Fashion: Clothes for Modern Lovers…..

Time to turn back the digital clock. It’s 1980 and Katie Pye is an Australian fashion designer busy taking shoulders to new widths, using colours only bees can see and dropping waistlines to legwarmed knees. Fast forward to 2007 and a technicolour retrospective of her work is so loud it’s screaming out of the National Gallery of Victoria at Federation Square. The exhibition, ‘Clothes for modern lovers’  is a fantastic, and retina burning, rewind to the days when all the colours of the rainbow got a look-in. Also great to see is ‘Apocalypse Wear’ –  you know, that Mad Max inspired look of shredded fabrics, layers of burlap and feet bandaged like they’ve been treading a nuke scorched earth. Pop on some RayBans and check it out.

The next best thing is online……………..http://www.katiepye.com/gallery/clothing.php

Craft: Storybook mash-up!!

You’ll never guess the ending of this story book mash up. Tear up some pretty picture books, a couple of microwave cooking ones and a 70’s pattern book and shuffle them like a stack of cards to make your very own story book. Grab your UHU glue and cut and paste pics and text in a Devil may care fashion. To make sense of the mess use a bit of Letraset or your best handwriting to tell a tale of your own.

My hot tip is to go to the op-shop and head for the hard backs. Dust jackets can conceal some very pretty covers like the one I found below. In lieu of bookbinding skills a dainty belt from Nanna’s ‘Day at the races’ frock holds all the pages together.

 

           

Crochet: Multi tasking moggie…

This little kitty can do twice as much as an ordinary kitty! Reading AND listening to an i-pod – to think that most only manage a kip in the sunshine. Angela East is the crochet queen behind this adorable mutant. Have a squizz at her website for more doubled up cuties http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5360 or read an interview with her http://www.theprogram.net.au/featuresSub.asp?id=4724&state=3 (that’s a longie!).

Amigurumi is the Japanese equivalent of these crochet friends, www.amigurumikingdom.com for more in sweet n’ strange animals.

Painting: Late for work again……

                                                             

 Those people at Platform Artist Group have made me late for work again. The subway gallery in Campbell Arcade Melbourne is now showing ‘In House’, the kind of exhibition that stops a lass in her tracks and makes her go all wobbly. The kind of exhibition that makes her miss her train just to look a little longer. The show is made up of portraits hung as if on the wall of their own home; a gun toting teenage couple are surrounded by their tacky mementos, a Marie Antoinette type is mounted alongside gilt frames and porcelein figurines. Gorgeous!!

To read more about the In House show have a squizz at http://www.theprogram.net.au/featuresSub.asp?id=4890&state=1

To get up close to the In House crew go to www.aportraittorememberoz.com/inhouse

http://platformartistsgroup.blogspot.com/

Cooking: It’s got dots, it’s got spots……

 

Tickle your friends hot pink with a birthday cake to knock their socks off. A humble packet cake mix is given an artistic flourish using dollar dazzler super glam sprinkles. A steady hand is all it takes! Get 11 out of 10 for using matching plate and table cloth!

Craft: Regrets, I’ve had a few…….

 

File your failings under ‘R’ for regrets and forget about them! I have, and you can too. C.I.Y (Craft It Yourself)  and you won’t be able to remember your poor choices, your woefull romances or your terrible betrayals!