The Fridge Jury

I know a very clever young designer, who lives in Newcastle, Australia. 
 Her name is Fleur Bennett.  She is talented, down to earth and very witty. 
She sent me these drawings, now I am sending them to you. ENJOY!

"Dear Jack-Attack

This series is called 'Some People I've Met Lately' although there is one image of Bob Carr titled 

''Geez Bob, You're A Smug Fucker' (but I've never actually met him). 
Generally each character has his or her own title such as: 'I'm Just with him for his Brain.' 
or 'The Train from Gosford is Fraught with Danger and Bogans' and 'Getting my Hair Cut Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time.'

I'm inspired to draw by people I meet or see in the street or even in the paper. 
I get very excited when I see one of those old men with the ears and nose that never stopped growing and a face full of character lines, 
I find RSL's are an excellent hunting ground for great faces. 
I just love the infinite possibilities of the human face...I mean we all have two eyes, 
a nose and a mouth, yet each of us is instantly recognisable as our own person.

Artworks are drawn using gouche and ink on canvas. Canvasses are 4x4 inches in size. Each image takes one to two minutes to draw - any longer and 
I find you get done for harrassment or worse... let's just say an old bloke with a 
skinful of shandies can be tough to shift. At the moment I seem to be going through a blue phase, i'm not sure how long this will last.

I like to stick my artworks to the fridge (on magnets) for a while 
before I group them because then every time I open the fridge (and lets face it - 
it's quite a bit) I can figure out what order they look best in and how I can improve future artworks."

White is not white necessarily

Nothing square about this

Grannie squares are so not hip, or cool, or designer.  
However, when you shift the places you expect them to be seen or how they are used, you have a grannie square of an entirely different colour.  
Found this very amusing and visually exciting animal head in the window of Garden Life which is on the corner of Cleveland and Young Streets, Surry Hills, 
Sydney, the other night. 
(On my way home from a very successful Mardi Gras) 
What a delight!  Get that wool and crochet nettles out. Get square.

Joy flutters around us

Another reminder of JoyDay.  
Chalk drawings, as you know I love, are a constant source of JOY.  
Don't just walk by them or on them without taking a note of them. 
Shift how you see the world.

Shiftazine Issue N0.2

Open publication - Free publishing - More green

THE NEXT ISSUE OF THE PAGE TURNING SHIFTAZINE IS OUT NOW. This month Martyn Thompson, a wonderful Australian photographer who lives a creative and crafted life in New York. Some of your favourite articles from the past are here for you to enjoy once more. Thank you for all your support and visits to the new format. Hope you enjoy it Issue No.2.

Inner City Community Gardens

This article appeared in the first page turning Shiftazine.  It is  such a cool topic that I thought I should run it here just in case you sadly missed Issue No.1.  When I first came across this particular garden I was so struck by the degree of the care and tremendous effort that had been invested in it.  Within days I found another garden and then another. And it is all the doing of the local people of the area,  no councils involvement, no big business, just individuals working for a greater good.  So now go find a local community garden, but better still, become a part of one or even better, start one! 

It's all mutable

What does the word mutable really mean.  
Well, by the dictionary's definition it means 'to change', shifting, but it also means a sense of the fluid, ideas coming and going. 
So that's a good thing, right, because there is always a new approach, a new response, 
a new thought, a new drawing...The street, whatever street you walk down, big or small,
 urban or suburban is full of art.  Someone has felt the need to express themselves.  To say 'I have something to say!' 
Every surface is a canvas.

Waste not, want not

There are all kinds of Shiftazine thinking. In the most unexpected place, 

Sydney's Country Trader in Redfern, I found a great piece of inventive design. 

 The old proverb is solid in its thinking, in its logic. 

Try some of this in your life when ever you can.  

Think before you throw away.  

Those scraps of fabric could be kept and used to make something unique, 

something beautiful. 

Or those left-overs could be a great late night supper. 

Think before you throw, shift your view about what a thing can be. 

Shiftazine Issue No.1

Open publication - Free publishing - More designasaw

Mapping a shift

The other day I came across a wide range of school maps, just hanging around a junk shop.  
Maps are not junk!  They excite, ignite and push us to wonder what else there is.  

The colours of the old school maps are so beautiful and it made me think that one of these hanging in one's space would encourage us to 
always think beyond our set borders.  
Just reminding us that there is always more to see and be apart of. 
Rescue an old map and give it the honour it deserves.

