Jenny Georgi

My passion with art began as a ‘hobby’ whilst raising two children. It has now transformed into my journey of becoming an ‘emerging artist’ and my dream is to become an accomplished Musician combining music and art.

My artistic, creative outpouring stems from having lived a very interesting and colourful life. Born in London, raised in Devon, then immigrating to an Australian outback opal-mining town, from the lushest part of England to the dry, arid, yet amazing Australian outback. I have been spoiled by two wonderful cultures, lifestyles and weather patterns and through this love of both beautiful countries, I have travelled back and forth several times gaining insight to both their wonderful wealth of offerings.

I have worked predominantly in the reception/clerical field and of these positions the most enjoyable one was that of Duty Manager at the Marion Cultural Centre here in Adelaide. The most honourable and rewarding unpaid role for me has undoubtedly been that of Motherhood however my time spent Volunteering with Riding for the Disabled, Make A Wish Foundation and at Coast Fm Radio Station as an On-Air Presenter have brought immense satisfaction.

Music is my biggest passion. I love to sing and play acoustic guitar which I taught myself at a very young age. That creativity also spills over into a love of art, delving into all it’s forms and never doing anything by halves, I have broken cardinal rules by trying to learn the complicated knack of watercolour painting at the same time as embarking on a journey with acrylics. I adore the fluidity that watercolour and ink bring to an artwork but feel comforted by the kindness that acrylics offer an Artist, allowing layers to be applied when a piece needs re-working and how forgiving that can be. I am very comfortable drawing in lead pencil and charcoal and have dabbled a little with pastels.

I have exhibited in Adelaide, also in SALA and once in New York City.

I grew up feeling a rapport with Salvador Dali and am still moved by the mystery and intrigue of his work today. I fell in love with Brett Whitely’s nudes the moment I first laid eyes on them. Kathryn Del Barton’s work lights my fire and drives me to want to paint more and paint better.
Marc Chagall also holds the key to driving my artistic passion.
Gustav Klimt’s work is utterly breathtaking in my eyes. Recently I saw Patricia Piccinini’s exhibition and was left almost speechless by its sheer beauty and magic. Frida Kahlo is a huge inspiration not only for her work but also for her courage.

However my most recent inspiration comes from my very talented partner in crime Artist Extraordinaire Steve Oatway. He inspires and encourages me on a daily basis with his constant support on every possible level. From our very first meeting whereupon he encouraged me to let down my hair and throw paint literally all over his floor rug our union now lies written in bold paint forevermore. Being part of his unique world is a privilege and seeing first hand the process involved in the making of his amazing junk art metal sculptures and dynamic paintings, as only a true Outsider Artist creates, I now speak and understand his language very clearly. His Mentorship has helped me blossom in life, love, art and music and our journey continues to be a wonderful work in progress.


Ph +61 407 123405
e jennygeorgi@hotmail.com

The Outsiders Festival 2011 Book is here

The Outsiders Festival 2011 by Stefan Maguran | Make Your Own Book

Steve Oatway

While working in the Department of Defence I was asked to attend night school for an arc-welding course. It was here while welding test pieces together I discovered the Artist within. Adding this piece to that piece I began to see images appear in the metal shapes. Small creatures, faces and body parts began morphing out of these mechanical , organic shapes. As I progressed through the course and worked on larger projects I discovered the world of Junk Art.

From then on I was obsessed with collecting discarded, abandoned, so called useless pieces of junk and I wondered about the history of the pieces I found that I had dug out the earth or picked up off the streets, paddocks and back waters of the rivers and lakes. My first completed artwork was a full size self-portrait, created from farming equipment found on a disused farm in Broken Hill. At this moment in time I realised I had just reincarnated Junk into Art and given the abandoned forgotten objects that had been used for a purpose back in its day a new life. In doing so I was also cleaning up the Environment.

Wasn’t long after this revelation I quit Defence after 23 years and dedicated my life to all things art and sharing all of what I know with the world.

I have exhibited extensively throughout South Australia, Northern Territory, had Exhibitions in New York City at Monkdogz Gallery and in Texas.

I also have had an eighteen year association with amateur boxing in South Australia where I have a passion for troubled youth from broken homes and an empathy for street people where over the years I have taught the discipline of boxing and the creative world of art to enable them to have a better life.

I recently lived and worked for two years on the Imanpa Aboriginal Community in the Northern Territory teaching Junk Art, Boxing and Pathways to better Employment to the youth. During my cross cultural journey I was bestowed the honour of becoming (Bumble) Cultural Father to one of the youth who had gone through initiation from boy to man.

