Uploads from GRACIA + LOUISE

THE MAGIC FLUTE

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Mon, 21 May 2012 02:21:18 -0700

Welcome to a world where animals dance and children fly. Where princes battle dragons and hope battles despair. To a world where ideas matter, and music saves the day.
(The Magic Flute, Opera Australia)

Recently posted Elsewhere,
From Fanja
"Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet"
A little house
A Tuesday Evening Good Things list
A fine quartet, said the Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Dancing bears

BLACK-FACED CUCKOO-SHRIKE

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Mon, 21 May 2012 02:21:18 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

I sighted said Black-faced Cuckoo-strike (Coracina novaehollandiae) in the garden yesterday. I can't recall ever having seen one in the backgarden, even though they are common. It is sometimes referred to as a Blue or Grey Jay. It even answers to the name Cherry Hawk, or so my handy field guide to the birds of Australia tells me. They are known to have a musical voice, which I think makes them sound particularly clever. They make regular autumn-winter migrations inland.

Recently posted Elsewhere,
From Fanja
"Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet"
A little house
A Tuesday Evening Good Things list
A fine quartet, said the Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Dancing bears

I GAVE THEM BACK THEIR HEARTS BROKEN

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Mon, 21 May 2012 02:21:18 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison
collge
2012

Natalie from the University of Ballarat sent the following questions to us: Q & A

A FINE QUARTET OF NEW CARDS

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Mon, 21 May 2012 02:21:18 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

"Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet." (French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, 1873-1954)

The above quote seems a good way to introduce you to our four new greeting cards available now through our online store and featuring Gracia's postcard collages. I enjoy your company, With rainfall and thunder close behind, You're in my sights, and Guiding me home have printed up beautifully. These four collages were amongst my particular favourites when exhibited as part of By This Unwinking Night, along with some yet to appear on her blog (owing to the fact that there are hundreds). I am proud as punch to present these to you.

Recently posted Elsewhere,
From Fanja
"Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet"
A little house
A Tuesday Evening Good Things list
A fine quartet, said the Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Dancing bears

A FINE QUARTET OF NEW CARDS

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Mon, 21 May 2012 02:21:18 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

At last, she cried. New cards, four of them, are available through our online store. Those of you savvy, of which I’d say a great many of you are if not all, will recognise this early morning autumn scene in Melbourne. On my way to RMIT, to sit in a tiny room and assess artistic outpourings of those studying the art of oils and collage, I pass this alumni courtyard flanked by the Old Melbourne Gaol. Louise and I took the opportunity to make the most of the beautiful clear morning and from thus set to photographing our brand new cards. To our left, someone else was making use of the Gaol’s wall, and was photographing a series of masks in the old barred windows.

Thank-you. We greatly hope you will enjoy these liberated animal cards, and offer new homes to convict zebra (Equus Burchelli), goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), lion (Panthera leo), and Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri).

Recently posted High Up in the Trees,
Intended for writing and mailing without an envelope.
Foursome Friday.
A different pattern.
Manufacturing a rough sea.
Delight.
I plant a wet kiss upon your cheek.
"Umwelt"
A lion once fell in love.
'Velicate', 'drift', 'glide', and 'sing'.

MANUFACTURING A ROUGH SEA

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Mon, 21 May 2012 02:21:18 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

Dear you,

If I were to knock upon my neighbours’ door I should not be surprised if it were answered by an elephant upon an earth compactor. I would not an eyelid bat at what to you may sound ridiculous spectacle. For you see that is the noise they make as they clomp, clomp, clomp about their house. They step heavy as an elephant in a tiny urban space. Not that elephants are loud by definition. Nor are elephants not full of grace in my books, with their graceful swing, swing, swing. But perhaps an elephant in a place not quite to their natural fit, perhaps they would sound like this heavy tread I am by day and night subjected to. Now that I ponder my subject further and with big stick prod at it to see what lurks, perhaps these ‘imagined’ elephants are on stilts. Not being the most gymnastic of old birds, an elephant on tall stilts walking about the house, now this, this would be noisy. This is what I shall picture. Either that or a whale crashing and thrashing about. What say you?

Yours with cotton wool in the ear and a frown creasing the brow,
X

Recently posted High Up in the Trees,
Intended for writing and mailing without an envelope.
Foursome Friday.
A different pattern.
Manufacturing a rough sea.
Delight.
I plant a wet kiss upon your cheek.
"Umwelt"
A lion once fell in love.
'Velicate', 'drift', 'glide', and 'sing'.

