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October
2005
Hello
Happy Creative Heartbeats
In
this issue of Matters of Madness we have ...
Matters
of Madness - what it's all about
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Get
ready for a different Matter
What Matters in this issue? .......hmmmmm CHANGE Matters
is in this issue.
Welcome to the first of what will now be a monthly
newsletter from nola. Given that the last one
I sent out was 6 months ago - that is a big CHANGE. 
I hope to be creating a newsletter that will
allow us to keep in touch, inspire you, to share
information and knowledge that may assist you
and to share stories about the creative process
that simply may cause us to laugh.
It's been seven and a half years since
I started the Mosaic and Art Studio. I began
in May,1998 at Blackwattle Studios in Glebe
Sydney and now in my current location, the
fire station at Rozelle, Sydney, since June 2000.
And over these many years I have;
~ guided over 2,500 students in either art,
mosaics or sculpture workshops;
~ brought a variety of mosaic
products from overseas and locally to the Madness
Shop to support and inspire the mosaic artist;
~ run art workshops for many Corporate teams where
they explored their creative potential;
~ given many volunteers the opportunity
to gather at the studio to be part of community
mosaic projects;
~ founded the Mosaic Association of Australia;
~ invited International guest mosaic artists
to run special workshops here and;
~ have devoted a great amount of time
and enthusiasm to creating new and inspiring
worshop programs for beautiful students
who have given me their trust.
And importantly, I have worked in solitude on
my drawing, painting, sculpting and mosaic skills;
have entered a few art competitions; and am now
preparing for an exhibition (finally).
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Changes
to the School
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We
all reach a stage, at some point in time,
when we need to press 'refresh' and
that's what I am doing now.
I am as passionate about teaching as I am about
creating my own works. That has not changed -
if anything it has become stronger.
Classes will continue however I am introducing
a new approach. My two Foundation courses in
Mosaics (the Mosaic Madness weekend workshop) and
Art (Art for Strictly Beginners) remain.
The Mosaic Madness Design and technique program
remains too.
So what are the changes? Mosaic Bottega and Art
Atelier are my two new daytime programs - one
for the ongoing mosaic enthusiast and one for
the ongoing art enthusiast.
Read on to find out more. Oh......and the 2006
Course Calendar will be posted on the website
soon.
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Mosaic
Bottega
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Bottega
is a new course that I have already
been running for a few months. It is a
creative journey for the mosaic enthusiast
who wishes to pursue this arform and their
creativity further. The first Bottega workshop
(Bottega I) was about Classical
mosaic appreciation. And there is
no better way to appreciate the classical
mosaic works other than to do what many
artists do to learn their craft - and that
is to copy a piece.
In fact this very same approach is used in Italy
today to teach mosaic enthusiasts to 'see' by
doing.
Bottega
II which has already started, is about
being inspired by a non mosaic artwork. Students
have selected a painting by an artist that
inspires them, explored a little about the
artists life and what may have motivated that
artist to create the piece. And now
the students creative journey begins.
Keep posted next month to see what unfolds!
Bottega III will begin next
year in February. As this is a fluid program
you will need to ring me to find out what this
workshop will be about. The workshop will run
for 6 weeks at a time and will include breaks
in between Bottega's.
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"How
important are the visual arts in our society?
I feel strongly that the visual arts are of vast incalculable
importance. Of course I could be predujiced. I am a
visual art"
- Kermit the Frog
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Art
Atelier
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For my
art students I will be introducing a Saturday
morning Atelier class, similar to the Bottega workshop
that has been created for the mosaic student.
The Art Atelier workshop will be held in
4 weekly sessions and all manner of media
and technique will be explored. From drawing
the nude; self portraiture; sculpture; colour
theory and exercises; classical techniques
like silverpoint; inspiring stories from
the art world and more.
For this year only, the very first Atelier will
begin on Wednesday evenings commencing on 16th
November 2005 for 4 consecutive weeks and the
topic is Colour.
You will learn to truly understand colour; where
colour comes from; how it has been understood
in the past; and create your own colour
wheel; beginning with a classical colour wheel
to contemporary colour wheel and then an
emotional colour wheel. You will learn the language
of colour, how to see colour and how to express
yourself in colour. And with this new found knowledge
you will create two still lives. So if you would
like to book into this course, hop onto the website
and enrol.