Currently residing and working at Punthari Church where I have an open studio and continue to live my dream as a full time Artist.

www.renkrn8.com.au

http://www.renkrn8.com.au/html/scrapyard_drivein.html

Duygu Yengin

Blue roses and flames

Born in 79 in an Aegean city Smyrna (today’s Izmir) and grew up by the Mediterranean sea, spent 6 years in US to get a PhD in economics, and finally found myself in Adelaide teaching economics in the Uni of Adelaide. All through my teenage years, I was drawn to all sorts of creative activities: writing stories and poems, acting in school dramas, clothing designs, and sketches. During my 20s, my only creative outlet was a pencil and a regular A4 paper, to answer the calling of my right brain during all those long hours of left-brain centered economics lectures I had to take in my Phd. Most of the articles I was reading have my figure sketches on them.

However, my true enchantment by the ability to express myself through art started when I bought my first set of charcoals and soft pastels, thanks to my dear friend Sevgul, who herself is a professional artist in Belgium. When she saw my sketches first time, she wholeheartedly encouraged me to embrace art and improve my skills. Unfortunately, not until this year, I found enough free time to walk that path.
In the past, once I tried oil painting for a few weeks and my verdict was that painting with brushes was not for me, that I was most comfortable using my fingers, charcoals and pastels. However, at the beginning of 2011, I wanted to give a second chance to brushes and try the set of acrylics that I received as a birthday gift. When I decided to give a chance to acrylics, it is as if they gave me a chance to discover myself all over again. It felt like that a magical portal opened to forgotten past life memories of painting and I found myself painting with acrylics as if I always used them all my life. Thanks to Outsiders Festival, I will get my first opportunity to share them with art lovers.

I have no formal art training, not much technical knowledge, but when I am in front of a canvas with a brush in my hand, with no fear of making mistakes, I get into a transcendental state and the painting creates itself on the canvas using my hands as a medium. I feel like it is not me who creates a painting, but a painting who wants to be born into our world uses me as a tool to be manifested onto canvas. I just ask the colors to talk to me, I ask them to tell me how they want to appear on the canvas, and then starts my dance of painting in the manner of a whirling dervish .

When I am painting, I rarely use my brain, everything comes into existence through my intuition, as a reflection of the nameless parts of my soul. I may never become an established, professional artist, but I truly love each and every art piece I create, because they are manifestations of my very own soul. The way I love my paintings must be the same way the universe loves its creatures. I truly feel grateful that I have this gift since as long as I can draw and paint, I can never be lonely. You can see my paintings and sketches here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150121840736458.324673.571376457&l=ecd54cfbe9&type=1
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150229230256458.367041.571376457&l=fb1ee6115e&type=1

I want to end this bio with what Sevgul (http://www.evilstrawberry.com/) has written about me:

Duygu Yengin is a painter, but also a fantastic storyteller. In each one of her paintings, she tells us stories of women; goddesses, priestesses, and other fantastic female characters that find life in Duygu's brushstrokes and unusual palette. Taking elements from both the ethereal world and our physical world she recreates her own universe and puts her characters at play, for us to watch and ponder how much of these powerful women we see everyday around us, in our own reality.

Tony Moffitt

"Working in acrylics on canvas, Moffitt has won a string of national art prizes, including the Australian Artist Magazine 2006 Challenge for still life painting.
In early 2007 Moffitt broke into the massive American market.
In the following six months he went on to win six consecutive international art prizes in the US, drawing praise from New York art critic, Marnie Chilcott who described him as 'one of the few elite artists in the world today'.
Moffitt's most notable highlight was entering four works in a field of 214 paintings submitted from around the world for the prestigious Californian prize, the 2007 Moreno Valley Art Award.
The jury of judges awarded his works first, second and third prizes and best in show.
Legendary Californian art critic, lecturer, author and President of the San Moreno Art Association, Don Phillips said 'there is no finer artist in the world today'.
In the US Moffitt has been dubbed the Wonder From Down Under.
Moffitt has exhibited in major galleries around Australia and America. His paintings hang in collections in eighteen countries around the world."

In 2009 Moffitt's paintings were exhibited in China through In2Arts International.
Since 2009 Moffitt has focussed all of his attention on developing a reputation for creating highly detailed and realistic paintings depicting the world's tugboats, ships and harbours. He is a member of the International Guild of Realism artists.

The 47 year-old artist lives just two minutes away from the harbour in Newcastle, Australia.

http://harbourart.blogspot.com/

Francis Phelan

One of the most generous artists I've met.

