Blue

Art for art sake

Art form or vandalism?

There is something truly incredible happening in the side streets and lane ways of our urban areas. 
 Aerosol art, stencil art, art for the sake of creating something wonderful, creative and visual is happening.

It costs nothing to see, it costs nothing to enjoy and it breaths life into our dull and boring urban landscape. 
The current attitude towards aerosol art, within some areas of society, is strongly reflective of the art establishment of the 19th century, 
who 'dissed' the Impressionists and their new way of playing with colour and form.

When will this exercise in creativity become seen as an art form and not as vandalism? When will this art practice be given the credit it deserves? When will the SHIFT occur?

Plastic Fantastic

These familiar verstatile objects with a subtle waxy touch typify a streamlined machine made aesthetic. 
Constantly finding new ways to use plastic in homewares and art alike, the material has become an icon of suburban living, 
 an embodiment of the modernist maxim of 'form follows function'.

It is in all of our lives, everywhere we look, in most things we touch. 

Originally envisioned as an emblem of household cleanliness and thrift, 
plastic is constantly re-evolving in the manner in which it is utilized in homewares and kitchenware.

Many cultures remain truly fascinated by the bright glowing colours of polyethylene.
 These versatile objects are durable, flexible and lightweight, possessing a simplicity of form coupled with a certain substance. 
 Plastics seem to retain an inherent playfulness and spareness in their coupling of unfussy shapes, clean lines and bold colours; 
eminently practical and functional.

Recycle and edit.

Everything has been edited at EDIT, like moulded Depression glass, often found in the back of nanna’s bureau that has been transformed into beautiful assemblages in the form of delightful lamps and objects. And the stacks of old encyclopaedias that have been bolted together to become witty side tables. The 1970s vases and bowls placed on top of each other become amusing table and side lamps. In these, one can see the play of scale that is present in so many of the clever objects created for this store.

The original and exciting fabric designs, driven by Sharyn Storrier Lyneham's love of fabrics, are in someway the backbone of the EDIT vision. Jewels, hedgerows, chandleries, old shutters, and funky fifty style patterns are all inspirations for the fabric range, which is digitally printed on silk, hemp, velvet, and linen. The fabrics are found on lampshades, furniture, cushions, and even mannequins.

Hand painted plates, by Susan Hipgrave, hand painted chairs, screens and cushions created by Nina Davies, ceramics with the theme of marine life created by Luke Scibberas, watercolours by artist Matthew Lander and photography by Ben Storrier fill the bright space of EDIT. There is a sense of fission when you enter this store, because these art pieces, as well as the furniture and other witty objects, generate a feeling of geniune creativity.

I discovered EDIT one Saturday morning, just wandering around Sydney’s Surry Hills.
It is a delight and adventure for those who walk through the front door. It deserves to be supported as Sharyn's aim is to recycle and reinvent from what already exists.
It is yet another example of SHIFTAZINE thinking. Well done!

Contact EDIT -T:02 9358 5806 E: inge@edit-group.com.au W: www.edit-group.com.au

Green is a state of mind, heart and soul

Everything has a second use

Living in Greece, I noticed how inventive the older people were with their reuse of almost everything. 
Nothing was wasted. 
I guess they had lived through some hard times, so they looked at everything with a lateral eye. 
Love that! 
So here are some empty olive oil tins that have been made into garden beds, growing herbs. 
A win, win result. 
Recycling is good for the soul and your planet. Using fresh herbs is good for the soul and your body. 
ENJOY.

A Bright Idea

When I was in Brisbane, just last week, I found some bright examples of SHIFTAZINE thinking. Everyone has loose, odd or spare buttons floating about. You can’t bring yourself to throw them out but they just hang around for years. Why not make a beautiful lamp shade out of them. This shade creates a wonderful glow and fantastic shadows on the walls. For the other lightening solution don’t you just love how those 40s and 50s glass shades work as a funky twist on a chandelier.

An ongoing project

For years I have admired my neighbour’s relentless gathering and building of a collection of great street finds. Nothing is too small to be missed by her eagle eye. Nothing is too big or heavy to deter her from her resolve of ‘That looks interesting’.

On the pages above you will see a most wonderful example of SHIFTAZINE thinking and how imagination and style can make almost anything fabulous. As Colleen said to me when we were discussing her ongoing project, “I just find things on the street. I bring them home and see if they work. Another thing, I love colour and pattern, but its not about coloured patterns - it could be either, but I love the combinations.”
So its the ombination of both old and new, colour and pattern, slick and grunge that really is the magical key to this home which is a result of inventive thinking and an intuitive eye.

North of the Border

Somewhere in Brisbane, an apartment has slowly been pieced together with a combination of imagination, a good eye, courage and a sense of fun. Taste, not money has been the secret ingredient in the success of creating and shaping this most delightful living space. Well done!

Yellow

Its Aladdin's Cave!

JOY is infectious

This is Jack and he is my JOY. 
He inspired me to come up with the idea for ‘Joy Day’.
We adopted him on 25th November 2000, only days away from him receiving the green dream. 
He has brought an endless amount of JOY into our lives. 
So I thought it was a great idea if we all stopped just for a moment or maybe for the whole day, on the 25th of November every year and reflected on the thing that brings us JOY. 
People reflect on what they don’t have but I bet there is a little thing or maybe a big thing that will always put a smile of your face. 
 Reflect on that, celebrate it, focus on it for the day on the 25th of November. 
 Have fun, feel JOY, be happy!

Coffee and a smile

Making the ordinary, extraordinary.

Walking through the back door of an unloved 1940’s dark brick block of flats we found ourselves in a serene nest. Is this the space of a bower? Full of shells, flowers and feathers; discarded plastic items; lamps ,chairs of an eclectic nature and a beautiful piece of Murano glass. Melissa, the nest maker herself, has always had an eye for detail. For those beautiful things that others would look past.

Each room has emerged from a piece that she found, felt and fitted. Its about the landscape within the room rather than its outlook, as most of her rooms look onto a mirror image block of flats. Melissa possesses the ability to turn less than ordinary into extraordinary.

The afternoon we visited her home, the winter sun was filtering through the windows, filling the space with a sweet calm light. In the kitchen, calico white curtains cut unevenly like a cityscape, framed the succulents sitting on the sill. The main bedroom had the most captivating solution to a broken fly screen – with inexpensive nylon black lace. The effect was seductive.

An Escape

I like all kinds of balconies. The wrought iron balustrade thing that seems to have started in the 50s and came to full campness with the explosion of the blocks of flats (as we use to call them) in the 70s.

I took a drive down Sans Sousi way a summer or so ago and snapped the assortment of balconies and verandahs I found. A touch of outside inside your own space. I was speaking with someone the other day who made the comment that balconies are an escape -"like your outside without leaving home".

I have always thought of them as a touch of the glamorous life.