Borders #2 - Blog Art Journal

I have just completed  more work on another corset. - no 3 in the series for the exhibtion "Crossing Borders". For background information, please read a previous post.... 
Borders #1 
This corset has been painted with black and pewter acrylic and the lacing and buttons  have been replaced with wire. The corset with an edging of  authoritative, overpowering words  - silence-segregate- subvert - suppress- subdue- stifle-spurn represent the border and the boundary which still needs to be overcome to achieve gender equality. 

Inside in graffiti style paint  is the slogan #MeToo

The Me Too movement is a movement against sexual harassment and sexual assault. #MeToo spread virally in October 2017 as a hashtag used on social media in an attempt to demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace. (Wikipedia) 

I added exaggerated wire breast covers to the front of the corset to further my statement that even with all the recent publicity, contemporary culture still idealises and stereotypes feminine beauty and our obsession with the ideal prevents us from crossing the border to recognise and respect equally  the achievements of women.

Coincidentally, the completion of this particular work happens on a day when the first big celebrity has been convicted and sentenced for crimes of sexual assault since the beginning of the #MeToo movement. 

While this  series of corsets is quite different from most of my previous art work, it is a topic I have been exploring for quite a long time. In 1995, my Master's thesis was entitled " Shattering the Glass Ceiling in Educational Administration". 
Has very much changed?      

Tarry Awhile in Tassie

Australia/NewZealand Rotary Conference 2018. Hobart, Tasmania 

Last week  was a very welcome break from routine .... a short conference in Hobart with a little bit of sightseeing.  I attended the 2018 Australia/New Zealand Rotary Conference with my friend, Pam  and we were certainly inspired.

 My favourite speaker - Peace Scholar, Stephanie Woollard, CEO of  "Seven Women" 

Rotary District 9670 Dinner 

Panel Discussion - Be The Inspiration

Of course, we packed into our spare time as much sightseeing with our Hobart friends as possible - it was fun from the very first welcome to the airport to platypus spotting on the last day. 

Hobart Airport Welcome 

Hobart - wet and cold ! 

Hobart - 30 minutes later 

Sculptures in Hobart 

Remembering the convict history in Hobart 

Penguin art at Mawson's Huts

Botanical Gardens 

Huon Pine at Botanical Gardens 

The Female Factory Hobart 

Bonnets exhibit, The Female Factory Hobart

Yarn  and Craft Shop in Geeveston

Sighting platypi - Platypus Walk Geeveston

And we saw one - Platypus Walk , Geeveston.

Thank you, Tassie, we will be back ...

A Day for Peace

When I heard that 11 September was the date for me to nominate a Tag Tuesday theme, I immediately remembered that fateful day in 2001 when the whole world seemed to stop and change with the terrorist attacks in USA. And so my theme is PEACE.

 My first tag for peace ( above)  is  hand drawn with felt tip marker and coloured pencils and depicts some images of peace for me. This tag is inspired by the totem paintings of Sandra Silberzweig, but my tag drawing is not as refined or as detailed as hers. This was just like a children's colouring-in exercise so very calming and peaceful! 

The second is simpler - a photo transfer with a stitched paper and white-washed collage foreground on top of a magazine page . An alphabet stamp was used to create the word. I hope you think it looks like a peaceful scene? 

And the third is really, really simple. I cut out an image from a magazine advertisement. I wrote the message with pen and ink, and cut out a "peace symbol' to paste onto her sunglasses lens . Literally, a five minute tag! 

Today is a day for peace, so hopefully these little tags will inspire you to create something peaceful yourself....  make a tag or card with a message of peace, sketch a drawing,  do some stitching, fold an origami crane... or just sit and read, look at the view outside,  cook a favourite recipe or just enjoy a cuppa . Peace to all!'

It's Time for Tag Tuesday

Fussy cut  pattern on a text background, with hand stitching-  WS 

The current theme at Tag Tuesday  is TIME/CLOCKS, nominated by design team member, Joan who prepared some great tags as inspiration. Sometime ago, I cut very carefully these white rabbits  out of a piece of paper... I loved the  pattern design of the shared ears being part of the central chessboard. This seemed a good time to find it in my stash and create a round tag for this challenge. I continued with the Wonderland theme, and remembered the Mad Hatter announcing "It's always tea time!" so here is another tag inspired by that saying... watercolour and ink drawing with photo transfers and text an fabric.

Watercolour pencil and ink drawing ( Alice) , photo transfer ( trees and quote)
 onto text background paper, with fabric. WS 

Please visit Tag Tuesday for  contributions from other tag artists who have interpreted this theme.

Australian Father's Day

Today it is Father's Day in Australia and in New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.   It is celebrated in June by a majority of countries in the world, but in fact, Father's Day is celebrated somewhere in the world  most months of the year ( only exceptions are January and April). In the Middle Ages in Europe, Father's Day was celebrated on St Joseph's Day, 19 March. 
( From Wikipedia) 

And here are some other facts about Father's Day...

• Father's Day was inspired by Mother's Day
• Sonora Smart Dodd, a woman living in Spokane, Washington, believed that if mothers got a day of recognition, fathers deserved one too
• Father's Day in USA  didn't become an official holiday until the 1970s
• It's fourth-biggest day for sending greeting cards & flowers after Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Mother's Day (from Interesting Facts...) 

Wherever you are in the world, have a great day and spend some time doing what you love with the people you love.