The White Russian Collection

At the glamarous boutique I work for, we recently launched Victoria Buckley's latest collection, "the White Russians"

Does our muse look familiar? :-) For anyone who is not yet aware of my doll-insanity, the latest leading lady for Victoria Buckley Jewellery is a porcelain doll I commissioned from Enchanted Doll.

Inspired by the exquisite lost world of the Russian Aristocracy, the White Russian collection brings to life the mythical dreams of Tatiana,
a fleeing sylph entrusted with the treasures of the white Russians.
The beautiful porcelain doll Tatiana, created by world-renowned master crafters Enchanted Doll, lives surrounded... by the elegance and refinement of the immortal era.

This fairyland collection is crafted from 18ct white and rose gold,
diamonds and richly coloured gems.
Rare high-grade white Russian diamonds from the Siberian Tundra crystallise the refinement and elegance of the epoch. The perfection of these icy white gems is brought out by the inspired Master Russian diamond cutters who obsess over unlocking the fire within.

The Strand Arcade certainly tizzies itself up for the night, I love it.

Dressed up for the night....

New T-Shirt - Dia de las Muertos - Marie Antoinette

Inspired by the celebration Dia de las Muertos (Day of the Dead) and her coquettish highness Marie Antoinette! The moment I finished this watercolour i knew it would look great as a t-shirt design...

I love this design most of the ones I have so far made available, full of frivolity and fun, yum!! I can't wait to get it as a hoody and sew pink ribbons all over it!

Dia de las Muertos - Marie Antoinette

 

Dia de las Muertos - Antoinette

Inspired by and anticipating the arrival of a new little porcelain friend I found myself greatly attracted to the Day of the Dead celebrations, aesthetics, and face painting styles.I found myself googling and flickr searching extensively, loving what I saw. We do not celebrate anything like this in Australia, and whilst other traditions (such as Christmas) have migrated over here, holidays such as this and All Hallows Eve (Halloween) have not. One day I would love to be able to visit South America at this time of the year.... wow! To be immersed in such a vibrant cultural tradition would be an incredible experience.

I've been quietly working on ideas and themes for my next "series" of artworks, and this piece is an example of the analogous and minimal colour scheme that will be dominant throughout the works.

Next blog post..... introducing this as a T-Shirt and Hoody design, hurray!!

And the winners are....

First of all, a very grateful thank you to every one who responded to my Print GiveAway, and took the time to write down their feelings and responses. I have learnt so much, and it was touching to read each individual response.
And surprising too! It is indescribably special to hear why one of your artworks has moved someone else to a certain emotion, or awakened particular thoughts in them.
The feedback I received was truly special, and they urge me forward in moments of doubt. 

In particular, congratulations (and thank you) to Shenais and to Astera!!

Please contact me with your postal address, so I can send out your prints!
(email: monimano @ hotmail . com )

~ thank you ~

Grey Skies, Stormy Days

On a rainy day, procrastinating pressing things, I turned instead to the comforts and delights of art....

 I was very happy to complete this piece. With all my art materials packed up in boxes, I completed this with borrowed materials in a friends studio. Similarly deprived of my usual reference material (composed from sketches and photographs from sessions with my models) I used an image from a magazine for the pose and background.

Yes, that blurry mess of a "landscape" took me the longest and most painstaking time to complete. Layer upon layer of carefully mixed colours built up... well... a blurry mess!!
I need a lot more practice :-/

My First Print Give Away !!

That's right all you lovelies, to celebrate finally preparing a beautiful silky set of Giclee Prints of my paintings, I have decided to host a little give-away!!

But first... a disclaimer!

One of the benefits of dealing personally with your printer, rather than doing business with some big company  (not only are you helping another individual out, which is nice!) was that I was allowed to keep any of the "mistakes". Rather than getting torn up and trashed, these little mishaps can find happy new homes as give-aways, prizes, presents, and bonus inclusions.
I hate seeing things get wasted, and the "mistake" editions have a beauty of their own, a freshness and alternative charm. They're actually less intense, and appear "fresh" because of the brighter colours.

(top print = "mistake")

so this calls for.....

a little give away!!!

from now until next Saturday (November 13th)  leave a comment here about which of the ten prints is your favourite (you can see them in my etsy gallery) and why.

I will pick two winners! Winners will be announced in a new blog post.... entries open... now!!

Let me know which one of these artworks you like the best and why, and in return for your valued feedback and thoughts, I will give out two prints as a thank you!

The first ten Giclee prints that sell in my shop will also get one of these bonus prints included as a thank you!

----------------     -----note-----     ---------------

I want to stress that these "mistake" prints are not the same quality as the prints for sale in my Etsy Shop.

The printer had a malfunction and printed out two entire editions without blue ink.

   (( I actually quite liked the result: vibrant, fluorescent, sun-saturated. ))

There is nothing wrong with their physical quality or archival properties, they are just visibly differently coloured from my originals. (see additional photographs)

---------------     ---------------     ---------------

Left - Give Away Print

Right - Editioned Print

Left - Editioned Print

Right - Give Away Print

Plate Auction 2010 - Live Event

As usual, the event was thrilling, exciting, and a lot of fun! I enjoy seeing the way artists I know have translated their usual style and medium onto a small round plate.

It was great to see my plate all finished, in person. I always quickly scan the room, searching for a glimpse of my piece... ahh, there it is... through the crowd!

It re-inforced my desire to get into ceramics as a medium to create artworks. I loved seeing up close the way the glazes turned out after firing in the kiln. I was worried colours would fade, or my subtle shading would come out blothcy... but thankfully it came out vibrant and perfect... love!

The Live auction is always fun, I look forward to this event every year. Some of the plates go for incredible amounts.. yet in hindsight, compared to the price of their usual work, the plates are still an incredible bargain, a fantastic way of investing in Australian Art (and supporting FONAS).
I've purchased two plates in the past, and am very glad I did. Both artists are incredible (Simon Cooper and Lauren Murphy)

I shyly thanked my Mythology &  Art History Lecturer, for his inspiration. During his course on Greek Mythology, I fell deeply in love with the tale of Persephone and Hades.

I liked his comment, "Ah! Cute..... and sexy!"
 
Made me smile.

Etsy Update - New Items!!

I've been busily updating my Etsy Shop these past weeks, filling it with all the new exciting things I've been working on, and older pieces I hadn't got round to taking yummy photographs of.


Here's the new banner,,,, do you like?

Allow me to introduce everything!!

of Lace and Moss Etsy Boutique

Sterling Silver and Glass Pendants



1 inch Pin-back buttons (badges)

Pocket Mirrors!

Brooches!

Limited Edition Giclee Prints!

Postcards!

Snowdomes!



Also... I have listed all my "enchanted doll" inspired work on sale, along with a few originals, take a look!

SALE ITEMS

originals + prints