Open Studios

Today I'm participating in another 'Artist's Open Studios' event in my local area. My studio in Panton Hill is one of 26 open throughout the Nillumbik Shire. As is written in the booklet that accompanies the program, 'Nillumbik invites you to discover over 30 artists in their studios, providing an intimate and privileged insight into their arts practice. Explore the inspirationalBackdrop of some of Victoria's most beautiful bushland and interesting architecture, constructed from mudbrick, stone and recycled materials'.

 

Please come along for a little 'sneak peek' inside my studio this weekend too :)

While I have paintings adorning the round walls (a bit like a gallery) visitors can also see the array of materials I utIlise to create these works. On these shelves (pictured below) there are many fabrics that I have collected from travels across Asia. There are also a range of greeting cards. My publication, Seizui, is available too.Up in the loft one can also glimpse clothing racks of Japanese Obi and Kimono and boxes full of material off-cuts.

On the shelves below this painting (pictured below) there are boxes of the papers that I use within the collage element of each painting. Amoung these are beautiful Japanese Washi papers, Chinese Joss, Indonesian foils, vintage wallpapers and vintage asian newspapers.

Below is a photo of a shelving unit full of paints, tapes, pencils, leaf, waxes and on the top shelf, a collection of vintage wooden stamps from. India, Nepal and Indonesia. These have been used to print patterns onto fabric in different parts of Asia.   Gosh - the stories these stamps could tell!

 

Because of the collage and screen printing processes within my paintings, I'll spend a deal of time with each canvas lying flat on a trestle table. Here is a little display of the process of screen printing an area of 'kikko hanabashi' (the traditional Japanese tortoise shell pattern) onto an area of gold leaf. Sheets of acitate act as a mask during the printing process. The paintings will later be transferred to a vertical easel for additional painting.

Below is a snapshot from a table of reading material, articles and catalogues from past exhibitions. There are four publications from recent shows.

A lot of visitors to my studio are also fascinated by the studio itself. This 'ferro cement' studio was built on my family property. My father, Wayne Lascelles, designed a stunning home some years before my studio was built. Below are a few of the magazines that this home has been featured in.


While my parents were building, I used their carport (a circular Mudbrick building to house 4+ cars) as my studio. It was then that I fell in love with the circular space to create within. One night out at dinner Dad and I drew on serviettes the basic design for a this studio ..... And with the help of local ferro cement expert, Mark Phillips, the rest is history :)

And finally, for today's little 'virtual' studio tour, another photo inside the studio space. This is the view through the tunnel from the smaller, two story 'storage' space into the larger area that I actually paint in. The stone for these steps actually came out of the excavated site beneath the studio.

Visit www.artistsopenstudios.com.au for more about the program.