anna davern + lucy james

It's coming! The Anna Davern + Lucy James 2013 collaboration is almost complete. This limited edition range of Jewellery will be available at Craft's inaugural 'Supermarket' exhibition this December. More details to come ...

Asia-wide fame for Marcel!

I finally got my hands on a copy of Cat People magazine and it is stunning! I recommend you get yourself a copy if you haven't already. You can buy them online here, and brothers and sisters in Asia, I believe they are heading to bookstores around Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and MORE. Europe, I believe you're next.

Artwork originally shown as part of the collaboration with fellow crazy cat lady Tai Snaith - 'Why I Eyes Ya', 2012

I am obviously very excited to have my work shown in this beautiful publication, but I have to say, the real pride is seeing my little friend Marcel featured in the contributors page – it's true. I have incurable cat love. Well done to Jessica and Gavin for putting together such a beautiful publication, as well as all the other contributors involved. I look forward to seeing the next one!



For those of you who are keen to get your hands on some original cat-art material, head over to my website where you can buy kitties online at the click of your finger. It's THAT easy. Don't forget I have free shipping to Japanese friends for the month of October. Any queries about shipping, please drop me a line.

L.
xx

The Key of Sea Journal has arrived!

After many months of planning and hard work, the Key of Sea Journal has arrived! This beautiful project showcases artwork, writing and musings from the creative people of Australia, many of which are asylum seekers or refugees. Massive props to the KOS Journal team who worked tirelessly to gather stories and artworks from those who have been living and working in Australia for many moons, as well as those people who have newly arrived in Australia, and have had first hand experience of our refugee policy, detention centres and persecution in the country of their origin. 

untitled work by lucy james for the Key of Sea Journal

Those wanting to grab a copy can head to the Key of Sea Journal page, or get in touch with Romani with the details below.

Romani Benjamin
romani.benjamin@gmail.com
cheques/money orders need to be made out to The Human Rights Arts and Film Festival Inc
$25 KOS Journal
$35 KOS Vol 2 CD plus Journal
$5 postage

Proceeds of the sale of the Journal will be distributed among the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival and the Sudanese Australia Integrated Learning Program. 

More information can be found here. This collaboration has been a sobering reminder that we all have a fundamental right to have a roof over our heads, food in our bellies and to feel safe in our homes. I hope that as we make these small steps, more Australians will begin to understand that we have more than enough to go around, and that seeking asylum is not a crime. 

Big thank you to the Key of Sea gang for having me involved, and for Rachel in particular, who linked me with Raj, a Tamil detainee who wrote one of the poems featured in the journal, to which I responded with an accompanying artwork. Raj's poem was written for his roommate at Christmas Island, to give him hope. His positivity is infectious.


Happy Monday to you all – aren't we just so lucky? 

xox

Sick cats

With the arrival of spring, the arrival of sick people has come along for the ride. Kyneton is rainier and windier than ever, with branches being blown off trees and bins being knocked over. I'm sitting at my computer wearing my gloves for goodness sake! Many of my friends are suffering a variety of illnesses and maladies, and I am sending out 'sick cat' remedies faster than I can stick spots on them!

So I thought I'd send some general healing vibes through the internet – drink tea, be warm, and rest when you need to – just like this little dude and it will soon pass.

Be well!

xox
L.

Japan studio sale!

Hello Friends!

To celebrate the launch of Cat People Magazine, which was launched this weekend at the Tokyo Art Book Fair, I am having a studio sale on all my cat works! Whaaaaat?! FREE shipping on all orders to Japan until October 31!

Other international orders, please drop me a line to suss out shipping costs, and local friends can enjoy free shipping all the time! Hooray! Any questions, or if you would like assistance placing your order, please just shoot me an email. All payments are made safely and securely with PayPal. There are plenty of works available, so happy perusing to you all. Click here to see the goods!

Xx
L.

cat people magazine.

Yes. It's a thing. It has images of my cat-art in it. And it's coming to a Tokyo near you. Obviously.

Image courtesy Cat People Magazine

Cat People Magazine is launching this month at the Tokyo Art Book Fair 2013 – but never fear, other cat lovers and freaks around the globe! There is enough pussy to go around,* and can be sent discretely** right to your door. Cat People Magazine, Issue 1, is available for online pre-order here.

Image courtesy Cat People Magazine

You can see delightful video previews of the publication here.

Happy Thursday everyone!

xx
L.


*There is 1000 to go around. Get in quick - you know what Japanese schoolgirls are like. They come in droves and they all want kittens.
**I cannot guarantee that it will be discrete in any way.

the ones that got away

In the development for You Are The Gardens, I created many many works, that didn't make it into the show, for some reason or another. However, they all speak their own special language, so I thought I'd begin to share them!

Happy Tuesday all! I recommend getting at least one victory leap in before lunch.

xx
L.

Images from You Are The Gardens now online

Hello all! Alas, the show finished yesterday, however the sun came out for a moment today, so I grabbed the opportunity to photograph the work from You Are The Gardens. FINALLY! Thank you to all for your patience with getting these online. Work can be viewed here.

cotton head – collage and watercolour on paper

If you have any inquiries regarding any of the pieces, please do not hesitate to drop me a line via the website.

Happy Monday to you all!

xxx
L.

the dark parade of spring

new work – the dark parade of spring – collage and watercolour on paper, 2013

I have been in sunny, breezy and balmy Hobart (Hobart? Balmy? YES!) for the past few days, rejuvenating (sleeping in) and indulging (mostly eating donuts and cheese). After what has been a hectic few months, and what will be another hectic few months to come, it has been divine to slow down.

