astrid

Hello, hello, and happy Tuesday grumpy stars and pink galahs!

I have had a beautiful week with my latest Wallflower, 'Astrid'. I love the sound of this name; the soft hiss of the 'As', and the muted thud of the 'id'. I have a bit of a love-affair with the way certain names sound, I must confess; like a Robert Frost poem, there's something about the way that names are said that brings them to life and gives them three dimensions.

 

'S' sounds in particular give me little goosebumps. Just for a bit of fun, have a read of this poem. Then read it out loud (for best effect, try to maintain the iambic rhythm if you can!).

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

-Robert Frost, 1923

 

I think this is my favourite poem mostly because I feel like I've been somewhere else when I read it. It haunts me in a beautiful sort of way; long after I've finished reading I imagine echoes of snow falling and feel a sense of, I suppose, delicious loneliness. The little snowflakes around Astrid are a sort of tribute to this aural beauty, and in contrast to the daisies in her hair- because, this is a joyous and happy picture after all!

 

And, quite fittingly, her name means 'fair, beautiful goddess'- suits her very nicely, don't you think?

 

Speaking of all things divine, 'The Goddesses of Small Things' opens this Friday night at 6pm, DVAA, Woods Street, Darwin. This little flyer was designed by my fabulous and very clever friend Marita Albers, and you can come grab yourself one from my Mindil or Parap Market shops, or from Jacksons Art Supplies. This little gem of a show is all about miniatures: beautiful little things for you to love, and small enough to make your wallet smile too! Really looking forward to seeing you there.

 

Have a brilliant rest-of-the-week!

Mel x

good things in threes

Me again!

 

For all of you who are chomping at the bit to snavel yourself a copy of 'Aurelia', she is now available for sale in my Etsy shop: hurrah!

 

And, on the subject of my Etsy shop, I've created a little coupon code for all of you who just can't decide on your favourite character. Choose any three prints to the value of AUD $50 for only AUD $120. You'll only pay for shipping once too: AUD $8 within Australia or AUD $12 anywhere else. Once you've popped your three favourites into your shopping cart, just enter GOODTHINGSINTHR33S once you're at the check-out.

 

I know a lot of you come back and continue to support my work and do yourself out of all available wall space, so this is a little thank-you ♥ 

 

Have a beautiful weekend!

 

Mel x



greetings, and some sweet new cards ♥

Hullo poppets!

Well, as always, I'm buzzing about like a busy little bee, occasionally fitting in some much-needed gym time between ginger-cake quaffing, market merriment, manic drawing and mad-cat taming!

I shall in a week or so, fingers crossed, have a few new prints to show you. I'm working on colouring a series of drawings I started last year, and, quite typical to every stereotype about artistes, I am happy to keep you all in suspense a little longer until I finish them all for a grand unveiling! If you are on Facebook though, you can catch a few teasers either on my personal timeline, or the Grumpy Star Studio page.

In the meanwhile though, I've been attempting to develop my photography skills with some snaps of my brand-new Set of 5 Art Cards and Envelopes! You can snavel yourself a set of these for only AUD $10 on my Etsy Shop. They are blank inside, so perfect for any occasion, even just a special letter to put a smile on the face of someone you love!

All nice things,

Mel x



♥ sweetheart sale! ♥

Good morning petal cakes!

I hope you're having a beautiful Easter holiday wherever your hearts might roam, and hope that they are warm and full of love and chocolate.

Speaking of hearts, I thought I'd celebrate the last day of Easter by popping my Sewn-Up Sweethearts on sale. These little beauties were $70, now down to a bargain price of $50 each!

Each art doll features a completely hand-drawn face, patchworked head (very neatly machine-embroidered by me), and a wild assortment of found trinkets and charms and handmade beads. They look gorgeous hanging on a bedroom wall or door, and there's a secure hook sewn onto the back of each for just this purpose.

They are very much original works of art in doll form, and I had a lot of fun making these three (their sister, Pomegranita, in a pink colour scheme was the first to go some time ago, so there's only four presently in the world).

I am, I confess, prototyping other wonderful dolls as we speak, and with only so many hours in my days, I'm not sure I'll be making any more of these. Don't wait until it's too late to decide you have to have one! 

All nice things my friends,

Mel x

sharing the love with a grumpy star studio etsy sale!

Happy Monday to you all!

Writing and making art are almost my two favourite things in the world, made better only by my lovely readership that shares the adventure with me. Tomorrow, of course, the world officially celebrates everything warm and fuzzy, and I thought I'd have my own little celebration in the Grumpy Star Studio Etsy Shop to say thank-you to you all!

Just enter 'mygrumpyvalentine' into the box marked 'Apply Shop Coupon Code' and you'll get a very lovely 20% any purchase shop-wide. If you're stuck for choosing, don't worry, the sale stretches on til Friday 17th February, just to share the love round that bit longer ♥

Hope you have a wonderful day with everyone that's special to you tomorrow, and all nice things from me as always

x

amy

Hullo poppets!

