Beasts in the Wardrobe, Bronchitis & bad telly....

Beasts in the Wardrobe is a project I have been working on as part of MSFW. (Melbourne Spring Fashion Week), as part of their curated  And one of those moments where I have thought "oh no...I've bitten off more than I can chew." In large part due to a spectacular bout of bronchitis brought on by my sister sharing her germs with me, thank you sooooo much... who said she never gave me anything nice? 

All of this came about because Madame Virtue had a sale earlier this year & I got to poke around the amazing archive collection. Getting to play in a wardrobe full of designer goodies, exotic jewels, accessories, beautiful fabrics and other gorgeous things got me thinking about dressing up.   

Beast masks at the ready - Sai-Wai Foo

I got all excited about doing an installation at the store - really I wanted to play with all the toys again. Also I was blissfully unaware of just what I would have in the pipeline for this time of year. Currently I am working, pattern-making and making things for upcoming shows as well as, being addicted to Pinter-est, obsessed with Ink Master & Tattoo Nightmares. (yes crap telly I know but what are you supposed to do when I have to wait a week for my Breaking Bad fix?) I say it's all good stuff & it makes me happy :)

 Bunny & the Wolf trying on a few accessories

My terrible viewing habits aside, I am making paper masks of different animals that will sit on full size mannequins. Each creature has a different personality & of course will have an outfit to suit. The show is a collaboration with Madame Virtue's in house stylist Dean we are going to play designer dress ups with my creatures. Can't wait! I have a bear, a wolf, a tiger, a deer and of course a rabbit; all waiting to dress up and hang around the store over MSFW. (Melbourne Spring Fashion Week)

"Come to a dress-up for wild fashion animals, celebrating the fun of occasion dressing and the body as a canvas and an expression of personality.

Sai-Wai Foo, of ‘Pleatybunny by Miss Foo’, has unleashed a preening pack of exotic beasts upon Madam Virtue, where they had free rein of the wardrobe.

Masks and head-dresses fashioned from paper are combined with archival designer pieces, jewels and accessories, where more is definitely better!

Playing with textures, fabrics and the full palette of colours and patterns, this is the ultimate dress-up for all the wild fashion animals!"

Location

Madam Virtue
5 Crossley Street
Melbourne 3000

Dates and times

31/08/2013 to 08/09/2013

Mon: 11am – 6pm 
Tues: 11am – 6pm 
Wed: 11am – 6pm 
Thurs: 11am – 6pm 
Fri: 11am – 7pm 
Sat: 11am – 4pm 
Sun: 11am – 4pm

the bay & porthole gallery

A couple of months ago I went on a little adventure on the water! The accompanying pictures are from this glorious day.

I took part in very inspiring session on the water with about 35 other artists. It was organized by the lovely folk at the "Mission to Seafarers" who do great work with all the sea farers that past through our bays. http://www.missiontoseafarers.com.au/

There was a grand plan to stay outdoors to paint/draw but the lure of a deck chair, lazing in the warm sun & eating crispy triple fried chips was far too much for me. It all proved utterly distracting but at least my vitamin D levels got a boost! The other plus side is I managed to lead friend astray who was supposed to be diligently working in her studio.

I've been obsessed with the docks and ship yards for a long time, I keep my old sketchbooks and it is funny how I keep coming back to particular ideas and themes.
I love the scale of the ships & the toy-like building block look of the shipping containers. 
Based on that jaunt on the water I'm working on an entry for the ANL Maritime art prize for later in the year. Fingers-crossed I am a finalist, I don't paint often but thought having a project with set date would be good for me! 

My involvement with the Mission doesn't end there, I have been invited to show at the new Porthole Gallery based in the docklands. A few of my pleated paper sculptures are going to be housed at the gallery as well as some smaller collage pieces over the coming weeks. 

The gallery officially opens the 20th of August and will house nautical theme artworks. 30% of the profits will go towards the Mission and all the wonderful work that they do. More on the gallery here & Facebook
 

Location

Maritime Port Hole Gallery
Harbour Town
428 Docklands Drive
Docklands Vic 3008

Contact details

Mobile: 0400 816 332
bill@missiontoseafarers.com.au
Facebook

Opening hours

* Open by appointment. The premises is be staffed by volunteers. It is open based on volunteer availability