The Ramblings Of Linden Langdon

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Birthday In London

Monday 30, October

Being a procrastinating mother I have left posting Ross' birthday present until today - his birthday. So unless super sonic high speed telepathic transportation is about, I guess my pressy will be rather late. But, Happy Birthday Ross, have a beaut London style birthday!

Back To Drawing

Monday 30, October

The television has become my latest source of drawing material. It is often quite a challenge to grab enough time to get the detail of a face that makes the person individual. I don't know how long it will last, but at the moment I'm trying to do one a night, just for the exercise! I remember a drawing teacher once saying that the TV was a great source for sketching material, and as long as the person is one for more than a few seconds, as is often the case, you really can get plenty of time to get some sort of drawing done. But of course if all alse fails there is aloways the other poeple who are watching TV with you!

Kaye Green Exhibition

Monday 30, October

There is a general whisper about the city of Hobart at the moment, and it usually starts something like this.. "Have you seen the exibition..." but you don't need to hear anymore as you know they are talking about Kaye Green. This is an exceptional show. Pulling together works spanning the 80's to the present, the exhibition is rich with the development of an artist in her chosen fields of lithography and drawing. Artist books, rich and colourful oil crayons and gentle ink drawing sit easily beside the delicate lithograph washes beautifully mastered with chine colle. The title, "seeing the same moon", beautifully introduces the story of her life long relationship with Japanese parents whom she first met as a student on a year long education stay.

The work will be on show until Sunday november 12th and the gallery is open daily from 10am to 5pm. The Carnegie Gallery is located upstairs in the Maritime Museum, 16 Argyle Street, Hobart.

Pottery Plus

Thursday 26, October

Firstly please excuse the quality of the pottery photos, they were taken with my mobile phone which seems to be ever handy when the digital is left at home! But yes it is pottery class on Wednesday nights. It is interesting to have a different teacher this term (adult education run their classes in terms) as Jude Maisch has quite different approaches to working. We were frantic last night trying to do as many of the example methods of slab work she dished up before time was up. I didn't get any of the work done that I needed to do from last week, like glazing the bisque fired pots and turning the leatherhard pots, but I did manage to squeeze in a couple of slab works. Two projects utilised the slab roller to create uniform slabs. One lot turned into the object you can see in the photo on the right, which is supposed to resemble a leather satchel, and the other slab I used to punch out two tiles with the groovy tile punching machiney thing. The more pottery I do, the more I enjoy it! And of course I managed to squeeze in one freeform dish.

Meanwhile back at the print room this morning it was as frantic as half time at a soccer match as everyone finishes up their print work in preparation for the examinations. Of course I had forgotton this detail when I had booked the press in the postgrad room. Despite a wall separating the main print room from the smaller postgrad area, it is amazing how much the activity affects what you are doing. The dust for example, on a busy day drifts up and over the wall (it doesn't go to the ceiling which is very high in the IXL building) and settles quite thoroughly all over the prints that I have just laboured over. It is fine bits of paper or fabric or something, and mostly it will come off when the print is dry, but some will stay and annoy me further. The noise is the other of course, not that anyone was too loud and chatty today as they were far too busy concentrating on their work, but more the general noise of movement and paper tearing and machinery operating. Night is by far the best time to be in there, when everyone has settled in at home in front of the television, and only a few people can be heard in the whole building. One set of steps is always the security gaurd, doing his rounds, perhaps conforting, but sometimes a bit spooky too! Wonder what's on telly tonight...?

ps... the Peggy mentioned at the start of article is also the Peggy in my previous post - circles...circles...

Peggy's Rose

Sunday 22, October

Today a little rose brightened up the dull day. I have been trying to get a cutting of this rose to take for nearly ten years now. It was originally just a cutting, but a special one for me. It was given to me by a lovely lady by the name of Peggy. I worked for Peggy, cleaning her home and working in her garden. Her house needed careful care as she had become allergic to most modern prodcts, so I cleaned with vinegar and polished her beautiful timber furniture with a blend of lemon juice and olive oil. The house always sparkled after I had worked, proving the point that alternatives are just as effective and so much better than the chemical cleansers we buy out of habit.

Anyway, back to the rose. We often walked about the garden, Peggy pointing out the jobs for the day, and on one occasion she described how she had detailed the very rose bush and parts of the garden she wanted her ashes to be spread in. One rose, my rose, was in the area. It is such a superb gentle rose. Delicate in colour, soft in form and sweet in aroma. So my cutting grew, Peggy died, my rose thrived, I moved, and here is the circle of my rose cutting, flowering for the very first time - tiny, but alive. My rose is my memory of Peggy.

