Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Coburg- Rat Rod Party

You can by this shot via red bubble...

One thing you need to know about me is I LOVE my automobiles. My father and I have always joked we had petrol running through our veins rather than blood. In fact some of my earliest and best memories where sitting in his double garage, which attached to the double carport, that completely dwarfed the house behind, 'helping' dad with the MG's. The smell of oil and grease, the amazing tools he used to solve all manner of problems, and the cars (& bikes and bits of engine). It was and still is a place of sanctuary, with Radio National stories and interviews in the background and the dog sleeping on her peace of warm carpet.

It is this magical scene that made me the women I am today; the women with the love of the machine.
I've worked in the industry as a designer and there is nothing I like more than a weekend away, picnic basket and slab in toe, walking rows and rows of classic or hot or just plain strange cars.


So I was thrilled when some friends had a factory party out in Coburg after a long week at work. The factory is arented space where friends have their own corners and work on art and restoring their pride and joys, their cars! The party was great, people milled inside and out, talking, drinking, eating, just being. With trusty SLR in hand I was able to stand back and shoot beautiful vehicles and some very cool people having a seriously fun time...


I'm proud to say that these images where picked up by Fuel magazine and published in this months issue (issue 4). You can see in the inside shot the stain black rod (a mate had this brought out from the US and did it up in between working 14 hour days and was still able to fit in a weekend surf!) has the Fuel logo painted on the door. VERY cool.

This is the sort of party out in the back streets of Coburg where you can meet some very cool people, and see some beautiful cars. This night came complete with push bikes hanging from the roof, cars on blocks, engine parts lying in wait for there next round of work, and of course DOGS!


Melbourne has a fantastic "rock-a-billy, punk, hot rod, get yourself tattooed by the most talented artists, have a great night" scene. There is always something going on any night in Melbourne, whether it be a live acoustic gig, a punk concert of covers by 5 different bands for some dudes birthday, an art exhibition made completely out of toilet paper, you really can find what ever floats your boat.

For me, it's cars and these shots that show the laid back, cool mood of a Coburg Factory Rat Rod Party...Takes me back to my childhood in the garage, except with more drinking...

Cheers!
My big thanks to Luke (Fuel Mag) for publishing my work and also to Pete, Craig, Shane, Mike and the other boys at the factory for throwing this party.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Victoria-What art inspiration can you find? INTRODUCTION!!!

I’ll say it straight up, I’ve lived in Victoria for 85% of my 27 years and therefore I’ve had the time to explore and appreciated it. What I aim to do in this FIRST post of Design & Life & everything in between is let you in on some of the coolest & most random thoughts and images from this great state.  For perspective I have also lived in the UK, travelled western Europe as a teenager, seen some of Asia (although not enough), and done Australia inside and out and still don’t feel like I’ve scratched the surface.  So I’m saying I’ve seen a bit to compare the Victorian art/design landscape too, and I’m still constantly surprised with what this state has to offer.

DSC00132 A street in Coburg, Melbourne, Victoria… every post is an art gallery…

What’s my cred to be able to talk about this? Like I said, 85% of 27 years in Victoria. I’ve live in Geelong, the surf coast, a short stint on the Great Ocean Road, Ballarat, Melbourne (Brunswick, Coburg), and camped everywhere the signs said we could.  I’m a Graphic Designer, Automotive Designer, Trend Analyst, Illustrator, Amateur Photographer and all-round crafty arty person.

There is a few different outstanding categories to investigate here:

  • Street Art
  • Coffee cafes, breaky stops, evening drinks
  • Nature
  • Architecture & infrastructure
  • The randomly inspirational

Over the next few weeks I’m going to flesh these out and hopefully give you the same inspirational feeling I get when I go looking for or fall into Art!

Cheers X