He draws and writes about nature and great painters.

He draws predominantly on A3 sketchbooks and A3 envelopes.

His favourite painters are Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso and Van Gogh.

Jerry the mouse my friend

My friend Jerry the mouse

Lives in my house,

He's getting fat

and is so grouse.

I feed him crumbs, bread, and milk

His grey coat's like pure silk;

Jerrys very happy here

He sleeps a lot and shows no fear.

His little house is in the kitchen door

And very close to the floor;

He's my friend and likes some cheeze,

Jerry's running round the room

As I sweep the floor wit my broom,

Now it's time to go to bed

While little Jerry eats some bread.

Some of his sketchbooks and envelopes can be found in the collection of the University of South Australia and the Outsiders Festival Museum.

Marie Jönsson Harrison

Shop till you drop

Handmade ceramic and mosaic

60 x 85 cm

Born in Sweden, her grandparents were famous circus artists and her father is Adelaide based sculptor, Ted Jönsson. Marie emigrated to Australia with her family in 1972, and embarked on a highly successful career 'diversion' as an international model. Picking up on peripatetic life of her forebears she was to enjoy success as" Miss Summer Spain" 1981," South Australia Model of the Year" 1982 and "Australian Model of the Year" 1984. However her rich artistic heritage soon exerted its primacy and she began painting while pregnant with her son.

Bringing immediate zest and life to the genre of Naïve or Naïf Art (sometimes also referred to as outsiders art, innocent art, or folk art) still under the umbrella of Contemporary art, Marie developed a unique painting approach wherein figures and objects are rendered in relief, giving the works a wonderful human and tactile quality.

Marie brings to her work a great sense of humor and keen observation of life, always presenting a positive and joyful experience often with a social comment about the human condition. Her paintings, prints and sculptures are for sale and are collected widely throughout Australia and internationally. Japan and U.S.A has proved to be particularly appreciative and supportive markets for Marie.

During the last year she´s been writing an art blog called "Naïve View" (see blog page) where she details the creative process and where the inspiration comes from. This is for those among you who share Marie´s slightly quirky sense of humor and likes to find out what makes an Artist tick. "Naïve View" blog by Marie, is gaining quite a following worldwide, you can also join Marie on her page called Naïve Art by Marie Jönsson-Harrison on Facebook.

She has also got several public sculptures to her name, the largest creation spanning 44 meters across at the entrance of the mid north town of Balaklava called the Federation Gateway. This sculpture depicts a federation house with stories made from handmade ceramic and mosaic, telling some of the tales of the district over the last 100 years both in pictures and the written word on plaques.

Marie has won many Art Competitions and been the recipient of two SA Great awards for the Arts in 2002 and 2007. In South Australia she is represented by the Greenhill Gallery. Her artworks are also featured in corporate collections, private collections and several art books worldwide. Her artwork is for sale to the general public including paintings, sculptures, giclee prints and more.

Marie has lived with her husband, son and daughter on a farm for the last 17 years but have just recently decided on a "Sea change" and bought a house with panoramic sea views spanning 180 degrees in what has been described as an eagles nest, which will no doubt inspire and add to her growth and development as one of Australia's most important and original naïve artists.

46. "LEARNER DRIVERS" New Blog today 24.9 10 - Teaching the kids to drive...don't do it,lol.........http://www.mariejonssonharrison.com.au/new/?p=1184

Sunyata

......... just a pure line can bring so much joy,... and then you don't even need the line, and god knows, so many years have past.....and thousands of paintings, and in them are my joy...yes this is true, I have harnessed so much of my joy there..it is there in the Art...all you have to do is look openly and you will feel it,.................and the content or the meaning, the image or the method, whatever may have held me to be interested in making it,....... it is there in what remains my Art..... you only need interest to see!

.........It's so easy to contribute to the stupidity of this world, and so many actions are deemed stupid before you can even enter the door of experiencing it first hand, so many actions are arrested.....

..........and this is how art has beeen for me.....and as we all know, the artist is in everyone except that the act of making art collides with a set of more impotant orientations, like finding food and settle and then the list goes on, until the life was spent doing other things..

...........and there was a wild animal in me with the idea that at least art i could make, and the wild animal with this mind creates the territory so that it can make art, and then those posing as lovers and friend enter the circle with no mind for this mad action he called art.....it is his madness, or love..but if this love, or drive for making Art is strong it collides with these other orientations like a hammer, and will destroy anything in its way, wisely or not....

