buttons

Nothing like a bit of instant gratification. I went to the Push your buttons exhibition at ANU School of Art Gallery today and saw some interesting work, and most excitingly got to make some buttons of my very own. There was a busy little group of visitors cutting, arranging and stamping out very cool badges. I got into a bit of a frenzy and made about a dozen. The image above shows Ginger's and my bug and beetle collection - there's also a sneaky fly by Waratah Lahy in there too. I put a few more images on my flickr page - think I might go back tomorrow and make a few more.

Anyone in Canberra can go along and make buttons for free tomorrow between 12 and 4 - the exhibition continues till 5 May.

Miscellaneous Correspondence

I went to an exhibition opening tonight at the local Contemporary Art Space and thoroughly enjoyed Jane Barney's installation. The letter of invitation gave me such a giggle I'm going to quote it here almost in it's entirety:

Dear Art Enthusiast

RE: Miscellaneous Correspondence Exhibition

Enclosed please find a small fridge magnet. Though it appears to be an abstract blur, this magnet is an important component of the image Woman in dress reading near man in suit, and is part of the exhibition Miscellaneous Correspondence.

Could you please convene, with your magnet, at the opening ...

... If you are unable to attend, please send a proxy with your magnet.

Shoul you feel compelled to file this letter as a record, then the file would correctly be titled 'Miscellaneous Correspondence', and the letter would be folio # '1'. Please do not attempt to file your magnet as a record as it does not fall within Redord Management Guidelines as a fileable item. Should you feel compelled to file a resord of your magnet, please make a paper facsimile for placement on file as folio #'2'. You may also wish to consider putting your magnet on your fridge as a visual reminder of the upcoming event.

111 other art enthusiasts will receive the remaining 111 components that comprise Woman in dress reading near man in suit. 112 public servants will receive 112 components that comprise the image Man in white collar. By compiling their miscellaneous correspondence, public servants and art enthusiasts will compete for the coveted title of 'Best in Records Management'....

One of my friends was understandably miffed to fall under the category public servant, I, on the other hand was thrilled that though I derive my income from public service related activities, I was rightfully categorised as an art enthusiast. When I left, both magnet murals were unfinished so I wait with baited breath to find out who won the coveted title of Best in Records Management.

Laura's chucked a wobbly

Laura works on my floor, she is a recalcitrant photocopier who arrived wrapped in plastic, Laura has attitude. The following excerpts from our office email list will give you an idea of Laura's personality:

Laura's sleeping in...

Laura is missing a part that keeps the hole in the Ozone layer stable- The part has been ordered, ETA unknown.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news …. I’ve changed the toner … and it wont’ accept the new cartridge … can
someone come fix it?

Do not use LAURA as we have no yellow toner

Dear IT
We have an enormous problem. The magenta on Laura is gone. Please come and fix it now.

Does anyone else work with an anthropomorphic photocopier?

directional clothing

directional clothing, originally uploaded by Kate&Ted.

To catch up on the last two weeks - I spent very little time at the National Folk Festival this year as I was popping into work all weekend to finish off stuff before spending a week installing a show at Geraldton in WA (about 5 hours drive north of Perth).

I did catch Fred Smith doing a snappy rendition of a song called Tension - it has the fabulous lyrics 'just don't stuff my clobber full of flora!'

Also was mightly entertained by the Dolls - I'm biased as my fella's band was supporting them - but the rest of the audience appeared to be having a ball too. I also caught bits of Mic Conway's National Junk band - their version of the Sex Pistols God Save the Queen rocked. Also saw the Lawnmowers, Bluestone Junction and a bit of Totally Gourdgeous and Mystery Pacific (website doesn't appear to be working - will try and add a link later). All well worth catching if their in your neck of the woods.

So Easter Monday I was on a Plane to WA - the best and sometimes worst part of my job is the travel. Its fantastic going to places I would otherwise have no reason to visit and great meeting and working with a wide variety of people. It's also stressful working in unfamiliar environments with a wide variety of people.

Geralton, like many coastal Australian towns appears to do a brisk trade in the alternate, spiritual, hippy, tiedyed, dreamcatcher variety of retail outlet. I didn't get to the store above during business hours so my curiousity about the directional clothing was not satisfied. Also spotted around town were shops with the inspirational names: Inna Dreams, Fantasy Fings and Crystal Hemlock.

Street art in Adelaide

, originally uploaded by Kate&Ted.

This is a detail of a nice bit of street art I spotted in Adelaide last week while attending the fringe - I love this artist's sensibility and the way they play with transparency and form, I'm also a sucker for anything with birds in it. There are a few more on my other flickr page.