its sculptural possibilities.

When I signed up for the course, I already had very firm ideas on what I wanted to make. I had a vision of ceramic Krispy Kreme donuts! 

A punctured tealight cover inspired by a bank of clouds – it looks pretty when the candlelight shines through.

In the first class we learned how to make pinch pots, and the coil method of construction. I was the only student who decided to keep the coils visible on the exterior, rather than smoothing them down. I designed a little pot, inspired by the shape of a beehive, and chose to glaze it white, leaving the terracotta to show through here and there. I was so pleased with the result: the bulbous little pot is so tactile; silky yet bumpy.

Other experimental surface decorations include an embossed lace texture applied to various dishes, and punctures using an awl in my tealight cover. That scalloped shape was inspired by clouds. 

Silky yet bumpy: my little coiled beehive pot

I also made a number of embossed lace pendants in bisque clay as well as porcelain, although the latter are not glazed so I do not like them so much. The bisque pendants were glazed in blue and green, although I wish I had made some white.

A selection of fragile bisque pendants awaiting stringing

As for the Krispy Kreme mission, it was indeed a success. Lacking time in class, I took some clay home and made two halves using the pinch pot method, realising fairly quickly that my first attempt was far too tall. Never mind: it could admirably transform into a stack of two donuts! The second was much more well-proportioned.

I decorated them, carefully coaxing the glaze to drip like real icing, trying to imitate the translucence of the glaze on an ‘original’ Krispy Kreme  donut. I applied it heavy-handedly in patches, in the hopes that it would crackle in the kiln – which it did. Usually that is an error, and one risks flaking, but in this case it was a happy ending. They look plump enough to sink my teeth in – but I usually manage to resist the urge!

A stack of two original Krispy Kremes await a cup of coffee

Illustrators Australia

On Tuesday night I attended a special meeting and a party to celebrate the launch of Illustrators Australia’s new website (above).

We discussed the changes in the constitution, voted, and then got down to the real business of the evening: the celebration. It was held at the Kent Hotel in North Carlton, a long tram trip away from me.

I have not long been a member of the association, and the editor of their magazine for an even shorter time, so it was lovely to meet in person some of the people I had been in contact with only via email, including one of my interviewees, Christopher Nielsen.

I was even given a sitting ovation for my work on the first issue! I was so pleased that the people for whom the magazine is produced actually enjoyed it. It was great to get feedback, ideas for future stories, and secure an interview with IA’s own Sonia Kretschmar whose work was accepted for entrance in the Archibald Prize.

And very importantly, the finger food was very good too!

The Green Lady Wins

So it’s time for another instalment of ‘The Inter-Universe Beauty Pageant!’ Up for your delectation is a trio of colourful ladies. (The drawings are making me giggle, but the text is making me cringe. What a lurid imagination I had.)

Our Number One contestant is the Australian Olivia Johns (above) – that’s Miss Earth to you. She is a model and airhostess – à la Elizabeth Taylor, with that bouffant hairdo. She sports an ombré dress in shades of maroon, red and pale pink.

Next up is our Venusian cousin, Chrystal Nymph (below). She is a gardeness, and Santago Island (where she lives) is the greenest on Venus. The rainforests and poolahs are simply splendid, and waterfalls are plenty. Naturally her skin is pale olive, and her hair dark green. (They don’t just have green thumbs on Venus.) Her outfit seems to take its inspiration from the original Star Trek.

Lastly is Miss Neptune: Nodela Sealion (below). Neptune is a water planet – hence the blue shade of Nodela’s skin, a type of camoflage. They keep their figures by swimming a lot. Neptune holds nothing poisonous or bad, and is ruled by the just and kind ruler, King Neptune. Nodela’s fishtailed gown vaguely resembles a Missoni knit.

Good to see I wasn’t shy of making up words when I was a youngster. By the way, you might notice the shadow of some ribbons behind Miss Venus. She won second and third ribbons from two of the judges (myself and one of my cousins, respectively).

Next time on The Inter-Universe Beauty Channel, look forward to meeting a chartreuse-haired mining teacher from Uranus, a midget art teacher from Saturn, and a very tall burlesque dancer wearing a maroon teddy and go-go boots hailing from Jupiter. 

Bon Voyage Collage

A very lucky work colleague of mine is off on a nine-month jaunt around the world. She celebrated her last day last week. 

For her farewell card I created a fun collage with images inspired by all the countries or cities she is going to: London, New York, Mexico, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

One of the images perplexed Cupcake. “What's the jousting man for?”

“Portugal,” I answered. (The Portuguese celebrate many festivals, religious and medieval, although perhaps they are better known for their delicious custard tarts.)

I’m sure she’ll be sinking her teeth into adventure – as well as the odd tart or two.