NOVEMBER ROUND UP

So I got my Mojo back in November!!!

Things started to turn around for me, became less stressful and my anxiety started to pull back. Being back in therapy certainly helped as did lovely friends, but things just started being less awful and less intense. The universe eased off, lol and that was very good!!!

Having a month off also was a huge help.

As always the month starts celebrating my brother-in-laws birthday. This time we dined at the Junction Inn Hotel, located on the river at Raymond Terrace, and always a great meal.

My final week at work was very hectic but also included some great moments. I love our Movie Book Club group and the fabulous discussions we have. This month we discussed the book, The Devil and the White City which was a great historical story about the Chicago World Fair and spurred amazing discussion. and Friday night was our Movie Night, which keeps growing and growing. This is thanks to my fabulous colleague T who runs the show and charms our attendees Bill Collins style. The movie was the cult classic, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, which everyone loved!

The next day I flew to Melbourne to commence my holiday.

I have never felt so in the moment as I did whilst in Melbourne, it made me realise I was getting back on track and my worries were somewhat behind me.

I arrived home from Melbourne, had a nap and headed out for a movie with J. We saw Girl on a Train. I had read the book when it first came out and it was ok. One of those blockbuster, page turners from the airport, not really my thing and I found all the characters annoying. The book was better than the movie which would have been god awful if it wasn't for Emily Blunt's performance.

I also saw the new Woody Allen later in the month. Beautifully shot, but the story lacked somewhat, I think the casting left a bit to be desired actually. But still an average Woody film is better than most of the shite out there!

That second week of hols was fairly low key. I had a lot of little jobs to do at home. I slept in, I napped, I read, I wrote, I watched DVDs etc, I went for walks. It was really lovely.

I also had a work thing, although it was so much fun, it hardly felt like work. We hosted William McInnes as part of the Share The Story with Carol Duncan event that I look after. It was a hot evening but 120 people turned up to Toronto Library to hear William talk about his latest book. He was hilarious and kind and generous and had everyone in the palm of his hand.

L and I attended opening night of the Italian Film Festival seeing the funny film, God Willing. It had a huge attendance with the film needing to be shown on two screens.

Saturday was Rodriguez and you can read about that here.

I caught up with my lovely friends A and B for dinner at Supper Lane. I have been busting to eat there since it opened. The food was outstanding but the company perfection. Love those gals!

The third week saw more pottering at home, with lunches and brunches and dinners with family and friends added in.

Monday I caught up with M at Qs, Tuesday dinner with family, Wednesday supper with B, Thursday Christmas shopping, and Friday dinner with my sister and a mammoth binge watch of the new Gilmore Girls, which made us laugh and cry. It was a lot of fun.

Also during the week I took a flying visit to Sydney to catch up with my cousin D and see The Nudes at NSW Art Gallery. D was heavily pregnant and luckily bubs decided not to test Aunty Cathy by coming too early. He decided to appear a week later...what joy, and soooo cute!!!!!

D is an artist and always has interesting insight into what we see. The exhibit was from The Tate in London and was a range of Nudes throughout the years. It was a stunning exhibit, with my highlight being Rodin's The Kiss. A remarkable white marble sculpture of a couple intertwined. Huge and breath taking, it gave me shivers down my spine.

We had a lovely lunch at the Art Gallery, then parted ways as a storm hit and I hot-tailed it for Central!

Saturday was huge. I did my usual market thing after a sleep in. But still tired from a huge night of binge watching Gilmore Girls and a big night ahead of me, I had a lovely nap to ready myself.

I had back to back events at The Basement, a newish cocktail bar. Our lovely Bibliotweeps Book Club had out final meeting of the year there, discussing Bill Bryson's Walk in the Woods. This morphed into out yearly Newy Twistmas outing. This is where Newy Tweeps catch up IRL and have fun. We've been doing this for a few years now and it is always fun to see old friends and make new ones. The Basement was a great venue, had an amazing burger for dinner, and some lovely cocktails. I spent the night at Js which was fun as always.

I caught up with J at Canon and had the most amazing smoked salmon salad.

I also had a lovely afternoon in Newcastle where I did some Christmas shopping on Darby Street, caught the John Olsen exhibit at the gallery, indulged in Popolo Gelato finally, and attended the opening of The Civic Subscription Series for 2017.  I must admit in recent years this has not been a great series, but this years was stunning and I cannot wait to see all the fabulous shows.

And here are my reviews for the month.

And late November means getting Club Cathy ready for Christmas.

And some pics as always.

ART

One of my great loves in life is to go to Art Galleries. I have been doing this for years. I do not proclaim to know much except what I like and appreciate. Over the years I have read about Art and Artists and spoken to people who are knowledgeable about Art and of course have picked up much. As a side-bar I love to read about Art theft, I find it fascinating.

