counting down the days to India...

In less than a month - we will be in Rajasthan, the bright, colourful, northern state of India!

We will be going here - Udaipur...

Jodhpur - the 'Blue" city...

Jaipur - the 'Pink' city...

http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/India/West/Rajasthan/Jaipur/photo317066.htm

and Delhi....

I can't wait! We have had our vaccines, got our Visa's, packed a first aid kit, booked train tickets and our first hotel and are currently deciding whether to take a pack or a suitcase! Can't decide... any suggestions are welcomed.

Luminarium - Architects of Air ♥

I cannot wait to go and visit the Luminarium in January! It will be installed on the Sydney Opera House forecourt for nearly all of January as part of Sydney Festival.

It looks truly amazing - an inflated world filled with light and tunnels and cathedral like spaces. Apparently it only takes 20 minutes to inflate, is hand made by a team of 5 people over 4 months and is glued together! It can withstand about 100 inflations and after a couple of years is shredded up and recycled.

It does remind me a little of Olafur Eliasson's amazing installations that were at the MCA early in 2010. These images below are from Eliasson's exhibition. There is definitely a similarity don't you think? I loved that exhibition too - it was an absolute treat for the senses.

 


I'm off to buy my tickets now - only $10ea. Total bargain!
For tickets of your own go to the Sydney Opera House website ~ its called "Mirazozo Architects of Air"...

♥

Ornament Swap

So - I've joined a swap. I've always wanted to do one of these, but could never find the right one, or join up in time or didn't think the theme was for me. And then I found this one on Freshly Blended - an ornament swap!

Here are my ornaments. I made them from some brightly coloured wool felt I had and then machine stitched them. I actually made some other ones out of modeling clay but didn't like the results so I went for something manageable in the short time frame I had left. Cut off day for sending is Friday 10th December. I think I'll make it just in time! Can't wait to receive mine in the mail from the lovely people all over the world....

p.s. In real life they are not so horrible and bright! The camera on my phone is not known for its award winning photos...

hello C-Mag!

C.Mag#5 Front Cover

I'm really enjoying all the lovely e.mag's that are about at the moment. I do still like to turn paper pages and hold something physical in my hands, but an e.mag is a nice change.

Here are some Killjoy birds in the latest Corporate Culture magazine. The nice thing, is that if you hold your cursor over the birds, a weblink pops up that directs you to this blog! Nifty huh? Check it out - C-Mag#5. Online now!

Full image double page spread in C.Mag#5 > birds on top of white box drawers!

Other e.mags I have been enjoying include the new Sweet Paul - lovely food photography, gift ideas and recipes. Its aimed at Northern Hemisphere peeps, but its great all the same...

Sweet Paul e.mag

And the other e.mag I've liked is Gifted from Creature Comforts. Again - lovely photography, gift ideas (with those great weblinks), crafty features and yummy looking food. I saw lots of gifts in there I'd quite like myself AND downloaded some great gift tags from one of the page spreads!

gifted e.mag

I think I am now starting to feel Christmas in the (cold and wet) air!

birds on a blog

Its always exciting when someone writes nice things about you. Nicky from Neck of the Woods, where I sell my birds - wrote a lovely post about handmade things and featured my birds. If you'd like to read it - just click here. Thanks Nicky - Neck of the Woods is tops!

p.s I think there are still a couple of birds in the shop if you're after one! If not - contact me on madebykilljoy@gmail.com

Birds in Belle Magazine!

Well, technically they are not IN Belle Magazine - but they are on the back of the magazine!! In Gloss! Very excited.

Can you see them?? On the right hand side, on top of the sideboard. Two little birds! They may also pop up in C mag - Corporate Culture's industry magazine - in this photo and another one. But that won't be until next year

I am interested in see how many enquires I receive after this exposure. After they were in AWW, which was about this time last year actually - all enquires went through Pulp. This time - I am hoping they will come direct to me through Corporate Culture.

Fingers crossed I don't run out of legs....

Flap Flap

I could be on the home stretch with my birds - which is very sad  ☹

We are nearly all out of the branches we use to make little bird feet and legs. It seems like, unless I come up with another ingenious solution to making them, then I might be only making about 10 more birds. And then thats it!

The source of our bird feet and legs was a fallen tree in our backyard. God knows what type of tree it is (we rent see, and didn't plant the tree) and we stumbled upon it by chance whilst gardening. I knew this day would come - but I don't think I'm ready to move on yet....

Here are some of the most recent birds I have made - I'm liking long legs at the moment. Maybe I am wishing that I too had long legs?

 

jewellery too...

Did you know - I make jewellery too?

But these days, I don't really get the chance to make much. This is made from heat treated titanium on a sterling silver chain.

I should list it on etsy. One day...

part of the flock...

new birdies hanging out with some of the older birdies

long weekend projects

It has rained most of the Long Weekend - but we enjoyed it! It brought out our Spring Cleaning spirit strangely enough!

We planted more vegies in our little vegie patch and they look lovely. God I hope they grow!

We made more legs for the 10 birds I made this weekend (including the toucan). That's right - I made 10 more new birds! I feel like I am maybe catching up on my bird making duties!

I re-photographed the birds I had already made, because quite frankly - the original photos were a bit *crap*. This time I used a 75 - 300mm lens which blurs the background but makes the subject sharp and lovely. 

Here is the before and after shots...

BEFORE SHOT

AFTER SHOT- MUCH NICER!!

The last shot is much truer to colour and the light is even. The background is my wooden paling fence in the backyard. Do you think the second is nicer??

Oh - and I finally photographed one of my little mice. I have more of these to finish too, but its always the final hand sewn details that slow me down. I always put it off and thats why I take so long to finish my birdies and mices. 

how to make a toucan??

