I'll be able to post a transcript of her insights of our works. You can click here to see some fotos from the walkabout as well as some nice pics showing how our works were hung.
I've also loaded the images of my works here on this site, under works, gallery is called Lost, Found and Stolen.
We had a wonderfully successful exhibition with great support and feedback ... so encouraging. Thanks to all for making it totally splendid.
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Join us for the walkabout, see the works before they come down at 1pm .... shop in Shannon's INCREDIBLE Fat Tuesday Shoppe and stay for a delictable snack and cuppa at Bellefue Cafe !!! :-)
We had fantastic feedback from those who attended Estelle's walkabout of our exhibition last year at Fat Tuesday, where everyone absolutely enjoyed and were informed by Estelle's remarkable insights.
A little bit about Estelle: Estelle Hudson is a narrative and family therapist.
She conducts dream workshops for professionals, masters students and interested people. Her personal interests include feminist spirituality, drawing, painting and dream work.
Estelle and Maggie Strachan have conducted dream-painting workshops together for many years.
Estelle was also a painting student in Maggie’s studio and a student of drawing, printing and mixed-media with Jeanette Gilks. She continues to work with the Garret Artists group.
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Ana Pereira de Vlieg led a group of interested people around the exhibition. Her comments were insightful and her animated descriptions and passion for art drew the audience in ... even the artists were fascinated with new perspectives of their art.
Ana will be conducting another walk-about on Tuesday15th May for her students and anyone else interested.
A little more about Ana here: Ana Pereira de Vlieg earned distinction early on in her art career by being a finalist in the Emma Smith Scholarship Competition, awarded to her when she did honours in Fine arts at the Natal Technikon.
She has been employed in formal art education functioning as the art teacher and vice-principal at a school for disadvantaged children in Kwamashu. Participating in community based projects such as murals for Effingham Road Bridge and everyONEcounts is testament to her warm generous spirit.
Most recently she completed the KZNSA Professional Course in 2010 focussing on an investigation of the shadow – using art as a means to confront the “negative” in ones life and use it as a healing tool. She uses this therapeutic aspect of art in her private lessons for adults held at her studio in La Lucia.
Along with Joan and Lara, Ana participated in the international Sketchbook Project,hosted by the Brooklyn Art library, New York City.
You can see more photos from the walkabout on Saturday here.
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Maggie Strachan, me and Joan MartinWe had a most enjoyable and very successful opening of our exhibition: Lost, Found and Stolen @ Fat Tuesday on the 8th.
Jeanette Gilks gave an interesting address with her usual insightful take on the works.
Tomorrow Ana Pereira deVlieg will conduct a walkabout, but for now ... here are a few pics from the opening by kind courtesy of Harry Lock who is a fabulous artist, photographer.
I'll post photos of my new works within the next two weeks.
Jeanette Gilks giving her address at the opening on Tuesday.
You can click here to see more photos ...
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Fat Tuesday gallery this morning. Maggie, Joan and I are so in sinc that hanging the works was easy.
Our boys were great and did a really fine job ... so we've decided to keep them :-)
We're looking forward to Tuesday's opening.
Click here to see a few more pics.
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Maggie, Joan and I meet regularly to discuss our works, 
Joan, Estelle, Jeanette and Maggiewhere we give feedback and generally edge each other on .... we're great friends, trust and respect each other and find the interactions extremely valuable.
Last Saturday, in preparation for our next exhibit, Jeanette Gilks (who will be opening the exhibition), Estelle Hudson and Ana De Vlieg (who will both be doing walkabouts) joined us.
Their contributions, insights and comments were valuable, interesting and their energy, efforts and participation hugely appreciated.
They're all artists who also teach or facilitate workshops and who are interested in the development of art ... 
Jeanette and Lara
You can click here to read more about the day on Joan's blog.
Ana De Vlieg
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Joan and I decided to enter this year's KZNSA member's exhibition as a collaborative: Sienna Sam, derived from our beloved dog and cat respectively. If you know us, you'll know how moggy we each are over our 'babies'.
I love the colour Sienna, hence why my Bullmastiff's named as such; use the colour in most my work, and of course Joan's Sam features in many of her paintings. We like the combined meaning of the names too:
This year's theme was RED
We buckled down and worked like mad-crazy, and were delighted with the result.
For now, these are pics of work in progress, and then here you can see close up details of the work, as well as the explanation or statement of the work .... and in a few days time, I'll load an image of the final work.
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I've loved working on this project, and thanks again to Joan for introducing me to it, and then to have Ana join us recently too has been great.
Each page was meditative. I'd take my pages, clipped neatly on a clip board and work into it each night in bed for a few minutes ... or sometimes for an hour or so ... before dozing off to sleep.
The rhythm of sketching and dreaming through each page was therapeutic ... and I loved it.
You can click here to view the pages in more detail ... or see the snapshots below.
Some of the pages included text, which I've detailed below the images.
A walk through the trees ... through the forest. Lara Mellon. Dedicated with love and gratitude to Maggie Strachan. Durban RSA 2012.
The wind began to blow hard and I was not afraid to be freed, and so I began to find my path through the trees, through the trees.
I found bugs and beetles and butterflies but no best friend.
The gentle breeze kisses my cheeks and I wonder.
Walking through forest, along paths, through life, is always better with a friend.
I loved flying kites, now my dreams fly on butterfly wings.
I think I think too much.
windmills, windmills, windmills everywhere ... turning everywhere
sometimes our dreams must be set free
Walking alone is not lonely.
Suffer the little children. Even the lilies of the valley.
Burnt Sienna is my favourite colour. Red hot from the earth. And I have a dog called Sienna.
all i want is peace and quiet.
I look to the hills, where does my hope come from. My hope comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth.
flowers are still flowers in the dark.
I would travel long distances on horse back, into fields that stirred with dust and smells of earth. Up hills, along roads sometimes, just me, Safferrick and our thoughts. Beautiful times not forgotten.
Figures would appear walking along the paths I'd travel. I was not afraid, even when the shadows were dark.
I owned a dog called Ta-Tinka and I loved her very much.
Don't let the birds nest in your hair.
When I was seven, I dreamed of owning a circus and also of owning a massive farm.
It is with reverence and awe that I watch the butterfleis flitter flatter in my garden.
I long to walk where it is quiet and still.
light at the end of the forest it is bright it is light at the end of the forest it is bright. It is bright at the end of the forest. It is bright at the end.
and then it is light. just light
Lara Mellon - Durban, KwaZulu Natal South Africa
A path through the trees
You can read more about The Sketchbook Project 2012 on their blog, their website or on Facebook.
]]>We had a great meeting yesterday in Joan's fantastic COOL classroom 
where she teaches at Durban Girl's College.
Besides being an outstanding artist, Joan is a brilliant teacher ... and that's not me being biased ... the results this year again are indicitive ... of her thirteen matrics who achieved a whopping NINE DISTINCTIONS, three 'Bs' ... a 'C' ... and four were in the top 1% of the national IEB. Well done to you all.
An interesting connection is that Joan did her prac under Maggie's guidance as a student teacher.
Now, all these years later, we've all connected where we crit, conspire and create together.
Great times !!!
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