THE SAME AS IT EVER WAS

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Mon, 21 May 2012 02:21:18 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

Dear you,

'Slacks'? Really, 'slacks' is the word not the item of clothing that for one week the New Yorker have cheekily said no to? Of all the words I do not like, 'slacks' does not feature high or indeed anywhere on my list. That word for the casual trouser, for me, it is one I like to say and wear. I could not, for example, sit at the café Fish Fly By without them. Rather than list those words that I do not hold a fondness for, here are several I do fancy for both their sound and meaning.

'Vellicate'. To touch (a body part) lightly so as to excite the surface nerves and cause uneasiness, laughter, or spasmodic movements. The verb 'hibernate'. An animal or a plant spends the winter in a dormant state. Add to that 'vicissitude', the alternation between opposite or contrasting things, like seasons. 'Glide', 'drift', 'slink', 'night', 'sing', 'eyelids', and 'wowser'. These are words I like. And 'coffee', I like that word too. It's a word to drink if ever there was.

Now, when will you join me for a roasted brew and perhaps some cinnamon toast?

Yours, Blue Java blended,
X

Recently posted High Up in the Trees,
Intended for writing and mailing without an envelope.
Foursome Friday.
A different pattern.
Manufacturing a rough sea.
Delight.
I plant a wet kiss upon your cheek.
"Umwelt"
A lion once fell in love.
'Velicate', 'drift', 'glide', and 'sing'.

POSTCARDS FROM FANJA ARRIVE BY POST

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Mon, 21 May 2012 02:21:18 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

One of the things I love about blogging today is one of the things I loved about blogging when I began in January 2006: the conversation with friendly faces the other side of the screen and the camaraderie. Arriving by post from Fanja, a selection of handsome postcards that you will soon see sporting new collaged addition and perhaps a narrative too. Thank-you, Fanja, for posting such loveliness, reminding me that of all the things I love about blogging, the friendships formed is what I value most. As so often happens, this parcel arrived when needed, a friendly little pick-me-up from across the way.

Recently posted High Up in the Trees,
Intended for writing and mailing without an envelope.
Foursome Friday.
A different pattern.
Manufacturing a rough sea.
Delight.
I plant a wet kiss upon your cheek.
"Umwelt"
A lion once fell in love.
'Velicate', 'drift', 'glide', and 'sing'.

ARTWORK BY FANJA ARRIVES BY POST

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Mon, 21 May 2012 02:21:18 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

Recently posted Elsewhere,
From Fanja
"Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet"
A little house
A Tuesday Evening Good Things list
A fine quartet, said the Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Dancing bears

OF CURIOUS DREAMS...

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:26:49 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

Gracia Haby
postcard collage
2012

Dear you,

The autumn finds me preparing to hibernate. Summer tucked away, I am early to bed and early to rise, making most of the light by day and chill by night. I am skimming through The Handy Book of Object Lessons by J. Walker as my tea simmers and bubbles on the hotplate, and learning all manner of things. The first types of soup, why, they contained the hippopotamus. True, I kid you not. The hippo was chief ingredient in the soup pot of 6000 BC. My soups, they begin with browned onions and garlic. To my pot, I’ll add thyme, parsley, savoury lovage, and the bay leaf too. My cabin it be good friend to spice. To peeled spud too. Little will not for a fine soup make. Watch out! Look sharp!

Yours pyjama clad already,
X

Recently posted High Up in the Trees,
Le Rocher Blues...
Of curious dreams...
Depart. Some wildness. Return.
That green clearing.
After this romantic excursion.
The Wonderful Easter.
Done and dusted, well and truly.
Sunday splinters and wicked sprites.

GOOD CAMOUFLAGE IS OFTEN HARD TO FIND...

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:26:46 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

Gracia Haby
postcard collage
2012

Recently posted High Up in the Trees,
Holding the moon, almost...
The year is 2002.
Until astonishment fades...
Computer network fail.
Speaking, nattering, chattering.
I am not a Luddite; I have a blog.
Unvarying.
Nice Music to Polish Metal.

WITH ONE TRIUMPHANT SWING

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:26:42 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

Gracia Haby
postcard collage
2012

Recently posted High Up in the Trees,
Le Rocher Blues...
Of curious dreams...
Depart. Some wildness. Return.
That green clearing.
After this romantic excursion.
The Wonderful Easter.
Done and dusted, well and truly.
Sunday splinters and wicked sprites.