Some days are just full of delights

Some days you just keep finding wonderful examples of SHIFTAZINE thinking.  
In the upcoming first issue of SHIFTAZINE, the magazine, there are articles 
about the community gardens that are springing up all over 
the inner city of Sydney, as well as a profile on a great little shop of delights.

Just remember, its all out there in front of you, just look around and ENJOY!

Word on the street

Shiftazine is shifting

An exciting development in shiftazine's life begins this month.  From now on the main content of shiftazine will be more like a visual diary of images and ideas that are great examples of shiftazine thinking.  The multi-page articles that you have all come to enjoy will be viewed as an on-line magazine made up of about 24 pages per issue.  This magazine will be release every 2 months, but you never know, it might be every month.  The link to the magazine will be announced on shiftazine.com, so stay tuned, come visit us often.  You know there is always something here to interest and inspire you.  Oh boy, this year is going to be fun!

A shift in Christmas Tradition

Shift your thinking about what to give people for Christmas. 
Its not the stuff you give but the thought you invest in the gift that counts. 

[This is not my idea but an idea that was sent to me via the net. 
I have slightly edited the copy to be more general but overall it is a perfect 
SHIFTAZINE idea but I can not take credit for it.]

Shifting from 2011 to 2012

Inside and Outside_it works

I was at an auction house recently. 
 It was full of all sorts of stuff, filling the entire floor space and all the corners of the old warehouse. 
While wondering through the aisles of this space I came upon rows of suitcases, trunks, bags, stacked one upon
each other reaching to the pressed tin ceiling. 
It struck me that the use of old suitcases was a great storage idea that created a wonderful visual for an interior 
while suppling storage and allowing people to recycle and engage suitcases and old trunks.

The Joy of Remembering

There is a JOY in remembering things that have brought us JOY. 
 It is a small but precious JOY that sits inside oneself and brings a smile to one's lips quickly. 
Celebrate JOYDAY every year on the 25th November. 
(Apologies for this late posting for JOYDAY but I have been very busy with 'undercurrent2011'. 
Check it out at www.undercurrent2011.com.au)

Good Brother Better Coffee Best Furniture

NEWCASTLE, ONCE A CULTURAL BACKWATER, IS NOW THE HOME OF AN ONGOING FLOURISHING SCENE OF ART, STREET ART, CREATIVE INITIATIVES, 
BUT NOW IT IS ALSO THE PLACE WHERE THE BEST CAFES ARE JUST POPPING OUT OF THE FOOTPATHS. 
WHAT IS REALLY COOL IS THERE IS ALWAYS A SHIFT OF A KIND IN THE WAY THESE CAFES CREATE THEIR STRONG INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITIES. 

AT THE SEASIDE END OF KING STREET, NUMBER 40 TO BE EXACT, A CAFE NAMED ‘GOOD BROTHERS’ PLANTS SOME OF THE BEST REINVENTED, 
REINVIGORATED FURNITURE I HAVE SEEN IN A LONG TIME. 
THEY HAVE TAKEN OLD PARKER FURNITURE CHAIRS, RIPPED OUT THE SEATS 
AND MADE THEIR OWN BACKING FROM OLD WOOD PANELS, WHICH IS TOTALLY ENGAGING. AND THE COFFEE IS GOOD TOO! 
THE GOOD BROTHERS ESPRESSO HOUSE_40 KING STREET NEWCASTLE NSW 2300

Song or lament?

Why does a bird’s cage evoke such a sense of beauty when they are in reality tiny little prisons? In a lane way known as Angel Place in Sydney, hundreds of vintage birdcages have been suspended high above the tarmac. The sound of sweet bird songs is present. It is all very strange, unexpected, beautiful and sort of sad. It is special.

Cages hold birds in but sometimes they hold danger out.

Shift yourself down there and feel lots of different emotions all at the same time. And talking about emotions please take the time to read the poems of Maya Angelo and Juan Antonio Rodriguez on the following pages.

shiftazine is 2

shiftazine is two years old and is reaching the world with followers in Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France Germany, Greece, Italy, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Tunisia, USA, UK.

Thank you and keep enjoying and shifting. Σας ευχαριστούμε και συνεχίστε και μετατόπιση. Grazie e continui godere
e spostarsi. Gracias y guarde el gozar y el desplazar. Вы и держите насладиться и перенестись. Merci et continuez à
apprécier et décaler. Obrigado e mantenha-o apreciar e desloc. Danke und halten Sie zu genießen und zu verschieben.

