Eastern Suburbs Art Group

The get-together in Botany was a success with several people indicating interest in Esag activities, though one person (I don’t know who) left something of value (see pic below) under the dining table.  If this watch is yours I can meet you in the CBD this Thursday as I’ll be going there for a painting class Pamela Woods is holding at Pitt Street Mall. The class starts at midday and runs for an hour but it’s first-come-first-served so whoever is in the queue – I imagine – earliest will be able to paint.  Pamela’s ad says that she can be found near Zara in the Westfield complex.

a magical sky of storm clouds and sunshine. -------------------- Works combined here have been used with permission. Photo by Matthew da Silva. Poem is by (Twitter) @dullandwicked. If you’d like to submit a picture or a poem for use in this way, please feel free to get in touch.

We drove to Camperdown to visit Chrissie Cotter Gallery where Bernadette Smith (see right in pic) had her exhibition of photographs. In ‘Aqueous Moments’ Smith studies the ephemera of substance, having captured images of water moving over surfaces. Light, liquid and the transient richness of time. The show closes next Sunday at 4pm.  One hour parking is available in nearby streets if you want to take the car. Afterward we drove to Glebe to The Shop Gallery to see a pop-up group exhibition of the photos of Michael Shirley (middle in pic), and works by Hugh Wayland, Murrumbidgee Jones and Nell Smith. Shirley’s photos date from the late seventies with subjects selected from the urban landscape: a shopfront, a painted road surface, or an old-style wooden window filled with orange light.

I wandered thru America Trying to find a spirit Of someone called Liberty. Instead I found the tired, the weary, the poor. I travelled along the highway, Past the Rockies And along the Mississippi. Saw the hungry in Appalachia, the dying towns along the way. I spent the night in a shelter Somewhere in the Bowery. I found a man drowning His grief in a bottle, Victim of a safety net with too many holes. I walked thru the city Of brotherly love, I saw a ten year old Selling dime bags of crack, Waiting for his mother to come back. I walked thru the capital Of this country That I thought I knew. Saw the slums Obscuring the capital’s view, Felt the depression hanging in the air. I looked for only one Of a thousand points of light But it’s hard to see in the dead of night. I heard a child crying, Lost and confused, Frail and worn, Innocent and naïve, Abandoned and alone. Something within her stirred something within me. I held her close, I asked her name … “Liberty” was all I heard. ---------

We were upstairs cataloguing the materials cache when an SMS came through from a new member who had come along a bit late and had then gone home. Apologies from this organiser, I regret not waiting downstairs a tad longer so that all comers could be accommodated (my doorbell is not working). Unfortunately Simon had to scoot off at 4.30 and we’d left the art supplies undocumented for too long so were upstairs busy attending to the list. See the menu at left on the website front page for the link to the list of things we’re giving away. It looks like "not much" when you see it in a cardboard box but there are a large number of things here, including paint brushes, cans of spray paint, and craft supplies. Next Sunday (21 August) we’re going to see an art show titled ‘Aqueous Moments’. It’s for Bernadette Smith and will be held at Chrissie Cotter Gallery, 31a Pidcock St, Camperdown. Gallery hours are 11am to 4pm but we’re meeting at the gallery at 1pm. Come along if you’re free t

  I heard your voice calling out my name in the darkness of night but it was not me you were looking for I hid in the crevices of my cracked heart living hermit-like avoiding human contact I don't want to hurt anymore but why am I always reminded of you? -------------------- Works combined here have been used with permission. Untitled photo by Matthew da Silva. Poem is by Mamyaw (Twitter: @mommymyaw). If you’d like to submit a picture or a poem for use in this way, please feel free to get in touch.

