Ron Mueck @ NGV

Mueck's work centralizes around surreal, life-like sculptures of varying scales. The mindblowingly, perfectly scuplted works parody the human form/condition through the employment of synthetic materials.
The standout elements of Mueck's work are of course, the electric emotion he seems to have captured and the overwhelming detail that he depicts. From the subtle sheen of the stretched skin, which is implied to hang rather slackly if positioned differently, of Dead Dad's chest, the barely noticeable wrinkles in the pantyhose which grasps in futility at the ankles of Two Women and the glassiness of the sculptures' eyes. Eyes that either whisper of scream a dialogue that their solidified mouths are unable to facilitate.
Furthermore, the perfectly placed pimples on the back of Wild Man convey to us an inherent humility that is a parody of our own.
Most of the sculptures convey to us moments of fear, grief, anxiousness, despair or untrust, and reassure us that we are not 'abnormal' and that these moments are what reminds us that we are, in fact, alive. Wild emotions cling to these moments of frightening heartbreak or loss and through this reflection, this unparralleled emotional interaction, we surrender ourselves to public scrutiny, just as the nude and helpless protagonists have. Mueck's work rips us from our air conditioned gallery environment and throws us back into 'reality' with the forcefulness of a silent thunderstorm. The blatant recognition of these moments as pinnacles to our being, or sense of self, urges us to adjust our perspective, even if only momentarily.
For these plastic beings portray to us an ephemeral urgency that is permanently frozen in time, and give us the opportunity to react, and speak, as if for them, when we next feel this, rather than live on, and die in silence.

Nothing much has changed..

Long skirts, swimsuits as clothing, obsession with cake and bad hair. ps. check out my sisters awesome 90's floral shirt/amazing mane of hair, wish she'd passed that on down!

Paper Cranes

Cutest incense holder ever!

Working Bee

Before:

After:

In Between:

On Wednesday we spent the afternoon weeding, sweeping and getting dirt moustaches in the sun, in order to give Sharon's courtyard a new life. Although the photos that I took don't really do the chest high weeds, or the amazing re-birth justice, you get the idea!

Jewwwels.

I've just been inspired by a rather fantastic blog to do a little jewelry post- I don't have that much, and half of what I have is actually just being borrowed from my Ma (who has an overwhelming collection) but I have looked after the special little bits and pieces I've gifted over the years.

Including from top: teeny, tiny white ceramic roses I picked up one day after work from Fat - handmade shards of antique china, coated in silver from my Dadsey - my overworn Lucy Folk burger that I helped my stepdad by for myself for my 21st bday - a pastel blue enamel bangle recently thrifted from Hampton St. Vinnies & recent Christmas silver Coconut Lu received from Ma - Opal, pearl and amethyst bracelet - Karen Walker silver dutch carrot pendant gifted from Ma Christmas before last - an assortment of silver rings including a little silver and black onyx floral number that Karly bought me from the Daylesford Mill - And of course, the Macha Rockwell ring Karly gifted me for my 22nd bday this year! -

Krissy

Okay, so she does have a tendency to spill drinks on you when she's getting moderate (moderate or not, I haven't seen enough of her of late) BUT, my god she can sing.
for listening

Last night..

Although, mostly an uneventful evening, a working bee/punch brewing team was born..

Donut

Specimens A & B, thankyou Sugardough.

Ladies, A Plate.

I recently purchased (or actually, Karl did for me) an absolutely gorgeous traditional home baking book, called, Ladies A Plate written by Alexa Johnston, who is a New Zealander, and the recipes tend towards traditonal neccessities for an afternoon tea party. The title refers to the tradition of including the phrase "Ladies, a plate" on invitations, from a time when frilly aprons clung to mothers' hips all afternoon long. The pages of this book allude to a dappled garden gathering, with rickety furniture, mismatched tea sets, scones and home-made jams!

It's definately worth a look!

Thanks Ma!

On Friday, my lovely Mum presented me with this devine patchwork quilt that she had been slaving over for me, for quite some time, it's completely cotton, so really light and soft, not to mention the beautifully unique floral quilting fabric, and hand-stitched Japanese maple-esque edging!

French Knitting

Or, as more commonly known- knitting with a 'knitting nancy', oh the possibilities!

Supplies

After spending quite a pretty penny on supplies at the Bead Company on Smith St, Collingwood, I am officially ready to go.. there's just a whole heap of knitting standing in my way!

Ruth Fisher

Currently, I seem to have fallen into the habit of unknowingly taking my fashion inspiration from this woman. A huh. Lots of loose-fitting cardigans, ankle length skirts, rather popular jellies that I tend to pull off like a reclusive librarian, over-sized floral dresses and a tendency to want to wear button up shirts. But noone said there was anything wrong with dressing like a middle aged woman, Ruth Fisher's actually one pretty interesting lady!

Thread Knitting

I've recently begun knitting with embroidery thread- this particular purple number is actually a dyed linen DMC thread, which is much less shiny and synthetic looking (although the photograph is deceiving!) Here I was using 4mm needles to create a sort of mesh, and this is actually as far as one strand of thread will go, so it's going to be an expensive excercise!
I may possibly use this little idea to create earrings- as wool is much too heavy for them (I found this out the hard way!) or to fill up the seafood neckpiece.