I am a bit lost for words actually as this is the biggest break in the blogging since I launched my artist website, so with nearly 2 months away from writing I feel slightly lost, lol.  I have been back at the easel painting furiously for the last few weeks though as I have some pressing deadlines that had to be met.  I have just finished one of my painting commissions but still have several artworks still to do, so I am sneaking a little bit of time from one creative process to furnish another.

This artwork is handmade ceramic and mosaic and is called Travelling Cats, which fits this art and travel blog perfectly I think.

ART AGENT AND NAIVE ART EXHIBITION

Anyway I will start by sharing the reason for my absence and it starts with our very hectic but wonderful trip to Europe.  My husband and I had 5 weeks overseas and the pace was frantic at times.  We had originally planned a trip to India this year but as our daughter and boyfriend were going to Greece and invited them to join us our plans were changed.  As it was things snowballed from there as I was also invited again to the Naive Festival in Katowice Poland and to come and stay with my lovely European art agent in Copenhagen.  Then of course there were other places we wanted to see as holiday makers and other art business to attend too.

ARTISTIC ITINERARY

To give you some idea of the places we traveled to here is the countdown; Dubai,  London, Milan, Cinque Terra (Italy), Florence, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Krakow & Katowice (Poland), Vienna, (Budapest, Belgrade) Bucharest (Romania), Sofia (Bulgaria), Athens, Rafina, Mykonos, Santorini, Istanbul and then back to Dubai for another 3 days and then home to Adelaide Australia again!

ARTISTIC INSPIRATION

Some of the countries and cities I had of course been in before over the years but others were completely new to us and every one of them had something new to offer and was a delight to explore.  Very important for the artist inspiration to explore new horizons and I hope to share some of the travelling stories in future blogs and artworks.

Here is a quote I think fits rather well here by Susan Heller,

“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money.  Then take half the clothes and twice the money.”

Till next time happy painting, sculpting and travelling.

Love Marie xxx

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.

So another year is just about to have passed us by and a new one is on it’s way.  How did it all happen so fast, where did the year go?  There never seem to be enough days of the week or hours in a day does it?  So much to do and so little time!

Each day, as a lot of you know, I use a different quote that I find either funny or inspiring and post it on my Facebook page Naive Art by Marie Jonsson-Harrison together with an image of a painting or sculpture and a link to my art blog to my artist website.  This week among others, I used this quote;

“Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts.” by Janice Maeditere  and one of the comments I got back was “ That should happen every day and not just at Christmas…. too much emphasis is put on being good and kind at this time of year but it only is one or two days out of 365… what about the rest of the year?” from one of my FB friends.   Which I thought was a point well made and a good place to start another art blog about New Year’s Resolutions.

WALL BASED SCULPTURE

This wall based sculpture in handmade ceramic and mosaic called Champagne Charlie was bought from one of my exhibitions at Greenhill Gallery and hangs in the restaurant of a hotel in Adelaide.  The subject matter I thought had a good fit for New Years.

THE ART OF BEING GOOD

I am quite sure that I am not always “good” lol, being a touch naughty at times, however trying to be kind to everyone is something I always strive to be, of course even with the best of intentions that does not always hit the mark but hopefully most of the time perhaps.

The experts say that most of our well intended new year resolutions go out the window after about 14 days and if we want to make sure we stick to them to promise small things – make tiny changes which therefore are not too daunting to stick too and then use them as a base to add some more.  Really New Year’s resolutions are just good habits.

Here are some of mine, most of the things on this list I do already but it never hurts to reinforce them I figure.

AN ARTISTS NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

1. Pay it forward – be kind and do onto others and all that.
2. Eat healthily, and for me that means also sticking to my Vegetarian/gluten free diet, and try to read the labels of food a little more carefully to avoid falling off the band wagon.
3. When out partying make sure I drink one glass of water with every alcoholic drink, to help my liver and my head the next day.  Oh I know what some of you are saying – perhaps cut the wine out – but you got to have some vices right!!  As I have already cut out the Bad Men lol, I still got to have some fun!
4. Keep up the exercise an hour a day come rain or shine and don’t forget the arms Marie – you got to get some upper strength too – remember what the physio said – 127 Use it or Loose it in Art
5. Cut out the sugar, apparently sugar is responsible along with the sun for an increase in wrinkly skin, never mind the body’s overall health– so the sugar has got to go.  (have always had a low sugar diet but need to focus on that some more)
6. Stay close to family and friends, spend time together and tell them they are loved.
7. Try new things, keep up with technology, explore new horizons, keep interested, learn, move forward.
8. Travel and see the world – you only live once and are a long time dead, so do it now whilst you can.
9. Write down your paintings and art blog ideas in one book like you used too – makes things so much easier to find!