A voice in the darkness

Chalk drawings are living things. 
They are constantly changing, shifting, thrilling, exciting, enabling, disappearing. 
Illuminated by the beaming light of a Tuesday night opening at the Damien Minton Gallery, 
the scribbling of a street artist attracted as much attention as the art on the walls inside.

Chalk drawings bring joy and life to our streets. They are not locked away. 
They are made to delight us or just give the maker a voice. They rock !

If you go to Damien Minton Gallery on Great Buckingham Street in Redfern, 
you will always find a grand selection of chalk drawings surrounding the gallery itself. 
The art just grows out of that place. 61-63 Great Buckingham Street, Redfern, Australia. 
www.damienmintongallery.com.au

Brown is not boring

Earth, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, stability, simplicity, comfort, chocolate, autumn, skin, fascism, stone, and of course, soil. 
You can grow a beautiful effect out of the use of the colour brown. 
The first recorded use of brown as a color name in English was in 1000_Maerz and Paul A Dictionary of Color New York:1930 McGraw-Hill (Page 191)

How to establish a dialogue

A friend of mine told me the other day that they did not understand or know how to establish a dialogue with colour. Well, its a matter of being observant. Just take a look at these tiles which are usually dismissed as crappy old floor tiles. We foolishly don't regard them, but just LOOK at them and at the colour palette within. IT'S BEAUTIFUL!

Springs Anew_Broken but beautiful

When you chip or crack a lovely cup or saucer its a crying shame. 
You reluctantly throw the object away or you hold onto it hoping it will fix itself somehow. 
Well our deepest little wish of still being able to have this lovely thing in our lives has come true because of a generous, 
and delicate person by the name of Raphael, who takes what some people might see as junk or old tat and transforms it into beautiful pieces. 
He glues and stacks and crafts the discarded ceramics and porcelain, gluing little gold feathers on the backs of the brooches, 
edging the broken bits with delicate, mock gold trims.

Loving the process, loving the end result. From broken to beautiful.

Evocative, Amusing, Delightful

EVOCATIVE: Trigger a feeling or sense of something; Bringing strong images to mind; 
Call up spirits, feelings, memories, energies to mind; 
REMINISCENT; SUGGESTIVE; EXPRESSIVE; VIVID; GRAPHIC; POWERFUL; HAUNTING; MOVING; POIGNANT.

DELIGHTFUL: Causing delight; Charming; PLEASURABLE; ENJOYABLE; LOVELY; PLEASANT;
 ENTERTAINING; SATISFYING; WONDERFUL; FABULOUS; GRAND; BRILLIANT.

AMUSING; Causing laughter or providing entertainment; Provide interesting and enjoyable occupation for someone; 
FUNNY; WITTY; LIGHTHEARTED; ENGAGE.

A new range of fabrics called Pearl'n'Jack, just launched this week in Sydney Australia, has taken its inspiration from imagery of the past. 

For enquires or to look at the range of tea towels, beautiful pillows, table clothes, fabrics, covered furniture (reclaimed, reinvented, remarkable!) 
just visit Seasonal Concepts 122 Redfern Street Redfern NSW 2016 Australia.www.pearlnjack.com.au

Enjoy!

In everything they make, say and do.

One sunny Saturday I found my way to a cafe that made my toes curl with Delight. 
The Rollerdoor cafe located on Beaumont Street, right next to the Hamilton train station in Newcastle, 
will bring a warm and truly happy moment to your day with the care they infuse in everything they do, say or make.

Open seven days a week, manned by fourteen creative and productive people in total, who are either students, artists, musicians 
or full time chefs who make almost everything that is enjoyed by all who pass through the Rollerdoor.

I spoke with Tarzi who manages the Rollerdoor cafe but is soon to depart, as she is about to have a dear little one in eight weeks. 
Fiona and Phil Smart started the place two and a half years ago. 
It is frequented by all, and everyone from kids having their breakfast before school through to the wise retired ones as well as those essential subcultures.

I immediately loved the overall look of the Rollerdoor cafe and its SHIFTAZINE sense.
 There is a sense of wit and inventiveness in how the whole place has been put together.
 It is both hip and homey at the same time. It clearly speaks whatever language you want to hear.
Murals, beautiful murals, cover the exterior. 
The food is cooked by local boys and girls and its as delicious as anything I have enjoyed anywhere in the world. 
The full attention of the staff is only equal to the full flavour of their coffee.

Rollerdoor cafe is opened from 6am to 5pm during the week and 7am to 4 pm on the weekend.
You can ring them on 4969 1786.

The Lightness of Joy