Being an art tourist in Sydney.

I was lucky enough to have 5 days to wander around Sydney as a tourist and decided to focus on exploring some of the art in the city.  Naturally, I only had the time and the energy to discover a fraction of what the city had to offer, but I really enjoyed what I saw and got a lot of ideas for new pieces in the future. I would really recommend doing something like this to all artists.  It is a great way of becoming educated about a city and about the works of other artists, while gaining a lot of inspiration.  I visited the main art gallery, naturally.

People often do not think of museums as drawing those interested in art, but I also  discovered a lot of art inspiration in Sydney's museums. In addition, I found a lot of art in the streets and parks in the city.  I even got inspiration in some of the shops I visited. 

 

 

( detail from Sydney Long's "Pan" in the Art Gallery of NSW)

The Wendy Whitely Secret Garden in North Sydney.

 

Just down the hill from our flat, we found the Wendy Whitely Secret Garden.  Wendy Whitely was married to the artist , Brett Whitely, and while being his muse, she also had a lot of her own creative talent.  This talent is manifest in the garden she has created from derelict land close to Luna Park and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and overlooking Lavender  Bay. 

  

 

 

 I loved it for its beauty,

 

  restfulness in the middle of a large city, and the little surprises we kept discovering. 

 

 

 

 It is the perfect place for those who want to paint, draw or photogaph, or simply just wander or sit.

 

The Museum of Sydney.

 

 

 

The museum of Sydney is not a large one and is on the site of the old Government House.  Unfortunately, it gives an extremely condensed summary of the history of the city, so it isn't really very helpful for keen history buffs.  When we were there, it had an exhibition of Superhouses of the world, but I was far more interested in the Ginger Meggs exhibition which covered the artists involved in the cartoon, the development of his image and much of the memorabilia associated with the character.  Visitors were invited to draw Ginger Meggs, so if you think you are good at drawing comic characters, here is your opportunity.

 

The Australian Museum.

 

This museum was much larger, and is the oldest museum in Australia.  In many ways it reminded me of the museums of my childhood.    I came across some lovely examples of fossils

 

 

 

taxidermied animals and skeletons

 

 

insect collections

 

 

and displays of Australian indegenous culture,

 

 

- all of which I found inspirational. I took lots of photos to use in my work.

 

The museum also had some very nice pieces of art and craft as part of its display.

 

 

 

 

In additon, the museum encouraged children to participate in creating for themselves and responding to exhibits.  The ones I saw there seemed to be having a ball.

 

The Powerhouse Museum.

 

The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences or the Powerhouse Museum, is huge.  In some ways, it is not my type of place since a lot of the displays are to do with science, technology, space and transport, which I am afraid, I have limited interest in.  However, it also has displays associated with the decorative arts and design.  I was particularly impressed by the exhibit "A Fine Possession: Jewellery and Identity"  which examined various types of jewellery and the place jewellery has in human life, in different cultures and at different times throughout history.  Some of the clothing on display was so intersting too. 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't , however, find the exhibition "Collette Dinnigan: Unlaced"  particularly thrilling.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps I was comparing it too much to the exhibitions by fashion designers, Sass and Bide and  Jean Paul Gaultier.  The dresses seemed a bit lacking in imagination and artistic uniqueness.  Or perhaps, it just didn't reflect my taste.  Other women seemd to be entranced by it.

 

.  However, I did love her idea/colour boards

 

 

 

 

The Museum of Contemporary Art.

 

This imposing and enormous building did contain some nice pieces.

 

 

 

 

 but on the whole, the exhibitions weren't to my taste, and often seemed very amateurish, and sometimes, a bit pretentious.  However, I saw that an exhibition of the work of one of my favourite artists, Grayson Perry, is coming up, so perhaps another visit would change my mind..

 

 The Art Gallery of new South Wales.

 

My favourite Gallery was the Art Gallery of New South Wales, established in 1871 and containing a lovely mixture of works from many cultures and times.

 

 Artists included  Jumaadi ( The Bridge to Alengka)

 

 

John Olsen ( Five Bells)

 

 

Zhang Xiaogang (Big Family Number 4)

 

 

Brett Whitely (Woman In Bath IV)

 

 

George W Lambert (Mrs. Helen Beauclerk)

 

 

Montien Boonma (Untitled Two Acts II)

Grayson Perry (Map of Truth and Beliefs)

 

Like many galleries today, there was a craft table set up for children.  As usual, adults were using it.  This is the bird I drew while I was resting my feet.

 

 

  I would gladly visit this gallery again.

 

Craft NSW.

