Magic Jelly

Remember Me?

It's been a long time between drinks, as they say...about 5 months in fact. I've been cloistered away for so long, working on design projects, that I feel like I've dropped off the face of the earth as an artist & that Magic Jelly has faded into obscurity. Possibly, biannual blog posts aren't helping my cause!

I really miss doodling & daubing & goccoing & steel rulers & x-acto knives & bits of old paper & glue when I'm stuck at the computer all day! In my spare moments I've been working on some new stuff - the little collages you see above are among the new pieces I have on the Magic Jelly production line (hmm, why is TypePad making the thumbnails blurry - blah). These are about 85% complete. They're collaged on canvas (8x8x1-3/8") & I still have to design a pattern for the edges (similar to my Iris collages) & then print them, stain them with tea, glue them, & then give everything a couple of coats of matte acrylic varnish. Then, I can finally stick them in my Etsy shop, & hopefully by then, my brand spanking new online shop that I'm setting up too!

I have a couple of gocco print designs at the sketch stage, a couple of half-done paintings, and a new piece that's going to be part of a series that I hope I can get finished for the holiday season (the packaging for this series is very exciting!).

Argh...feeling overwhelmed... I guess I'd better roll up my sleeves & get back to work! Just wanted to pop in & say "Hi, how're you doing? I'm still here." I'll leave you today with a little treat for all the Film Noir lovers out there...this montage has been so skillfully put together, it's fab!

Still Chasing Paper...

I am absolutely floored by the response I've had to The Paper Chase. I've already received 6 packages - 5 of them arriving super-fast from the US.

This project means so much to me, not just because I love paper (& I do love paper!), but because it's enabling me to make contact with so many amazing artists & art-lovers, & I'm just so touched by people's generosity & kindness. This is going to sound ultra-corny, but I really feel connected in the warmest, fuzziest way through this exchange - this is what art's all about. A big thank you to everyone participating in The Paper Chase!

As you can see, I've posted tantalising shots of the packages I've received so far. I've made an extra-special photo gallery just for The Paper Chase where I'm uploading pics of the bundles as they arrive, as well as the finished collages I make to send back. If you're interested in keeping an eye on the project, take a look at the gallery & check back regularly for updates!

These parcels of paper pleasure were sent by Mandy in NSW, Peaseblossom Studio, Smoobage, High Desert Diva, Rosa Murillo & Shaving Kit. Thank you!

If you're interested in participating in The Paper Chase Project, you can read all about it right here.

Who Knew Paper Could Be This Exciting?

Well, actually, I knew...& I'm not the only one out there with a serious paper fetish. I've kind of lost count, but we're up to over 50 participants in The Paper Chase now (from 7 different countries), with over 10 people already having shipped their packages. I'm excited!

Melissa from Crab Apple Designs kindly emailed me a photo of the wonderful package she's sending, so now of course, I'm extra excited! Thanks Melissa, I can't wait to receive your amazing parcel of paper joy - I hope I can do it justice & make you a collage you'll be happy with!

The Great Paper Chase

I've been busying myself making new small-format originals for a mega-update of my Etsy shop & thought I'd list the first four pieces yesterday & then post about them here in my blog this morning - & guess what? They all sold overnight! Hooray!!

So, I thought I'd show you what I've been working on anyway...  I'm really interested in making these collaged geometric patterns from vintage paper lately - I'm quite happy with how they're working out. It's so satisfying to take a piece of dusty, forgotten paper, deconstruct it, & give it new life.

What interests me is how once you take a printed image out of the context of its completeness by cropping it into tiny details, you're prompted to look at it with a new objectivity - each little piece of paper becomes quite enigmatic & beautiful. Then to integrate it into this pattern that has so much depth & detail...it's really satisfying!

I love the mellow colours & textures & the way the patterns emerge. I try not to be too rigid with dictating what goes where, but I do like to try to create a sense of balance & harmony.

