Peeks at new sculpture I’ve been working on. Grey army blanket I found at mums house when clearing out to sell after she passed away in 2020. Linen thread, vintage doilies, antique cloth 1800’s, gold thread, eco plant dyed textiles & rusted buried cloth under ground for around 3 months. Rusted wire fence droppers found in outback Australia.
Posts Tagged ‘rust’
Sculpture Process – Fiber Arts
Sunday, February 6th, 2022
“Door to Door” Exhibition. Artaviso & No Vacancy Gallery.
Thursday, June 4th, 2020
Thanks Artaviso for selecting my artwork ” Iso Charging Machine” to be part of the “Door to Door” exhibition.
The first phase of Artaviso ‘s Door to Door project is now live! An evolving virtual exhibition that will culminate in a physical exhibition in November 2020 at No Vacancy Gallery in Melbourne.
Here’s the image of my entry showing the finished artwork followed by the page from Newnes’ Pictorial Knowledge 1950s Encyclopedia (edited by Enid Blyton) which, selected at random, formed the basis of the artwork.
Check out my a mixed media artwork, Iso Charging Machine here
Check out the virtual exhibition “Door to Door” exhibition here
For sales enquiries please contact Hayley at @novacancygallery info@no-vacancy.com.au
Iso Charging Machine. Jenny Davis
Being ripped from our natural normal states, during unprecedented times, this machine collects our thoughts, ideas, emotions and turns them into ingots. A kind of sorting machine for making sense of thoughts and the human state. Using as a sorting machine we may then see the bigger picture.
Once filled, each ingot is ejected from the mould and left to simmer and collate. Upon settling, thoughts, ideas and emotions disperse into smaller sections. Once, we can identify and describe our own emotions, action, can then be taken, to sort, keep, or delete. Some gold, some less important.
Hot Studio. Paper Collage Making.
Monday, December 30th, 2019Too hot to go to the studio today (43 C – 110 F) so I’m working in the house studio. Messing up the the large table, workbench, I just painted for Xmas dinner. It will now become stained and marked until, I paint it for the next event, or next lot of visitors.
Making collage with vintage and rust papers.
The process of tearing and pasting helps me to slow down and be in the moment. Something I need right now after the rush of appointments and Christmas.
I’m using lots of old paper and pages from antique French magazines disintegrated from age and torn from the long trip back in my luggage, from Paris.
So, I have been using them in my mixed media and collage projects.
On one trip to France I bought home a heap of middle eastern cake papers. I think they were $1 a pack. So I got a mix of colours. They are great for adding pattern and texture.
The inside of window envelopes have great patterns for collage. I often use envelopes to make little books and peepholes in the book pages.
Collages finished today.
Collage 1. Delivery
Collage 2. The Carriers
Collage 3. Mardlarking. Thames.
Collage 4. Salvage
Rustmatter abstract paintings now available.
Sunday, July 8th, 2018New paintings available in my gallery. “Rustmatter” series. I want to capture the “beauty & hope” in decline, before its gone and continues my investigation into the disintegration and decay of the environment, of life and the human psyche.
Experiments with layers of rust, paint, iron shavings and salt. Finally, surfaces emerged, worn , weathered and sometimes ancient. I then sealed the paintings to keep stable and lock in the layers.
Each painting is a visual and textural descent into the abandoned, the derelict, the vacant and the forgotten. Curator & Arts Writer, Dr. Ewen Jarvis.
NOTE – All inclusive : Express Post, Tracking, Signature, Insurance & Packaging.
Yering Station Art Gallery & Spaces Below
Wednesday, April 11th, 2018Current Exhibition in the Main Gallery at Yering Station – 10 April – 20 May.
JENNY DAVIS — SPACES BELOW
Wallmatter, Oil paint on canvas, 140 x 180 cm
‘Spaces Below’ is a visual and textural descent into the abandoned, the derelict, the vacant and the forgotten. Through her utilisation of forlorn industrial structures, stained and crumbling walls, acts of graffiti, redundant signage, and portals giving access to meandering subterranean systems, Jenny Davis evokes a unique vision at once spare and lavish, material and ghostly. It is a vision that elevates the significance of random marks, stress fractures and other imperfections, while enfolding the viewer in an atmosphere of chromatically gentle and strangely opulent decay. The abstractions that haunt these works are investigations of the many traces that run like hieroglyphs and riddles across the surface of neglected structures.
Davis’s subterranean life began in childhood. Drawn to ‘small spaces’ where she wouldn’t be disturbed, she would play in drainpipes, on vacant industrial sites and in newly constructed buildings, often working discarded materials into makeshift furniture and decorative objects. After an arts residency in Barcelona in 2005 and a visit to France in 2006, Davis steered her arts practice toward spaces reminiscent of those early childhood memories. In researching and documenting understructures, abandoned buildings and marks left behind in the built environment, she found ‘beauty in decay, random marks, aerial perspectives, graffiti and weathered surfaces’. Ever attuned to the narrative and oneiric possibilities of timeworn surfaces, Davis’s latest exhibition creates an altogether seductive immateriality from abrasive mediums such as cement, iron and rust.
