New Home!

Here's another brief post as I'm still in transit!

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about leaving my beautiful studio in Hobart which now, in the sultry tropical North Queensland heat seems light years away! We've bought a fabulous house here in Townsville, the highlight feature being a sparkling pool in an oasis-like tropical setting.

Everything about the house is pretty much perfect and I'm lucky to once again have a space I can work in. As you can see by the realestate image however, this room will need some life injected into it to make it a place where I'll actually want to work (it will be hard enough to drag myself away from the pool on a hot day!) I'm concerned by the lack of natural light and the long narrow shape accentuating the boxed in feeling.

As I settle into this space with my own furniture, inspiration boards, artwork, plants, rugs etc I'm sure it will begin to feel like my own. I'll be sure to post an update once I'm all set up!

Cheers,

Deb x

deborahotooletextileartist.com

On The Road

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm moving from Hobart, Tasmania to Townsville, Queensland. That's 3317 kms and we're doing it by road. I'm not much of a happy road tripper but it has been fascinating to travel through a variety of climates and landscapes from the south to the north of Australia. Hard to believe it's actually the same country!
I guess one of the advantages of travel is the visual inspiration  available if one is looking out for it. I believe as an artist it is crucial to take advantage of sights and experiences which may not be available at home surroundings. You never know when an exotic leaf, flower, sky colour, ambient light or animal might inspire a new idea or direction in your artwork. So I keep my eyes peeled and my camera (iPhone!) ready...

Here are some images I've snapped along the way.

Cheers,

Deb x
deborahotooletextileartist.com

Goodbye Hobart Studio!

This week I moved out of my little home in Hobart, en route to a new home and a new life in Townsville. The change is exciting of course, but I will miss the life I've had here for almost 12 months.
One thing I'll really miss is my lovely studio space (aka front sun room). The room had built in shelving perfect for my growing stash of fabric, wool, clothes to recycle and boxes of past projects. The space was just the right size to fit my large cutting table as well as my L-shaped workbench. But the best features were the gorgeous windows on both Northern and Western walls which let in an abundance of light all day and, most importantly in the Tasmanian winter, warmth! It was so hot in there some days I was in sleeveless dresses and sunnies!
Not only was the space aesthetically beautiful, inviting and practical to work in, it also overlooked my all-year blooming front garden and the busy street beyond. I often had passers-bye stop to admire the garden, say hello to the free-ranging chooks and occasionally they would glance up and make eye contact. It helped me feel connected to the world in my otherwise solitary activity.
Sadly, I doubt that the studio in my new home will live up to this one! Luckily I had the foresight to have a very talented photographer, Natalie Mendham capture this space in all it's glory!

Here are a few of the images from the shoot.

Me at work sewing sequins.

The space was so bright I often had to wear sunglasses!

So many beads to choose from!

Two of my inspiration boards are visible in the background here.

Natalie takes a lovely portrait!

And here are a few pics I took myself when things were looking photogenic…

My favourite "shelfie" of vintage boxes, baskets, jars of beads and my frog planter.

The mirror ball sparkled pretty much all day in the northern window.

This was taken when I first set up. My feline friends also took an immediate liking to the sunny vantage point.

For more images of my work from the Natalie Mendham shoot, see my website.