 

I accidently discovered Craft NSW whilke exploring the Rocks  and was utterly charmed by the enthusiasm of the craftmakers there.  I was really drawn to some of their pieces too.  Sorry, I didn't record the names of the makers.

  

 

 

 

 

Shops.

 

As well as galleries and museums, there are quite a few interseting shops for artists, if you know where to look.  Thanks to two of my friends, I found some particularly exciting ones. The first is Kinokuniya bookshop which has an incredibly good collection of books and magazines, paper, manga, etc,  but also has its own gallery.  While I was there it was exhibiting Beastly by Animals. 

 

The second was a button shop, "Buttons Buttons Buttons at the Rocks" which is oh so tempting.  I have no idea what I will do with the buttons I bought but I love them.

 

 

The third was "Parkers Sydney Fine Art Supplies". Simply wonderful for art supplies.

 

In the streets and parks.

 

And , art and inspiration can be found as you wander.  I found this little sculpture along the boardwalk at Lavender Bay.

 

 

 

These windows were in the Queen Victoria Building.

 

 This Faun was in the park beside the Sydney Opera House. 

 

 These sculptures adorned a fountain in Hyde Park

  

 

And this interactive bamboo structure was opposite Circular Quay

This was in the Rocks

 

 

as was this.

 

 

I don't know why I don't do what I did in Sydney in my own city, Melbourne.  Perhaps responsibilities get in the way?  Or, perhaps, I keep thinking I can do it any time and never actually get round to doing it.  I should.

 

 



Papermaking with Gail Stiffe.

 

 

I recently was lucky enough to be invited to do a workshop learning how to make paper with three other students under the tutelage of Gail Stiffe.  Unfortunately, I arrived too late to participate in the first part of the lesson, but Gail and the other students, Julie, Marisol and Teresa, were kind enough to forgive me and fill me in on what I had missed.

 

Firstly, paper and cotton scraps from the State Library were mixed with cornflour ( which makes it easier to write on the paper and makes the paper stiffer) and water.  If you have a Hollander Bitter Kritter (by Mark Lander) like this one, the paper cotton or plant material can be pulped easily, however a vitamiser or paint stirrer will also pulp the paper.

 

 

The next step was to pour some of the pulp into water in a tub.

 

 

Next, we had to put a damp sponge onto a lid which could hold a bit of water run off,

 

 

 

 then  put  piece of fabric on the sponge and smooth it on so the fabric was dampened.



Now, a mould ( a frame with mesh) and deckle ( the frame that sits on the mould and creates the edges of the paper) were inserted vertically into the stirred tub

 

 

 

and raised horizontally to catch the pulp, jiggling it to spread the pulp evenly, and drain off the water.

After this, the mould and deckle were turned sideways to drain off the remaining water.

And, the next step was to remove the mould and turn the deckle face down onto the fabric, and press the edges and wire firmly.  After this, the deckle could be gently lifted off,  starting with one side, leaving the paper on the fabric.

 

Another sheet of fabric, or lace or other patterned material was now placed on the paper and the process repeated over and over again. (The paper takes the print of the material, so you can create textured paper by using textured separators, like lace of embossed plastic,or doilies).

 

 

However, using a textured deckle can also leave a pattern of the paper.

 

 

If the paper seems too thin , just add a little more pulp to the tub and stir it in. 

 

 

If you want the paper to be thin, don't use the mould.

 

 

We were also taught how to make coloured paper or textured paper by adding paper dye, seeds, glitter, herbs and or grasses to the tub.

We even learned to make multicoloured paper, by using a thin layer of one colour on top of another, and then creating patterns with a patterned deckle, your fingers, or adding a pattern with a mould.

 

 

Once about 12 sheets of paper had been made, another sheet of fabric was put on top of the pile and the pile was gently lifted on to a board.  Another board was put on top

and the resulting sandwich  pressed to remove  as much of the water as possible. ( Bricks or heavy weights can be used if you don't have a press.)

 

 

Once most of the water has been removed, the sheets of paper were carefully removed from between the fabric pieces.  There are two ways to dry them thoroughly.  In the first method, the paper, still attached to its top sheet of fabric is gently placed on cement board and gently rolled with a paint roller to squash out more water and attach the paper.

 

 

 Then, the fabric is gently peeled off.

If you want more imprints, leaves or some other sort of pattern making device can be placed between the paper and the board.

 

 

The finished board can be left to dry.

 

The second method is to hang 3 or four layers at a time on the line.

 

Once the paper is dry, peel it gently off the fabric and flatten it by either pressing it between books, or ironing it.  Now, the paper is ready to use.

I really enjoyed the workshop and my companions, so looked forward to learning how to use the handmade paper to make books in the next workshop.