Oia melds with Indigenous Art

Corner of George and Moor Streets, Fitzroy, Melbourne
October 2013

The colour scheme and most of the patterns used have a Greecian influence, but the layout and use of concentric forms and said patterns, plus the little hand print give it an indigenous flavour. It's a successful meld radiating a positive, inclusive energy.

Adventure Time Mural

Corner of Condell and George Streets Fitzroy, Melbourne
October 2013



The interesting thing about finding locations like this on Google Maps, is that the street view usually was taken before the art existed.

Street Art in Little Smith Street Fitzroy, Melbourne - 5

Street Art in Little Smith Street Fitzroy, Melbourne - 4 Inner Space

Not a favouite of mine but done well, incorporating the architecture and indirectly inspired by Pattachitra a traditional, Indian painting style.

Street Art in Little Smith Street Fitzroy, Melbourne - 3 Outer Space

Street Art in Little Smith Street Fitzroy, Melbourne - 2 Wildlife

Bear mural


This particular artist also did another mural in Fitzroy off Johnson Street with pandas:



Our critically endangered, state (Victorian) emblem:

Helmeted honeyeater mural


Detail

Street Art in Little Smith Street Fitzroy, Melbourne - 1 Decomposition

Late last year I had an appointment in Fitzroy and went for a wander down a few side streets to see what street art I would find. The following post is the first of a series showing what I consider to be the best works walking north in Little Smith Street, in October 2013. They are not all to my taste but they are well done.


Detail of a mural. Unfortunately the ground level section of this piece has been vandalised with spray paint.


Stencil art skull. I like the decomposing substrate and grittiness with the visceral red splash.

Chewbacca Bunny

Chewbacca Bunny sticker on a parking meter,

Footscray, Melbourne 2013

Sticker bombed sign, Fitzroy, Melbourne

Typical of the area, street art sticker bombed sign in Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne. Features sticker by GhostPatrol.

Monochromatic street art mural, Fitzroy, Melbourne.

Fitzroy, Young Street, October 2013


Mural by Makatron, Phibs, Vato and Gore.

I have photoshopped out some vandalism to the mural as best I could off the hippo. See link to see unadulterated close up by Makatron.


View Larger Map
The location as captured by Google Maps

Good eggs and bad eggs - An old fashioned test

So your eggs are close to or past their recommended use by. Or maybe you have your own chooks and you're not sure how old your eggs are. Before you throw them out you can test them to see if they are still good. This is an old trick your grand mother would have used.


First take your egg. Funny face drawn on is optional (done with a Chinagraph / wax pencil)

Gently place it into a glass of water.
Make sure you choose a glass big enough for the egg to sink to the bottom.
If it sinks, it's a good egg and it's fine to eat.


If it floats, it's a bad egg so do not eat it!
It floats because of the gas created as it decomposes.

I usually test a whole carton to see if any need to be disposed of, then retest them as I use them. I break our bad eggs directly into the compost bin.

Stewed in warmed melted butter

'The heat was so extreme as the ship sailed towards Rio de Janeiro in February 1832 that Darwin slept naked on the mahogany dissecting table at night. Even then he complained that he felt as if he were being stewed in warmed melted butter'
from Darwin and the Barnacle by Rebecca Stott

Another way to express the sensation of feeling really hot here (NSFW: coarse language):

Open - my bear at Toy to the World 2014

Open
Work in progress animation of customised vinyl Popobe bear figure.

Here are the details for the Toy to the World exhibition and silent auction my little bear 'Open', will be at.You can bid for it here.

Toy to the World 2014

WHEN: Tuesday 21st January
WHERE: ArtBoy Gallery, 99 Greville St Prahran
ENTRY: Gold coin donation (voluntary - covers cost of venue hire)

From the Facebook event page:
'Since early December over 80 artists from Melbourne and around the world have been busy customizing over 100 blank vinyl toy bears for the Toy to the World Project.

They're now just about ready to exhibit and to auction off to raise funds for HIV research and education.

Part design competition, part charity fundraiser, the opening night of the TTTW Project kicks off the 2 week long online auction.

