soula

Below are my two etchings from my beautiful and talented friend, Melbourne artist Soula Mantalvanos.

i had seen Soula's work in Brunswick Street Gallery in 2006 and a couple of years later i contacted her through her website wanting to buy an etching. i went to her Collingwood home and studio where she and her partner Theo greeted me with warm smiles. After an enjoyable  half hour or so of chatting i left there thinking 'i may have new friends' ...i was right, we have been friends ever since! i adore them as well as Soula's craft. 

http://www.soula.com.au/cv.html

http://soula.com.au/blog/

This the etching that started it all ... Carousel, Hotel de Ville et Crepes, 4th Arr Paris. Hard ground etching. 4in x 5in. Edition of 15. 2007.

This was a  birthday gift from Soula and Theo. 

Carousel, 4th Arr Paris. Aquatint. 2in x 2.7in Edition of 20. 2007.

Lee Miller

Lee Miller is one of my favourite early 20th century photographers. the contexts of her photographs are often horrific, but her eye always incredible,  here's a very brief outline of this extraordinary photographer ...  in the 20s she was a successful New York model before going to Paris where she became  an active participant in the surrealist movement as well as becoming the apprentice (and lover) of the acclaimed surrealist photographer Man Ray.  it was  during this  time  that she and Man Ray  co- discovered the soloristion technique  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solarisation (see  first image below).  in 1932 she left Paris, as well as  Man Ray, returning to New York where she became a very successful portrait photographer.  in 1934 she married an Egyptian businessmen and moved to Cairo  mastering her craft with  awe inspiring surreal images of the Egyptian landscape.  during Word War II she became a war correspondent for Vogue magazine in which time she photographed the horrors of war.  her images of the concentration camps in Buchenwald and Dachau shocked the world. in 1947 she married artist Roland Penrose and moved to Sussex, England.  she seldom photographed hereafter.  not surprisingly  her experiences during the war negatively affected her life and she was later diagnosed with post traumatic stress syndrome.

View some of her photos and you can see why

 

http://www.leemiller.co.uk/index.aspx

quilla in autumn afternoon light

i recently posted this picture of Quilla on face book but thought it deserved a post here too!  i love this  picture for many reasons but most of all because it so beautifully reflects Quilla's relaxed nature. xx

paper garlands