Trish, Editor, Writer and Music Lover

Trish is the person behind the 'gem' of a local mag. "Talking Heads'.

The magazine is full of 'feel good' stories and all sorts of information about what is happening around the local scene.

She started the mag. in 2002 and publishes monthly. The readership is around 8,000 and although Barwon Heads focussed, is appreciated by readers far and wide.

View from the office

What inspires you?

The opportunity to produce ethical, creative & honest media & communication.

What drives you to produce what you do?

Mostly the need to earn a living at something, as above, creative & ethical.

How would you describe your creative process?

Hit & miss and possibly channelled from a higher source as I often wake up with what I need when I need it.

What handmade item do you cherish most?

A cotton jumper that was knitted partly by my mother before she passed away, finished after she’d gone & when I wear it I feel close to her

Besides your creative work, what else do you do, and like doing? 

Running live music gigs with independent musicians who write all their own material. Cooking.

Which artist, writer, designer or craftsperson (living or dead) do you admire?

Gaudi, Dali, Somerset Maugham, Robin Boyd, Joan Lindsay

What was the last book/magazine that you purchased?

Jamie’s Italy

What can make your day?

 Music, kids laughing.

There were lots of laughs and fun to be had at a Zine Workshop at Queenscliff in 2011

What is a favourite quote or saying?

'I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.  I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live.'  ~George Bernard Shaw

To contact Trish or more info   Talking Heads Magazine

Ryan Brearley, Painter

What inspires you?

The simplicity of well-made ceramics and the way that light falls upon them. Bicycles and Biggles!

What drives you to produce what you do?

To have people value the beauty in things and attempting to capture moments that often go unnoticed.

How would you describe your creative process?

Thoughtful and explorative.

What handmade item do you cherish most?

A tiny, brown stoneware butter bowl that was given to me when I was very small. I was so taken with it while lunching with friends one day that they let me keep it

The tiny stoneware butter bowl

Besides your creative work, what else do you do, and like doing?

Spending time with Natasha and my closest friends, riding both my bicycles- but not at the same time, reading, collecting all sorts of things, going to plays and concerts, having picnics, flying kites and playing rounders, visiting galleries wherever I am in the world, playing board games and talking to our cats. 

Which artist, writer, designer or craftsperson (living or dead) do you admire?

Morandi, Eric and Macdonald Gill, Tristam Hillier, Lucien Freud, Cpt W.E. Johns.

What was the last book/magazine/music that you purchased?

Treadlie magazine, The book Conversations with David Hockney by Martin Gayforan and music, Amy Winehouse Lioness: Hidden Treasures.

What can make your day?

Riding my bicycle under the plane trees on St Kilda Road... arriving at the NGV in style!

What is a favourite quote or saying?

Two quotes come to mind, both from the French artist Balthus (1908-2001).

The best way to begin is to say: Balthus is a painter of whom nothing is known. And now let us have a look at his paintings. (This was in response to a request for biographical information for a catalogue).

I always feel the desire to look for the extraordinary in ordinary things; to suggest, not to impose, to leave always a slight touch of mystery in my paintings.

Ryan's latest work can be seen at the Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts, 26 Ackland Street St Kilda Victoria, as part of the 2012 Linden Postcard Show, from 4 February until 17 March.

You can also also read Ryan's musings on The Tweed Rider, a little project that his friends and fellow bicycle-enthusiasts have created for fun.

www.tweedrider.com.au

Ryan's work can also be found on the walls of McKenzie Ebbles Foodstore, Hobson Street, Queenscliff

ME , Hobson Street, Queensclif, Victoria.

Anne Barclay, Mother of the Smiley Momos

Anne has come to making these dolls in an around about way. She was originally collecting fabric scraps of mohair to make a quilt out of them but found them unsuitable for this purpose. As a knitter she had a doll pattern in the archives that she liked, and thought instead of knitting a doll, why not adapt the idea and construct a doll out of fabric?  And so the Smiley Momos were born. Every doll and smile is different, every little character assumes a personality as they are carefully stitched together.

As well as her dolls, she constucts collage assemblages and at present is knitting a beautiful 'cobweb' of a scarf in fine 2 ply Italian grey angora (below) that is breathtaking!
  

Anne's Momo Story

"Once upon a time there was a little grey haired lady who collected bits and pieces of mohair.
One day she said to herself, 'what will I do with all this mohair?'
She decided to make little people with big happy smiles, hoping that they would bring smiles and happy thoughts to young and old and in the middle human beings.
Smiley Momos were born.
Since that day they have been adopted by babies and toddlers, children of all ages, grumpy 60 year old blokes, 90 year old grandmas, well people and unwell people and every one inbetween.
Momos have been posted across the seven seas and one, like Paddington, was lost at Flinders Street station. I'm certain s/he was adopted into a good home.When the little old lady sews the red smile on, every momo takes on its very own character and personality, and she thinks of Guisseppe, Pinnochio's grandfather, in his workshop.

Soft and cuddly smiley momos are guaranteed to wish you good morning, kiss you good night and keep you smiling all day long."

What inspires you?

Curiousity, affection and kindness

What drives you to produce what you do?

Colour, pattern and smiles.

COLOUR  Detail of Anne's shopping basket.

How would you describe your creative process?

Serendipitious

What handmade item do you cherish most, why, significance, story?

A pair of assymetrical jade and gold earrings handcrafted by a Vietnamese refugee in the early 1980s. (He was not permitted to practise as a jeweller in Australia.

Besides your creative work, what else do you do, and like doing?

Walking, listening to birdsong.