The bears will all be on display for only 5 (sic actually 4) days after the opening night at ArtBoy atop the locally crafted quality display plinths from kist3, big ups to these guys.

Once the opening night is over you can continue to check on your bids in the auction and place new bids via our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/toy2theworld the auction will close on Tuesday Feb 4th at 7pm sharp.

Bears can be collected at an arranged time from South Yarra after this, or can be sent via post (additional postage & handling costs will apply on top of your winning bid)

All profits raised via the auction go the Victoria AIDS Council.'

More Band Names

Continuing on from my previous post of band names:
Nematode (explaining a home crop issue to J)
Anal Plate (flipping through a field guide of Australian butterflies. I think it describes part of a caterpillar)
Dirty Measure (housemate talking about reusing a measuring cup)
Pissweak Paperweight (an observation made about an antique acquisition of my father's)
Sticky Spud (~can't remember~)
Spank the Colander (action taken to remove droplets caught in apertures of colander to ensure it dries in dish rack)

Chicken Twirl Mascot

I was unusually checking out Woolworth's frozen food section and was reminded why I don't usually do this:

Chicken Twirls, Southern style.


At least he seems like a polite mascot with hat doffed and toothy ah, disarming smile - even if his legs are a bit too heroically apart! Can you imagine him sitting on a horse? Why does he have a belt? What is that curious bulge at the top of his leg? Why am I calling it a him?

Humane Anti Bird Barrier - ground plants and seedlings.

A free and easy way to protect young plants and seedlings from foraging birds. Blackbirds in particular like to forage through garden beds flicking mulch and dirt about in their search for food. They often dig up young plants in the process!

We have used bamboo twigs neatly placed in 'A' shapes as shown above but a triangular teepee or encircling fence in similar proximity will work as well if not better. You don't have to use bamboo -any stick or twig will do. It needs to be sturdy and long enough so it won't be easily dug up and is close together enough to prevent the bird from getting close to the root system or the plant itself. More rather than less is best for delicate seedlings. As the plant gets older you can pull them out. With found twigs you can be a bit lazier and just leave them there to disintegrate.

A larger version of this system also works well for stopping your dog from continually peeing on a plant.

Forest Spirit Tree

This dead tree overgrown with vines near J's house used to remind me of The Forest Spirit (Shishi-gami) from Princess Mononoke by Studio Ghibli. It was cleaned up and cut down last year. That's a full moon in the sky behind it.

Potted herbs

Potted herbs on an outdoor table are easy to look after and harvest.

My favourite garden herbs:

• Thyme is a perennial and a pretty little plant. Tasty sprinkled on buttered, toasted bread but also in more complex things!
• Oregano is also a perennial but needs to be trimmed back hard after flowering before returning in the spring flush with leaves. Lovely in pasta dishes and on pizza.
• Chives and garlic chives are handy perennials when you want an onion or garlic hint without the full punch. Garlic chives are particularly easy to grow.
• Italian parsley is an annual that grows so easily from seed that you need never buy fresh parsley again. Even a black thumb should be able to grow some! Cut some excess by the stalk, bundle with string to hang dry in a dark, warm place so that you will have some all year round. Better still, let some go to seed and save the seed to plant at intervals so you always have harvestable amounts.
• Sweet Basil is annual you can grow from seed or buy a punnet full of seedlings. I prefer the punnet option because I want them NOW. Well soon anyway. The fragrance is divine. Freeze your excess leaves to add to pasta sauces and pestos over winter after your plants have died.

The feminine wiles of aubergines.

My housemate grew one bootilicious aka callipygian (cal·li·pyg·i·an) aubergine last Summer.


I bought this one because I couldn't resist sharing her with you!

Ladies we should not be ashamed of our - or our fresh produce's - sexy parts. It's empowering to see female artists reclaiming female genitalia back from the censors and celebrating it as something beautiful, sensual and intimate. I'm not sure I'd want to wear it around my neck but to each her own!

"...And For Dessert..." by Ron Adams

"...And For Dessert..." by Ron Adams

o..O

Seen at Vinnie's Op Shop in July. Going by my internet research - I didn't buy or look inside this book - it's a recipe book for sensual play with food published in 1974.