Jenny Georgi

Fractured

My passion with art began as a ‘hobby’ whilst raising two children. It has now transformed into my journey of becoming a fulltime professional Artist.

My other passion is music and my dream is to create a magical world as an accomplished Artist/Musician combining both genres.

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.

The most honourable and rewarding unpaid role for me has undoubtedly been that of Motherhood with the uniqueness of raising two beautiful girls 20 years apart in age.

My time spent Volunteering with Riding for the Disabled, Make A Wish Foundation, Coast Fm Radio Station as an On-Air Presenter, teaching guitar/singing workshops at the Stepney Women’s Community Centre and most recently performing for patients at the Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre as part of their Music Matters Program, has brought me immense satisfaction and pleasure.

Delving into many art 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.

My creativity always spilled over into music. I love to sing and play acoustic guitar which I taught myself at a very young age. I am a member of The JMG Band who play regularly in Adelaide and as part of different Festivals travel further afield throughout the year. Our most recent exciting performance was at the Semaphore Musical Festival where great weather and crowds set the mood for a wonderful creative time had by all.

I have exhibited in SALA several times, in many Adelaide Galleries, Brighton Sculptures by the Sea and in a New York City Art auction raising funds for victims of the Haiti earthquake disaster.

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 often and to paint better.
Marc Chagall also holds the key to driving my artistic passion.
Gustav Klimt’s work is utterly breathtaking in my eyes as is Patricia Piccinini’s. Her most recent exhibition in the Adelaide Gallery left me 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, Renowned Junk Artist Steve Oatway and I have stepped into the magical world of metal sculpture. Receiving my unique Xmas gift of a reliable old arc welder enabled me to create and enter the Adelaide  Brighton Jetty Classic Sculptures by the Sea Competition. Being part of Steve’s 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, is astonishing. I now speak and understand his language very clearly. 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 He inspires and encourages me on a daily basis with his constant support on every possible level His Mentorship has helped me blossom in life, love, art and music and our journey continues to be a wonderful work in progress.


Ph +61 407 123 405
e jennygeorgi@hotmail.com 

Stephen 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 at Cockatoo Valley in the Barossa Valley where I have an open studio/gallery called the “Shearer’s Gallery” it used to be an active shearing shed and I have converted it to an active creative space. Iam also mentoring a young up-coming artist Guy Cornelia who is exhibiting his work in this years International the outsider festival all the while I am continuing to live my dream as an Artist.

www.renkrn8.com.au

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

http://thearthunter.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/prospect-portrait-prize-steve-oatway/

http://www.barossaherald.com.au/story/1148144/time-traveller/?cs=1178

Marie Jonsson-Harrison

Henri Rouseeau, you Rock

Marie Jonsson-Harrison, a Naive Artist, born in Sweden, but now lives in South Australia, she exhibits around the world, however Japan and America have been her biggest markets.

Marie paints in a colorful, happy style with humor and with a social comment about the human condition.  She has several public sculptures to her name, has won several Art Competitions and been the recipient of 2 SA Great Awards.

This year her Painting “LONDON2012” was commissioned by GICLEE LINK, a UK publishing company, with  outlets in the UK and USA, for the London Olympics to capture the city of London and its icons. These limited edition (95) Giclee prints will be available through some of the outlets as well as at    www.gicleelink.com . This caps of an amazing first 6 months of 2012 for Marie which started in January when she was asked to participate in The Henri Rousseau exhibition in L'abbaye de Montivilliers, Normandy France on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his death.

This in turn led her to be written up in a French magazine, Artension Magazine France in a special edition of Naive art today around the world (Artension on L’Art naïf aujourd’hui)

During July and August Marie is representing Australia in the annual Art Naive Exhibition in Katowice, Poland where 32 artists from around the world were chosen to take part.  This is Maries second year representing Australia in this exhibition.

However her most exciting venture was so far was to be chosen as one of 3 artists for the launch of ARTnBED www.artnbed.com  in New York, where her painting “TRUE COLORS OF HINDLEY STREET” is featured on a QUILT cover.  This followed the Easter release in Israel and will be followed by Japan and UK later on.

