'CROW' work in progress

still not content-when are we?- started another after seeing Attenborough's "Birds of Paradise"

Hello Anne Stadler

Hi Anne, Don't have your email address and not able to contact you from your gallery site - this would be an improvement to our website -but wanted to say how much I like your new (?) work. No. 5 stands out but they're all beaut!

Studio Space Bogangar

This my studio space in my garage where there now is no room for a car. I'm assisted by my 2 helpers, Sammy (white) and Gypsy (Brindle), who both know the words "Studio Time" and rush out to wait for me to lift up the door.

Studio Spaces

My studio was once our home. 5 meters by 5. It sits in the shade, hidden beneath a huge fig, surrounded by green. It's not only a place to make and print and draw, it is a space that provides solitude. This in turn provides clarity, dreaming, purpose, peacefulness and satisfaction. A young butcher bird sits on the window sill and calls out, the cows peer through the back windows and the pythons take up residence in the rafters when the summer comes.

MAISON FRAGILE

Last seen at CPM "Refuge(e)" has reappeared in Brisbane at St John's Anglican cathedral as X CHANGE REFUGE(E). (note the small Afghan. prayer rug inside the shelter.)

This was one of the exhibits for B AWARE, an exhibition organised by the 8GG group. (8 milennium goals to fight world poverty)

The exhibition finishes this coming Wednesday (20th October) in case you're in Brisbane.

St John's is in Anne Street.

Between Falling

Still haven't got a shot of inside the shed -i'll have to do a clean-up- but here's another drawing. Falling off the roof recently co-incided with my discovery of the amazing phenomenon of the "morning glory". It's a rolling blue cloud that sweeps down from the gulf. Daredevils in their motorised gliders 'ride' it like a surfer does the wave.

Being a wuss I have to wait for a slippery ladder to offer me 'risk' & the moment of losing control. This moment, when you realise there's nothing you can do, interested me; so the drawing.

Glad you sorted the blog out, Edith. I heard you got some help from Babette. For those wondering, Babette is powering along with her treatment, bamboozling the staff at John Flynn with her positive artist's perspective & exploring a rich vein of creativity.

Floating studio

"Floating Studio"  14th Sept.

Small but cosy. Dropped anchor off the spit in Southport today after leaving Ballina early this morning. A light drizzle outside with a SW chop in the bay. A quiet time to wedge myself in the bow of the boat, letting thoughts and the days events work their way on paper. Another space to lose myself... absorbing the elements around me.  

Studio spaces

My studio space

Sometimes it's just nice to see where other people work from. This is my main workbench where I make my collages and artist books. The screenprinting bench is adjacent. It's in a section of the garage that I affectionally call 'my studio' and when I'm perched at my desk working away the world dissolves around me. I can watch the birds in the grevillia outside my window or just melt into my current work. I love it.

What the bloody - hell are YOU doing?

This is a recent drawing I called "WOMAN" (approx. 1.5m x 2m). My mum recently died. She was 100.

I've been trying to get my work off the 'pedestal', separated from the sterility of the gallery and connected with the natural world. This could explain the lack of cropping but, in truth, I didn't know how. What does it matter if 'certainity' isnt all that important?

I often wonder what others are doing in their workshops/sheds and think that the cpm blogsite - underused &/or forgotten - might be a good place to share our ideas.

Did you see the doko. last night on Anish Kapoor?

Working Bee 7 August

Forget Clean up Australia, it's Clean Up CPM! There's heaps for everyone to do, from painting, to sorting, to cleaning, to throwing out, stacking. archiving, filing, and making labels so we can find things, firing up the BBQ. There's 2 more left for the year, first Saturday in October and in December. So do your bit and join in.

REFUGE(E)

EDGE Stage 3

Nearing a finish, maybe? Less obscure than "off the wall Stage2" (see earlier blog) A very strongly bonded session of drawing after animated discussion about inclusivity/ exclusivity. This , in my mind, raised an interesting questions, esp. for collaborative work . ie. Are the exclusive rights of ownership of a picture confined to the person(s) who started/did it?
Is collaborative art, by definition, the domain of anyone who 'gives themselves' to the process ie. engages with the work at any stage? And if problems arise during this process is it not the role of all concerned to deal with issues arising just as families, macro or micro, deal with their issues?

Is art about the artist, the work, or the process?

Peter Schardin - Current Exhibition

Peter Schardin - Landscape Allegory, Photographs & prints
Opening Saturday 12 June until 1 August 2010
My thoughts; it is about the connection one has
with the landscape,earth, ground, water etc. I dare say, the landscape has been a little misinterpreted at times and turned into a holy grail of religion,
mythology and environmental issues etc.

My interpretation is quite simple, it is about our
connection to earth, hence the absence of the
human form in my work. To me, the placement
of figures in a work may shift the importance
towards the figure, because the figure will
become a reference point and therefore detract
or maybe dominate the work.

Off the Wall : Stage Two 13th May 2010

Confronting the painted over 'dance drawing ' from the previous week it was decided that each of those present, and any new arrival, 'danced' again but this time selected small areas instinctively appealing and developed them.

Bill used metho and a hair dryer to clean away, Karen and Michael drew and painted out.

Result: busy but musical with lots of 'EDGE' potential for our next visit...Friday the 20th

We Move Off The Wall

Robyn, Heather, Bill Karen and Michael 'dance' around the new paper (approx. 1800 x 1500) picking from the smorgasboard on The Wall. Then paint out hoping for Eureka moments next week.

New member hits The Wall

Karen from Coffs came to see what was happening at CPM and next thing she knew she was 'on the edge' and part of the Wall'

(the beauty of CPM)

Last breath from the living wall

much discussion about where to go now.....

decided to lay out some fresh paper and 'DANCE' with what we felt about The Wall.