I have a few different designs in the pipeline, but the size & complexity of each one is limited by the brittleness of some of the paper & the fact that I hand-cut them all - in large quantities. It's tempting to get a digital diecutter to extend the scope of what I can do, but there's something nice about them being a bit wibbly & flawed. Sitting there snipping away has given me something to do in those moments where you just want to zone out & watch trash TV or engage in some chit-chat or something.

And now, to this...

THE PAPER CHASE

Finding new sources of interesting paper is not easy - so I've devised a little plan. If you have any found paper laying around that you don't mind parting with & posting to me, I will in return, make you a collage with some of the paper you send & ship it back to you, keeping the rest of the paper for my own projects. You get a little artwork, I get some paper joy!

The types of paper I'm interested in are not necessarily rare or valuable ephemera. I'm looking for mainly pre-1970 paper (although I do use more recent, & brand new paper sometimes too, so a little of that is fine) such as the following...

• receipts & invoices
• advertisements from magazines, comics, etc. (I love the little ads in the back pages)
• pages from books, magazines, comics, ledgers & notebooks
• patterned end papers from books would be great
• labels & packaging
• envelopes, letters, stamps & postcards
• anything with handwriting on it, particularly old-fashioned pen & ink
• anything without writing on it such as notepaper, graph paper, etc.
• brown paper bags
• paper that is aged, yellow, spotty, stained, even torn is fine
• greeting cards & gift wrap
• wallpaper
• sheet music
• maps
• flyers, forms, theatre programs, etc.

Extra great would be ephemera from different cultures - China, Japan, India, Mexico, etc. Colourful, decorated paper is nice, but not essential - some of my favourite pieces are regular white paper that has aged to varying shades of yellow & brown.

If you're interested in participating in the Magic Jelly Paper Chase, just send your little bundle of found paper to me with your return address. What you send me will naturally influence what I make for you (what a great challenge!) but I might also use some paper from my own collection, including some of my own test prints & illustrations. I don't expect you to send a massive bundle, but of course, it needs to be a fair exchange, so a nice little collection of bits & pieces would be good! The resulting artwork I make for you will be small-format, around 4x4" to 6x6" or thereabouts. Depending on where I need to ship it, turn around time will be 2-4 weeks.

Please send paper to:

Magic Jelly
P O Box 542
Welland. South Australia. 5007
AUSTRALIA

As well as making sure to give me your return address (so I can send your collage!), if you could please enclose a little note with your package letting me know your email address, Etsy username (if you have one), site/blog url - that kind of thing - so I can contact you & mention you in my blog. Thank you!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

I'll be sure to post more about this project in my blog when I start receiving some paper goodies & making the collages to send out. Hooray!

More Bits of Dusty Ol' Paper

Look at all the paper goodies my friend Mark bought back from a secondhand market for me! I can't wait to draw & paint on it & snip it all up & make collages. Is it weird to get so excited about bits of old paper?

In other news...my Heart Attack greeting card appeared in a Treasury on Etsy's front page the other day. Thanks to The Letter V for featuring me!

I've been busy working on a new painting, as well as making some collages for my Etsy shop, & also printing packaging for buttons, magnets & keyrings, so I'll have some new things for sale soon & some special goodies for my next giveaway. Don't forget, to be eligible for the monthly giveaways, you need to be a subscriber to my mailing list!

I'm also extremely excited about a Gocco exhibition that I'll be taking part in later this year.  Stay tuned for more details!

And the Winner Is...

Lastly, the winner of my little collage giveaway is Kelly Rinehart of Purple Lemon Designs. Her prize is in the post & making its way to her letterbox!

Giveaway Time!

Yes it's that time again - Giveaway Time! The prize, which you can see above, is a little collage. It's mounted to a 4x4" stretched canvas (3/4" deep) & is made of assorted papers (mainly vintage) that I've screenprinted (goccoed) in gold ink with some mystical Magic Jelly symbols.

All you need to do to win this little piece, is be a subscriber to my mailing list. I'll be drawing a winner on Sunday 8th of June.

