Whats the time? Roo time

Was that introduction lame enough for you?

Few days till the roo is due to be finished. Looking pretty good if I do say so myself, Jam's paintjob is just a little bit ohhh ahhhh. Very nice. I will post a pic as soon as I've actually taken one. Sweet.

So it has been a fairly mental 2 weeks, not too many nights off. Yes indeed I am a social butterfly. A few nights were spent drowning my sorrows. I reccomend not drinking pints if your feeling this way. Lots of good things happening around Melbourne though, so it shouldn't be too hard to keep myself busy. Woodcarving classes are well underway, my salad servers, the exercise we are doing to get a hang of carving, are the dodgiest things you ever did see, the only things that they are serving up are massive splinters.

Good exhibition at the Never Never Gallery and, as usual, Hosier Lane always has awesome things to offer -

Planning to see both Ross Noble and Suitcase Royale in the coming week at the comedy festival. To anyone looking for a good piece of comic ramshackle theatre, go see Suitcase Royale. I saw their last show and it was just fantastic.

Also thinking about what to do once the Possum Magic gig is up. Surely more work will come along but it's nice to think that I will spend hour upon hour productively doing my own work. Somehow, i think that this is not going to happen. Have been painting alot more though, i think because woodcarving has given me a new something to think about, so it makes me want to do even more. Did that make sense? Anyway, working on some little canvas'. I think things in miniature are much more exciting.

Also would really like to travel again. I have been missing the unexpected joys of being somewhere completely different. I think that Asia may be on the cards for next time, but I would like to go and spend some more quality time in Europe as well. Visit the millions of places I never got a look see in, and perhaps even do some work and live over there ('there' being a non specific country).

A big hello to Kristyna (check out her blog http://www.shotjournal.blogspot.com/) who all the VCA girls miss as well as our other DAMU friends. We all dream of staying in Prague again. Perhaps we can coerce the DAMU kids into coming to Australia? eh eh? Anyway, we say hello and to remember the hilairous night that was the closing of the Quadrennial and the Inaguaral Hair Cutting in the Dark Party, here is a photo of our hungover sorry asses the next day, just before we got on a train for Berlin. Sigh.

Nice to hear that a few people have been reading this blog lately, perhaps if you keep reading it will give me the motivation to keep updating. Oh, and you should leave comments too, then I know that you love me.

Possum Magic

So Possum Magic is well and truly underway. It's pretty massive but we seem to be doing alright. At the moment we are two days ahead and the producer is very happy with the work that we are doing. We had a showing of the sculpts the other day and there were very minor criticisms, super easy to change. He also said that he wished that he had brought all the puppets to us. hurrah!

Spidey and the Frog looked great in their show at Moomba. Apparently the show was really well recieved all round. I'll post some photos of them as soon as my computer starts to work again. god damn it.

Melbourne is so goddamn hot at the moment. It's making it incredibly hard to work. I just can't concentrate on anything with 30 degree heat pounding at me. Gah! I need to move to some cooler tempretures. Or at least holiday in some. I have decided that after Possum Magic is over that I am going on a soul search, whatever and wherever that is. Sigh. I just feel that I"m missing something right now.

Move move move!

So I have had a massive day, 2 meetings, checking out a few things that I always mean to see but never do, dinner and drinks afterwards. phew! But worth it. I now have a job restoring the puppets for Possum Magic, a show that I saw a few times as a kid, and more than likely, these are those exact same puppets. But actual work and money for a few weeks, lovely!

Here are a few things to check out around Melbourne:

1. Coop at 45 Downstairs, on until this Sunday. A wonderful visual theatre piece that has some simply amazing sound design and wonderful puppet manipulation. The overall spectacle of this show was absolutely priceless. Plus its at a really nice new space. Check Half Tix for cheaper tickets though.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/arts-reviews/coop/2008/02/14/1202760449343.html

2. Never Never Gallery in Hosier Lane. Only open from 12 - 6 Wed - Sat. But get your butt down there and see some really interesting work. Usually stuff you would see on the streets but somehow its ended up in a gallery.

3. Craft Victoria. The exhibition that is on at the moment is great! The jewellery art is so hilairous and beautiful at the same time. There are cast silver pieces of pigeon poo. Love it! As well as some seriously well endowed dolls, funny but gross at the same time.

4. Sustainable Living Festival. On this weekend only I think. There is heaps of good stuff to check out and this Sat there is a clothes swap. Also there is a really cool bike shop there that is selling great bikes for about $550. Which is awesome for a new bike with all the perks. Get into it! Ride your bike around Melbourne and you won't have to deal with all the tools on public transport.

Hurrah!

Sigh

Although I feel like I have a wandering soul at the moment, I still love to stop and look at this veiw every now and again.

Despite being near a skanky station, it really is quite lovely.

Ah Melbourne

Guerilla Craft

Its been a long time coming. The idea for Guerilla Craft was born months ago from a night on cheap dumplings and wine. Until last week it hadn't really eventuated. We were too hesitant. We didn't feel we were real graffiti artists, and we didn't have an idea that we thought was worth getting out there to do. Finally, boredom and beer made us spring into action.

It had to be something 3D. Little scenes set up around Melbourne. Little moments of action. But something slightly comical that would catch your eye. Maeve expertly went out to buy small plastic animals and cowboys and indians and I went on a search for a good glue. We smashed down a few beers, put on our masks (all the while giggling) and walked into the city with our animals and glue. We headed straight for popular graffiti spots so we could make our mark. Yes indeed.

The figurines were only put up about a week ago and already a lot of the have been ripped down. We expected as much but we were still slightly devestated when we saw they were gone. Imagine your work disappearing all the time? Gah! There are still a few up around the CBD. And be sure that there are more to come.

Reliving the Joy

I wandered into one of my favourite shops the other day - the Lost and Found Market in Smith Street - and I think I almost started to cry. The things and feeling in this shop are so beautiful. Its so nice to be in a retro world, all cluttered full of lovely things. If i could live here..I would. Definitely a place worth visiting if you haven't already

Don't forget that this Sunday in Ivanhoe is the Quality Makers Market (14 Ivanhoe Parade). A really lovely market where everything is handmade.

Also, this Thursday is the next Crafternoon. Hopefully I can post some pictures of our crazy hijinks.

I have managed to set up a little workspace for myself in my garage. Very simple, my sewing machine, a bench and some drawers but it is more than I had before. The garage is still full of a huge amount of crap, that hasn't changed, but I do have a clean and decent space to work in now. Hurrah! No more working on my bedroom floor or the concrete. Its such a relief.