What I did with my December

…and a bit of November too.

These were the gifties and things I was making for my family and friends for Xmas. My pal Pip taught me how to use the virgin unwrapped Gocco print system I’ve had sitting in its box in the studio back in November, so that got a pretty good Xmas workout. Expect more Gocco fun in the future!

Clockwise from top left:

1) My solution for what to make for small boysie-boys – wrestling action figures (Gocco print on recycled fabric – stuffed). One little fella I know crams them into the driving seats of trucks and trains and pops them astride plastic dinosaurs. Hmm… maybe boys don’t get enough dolls…

2) New Year cards (Gocco print on recycled card) – I’m just not sure about ‘Christmas’ as such but I was more than happy to see 2009 roll around and a new year is something EVERYONE recognises regardless of faith or lack thereof so New Years cards it is! Please also note the NY motifs of crabs and moths. Underused until now I feel…

3) What my brother, Chris has dubbed ‘Flankys’ since receiving his. Recycled flanny shirt hankies with hand rolled hems and gold chain stitch monograms. Some have still yet to be given to their noses-to-be – sorry noses-in-waiting.

4) Squeaky pigs. Stuffed Gocco print on recycled fabric (my old pyjamas actually) with recycled squeaky inside). For the little, little ones on my list. I like how these turned out.

5)A non-gift aside to use up left over ink in the Gocco screen – Wrestler cards on Chickenfeed card blanks. Black on black and red on red.

NOT pictured – I also made a couple of little personalised pencil cases for two of my nephews, Marcus and Michael, but forgot to take a photo ’cause I was working down to the wire (ie: Chris was on his way here to do the pre-Xmas gift exchange as I was still finishing embroidering Michael’s name – phew) but I then assume you know what a pencil case looks like…

As I said before – I thought about each person while making every stitch and it was a great feeling.

I really like youse.

Twiggy Christmas

This is our Christmas tree made of fallen twiggies from the backyard. At night the lights in the twigs cast shadows on the wall as if we have an entire forest hiding in behind the heater.

It’s a bit quiet over here again, ’cause as well as ups and downs with the old brainbox, I set myself a goal to give handmade and recycled gifts this year. This means I have been furiously sourcing materials and making, making, making, and I can’t post any pix because the giftees are the core readership of this blog and it would spoil the whole ‘gift’ thing.

I have a bit more time to undertake such a task these days but am really feeling the value of doing it. I can’t help but think of the person a specific gift is for as I make each stitch (there’s quite a bit of sewing) and that makes me feel very…um… I guess connected is the word.

I hope I can find the time to do this every year from now on.

Keep it together through the silly season, won’t you?

Obligatory NY post

Happy New Year, anyone who reads this! 2008 – ‘aint it great.

I’ve been v. quiet, online at least. The end of last year was a whirr of activity trying to get everything done before I finished up at the gallery, then Christmas jumped right in on my ass with visitors, presents and all that that entails. I ran out of time to make things so the kids were all bought gifts while Matt and I made and packed boxes of peanut butter fudge and sugarplums for grownups.

I had a great last day at CAST, and wound up by making a new desktop picture for my replacement, Joy (the queen of all that is pink and sparkly) with a big pink poodle on it. I think he may have been wearing a tiara. Then I was wined and dined by my colleagues until we were joined by a party of ex-con ‘boat drinkers’; as good a time as any to pick up sticks and move on to more drinks with our office neighbours. We saw a man with his pants down on Warwick street outside the men’s hostel on the way back. He was leaning in a car window talking to some ‘ladies’. What a sunny, weird and funny afternoon! Bossy and I had some more liquid goodbyes at the pub after that and then I toddled and wobbled my way home all tired and emotional.

Some people get tattoos when they’re drunk. I however, came home and signed up for the Australia Councils register of peers. No terrible drama as I’d been meaning to do it anyway but I WAS impressed by my own ability not to fall into the clichés of boozing.

Visitors from the UK Martin and Britta rejoined with us on Christmas Eve after their Queenstown residency and stayed with us through to the New Year, bar a brief respite to Maria Island, at which time they were replaced here by Nick and Delta on the inflat-o-mattress.

Christmas was lovely, Family at lunch/friends into the evening which always turns me into something of a food-pushing mama. Britta kept suggesting I sit down and relax but I LOVE getting all festive and foodie and will keep producing plates of yum and eavesdropping on other peoples conversations until people pass out under the weight of all that fruit and cheese. It’s my idea of a good time. I make a very good Spanish salad with oranges and red onion and for Xmas I made it twice.

NYE was quiet with friends in the back yard too. Jolly, jolly times strapping glowsticks to Charlotte Lewis’s fat baby legs and spazzing them around (the sticks, not the legs) while Britta practiced her shutter tricks, as evidenced above.

We woke up January first with visitors flown away in the early morning. An empty house then, and back to real life. So now I am self-employed (or is that just a fancy term for UNemployed) and oh, so busy preparing for the first three shows of the year and Montreal. Actually, two of those shows and a grant application are due while we are IN Montreal… Wheee. Montreal ahoy.

2008, you might just be awesome. Boo, hiss, boo 2007. 2008 – right on.

EDIT: photos by the lovely Ms Britta Polmuller. Thank you, I love them! Safe travels, dear. X

Sagging tinsel…

… a bin full of happy-paper and and a noggy tinge to the mouth.

The weather in Tasmania on Christmas Day always sucks arse, but yesterdays took the (fruit) cake.

Bushfire season has been super-scary this year and a run of early 30s weather was rudely interrupted by SNOWFALL!!!

Food for the BBQ remains marinating in the fridge as we shivered indoors over custard, xmas choc and cups of coffee, although I did struggle valiently along with a chilled white shiraz… for a while…

I am now the proud owner of a green ukulele and am working on some Ramones covers.

My transformation into an apparantly reanimated Tiny Tim is almost complete.

MWAH-AH-AH.

I just can’t bring myself to stop plucking my eyebrows and I look kind of feral if I grow my hair too long…

Only two sleeps…

Xmas really snuck up on me like a mute cat burgler with shoes made of cotton balls.

There has been too much high drama in the closure to 2006.
My hope for 2007 is that it will at least start out kind of dull.

We’ll work real hard, pay off our Czech Extravaganza debts and hopefully go and make some more big, loud, noisy, messy art in Montreal somewhere near the end. Everyone who is sick will get better. Everyone lovelorn will be soothed. Everyone who has been sorely overlooked for too long will have a little moment in the appreciation-sun. Everyone will find the time to do the stuff they REALLY like to do more than they did this year.

Except arsonists who are Class-A bastards and don’t deserve ANYTHING.

I’d also like an auto-harp.

Sort that out could you Santa? Cheers thanks-a-lot.