Please feel free to invite friends to come along, Esag welcomes new members. The location is Botany on a quiet suburban street near public transport. Meeting time is 3pm. A list: Discuss Matthew’s paramontage ‘In’. This is a photographic print measuring 65.5cm by 55.5cm. Focus time on the cataloguing (we were busy talking previous week) for the materials cache which is upstairs in the studio ready to be classified and named so a list can be put on the website. Brainstorm ideas for art lessons. A masters graduate said he was busy with other things though wanted to be kept abreast of developments, but another artist is interested. Potential location for lessons is Block J Studio in Botany or Tiliqua Tiliqua in Enmore. Think about “Picture and poem” combos. So far two have gone on the website.  Discuss staging point for outing on 21st to see ‘Aqueous Moments’ an exhibition of works by Bernadette Smith held at Chrissie Cotter Gallery, 31a Pidcock St, Camperdown. Gallery hours are 11am to 4

Where were you? I was stranded, Alone and broken, I can't understand it, I had hope, but Now I'm hopeless. I want to sleep, only If it's forever. -------------------- Works combined here have been used with permission. Untitled photo by Rob Schackne. Poem is by ikarus_has_fallen (Twitter: @nless_wxrds). If you’d like to submit a picture or a poem for use in this way, please feel free to get in touch.

Last Sunday different people turned up and we discussed Simon’s work, ‘Going places you love’, glitter on canvas, 85cm by 107cm. The painting is shown here for the benefit of people who weren’t able to attend. There were four people at the group (see pic below) and the discussion was lively, we even talked about diamonds – always in the context of the artwork – because their sparkle is so attractive. While one found the painting disturbing, another liked the pop references. I think the pink colour is amazing. We also talked about doing art lessons, a subject that will be brought up at the next meeting on Sunday 14 August, when we’ll be together again in Botany. In the meantime we’re getting in touch with people who might be able to make this aspect of the dream become reality. If you’d like to find out more drop us a line or come along next weekend. Simon also brought some more items to be added to the materials cache – a resource for people to adopt supplies from – but the collectio

  somewhere beyond his need to sleep the somniphobia returns to haunt him with her name her face again he’ll scream again curse the gods & demons cry so deeply as to feel himself die and still she wasn’t there only that shadow called yesterday and the tears that followed ----------------------- Works combined here have been used with permission. Photo by HilLesha O’Nan. Poem is by George (Twitter: @bklynmercado) and is untitled. If you’d like to submit a picture or a poem for use in this way, please feel free to get in touch.

Those wanting to come to along so they can be involved in Esag please get in touch for address, it’s on a residential street close to a 309 bus stop. The time for the meeting is 3pm.  More the merrier! Here’s the list: Discuss Simon’s painting ‘Going places you love’. This is a work made using glitter on canvas and it’s 85cm by 107cm. Catalogue first drop of art supplies in materials cache, there are dozens of items (from glitter to paint, and from brushes to labels) Simon left for people to come and collect so they can use them to make art. The catalogue is to go on the website so other people can browse for what they want. We’ve been thinking of trying to find a teacher to give lessons to members, and Studio J is a potential location in Botany. We’d like members to put their hand up if they know an art teacher, or a graduate of art school at master’s level. A list of possible art exhibitions to visit, this will also go on the blog. We’ve ordered lapel pins which will be ready in a fe

Simon dropped off a box full of things for making art to be kept in the materials cache. Anyone who would like to pick up something from this collection of goodies, please let us know. Address upon application. There are dozens of things here, from cans of spray paint to coloured stars, and from glitter to plastic straws. There are Styrofoam figures (babies and stars), tubes of paint, gloves, marker pens, plaster of Paris, wood shavings, plastic trays for mixing colours, and industrial labels. Whatever you need it might be here. People don’t need to be members of the group to collect, anyone can apply. In coming days we'll be cataloguing the materials and I'll put a page up on the blog for convenient reference.

We met some new people this time and though Simon came when they were about to leave (due to other commitments for this weekend only) he was able to discuss plans for Esag’s immediate future.  These include starting the materials cache, which any artists who need things for their practice can draw on. I’ll post about the cache soon. Matthew and Simon in front of Adam Cullen’s ‘Murray Carp’ hanging in the entranceway I asked Simon about a short critique I’d written about some paintings of a Sydney artist being offered for sale at a gallery in Brisbane. The artist is Peta Minnici and the gallery is Edwina Corlette. If you’re on LinkedIn then you’ll be able to see what I wrote with Simon’s help by following us on that platform. The works are figurative and Simon is more into Pop art than still life. I’d chosen these paintings to talk about because they remind me of an acrylic I did in 1981 when I was studying fine art at Sydney University. That unit of study was a rare practical so it gav