GUIDING ME HOME

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:26:39 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

AMONG SUCH COMPANY

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:26:36 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison
artists' book, unique state, featuring collage elements and pencil
2012

Today, I have a recent collaborative artists' book to share that now features many new inhabitants. Across the page you can now see collage elements by Gracia and handdrawn elements by me. I have drawn a Little Eagle (Hieraaetus morphnoidbs), an African Pygmy Goose (Nettapus auritus), an Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus), a Grey-backed Finch-lark (Eremoptryx verticalis), a Lichtenstein's Sandgrouse (Pterocles lichtensteinii), an Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus roratus), a Fiery-throated Fruit-eater (Pipreola chlorolepidota), a Pin-tailed Manakin (Ilicura militaris), a Saffrom Finch (Sicalis flaveola), a Black-and-rufous Warbling Finch (Poospiza nigrorufa), and a Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis).

Do you think I drew these birds before or after Gracia glued in her collaged areas?

The original book features plastographical photos by Max Skladanowsky. It would have come with a pair of 3D glasses (though our copy didn't) to enable the anaglyph images to come to life.

Recently posted Elsewhere,
Winged
Little Claude
Green detour
What goes up...
Comes down
Towards the end
Mr Percy
Among such company
Flexing our talking wings
Nice Music to Build Dreams

AMONG SUCH COMPANY

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:26:33 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison
artists' book, unique state, featuring collage elements and pencil
2012

Recently posted Elsewhere,
Winged
Little Claude
Green detour
What goes up...
Comes down
Towards the end
Mr Percy
Among such company
Flexing our talking wings
Nice Music to Build Dreams

DAD

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:20:48 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

As I wait for my parents to return from their wild and sound filled, colour soaked travels far across the seas, few could doubt that the stock I hail from is not of nostalgic sentimental leaning. I have a bookshelf bedecked with postcards they have sent my way from New Orleans, and, by glory of the iPad age, a plethora of tiny music videos. Photos of the two of them nestled in the plane's cabin, homeward bound, appear as an electronic garland in my inbox. The above photo, however, is one my Mum sent me before their trip. It is of my Dad with his scout mates and it is the one photo where my Mum says she can see where my cheekbones come from. That’s my Dad, there, looking over his shoulder. Third from the left, he is the one with the dark head of hair and long skinny legs.

Recently posted High Up in the Trees,
Le Rocher Blues.
Of curious dreams...
Depart. Some wildness. Return.
That green clearing.
After this romantic excursion.
The Wonderful Easter.
Done and dusted, well and truly.
Sunday splinters and wicked sprites.

THIS IS WHERE THE DORMOUSE LIVES

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:20:45 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

Gracia Haby
artists' book

My friends, this second peep at THIS IS WHERE THE DORMOUSE LIVES completes the cover to guts tour. This individual King Penguin is home to many an animal familiar faced and less so. From woolly lemurs prancing to dog bats swinging and sea otters inquisitive, it seems the Isle of Wight is home to great many, and to enchantingly curious quotes too.

Recently posted High Up in the Trees,
Holding the moon, almost...
The year is 2002.
Until astonishment fades...
Computer network fail.
Speaking, nattering, chattering.
I am not a Luddite; I have a blog.
Unvarying.
Nice Music to Polish Metal.

THIS IS WHERE THE DORMOUSE LIVES

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:20:42 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

Gracia Haby
artists' book

Recently posted High Up in the Trees,
Le Rocher Blues.
Of curious dreams...
Depart. Some wildness. Return.
That green clearing.
After this romantic excursion.
The Wonderful Easter.
Done and dusted, well and truly.
Sunday splinters and wicked sprites.

CLAUDE

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:20:39 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

Louise Jennison
2012

It seems appropriate to follow on from this post so green with a drawing of a winged friend. Here, above, is a drawing of little Claude, a most energetic, acrobatic and talkative little white Budgerigar with pale blue markings around his belly and tail. He passed away earlier this year and is very much missed. We buried him beneath the white flowering snowflake clematis by the kitchen window.

Recently posted Elsewhere,
Winged
Little Claude
Green detour
gracialouise.typepad.com/elsewhere/2012/04/comes-down.html
What goes up...
Towards the end
Mr Percy
Among such company
Flexing our talking wings
Nice Music to Build Dreams

NICE MUSIC TO BUILD DREAMS

nobody@flickr.com (GRACIA + LOUISE) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:20:36 -0700

GRACIA + LOUISE posted a photo:

Gracia Haby & Louise Jennison
collaborative collage
2012

Recently posted Elsewhere,
Winged
Little Claude
Green detour
gracialouise.typepad.com/elsewhere/2012/04/comes-down.html
What goes up...
Towards the end
Mr Percy
Among such company
Flexing our talking wings
Nice Music to Build Dreams