 

My love of Art started basic – Monet, I was a teen, I loved the swirls and romanticism of Impressionism, and in particular the shades of colours that the great man used.

 

I went to many exhibits at the NSW State Gallery, including ones on Surrealism and Warhol – their cleverness and humour and irony sucked me in, I have expanded from the basics there. Whilst there I would look at their regular collection. For the most part this has not changed that much over the years.

 

Last year I took time to really look at this collection, my faves were familiar to me but there was so much more I’d previously whipped past. Here are some thoughts about this collection with pics of my faves.

 

NGV in Melbourne has the best, well-rounded collection of any gallery I have been to. And spending many a wet Melbourne afternoon there I have learnt much about Art. They do special exhibits like no other too, so I try to get down for most of these. One of my favourite paintings is Picasso’s Weeping Woman, this – many years ago – led me to read and look at more Picasso...oh my. And to this day, any visit to NGV without seeing this lovely lady seems very wrong.

 

I also did a similar thing with my faves at NGV and the Ian Potter Centre (Australian wing of the gallery at Fed Square)

 

Of course in recent years, I have been lucky enough to see some of the key galleries in New York and Paris and Rome – The Met, MOMA, Guggenheim, The Louvre, The L’Orangerie, Musee D’Orsay, Rodin Museum, and The Vatican. AND visited Monet’s house and gallery at Giverny.

 

Of course Art is more than paintings – although great paintings are my preference, I do love a sculpture. And then there are installations, digital art, craft art and on and on and on.

 

I’ll always love a Monet or any impressionist. I adore Picasso and worship Kahlo. I love Whiteley and Preston and Olsen and Olley and Cossington-Smith. Rodin and Kandinsky and Pollock and Dali. Van Gogh and Cezanne and Munch and Klimt. Warhol and Botticelli and Turner and Bacon and Magritte. Klee and Miro and De Kooning and Mondrian. And many more, my interest is varied.

 

But mostly I just like to wonder and ponder in an Art Gallery, sit and really look at the layers of the piece. Think about what i enjoy, note down a particular artist so I can go and research them a little. Art is for everyone, anyone can do this. You don’t have to be an expert, you just have to have an open mind. In fact, I think the less you know, the more informed a decision on what you like can be made.There is much I see I gloss over or don’t like, but there is much more I see that just brings me to my knees with their beauty. And beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

 

So in the recent trip to Melbourne I was particularly lucky to see amazing Art.

 

First up was Bulgari Jewels – whilst not traditional art, you can see how artistically the jewells are arranged and displayed.

 

And Kylie Minogue costumes display – this I would also call artistic!

 

I also re-visited the Hellenic Museum – which is full of stunning Greek artefacts and art.

 

Next up was John Olsen, this was supremely amazing, and one of the best and inspiring exhibits I’ve seen.

 

Banksy is another fave, and we were lucky enough to see a great exhibit of his work.

 

VIktor and Rolf were a quirky addition to the Art World.

 

And Hockney the grand master.

So loads of lovely pics, a few patterns emerge, pastels, unique use of colour, floral and nudes. The strange, unusual, weird, and unique!

JOHN OLSEN

I've gotta be honest, Australiana in Art kinda does nothing for me. I appreciate it, but i don't love it. I prefer something a little left of centre and John Olsen certainly provides that.

However, I really didn't know his works that well until I had the extreme pleasure of the large exhibition at the Ian Potter Centre on Federation Square.

And this exhibit was HUGE!!!!

I loved his use of colour and abstract and spent time looking closely at each piece.

Early in there were large lounge chairs to snuggle in and look up at pieces attached to the roof. I could have laid there all day and soaked up his brilliance.

Mostly there were the large paintings we all know, and more than you can ever imagine. But there were small sketchings, prolific notebooks open at specific pages, ceramics and much much more.

ABout halfway through there was a darkish room with a small video of John, ever smiling that cheeky smile chatting about his art and inspiration. In the corner was a selection of coloured pencils, eisels, and pieces of paper with a small sketch by Olsen, inviting anyone to pick up and draw a picture with him!! 

I was sitting taking a break and watching the film when my friend L entered, squeed with excitement and took up drawing, she was having so much fun I had to partake and it was delightful and relaxing and I could have stayed there all day. 

This exhibit is on for a little while but will be at NSW Art  Gallery next year and I urge everyone to go an see this exhibit, it is stunning.

Funnily enough, my local Gallery, has a smaller exhibit of his on at present, and I will blog about that experience later. So please go and check that one out too!