For an artist Adelaide in South Australia is a wonderful place to live, it is a buzzing metropolis for the arts with various festivals and exhibitions and excitement.   We just manage to get over Christmas and then it starts again with the Adelaide Fringe which is the largest annual arts festival in the Southern Hemisphere.  It’s on for 24 days and nights and starts in the middle of February and spills into March – March itself is known as mad March as we then also get the WOMAD ADELAIDE which is a world music festival and also the a tad more highbrow Adelaide Festival where you can catch a performance like The Ring Cycle by Wagner.  Added to the mayhem of March is also Symphony under the Stars and the annual Clipsal 500 which sees the racing car drivers from all over the world descend on little old Adelaide to go round and round and round.  Mind you they arrive hot on the heels of the Tour Down Under which saw all the bikers fresh from Tour de France, who always seem to have to slog their way up impossible hills in 40 degrees of burning sun, their reward is to be celebrated and join in to all the festivities the city has to offer and that is plenty.

This photo was taken at the SALA award night by talented Adelaide photographer Julie Camilleri from Captured in Time Photography.

THE ADVERTISER BUSINESS SA CONTEMPORARY ART PRIZE

This sculpture is called “The Last Catch” and a little unusual for me as normally I am always doing colourful ARTwork, but sometimes it is nice to surprise the audience a little.  It was selected as one of the finalist in The Advertiser Business SA Contemporary Art Prize for the most outstanding work in any medium in another of the famous Adelaide Festivals called SALA which stands for South Australian Living Artists – so it is for those among us that are not dead yet! LOL and if you want to find out more about that Festival here is a link:

FRINGE FESTIVAL

In any case one of my personal favourite is the Fringe Festival, it is a little more grungy, less high brown and more edgy with performances from artists of all kinds from all over the world.  It usually features over 4,000 artists with more than 900 events that are staged in pop-up venues lanes, unused buildings, warehouses, parks, restaurants, theatres, hotels, art galleries and cafes.  What is on offer is EVERYTHING, you name it is there!

ART FORMS GALORE

Adelaide Fringe starts of with a free street parade and opening nights celebrations and parties and then you can choose from all sorts of contemporary work in all the art forms such as circus and physical theatre, dance, film, theatre, puppetry, music, visual art and design, cabaret and of course comedy.  I have previously told you about “The Old Fellow” Rod Gregory:  and now let me tell you about the young fellow Jon Bennett.  He is actually the son of our children’s school teacher Mr Bennett (as he was known to them) they both had Ray as a teacher in primary school and a sweeter are more caring teacher is hard to find.  Ray and his wife Mary are lovely people, very religious and always care for the underdogs and take in foster children and try to make a difference.  But as things happen in life things don’t always go according to plan and that is where Jon Bennett comes in – he is a master of storytelling and has you spellbound with his recollections of his life during the bad times and the good, all whilst having you doubled over in laughter.

COMEDY WITH A HEART

So below is my take on seeing his show the other night and if you get a chance to catch his show when he turns up in your part of the world I highly recommend it.

“Home grown comedian with HEART”

I was busting with pride the other night attending the packed out performance of comedian Jon Bennett son of local couple Ray and Mary Bennett of Pinery.  The show was called Fire in the Meth Lab and yes for some of us who know the history of that event it does sound very controversial and if you are easily offended it is best not to attend.  However for everyone else I really urge you to go as Jon has an incredible knack of taking you on a journey laughing most of the way but also tearing up which usually does not go hand in hand with comedy.  Jon whilst being small in stature has an incredible stage presence which has taken him across the world performing in New York, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, LA, Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton as well as touring all around Australia Apart from having had a wonderful night what I took home from his performance was the fact that Jon loves his family very much and I hope they are very proud of him, they certainly should be.

Here is a quote I think fits well here by Mary Hirsch;

“Humor is a rubber sword – it allows you to make a point without drawing blood”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and laughing.

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.

It is that time of the year again – SALA – when we celebrate the South Australian Living Artists and this year it is for the 15^th time.  How time flies!

This Acrylic on Canvas Naive painting called ” SURFIN ‘N’ SA” is one of 3 artworks in the Sala Exhibition.

Sala an idea which grew from a seed planted by Paul Greenaway who thought we celebrated the dead artists at the detriment of the living and I couldn’t agree more.  Sala is a showcase for us artists that are not dead yet and that is a club I want to belong to!

This year there are 3,453 participating visual artists exhibiting in 520 diverse ranges of venues.  You will of course find art in Art Galleries, studios, public spaces, cellar doors, movie theater foyers, cafes and restaurants around the whole of our state.

ART TRAIL

However did you also realize that down in Glenelg they are presenting an inspirational art trail that offers a visual feast to stimulate the senses.  Jetty Road in Glenelg has totally embraced the Sala concept and nearly every business on this road has artists work on display.  This means that when you come to the bay you will also see art in hairdressing salons, chemists, ice cream shops, clothes boutiques, real estate agents, shoe shops and jewellers, yes all kinds of business have gotten behind the art here at the bay.

I feel very lucky to have lived where art is appreciated and embraced, for a long time it was in the mid-north town of Balaklava and now by the sea.

This year I have been too busy with overseas exhibitions in Europe, painting for ArtnBed and Giclee Link and various commissions so I am not having a solo show.   Instead I am exhibiting with talented artists living in and around the bay.  This mixed exhibition was held at;

The Bay Discovery Centre

Glenelg Town Hall

Moseley Square, Glenelg

Open daily 10am-4pm

(81799508)

3-26 August 2012

ART AT THE BAY

The theme explored is Play at the Bay with over 20 artists taking part including Clint Habib, Cat Leonard, Dave Archer, John Hamilton, Margo Miles and Sue McKenzie.

Sue McKenzie is an artist who is doing interesting work collecting discarded furniture from the roadside which she paints in bright bold colors.  “One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure” says Sue.  Sue’s work is also on display at the Better Health Midnight Pharmacies.

Another artist with two separate exhibitions for Sala is Sarah Philip her abstract work inspired by the ocean can be found on Jetty Road, Brighton in the Enuf Burger Bar as well as her stunning works of beautiful people which are my favorites showing at Westfield Marion – Events Cinema.

Here is a quote that I think we should all live by from William W. Purkey;

“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxxx

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.

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.