New Work

Saturday 21, October

I spent the day working in at uni while Steve worked at home adding some new images to my art website! There is a selection from the range of prints I have been doing over the last few months. "Casuarina Whispers" is the first piece that I think I can say is a finished work for my masters - phew! I think it is going to be a long road to complete the degree, but it is all challenging and interesting, and that has to be what it's all about.

Still Here (Perhaps)

Thursday 19, October

It feels like time is racing with me on a minute to minute basis and I'm definately not in front! Life just seems to get in the way of being an artist at times! Well lots really. My long suffering partner said tonight "are you all right - it seems like your somewhere else?"... Well I am really, in a sense. All over the place actually. At the moment I'm working through a number of works which are assemblies of themes and ideas. This is extremely thought consuming, as the technical approach, details of the images, physical issues, colours and myriad of otherness is all worked out - usually in the head with the help of a few sketches in my journal and some experimental prints. It is hard to disconnect from the experiment and allow the filtering glimpses of something come through the grey matter. The trouble is that you just never know when one of these flashes of new direction will happen - it may even be when I'm doing the dishes, and trying to listen to my long suffering partner! I promise to be attentive, I promise to be attentive, I promise to be attent...

Everything is starting to move for the upcoming exhibition in Melbourne (which is still burning up quite a bit of grey matter just quietly) and I am told that Melissa Loughnan has sent off the information to the Art Almanac magazine. Actually this is the first time I've had a look through their website and it is full of good links and information. I especially like the gallery listings - nice and neat! Anyway, I'll have to pick up a copy next month and see how it all looks it the big wide world!

Also taking up some space in the 'top' room is the next presentation for the research higher degree group. This is happening on Monday and I'm speaking last which means everyone will be wanting me to hurry up so they can go home! I'm trying to be concise, but it is hard to keep it short and be effective as well. Basically this time round it is an update on how work is actually progressing. I've got plenty of 'works in progress' which may or may not look anything like the finished result - hard to say really. These are the flashes of inspiration I keep seeking and internalising to sort out from all the other 'stuff'

So, people dear and close to me, my sincerest apologies for absent minded moments, blank expressions, disturbing sense that I want to be somewhere else, bad driving moments (just in case), restless dreams, being glued to the computer, and generally missing... I am reminded of Marja-Leena's posts from about this time last year when she was preparing for her solo exhibition - and I take note of her wonderful prcoess of list making!

My Exhibition In Melbourne

Sunday 15, October

I guess it's time to put up the invite for my exhibition in Melbourne! Melissa Loughnan has been very busy looking after all the managing type stuff that goes along with an exhibition, which is a huge relief for me! She designed this beaut invitation which is off at the printers at the moment. I left it entirely up to her to choose the prints she wanted to use for the invitation, which was great for me as it is too hard to select from an objective perspective (for me anyway). So, the details are...

• Linden Langdon, solo exhibition
• Curated by Melissa Loughnan
• For the Ballan & Pannan Gallery
• 731-735 High Street, Armadale, Melbourne
• Opening at 6pm on the 8th of November and the exhibition continues until the 2nd of December. You can get a sneek preview on the 7th.

I'm going to be there on the opening night, so if your in Melbourne in the month of November, come along and see the prints live!

Examination Exhibitions

Sunday 15, October

There are a few exhibitions happening about the place for postgrad students who are completing their degrees.

• Selwyn Stein, Fine Arts Gallery, Hobart, Opening 5.30pm 18th October until 20th October.
• Chris Paton, Fine Arts Gallery, Hobart, Opening 5.30pm 8th November until 10th November.
• Phillip Freeman, Plimsoll Gallery, Hobart, Opening 5.30pm 16th November until 17th November.
• Johnrey Humber Fine Arts Gallery, Hobart, Opening 5.30pm 22nd November until 24th November

Etching With Vinegar

Thursday 12, October

Yes vinegar! The catch is time though, because this experiment has lasted over a month. My interest in etching with vinegar was stirred about 6 months back when a friend mentioned that she had seen etchings in Russia that had been done in a mix of vinegar and salt. My further enquiries at the time led me to conclude that there was no doubt a missing ingredient to make the etch happen. However, Ad Stijnman (who is a member of the printmaking list I am in) asked for some volunteers for an experiment in etching with only vinegar and salt. So I had another go at it, this time with the third ingredient of time.

We all kept in touch over the five weeks and I began to droop a bit when it seemed that mine was doomed to failure due to the lack of acidity in the vinegar I had used. I must admit I'm not really a technical type person, so my eyes tend to glaze over when the conversation turns to chemistry, but basically I get the picture that the salt, which was about a third in volume to the vinegar, wasn't really doing much, and it was all down to the vinegar. So my weak vinegar was appearing to do little apart from creating a lovely clean looking line where I had marked the plate, while everybody else had exciting things happening like blackening of lines and stuff.