...................see next post.

CPM's Living Wall keeps growing

compare the wall with earlier stages to see the changes

we're running out of room and feel that it's probably time to think about pulling it together

Chaos or eternity?

Posted this on my blog today -

http://www.bboxproductions.blogspot.com/

Started a collaborative drawing today with four other people. Laid out sheets of white paper taped together, danced around each other with crayons, pastels and ink. Someone wrote on the wall chaos and eter and nity. Chaos/eternity? Is it one or the other or both?

CPM's LIVING WALL

Nine weeks later, nine contributors, and the Living Wall at CPM continues to grow.
Paper is available for 'Edge' comments plus plenty of space on the wall for personal 'edge' marks & linkages. All welcome!
" 'I don't see (inspiration) as a state of grace,' writes Gabriel Garcia Marquez, ' nor as a breath from heaven, but as the moment when, by tenacity & control, you are at one with your theme...You spur the theme on & the theme spurs you on too...All obstacles fade away, all conflict disappears, things you never dreamt of occur to youand, at that moment, there is absolutely nothing in the world better than writing' ". (drawing ) JMCoetzee. Diary of a Bad Year.

Refuge(e) Exhibition CPM Member Heather Matthew

Harley, a rescued Greyhound is also a refugee and looking for a home. He had a wonderful time at the opening of Heather's terrific exhibition Refuge(e) and every CPM member should look in and see the works.
Michael took this picture of Harley and Me (nothing to do with that sickly movie), as we walk through his installation at the entrance of CPM that set the scene and supported the theme of the exhibition

The Edge - a development

I've been working on small A5 or 15 x 10cm postcards about the destruction of unwanted Greyhounds once they finish racing, or deemed too slow. Over 5000 just disappear in NSW, and only 1% Australia wide (there's 20,000 Greyhounds) are re-homed. Most don't survive between the ages of 2 - 4 years. In the past, Greyhounds were dropped over the edge of cliffs south of Sydney, which took me on the path of The Edge. I thank Michael for the connection, I've just been making art to see what happens.

Refuge (e) - Member Exhibition Heather Matthew

See more of Heather's artwork and installation at CPM Art Space opening on Saturday 10 April 2010 at 3 pm and continues until 6 June 2010. CPM's first edition Zine "On The Edge" will be launched. Support CPM by buying a copy only $10.00, a collector's item.

Group Lunch at Grafton Regional Gallery 20 March 10

A great photo by Graeme Eggins of everyone enjoying lunch in the courtyard at the Grafton Regional Gallery.

zen edge

"when we are experiencing nonverbally we are walking the razor's edge - we are the present moment. When we walk the edge the agonizing states of separateness are pulled together, and we experience perhaps not happiness but joy. Understanding the razor's edge (and not just understanding it, but doing it) is what Zen practice is. The reason its difficult is that we don't want to do it. We know we don't want to do it. We want to escape from it."

"When we walk the razor's edge we're not important; we're no-self, embedded in life. This we fear - even though life as no-self is pure joy"

From "Everyday Zen" Charlotte Joko Beck

"EDGE" wall at CPM

As you can see what started on Australia day at Coolangatta has grown. Several artists have offered their 'edges' and really got us asking interesting questions. Just when we think it's taking shape as a single work someone with a different style or take on the idea creates a detour and causes us to think outside the edges of the our comfortable'box'. This is an exciting part of collaboration. But how do we amalgamate all these 'takes' into a cohesive, understandable whole? Or do we? Are we any closer to the edge?
What's your 'edge'? What do all our 'edges'have in common? Are 'edges' to be feared? Is there an archetypal symbol, colour, etc. for the edge?
The wall at CPM is big. Come and collaborate.

EDGE and the void

From Mental Health, Art and Transpersonal Experience 2

THE EDGE

"Existentially and energetically, the edge is the state which we may approach intentionally or quite unconsciously in which there is a risk of being radically other than we are typically.
This can describe situations where physical death is imminent, social death is close (annihilation of the social self), the void is encountered, and all situations of entering a zone of *ineffable potential............................"
Dr. Ralph Locke


*ineffable- indescribable- incapable of being expressed in words.

CPM Group Exhibition Grafton 17 March - 25 April 2010

Osprey at Balding
Rhapsody

CPM Group Exhibition Grafton 17 March - 25 April 2010

Peter Schardin
Ancient Landscape

CPM Group Exhibition Grafton 17 March - 25 April 2010

Frank Stadler

Veil of Decay II

Anne Stadler

Cutaway Creature

CPM Group Exhibition Grafton 17 March - 25 April 2010

Steve Sawkins

Waste Management

CPM Group Exhibition Grafton 17 March - 25 April 2010

Robin Saunders

Blanket

CPM Group Exhibition Grafton 17 March - 25 April 2010

Bill Klease

Undersided

CPM Group Exhibition Grafton 17 March - 25 April 2010

Heather Matthew

A Honeyed Heart

Abide with Me

CPM Group Exhibition Grafton 17 March - 25 April 2010

David Kill

The Real Meaning of Christmas

Left Long Enough Alone this Gene Pool will turn into a River

CPM Group Exhibition Grafton 17 March - 25 April 2010

Lindsay Hunt

The Johnny Virus Cometh

CPM Group Exhibition Grafton 17 March - 25 April 2010

Phillip Gasson

17 Fish Tales

18 Fish Tales

CPM Group Exhibition Grafton 17 March - 25 April 2010

Beverley Eggins

A Life in 12 Chapters

CPM Group Exhibition Grafton 17 March - 25 April 2010

Carolyn Dodds

The Lion and the Lamb

Girl Relaxing

CPM Group Exhibition Grafton 17 March - 25 April 2010

Michael Baartz
Sky Elergy 4, 5, 6.