This painting was such a delight for me to paint with the blue, blue sea in front of our house and the sailing boats for inspiration, added to some photographs of the beach area  locally and then my imagination did the rest.  Obviously it is a really windy day and the title of this painting is “Holdfast at Holdfast” as Holdfast Bay is the council area that takes in the beach suburbs from Kingston Park to Glenelg.

SUMMERTIME ART EXHIBITIONS

Now it will be part of an exhibition organized by the Holdfast Bay Discovery Centre in Mosley Square, Adelaide, South Australia which opens this coming week and will continue until March 2014 called the Bathing Box Project and the Sea Change exhibition.

Some of the other artists taking part are Jim Kinch, Margo Miles, Cat Leonard, Tim O’Shea, John Hamilton and a couple of artists still in school Macy Newman and Anna Foley who already shows great talent.

ARTISTIC SEA CHANGE

This ART exhibition celebrates the local beach environment and that summertime feel and the launch will include the reprint of the book produced by the CHB History Centre titled Sea Change as well as the opening of the Bathing Box Project.  Which is a bathing box from yesteryear that has been lovingly been reassembled on site and features vintage bathing costumes and paraphernalia and beach shades.  You are invited to dip your toes into this snapshot of seaside life from the 1900 to the 1960 for the price of a gold coin donation.

BATHING BOXES AND BEACH HUTS

Bathing Boxes, beach cabins or beach huts as they are often referred to are a small often brightly coloured wooden box which featured on the beaches in Australia an idea the settlers took with them from England originally.  These beach huts can be privately owned or owned by the local council.  The privately owned beach boxes can sell for an amazing amount of money and in Melbourne they are priced between $60,000 to $210,000 dollars.  However take a couple of hours drive from there to Portsea and the bathing boxes the size of a small garden shed will set you back nearly $600,000.  The same sort of money needed to buy 2 modest houses in the outer Adelaide suburbs!

That’s a lot of money to pay for what is essentially just somewhere to change into and out of your swimming cossie, perhaps spend a little time sheltering from the sun, wind or rain and also storing your belongings whilst you cool down in the sea.    Some people have more money than sense I think!

THE ART OF MORALITY

The bathing boxes in Brighton, one of the seaside suburbs in Melbourne famous for them, are known to have been there since 1862.  They originally were constructed to preserve the modesty during the Queen Victorian period.  Just recently in 2003 the Queens beach hut in Norfolk was destroyed by fire, this building had been in the Royal Family for over 70 years.

ARTIST TRACEY EMIN AND THE SAATCHI ART COLLECTION

Also recently the British “bad girl” artist Tracey Emin sold her Whitstable beach hut to ART collector Charles Saatchi (Nigella Lawson’s husband) unfortunately this hut was later destroyed when a fire broke out in the warehouse where it was stored.   Tracey is a very interesting and confrontational artist, part of the group known as the Britartist or YBAs (Young British Artists) she has used a lot of different mediums in her art as well as tried many art forms such as painting, photography, fabrics, bronze sculpture, neon, monoprints and found objects but is probably most known for her installations.  The most talked about is “My Bed”, an installation consisting of her own unmade dirty bed featuring stained bed sheets, used condoms, empty cigarette packets, dirty knickers – this was also bought by Charles Saatchi for the Saatchi  Art Collection as were her famous “tent” called “Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963-1995” which was a blue tent where the names of everyone she had ever slept with were appliqued all over it (this work also perished in the Saatchi warehouse fire).  So her artwork is always controversial and challenging and Tracey is collected by many well known stars such as George Michael, Ronnie Woods, Madonna, Elton John and models Kate Moss, Jerry Hall and Naomi Campbell to name a few.

SELF PORTRAITS AND BATHING BOXES

So going full circle which brings us back to the subject of the bathing boxes  where Tracey took two self portraits naked inside her beach hut, a diptych called , The Last Thing I Said To You Is Don’t Leave Me Here I (2000) and The Last Thing I Said To You Is Don’t Leave Me Here II (2000).

I can assure you though that the bathing box on show here in Glenelg is tame by comparison but certainly worth a look and reminisce about times gone by.

Till next time happy painting, sculpting or just reminiscing!

Love Marie xxx

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALEand SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN LIVING ARTS FESTIVAL

The Sala Festival or South Australian Living Artists Festival as the acronym stands for is just that;  a showcase for us artists that are not dead yet!  LOL, so that’s a good thing right, a club well worth supporting for as long as you can.

The concept I believe was thought up by Paul Greenaway, from Greenaway Galleries as he thought we celebrated the dead artists at the detriment of the living.  You know it is the old saying of “You do not know what you got until it’s gone” so true isn’t it?

This year will be the 14^th year since the festival started and each year around August we here in South Australia look forward to the buzz and excitement of exhibitions and shows everywhere.  I mean literally everywhere. (Here is a link to another ART blog & Sala show in the MID NORTH)

ARTISTS GALORE

There will be 4,132 amateur, emerging and established visual artists participating in the 2011 Festival with some 543 venues statewide, ranging from art galleries, art studios, public spaces, cellar doors to cafes and restaurants.  Just about anywhere you look there will be an exhibition to see, whether it is up in the hills or on the plains in the city or by the sea.

Don’t think that you won’t find something  that you like either as every taste is catered for; traditional or cutting edge and in any medium too – painting, ceramics, textiles, photography, sculpture or mixed media.

Sala has also organized city lunch time artist talks, weekday walking tours, bi-lingual cycling tours and this year has thrown into the mix a Saturday night Moving Image tour as well.

This year I will be exhibiting at the Waverley Homestead together with a very talented glass artist Glenn Howlett, who works out of his studio in Willunga.  Glenn has been involved in making the trophies for the Tour Down Under ( which if you missed it is part of the world circuit for the Tour de France Bike race – where we now can claim one of our own with the recent win of Cadel Evens)

Glenn has been making his glass art since the late 1980’s and has exhibited both interstate and here and I really look forward to see what he has come up with this time.

Our show is called “KALEIDOSCOPE” which does describe both our works perfectly so come & have a look.  You are all invited to the OPENING, where you will find bright and colourful ceramics & mosaics, paintings, sculpture, giclee prints, mixed media and glass.  Something to make you feel good Enjoy!

SATURDAY 6^th AUGUST  2011 at 6.30pm

At  WAVERLEY HOMESTEAD

ST. PETER’S TERRACE, WILLUNGA,  SOUTH AUSTRALIA

To be opened by Amanda Rishworth M.P. (member for Kingston) and the exhibition will continue each Saturday and Sunday from 11 am – 3 pm until 28 August.

So now you are wondering how the STARS come into it – well that stands for Southern Theatre and Arts Supporters and their mission is to foster a diverse and vital arts culture in the southern region. They are the people responsible for this art exhibition as well as lots of other fantastic cultural events in the area relying on volunteers and always looking for new members willing to lend a hand.  Why not visit their website STARS and perhaps get involved.  Their other activities include advocating for the arts, bringing in events, creating strategic partnerships to strengthen the art community, developing artistic skills as well as providing access to the arts.

Here is a quote I like by Oq Mandino (American essayist & psychologist);

“I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxxx   (C)

Why not come and have a look at Marie Jonsson-Harrison’s PAINTINGS FOR SALE, GICLEE PRINTS FOR SALE and SCULPTURES for sale or WALLBASED SCULPTURES.  Enjoy an original artwork on your walls or perhaps one on your bed ARTnBED.