I promised to make my mother a bird.... and she asked for a toucan. A toucan!
Have you seen what those birds look like?? They are truely amazing - but how the bloody hell do you make one?

I have started on some research. I found lots of beautiful images on google but I like this one best...

I also like these two...

Its amazing how they blend into the tropical forests. I found some excellent info on Toucans at this site. Did you know that their beaks are hollow and can grow up to 45cms in length? Amazing.

Here I am on the kitchen floor starting to work out the pattern. Planning on making the beak hollow and stiffened with lots of interfacing. Should be done by Christmas I reckon!  

I'm so far behind on all my birds. When people ask me for one, I quite seriously tell them there is a 12 week wait! But yesterday I made 4 birds - and they are now just awaiting legs and feet. And a leg ring label. And and and...

remembering summer 2009 ....

it feels a bit like summer right about now....
the washing was hung on the line by 8am and was bone dry by 9am,
the strawberry plants are hanging heaving with little strawberries not-yet-ripe,
and the grass is going brown already....

In the summer of 2009 we had an amazing holiday up the coast around the Bellingen district ☀

We drank champagne, floated in the river, played bocce on the rolling green fields and flew a mean kite in strong onshore winds. It was magic!

We were very clever with the Holga when we took this. A fancy double exposure done in-camera ( okay, okay - and a tiny bit of digital editing after it was scanned... )

we'd both go back to that day in a second. It really was magic ♥♥

secret birds I have not shown you....

These little guys have winged their way down to Pulp Creative Paper.
Maybe they are still there for sale... maybe they are all gone? Either way - they are very cute!

The flippy winged wren at the top has a cute frilled chest, the middle black and white sparrow is made from patchworked fabrics and the floppy tailed wren above has a double sided tail that also stands straight up and is leather on one side and wool felt on the other... Fancy!!

I really must get cracking and make some more...

I also have some mice. But I'll show you those later on in the week....

listing on madeit.com.au

I decided to list my pendants on madeit. Although I must say that that the photo's don't look so crash hot - I will have to re- photograph them :( 

Maybe they will sell? 

Maybe I should list them on etsy instead? 

I'll give them a couple of weeks I think...

birdie pendants

I like clay. I'm not very good at using it, but I like it!

I've tried porcelain with not alot of luck (very tricky stuff and wasn't so sure about the firing. How do they get it so white?). I've tried earthenware clay. Now i'm playing with Paper Clay (which is just like earthenware but has some paper pulp mixed through it)

I've also discovered oxides! My favourite is magnesium oxide. You paint it on, wipe it off leaving it in the lines etc, fire it and voila - instant loveliness!

These are some bird pendants I made. I'm really happy with how they turned out. Think I might list them on etsy. Or maybe madeit? I'm thinking $15 each...

Holiday activity...

I finally finished my crochet-ed blanket! I have been looking at this incomplete blanket for YEARS and on account of it being freezing in Sydney this winter, I decided it was high time I finished it.

Okay, okay - so its not very big but I genuinely ran out of wool and I can't find it in Spotlight anymore. Thank God really! I couldn't bear to do anymore.

But I think it looks quite good, and its actually quite warm. Here it is on my wicker chair, on the moss covered patio.

I have also been playing with the fancy school DSLR and took this pretty picture of some camelia's from the front garden in the kitchen when - shock horror - the sun was shining in through the windows

We have also been to the Paddington Reservoir. Have you been there? It is amazing. It is like a hanging garden hidden in Sydney on Oxford St. Bliss! Go there with a picnic - how nice!

(me at the Reservoir)

(see! Beautiful!)

Finally.... an etsy listing

Here is my etsy shopfront. I have finally listed some fabric birds online. I am hoping to sell one or two myself. If not, I will take them to Pulp and I know they can sell them!

The photo's aren't wonderful because the light was fading. I had borrowed the lovely school camera (Canon EOS 1000D) but it freaked out, won't format the memory card and stopped working. Very sad. Looks like it will have to go back to Canon for repair now :(

Here are some clearer pics of the birds for sale in my shop....

Can I please have....

....all of these lovely things from Marimekko 'In Good Company' range? Please??

source: http://www.marimekko.com/ENG/interior/kitchen/ingoodcompany/frontpage.htm

We saw them today at Nordic Fusion whilst I was trying on clogs. Both the clogs and this chinaware are wonderful! I ordered the clogs (bright red ones!) but left the cups behind.... 

Oh how I love them....

Brett Whiteley Studio

Have you been here??

image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotodudenz/48237305/

I have never quite been able to actually find 'The Studio', but today Jay and I went Surry Hills for a creme brulee and strawberry tart from Bourke St Bakery and just happened to park in a little lane next to the gallery. So in we went....

image: www.brettwhiteley.org

My art teacher was obsessed with Brett Whiteley when I was at school. All she ever banged on about was "Brett, Brett, Brett". I remember the day he died in 1992, because she sat in class and wept and then spent a double period making us look at slides of his work. And I never liked them....

I have been converted! The works on show of his at the moment are beautiful. they range from browns, oranges and taupes to big blue ones and ink collages. Its the big blue ones I never really responded well to, but in person they are all stunning, layered, textured pieces filled with surprises like dead stuffed animals/birds, nests, hand written letters and magazine images cut out and stuck onto the canvas. And it all works. I wanted to rush home and paint (I didn't - I had a nap. The brulee tart really wore me out!)

I will go again! They are infinitely better in real life - of course!

Brett Whiteley, Woman in Bath 1964

Also titled (Woman in Bath 4 - from Marlborough Gallery, 1964)

Oil, collage, tempura and polyvinyl acetate emulsion on board

183.1 x 218.7cm; signed 1.1. 'Whiteley'