Aussie Aussie Aussie!

Aussie Pride :: Watts // BigUp // No flash

You know you’re out in the burbs when you see a flag draping a front porch. I’m celebrating Australia Day at a barbecue with friends. There’ll be snags and chicken shish kebabs, salad and champagne. Just don’t forget to put on a hat and some sunscreen or risk looking like a tourist on our national day! Have fun!

Year of the Water Dragon

Happy Chinese New Year! It’s the Year of the Water Dragon, a symbol of power from heaven. Also known as the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, Melbourne is celebrating it until February 5, with street stalls, firecrackers, lion dances and dragon parades, and lots more traditional and contemporary Chinese cultural activities. (Check out the website for more details.)

I’m celebrating it today with this lovely vintage poster advertising Club Cosmetics. Isn’t she just gorgeous? The model carries a feather fan, on the handle of which is the Chinese symbol of longevity. I purchased this, and one other poster, in Hong Kong’s Cat Street Markets five years ago. I was delighted to find them, for I had always admired these Oriental posters of the 50s and 60s. 

Still on my shopping list, a vintage cheongsam – to replace the embroidered oyster satin one I stupidly donated to charity years ago (I plead a temporary fit of closet-clearing).

Out the Door

Cover illustration by Nellie RyanSo this is my last issue of Outline magazine as editor. I feel regretful to let it go, but it must be done. I have too much work on, and need to concentrate on building my illustration business, although I still have the part-time graphic design gig (that pays the bills).

It’s been a privilege to run the whole show, and getting to know quite a few Australian illustrators in the process – not to mention learning a lot from them. Obviously I love to write, although being a managing editor is a little different from writing blogs or other personal stuff. It has its own challenges, planning and researching each issue, wrestling with headlines and standfirsts … but it is very satisfying once an issue is wrapped and delivered.

This last one was themed on surface pattern design, and I interviewed three illustrators who incorporate pattern into their work, two of whom design their own. I also wrote a story about creative block (and enjoyed putting together a little collage to illustrate it) and a very ‘timely’ (considering how stretched I’ve been in the last six months) story on time management. And when it comes to pattern design, how could I go past the great and bold Florence Broadhurst for the Nostalgia page?

Profile on ‘start up’ illustrator Bronwyn Seedeen The Blank Page – what to do when you have creative blockTime Sucks – tips on juggling that most precious commodityA mini profile on the inimitable Aussie icon Florence Broadhurst

Of Shoes and Ships and Surface Prints

If you’re into surface patterns (designing or just admiring), this lovely little A5-sized book is a wonderful resource for vintage cotton fabrics collected in New York. About 600 prints cover patterns from the 30s to the 60s, with chapters on florals, checks, dots, stripes, novelty, and more. Textile designers of this era seem to have been inspired by a plethora of everyday objects, turning them into novelty prints that amuse and delight. And how many ways are there to do spots and stripes? Dozens!

Although the text is minimal and entirely in Japanese, the quality reproductions of the prints make actually reading the book unnecessary. Unfortunately the book is out of print, but if you can get hold of a secondhand copy, snap it up, as it really is an inspiring resource – I’ve flagged almost every page! Or Google it and you’ll see a lot more than these examples below.

Three Days Late

The Incident with the Uneven PavingI had an epiphany this morning. It happened whilst I was walking past the fridge and into the bathroom. In passing, I glanced at the top of the fridge where my papier maché masks have been reposing (tip: it is really warm there and a good drying area).

For the twentieth time I idly wondered where on earth I had stowed the remainder of the gesso after I had the Incident with the Uneven Paving (which occurred approximately at 11:40am, on the 7th of September, 2010). As I prepared to blow-dry my hair suddenly I saw my eyes brighten in my reflection. Of course! Under the kitchen sink!

I immediately put down my styling tools and rushed to investigate. Removing a plastic tub and assorted cleaning products, I discovered the gesso nestled there in the basket filled with furniture polish (never used), disposable plastic gloves (for when I chop chillies and other disagreeable culinary tasks) and forgotten mosquito coils (oops, abject apologies to my New Year’s Eve al fresco dinner guests), amongst other sundry items.

Hooray, at last I can complete the next step before painting my masks!

January 6th was actually Epiphany, but better late than never.