Considering that I’m an artist, I have an embarrassingly small collection of art by other people in my house! The above framed drawings were bought a little while ago, but I’ve only just gotten around to finding frames for them. The print on the left is by Catherine Campbell, and the original drawing [...]]]>

Considering that I’m an artist, I have an embarrassingly small collection of art by other people in my house! The above framed drawings were bought a little while ago, but I’ve only just gotten around to finding frames for them. The print on the left is by Catherine Campbell, and the original drawing on the right is by Mel Stringer. Both of these Australian artists really inspire me and now I’m happy to have their work up at home.

Would you like to see the other artworks I have up? Come on a little tour of my dimly lit unit, photographed with a camera that does not like dim lighting!


My Nana did this tapestry of a Mary Cassatt painting. I always loved it as a kid so I was really pleased when she gave it to me!

This is a print of Nasturtiums by Tudor St George Tucker, another piece given to me by Nana. It’s quite badly faded, but I still like it because it reminds me of my Mum saying “Don’t cast NASTURTIUMS on me!”

I bought this print a few years ago, and I have no idea who the artist is or the name of the piece. If any of you know, please help!

This Rob Ryan tea towel came with the anniversary issue of Inside Out, and today after saving the tea towel from being used as an actual tea towel *death stare at Nick* I decided to shove it in this frame. It’s too small, but at least my lovely Rob Ryan tea towel won’t get put in the wash!

Do you have lots of art up in your house?

Surprise! It’s Friday! I really have no idea where my week went, but I suspect you’ll find it under a pile of eraser leavings and pencil shavings. I keep a tin full of them, I’m not even kidding. As for the picture, I wanted to share just how fancy I [...]]]>

Surprise! It’s Friday! I really have no idea where my week went, but I suspect you’ll find it under a pile of eraser leavings and pencil shavings. I keep a tin full of them, I’m not even kidding. As for the picture, I wanted to share just how fancy I am. Even when brushing one’s teeth one must maintain a semblance of fanciness. Mine can be found in the spittle of toothpaste on my upper lip. D: If you’re on dailybooth you should add me!

Enough of that, how about this:

• Esther Coombs does amazing doodling on tea cups. If you know me, you already know that I’m so hot for teacups AND doodling, so I was rather struck with the vapours when I came across Esther’s work. You can buy her doodly crockery on etsy but this lovely specimen is long sold :(

• I love most of Steven Meisel‘s photographs, and this one is tres fancy. Neat hedges? Check. Black gown? Check? Incredible headwear? Check? Secateurs? Check. Rightio, let’s go bask in our fabulousness.

• This is my type of coffee table book. You can call me an ironic jerk, I don’t care.

• My lovely friend Kathleen, who is a fellow fancy lady, took this photo with her iPhone. I was shocked. What kind of world do we live in where most of us can have access to such amazing technology? A PRETTY AWESOME ONE. Who’d want to live in the past? Certainly not me. Of course, that’s my whimsyfscking type over the top, I couldn’t resist!

• These are my feet, totally reeking of fancitude. Sorry about the blurry picture old chaps, but I don’t have a snazzy iPhone :( I went to the shops and people stared at me. This is just how I roll. I can’t decide whether to call this look “Nana Chic” or “Nana Glam” – how about you decide?

I’ve said it before, I’m very lucky to know Kate O’Brien and even luckier that we can muck around in her studio. We ended up going for a 1980s portrait studio vibe replete with vaseline screen filter and bad perm. Then I [...]]]>

I’ve said it before, I’m very lucky to know Kate O’Brien and even luckier that we can muck around in her studio. We ended up going for a 1980s portrait studio vibe replete with vaseline screen filter and bad perm. Then I applied my pens to create Fancy Lady magazine: Australia’s leading monthly periodical on fancy beauty, fashion and lifestyle.

I changed my Twitter user picture late last night, and since then I’ve had a gamut of reactions from “THAT’S AWESOME” to “that makes me vaguely uncomfortable”. For some reason, I have a tendency to relish in making people feel uncomfortable. Maybe Kate and I should do a whole series of really skeevy portraits, and actually compile a real Fancy Lady zine. haha!

In this exciting installment I divulge five more names from my list of the world’s up and coming awesome folk. They dabble in writing, modelling, designing, entrepreneurship, art and being pretty cool.