So this is my list, I would love to hear what your new year’s resolutions are?

GREAT QUOTES

Here is one I love by Edith Lovejoy Pierce;

“We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”

I love to think that the next year is full of possibilities and opportunities – just there for us to go and find.  Another one is a quote on the topic of New Years Resolutions by a favorite of mine Mark Twain;

“Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink and swore his last oath.  Today, we are a pious and exemplary community.  Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever.”

However I will leave you this time with a quote that has been attributed to Mark Twain as well (although there is some controversy over that) which is one of my favorites quotes;

“Twenty years from now you will be more

disappointed by the things

that you didn’t do than by the ones you did

do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away

from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and whatever else takes your fancy.

Love Marie xxx

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.

This work “Last Supper” is one that I have painted in acrylic and also done in ceramics and mosaic and as today’s topic for my art blog touches on the history of mosaic I thought this work would be a good one to feature.

MOSAIC HISTORY

The History of Mosaic seems to begin in the ancient near east, with some of the earliest known pieces made with pebbles of contrasting colors, coming from Greece.

It was the Romans however who really developed the art of mosaic.

The first most intricate mosaic from Pompeii was made in small panels, many of which have survived the volcanic eruptions of Mt Vesuvius.  This year I was very fortunate to actually visit Italy and go and see this amazing site for myself.  Pompeii is truly remarkable and a real lesson in history, that’s for sure.

Mosaics have been used as a decorative medium on walls and columns for nearly 5000 years.

After the renaissance, the art of mosaics went into decline, but was revived in the mid 19th century.

But even before mosaic became popular, man was creating images in clay from almost the beginning of his existence.

ARTISTIC DRIVE

Sometimes the pieces were used for everyday purposes and other times just as a means of expressing his own artistic drive.

Either way it was the tactile quality of the clay that allowed the artist to combine from and texture and feelings to produce work that can be appreciated whether it was made 10000 years ago or last week.

It was in the 50s and 60s that form and function were really challenged by modern potters, experimenting with avant-gard work.

Funky pottery and individual approaches which now frees the artists own creativity and self expression.

I do believe that every human is artistic; it may just take a little time to find the medium that suits the individual.

I wish you all the best on your creative journey, whether it is purely for pleasure or profit or both.

Put your heart and soul into it , develop your passions, work hard and stay focused.

Don’t worry about setbacks, every one has them, believe in yourself and most of all enjoy creating and dreaming.

If you are passionate about your work and love doing it, then there can be no greater high, I believe.

When I had finished my first ever artwork (36. How it all began)my father bought me a set of acrylic paints and brushes as well as made me a painting case with the words “Dream on, because dreams are what art is made of” and darling dad – I couldn’t agree more.

Till next time happy painting, sculpting and mosaicing,

Love Marie xxx  (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.

This acrylic painting is called the Pie Cart and I have also made a similar one in ceramic and mosaic as a commission that hung at the Adelaide Airport.  Perhaps you also have some pie carts in your town?

Here in Adelaide we have had them since 1870 in Norwood and later in the city, at one stage there were 13 of them around town.   My memory of them does not stretch that far lol, but I do remember one on Franklin Street and the other in front of the Adelaide rail way station.

THE ART OF THE PIE CART

A Pie Cart is a caravan or trailer with a window along one side where you can sit and eat, although most people stand and eat, perhaps that is because you want to test yourself, to see if you still can.  Well that is because the pie cart is usually the place to go late at night after too many drinks, when you start to get hungry and need a little help to sober up.  Of course I had to paint from experience as usual – you know I had to stay up till 2am in the morning, have too much to drink and really gage the atmosphere right?  All in the name of research of course, suffering all the way!

THE ART OF THE TECHNI-COLORED YAWN

Not that they sell too much that I could eat there anyway being a vegetarian and all.  The menu consists mainly of pies (funny about that) they did sell hot chips which I could eat and pea soup.  Speaking of which, pea soup that is, as you can see above not all people like it – or is that a reflection of too much to drink.  Here in Australia we call that a Techni-colored  yawn. LOL.  If it also looks as if someone has Casino chips and throwing money around on the painting that is because our Casino is in the same building as the Railway Station in Adelaide.