But, and it's a big BUT, when I took the plate out of its jar of vinegar tonight I could feel the slightest groove, so off came the ground, on went the ink and staright through the press! And there it is! Another couple weeks, or a month or more, would probably have achieved a deeper line, but I think with a firmer ink (it's really hot here today) I think the little plate will produce a print that you could say is a real print! Which I think is really great fun! And NO acid! If you google Ad's name you will find quite a few interesting articles he has written about safe printmaking.

HIP Exhibition Opening

Tuesday 10, October

I put a few pictures of the exhibition opening at Morning Toast Gallery up on the Hunter Island Press website. The book, which was produced in a collaboration between HIP and the Eastern Shore Writers for the Tasmanian Living Writers week in August, is on display there too. It was a challenge to photograph, being so long! So it is only a taste really, but a great project to be involved with. The exhibition runs until October 22nd, and the Morning Toast Gallery is located at Glaziers Bay which is about 45 minutes drive from Hobart into the Huon Valley.

Tulip Festival

Monday 9, October

Saturday was tulip festival day at the Botanical Gardens in Hobart. The gardens hosted a number of foodie tents and some local talent showing off their music and dancing skills. It was with an international flavour with Japanese and Flamenco dancing, Taiko drummers, Navy band and the energetic Swing dancers. Stages were set up in various spots amongst the spring flowers making it an enjoyable day!

The Taiko drummers feature frequently in events around Hobart, and the age of the drummers is always impressive - some must be only about 8! I think it originally started with a university group, but I'm not sure about the details these days.

New Print: New Direction

Friday 6, October

Yesterday I managed to find the right moment to print a plate I etched a week or even two weeks ago! Maybe more! Anyway, it has been slow to emerged for a few reasons. One being that I have been really concentrating on finalising another work, which I will post on my main art website soon, and another reason is that I have been puzzling about how to print it! The piece that it is intended for is a dress, well one of a group of dresses, which alter through the group. Anyway, the plate itself has dictated to me how to print it, rather than me printing it according to my initial perception of how the print would look. So, it has ended up as a print which has been double printed with both intaglio and relief, which has a shift in position between the layers. So it is a new direction for me, and hopefully I will be keeping it rolling to complete the piece, now that it has started!

Drying Herbs

Wednesday 4, October

It is spring and that means that the herbs are growing and tender new tips are sweet and yummy! Perfect time to dry some for the sparce months. I've taken to using my dehydrating machine, although it was traditionaly just hung in bunches to dry. Of course the machine is run on electricity, which is it's biggest downfall! With the machine the herbs are chopped up and ready to go into a container after a number of hours, rather than days or weeks. I think this helps to reatin some flavour. But you can't beat the earthy look of herbs hanging in the kitchen window, so maybe a few bunches will make their way to the curtain rod yet...

Matthew Watts

Wednesday 4, October

Matthew Watts is the current exhibitor at the Ballan & Pannan gallery. Melissa Loughnan is curating the show, and you can check out some of Matthews work on her website. The exhibition runs until November 4th, and the gallery is at 731 High St, Armadale, Melbourne.

Moving Art

Monday 2, October

Patiently I wait for the removalist truck to arrive and take away my crate full of art for the November exhibition in Melbourne. I must admit it is good to have it out of the house, the dining room in fact, and up on the driveway. Of course it had to be unpacked and repacked up there, as it is too heavy to carry. Which was the problem it seems for all the transport companies I called when I tried to get some comparative quotes for the job. It seems that it was placed in the too hard basket for most business', although I can't really understand why. So it boiled down to one company who was willing to do the job, but they need one month to get the crate across the Bass Strait. It must be a formidible stretch of water! Remarkably, or perhaps unremarkably, the gallery has work arriving from Norway in much less time. However, if they get the job done, all will be smiles in the end! It is just another unfortunate tale of reluctant service that seems to plague our state.

Surf's Up

Monday 2, October

This is the second print I have done for the Year of the Surf Lifesaver. Organised by Impress Printmakers in Brisbane, this is a cooperative exhibition of prints from five printmaking groups. Impress in Brisbane, Warringah in Sydney, the Newcastle Printmakers Workshop, Printmakers Association of Western Australia and Hunter Island Press in Tasmania. This collaboration opens up the possibility for this exhibition to be traveling throughout the year of 2007 around Australia. Impress has already organised a number of galleries in Queensland including the Robyn Bauer Gallery in Paddington, Brisbande, where the exhibition will be opened in February, then heading up the coast as far as Cooktown! I'll post all the galleries and dates closer to the opening night, next year. Impress have a great website and you can see some of their work in the "Roll On" online exhibition.