Apologies for those of you still waiting on images from You Are The Gardens, I promise, they are on the way. The show ends THIS SUNDAY, so if you are in Kyneton, please pop into Stockroom to have a look! Now that I have refreshed my soul with copious amounts of chocolate and hot chips, it's time to head back to Melbourne and get to work (and reintroduce my stomach to broccoli). There are a couple of projects underway for the rest of the year, and exciting things on the horizon for 2014 (where the hell did this year go!?) – stay tuned!

In the meantime, I recommend those of you who can, get ye-selves into some sunshine – it is delicious!

xx
L.

Artist talk this Sunday at 2pm

 

Hello All!

A quick note to warmly invite you to a floor talk I will be partaking in this Sunday in response to my current show, You Are The Gardens. I will be talking with fellow exhibiting artist Larry Parkinson. These talks are lovely, informal chats, where the audience is encouraged to take part, ask questions and throw comments around.

The talk will kick off at 2pm at Stockroom - 98 Piper St, Kyneton. Word on the street is that there will be champagne for all. Come on over, and I will share with you my secrets.

Love Lucy

xxx

Men With Glasses - the fun never ends!

Ok I promise this will be the last Men With Glasses post I do ...

I lie. I bet there will be HUNDREDS MORE! I can't help it! It's just the beginning! This post is just a little wrap up and show of the gorgeous images photographer John Brash took of the show. When I get his details I will post them for those interested in someone who can take great photos in the world's most difficult to capture space.

What a wonderful experience this was, and the fact that my men are now safely tucked into a single A4 folder makes it the most blissful storage for a large scale art work anyone could dream of. Hats off to super-Kent, who helped me install and deinstall in record time!

Until next time!

xx
L

Foreground shows work by Low Phat WytchKraft (sisters Jessie and Kate Tucker)

The Cuckoos Nest - finishes THIS SUNDAY!

Hi all,

Just a sweet reminder to those of you who are still hoping to get down to Linden to see The Cuckoos Nest - it finishes up this Sunday, so get your skates on! This show was so much fun to do that I'll be sorry to take it down. Hats off to all the clever people that were involved, I am so stoked to have had the opportunity to exhibit and work with you all.

Image by John Brash - so good! (Is that arrogant to say because it's an image of my own work? I am just so impressed with how well he captured it. Go John, go!)

However, for those of you who CAN'T get there, never fear! Men With Glasses will be coming to a Fitzroy near you very soon – stay tuned!

xx
L.

installed and ready to go!

Happy Tuesday all!

The sun is shining in Kyneton and You Are The Gardens is installed and ready to go. After a tumultuous start to install day, Kent and I almost destroyed the biggest (and most expensive to make) work, however with the skills of Stockroom's Co-director Jason, we managed to salvage it! (I'm sorry Jason, I had no idea what I was doing.)

Are you curious? I hope so! Here a couple of install shots to feed your curiosity ...

The show officially opens this Saturday from 4.30 pm, however Stockroom will be open and sharing from THIS THURSDAY! So go on, get yourself over there! The opening promises to be filled with quirky gypsy music, whiskey and wine available and a food truck out back. Throw in a lot of cool shit to buy in the shop (and gallery), and it could just be your most funnest Saturday EVER.

Hope to see you there!

xox
L.

August Non-stop-disco-power-pack

Methodist Ladies' College
Friends of Art

2013 Biennial Acquisitive Exhibition

Opening night: Friday 9 August, 5–7pm

Common Ground Exhibition Space
207 Barkers Road, Kew

I am delighted to be returning to my old stomping ground to share some of my recent work with MLC. The exhibition features numerous contemporary artists across various fields, and will be open until 23 August.

KitlyDagmar Pop Up

Launch Party: Friday 9 August, 6pm

Paramount Building, 53-55 Brisbane St, Surry Hills
Pop Up shop open from Saturday August 10 to Sunday August 11

The ever fabulous Melbourne retailers Mr Kitly and Dagmar Rousset are taking the show on the road to share some lovely wares with Sydneysiders! Unfortunately I won't make the event myself, but some work of mine will be there to represent. I believe there will be champagne involved on Friday night, so get amongst it! For you Melbourne folk, never fear – I will be launching work at Dagmar Rousset in early October, so stay tuned!



 

You Are The Gardens

Opening night: Saturday 10 August, 4.30–7pm

Stockroom Gallery, 98 Piper St, Kyneton
Show runs from 10 August to 8 September

Lucy James explores the ambiguity of female relationships in You Are The Gardens. Paired women engage in embraces that could actually be loving fights or combative hugs. How do we love and fight, or are these concepts interchangeable? Working with found and imagined imagery James creates a parallel world where people still touch and giant flowers float from the sky. This show coincides with the CraftCubed festival, and will launch alongside Larry Parkinson's Crossing.





Well there is a whole lotta opening going on next week, so come and enjoy the fun! I'm pretty confident I'll be the one clutching the bottle of champagne in the corner, so do come and say hi. I might even share a glass with you.

Happy weekend everyone!

xx
L.

Upcoming exhibition - You Are The Gardens

Good morning and happy Sunday to you all. It's pretty busy in my studio-come-office right now, with manuscripts to edit strewn over flowers and random cut outs. As always, the life-work balance is testing me (has anyone figured out which one art fits into?) and it sure does make it darn exciting.

You Are the Gardens is an exhibition that was created through pure intuition, in a poorly lit room down on the Peninsula. Slightly messy, a little rumpled and more abstract than I've gone in the past, this collection feels very close to my heart (or is it my brain?) and a little further away from my safety net. Ramble ramble. Who cares? Show me the pictures!

I can't keep the frantic madness of it all inside any longer, so I thought I'd share a teaser with you. You Are the Gardens is opening at Stockroom Gallery 10 August from 4.30 pm, and would love to see your shining faces there.

You Are the Gardens - collage and watercolour on paper, 2013

x
L.