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Monday, May 31, 2010

My SuperHeros

Hi, Friends, these are the cartoons on social work lecturers at uni.
In the cartoons, "SW" stands for Social Work, not superwomen in an easy way.
Lecturers are only human. Sure, they should have stressful and tough days like us.

Despite the difficulties, they do amazing work in
both education and performance. So, in my eyes, social work lecturers are Super.


Each lecturer has specific areas such as health care, palliative care, aging, mental health, child protection, domestic violence, social policy, etc, etc that cover welfare and welfare policy.



Without these professionals' hard work, vulnerable people will suffer in serious difficulties to live on.


Above all, without their teaching and incessant efforts for improving an educational curriculum, our society cannot have enough or qualified social workers.


Social workers are great front liners for welfare. But their pay rate is not sufficient. Furthermore, poor labour conditions and overwork load are so tough. Without genuine care for clients and enthusiasm for social justice, who could bear demanding work?



But often these great welfare front liners are backstage players. Little attention and hardly respect is paid. So, I feel like high-lightening them.

Oh, Social Workers, you are Superheros in our society.
Hurray, hurray, Workers!
Lecturers, keep up wonderful work!!





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Monday, May 24, 2010

Seize This Moment : Past, Present & Future

My secret definition ; artists are guardians of time. I try to catch the critical moment in sketching human figures.

I slipped into the past, Medieval Fayre in
Blacktown. So many interesting displays and shows. There, I captured the moment when a lady tried to get a thread through a needle's eye. Her dresses reminded me of Frans Hals's portraits(*I'm his big fan!). Wow, indeed, her group, The Pike & Musket Society displayed his pictures on a table. Aftermath, when I came back to the present, I felt a bit strange about our world and giggled.



But a past ubiquitously comes up in the present. The other day, I sketched a uni student juggling balls on a campus. When I was at uni, some students were practicing juggling etc on lawns. Today, exactly the same! History repeats itself?! Students and I soon became friends and enjoyed a chat over "how to get through a course," and
"how to get money & survive as bunskers?!". Hahaha, nothing different!!


I also sketched a man calling for customers to a
bargain before closing a shop. His face told me, "Life is not easy at this moment," but his face expression moved me.
I often think of this ; What is a moment? My answer is..." a piece of eternity." What is eternity? My answer is ..."gathering moments. " I always wonder what time is. Even though a physics teacher never satisfied me, I, at least, got why there were physics and metaphysics in subjects.
And I chose brushes and pencils to seize a moment.


When I sketch a baby, I feel I'm touching a future hiding in it.




Time moves on from a past, to the present and into the future.I'll record time in my art works.

PS
Here's the very interesting blog "International Routie-the Blog" that uploaded my images. You can enjoy time travel like me. http://internationalroutier.wordpress.com/2010/05/25/sketching-glenda/#comments
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Monday, May 17, 2010

Sketching Makes Us Friends

Sketching outside is really a fun!

I sketched Town Hall. It took an hour to finish this work. I start drawing with a pen directly on a paper. Once, drawing is finished, putting colors is an exciting and happy job. I smile, sing and dance on a street. Well, I also feel some people begin to look at me from my back. (*Thank you very much for your kindness not to disturb me.)


Some people gave me nice comments. They made me warm, even though winds were a little bit cold for sketching outside and sitting in a building shadow. Mmmm....autumn. Leaves that were green turn to burnt sienna, red, orange and yellow. Beautiful.


On my way home, I saw a young artist offering others freebie caricatures. We enjoyed sketching each other.

While I was sketching him, young people came around us. Ah, that's it! Art is universal language that anyone can understand and loves it!

These days, many artists have begun to join my blog.
Thank you for visiting my blog. Your cheers are great encouragements. I'm learning lots from other blogs.

I hope I will upload good work that many people can enjoy.