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The
Madness Shop
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As part
of my refresh, I have decided to close the Madness
Shop (retail only) forever. The last Saturday
trading day will be 24 December 2005.
Of course purchases can continue to be made
online through my website site 24/7.
So if you're in the area drop by to say hi or
to pick up some supplies, or perhaps make
some Christmas purchases. We have some great
kits available that make beautiful
and unusual gifts. The range of kits extends
to clocks, picture frames, hot plate stands,
coaster sets and more.
Students attending mosaic workshop programs are
still able to buy direct from me (since the stock
will just be moved to my storeroom!) but only
during workshop hours.
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"Life
is occupied both in perpetuating itself and
in surpassing itself;
if all it does is maintain itself, then living
is only not dying."
- Simone de Beauvoir
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Matters
of
Fact or Fiction
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Three Matters
of Fact or Fiction are available
for you to download now. Just send me a
quick email on getinspired@mosaicmadness.com.au and
request the ones you are interested in.
We
have a project sheet on:
1.
Terracotta Pot
2.
Outdoor Table
3.
Large Hebel Block Citronella Holder
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Mos-Oz
Update
Travelling Exhibition News
Visit the
website and check out our recent images of
mediteranean native flowers created by members
of the AIMC (International Association of Contemporary
Mosaicists ) based in Ravenna Italy. Together
with our mos-oz members pieces, it's an impressive
display of mosaic art. www.mos-oz.org
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Portia
Geach
Memorial Award
This
is Vlasia Antoniou and my first painting of
her.
I met Vlasia after she attended my Art For Strictly
Beginners course and we quickly became friends.
I have only begun exploring my work with her
and expect that many more Vlasia's will
emerge.
This painting was entered into the Portia
Geach memorial award for women painting portraiture.
It's my second year running. And for the second
year running I was not accepted.
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Community
Mosaic Projects
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Project
Gerry  is
a tryptich Byzantium mosaic reproduction
of the Virgin, Jesus and St Gerasimos,
for the Greek Orthodox Church in
Leichhardt.
The fabrication for the first of three arched
panels began in February 2005. Since that date
many people have come along to be part of the
making of the Virgin.
The group of people
in the photo are from Maria & Stergias Mosaic
Class in Kogara. And.jpg) the
photo of the Virgin is where we are up to. We
took a break during the winter months and are
about to begin again with the start of daylight
saving.
If
you would like to be part of the making of the
Virgin - just drop me a line and I will add you
to the Project Gerry email list.
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MOSAIC
BUBBLER FOR MARR PARK RESERVE
 This
is a Leichhardt Council and Artstart initiative
where seven 14 year old students have been
attending the Studio on a Thursday afternoon
to help create a mosaic bubbler for Marr
Reserve in Leichhardt.
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EXHIBITION
EXCITEMENT
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Artereal Gallery |
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Lea Kannar
is holding an exhibition of her latest works
at Artereal Gallery. The exhibition is themed
Visions: Land + Sea and will incorporate
paintings and mosaic artworks.
If you would like to know more about Lea
then visit her website at www.artsculpt.com.au |
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students work|
Expressive
self portraitures in charcoal. These were completed
in a 2004 workshop. Just wondering of the students
who completed these recognise themselves?
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Useful & Informative
Links...
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For mosaic
beginners, deciding which colour grout to
use on your finished mosaic can sometimes
cause quite a dilemma.
This useful website is basic, but effective for beginners
who want to see how the colour of the grout
will effect the overall piece.
Visit www.cactusjohnny.com/mosaic/groutcheck.html and
experiment with grout colours.
The Portia Geach Exhibition is
currently being held until 6 November
2005, at S H Erwin Gallery, Observatory Hill,
Sydney.
Sculpture by
the Sea commences
this week. For more
information visit www.voyeurmagic.com.au/sculpt.htm
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keep
inspired ... Nola
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We
do not support spamming in any way, shape or form and
your privacy is important to us. Your comments and questions
are welcome, please send them to getinspired@mosaicmadness.com.au.
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teers
