P A U L    M A C H N I K !

For the last two weeks Dhapanbal and I have been working and learning from the lovely and inspiring Paul Machnik and the gorgeous lady Bess who came all the way from Montreal in Canada for a week workshop in Cairns and then followed us home to Yirrkala for another weeks workshop at the art centre. This is in Cairns - just me and Dhapanbal got to go and sit in the clean tidy BIG printing space that is Djumbunji Press and I even got to make my own art alongside Tacee from the Torres Strait and local printmaker artist Hannah. It was a great week - to be in a new studio and see some new great technique as well as, of course, getting some shopping done ...  I am going to post some photos of the week here too but later ... so for now ... 

Dhapanbal and Paul 

i made her pose

with Bess at the press

in progress - and once printed

done on perspex - very cool

me 

big space and oh-so-clean

peeling up - new technique for sugar lift on aluminium plates

print nerd excitement 

 

so that was that - here we are in mirrors - we had a fun week 

L A N D M A R K S   P R O J E C T 

The Landmarks Project is a cross-cultural print based exchange between four Native American artists and four Indigenous Australian artists in a two week workshop based in Australia and a two week workshop at the Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, America ...

The original location for the australian workshop was at Northern Editions in Darwin but due to funding restriction the location was moved to the print space in Yirrkala, North East Arnhem Land - yes us or ME to be exact ...  so for two weeks in March we had the artists staying in Yirrkala and working in the art centre where they learnt the techniques to cut bark and grind ochre to make paint and wind the cotton around the hair to make brushes and generally exchange with the artist not only from our region but two artists from Tiwi - Marie Josette and Praxi - and an artist from the desert - Alma 

The american artists came from all over - Jewel from Canada, Dyani from Minnesota, Chris from Chicago, Marie (and her whole family including grandparents) from New York and lastly Bill - a master lithographer from the Tamarind Institute and a pro-filer ... him and me did a lot of giggling at the press together ...

During the two weeks we took our guests for a day trip to Dhaniya, trips to the bush and beach and cooked them fresh kangaroo in a fire pit, introduced them to damper as well as a weekend at Garrthalala - a homeland - where the community welcomed us and showed us around and later danced for us while we cooked up sausages to feed the lot ... and in between all of that action everyone made art  - the print space was loaded up with everyone working hard and even in late into the night to ink up and proof up - 

Chris

Bill

discussion

finished proofs

Alma

Josette

lunch break - Josette and Praxi

Jewel and Dyani

Barayuwa demonstrating grinding the orche to make paint

collecting gapan ( that is Adam - Marie's husband taking the photos !)

and stripping the bark off the tree

before burning it 

Garrthalala

Marie and her two daughters

Jewel in fish trap

 tour

veranda at Garrthalala accom

pointing

Josette makes damper 

Josette and Praxi relax 

oyster collection

Alma on the rocks 

 Dyani - six months pregnant !

pointing 

picnic

bbq

 pointing

 dancing

 so ... think it was successful ... it was exhausting !  but everyone was so great and this weekend Djirrirra and myself are off to A M E R I C A to learnt the fine art of lithography at the Tamarind Insititue in New Mexico alongside Josette , Jewel and Dyani for two weeks -  amazing  - the end of which we overlao with Marie, Chris, Alma and her brother Otto who arrive to spend 2 weeks there after us -

have i mentioned lately how busy i have am ...?