printed matter

I MADE THEM MYSELF

Ramona: In a past life I fancied myself as a bit of a printmaker. I had to search through 10 boxes in the garage to find these! I do remember that the hairy buildings came from a dream I had where the city was covered in faux fur and I had to clean them

The angel is from a tombstone in Carlton cemetary
And this was my ode to Mr Squiggle the Man From the Moon...

burning down the house

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
Say what you like about the new Thom Yorke cd (Beck: "Brilliant!" Ramona: "Depressing!") we don't think anyone can argue with the beauty of the cover art by UK printmaker Stanley Donwood. His website Slowly Downward: a Manufactory is a magical tour of his latest work as well as an amazing shopfront where you can pick up this print 'The Cnut' for a cool 400 pounds. There is also a 'Library' department where you can read some of his bleak little stories. No wonder he and Thom got on like, well like London on Fire...

Sadness of the year

CRAFT FIND OF THE WEEK




The ladies of hml would like to send their love and heartfelt condolances to Terri, Bindi, Bob and all the friends and family of our beloved Steve Irwin. A man so full of passion, energy, humour he inspired us all. We shall miss him

Love Beck and Ramona
handmadelife headquarters
Northcote Melbourne
Australia
The World.

More on how we feel at COUCHVILLE

going to print

SHOW/S OF THE WEEK

Painter, printmaker sculptor Dean Bowen shows new work at Axia Modern Art Gallery this week. Hml are big fans of Bowen's energised and colourful images and have used him as inspiration for this weeks theme 'The Print'. There is much for the crafts person at a show like this, Bowen is an amazing colourist (doesn't the painting above evoke fantastic old quilts?) and seems to get great joy out of the everyday.


Port Jackson Press hosts a new show called 'Beasties' curated by one of hml's all time favorite australian printmakers Rona Green. For those of you that haven't been to PJP Print Room now is the prefect time to go. With 23 artists featured in the show it will be like a crash course in contemporary Australian printmaking. Great thing about buying prints is they are original, affordable and with the number of techniques endlessly varied. Funny how we keep going back to Rona's lino printed dog...

BEASTIES runs til September 30 Port Jackson Press Print Room 59 Smith St Collingwood

Dean Bowen: Urban Heartland runs tilSeptember 15 Axia Modern Art 1010 Hight St Armadale

More Blue Things

THIS WEEK WAS ABOUT CERAMICS

Looking around our homes we realized something. We are collectors. And I, like a bowerbird, collect small blue things. Some have been $2 mugs from target and others have cost me a weeks salary! I certainly didn't set out to only choose blue, it just seems to have turned out that way.

Here are a few of my more significant blue things:

This incredible David Pottinger vessel from his 2005 solo show:

South Australian ceramicist Gerry Wedd. His work blows me away. I wish I could afford a big blue thing!
Treasures from Irene Grishin Selzer (Iggy & LouLou). Baroque, encrusted, opulent, elegant and at the same time robust enough to use:
A gift from Beck (the greatest gift giver I have ever known). A small pot by Marianne Huhn:
Two pieces by Biggi Spiro. So delicate I can't believe I haven't broken them yet! Biggi is so consistently interesting and her use of colour is very dynamic even on such small vessels:

My most treasured object. My small blue house by architect and ceramicist Susan Robey. This is my 'save one object from the fire'. A poem.