Victorian Craft Award

Hello there!

I'm thrilled to announce that I am a finalist in the inaugural Victorian Craft Award.

The Victorian Craft Award is Victoria’s largest exhibition of craft artists, showcasing excellence and innovation across all mediums. The exhibition will run across four venues, from 1-15 August, 2015.

EXHIBITED WORK

Queens

leather, EVA foam, polyester thread
300 x 240 x 130mm
$3,300 (calculated to retail)

ARTIST STATEMENTEmma Greenwood’s younger years were influenced by healthy doses of hiphop and bike messengering, which gave her a huge love of sneakers.  A handmade sneaker is a rare and coveted item, and Emma’s intention as a craftsperson has always been to elevate the sneaker from a mass-produced, disposable fashion trend to that of the handcrafted, customised and precious.  There are very few makers of handmade sneakers in the world, most shoemakers veer to the purer menswear staples of hand-welts, but Emma sees no reason why traditional techniques can’t be used to produce a sleekly futuristic feel.  Queens is both a reference to the borough of New York City, which played a major role in the birth of hiphop, and a nod to the artists who collaborated on this piece, Emma Greenwood and Nish Cash.  Nish is one of Australia’s best aerosol artists; she is also a workshop facilitator and arts officer who has had a prolific output over the last 20 years. Nish’s graffiti moniker is ‘Ishk’, and she has lent a classic outline for Emma to use in the design of these sneakers.

Freaking genius

Oh Walter, you are too good!

Sorry that this show has ended, but I am mighty glad I visited RMIT Design Hub to witness the fitness that is Walter Van Beirendonck.

Hot damn.

Olde Worlde

 French boots from the 1860s.

 The stitches were so small and perfect, every detail was exquisite and I felt like a big galumph in my battered boots.

 This is my ideal outfit, seriously, I am such a fan of these old military  uniforms. Do not be surprised if you see me sporting one of these jackets in the near future.

Bentwood cradle from the 1860s. Gorgeous. I had to restrain Hazel from climbing in.

These treasures are all in the permanent collection at the NGV.

Photos for you

Hi gang!

For those who are unable to attend the Needlework Needleplay show, which has two days left to run, here is a great link to images of the work.

I'll be collecting my boots on Thursday afternoon, and trying really hard not to wear the Argyle Heroes just yet.

It has been a lovely show, and great gals too, confirming my love of collaboration and joining forces with other organised peeps. If you have an idea then let me know, I'm keen!

The whole story

The clever Hahna has written an expanded piece for each tattoo feature over at the Craft Blog. It's lovely to see how a standard set of questions and answers have evolved into a story, way more interesting than bullet point responses.

I'm keeping some esteemed company over there at the NGV Studio exhibition, below are some of the other inked people, including Jeremy Wortsman, Harley Lewis and Vanessa Bryden.

Here are the important details:
Writer: Hahna Busch
Photographer: Beth Nellie
DATE 4 August – 2 September 2012
VENUE NGV Studio, Federation Square, Melbourne (map)
FREE

Argyle Hero Boots

Tada!

Some quick studio photos in the afternoon light.

Had a tense day yesterday making the heels, I wanted them to be offset and so the angles and measurements were messing with my brain. I lost my way for a while and had to reign myself back in and get methodical about it.

It's OK to make one heel, but to replicate it perfectly again is always a challenge. If I was making more of these I would cast the heel and have a mold to use again, but I just wanted to get these done, and attached and OFF MY LIST!

Now off to sew uppers for Stella before the kids come back home......no rest for the wicked!

Lovely lasting

First I handskived my leather stiffeners, built up my last a bit, and added the cone and ankle build-ups. When you make a boot you have to allow for more room in the ankle area, so these extras are tacked on. I have some plastic ones, but have made many others from veg tanned leather. I usually keep all that stuff in a box, so I can rummage through and see what fits each last, when I need them.

Then I checked out the proportions by resting the upper sitting loosely on the last. Take note of my heel block; Hazel's clamshell phone and a slice of plastic toast.

 I tested a new pair of leather shears on heavy duty 5ml veg tan soling leather. I found these beauties at Northern Sharpening in Coburg, I needed to get a new bandsaw blade and George said he would MAKE me a new one from industrial steel, not 'hobby' steel, which he said my old one was made from. Profesh.

They are amazing, like a great pair of secateurs, but for leather. I'm gobsmacked that such a thing exists, I've always used bandsaws or a Landis cutter.

I had to cover the upper in plastic, to avoid getting glue, dirt etc on them. They are the tallest boots I've lasted, so there was a lot of leg hanging around, if you know what I mean.

Just illustrating how useful a lap can be. Sometimes I use a lasting pin to work on, but often it's my lap. A great workout for the adductor muscles in your inner thigh as you squeeze to hold the last firmly.