The exciting quilt features all the one-time familiar icons of Hindley Street, Adelaide, Australia which is the place where everything happens, Action, Atmosphere and Nightlife –Jules Bar, Downtown Leisure Centre, Flash Coffee Gelateria and Jerusalem Restaurant in a splash of vibrant street life.  Crazy Horse nightclub is depicted alongside Goodwill Stores.  And the instantly recognisable eclectic imagery is jammed with a multi-cultural crowd of people.

Marie is enjoying the thought that; “Thousands of Americans are sleeping in Hindley Street tonight!”

Marie’s Blog on her website www.mariejonssonharrison.com.au seems to have struck a nerve, colorful and happy paintings with funny and quirky tales about where the inspiration comes from.  Enjoy ! 

“The Outsider - Outsider Artist Debate”

Funny isn’t it this thing about being pigeonholed, fitting in under a banner or label.  Well I guess if truth shall be known I have never really fitted in anywhere with anything – always been a bit rebellious and found my own way.

So why should anything be different now with my Art – I have for the longest time been told that the way I paint was Naive and yes that label has fitted me pretty well – however as it has been pointed out to me many times the naive title conjures up a Nice and Pretty painting.  Yes some of my paintings and artwork are just that no doubt, but often there is “more”.   The “more” for the most part, is that there is a often a subtle message or should I say a commentary on the world I see around me, I poke fun at the world, just letting you the viewer know not to take yourselves so seriously.   Also just a gentle poke at myself at the same time not to sweat the small stuff which I have a habit of doing!

Some people also think that as an ex model I don’t fit the innocent naive label either, why my past profession should have any bearing on the way I paint I don’t understand.  Oh I do paint subject matters from my past but it’s not like we learned to paint in modelling school exactly!  The fact that one can remain innocent in the way I view the world and hope the world would be, is perhaps what saved me both as a street kid and later as an international model with the Australian Model of the year title many years ago.  In my world happiness reigns and everyone are “Happy as a pig in shit”! (The title of one of my first paintings).

 I am self taught and have never even taking an art class either unless you count my primary education,  where I was ridiculed by the teachers for not seeing perspective and not being able to draw and paint which lead to me not touching art materials again till my late 20’s.    Instead I left school at 14 when I ran away from home and never went back.  What I learned in those initial 8 months fending for myself made me street smart if nothing else.

So am I an Outsider Artist?  Again some so called experts say yes and some say no.  What seems to irk some people putting me into this category is the success I have enjoyed as an Artist.  As an Outsider artist you are not supposed to produce art to exhibit or for fame or monetary reward. 

What these so called experts forget on this topic is that I painted for several years with a love and compulsion that I didn’t understand myself and I had no idea there was such a thing as Naive art or Outsider Art until it was eventually suggested by my father.  That was not mentioned for a long time as I just feverously painted every second I had spare, long before any thought of exhibitions or fame or fortune was even a glint on the horizon. 

So what about the mental illness aspect – does an Outsider artist have to be mentally disturbed?  Well some ARE undoubtedly however you do find people in all professions dealing with mental illness and you don’t just classify someone who paints landscapes or photographic (realistic) portraits and has a mental illness as an Outsider artist, right? 

So what about the term; Contemporary artist, I have been classified as that as well.  But as usual the camps are divided by that too. Can a contemporary artist paint colourful happy paintings for the main part and get her social commentary taken seriously, mustn’t they be all broody and deep with long explanations of what their art actually means.  Oh my, she hasn’t attended Art School either, fancy that – not a clone of a failed artist that teaches for a living now! Now that is probably a touch mean of me to say and not entirely true as there are many wonderful art teachers out there no doubt.   I just hope that the ones that thought I was terrible in school can see me now!

To me Art shouldn’t be Rocket Science, Art should make you feel!  Feel something either for the subject matter for the artist or tweak some memory deep within.  Passion is good wether it is happy or sad, angry or give you the giggles, when you look at art and it stirs up a “feeling” any feeling then it’s good art in my opinion.  So perhaps the label I am most comfortable with is an Outsider Contemporary Naive Artist – yep perhaps that is the label for me!!!

Here is a quote I think fits well here by Henry Ward Beecher,

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”

Till next time happy painting and sculpting to you all.

Love Marie xxx

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Marie Jonsson-Harrison

Naive Art by Marie Jonsson-Harrison

Web:   www.mariejonssonharrison.com.au