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Melbourne is the home of much that is the best of handcrafted, craftsman made.
Parthenon Shoes in Coburg is one such business. Run by Christine and her Father John Koikas, this is the shoe as art! Christine is holding one of her personal favourites among her creations.
Craft made ball gowns and bridal gowns glitter from street front boutiques along the long, long stretch of Sydney Road. Glorious gowns with finely detailed beadwork and exquisite lace look out of suburban shopfronts.

The markets in Melbournes' beachfront St Kilda are typical of the amazing array of highly original craft work on offer at affordable prices!

From Mugs on Mugs to Aussie Animals, Origami Architecture to Sleeper Clocks.
















St Kilda Marketeers include:

Sculpted by Senia - Australian, handcrafted pottery animals, [email protected]

Glass Art - Sally Green's unique lampwork jewellery www.glass-art.net.au
Celtic Handmade - Tony Fitton, www.celtichandmade.com.au
Handmade pewter jewellery - Yvonne Moloney & Colin Fleming, www.calypsoflash.com.au
Recycled redgum, clocks - Bill Jackson, www.redgumclocks.com
Handmade kilnformed glass - Ray Seeber www.seeglass.com.au
Metal jewellery - Edward Faingold, www.edwardfaingold.com.au
Ocean inspired jewellery - Dan McGill - www.danmcgilljewellery.com.au
Art & Craft - Yani Moediman - [email protected]
Stainless Steel Design - Serge Rudakov - www.srss.com.au
Handcrafted bells and windchimes - Bird's Gallery www.birdsgallery.com.au
Handmade Metal Art - Lee Rodsted - Hyram's Metal Webs www.metalwebs.com.au
Other crafts -
Danny's Knitwear, Queen Victoria Markets, www.bomilnex.com.au









For the art of writing and associated excellent conversation - Collected Works Poetry & Ideas Bookshop, www.collectedworks-poetryideas.blogspot.com

Alot has been said about the unfortunate deletion of the outstanding artists who contributed to Laika's "Coraline" in their "Art of" book. Below are some of those artists with their respective blogs featuring some of the most beautiful and inspiring artwork I've ever seen. Enjoy!
Chris Applehans

Katy Wu

Shannon Tindle

Shane Prigmore

Chris Turnham

As well as these amazing artists:
Vera Brogsol
Tadahiro Uesugi
Stef Choi
Dan Krall
Jon Klassen

illustrationfriday: Breezy

Evidently, Melbournians are full of angst about the prices they pay for their food stuff. Please, come north and compare! We wished we could truck it all back to QLD with us! The fresh, the exotic and the range of cooked delicacies from everywhere - we were in a constant state of salivation!
The Coburg Fruit Garden run by Toni [here with Geoff] and his brothers Milad and Fred was the first big eyeopener - B-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l!

Northeners look at the quality and the prices and drool!
Melbourne is flush with markets - in the suburbs and the urban cities and Melbourne CBD. Good value and high quality is the hallmark of these places.
The fish and meat markets at the Victorian Markets.
Have a variety we don't see up north and the prices - well, you can see!
A freshly baked spinach and cheese wrap with a cup of coffee at the Markets gave me back change from $5.00.
Eateries in Melbourne are often literally on the curb side!
A Greek eatery with mouthwatering selection of goodies - cake and coffee with the traffic at your elbow - this too was Coburg. Yannis Patries and Cakes, in Coburg, served you a shave away from passing trucks and cars.













Service everywhere was friendly and everyone was helpful! Michael Lorenzen's Highway 31, Cafe & Diner in Brunswick has the reputation for the BEST burghers in Melbourne. If mentioning service, Geore of "C&B" in the CBD and Vishal of Seven Eleven would have to be singled out as exceptional!














Last but not lest, chocolate to die for.....tucked away in Acland Street, St Kilda is San Churro, Spanish Chocolateria.


Don't forget Haigh Chocolates in the CBD either! YUM!