......... so has been my life. ... and the stupidity of dumb meaningless Art must be witnessed by the Artist himself, so many things sacrfices for Art, all stabilities, even the Art itself... for significance, which to a more unquestioning mind is always present....

......... and yet, just a pure line can bring so much joy,... and then you don't even need the line, and god knows, so many years have past.....and thousands of paintings, and in them are my joy...yes this is true, I have harnessed so much of my joy there..it is there in the Art...all you have to do is look openly and you will feel it,.................and the content or the meaning, the image or the method, whatever may have held me to be interested in making it,....... it is there in what remains my Art..... you only need interest to see!

The 451 library

The 451 library concept is based on the Fahrenheit 451 idea of burning all the books and people telling their story on a one to one basis, like reading a book.

The audience registers its interest and the “books” spend up to 30 minutes a session to tell their stories.

The audience can ask questions and the “book’ is free to answer or not. If the “book” feels uncomfortable, the “book” can stop the session at any time.

Similarly, the audience can “put down the book” at any time.

The “book” is one of the socially disadvantaged artists present in the Outsiders Festival. Any visitors to the Outsiders Festival can make a reservation for a “book”.

The 451 library performance will have one introductory session at the opening of the Outsiders Festival, on Wednesday, 2^nd of November 2011, 2:30 PM and will be open for bookings until 6 PM on that day.

For bookings, contact:

outsiders@ozemail.com.au or Stefan Maguran at the opening of the Outsiders Festival.

The performances are being recorded on camera.

The books:

Lionel Yau, Mike Retter, Stefan Maguran, potentially others.

People willing to be considered to be “books” should contact:

outsiders@ozemail.com.au

Iain Tonkin

Paradise Mood

mixed media on canvas

45 x 35 cm

© Iain Tonkin 2004

Iain Tonkin -

An Australian, self-taught mixed media artist, born in South Australia in 1981.

Growing up, I lived in Western Australia, Queensland and Papua New Guinea.

My art journey started in 1988. The first artwork I can recall creating was on the outside wall of a portable classroom at my school which was titled “Rural-Mural”.

The media I currently work in includes acrylic paint and pastels. My main interests lie in community art projects.

Current projects include: Communities in Action, for Charles Sturt Council.

Mike Retter

Retter is the most easily distracted artist I've ever met. Consequently, not much more than a handful are completed in any given year.

He is also the only artist I know of who is so captivated by television that the medium has informed his work; blink and you miss it.Unlike all the other artists who squirrel away preliminary sketches and first daubs and all the rest for posterity, Retter is incapable of this. Each work is a one-off, effectively worth far more than whatever you'll be lucky enough to pay for it.

If, of course, he lets you buy it.

To be moved by a Retter is to buy it; photographs and film do not do them justice, don't even come close, in fact.

The only good news for the collector is that he's become interested in portraits. If you have an interesting face.

If you don't, you're not going to get painted.

You may think this the usual unforgiveable arrogance of the artist; it isn't.

He's just busy. And easily distracted.

Robert Brokenmouth

Monika Mori

Divertimento 20 05 from the "Blues" series

Monika Mori, known as the artist MOO, works with bold colors and strokes, allowing free elements of drips and dashes to bisect her canvases. Her works are highly expressive – she has always wanted the world to hear what she has to say, and these artistic communications embody her emotions, experiences and her delight at the interaction with color. For Mori, color is liberating. Only through art can one mediate the unspeakable, so this allows for a greater freedom within a work. It is a language unto itself and there is merit to all interpretations. The subtle earth palette glows from the surface of the canvas and illuminates the striking dripped forms. Their uneven linear progress forms crowds, forests, circuitry – they travel and lead us on through the painting and beyond. The strength of these paintings reflects the strength of Mori herself, and the intensity of the message she has to convey.

Monika Mori currently lives in Vienna (Austria) and Fort Myers (Florida, United States)

Website: www.mori-art.at

Statement: „I see art, in Goethe's words, as the mediator of the unspeakable. In my art I am able to use the materials, colors and techniques to express my thoughts, feelings and personal experiences. It is part of how I communicate. Painting is for me a supremely joyful process, which always comes with an inner smile that only grows. Part of the pleasure of painting is the hope that the results will spread light and goodness in the world, and help viewers to get in touch with their inner selves. In this way, it fits into the rest of my life, especially into my work with the non-profit organisation I set up to assist the rehabilitation of unemployed and socially disadvantaged individuals.“ …I´m celebrating 5th anniversary today – I founded my project on the 1st of September in 2006 ;)