Then there was Beef pie, Camel pie, Chicken and Vegetable Pie, Chilli Steak Pie, Egg, Bacon and Tomato Pie, Lamb Pie, Steak and Kidney Pie, Roo Pie, Tuna and Vegetable Pie, also ice coffees and soft drinks as well as hot tea and coffee, donuts and some cakes.  I do have a distant memory of scoffing down a vanilla slice early in the morning way before I even had my painting research to blame that on! I am reliably informed that more recently they were also offering vegetarian pasties, spinach and fetta triangles, but the most famous of all their dishes were the Pie Floater.

THE ART OF THE CONDIMENTS

So what is that I hear you ask, well self explanatory really, a bowl of soup with a pie in the middle, often served with tomato sauce on top, you can also add other condiments such as Worcestershire sauce or vinegar.  We actually have it every Australia Day now at home, my hubby makes a great vego version with a vego pie and it is delicious.  As the Pie Floater was recognized as a South Australian Heritage Icon in 2003 by the National Trust of Australia we think it is fitting to serve it when we have overseas visitors too.  You know a bit of Aussie fun and so far it has always been a big hit.

There are 2 trains of thought how the pie floater was originally created.  One story takes it back to the Great Depression, whereby pie manufacturers would donate their left-overs to soup kitchens, who in turn would add the pie to their soups to make the meals for the homeless more substantial.

The other thought goes back even longer than that – 130 years no less as early records held by the South Australian National Trust puts the Pie Floaters origin in Port Pirie where a man named Ern “Shorty” Bradley ate one.  It is not known if it was his intention to put the pie in the soup or perhaps he dropped it into the bowl by accident, no one really knows.  But I am glad he did.

ARTISTS WHO LOVE IT

Famous people who love the Pie Floater are Joe Cocker, Billy Connolly, Nigel Mansell, Shane Warne and Angus Young from one of my favorite bands AC/DC.

Here is a Jewish Proverb by that I think fits well here;

“Worries go down better with soup”.

Although perhaps this quote by Robert Byrne hits the mark a bit more;

“Anybody who believes that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach flunked geography.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting and eating to you all,

Love Marie xxx  (c)

If you liked this food and art blog you may also enjoy this one; 83 Art & Are you fond of Fondue

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.

]]> https://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/133-pie-floater/feed/ 0 https://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/124/ https://mariejonssonharrison.com.au/124/#comments Fri, 02 Mar 2012 01:03:28 +0000 http://www.mariejonssonharrison.com.au/new/?p=3200 PUBLIC SCULPTURE

Alf Traeger, “Wiring the shed to the farm house seemed a natural step to take for an inventive ten year old boy living on a farm opposite the Dalkey cemetery.  He never dreamed that these early tinkering would be so vital to a nation.  By 1927 Alf Traegar had invented the pedal wireless, enabling isolated outback Australians to communicate; making the flying Doctor a reality and educating thousands of youngsters through the School of the Air.”

The above paragraph is what is written on a plaque next to this ceramic and mosaic panel which is part of the Centenary of Federation Gateway Sculpture situated in Balaklava, South Australia.  If you would like to recap and see & read more about this sculpture use these links for the art blogs; “Stories behind the Wall”. & “Volunteers our backbone “

ARTISTIC VISION

According to Alf Traeger’s stepdaughter Glenda Shepherd who still lives in Balaklava where Alf grew up, after moving there from Victoria.  He was very interested from an early age in anything mechanical and surprised the whole family by building a telephone line from his house to a shed on the property some fifty meters away, at that time 1907 he was only twelve.  He had used a pitchfork as a magnet for the telephone, the diaphragms were the tops of tobacco tins and to make the microphone carbon granules he used pieces of charcoal from the stove.   Alf went on to do a mechanical & electrical engineering course and set up a small electrical business making generators and radio transmitters.  In 1925 Alf met Padre John Flynn who traveled extensively in the outback of Australia and his dream was to be able to bring medical help where ever it was needed.  His vision was a communication system that would be able to bring “Flying Doctors” to the outback.  So Alf started working on this idea and after thee years of experimenting Alf was able to produce the “Pedal Wireless”.

PEDDLING ARTIST

I was actually very fortunate to have tried out this contraption myself many years ago.  You see very close friends of ours Bill & Lorna Wilson who at one stage were the largest landowners in the Southern Hemisphere had the “Pedal Wireless” both at Frome Downs Station and Werocata in Balaklava.  The original one was battery driven but that proved costly and unreliable so therefore the pedals from a bicycle was added.  So you could sit on this contraption and peddle with the legs and the hands could tap out the message by Morse code.  Alf set up a “mother station” in Cloncurry and then installed 6 smaller “baby sets” in cattle stations and at Birdsville Hospital.  The first message was from Augustus Downs station some 300 km away but the “pedal wireless” could send and receive messages at least 800 km away.