Cheers!
HAI!
bymoonalone.com

ps. edited image after considering some suggestions :)

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Having a good time creating variations of my Tri-Fold Card.
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The cat asked to be black but that was for Halloween, so he ended up something else.
I do not like the way the dog turned out and have a new sketch...just need to cut it out.
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The fence reminds me when we played hide and seek.  I was the smallest and last in the pack of seekers, and half way over the fence I thought it was a monster behind me- scared to death, my clothes caught on the fence.  No monster- just the wicked lady from next door.  She claimed she saw I needed help getting over the fence.

Wishing you nice neighbors,
Petrina

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.With everything being super-sized these days- I should not be surprised a client wanted a huge Globe that folds flat for mailing.
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                       Open
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  Flat
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I wonder why we always like playing with these.
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May the world be flat sometimes,
Petrina
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I want to say big thanks yous and send hugs to Andi Butler and Christine Grove for giving me these sweet awards. It appears that Andi's blog is under construction. (I can't wait to see what exciting things she's up to over there!)

Now I'm supposed to list 7 things I love, so here we go.

1) My family and friends
2) Traveling to new places.
3) Being warm - Or more accurately just not being cold
4) Art, of course! Color, texture, pattern, design, typography, retro design, the whole enchilada!
5) Staring out windows. Perhaps something I picked up from growing up with cats.
6) Sour candy. But, I can't find any sour enough. They always end up too sweet, not enough sour. Does anyone know any great super sour candies?
7) Nature walks. Through the woods by a lake or river, or on a quiet ocean beach are my favorites.

I now pass on this award to some inspirational artists who's blogs I love to visit:
Annie Patterson
Anthony Van Arsdale
Kristin Sorra

I have a confession to make. It could be shocking, you may want to hug your latte for comfort. Ready? Here goes:

I am not a full time Illustrator. I don’t earn my entire living as a freelance illustrator.

There, I said it. It’s out in the open. I feel terrible having duped you this long, but I feel that honesty is best.

So now you probably want to know who I work for and what I do all day. Okay. I’ll reveal more secrets. Do you need more soy milk first? Do you want to cuddle with something soft?

I hate to dispel the myth that it’s possible to earn a living just as an illustrator. However, I feel some responsibility as someone who writes a blog (and contributes to another) promoting the idea of a fun, freewheelin’ freelance art career.

I need to explain. Can you handle a little preface?

A long time ago (the mid-90s), I was a receptionist at an investment bank. Jenni and I had our first baby toddling around our one-bedroom apartment in Phoenix (free roaches!). I didn’t really want to be answering phones for S.C. Johnson (great company, by the way). I wanted to be making animated films.

At the time, Fox Animation was only two blocks away from the bank. Don Bluth and friends were making a little film called Anastasia. I wanted to work there so bad. I ached to work there. I had a little bit of talent and a pretty crappy portfolio and absolutely no animation experience whatsoever.

It didn’t stop me from applying every three months for two years. Anastasia was on VHS before I even saw the reception area of the studio.

In the meantime, the former CEO of the bank called me at work and told me he was starting a sign company. He wanted to know if I knew any graphic designers. Without taking a second to think, I said, “Well, I know me.”

Two weeks later, I was a graphic designer. I even created the company logo. No experience. Zilch. We’ll call it on-the-job training and leave it at that.

Even while Jenni and I celebrated with burgers and fries, I knew I still wanted more. I wanted to be an animator. I decided to invest in some equipment to make a film. I figured that I would at least do it on my own even if I couldn’t get hired somewhere.

Long story short, I entered the film in some New York festivals and got a small amount of recognition. I got online and commiserated with other animation people. I even had an actual demo reel, which I sent to some studios.

One day I got The Call. Interviewing over the phone, I won myself a spot at Nickelodeon. Small wrinkle in that the job was on the other side of the country and started in two weeks, but need you ask if we figured that one out? Of course we did.

Where is this going? There is a point, and it has something to do with perseverance, but not completely. Hang on.

In the years since, I’ve acquired tons of new skills in the different positions I’ve held. Digital animation, Flash ActionScripting, video editing, compositing, spreadsheet creation, database management, document scanning, presentation building, complex audio/video setups, budgeting, sales, marketing, interviewing, truck driving… there’s more.