I also dabble with collage and pastels and am a published poet in various literary journals and anthologies.

Poetry reading at Portarlington Pub 2006

Which artist, writer, designer or craftsperson (living or dead) do you admire?

 Henri Matisse, artist; John Berger, writer.

What was the last book/magazine that you purchased?

I am presently reading Paul Keating's 'After words' and loving it.

Anne's Collage Artwork



What can make your day?

The antics of sparrows.

What is a favourite quote or saying?

'Each pine at dusk
lodges the bird
of its voice
perpendicular and still
the forest
indifferent to history
tearless as stone
repeats
in tremulous excitement
the ancient story
of the sun going down.'

from 'And our faces, my heart, brief as photos', by John Berger

Annes "Momo Dog" Edith on her Alpaca Rug

Anne's Smiley Momos can be found at ME, Hobson Street, Queenscliff, Tussock, Point Lonsdale, 135 Gallery and at the QUARC Market, Point Lonsdale, Victoria

She can be contacted on mobile 0418335714

Suzanne Cronin, Silversmith

Suzanne first picked up a jeweller’s torch in high school and has been dabbling ever since.  

She attained a Silversmithing and Jewellery Degree (Hons) in London where she won a merit award for her designs from The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths.

Recently setting up a workshop in Australia, she returned to her passion, silver. 

The Bell of Queenscliff

Charm Pendant

In 2011 Suzanne was invited to participate in the group exhibition The Moonah Stand.

The following are exerts from her Catalogue The Moonah Stand-Jewellery:


"The Moonah pieces are primarily 925 sterling silver, some with a hint of resin, latex or enamel. This range evolved because I was given a seed pod off a felled Moonah from Victoria Park, Queenscliff...Sitting on the mantelpiece for a year, I was drawn to the little branch and decided to cast in Sterling Silver."

"Colours of the latex inclusions in the pendants are ingrained in my memory of the Victoria Park trees but not for the reasons you might think. Plastic ribbons tied to the trunks denoted that tree was to be felled. When? That depended on the colour...The presence of bright latex and resin in some pieces serves as a reminder to me that the hand of man is imprinted here."

"It's (the bright latex) a sharp contrast to the organic silver casting. In fact, the bright colour seems out of place...Just like a pink ribbon on a tree perhaps?"


Suzanne's Maker's Mark is TLC which stands for The Laundry Collection.  The icon inside the C pays homage to her front-loader!

What inspires you?

I am inspired by my life and what unfolds around me whether that be family, community or the materials I have available to me at a given point in time.  My style, for want of a better word is therefore constantly evolving and changing.

What drives you to produce what you do?

I thrive on challenge, I always have done.  I see each piece as a creative challenge I have to conquer.  Turning an idea, that pesky little thought that won’t go away,  into a piece that is aesthetically pleasing yet technically perfect is the goal.  Each piece is different and has its own nuances.  I am driven to find perfection, my Holy Grail, unobtainable yet so alluring. Hence, I am fastidious about the finish of each piece.

How would you describe your creative process?

Trial and error.  Actually, a lot of error then epiphany.  I latch onto an idea and it stays with me and the process of breaking it down to a working piece can take years or a day.  I manipulate my metal, I sketch, I ask opinions of the family, I sleep on it, I dream about it.  My best work has been produced as a result of satisfying a dream.

What handmade item do you cherish?

Probably the wrong answer but I have to say, everything I make.  I feel so privileged to be doing what I am, each piece I produce it a testament to the journey that got me here and I cherish each and every one.

I will say I have a box of my mother’s letters that are very dear to me.  She documented my life and our relationship through her writing for a period of 15 years until her death.  I know letters may not be thought of as handmade, but in this computer age I can tell you a lot of time and love went into her words using pen and paper.

Besides your creative work, what else do you do, and like doing?

I’m at a period in my life where I like investing time with the family doing family activities.  Oh, and there is a small interest I have in computers but more and more, even that is becoming part of my creative work.  My challenge there is to conquer Computer Aided Design.

Which artist, writer, designer or craftsperson (living or dead) do you admire?

I saw an early ring by Georg Jensen and the simplicity and mirror finish have stayed with me as an object of desire and a standard to aspire to.  I have always admired the designs of Wendy Ramshaw especially the Picasso's Ladies series.  Deborah Brearley is a constant target for my admiration, seemingly effortlessly waving a magic design wand to every project she touches from drawing to painting, printing, quilting, animation and the rest!  The work of sculptor Damien Elderfield takes my breath away.

What can make your day?

When a teenager or young adult spontaneously says my work is “awesome” or “that’s really cool”.  It’s one thing to happen in the family, increasing my cred with the children but another experience altogether when a total stranger says it.  Either way, magic!  Makes me feel like I’ve struck gold.

What are you currently reading?

Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks which a book club read but I do enjoy her books.  It was also an e reader experiment.  I was given a Kobo reader for Christmas and I loaded the whole reading list for book club 2012.  Now the challenge is to actually get them read.

Latest magazine subscription:  Frosting  (a jewellery not cooking magazine!) 

Frosting is just to keep me up with current Australian jewellery design trends.  I also like examining the photography as I photograph my own pieces.

What is a favourite quote or saying?

Carpe diem

 

Set up for photographing the finished works

If you want more details about Suzanne and her work visit her website: The Laundry

If you'd like to see the full catalogue mentioned in this post click this link:   Moonah Stand Exhibition Catalogue
Suzanne has a solo exhibition opening February 9th at House Gallery, Queenscliff
To contact Suzanne email:      Thelaundrycollection@gmail.com

                                               www.thelaundrycollection.blogspot.com