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Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Eyes Speak More than Mouths

Eyes often tell me stories well. I feel like catching them in drawings and paintings. In the evening, I was just leaving a burger shop. But Chaplin's small poster captured me. I forgot everything and worked so hard to put his eyes into my watercolor. Here's my finished work.

Hopefully, my work sends you what I felt. Let me hear your opinion.

Now, my season is in "color." Black and white is not bad. I really love it. Indeed, before moving into this season of color, I spent three years in black and white. You may say, "Kidding!" Yes. I kept on sketching subjects in black and white for (could be) more than 3 or 4 years.

Value does all the work; color gets all the credit.
---that's what I've learned and am still learning a lot.

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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Sydney Uni from Newtown

By chance, I looked at uni from a third level in Newtown. Ah, that's nice and felt like making it into a watercolor.

Lots of secondhand bookshops,
art supplies, fashionable shops
and nice restaurants

...and cool guys are there.

If you visit Sydney,
don't forget Newtown!

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Thursday, May 6, 2010

Learning from Rob Candy's demonstration

Friends, good news! My quick watercolor on Rob will come up in a next KuRingGai newsletter.

I really enjoyed Rob Candy's watercolor demonstration and learned lots from his techniques at a KuRingGai Art Society monthly meeting. Particularly, wet in wet and use of paints.

Rob mixed paints on a paper to make graduation for wash. Some paints sink fast--I know some through experiences--he cleverly changed "blue", expecting some paints to settle down quick. I got why he had so many different blues on a pallet.

Rob used plenty of water for wash. Interesting. A bit different from Charles Reid.
Rob's demonstration was very good timing to satisfy my thirsty of knowledge. I really, really wanted to know more about wash for landscapes. I'll practice it! Woo, hooo! 

Rob's say overlaps what John Haycraft had taught me. "Sketch, sketch, sketch anything everyday at anytime." Yes, I do.

Rob was so interested in other artists's drawings and rough sketches. Me, too. Drawing skills are, indeed, fundamental for painting and it takes "ages" to learn it. "Rome was not built in one day."


Very fascinating and so refreshing to know other techniques.
I'll keep up drawing and painting!

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Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Homeless People, What Belong To?

When I help food service for homeless people, I always feel all of us seeking a place to belong to. In our society there are many groups that shape who we are.

All of us, Australians have immigrated from other countries except Aboriginal people. But some people boast their birth certificates and their language competence. Sadly, non English speakers and Aboriginal people are often excluded from Australian society. As far as I know, none of NES people is happy to hear the question, "Where do you come from?" So, I do not ask that question and respect privacy. If a person trusts me, they happily tell me their long stories. The most tragic group is Aboriginal people, nearly "invisible"
in our daily conversations and society --- once, my sociology lecturer told us so and I agree with it.

It's all up to an individual option which social group to belong to. Membership is not simple. Very varied such as from religion, ideology, educational level, occupation, hobby etc, etc. They form an identity. In my view, Australian society allows a person to have more social mobility than Japanese society. Here, we have a second chance to make our living than a rigid and so competitive Japanese society.

If Australian society is kind to accept people, what about homeless people? Any Australian is found among homeless people : native English speakers, non English speakers, rich, elite etc, etc, whoever and whatever. Why they prefer to floating and a dangerous life rather than joining a community that guarantees identity, security and safety? Why they turn their backs to a sweet second chance?

I found one reason, because
homeless people lack the sense of being loved by anyone. A feeling "Being loved by someone" motivates an individual to join a group. Homeless people do not have the sense of belongingness. So, any social membership is "vanity of vanity" and homeless people won't join any community.
The food were beef soup, rice, bread, sandwiches, quiche and some sweet, the donation from local shops and people. I tried the soup a little bit. Wow, very nice!! and got why always people dashed to soup.

During the food service, a singer kept singing with a guitar. We sang together. Beautiful music opened homeless people's hearts.
I had long and emotional conversations with several homeless people. I'd like to listen to homeless people more and want them to have a feeling of being loved by someone on the earth.

My favorite song... John Lennon, "Imagine."








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