What does any of that have to do with my earlier confession  anyway?

So I don’t illustrate full time. I don’t earn my living entirely as an illustrator. However, I do work from my home, independently, running my own business. Unfortunately, illustration doesn’t always keep us in cookies. I have to do other things. Thankfully, all of those things are things I like doing (because why else would I do them?). Some of these things include:

• Animation
• Graphic Design
• Consulting
• Speaking/Workshops
• Alpaca Farm management
• Product sales (t-shirts, mugs, prints)

There’s that saying, “Jack of all trades, master of none.” I hate that saying. I think that saying is for the dabblers and hobbyists who jump from one thing to another without ever mastering any of them. Still bugs me.

There’s also the idea that you should do one thing well and stick to it. Okay, I get that. You’re going to make more money just as a web designer working with small bistro businesses than a web designer/graphic designer/business card maker to anyone who asks. It’s a target market thing. Ask my new friend Naomi.

Here’s the thing; If you’re going to throw around trite phrases like that “Jack” one, you better have the cajones to back it up. In other words, it’s clever, but if you’re working your ass off for The Man and hating your life then it’s best if you just keep quiet.

You may have heard a thing or two about some economic troubles the world is having lately. I try and stay away from the news, but I think I saw it mentioned.

If you’re going to make a go of your own thing, especially if the economy doesn’t support that thing, you better have another thing. It’s a don’t-have-all-your-eggs-in-one-basket sort of idea.

If you’re going to make a go of something (especially an art thing for god’s sake), you have to:

Know what you want

Don’t think you kinda wanna someday. You have to really want it.

Be willing to take a few risks

So the killer dream job you always wanted is in… Zimbabwe. Well, that’s kind of inconvenient and hard, but my only question is are you packed? If you’re not willing to handle a calculated risk, then I guess you don’t want your thing.

Persevere

So you have to shovel shit while you work on your thing. Fine. Don’t stop your thing to master shit-shoveling. Keep doing your thing. Keep doing your thing. Keep doing your thing. Keep doing your thing.

One day you’ll be doing your thing in a big way and you’ll look back on that huge pile of shit and smile.

My dreams are much bigger than that animator job now. Been there, done that. They have to be, right? So I’ll be trying to remember those three points I just mentioned and getting help from people who know more than I do about what I want to be doing. I’ll be shoveling some shit (literally and figuratively). I’m going to get discouraged at some point. I’ll get mad, I’ll f*** it up a few times, but I’m sure I’ll get there. I’ve done it before on a smaller scale, so why not?

You can do it, too. Whatever it is… yep. You can if you really want to. You just have to work at it. Hard.

I hope I didn’t mess you up too badly with that whole not-a-full-time-illustrator thing. I was just having a go. But that’s why you read me, isn’t it?

Melbourne has art on the street corner, and down the alley ways. It is on the rooftops and walls and down the arterials and it says, 'Hold up, society is heading down the highway full speed, WRONG WAY!'
Figuratively, it is the Writing on the Wall. Who is looking. who is listening?
To Melbourne's credit, certain areas are set aside for the art of protest and its message.
The alleyways of Melbourne CBD are alive with it. St Kilda alleys and rooftops also resonate the warnings.
Melbourne Artist, Tigre, viewed Melbourne's response to street art as enlightened compared, interestingly, to New York, where zero tolerance is the rule. No street art lasted longer than maybe an hour before the whitewash brigade obliterated its message. Till, that is, an entrepreneur bought up an apartment building, opened it to the artists and funded its existence with funky retail outlets.
AMelbourne's street art targets irresponsible affluence, greed and disregard for environment. all things with a price tag that is not nice or 'convenient' but is indiscriminate in who it punishes. Tip the natural balance and everything falls into the refuse heap - Soylent Green anyone?









Nothing is spared the piercingly perceptive eye of the alley and rooftop artist.
Are we standing in queues waiting for nothing to happen;
waiting for action from those with the power to make change but won't because they are committed to
preserving
the status quo?







Where to now?