I present to you four more of the most awesome people around, including a musician, burlesque star, jewellery designer, writer and photographer! They all have my seal of approval ;)

Sharon’s [...]]]>

I present to you four more of the most awesome people around, including a musician, burlesque star, jewellery designer, writer and photographer! They all have my seal of approval ;)

Sharon Walker – jewellery designer for Kittycat Black

Sharon’s polymer clay sculptures caught my eye years ago, and I got to know her through our hugely irregular but always fun Stitch n Bitch sessions. She is a huge role model for me, being incredibly focused and driven to make her business succeed and caring for a growing family as well!

Chelsea – “Erin GoBraughless” with Big Star Burlesque

Chelsea is a hot redhead who performs with Big Star Burlesque as Erin GoBraughless, the daughter of a potato farmer and a whiskey heiress whose three passions include drinking, fighting, and dancing. I think Chelsea has huge balls to do what she does – recently she even performed in a bacon bikini!

Melissa Maples – writer and photographer

Melissa has a fabulous way with words, and she is my go-to lady on what I can and can not do with the English language (though I probably fall foul of these rules daily!) She blogs about living in Turkey, and posts photos of garments with hilarious slogans available for purchase by the discerning tee collector at her local bazaar as well as other very beautiful shots of Antalya and surrounding areas. Melissa and I are suspiciously similar in personality, which is probably why I think she’s so great!

Bryn Ridd – Twist Oliver, Twist

Bryn plays the synth for Brisbane band Twist Oliver, Twist, and has always been a lovely supportive friend. He manages to have the most fabulously groomed facial hair, and always makes me laugh! Bryn also does film, photography and painting. Oh is there no end to your creative scope, sir?

I have a lot of talented friends, and I only realised it when I sat down and thought about writing profiles on all of them to share with you here! I have friends who are photographers, artists, designers, models, performers, publishers, writers, musicians and activists. For [...]]]>

I have a lot of talented friends, and I only realised it when I sat down and thought about writing profiles on all of them to share with you here! I have friends who are photographers, artists, designers, models, performers, publishers, writers, musicians and activists. For most of these guys, I’m lucky to have fallen into their company as just a “friend” while others I met in a professional sense and then we developed a friendship. Because there are so many, I am going to break this up into a series of sorts, to allow you to digest the sheer amount of talent and creativity I have around me!

Tea Tasbihgou – jewellery designer for Sacré Coeur

I met Teayam online so long ago now! She does heaps of creative things – illustration, modelling and jewellery design. She recently started up Sacre Coeur, and creates steampunk styled accessories out of the most beautiful found objects. Of course, I chose the above image because there’s a paisley pendant in it, muahaha!

Mark Payne – artist and designer

Mark and I struck up a friendship on Red Bubble when he sent me a ffffound invite (no sorry guys, I still don’t have any and even if I did I’d give it to one of my mates!) Since then he has been one of the biggest supporters of my art practice – he even won the auction for my drawing at the Brisbane Twestival! His graphic work is beautiful – foreign worlds of fragmented and dizzying objects twisted like bright alien car crashes.

Kate O’Brien – photographer

I had the fortune of befriending Kate a couple of years ago when I was planning my wedding. I had admired her vintage-esque photographs for a while, and nervously emailed her asking if she’d like to photograph our wedding – she agreed and we became friends! She has also never done another wedding since :P

Ashley Moyer – fat activist and Chunky Dunk organiser

It may or may not come as a surprise, but I am fat and I am a fat advocate. Ashley is one of my fat activist friends: she has been a cheerleader and is running Chunky Dunk in Portland this year. Chunky Dunk events are private pool parties for people of size and their allies, and were started last year to provide a shame-free venue for swimming, bathing and bomb diving for fat folk. I really want to be Ashley when I grow up, and start Chunky Dunk parties here in Brisbane, Australia!!

Stick around for the next few days to cop a load of my other talented friends!

Lilly Piri – Cherry Bees

I thought I’d post some of the work that was in the Drawing Room show which was curated by Audrey Kawasaki. I was really really excited when I first heard this show announced, because three of my favourite Australian artists were included.

Lilly Piri – Cherry Bees

Catherine Campbell – Gudrun and Ursula

Eveline Tarunadjaja – Ugly Duckling

I really really really really want to get to a point where my work is good enough to join these lofty ranks, I admire the hell out of these women and their work.

And this is the amazing drawing room that Audrey created in the gallery window – she said it ended up being very similar to her room!