Hello bandsaw, I am so glad to have you on my bench again. This baby was at Sam's for a while, but after some huffing and puffing and possibly one strained muscle, it's back with me. Watched a few youtube tutorials on bandsaw blade changing, just to check that I did it right. Those videos are awesome, I wish I knew a lot of those informative blokes.

All this action while wearing my Tron boots from a few years back. I try to keep my exhibition pieces in perfect nick, packed safely for another show and tell day. But I've been wanting to wear these long boots to keep me warm and look robotic. Thanks to Sync for the collab.

 Done. Gold star to me!

Satisfaction

 Here's where I'm at! My uppers are almost assembled, I just have to put the lining and zips in and then I'm ready to last them. Gulp, that bit is always daunting, no matter how many pairs I've lasted, I always get nervous at this stage.

 

 I embroidered the second panel in record time, here they are top to tail, don't they look awesome? They are quite heavy and plush, I ironed them to keep them a bit more streamlined, which felt a bit naughty, I'm sure you're not meant to iron embroidery.

My delightful tin of yarn will no longer be my constant companion.

 Stitching the uppers makes me feel so happy, it's like the best jigsaw puzzle coming together to make a whole. It's one thing to draw a crappy sketch and imagine what it will look like, but to get to this stage, grinning from ear to ear and doing a happy dance, is such a buzz.

Today I'll get the lining and zips in, get the stiffeners made, make some minor adjustments to the last shape and attach the insoles which I made ages ago. Might have time to last them before school pickup.

More soon!

Needlework Needleplay

Wow - a new project!

I'm in cahoots with an awesome bunch of ladies, we are preparing for a group show in August featuring the use of embroidery. Carly Altree-Williams is the bandleader who has brought us all together, she has started our very own blog, and of course I'm urging you to visit.

Needlework Needleplay is the place to go, complete with our very own header designed by the fabulous MaricorMaricar. Here's our blurb.

Needle Work Needle Play brings together nine contemporary Australian textile artists and craft practitioners who use embroidery in innovative ways working in a wide range of mediums including drawing, soft sculpture, portraiture, footwear, jewellery, and installation to explore the contemporary uses of embroidery. Featuring the work of Carly Altree-Williams, Cat-Rabbit, Evie Barrow, Emma Greenwood, MaricorMaricar, Alison Munro, Gemma Pobjoy, Demelza Sherwood and Haeli Van Veen.

 

I'm first cab off the ranks with an artist profile, I must say it's lovely to see my words and my work all together. I often get a bit frustrated that I can't create all day every day, but when I see what I have been making over the years, I get a bit of a glow inside. Slowly but surely I'm amassing a body of work that ticks all the boxes for me. I hope that it ticks your boxes too.

 

I'd love your feedback, my blog stats tell me that 316 of you visited yesterday, many from the US of A, please leave a comment to say hi, it'd be great to meet you! 

Sam Jinks

Our beloved Sam works hard.

He is so driven to create perfection, he gives himself grey hairs. (We think that he looks rather distinguished and handsome).

'The Embrace' is one of the pieces that will be showing at Karen Woodbury Gallery, Albert St, Richmond, from June 30th to July 24th.

Hope that you can attend, and see what fine forms this man creates with his bare hands, as Leo says, 'Dad you're a genius!'

Another look-see

If you missed the Printemps boots first time around, there's now another chance to see them at MAS Gallery 1299 High St Malvern. Featuring the works of 16 artists using a huge range of media, this show runs from today to the 27th June, open daily from 10am-5pm.



I've also included this second version of Fiesta, and a few belts for good measure (terrible accidental pun).

Guildford Lane Gallery

Last week, while buying hides at NSW Leather, Marisa said to me, "Oh I saw the sketches of your shoes at Guildford Lane Gallery". My response was, "Please explain?" And so Leo and I ended up at GLG on Friday, having a look around at a bunch of great shows.


Here are my cherished Printemps, in a sketch titled 'Well Heeled', with other footwear illustrations including April Phillips, Balmain, and Mr Christian Louboutin.

This particular show is 'On the Street... Patsyfox' by Angie Rehe.
Here's the blurb which I blatantly stole from the GLG site.

'The Patsyfox blog, an illustrated account of people and things as seen through the eyes of illustrator Angie Réhe, celebrates its first birthday with an exhibition of illustrations from throughout the year. Spot the illustrated locals alongside visitors such as The Sartorialist, and read some of the accompanying anecdotes.'





Some more of Angie's work.

You should visit the Patsyfox blog, it's rather funny and there are oodles of fab illustrations.


Oh, and downstairs there is a great show of work from clever folk who were selected to submit designs to Otto and Spike, a fabulous Brunswick knitwear label. Mi dispiace, I can't remember who the author of this work is, but it was my fave. Ahoy there indeed!

Listening to: Trilok Gurtu