Not All Who Wander Are Lost - artist statement and inspiration

Artist statement 

I have realised that those of you who read this blog- thanks so much!! - may be interested in the artist statement for this current exhibition...... so ........ dah dah here it is.

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

Sally Darlison

Quadrant Gallery Hawthorn, May 8 - May 31 2014

"All That is Gold Does Not Glitter" by J. R. R. Tolkien

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

Wandering, exploring, seeking and learning. Traveling allows us to find new places, learn of others, creates empathy, opens our eyes to other ways of living. 

Wandering isn’t always aimless

Traveling for 3 months through Europe and Morocco in 2012 was the catalyst for my body of work.

 Traveling and creating can be difficult and to help me record and remember this trip I collected the brochures and maps along the journey. Using these and my little travel kit of water colour pastels, pencil, fineliner, glue stick, gesso, needle and thread I created a set of little books, to be a reminder of the trip, to challenge my creativity, give me time to be and help me to process the impact of such an epic trip. 

These little, flimsy and not too perfect books along with my many photographs have been the starting point for my artwork. 

Each book represents a place in the journey - a country, city or several smaller places. 

Each piece represents a small drop in the ocean of learning that took place on the journey. 

Look with new eyes wherever you go, it will always be refreshing

Sally Darlison

2014

Inspiration and resulting art 

I have also included some photos and the art that has sprung from it. For those familiar with my work you will have observed that I don't use white very often at all. However while in Switzerland the contrast of white and black were so strong and the mountains so magnificent that I had to work them into my body of work. The result was 2 large black and white pieces.

 Photos and Art 

Here is an example of how I use image to inspire art. The photos are taken in Switzerland  of snowy mountains, bare trees and black birds that swept overhead. 

photo of birds flying overhead 

completed piece with sweeping birds in the centre 

Wood engraved prints of bare trees white on black fabric beside the inspirational photo of the bare trees on the mountain side

Photos paired with the stitched piece. 

Artist Talk - What fun

Around 25 people came down to the gallery this afternoon to join me for a talk about my work, the processes and techniques I use and the method I used to gather the ideas for this exhibition.

I showed them some of the photos that were particularly influential in the creation of the art work, the kit of art materials I took with me on my trip and the print blocks, dyed fabric, brochures and map bags I collected for each place.

After the initial demonstration we wandered around the gallery to look more closely at the travel books and their relationship to the larger works of art.

A big thank you to Eugene at Quadrant gallery and to those who came, I enjoyed meeting up with old friends and new.

Opening Night

Last night was the opening night. It was great fun, with heaps of people coming for a chat, view and drink.
Thanks to the staff at Quadrant Gallery it was well organised and beautifully presented. A special thanks goes to Pam Jackson who has worked tirelessly to make sure all went smoothly.

Bumping In

So today was Bump In day.

Rachel and I took 2 car loads of art to the gallery and spent the day unwrapping the work and moving around the pieces around, finding the right plinth to display the pieces. tomorrow Pam from Quadrant gallery will complete the hanging.

It was fabulous to see Rachel's work - she has some truly beautiful jewellery, sculpture and enamelled copper pieces.. love love!!

Time to get excited, not sleepless any more.

The countdown begins..

The final week... all work made and ready to hang, documentation done, invites out, displays sorted, bills paid. I'm nearly there. Just need to clean the studio and make a bed for my lovely friend Rachel Young who is arriving with her beautiful jewellery, sculpture and enamelware from the desert of South Australia.

Then.... 

it is up to you, your friends, my friends and anyone else's friends and family to put it in the diary and pop on down to Quadrant Gallery some time in the next month. Opening night May 8, 6-8 pm and Artist talk May 17, 12pm. for all other opening times check out the website. 

Hope to see you there and meet some new friends!!

All stacked up and ready to go!!

Specimen book

Busy Week

It has been a busy week in the studio this past week. I have been turning out the work fast- nothing like a deadline to speed me up.
In between finishing works of art I have had the work photographed, visited the framer (to part with my life savings in order to have amazing frames put around the work - it certainly makes a difference), picked up the hardcopy invites and now it is back to the studio to complete the final series - Tuscany, and I am done..... I think.

Here's a few details of works- don't want to give away all the images before the show!

Berber Doorways - detail

Outside the Riad - detail

Paris Carousel- detail

Woohoo, business cards and postcards arrived!

It's hotting up here in the studio, business cards and postcards arrived, another 2 pieces sent off to the photographer and another on the way.

On holidays from one job, ramping it up on the other job. It's a busy week here in Sal's Studio.

Time is running out, so I am on speedy street, stream of consciousness art pouring out of my fingers. Hope they don't get burnt!!

Count down is on,  only 1 month to the opening.......... Argh........

Here's a peek at the latest and the new cards!

detail of Roma 

business cards and postcards

Frantic finishing time

Time has just whizzed on by and suddenly it is the end of March and my exhibition now has a name and nearly all the pieces done.
Not All Who Wander Are Lost  will open on May 8 at Quadrant gallery in hawthorn - more details will come when the invites are published.
In the meantime I have a lot of work to be done - some of it boring but also a couple more pieces to come into being.
I still need to beaver away in the studio for a few weeks.

Living Quarter

Tread softly

I did, however, manage to fit in a little side job, creating an adornment for an opera singer. Jude will wear my creation over her gown while singing at the Horticulture Media Awards in Melbourne on Tuesday at the Plaza Ballroom. Hand dyed silk and wool. The cord is felted wool and the leaves and flowers are silk, machine and hand stitched.