I've kept you in suspense for long enough, so finally, I'd like you to meet 'Amy':

As I mentioned a few weeks back in my post 'in progress this week', 'Amy' was a commissioned imagined-portrait piece for a lovely Darwin lady who just happens to be a vet. She has told me all sorts of stories in our discussion of this piece, about her 'dog whispering' days, taming a particularly aggressive German Shepherd and generally letting naughty puppies everywhere know who dishes out the dog biscuits.

But of all dogs, the Whisperer explained her particular affinity with chihuahuas. Hers especially have such distinct personalities; their particular genetic make-up makes them animated in a way that is both comic and human.

Of course, you'll know from recent posts I'm well aware of these ideas of the domesticated food-chain, and that I am not at the top of it in our house. No, I sit just below Willow who is determined to proclaim herself 'Top Cat' and merely tolerates me because I feed her and have proved myself such a faithful servant. This past week just gone, a well-timed swipe on Daisy's rear ankle earned our baby a day at the vets and us a $340 bill to pay!

When we're not banging our heads on hard surfaces bemoaning the fact that our biggest fur-kid can't accept our littlest, it is fascinating to watch the breadth of emotions that cross our kittens' faces as they go about their days. And I guess this is why we have pets, and most commonly cats and dogs: both are capable of the uglier human emotions like jealousy and anger, but so too are they capable of giving with their whole hearts when you most need it.

'Amy' is a lighthearted little portrait of the potential in harmonious relationships between pets and their humans. Because, at the end of the day, wouldn't it be wonderful to do away with cars and buses and just ride your faithful pooch to work? Amy did discover these benefits, quite by accident, when she found some ChiChi grow at the back of a cupboard. It did what it said on the box, and the rest is history!

Limited Edition, Fine Art reproduction prints of 'Amy' are now available in my Etsy Shop for everybody who wants to share in the fun.  

Have an awesome day wherever you are!

Mel x

the grand opening of the grumpy star studio etsy shop!

After many nights abusing my coffee-machine and then having snatches of sleep as Daisy proceeds to jump on my head and chew on my hair, I declare that the Grumpy Star Studio Etsy Shop is open for business! Here's a few snippets until the SEO functions kick in properly:

And, as a thank-you to all of my wonderful friends, patrons, likers and admirers in Darwin and abroad, each and every one of you will pay the same price to call one of the treasures featured on my Etsy Shop your own. That's right, no matter where you are in the world, your shipping bill is 100% FREE!

The phrase 'thank-you' is too often forgotten. Being a sincere artist and a good person are very much one and the same to me and I will spend my whole life striving to be the best of both. Being gracious costs absolutely nothing and makes both the giver and reciver the happier for it. So once again, thank-you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has supported me in every small or big way to make the past year such a wonderful reality. I love you all ♥

And so, without further ado, click on that 'shop' button on your right to let the celebrations begin!

Mel x

we're a happy bunch of grumpies here!

Happy Monday everybody!

It's been a brilliantly busy weekend here at Grumpy Star Studio. We were out and about at Parap Markets on Saturday for a bumper pre-Christmas weekend; meeting new faces, talking Fimo and illustration techniques and, best of all, exchanging lots of happy smiles. I'm sure Adam Hills mentions in one of his skits how fabulous and surreal it is to be a comedian- people working in I.T. for example, aren't treated to a clap and a cheer for switching on their computers in the morning, or remembering their passwords (though they should be- I'm still amazed I can find the 'on' button on my beast of a thing, let alone designing programs on it!). Now- don't misunderstand me here- I'll grant you I've learned a sense of wit in my impending 26 years, but people have yet to pay me for telling jokes (or fixing computers). All the same, both of us are fortunate to have jobs that make others just as happy as we are to do them.

Speaking of computers- you might notice a few changes around here. After ten or so hours of tweaking, the blog has been almost completely overhauled and is looking pretty darn nice if I do say so myself! If you click on the button marked 'exhibition' you'll also find a complete inventory of the 30 works that made it into my recent show at Woods Street Gallery, 'Strange Creatures, Sweet Allsorts'. Plans are already in the pipes to add other posts to this list in the coming year, so stay tuned!

And onto the subject of exhibitions, I'm very happy to share with you all that mine and Dave's work is now proudly shown at one of Darwin's best art galleries, Framed. You'll find our lovely lolly necklaces on show in the 'Flower Power' exhibition, run alongside the December show, 'Laughter is the Best Medicine'. Today we dropped off a few of the paintings from the Woods Street show that have yet to find loving homes, so keep your peepers peeled for these, too.

And for all of my lovely supporters out there who have contacted me in the past about buying online- there is lots of work going on behind-the-scenes for the grand opening of our Etsy Shop in early 2012! Hooray!

Hoping you have a brilliant day wherever you might be.

Mel x