As the Morse code was a bit tedious Alf designed a keyboard in 1931 and later it was replaced by voice.  Now the isolated people of the outback were able to reach out for help and receive a diagnosis to their ailments and immediate instruction in first aid if that was needed.

THE ART OF THE FLYING DOCTOR

From this initiative Alf was able to help John Flynn with the first Flying Doctor service called Aerial Medical Service which started in 1928 came into its own with the “pedal wireless” in 1929 and slowly found its feet.  Qantas supplied  them  with their first aircraft and in 1942 the service changed its name to the Flying Doctors Service, later on in 1955 added the Royal to the name; Royal Flying Doctors Service.

The “Pedal Wireless” also was instrumental in facilitating the long distance learning the kids of the outback enjoyed with School of the Air which started in 1951.  This meant that the school age children did not have to go away to boarding school but could be taught by teachers from far away.

So thank you very much Alfred Traeger, you did good!

So here is a quote I think fits well here by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg;

“Everyone is a genius at least once a year.  The real geniuses simply have their bright Ideas closer together”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx   (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.

I must be very fascinated by teeth I think, as I always paint the big broad grins in all my paintings and sculptures, or is it that I want the whole world to be happy and gay the Laxit way! (to borrow from an old Australian commercial)

As you can see in the snippets of these artworks lots of teeth are the go.  So it goes without saying then that I have another couple of stories up my sleeve about teeth.

If you want to see the whole of this sculpture “If you remember the sixties you weren’t there” and read the art blog here is a link 10. If You Remember The Sixties, You Weren’t There, ART

ART INSPIRATIONS – OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES

When my adult teeth came along as they do round about 7 years of age I had a gap in between my front teeth, everyone said that it looked charming (but I don’t think I ever believed them)

So during my modeling years I would if the job called for, wear like a little gadget that fitted over the front teeth and made them look straight from Hollywood so to speak.

However eventually in my early thirties I decided that with the inevitable wrinkles about to land on me, perhaps it was time to finally have perfect teeth.

And so it was and they were very nice, until my daughter was around 4 years old, suddenly whilst eating a sandwich, I felt that there was something else floating about my mouth and it was not part of the sandwich filling!

Off to the bathroom mirror I went and shock and horror, one of the caps of my front tooth had come off.  Now I do not have to describe that to you, how I looked was not a pretty sight.

So I rang the dentist and had an appointment to get it fixed the next day, thank god.

However in the meantime life had to go on at home and the kids came home from school and kindy and I greeted them with one hand held firmly over my mouth.

Kai my son took it all in his stride but baby girl Hillivi, who would never accept the word NO, did not give up and asked me at every turn, to take my hand away and show her my mouth and the missing tooth.

She nagged and nagged me all day until bed time and then she said ever so sweetly as only a little 4 year old girl can do “Mummy I love you so very much and I don’t care what you look like I will love you anyway, and you are my beautiful queen, so don’t worry and just show me”

So how could I resist such comforting words and her sweetness got the better of me and I did show her very quickly.   She took a good look with her eyes as big as saucers and then she said “Oh mummy I still love you, my darling little WITCHY POO!”  Out of the mouth of babes, right?  (Where had the beautiful queen gone now, I wondered, lol?)

SCULPTURE & ART BLOGS

The above detail is from the ceramic and mosaic wall-based sculpture; “Apple juice is fine but we rather have a wine” – (Adam & Eve) If you fancy seeing my artworks of Adam & Steve as well as the art blogs, here is a couple of links; 14. Adam & Steve 2 Sculpture and 35. The First Adam and Steve Artwork

MORE PAINTING IDEAS

Another friend of mine, a lovely lady just told me her tooth story and it goes something like this.

She was 11 years old at the time and playing netball (a game similar to basketball) when she fell over and broke all of her front teeth and consequently had to have false teeth made and fitted.

Some time passed and then one day at school, those pesky teeth fell out of her mouth and broke and of course she did not want any of the boys to see her with no teeth, so even though they were broken she put them back in.

But the story does not end there, she finally got home from school and sat down to have her dinner, and you guessed it, she swallowed them!  Off to the hospital it is with the parents in tow for x-rays and the medical staff could not believe that this child had actually swallowed her false teeth until they saw the evidence before them!

So to all of you who now feel terribly worried, fear not I say and keep these words of wisdom from Benjamin Franklin (statesman) in mind.

“Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen.  Keep in the sunlight.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all,

Love Marie xxx

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.