Illustration Friday: Breezy

Reproduction postcard, collage, pen, pencil and acrylic

We had the Polynesian in life drawing yesterday.
Brushpen with watercolour. 15cm x 21cm and 15cm x 8cm. Click to enlarge.

I just returned home from a two day visit in Killeen, Texas. On Friday I presented to five groups of kids at two schools. My morning visit was at an elementary school on the Fort Hood military base. On Saturday I was a featured author/illustrator in the Take 190 West art festival. I had a great time. But I'm tired. So tired.

Here are a few photos:













This is a group from . . . I forget which school. But I did three half-hour presentations to the entire student body in the afternoon (the group was so big, I had to piece three photos together to show all the kids). Great kids, very enthusiastic.































This photo is deceiving. What you see is me autographing a valentine for one child, with another child waiting. What you can't see is the line directly in from of me, with about 50 other autograph seekers, who found every single bit of scrap paper in the library to have signed. Kids are great; they'll treat you like a rock star.

Friday evening, Pat Anderson of Texas Overlooked Books hosted a get-together for visiting authors and illustrators. Pat calls himself an amateur chef, but there was nothing amateurish about the meal he prepared. It was absolutely one of the best meals I've ever had. I think Pat should reconsider peddling books and open a restaurant. Seriously.

Not wanting to drive with a buzz, I didn't drink any adult beverages at the party . . . I waited until I returned to my hotel room, where I had a nightcap. Here I am getting loopy with myself, a mirror and my camera (excuse me, I'm kinda off).

On Saturday, I was one of the featured guest on hand to sign books, and I shared a table with author/illustrator Brian Floca (who I'm convinced will win a Siebert Award for his forthcoming title MOONSHOT: THE FLIGHT OF APOLLO 11). Brian and I also sat on an illustration discussion panel with author/illustrator Keith Graves, and illustrator Nathan Jensen. It was a lively and informative session for an audience of . . . three people, maybe four.























I also shared company with author David Davis and Jan Peck.


Keith Graves gives a painting demonstration.

Here's a more complete list of the children's and YA authors and illustrators featured at the festival:

Keith Graves, Sherry Garland, Brian Floca, David Davis, Jan Peck, Xavier Garza, Dotti Enderle, Christine Ford, Shirley Smith Duke, Nathan Jensen, Clare Dunkle, Jackie Mills — and graphic novelists Christina Strain, Ben Dunn and Rod Espinoza.


































I was thrilled to walk away with a signed copy of Brian's The Racecar Alphabet. Here Brian signs my copy (And he bought a copy of my Ron's Big Mission, too).

Painted in Painter X, then textured in Photoshop

Posted via email from Jago's Things

http://www.piero-pierini2.blogspot.com

CLICK HERE ---->www.amazon.com Offers my book printed for $10 plus shipping or a Kindle download for only $4.

It looks like Winter's not done yet in Missouri. Here's what we woke up to. 5 and a half inches of fluffy white stuff.

a new level added...painting, painting...trying to determine the light....above? 12pm? or 3pm? to have some casted shadows stretch out, for more drama? and then i gotta figure out how to really create depth in that background, the sea of green thingies underneath them...that takes the eye further down...yeesh. and alice's dress looks like marzipan...no feel yet, no fabric. blurrggg. (she rubs her

Tried out Corel Painter SketchPad... then coloured in Photoshop. Drawn a butterfly for a new book (also Photoshop).
 
Sketchpad is very nice but only seems to work on your main monitor, which is a bit annoying when your 2nd one's a Cintiq....

Posted via email from Jago's Things

If you live in the Denver area and were a reader of the Rocky Mountain News, please write to the editor of the Post and tell him they are running their comics too small! They can't expect loyal RMN readers to switch to a paper that runs microscopic comics. If they expect to double their circulation after the loss of the RMN, I say make 'em work for it! Now is the time, and there will never be a

copyright 2008 Ronni Ann Hall

When Foxy was big and fluffy.

You say I live in a world of make believe.

I say sometimes all we have left are dreams.

You say I'm not strong enough.

I fear I'm so tough I'll turn to stone.

You say I'll never be rid of your tyranny.

I know one day I'm going to break free...believe me!
Vivian Hadding