captins blog

OCTOBER

Hot off the press is the brochure for next years Yarra Valley Arts Council Summer School. It's an incredible week of music and arts, download the brochure from their website. I'll be running two workshops, 'Painting Breakdancing' with Pete Sette doing all the dancing / flipping / spinning on his head stuff. Also 'Shipwrecks and Snowstorms' where the kids can make their own snow globey type things with plasticine, jars, glitter and glycerine - thats the stuff that makes the glitter go slow inside the globe, unless you believe its magic.

SEPTEMBER

Busy month ... The Hills Hoist!! Live Sessions have gone off with a bang, check out The Hills Hoist!! zine and we now have a you tube channel, thanks Santa.

AUGUST

26.8.11 Tune into the Hills Hoist!! on Fridays 1pm-3 from 2nd September we'll be having a local musician playing live-to-air every single week! This is all possible thanks to the Community Broadcasting Foundation and our new sponsor The Shire of Yarra Ranges and Cr Samantha Dunn. You can become a sponsor too and support these 3MDR Live Sessions.

13 weeks - $480

26 weeks - $750

52 weeks - $1000

Your sponsorship will be acknowledged on-air and in-print when the 3MDR Mountain Music Live Sessions are promoted by 3MDR. This will include each week on The Hills Hoist!! All moneys raised through the project will go directly into 3MDR live music content, including sound technician, equipment and the recording of the performances for the musicians and the 3MDR music library.

1.8.11 Super super super exciting news... 3MDR have just got a grant through to really big up the live music content on the station. We will be having a big launch party on Sunday arvo August 28th at the new Red Box cafe in Emerald (used to be the Emerald Green Room). more details and line up soon. please contact artshole@hotmail.com if you want to play on the day!

JULY

28.7.11 Well, an overwhelming amount of kids turned up to the class yesterday, so I've split them up. Tuesdays 4pm - 5 for ages 5 to 9. Wednesdays 4pm - 5.30 for ages 10 - 14. Contact Emerald Community House for all bookings.

27.7.11 Term 3 Kids Art Studio classes start today at Emerald Community House

1.7.11 Me in interview, published in Cardinia Shire eNewletter Volume 6, Winter 2011

Artist profile - Emma Johnson
Emma Johnson is a visual artist, graphic designer and presenter and disc jockey at 3MDR community radio station in Emerald. Her practice involves drawing (with lots of colour), public art and developing community art projects in which creative exchanges with people shape her work.

Emma grew up in England, although she was born an Aussie. She studied a BA (Hons) Fine Art in sculpture at Wimbledon College of Art in London and not long after graduating she returned to Australia. With her cheeky Essex (like Jamie Oliver) accent, Emma charmed her way into a year long residency at Burrinja Community Cultural Centre in Upwey where she produced her first sizeable solo exhibition. After her residency, she got involved at community radio 3MDR 97.1 FM in Emerald and is now passionately involved with audio production and documentaries. Emma works part time for the station in marketing and sponsorship. She applies her creative mind and approach in her arts practice to this role - she thinks of it as artwork.
Emma finds public art extremely challenging, but hugely rewarding. It is something that has absorbed her attention since university when she wrote an essay about London artist Ben Wilson, who lies on the pavement painting on discarded blobs of chewing gum that have been flattened into small grey blobs. Wilson has been doing it for years and takes requests. Emma sees Wilson as a huge inspiration, particularly his way of connecting with the community. Emma had the chance to meet him once and reflects: "He sees life from ground level and although you could think him completely barmy I reckon he's one of the sanest people I have ever met."

Emma's influences are diverse but linked by a love for shapes, colour and the whimsical. Her interests traverse sculpture, abstract art to music and Monty Python's animations. Emma says: "You never know where you're going to get ideas. Today my new favourite thing is jazz music. Which is quite weird because two years ago that would have been my least favourite thing.
"My eye is tuned into the absurd, maybe that's my Englishness. Joan Miro's jollity. Alexander Calder's suspended shapes. Terry Gilliam's exploration of reality and fantasy. Reg Mombassa's witty observation of everyday life and fantastic colouring in. Joseph Beuys' theories of social sculpture."

There are ample opportunities to encounter and get involved with Emma's art. You can listen to her show 'The Hills Hoist!' with co-host Jenny Hall on 3MDR 97.1fm every Friday between 1-3pm. It is a radio program with the latest arts news happening in the hills and around the Shire with local music, in-depth interviews, guests of honour and a what's on guide.
See more of Emma's art visit her website where you can get the latest news about her work including a mural project which she is currently working on for a big wall in Belgrave with a group of young students from Upwey High.
Emma also teaches classes through the Kids Art Studio at Emerald Community House

JUNE

29.6.11 Check out the great little video of Belgrave Lantern Parade 2011 sorry I don't know who the filmaker is, but much respect to them

12.6.11 Belgrave Lantern Parade, just one week away!!

8.6.11 Belgrave Mural Project postponed due to naffing cold weather - didn't really get the timing of that one right. Massive thankyous to all those responding to the newspaper article donating heaps of paints to the cause. We've now got heaps, and it will be used at some point in the warmer weather.

MAY

1.5.11 Coming up ... stay tuned for updates on the Welcome to Belgrave mural I'm working on with a great team of artists from Upwey High School.

APRIL

11.4.11 Check out Emerald Community House for Term 2. I'm starting Kids Art Studio there beginning Wednesday 4th May. 8 week term. $95.

2.4.11 Front cover of the Hillscene! I think of the Hillscene very much like The Hills Hoist!! celebrating hills community and culture. Adriana Alvarez puts together this small magazine which you can get in many of the local shops. Well worth a read. This zine has got an article written about The Hills Hoist!! by Icia Molloy as well as a little bit more about me ;)

MARCH

27.3.11 Get down to Selby House to get involved with creating decorations for SelbyFest, arty crew is meeting up about 12pm.

18.3.11 finally, got this site redone. phew. thanks to Les Cope giving me heaps of help and tuition on dreamweaver. his service gets a high recommendation from me. Check out his site - www.copeart.com.au

Les is also a member of Dandenong Ranges Open Studios, he's well worth a visit.