Davis’s practice spans twenty-five years and encompasses painting, sculpture, drawing, collage, photography, book arts, textiles, installation‚ video‚ sound and virtual worlds. Her artwork has been exhibited in Australia, Germany, France, Spain, the UK and the US and is represented in numerous private and public collections. She has received awards and residencies both nationally and internationally, and her digital artworks have been projected onto buildings in Times Square, New York and in 2017 at The Venice Biennale 57. “La Biennale di Venezia” in Italy. Davis currently works from her studio in the Yarra Valley region of Victoria, Australia. By DR. Ewen Jarvis 2018
Wallmatter 5, Acrylic, shellac, pigment, sealer on canvas, 122 x 92 cm
For more information please contact
Dr Ewen Jarvis
Curator
Yering Station Art Gallery
38 Melba Highway
Yarra Glen Vic 3775
P + 61 3 9730 0100
M + 0400 894 646
Fragments. An old chair. Inspiration for new work.
Wednesday, February 7th, 2018As a small child I pulled things apart. Even, before I could talk, I ripped apart dolls and toys. I used to make little displays, installations of the fragments and other discarded things. Today I still pull things apart. I find fragments more pleasing and sometimes, even more interesting than the original object.
Recently, I pulled apart an old chair that had been hanging around for years. The wood was still good. The cloth and leather had grit and rust, just perfect for sculpture. The rustic bits and pieces also related to some textile fragments, I unpicked from an 1800’s, quilt topper. I’m still working on outcomes and painting has crept in too. Below are some pics of the process.
Rust & Decay. Experiments with Rust Paint.
Sunday, November 19th, 2017Everybody who knows me, knows, how much, I love metal, rust and decay. Many years ago, I collected old rusty, metal objects from the roadsides and turned them into sculptures. I also gained my certificates in welding. At the time, with myself and 3 children to support, I welded in factories to make a living and in between, I made sculptures from the rusty found objects. I don’t weld much anymore, as it’s a problem for me to move around the heavy metal, but I still have a large collection of smaller bits, I use, to rust up, paper, objects and textiles for my projects. Lately, I have been playing around with some commercial rust paints.
Clay, Botanics Rust Paint, IOD Décor Moulds
Today, I tried out, Botanic’s rust paint, from L’essential in Australia. I love the fact they are all environmentally-conscious products, free from nasty additives and are preservative-free where possible. They smell good too. I’m very pleased with the result and it does, really look like rust.
Clay, Botanics Rust Paint, IOD Décor Moulds
The problem I have is, I need large amounts of rust paint for my projects and now looking for a brand with reasonable prices.
Maybe I could even make my own…
Rustmatter. Limited Edition Artist Books
Wednesday, November 1st, 2017
Connections and contrasts of imperfections, found in the urban environment, highlighting, insignificant marks, weathered surfaces and cast – offs. I am influenced by abandoned and derelict spaces, vacant industrial sites, structures, old walls & graffiti.One of a kind, handmade ( Limited Edition) artist books from Australian contemporary artist Jenny Davis
Each book consists of:
1 Vintage cigar tin lined with eco- dyed crochet scrap in Shibori- dyed indigo blue, or rust.
1 Handmade concertina artist book, collage with rust – dyed papers and slow stitched with Japanese Shibori threads.
A vintage button with an 1800’s, rusted suspender buckle, winds around the book to close. Some buckles have “Paris” engraved.
1 Scrap piece of rust – dyed canvas cloth, frayed, embellished with slow stitching.
1 Handmade collage created from aged, rust paper, antique suspender buckle and slow stitching.
2 photographs in an acrylic pouch, taken beneath the City of Paris, France.
1 rusted fence loop found in the outback Australia.
(Each artist book is original, handmade and differs from the other. They are all created from the same materials though, making each one, a collectable piece of art)
Please click on photos to purchase!
Rust 2
Rust 3
Rust 4
Rust 5
Rust 6
Rust 7
Rust 8
Rust 9
Rust 10
Time, Change, Erosion and Decay + Freebie Rust Dyeing Tutorial
Friday, March 17th, 2017
The process of transformation. Time, change, erosion and decay are qualities I like to celebrate. I examine and explore, the properties and possibilities, of my material and want to push the boundaries of something to get a deeper understanding.
In my latest project, I’m working with textiles over a 100 years old. I want to work with the worn and deteriorated textiles and collaborate alongside those, who in the past, so carefully stitched, mended and created, the pieces for comfort and warmth.
Each piece was once, carefully hand -stitched and now, breaking down and worn. I have very selectivity pulled apart and unpicked areas, and kept some intact.
Some areas of fabric, are so badly worn it breaks in my hands, so I have to reinforce it. Most pieces though are just left in their original state.
I then, like to push the process further with, natural & rust dying methods, mark making, hand stitching and painting with caste iron, botanical paints.
Numerous times, I expose the materials to the elements to experience the changes.
Getting to the essence of my material helps me to translate and describe its being. I rarely know the outcome of my projects and just go with the flow.
