worst. blogger. ever.

I know, I'm sorry, it's been ages, and worse than that, I left my last post about the tenmoregirls exhibition promising closure to the nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat "what's bernadette going to make" question.

The thing is, back then I had a great idea of what I was going to make, but then I changed my mind.  And then I got discouraged.  Sometimes over-ambition can be my enemy, because I think I'm on to a winner, but the ideas become over-blown and convoluted.  

Originally I decided that I wanted to try to cook recipes I hadn't tried before, and make a piece that reflected each dish.  To finally conclude the last post...it was a lamb roast.  I had never made one before.  I think because it's the sort of meal reserved for Sundays and Easter I assumed it would be difficult.  Imagine my delight when I found you just stick in some garlic and rosemary, put the whole thing in the oven, and that's it.  

In retrospect, my awe does seem a little misplaced.  (But it was pretty delicious.)

The piece turned out like this...

Nested: comfort #1 & #3. 925 silver, silk, 2011

It's a vessel and a pin, and meant to be like a little nest, warm and cosy, like that feeling you get at home.

I continued cooking, and tried to design interpretations of dishes, but I wasn't happy with the outcomes, nothing worked together as a cohesive body of work.  It just looked messy.  I was cooking things like tagines, hot pots, soups; slowly it dawned on me that I was drawn to making comfort foods.  They all had that warm, cosy feeling.  It was one of those lightbulb moments, my work became focussed on the idea of the home, the warmth of the hearth.  So I've been making a series of silver nests, holding silk, cast glass and pate de verre glass, representing comfort, stability and protection.

works in progress

They're nearly finished, which is lucky, as we're installing the exhibition in 2 days time.  

The other reason I haven't been posting is that I've been pretty busy on the home front.  Stanwell, my resident mixologist, and I have packed up the tikis and moved.  We are Marrickvillains no more (the best I can come up with now is Dulwich Hillbillies?)  Anyway, all the pottering and tinkering around the new place does seem to take up a lot of time, but it's looking pretty spectacular.  I'll post some pictures soon, I promise.

In the meantime, I hope to see you at the exhibition opening, 

10 girls. 10 colours. 18th October, 6pm-8pm, 

Salerno Gallery, 70 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe.