Moth Woman Press

UPDATE: Unfolding Projects: Afghan and Australian Artist's Books

2012-01-08T12:44:00.035+11:00

A selection of the artist's books
(Photograph by Gali Weiss)

In late 2009 fourteen Australian women artists were invited to participate in a project initiated by Melbourne artist Gali Weiss, who was initially incited by the desperate situation of women in Afghanistan, many of whom are restricted or even forbidden to attend school. As a result, numerous women are illiterate. The project’s aim was establish a dialogue with some of these women via the imagery created by the Australian artists in a series of small concertina books. The Afghan women were invited to respond by writing their own stories in the language or characters of their choice. (See Blog Posts May 18, 2010 and December 2, 2010.) The books were sent to Afghanistan in April, 2010 and just over 6 months later the 36 of the original 53 books were returned to Australia, each with its own handwritten text.

Some of the Afghan writers (photograph by Latifa)

Recently we received some fantastic news. In September, 2010 Gali Weiss and Barbara Kameniar presented a joint paper, Unfolding Projects: Afghan and Australian artist’s books collaborations at Monash University’s IMPACT 7 Printmaking Conference. Subsequently they were approached by the Queensland State Library with an offer to buy the complete set of books for the library’s permanent collection. Once this has been finalized (in approximately April, 2012) the proceeds of the acquisition will go to the Women’s Vocational Centre in Afghanistan. A book documenting the project is also in the planning stages, and once published, this will provide further income for the Vocational Centre.

The 14 Australian artists were:

Rosalind Atkins, Tracey Avery, Marian Crawford, Ann Cunningham, Dianne Ellis, Susan Gordon-Brown, Jennifer Kamp, Deborah Klein, Anne Riggs, Annelise Scott, Krystal Seigerman, Tanya Ungeri, Gali Weiss and Christine Willcocks;

The Afghan writers were:

Sagia, Mansora, Shakila, Hamida, Fatima, Agila, Majabeen, Mahjan, Samira, Sara, Basira, Anita, Nafiza, Amina, Jamila, Mariam, Zoteh, Nadia, Zahida, Laila, Morsal, Nazia, Jamila, Anis Gul, Lida, Marwa, Habiba, Mah Gul, Taqui Jan. Two of the participants wished to withhold their names from the public.

Until 12 months before they received the books, many of the Afghan writers had been illiterate. To learn about other similarly courageous women, visit SAWA (Support Association for the Women of Afghanistan) HERE.

(Pictured below: Women With Wings, 2010, photographed just prior to its departure for Afghanistan. Click on image to enlarge.)

A Memo from Sherlock Holmes and a Merry Christmas

2011-12-20T15:17:00.046+11:00

The Moth Woman Vigilantes zines

When I visited London in October I took along some of my recent zines. The tongue-in-cheek texts of the Moth Woman Vigilantes zines put my old friend Sue in mind of a certain piece of prose written by Yours Truly in 1970s, which she duly fetched. I’d completely forgotten about it, but Sue had kept a copy all these years. Over time it had not only yellowed, but accumulated some appropriately picturesque stains, adding considerable weight to its ‘authenticity’.

In the 1970s I worked for a time in a small office in Soho. It was a branch of the British Library, but there were no books in sight, unfortunately. It was staffed by public servants, most of them delightful people. The lone exception was one Mr Stokes, who took himself - and everything else - way too seriously. My colleague Angela and I operated a two-position switchboard, rather like one of those old fashioned contraptions with cords and plugs that you sometimes see in old movies. We were notorious for bringing our coffees into the switchboard room, leaving the empty cups and saucers on top of the switchboard and when we ran out of space, strewing them all over the remaining furniture. I must admit we did accumulate rather a lot of them. It got to the stage that the staff cafeteria in the basement started to run out of crockery. The case against us was indisputable - our guilt was there for all to see by anyone passing our glass walled room, including Mr. Stokes. But instead of quite rightly telling us to return the lot without further delay, he posted a wordy, unbearably pompous office-wide menu concerning the disappearance of Civil Service crockery. I had just begun to fully appreciate the Sherlock Holmes stories around that time, having recently purchased The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in an op shop in Balham (I still treasure it). In the guise of Mr. Conan Doyle’s immortal sleuth, we sent a memo in response. In the spirit of the Silly Season, the infamous document is reproduced below.

It reads as follows:

Baker Street

16 July
The Year of Our Lord etc...

R Stokes Esq
British Library Crockery
Custodian

Sir,
   We refer to your Urgent Epistle of the 13th instant regarding the Case of the Disappearing Teacups.
   You are certainly right to regard this Serious Matter with such Grave Concern. Confidentially, I suspect it to be the work of my arch-enemy Moriarty and his Vicious Band of Villainous Vandals.
   However, Sir, I can assure you that I shall not rest until the Root of the Matter has been Eradicated, and the Cold-Blooded Criminals, whoever they be, have been captured, put to the torture and duly executed.
   It's elementary, my dear Stokes. We have already found some clues. Two cups and a saucer bearing the Civil Service Coat of Arms were seen in a left luggage locker at Victoria Station and a Mysterious Parcel found on the corner of Fareham Street and Great Chapel Street, Soho, North Side, was found to contain a teapot, minus lid, 6 glasses and 2 slide-plates - brutally smashed to a thousand pieces!
   But never fear, dear Sir, This Tiresome Tinkering with the Teacups shall not be allowed to continue!

I remain,
Yours faithfully
Sherlock Holmes
S Holmes Esq

AFTERWORD

Once the memo was placed on Mr. Stokes’s desk, we accurately timed almost to the second the time it would take him to come directly to us – less than a minute. However could he have suspected us? (Admittedly we did have a history of teasing him). We denied everything with admirably straight faces. He left in frustration, but we saw him hiding behind a partition waiting for Angela and I to crack up when we thought we were alone. Although he tried the same thing intermittently for days afterwards, we never did.

POSTSCRIPT AND SEASON’S GREETINGS

We assure our readers that we have matured considerably since the heady days described above and always wash up our empty coffee cups – or at the very least return them to the kitchen for our other half to wash.

Moth Woman Press wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with wonderful books and zines.

The Chapman Brothers at Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood

2011-12-16T10:26:00.011+11:00

Recently in London I paid my first (but most certainly not my last) visit to Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood. In the main hall at ground floor level was a temporary exhibition of etchings by Jake and Dinos Chapman, My Giant Colouring Book. Their blackly humourous images depicted childhood as a scary place way beyond our wildest nightmares, delving deeper than even the darkest of fairy tales. The Chapman brothers demonstrated (to paraphrase Bette Davis, whose original comment referred to aging) that childhood is definitely not for sissies.

To see a selection of works from the museum's extraordinary permanent collection, visit my Art Blog.

The Wonderful Creative Things Fair Part 2

2011-12-02T00:38:00.002+11:00

The Wonderful Creative Things Fair is over. There was a great turn-out and the day seemed to pass in a flash. I hope everyone else had as much fun as I did. The stall holders' wares were remarkably diverse, but uniformly stunning. Thanks to everyone involved, especially organizer Rona Green and the staff of St Heliers café (those coffees were wonderful and very welcome.)

It feels strange for the first time in several days not to be spending long hours making up extra copies of my zines. It’s satisfying to know that despite excellent sales on Sunday, I have a good stockpile of most of them and now feel free to get on with some new projects.

Pictured above: far left: Sally Darlinson, third from left

(standing) Megan Herring, far left: Rona Green

Foreground: Moth Woman Press stall and (on right)

Paul Compton at his stall

The Wonderful Creative Things Fair

2011-11-21T10:54:00.005+11:00

Moth Woman Press is delighted to be part of the second artists' fair at St. Heliers Street Store and Gallery. Previously called The Wonderful Printed Things Fair, organizer and exhibitor Rona Green has slightly modfied its original title in order to present a wider range of creative goodies, not all of which are necessarily print-based. MWP, however, will continue to focus on book-related art, including There was once... and an assortment of zines, among them our two most recent publications, Girls in High Places #1 and #2.

The fair, a one day only event, will take place this coming Sunday, 27 November, between 11 am - 4pm. If you get a chance to come along, drop by and say hello.

For full details of The Wonderful Creative Things Fair, click onto the poster above to enlarge.

In Suspense at Hand Held Gallery, Melbourne

2011-10-28T18:19:00.008+11:00

I'm still in London, and will be in Berlin by November 3, so won't be able to attend the opening of this exhibition. But you can be certain I'll be there in spirit and will look forward to seeing the installation views on the Hand Held Gallery blog once the show is up and running. To see the two zines I made especially for In Suspense, scroll down to Girls in High Places, my September 29 Blog Post. Directly below are full details of the exhibition:

Camden Zinefest

2011-10-28T17:53:00.012+11:00

An early highlight of my London trip was the Camden Zinefest. It was held on 8 October at the Pirate Castle, a local community hall a short bus ride away from where I'm staying. Although it wasn't a huge event in terms of the number of stall holders, the quality was uniformly high and I've acquired a number of fantastic zines for my growing collection. Barbara and Sue, my London hosts and dear friends, came along with me and hugely enjoyed their introduction to the world of zines. I've been trying to persuade Barbara, who is an artist with a gift for words as well as images, to make some zines of her own. Sue is also a talented wordsmith, and her pieces would also be well suited to a zine format.

The Pirate Castle

Camden Zinefest (8th and 9th from centre: Barbara Britton

and Sue Verney)

On left: Barbara Britton perusing zines

Girls in High Places

2011-09-29T13:13:00.019+10:00

The zines pictured below (images 3 - 4) were made especially for the forthcoming group exhibition In Suspense at Hand Held Gallery. The exhibition will run from 3 - 30 November, but because I will be overseas at that time, I've had to complete the works well in advance. Also pictured are a couple of 'roughs' followed by the original artwork.

Girls in High Places #1 and #2

developmental drawings, pencil,

each 42 x 10 cm

Girls in High Places #1 and #2 (original

artwork) watercolour and gouache

42 x 10 cm (each image)

Girls in High Places #1: Rope Trick, 2011, zine, laser printed,
concertina format with cardboard and embossing, 10.5 x 10.5 cm
(closed); 42 x 10 cm (open) Edition: 80, signed and numbered

Girls in High Places #2: Flying High, 2011, zine, laser printed,
concertina format, with cardboard and embossing, 10.5 x 10.5 cm
(closed); 42 x 10 cm (open) Edition: 80, signed and numbered

The brief given to invited artists by curator Megan Herring was to "submit small scale objects that are designed to be suspended and for which the act of suspension enhances or subverts their reading."

Although Girls in High Places #1: Rope Trick and Girls in High Places #2: Flying High can be read separately, the second zine can equally be read as a sequel to the first.

The Moth Woman Vigilantes

2011-09-20T08:54:00.009+10:00

Written and illustrated by Deborah Klein. Laser printed, saddle stitched. Edition of 80, 21.5 x 15.5 cm; signed and numbered: $12.00

The Story of the Moth Masks was one of the first fairy tales I wrote. It morphed out of a series of small paintings and linocuts I was making at the time and was eventually incorporated into There was once… The collected fairy tales (2009).

The Moth Woman Vigilantes are much more subversive: a group of anonymous women with apparent super powers who (for reasons that are at this point unclear) have decided to take the law into their own hands. Are they on the side of Good or Evil? This is entirely in the eyes of the beholder. They are distantly related to the characters in the fairy tale - in fact, their aliases (The Virgin Tiger, etc.) are based on the common names of moths. But the Vigilantes are also direct descendents of film noir femme fatales, comic book super heroes and super villains (not that I’ve ever been a huge comic book reader) and the old B-movies and serials I love so much, particularly the French silent film serial Fantomas (1913-14). (Incidentally, the anti-hero Fantomas was also admired by members of the Surrealist movement, including Rene Magritte.) There’s probably a little bit of Joss Whedon’s Buffy in them too, although the morally ambiguous Vigilantes appear to be more reminiscent of her nemesis Faith.

The Moth Woman Vigilantes zine has already spawned the mini-zine Moth Woman Vigilantes: a Menace to Society (see blog post directly below) so it’s fairly certain we haven’t seen the last of them.

Moth Woman Vigilantes: A Menace to Society (mini-zine)

2011-09-20T08:43:00.009+10:00

Written and illustrated by Deborah Klein. Laser printed concertina zine unfolding into A4 sized Wanted Poster. 10.5 x 7.5 cm (closed), edition of 80 signed and numbered: $2.00.

The Little Black Hair Book

2011-09-20T08:26:00.003+10:00

Newly completed, The Little Black Hair Book zine contains a selection of favourite black hair quotes, paired with some of my linocuts.

Laser printed, saddle stitched. Edition of 80, 21.5 x 15.5 cm; signed and numbered. $12.00.

Mini zines

2011-09-20T07:31:00.016+10:00

Secret Hairstories

Illustrated by Deborah Klein. Laser printed concertina zine. 10.5 x 7.5 cm (closed) edition of 60 signed and numbered: $4.00.

Hairlooms

Illustrated by Deborah Klein. Laser printed concertina zine. 10.5 x 7.5 cm (closed) edition of 60 signed and numbered: $4.00.

Moth Woman Press at The Wonderful Printed Things Fair

2011-09-15T07:34:00.021+10:00

TWPTF has come and gone, and what a fantastic experience it was. To a huge extent this was due to the truly remarkable organizational skills of its initiator Rona Green.

Currently I’m reading Man with a Blue Scarf, Martin Gayford’s memoir of his portrait sitting for Lucian Freud. On the subject of work, Gayford quotes the great Duke Ellington: ‘I don’t need time, I need a deadline.’ Freud disagrees, firmly believing the opposite. Usually I’m with Freud on this issue, but in the case of TWPTF, Ellington was right. With the solo exhibition at Malmsbury opening less than a week earlier, I began to recognize that I’d been crazy to pledge two new zines for TWPTF, even though work on one in particular had been under way for some time. But as they finally began to come together (and as time began seriously to run out) more ideas suddenly came. The Moth Woman Vigilantes zine spawned the mini-zine, which opens into a small poster, Moth Woman Vigilantes: a Menace to Society (see above.) I enjoyed the immediacy of this format so much, it led to two more mini-zines: Secret Hairstories and Hairlooms.

There was very little time left to make up more copies of the 2010 zine Material Girls. It turned out to be particularly well received, so the extra effort was well worth it.

For those who missed TWPTF, my efforts and those of several other participants, including Megan Herring, Paul Compton, Sheridan Jones, Gail Stiffe and Gracia and Louise, can be found at Hand Held Gallery in Bourke Street, Melbourne.

All the photographs below are by Shane Jones. Click on images to enlarge.

In foreground: TWPTF organizer and participant

Rona Green

Foreground, left: Megan Herring and Adrian Lawson

Third from left: Sheridan Jones

Moth Woman Press table

Deep in conversation with fellow TWPTF participant

Paul Compton

Re-evolution Opening

2011-09-13T18:09:00.006+10:00

Below are some photographs taken during the opening of Re-evolution at Woodbine Art Gallery. More views and further details of the exhibition opening can be found on my Art Blog.

Second from left: Rod Fyffe and Anita Von Bibra;
On right: Jocelyn Lu and DK

Phil Haywood, DK and Catherine Pilgrim with
Masters Elliot and Austin Haywood

Second from left: Henry and Anita von Bibra with Patricia

Gillard (back to camera;) on left: Noela Stratford, Euan Heng

Anita Von Bibra and Damian Kelly, General Manager of
the Print Council of Australia snapped during Damian's
fantastic opening address

Shane Jones, Catherine and Euan Heng

Jan Lancaster and Craig Gough

Re-evolution exhibition

2011-08-24T07:46:00.013+10:00

Although I try to avoid overlaps with my sister blog, sometimes, as in this case, it's unavoidable.

My solo exhibition Re-evolution at Woodbine Art Gallery in Malmsbury opens on September 4. It will comprise works on paper, plaster and canvas and two of my books, There was once... and Women with Wings.

The invitation is reproduced below. If you are in the area on September 4, drop in and say hello.

Dr. Penny Peckham has written an insightful essay, which is reproduced on my art blog (also posted on 24 August). To read it, click HERE.

For full details, click on the invitation above to enlarge.

THE WONDERFUL PRINTED THINGS FLYER

2011-08-17T08:23:00.013+10:00

Hot off the Press: flyer for the inaugural WONDERFUL PRINTED THINGS FAIR - click on image to enlarge. (See also Blog Post Friday August 12 directly below).

THE WONDERFUL PRINTED THINGS FAIR

2011-08-12T19:51:00.061+10:00

Presented by St Heliers Street Store + Gallery in association with Rona Green

A ONE DAY ONLY EVENT

1 – 6pm Saturday 10 September 2011

Venue:

St Heliers Street Store + Gallery

The Abbotsford Convent

1 St Heliers Street, Abbotsford VIC 3067

Director: Cameron Miller

03 9415 8022

info@stheliersstreet.com

www.stheliersstreet.com

The Wonderful Printed Things will include:

Artist’s books, zines, prints, cards, posters, badges, magnets, tea towels, bags, toys, wearable art, objects and accessories. Everything will be priced from $1.00 - $100. Cash only, please. There is an ATM machine at the venue.

Organizer and participant Rona Green has recruited some fantastic artists and amazing zinesters: Gracia and Louise, Paul Compton, Megan Herring (little red fish books) Sally Darlinson, Di Ellis, Bonnie Hanlon, Rebecca Mayo, Gail Stiffe (Hands on Paper) Flaps (Raquel Ormella and Regina Walter) Sheridan Jones, Ralph Kempken, Janine Middlemost, Annelise Scott and Perimeter Books.

I will be previewing two new zines: The Little Black Hair Book and The Moth Woman Vigilantes, both of which have been in development for several months.

Pictured above left: The Little Black Hair Book cover art.

Cover Art

2011-06-22T07:12:00.007+10:00

For the second time one of my works has been chosen to grace the cover of an anthology of tales by Lucy Sussex. The cover art is a version of Spellbound, a 2007 oil pastel. Although the drawing is predominately red and black, the author and publisher believed that in this particular context it might misleadingly suggest vampire or horror stories. Russell B. Farr of Triconderoga Publications was at pains to preserve what he referred to as ‘the striking vibrancy of the original’. The shade they eventually selected is exactly the blue of a series of hair ornament paintings I was making at the same time as Spellbound; they were intended as a counterbalance to the red combs. Consequently it didn’t feel as if the artwork had been too compromised. I certainly appreciated the care they took and their concern that I would happy with the result.

Currently I’m Artist in Residence at the Art Vault in Mildura, so I was unable to attend the Melbourne launch, a double disappointment, as my friend Dmetri Kakmi gave the opening address. So far I've only seen the very low resolution image pictured above. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the finished result, and of course reading Lucy's wonderful stories.

Happily Ever After: alternative destinies in contemporary feminine narrative

2011-05-31T21:06:00.013+10:00

There was once... The collected fairy tales has been included in this exhibition of artists' books which opens shortly at the John Paynter Gallery in Newcastle, New South Wales.

Curators Caelli Jo Booker and Helen Hopcroft have conceived the exhibition as a collaboration between artists, writers and craftspeople working together to create handmade and limited edition books with a particular focus on female narratives within the fairytale genre.

According to the exhibition's curators, its central premise is '... that despite the hierarchical structures and strong didactic thrust of many fairy tales, no destiny is perfect or uncomplicated.'

Dr. Caroline Webb, an academic from the University of Newcastle, will open the exhibition. Her own research has focused on contemporary re-writings of fairy tales by writers such as A. S. Byatt, Jeanette Winterston and Angela Carter, all of them close to my own heart.

Exhibition venues:

John Paynter Gallery, Newcastle, NSW
10 June - 26 June 2011

Artspace Mackay, Queensland
22 July - 28 October 2011

Further details of this exciting and ambitious project can be found on the Happily Ever After website:

http://happilyeverafter11.blogspot.com/p/images.html

2011-05-31T20:19:00.014+10:00

Moth Woman Press on the move

2011-04-26T08:46:00.012+10:00

Those of you who occasionally check out my Art Blog will already be aware that recently I left my city studio. (It's in very good hands, though - my friend the fantastic landscape artist Kathryn Ryan has taken it over.)

Moth Woman Press will now be operating in a space that is a fraction of its former size, as pictured above. (Yes, it really is as small as it looks.) But for all that, it's a pretty good set up for zine production. At least downsizing to this extreme has made me ensure that I am as organized as possible, as there is not an inch to spare. The stacked white drawers contain most of my zine making materials. And although this photograph doesn't convey it, the desk is not only large, but its drawers also provide a substantial amount of storage, housing drawing materials that would otherwise be cluttering up the space. For more pictures of my new workspace, you can visit my Art Blog by clicking HERE.

Unfortunately all this upheaval has meant that my zines and several other projects have had to go on temporary hold. At the moment I must concentrate on projects with looming deadlines, for example a small linocut destined for a forthcoming exhibition and portfolio exchange curated by artist Rona Green. Once this is done, I intend to return to my zines with a vengeance. Watch this space...

Re-enchantment

2011-03-01T12:05:00.069+11:00

Although there is an overlap with the February 28 post on my Art Blog, Re-enchantment also deserves a mention here.

Instigated by Jungian psychologist Sarah Gibson, produced by Sue Maslin and hosted by ABC television, Re-enchantment is an interactive project that explores the enduring hold that fairy tales have on our cultural imagination

The visual arts component of Re-enchantment includes international artists Cindy Sherman, Kiki Smith and Paula Rego and works by Australian artists Rosemary Valadon, Jazmina Cininas, Judy Horacek, myself and others.The Long, Long Braid, pictured here, features in Re-enchantment. The same painting illustrates the opening story The Girl in the Tower in my book There was once...The collected fairy tales (2009.)

The film of Re-enchantment will be launched on March 2 at the Adelaide Film Festival, and the official website will go live on the same day.

Full details of related events, including a 2 day Symposium at ACMI in Melbourne on March 10-11, can be found on the Art Blog.

More Moth Women Vigilantes

2011-02-12T10:38:00.004+11:00

Two more images destined for the forthcoming zine Moth Woman Vigilantes.

A new zine in the making

2011-02-05T11:00:00.018+11:00

The notorious Moth Woman Vigilantes that have been appearing in my sketchbook of late will eventually be captured and placed in a forthcoming zine. The last two drawings have previously been seen on my Art Blog but are reproduced here in a slightly more evolved state, most notably with the edition of the Moth Woman Vigilantes logo, which I have spent an inordinate amount of time (as well as having a great deal of fun) designing over the last couple of weeks.

Feature article in Australian Book Arts Journal

2011-01-10T10:49:00.063+11:00

Above: Australian Book Arts Journal (front cover)
Click on image to enlarge

Excerpt from Metamorphosis (1) Click on image to enlarge

Metamorphosis (excerpt 2) Click on image to enlarge

The article, printed in its entirety directly below, appears in the current issue of Australian Book Arts Journal.

METAMORPHOSIS by Deborah Klein

For several years I have been researching fairy tales and folk tales. Although my fascination with the tradition of woodland myth and allegory dates from childhood, it has lately become the primary focus of my work, beginning with the Moth Women, a suite of small-scale paintings of women whose faces are partly concealed by elaborate moth-like masks. They were originally created for the 2008-2009 touring exhibition The enchanted forest – new gothic storytellers. But these mysterious women proved to have lives of their own beyond the Enchanted Forest. More Moth Women subsequently appeared, some as drawings, others as linocuts. Selections of the prints were subsequently gathered together in the artist’s book Women with Wings (2010).

My cast of characters was further expanded to include a cluster of eight women, their intricately woven coiffures held precariously in check by a series of jewel-like hair ornaments resembling disconcertingly life-like bugs and arthropods (including a red back spider, a dragonfly and a cicada.) Soon another group of exotic hybrid creatures joined them: a swarm of eighteen airborne women, each with her own unique set of intricately patterned butterfly wings.

As my personal mythology developed, I began to write some fairy tales of my own. The first of these, The Story of the Moth Masks, The Enchanted Hair Ornaments and Swarm, took the works described above as points of departure. My intention was to use the texts as the basis for three limited edition artist’s books illustrated with relief prints. For 18 months I worked on linocuts for all three books.

But in the meantime, further tales began to emerge, which led me to put the projects on temporary hold. They were not only independent of the new work, but also of the insect iconography that underpinned it. Several of these stories, including The Girl in the Tower and Moth Eaten, were contemporary takes on traditional fairy tales.

Thirteen stories had now accumulated, and I decided to compile them in the format of a zine, which I felt I could construct with comparative simplicity. Searching through my back catalogue of works for images that might fit the stories, I found a surprising number (including the painting The Long, Long Braid that was eventually paired with the story The Girl in the Tower) were close to ideal matches. Before too long I was set to present these in the photocopied and saddle stitched (i.e. stapled) format that is characteristic of the humble zine. It was then that my friend Doug Willis asked me to email him my efforts. He said he “thought I could do better”. Together with Doug’s inestimable layout and computer skills and some constructive criticism, came his suggestion that I turn my efforts into the book that became There was once…The collected fairy tales. A local printer recommended by Doug gave me an excellent quote. My intention was to produce a limited edition of 500 copies, but I was advised that a larger edition – in this case 1000 - would be more economical.

A number of books were essential references, among them From the Beast to the Blonde by Marina Warner, a history of fairy tales and their tellers. Equally important were the novels and short stories of Angela Carter, including The Magic Toyshop, and The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories, the latter an anthology of ten fairy tales, told with dark, wicked humour and incisive feminist twists - particularly the title story. A companion piece to these was the Virago Book of Fairy Tales, edited by Carter.

Fairy tales can teach us to make sense of our world, and some of my stories were an attempt to make sense of mine. I learned as much from Hans Christian Andersen’s life as I did from reading his works. He created tales that were completely original, rather than based on folk tales, such as those of the Brothers Grimm (many of which were sourced from women, most of them never credited.) A significant number of Christian Andersen’s stories are autobiographical - for example, The Ugly Duckling. Yet despite their intensely personal nature, they have the same mythic power as ancient folk tales. The biography Hans Christian Andersen - The Life of a Storyteller by Jackie Wullschlager also maintains that his stories have frequently been ill served by English translators, their fine intelligence, pathos and wit too often replaced by cloying sentimentality.

Although my intention to turn my fairy tales into a zine was suspended for the greater good of the project, the lure of zines has proved irresistible. I have since made two of them and plan to do more. My first zine A Short Book about Long Hair and the recently released Material Girls gave older imagery new life, enabling me to present it in a completely different context. Hair remains an enduring emblem. The former zine pairs rear views of women displaying elaborate hairstyles with hair quotations (the one by Raymond Chandler is a personal favourite.) The latter zine combines imagery featuring women’s sewing iconography with related literary and historical texts. Despite aiming for an aesthetic that has more in common with artist’s books, I am drawn to the low-tech, hand made nature of zines, including typing the texts on my Brother manual typewriter, purchased last year for that very purpose.

As a visual artist with metamorphosis at the core of my work, its unforeseen evolution from image to text to book seems uncannily appropriate. One of the most abiding lessons I have learned is that making books – including zines - takes a great deal of time, especially if you want the end result to be as fine as you can possibly make it. My book projects will continue into 2011. In fact I have already set aside next year to focus on artist’s books, and can hardly wait.

From Australian Book Arts Journal, issue 3, TEXT as image, IMAGE as Text, December 2010, published by Linda Douglas, Brisbane, Queensland.

For enquiries about subscribing to ABAJ, or for a list of stockists click HERE

Season's Greetings from Moth Woman Press

2010-12-24T16:52:00.026+11:00

It seems like only yesterday since my last Christmas post (a rather lengthy excerpt from my prized childhood copy of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, accompanied by one of Maraja’s superb illustrations from the same volume.)

The year has ended on a fine note - the National Gallery of Australia has just acquired a copy of There was once… The collected fairy tales.

And The Rare Books Department of the State Library of Victoria are in the process of acquiring a copy of my very first artist’s book Tattooed Faces (1996) which was bound by George Matoulas.

Tattooed Faces, 1996 (front cover)

Tattooed Faces: title page

Tattooed Faces excerpt: Lace Face

Tattooed Faces excerpt: Eyes Everywhere

In the meantime, the third volume of Australian Book Arts Journal, themed Text as image, image as text is currently winging its way to subscribers and contributors from all over Australia. One of this year’s pleasures has been getting to know its creator, editor, designer and publisher Linda Douglas. At this stage our acquaintanceship is a long distance one, but one day I hope we will get a chance to meet in person. Linda has been working harder than ever on ABAJ - it seems to get better and better with each new volume. My essay Metamorphosis is a feature article in this issue. Its title not only applies to the current imagery, but equally to the manner in which the pictures morphed into stories and then into the small anthology that became There was once...

My zines also rate a mention. As I write in the article, zines and books will be a major focus of my work in 2011 – if I get around to making a New Year’s Resolution that will be it.

Wishing everyone the best Christmas and New Year ever - we you will drop into Moth Woman Press from time to time in 2011.

Afghanistan and Australian Artists Books return to Australia

2010-12-02T07:20:00.042+11:00

Recently the artists involved in the Afghanistan and Australian Artists Books Project (See Blog Post May 18, 2010) received the exciting news that the books are back from Afghanistan. They are currently in the process of being translated. Although the texts cover a range of topics, it appears many of the women have chosen to tell their own stories.

The images we have received at this stage are small and grainy but offer an intriguing preview of what is to come. It is important to note that all the texts were written by women who, little more than 12 months ago, were completely illiterate. Looking at the detail of the book I submitted (second from top) I am delighted at the visual manner in which the text interacts with the imagery.

Project instigator, coordinator and participating artist Gali Weiss has written a proposal to exhibit the books as part of IMPACT 7, the international printmaking conference to be hosted by Monash University, Melbourne in September, 2011. In addition, an article on the project will be published in IMPRINT, the quarterly journal of the Print Council of Australia, in March 2011. The March issue will focus on community-based printmaking projects and socio-political commentary through printmaking. Read more about the project on Gali Weiss's website HERE.

Natural Histories Exhibition at Chrysalis Gallery

2010-11-02T23:39:00.044+11:00

To see a slideshow of the exhibition, photographed by Tim Gresham, click HERE.

Images from top:

The Enchanted Hair Ornaments, a multi-paneled painting incorporating the text of what became the first of my fairy tales, eventually leading to the compilation of the anthology There was once...

There was once... The collected fairy tales - Special Edition. This (and the following) photograph by Tim Gresham.

Winged Women linocuts and There was once...

Foreground, left: Andrew Gunnell of Chrysalis Gallery pictured with Joy Smith and the irreplaceable Doug Willis, who was responsible for the layout (and much, much more) for There was once... Photograph by Shane Jones.

From left: Shane Jones, Deborah Klein, Sue, Peg Johnstone. Photograph by Shirley Murdoch.

Chrysalis Director Delwyn Freestone with Shane Jones

Winged Women linocuts, installation view, Gallery 2

Pictured (in background, left) with last day visitors Leigh Hobbs, Dmiti Kakmi, Robert Heather and Edwina Bach. Photograph by Shane Jones.

Click on images to enlarge.

There was once... latest news

2010-10-10T11:33:00.013+11:00

Click on images to enlarge.

There was once... The collected fairy tales is now available at the bookshop of the Art Gallery of Ballarat, one of our favourite regional galleries.

Solo Exhibition at Chrysalis Gallery and Special edition of 'There was once...'

2010-09-25T14:25:00.026+10:00

To coincide with my first exhibition at the beautiful Chrysalis Gallery in East Melbourne, Moth Woman Press has kept aside the first twenty copies of There was once... The collected fairy tales. These copies contain a signed and numbered copy of the limited edition print, Lace Lepidopteran, 2010, linocut on oriental paper, 16 x 10.5 cm, edition 20. It is exclusive to this edition. The image is based on the illustration for Moth Eaten, one of the thirteen stories in the book.

Natural Histories

Opening: Thursday 7th October 6.00-8.00 pm

Exhibition dates: 7th - 30th October

Chrysalis Gallery is located just 15 minute's walk from the City CBD (opposite the old Mercy Hospital site).

Hours:

Tuesday-Friday 9.30-5.30; Saturday 11.00-5.00;
Monday by appointment - please call 9415 1977 or 0418 324 651.

Contact Details:

Chrysalis Gallery & Studio:
Director: Delwyn Freestone
179 Gipps Street East Melbourne VIC 3002
Phone: 61 3 9415 1977
Fax: 61 3 9415 1966
Email: prints@chrysalis.com.au

More September News

2010-09-11T09:06:00.020+10:00

Our zines A Short Book about Long Hair and Material Girls (see Blog Post July 28) have recently been acquired by the State Library of Victoria.

The artist's book Women with Wings is a finalist in the 2010 Silk Cut Award for Linocut Prints. The exhibition is currently on view at Glen Eira City Council Gallery.

Images above (from top):

A Short Book about Long Hair, 2009, zine, 15 x 21 x 3 cm (H x W x D) (Front cover and Raymond Chandler quote) edition 60

Material Girls (illustration with quotation and front cover) zine, 2010, saddle stitched and bound with satin cloth tape, 15 x 21 x .5 cm (H x W x D) edition 60

Women with Wings, 2010, artist book (front and back covers) rubber stamps, 24 x 20.5 x 1.5 cm (H x W x D closed)

Women with Wings, 2010, artist concertina book: linocuts, rubber stamps, 24 x 20.5 x 1.5 cm (H x W x D closed)

Click on images to enlarge.

Author talk, Melbourne Athenaeum Library, Wednesday 22 September at 1 pm

2010-09-02T22:18:00.023+10:00

For further information, click on flyer to enlarge.

A belated thank you (added to this Blog Post on Saturday, September 25 September) to the wonderful Athenaeum Library staff who were so welcoming and so well organized.

And a huge thank all the people who came to the talk - you were a fantastic audience.

Release of Material Girls Zine

2010-07-28T14:18:00.029+10:00

Advance copies (numbers 1-6, edition of 60) of our latest zine Material Girls will be released at the launch of Snip, Slice, Saw, which opens at Hand Held Gallery tomorrow evening.

Pictured above are some excerpts from the zine. Click on images to enlarge.

Hand Held Gallery
Suite 18 (upstairs)
Paramount Arcade
108 Bourke Street
Melbourne 3000.

Opening July 29 6-8 pm

Opening hours: Monday-Saturday 12 - 5 pm

The exhibition runs until August 4

Winged Women

2010-06-12T11:12:00.018+10:00

This week at Moth Woman Press we began editioning the 18 lino blocks that will illustrate the forthcoming artist book Swarm.

Image above: Winged Women, 2010, linocuts, installation view, 32 x 32 cm (each work)

Photograph by Tim Gresham. Click on image to enlarge.

Unfolding Projects: Afghani and Australian Artist Book Collaborations

2010-05-18T15:32:00.039+10:00

In 2009 Artist/Curator Gali Weiss approached a number of Australian artists with the proposal that each produce a small concertina book of images that would form the basis of a dialogue with Afghani women, who would be invited to respond to the images by adding their own texts to the books.

The fourteen artists are Rosalind Atkins, Tracey Avery, Marian Crawford, Ann Cunningham, Dianne Ellis, Susan Gordon-Brown, Jennifer Kamp, Deborah Klein, Ann Riggs, Annelise Scott, Krystal Seigerman, Tanya Ungeri, Gali Weiss and Christine Willcocks.

The books were flown to Afghanistan in mid April.

Here is an excerpt from Gali's website:

"The project is a response to the dire situation of many women in Afghanistan, particularly in relation to literacy. Women in Afghanistan have for years experienced extreme hardships not only due to war but specifically because of their gender. Many women are illiterate because they were and often still are, forbidden, restricted, or discouraged to go to school or complete their education.

Currently, with the assistance of SAWA – Australia (Support Association for the Women of Afghanistan), http://www.sawa-australia.org/, 53 books have been delivered to a vocational training centre in Kabul where women are gaining literacy skills for the first time in their lives. The 53 books comprise the concertinas pictured above and their multiples.

The intent of the artists participating in this project has been to mobilise a process of support and dialogue with Afghani women, that at the same time conveys, “You/we are not alone.” The books can become a conversation – a conversation between women who are in different places, in different circumstances, but who wish to share a voice.

We now await the responses from Afghanistan."

Above: Photograph by Gali Weiss.

To view individual artist's books go to:
www.galiweiss.com/collaboration_unfolding.html

Some Cover Art

2010-04-27T10:19:00.018+10:00

Over the years my work has been reproduced on a number of book covers, which I thought I would share with you. Click on images to enlarge.

From top:

A Tour Guide in Utopia by Lucy Sussex, MirrorDanse Editions, 2005

The Greatest Treasure of Charlemagne the King by Nadia Wheatley with illustrations by Deborah Klein, Scholastic Australia Pty. Ltd., 1997

She's Fantastical - the first anthology of Australian women's speculative fiction, magical realism and fantasy, edited by Lucy Sussex, Judith Raphael Buckrich with a foreward by Ursula K Le Guin, Sybylla Feminist Press, 1995

Saint Martha according to Deborah Klein: cover art (page 6 of She's Fantastical)

Forging Identities - bodies, gender and feminist history edited by Jane Long, Jan Gothard and Helen Brash, University of Western Australia Press, 1997

Forthcoming publication

2010-04-05T09:58:00.012+10:00

A sneak preview of our latest zine Material Girls, which will be launched in July, 2010 at Hand Held Gallery in the group exhibition Snip, slice, saw, curated by Megan Herring.

Review of 'There was once... The collected fairy tales'

2010-03-18T18:37:00.021+11:00

The book review by Tahlia Delager (pictured above) appears in the current issue of IMPRINT (Autumn 2010, Volume 45, Number 1.) Moth Woman Press thanks Tahlia for her thoughtful and insightful words, and for her kind permission to reproduce the review on the Moth Woman Press Artist's Books site.

Click on review to read.

New Work

2010-03-02T09:05:00.007+11:00

Women with Wings, 2010, linocut, rubber stamps, 24.5 x 20.5 cm (cover)

Click on images to enlarge.

Studio visit

2010-02-28T16:51:00.045+11:00

On Friday, 26 February, Moth Woman Press was delighted to welcome artists and friends Priscilla Ambrosini and Paul Compton to the studio. (To view photos of them both, see post on Deborah Klein's Blog, Sunday 28 February. Scroll down and click on the link listed under Other Sites.) Paul also rates a mention (and picture) on Moth Woman Press by virtue of his literary T-shirt bearing the legend Lunch with Dorothy Parker (a writer close to my heart) and last, but not least, because he is also a talented zine and book artist.

Image above:

Paul Compton in T-shirt by ellejayrose.

To see more wearable artwork by ellejayrose, go to: www.redbubble.com/people/ellejayrose

The end of a Long Wait for a Short Book

2010-02-09T19:53:00.062+11:00

Top: Sample text and image from A Short Book about Long Hair

Centre: Cover and Title Page

Lower: Hand Held Gallery, Melbourne (Photo courtesy Megan Herring)

A Short Book about Long Hair is finally available. We decided to delay its release, originally scheduled for late 2009, in order to replace the original cover. (For a more extensive preview, scroll down to Blog Post Sunday, November 8, 2009.) The zine is $15.00 and is limited to an edition of 60. It is available through Moth Woman Press and also at Hand Held, one of our favourite Melbourne galleries. Hand Held is an object and artist book gallery which specializes in books, zines, posters, postcards, paper arts and eclectic objects. There was once... The collected fairy tales is also stocked at Hand Held. Here is where to find them:

Suite 18, upstairs

Paramount Arcade

108 Bourke Street

Melbourne, 3000

Entry via Bourke or little Bourke street. Go straight up escalator to top level.

Contact:

(03)9654 4006

littleredfishy@yahoo.com.au

Gallery opening hours:

Mon-Sat 12-5pm

Alternatively, you can visit them online via the link listed under Other Sites on the right hand side of Moth Woman Press Blog

Recent Acquisition

2010-02-04T10:47:00.024+11:00

There was once... The collected fairy tales has recently been acquired by the State Library of Queensland (pictured above.) We paid our very first visit to Brisbane in November, 2009, after giving an artist's talk a short distance across the border at Tweed River Art Gallery in NSW. The State Library of Queensland, which was a highlight of an entirely memorable trip, has the largest publicly available collection of artists' books in Australia, comprising approximately 1000 works by both Australian and overseas artists. We are thrilled that our first book is now part of their collection.

A Short Book About Long Hair - with Revised Cover

2010-02-02T08:22:00.017+11:00

Our first zine is about to be released, but with a different cover to the one originally planned (see Blog Post Sunday, November 8, 2009). The zine will be available within the next fortnight, when we will post further details.

Image above: A Short Book about Long Hair with new cover design and stock.

... and a Happy New Year

2010-01-15T06:10:00.027+11:00

JANUARY NEWS

Moth Woman Press is currently working on a new limited edition book, Material Girls (image above.)

We are absolutely delighted with the response to our first book, There was once... The collected fairy tales, and have received orders from all over Australia. Several copies have also been despatched to the UK and two are currently winging their way to the US. Warm thanks to the many people who have supported and encouraged this venture, including those who have taken the trouble to write and share their responses to the stories with us.

There was once... has recently been acquired for the permanent collections of the City of Banyule and Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum.

Merry Christmas from Moth Woman Press

2009-12-24T19:27:00.018+11:00

Image above: illustration by Maraja

AN EXCERPT FROM MY CHILDHOOD COPY OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL BY CHARLES DICKENS, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARAJA

... But now, the plates being changed by Miss Belinda, Mrs. Cratchit left the room alone - too nervous to bear witnesses - to take the pudding up, and bring it in.

Suppose it should not be done enough! Suppose it should break in turning out! Suppose somebody should have got over the wall of the back-yard and stolen it, while they were merry with the goose - a supposition at which the two young Cratchits became livid! All sorts of horrors were supposed.

Hallo! A great deal of steam! The pudding was out of the copper. A smell like a washing day! That was the cloth. A smell like an eating-house and a pastry-cook's next door to each other, with a laundress's next door to that! That was the pudding! In half a minute Mrs. Cratchit entered - flushed, but smiling proudly - with the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half-a-quartern of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck into the top.

Oh, a wonderful pudding! Bob Cratchit said, and calmly too, that he regarded it as the greatest success achieved by Mrs. Cratchit since their marriage. Mrs. Cratchit said that, now the weight was off her mind, she would confess she had had her doubts about the quantity of flour. Everybody had something to say about it, but nobody said or thought it was at all a small pudding for a large family. It would have been flat heresy to do so. Any Cratchit would have blushed to hint at such a thing.

At last the dinner was all done, the cloth was cleared, the hearth swept, and the fire made up. The compound in the jug being tasted, and considered perfect, apples and oranges were put upon the table, and a shovel full of chestnuts on the fire. Then all the Cratchit family drew around the hearth in what Bob Cratchit called a circle, meaning half a one; and at Bob Cratchit's elbow stood the family display of glass. Two tumblers and a custard cup without a handle.

These held the hot stuff from the jug, however, as well as golden goblets would have done, and Bob served it out with beaming looks, while the chestnuts on the fire sputtered and cracked noisily. Then Bob proposed -

'A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. And God bless us!'

Which all the family re-echoed.

'God bless us every one!' said Tiny Tim, the last of all.

From A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, originally published in 1843
This edition made and printed in Italy by Fratelli Fabri Editori, Milan
for the Publishers W. H. Allen and Co. Ltd., Essex Street, London WC2
Published in Australia by Golden Press Pty. Ltd., Sydney
© Fratelli Frabri Editori, 1959

Melbourne Launch of 'There was once... The Collected Fairy Tales' at Chapman and Bailey Gallery, Melbourne, December 1, 2009

2009-12-04T22:41:00.050+11:00

Images from top:

Shane Jones installing the exhibition of the works that inspired the stories

Deborah Klein photographed during the installation on the morning of December 1

Doug Willis (print layout and co-designer of There was once...)

Mark Chapman, Director of Chapman and Bailey, listening to Robert Heather's reading of the fairy tale Just Dessert, one of the evening's highlights

Deborah Klein, Mark Chapman and Robert Heather

Deborah Klein with Damian Kelly, General Manager, Print Council of Australia, and Shirley Murdoch

Foreground: Bill Reid and Lisa Sassella, General Manager, Marketing, National Gallery of Victoria; Background, left to right: Damian Kelly, Robert Heather, and (far left) Brian MacDonald, editor and proof reader of There was once...

From Left: Madeline Say, Picture Collection Librarian, State Library of Victoria, Adrian Saunders, Des Cowley, Manager, Rare and Printed Collections, State Library of Victoria, Alice Parker and Gerda van Hamond

From Left: Ann Holt, Euan Heng, Caroline Durre

Click on images to enlarge

A Short Book About Long Hair

2009-11-08T19:05:00.008+11:00

A selection of texts and images from the first zine published by Moth Woman Press.

New acquisition

2009-10-23T06:00:00.009+11:00

Moth Woman Press are looking forward to producing our first zines in the near future, and true to this ambition, have just acquired this fine Brother portable typewriter from Lost and Found Market in Smith Street, Collingwood. Many thanks to Tom Tedesco of Angletons Office Supplies in Smith Street for his time, trouble, enthusiasm, encouragement and expertise. The first typewriter we acquired, a 1960s Royal, was more aesthetically pleasing, but had a number of serious faults. On Tom’s advice we returned it to Lost and Found (which fortunately is just up the road) and swapped it for the model pictured above. (Thank you to the friendly and obliging manager of Lost and Found too.) Angletons also sell typewriter ribbons, so now we really are ready to go. (Click on image to enlarge).

Melbourne launch of 'There was once... The Collected Fairy Tales

2009-10-19T03:01:00.019+11:00

From top:
Moth Eaten (excerpt)
A Thousand Words (excerpt)

Come along and help me celebrate the book’s official Melbourne launch.

Opening remarks by Robert Heather, Manager, Events and Exhibitions, State Library of Victoria.

Tuesday, December 1 at 6.30 pm at:

Chapman and Bailey
350 Johnston Street
Abbotsford VIC 3067
Ph:(03) 9415 8666 Fax:(03) 9415 8811
Email: info@chapmanbailey.com.au

Work in Progress

2009-09-30T10:53:00.006+10:00

Completed lino blocks for forthcoming artist's book Swarm. The artist's studio, September 2009. Click on image to enlarge.

SWARM
Once in another time not so very long ago there were 18 sisters. They lived with their widowed father and younger brother in a fine, respectable townhouse in a fine respectable street in a fine respectable suburb in a fine respectable town. But none of them could honestly say that they were happy or content. You see, while their father and brother were able to venture into the great world outside to study, work for a living and even have wonderful and exciting adventures, they were confined to their home, aside from an occasional shopping trip downtown under the watchful eye of their governess. Until such time as they were able to marry, they were expected to oversee the running of the house and always be well presented and polite, especially if called upon to assist their father when he entertained his friends and colleagues. Certainly they had lessons, but their governess was under strict orders that they perfect their cooking and sewing skills (which were frankly appalling) rather than advance their learning in the arts or sciences.

Their father and brother were respected entomologists whose butterfly collection was famous worldwide. The daughters begged their father to let them help with the collection. They longed to venture out and join in the hunt and maybe discover and name some new species, even though they knew the credit would ultimately be given to their father and brother. That’s the way it was in the olden days, you see.

He finally relented and let them come along on a butterfly hunting expedition in the forest not far from their house. They had always longed to go there as they had heard that it was enchanted. When they arrived they had to admit there was indeed something magical and mysterious about it and longed to explore its hidden depths. But they knew they were there for a very specific reason and very soon they were completely engrossed in the task at hand. Their father was grudgingly impressed at their success. Well before the day’s end they had managed to capture a great many butterflies, every one of them a truly magnificent specimen. His daughters were thrilled, as it seemed that he might take them seriously at last.

They carried their prey home in jars with holes drilled in the lids. Late that afternoon, before hurrying off to the monthly meeting of the Entomological Society, their father and brother took the sisters upstairs to their laboratory and explained how to kill and mount their captives.

Thousands of specimens already collected by their father and brother were fastidiously pinned and arranged in a series of glass cases lining a huge room that, along with the laboratory, occupied the entire second storey of their house. With a sudden pang, the sisters had to admit that they felt a certain affinity with them. Their eyes then turned to the butterflies still fluttering gamely in their glass prisons and they knew at once that they couldn’t bear to kill them.

As one they moved to free them, knowing full well that their father would be furious and that in giving these beautiful creatures their freedom, they may have lost the chance to gain their own.

The oldest girl opened the window to their father’s study, and one by one they unscrewed the lids of the jars.

Instead of flying away, however, the butterflies flew madly around the room as if they had completely lost their bearings in the excitement of escape. But soon they gathered together to form a huge fluttering cloud of kaleidoscope colours. It was a marvellous sight. Over the gentle but determined sound of their beating wings, the girls could hear what sounded like a faint voice. They could not believe their ears. Ordinarily it would not have been audible to humans, but spoken collectively its sound was unmistakeable. ‘Join us’ they said. ‘Fly away with us and be free forever.’

The girls exchanged glances and in less time than the single beat of a butterfly’s wings their decision was made. One by one they followed the butterflies through the open window. But instead of plummeting downwards to almost certain death, they were wondrously, miraculously airborne, up, up, up into the orange coloured sky, a fantastical swarm, heading for freedom and happiness in the Enchanted Forest

Launch of 'There was once...The collected fairy tales' at The Art Vault, Mildura

2009-09-30T07:56:00.014+10:00

The book was officially launched by Donata Carrazza, founder of the Mildura Writer's Festival, at the opening of the solo exhibition Introduced Species on 30 July 2009 at The Art Vault, 43 Deakin Avenue Mildura, Victoria, 3500. The exhibition continued through Sunday 9 August.

Excerpt from Donata Carrazza's opening remarks:

“I’m going to start tonight by reading one of Deborah’s stories, from the book we are also launching called There was once… It’s The Story of the Moth Masks, which is particularly pertinent since the 16 linocuts of the same subject have also been included in the show. The 13 stories from the book combine subversion, humour and a narrative drive that challenges the status quo of old and seeks to redress the subjugated status of women in folklore. One might ask, but what’s the point today? Aren’t women free to do as they please? Surely feminism died when Germaine Greer confessed to taking Hormone Replacement Therapy. In the last 50 years we’ve certainly increased our financial independence, and thus our freedom, through improved education and employment opportunities, but I think that women carry in their very cells the memories of a lesser life through past generations, and so what’s valuable about such story telling and the powerful images in this show is the recognition of a past that has sought to degrade, denigrate and obstruct women’s power and potential. This we must never forget. We should not stop telling our children fairytales, but we should balance the story telling with other stories, like Deborah’s, to reiterate and affirm that a person isn’t saved or rescued in life, she has to take responsibility and work out her own best strategy for making her life glisten and sparkle.”

From top:
Donata reads the The Story of the Moth Masks at the exhibition opening
Opening night view
There was once... The collected fairy tales

Work in Progress

2009-06-08T12:21:00.001+10:00

Hand coloured artist's proofs for forthcoming artist's book The Story of the Moth Masks. The artist's studio, June 2009. Click on image to enlarge.