Wanting to know how to rust – dye? Please see my free rust – dyeing tutorial
Concretematter. New Sculpture in the Gallery.
Wednesday, July 27th, 2016New Sculpture in the Gallery. Concretematter.
New sculpture available from my exhibition at The Memo,in Healesville Victoria Until Tues.16th August 2016
For more information please contact
Jade Bitar
Regional Exhibitions Officer
03 5965 3509 / 0419 384 526
exhibitions@yarraranges.vic.gov.au
Concretematter
To construct my 3D objects, I have used various methods: eco rust and Japanese Shibori dyeing, molding, casting, curing, sanding, chiselling, engraving, embedding, propagating, tearing, burning, sealing and finishing. To create the pieces, I combine hard and soft materials: industrial concrete, found packaging, lichen, moss, seaweed, vintage glass, cloth fragments and rusted found objects.
Wallmatter Exhibition Photos – Jenny Davis – 2016
Thursday, July 14th, 2016Wallmatter Exhibition Photos – Jenny Davis – 2016
A huge thank you to everybody who attended the opening of my new exhibition Wallmatter last Saturday. A special thank you to all the people who helped me pull it altogether and make it a special day. I feel so blessed and encouraged with all the support shown for my artwork and the new friendships I made.
Wallmatter continues until Tuesday August 16th at The Memo, Healesville Victoria. Free Entry. All artworks are for sale.
A few photos I took the next day as I forgot my camera on opening night.
An installation of paint, concrete, rust and
textiles, inspired by imperfections and
weathered surfaces, linking to the abandoned
and neglected spaces found in urban and rural
environments.
“Surfaces and objects touched by time tell a
story and are a raw reflection of their environment.
I want to highlight the significance of a random
mark, or the crumbling texture of a wall in an
underground space. They are evidence to a
previous time in history. My abstractions are
investigations into marks and traces left behind
in the urban and rural environment.”
– Jenny Davis, Artist
You are Invited to “Wallmatter”. An exhibition by Jenny Davis.
Tuesday, June 21st, 2016
Experiments with Concrete Cloth and Rust. Sculpture.
Sunday, May 15th, 2016Experiments with Concrete Cloth and Rust. Sculpture.
Just a quick update about what Ive been doing lately.
Work for my exhibition was almost finished, until, I discovered a bunch of rusted textiles Id forgotten about. Now, I want to make more sculpture. A solid form with thin wafers of cloth, concrete and rust.
Today, I’m heading into the studio to work out how to achieve this. Wet concrete is very formless so pouring, layer, upon layer of cloth then, concrete, in a mold, just wouldn’t work. The cloth would get covered with concrete on the outer edges and I want slices of cloth sticking out and visible on the outside.
Funny thing is, when I Googled it, all I came up with was my own experiments and work with concrete, cloth and rust.
So, I’m now in the process of inventing how to do this:)
More details about my “Wallmatter” exhibition coming soon!
Concrete. Rust. Textile. Sculpture. Work in the Studio.
Sunday, April 3rd, 2016Concrete. Rust. Textile. Sculpture. Work in the Studio.
Experiments with concrete, rust and textiles in developing sculpture.
Junk packaging for mold making
Taped up packaging filled with concrete, rust and cloth.
Poured wet concrete sculpture
A series of 3D objects in the making
The first raw reveal after 24 hours. At this stage, I need to make my final decisions and changes to this sculpture, while the concrete is still soft enough to work with. I discovered in some of my earlier experiments, once its rock hard, its more difficult to work with.
I am still working on this series of sculptures using concrete, rust and textiles that will be part of my “Wallmatter” exhibition.
“Just turn up and the work will show itself”. New Work.
Monday, February 15th, 2016I’m not sure where I’ve heard this, but fully believe in this saying,
“Just turn up and the work will show itself”
Today, I headed to the studio and let go of all the pressure, I had been putting on myself for weeks, about starting new work for my next exhibition.
I sat for awhile without any expectations, trying to connect to something.
I then started playing around with materials, I hadn’t used since art school
and after finding some leftover weathered metal from my welding days
my ideas eventually came together.
By just letting go and believing in the creative process
I now, have a better idea of where I’m heading with my project
and some of the materials I will be using.
How to Rust Dye Fabric.
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011Lately I’ve been experimenting with natural dyeing processes for fabrics and papers. I’m trying out rust dyeing at the moment. I want to build up a collection of natural and rust dyed fabrics and papers so when my next creative spurt comes around, I’ll have plenty to work with.
Over the years I have collected heaps of metal for welding my sculptures so have plenty bits hiding on my property just rusting away. The gathering of the metal objects, wrapping them with the fabric spraying with vinegar and binding with rope and wire is quite relaxing. I call it mummy wrapping.
It only takes a couple of hours for marks to appear but I like to keep mine for up to a week or two so I can get deeper impressions and colours. I discovered if I wrap fabric around old pieces of copper pipe the amazing green and red patinas are transferred to the fabric as well.
I’m happy with the end result and see connections to the abstract marks I create in my paintings. There are paintings in themselves