another step closer...

all hands on deck

checking out the driveway being fixed up...lots of trees down :( once it's finished it will almost be a duel carriage way!!

morrie and james measuring out the shed site down the hill

and inside we have started the bathroom demo!!! now the tanks are all full it seems only right to finally get a bath in for a good soak at the end of a long day!! so goodbye ugly tiles...

and crazy cement....

and random plumbing....will keep updating...

in the garden

while little A sleeps away I run to get some other things done. it's a tricky balance but I need to either rest my mind and stare into space or stimulate it and get something done!!

so weeding between all the bulbs we planted has been on my list of 'to-do's'. I rushed to get a fence up and around them all about a month again because the rabbits, kangaroos and possums were so hungry up here before the rain last month, they were coming right up to the house and eating everything. EVERYTHING!!! they stripped a special tree we had planted too, I was getting ready to sit out there at night to scare them all off- but I just got organised and put up a wobbly fence instead.

since Archie was born...

a ridiculously in love dad...

measuring his foot has been as close as I've got to my tools or the shed to get jewellery done...

post pregnancy runny eggs and avo...at last!!!!

eyeing off some lush tiles and drooling over the glaze...photo does no justice to how vibrant they are...

the pom pom rug continues to be worked on, although it might be a wall hanging because the thought of baby vomit (or the like) tends not to inspire...still unsure of how to work the colours. but doubt it would be a rainbow...also stealing pompoms for other things and secretly want to make a whole cardigan covered in them anyway...

sweeping outside and moved a pot plant- found a scorpion...thought a 9ct ring for size reference might be cooler than a matchbox...

Archie getting tired of posing...

got into the shed, dusted off the tools and got to it. these will be heading to Craft this week...got some bangles and a couple of necklaces done too...yippee

a little bit distracted....

So I finished up at the wonderful Craft and had cake to celebrate maternity leave...

had a much shorter time between work and baby than I thought...you never can tell when they will turn up I suppose and pregnancy should have taught me that I've little control over things...here's a snap of the food at the hospital. vegetarians are pains in neck aren't they!?

but then we finally met our beautiful little man Archie. three weeks early and every bit as divine as he looks in this picture. and while this blog will remain a jewellery blog it may now have a few little helpings of this little dude, because I reckon he'll be pretty inspiring for me.

Getting ready for Signature Style 2013

Have been super busy getting back to work, being away, figuring out this whole pregnancy thing and getting back on top of jewellery generally not to mention the exhibition that we have on next month! Here's some progress shots after catching up with the ever lovely, talented dani m and trading some work.

We went to Munich

For only a week!! Freezing cold and so much fun!! Will find more photos to post soon!

and new studio space...two benches!!

farewell old house hello paradise

Dell Stewart at Westspace

This show is SO good!! Dell you are a genius!!

Presented in West Space’s back-space, this project is populated with handmade instruments, tools and other objects of use. Basic furniture; a chair, a table, a light, a kind of bastard wunderkammer, a microcosm and museum of recent works.
Musical instruments, porcelain serving platters, occasional finger foods, costumes, tools and coddled plant life comingle in a workshop setting. Pursuing an obsession for objects with mystery and purpose – or least suggested purpose and potential mystery – creates a series of curious gatherings with ritualistic possibilities. The exhibition will allow both the artist and the audience to entertain the promise of a suggested, unspoken narrative. The changing relationships and instances of documentation build up a kind of field guide to living with things.
The works in the space become the subject of further work, documented for an online publication to be updated during the show. This will feature drawings, video, animation, performance and conversation. It’s an attempt to chronicle the various instances and possibilities of these things, while rejoicing in the quotidian detail.
Dell Stewart has organised and participated in numerous solo and collaborative exhibitions, working with print, textiles, ceramic, sculpture, drawing, animation and installation. Her work features recurring motifs and symbols in a broad range of media, creating a personal symbolism, suggestive of memory and elementary connections. She was born and raised at the end of a dead end road in the mountains of North Queensland where she learnt self sufficiency and a do it yourself outlook. Interested in tools, patterns, nature, exchange and mysterious things.

Stevie Dreams

Dream, written by Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, is the inspiration for artist Kirsten Perry in her exhibition Stevie Dreams. The lyrics have long remained a mystery to the artist, but as she listens to it over and over again while working in her studio, she feels she is getting closer to discovering a meaning. Through an exhibition inspired by interpretation of the lyrics a series of objects will be created including ceramic rain drops, a large sheepskin wall hanging, illustrated hand made tiles, and video element.
Fleetwood Mac formed in 1967 and had the majority of their success during the 70’s and 80’s. Currently there is a big craft resurgence influenced by those times. Craft practice and the wonky hand made objects are a big part of Kirsten's work. It introduces a comical element and allows people to build a relationship with strange but funny objects. The lyrics to Dreams are serious but the exhibition will bring a lighter edge to the song. 'Heartbreak, after all, can be pretty heavy and learning to laugh at our selves brings some relief to our problems.' (Kirsten Perry, 2012)

I went along to the show this afternoon and fell in love. A calm cool space with plants and ceramics by Kirsten- there isn't much more that could make me happier!!

some work w dani