Bye for now!

My Passionate Love Affair...

...with paper continues... I've just given myself blisters from cutting hundreds of little paper shapes for a new collage project. Someone needs to invent scissors with fur-lined handles.  Fake fur of course.

After cutting (what seemed like) the 40 billionth shape, I started fantasising about buying a digital die-cutter, but for this project at least, part of the beauty is in hand-cutting the paper.

I really do love paper & ink...I hope my passion for them shows in my work. The finished collages, which are bases for paintings & prints, are just so tactile & lovely...all the mellow, aged papers & the different textures & patinas. The blisters are worth it, darn it!

Notice anything different? Take a look at the top of my left sidebar...pretty spiffy, eh? Turns out Julian Lievano (of Heart-o-Matic fame) is not only the Evil Knievel of glass blowing, but the Steve McQueen of coding too. He made this nifty little gallery widget especially for my blog. Thanks Julian, I love it! :)

In other news...a new Melbourne-based online art gallery was launched last week called I Vote for Art. You can buy lots of amazing giclée prints & original artwork there, & it's nicely interactive because not only can you buy art, you can vote for your favourites & leave comments too. The artwork that receives the most votes makes it to the front page.

I'm very happy to be selling my work there, so please go & vote for me so I don't look too sad & pathetic! At the moment, I only have one piece for sale, a little original drawing called Pan Drives a Volvo, but I'm on the verge of completing a couple of new gocco prints & some more originals, so there'll be more for sale from me soon! Meanwhile, go check out all the incredible artists selling their stuff there.

I'm holding off on my next giveaway until I have my new stuff finished, so stay tuned...

Toodle-loo for now! :)

Brimful of Interest, Excitement & Skill

Look at this great board game my friend Mark brought home for me from a secondhand market a few weeks ago. You're all invited to come around to my place on a rainy Sunday afternoon & we can sit on the floor & play Fairyland & have fizzy grape juice & ginger cookies. Hooray!

Well it was just a matter of time I suppose...it looks like I've been tagged by the well-preserved & fabulously talented benconservato & illustrator extraordinaire Racheal Anilyse. I won't tag another 7 unsuspecting bloggers, but here are my 7 random or weird facts about myself:

1. When we were kids, my sister Jo & I used to have a cardboard box with a human skeleton, a scary black wig, & a bunch of spiders (that escaped from our bugcatcher) in it.
2. Jo & I used to play a game we called The Chocolate Nun. I'm not sure there were proper rules, but it involved hand signals somehow...& I think one of us wore a cape.
3. As a child, I was obsessed with the trappings of bureaucracy & made my own stamps & forms. I glued homemade library cards in the backs of all my books.
4. Ironically, this obsession was later quelled by 12 witheringly boring years spent working for the Tax Department.
5. My family nickname is Weanie Beans & has many, equally embarrassing, variations - Beanie, Beans, Queenie, Queena, Kreenie, Reenie...& my Mum's personal favourite...Beans On Toast.
6. I'm a neurotic perfectionist. People deliberately move my fridge magnets a fraction of an inch, just to torture me.
7. I have slept through the room adjoining my bedroom being ransacked by a crazed burglar, & a speeding car careening through my neighbour's living room wall (the resulting evacuation attempt by the Fire Department, due to a gas leak, didn't stir me either).
   

So there you are! 7 things you didn't really want/need to know about Magic Jelly! Jot them down...if I ever become famous, they may crop up in Trivial Pursuit.

In other news...Dick & Dora have featured me in their blog...thank you! They also have an Etsy shop & make fab jewellery! And Fric de mentol included one of my Benediction collages in an Etsy Treasury list that made it to the front page. Hooray! Thanks Julian for getting a screenshot for me (a bouquet of parsnips is forthcoming) - it appeared in the middle of the night here in the Southern Hemisphere, so I would have missed it. Fellow Etsy sellers Anna Laura, Sherry Truitt & Salmon Street Studio also kindly let me know about it - thank you! It's so nice to see such a great collection of artists make the front page - it was an honour to be among them!

Finally, thanks again to everyone who took part in my giveaway - the winners' prizes are all in the post & on the way to their letterboxes.

Toodle-loo for now!

Just Finished!

Pan Drives a Volvo

Ink & Pencil drawing & Collage. 6x6"

He's looking a little sad or wistful... I really love the mellow colours of the vintage paper strips.

End of Summer Already?!

Yep, one more week & we're into autumn...it feels like only yesterday that I was "celebrating" the New Year with a poorly-timed bout of the flu (is there a good time to get the flu?)

Anyway, I thought I'd better dust off my blog & post something. Do you like my cigar boxes? I picked them up at a local market. Graphically & typographically you just can't beat old cigar boxes for pure excitement! I have plans for them...

As usual, I've been really busy & my poor old blog has been bumped to the back of the queue, but I've just been working on my gallery - not quite finished yet, but nearly! I also haven't forgotten that my monthly giveaways haven't quite been monthly (sorry!), so early this week I'm launching a Super Duper Mega Giveaway with four different prizes including Li'l Mary coasters and a couple of one of a kind creations that I've made especially for the giveaway.

Doesn't that sound grand? You do need to join my Mailing List to be eligible for the draw though, so go sign up!

It's 3.00am & I've eaten too much raspberry licorice - time to go! Enjoy your weekend!

PS. Hello to the people who found me via the Sunday Age! Just going out to buy my copy now - so exciting! :)

A Collage a Day

In an effort to kick start my creativity for the new year, I'm committing to making a collage a day for at least two weeks.

Take a look at my enticing box of papery goodness...old letters, receipts, maps, books, some gocco test prints of mine, & other miscellaneous bits & pieces. I've also cut up a nice little pile of 6x6" card blanks ready for my first collage in the morning. Can't wait to start!

I created a Flickr group that anyone is welcome to join who'd like to get busy with scissors & glue. No need to set strict parameters for yourself if you don't want to - it's all about having fun - so come & play!

I'll post the results in my blog as well as upload them all to the Collage a Day Flickr Group.

Yay!

I Love Paper

10mm wide strips of vintage paper, waiting to be collaged. My friend's comment when he saw me painstakingly cutting them: "You're insane".

Happy (Belated) Holidays

I really really wanted to make an extra special Christmas post on my blog, but alas, last minute wholesale orders & Etsy craziness meant I didn't have a minute to spare.

Sadly, I missed out on doing a December giveaway!

Never fear, I have a special New Year's giveaway planned with two prizes to make up for the non-existent Christmas one.

Stay tuned for the giveaway announcement in the first week of 2008!

Do you like my little wooden cowboy puppet? One of my grandmas died when I was three, & years later, my mum gave me a Christmas stocking my gran had bought for me, & this little guy was one of the toys in it. He's one of my favourite possessions & hangs near my desk so I see him everyday!

Not specifically Christmassy is this fabulous Little Audrey cartoon...but it reminds me of Christmas.

Just show me the hard-hearted curmudgeon who can resist dancing cupcakes!

PS. To be eligible for my monthly giveaways, you need to subscribe to my Mailing List!

Little Things

When my sister Josella & I were kids, we used to collect little treasures such as toys from cereal boxes, Christmas crackers & vending machines, & keep them in tin toffee boxes (we had one each) which we called our 'Little Things Box'. We'd spend hours looking through our prized collections, & sometimes we'd swap pieces. I remember in particular, a pink plastic poodle I loved, & a tiny deck of playing cards. I wish we had kept those relics of our childhood (remember Bretodeau's boyhood stash in Amélie?) - I'd love to see them again!

I still collect plastic toys & keep them in vintage cigar boxes. Here's a small sample from my collection. Some were bought from Covetable Curiosities' & A. Bel Emporium's Etsy shops. The rest I found foraging at secondhand markets. I love my collection of little things!