eco frenzy

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Over the weekend I found some awesome fabrics in an op shop to add to my stock pile ... retro pillow cases & aprons, reems of lace ... all of which were just screaming to be chopped up and revamped into wearable art!

Hence why over the last week I've managed to make over 50 new pairs of eco-earrings and fifteen eco-necklaces ~ now that's a lot of salvaged stuff (and late nights!).
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I'm really enjoying using my old dinosaur-of-a-sewing-machine in my eco-jewellery ... I think the stitching gives the pieces a really lovely, 'earthy' feel and it's great to have a play with different line work. I'm especially fond of leaves ...

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...and old funny looking men wearing top hats

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Did I mention I'm fond of leaves?

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Anyhoo, without further ado, here comes some totally shameless horn blowing ... I'm now stocking my eco-jewellery in 4 stores in Brisbane! Yeah!!

One of these days I'll get to updating my website with them ... until then, you can check them out in these lovely places ~ all of the businesses below are eco-conscious and totally sauceome!

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--> Nook, West End

(... a store with a treasure trove of handmade, eco and indie finds)

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--> Moxa Natural Therapies, West End

(... total bliss & THE best acupuncture EVER!!)

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--> Frank & Myrth, Sandgate

(... beautiful clothing store stocking stunning, ethical fashion)

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--> Reverse Garbage, West End

(... so much super salvaged stuff it'll blow your socks off!)

kids art casses

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Hi all! If you live on the Northside of Brissy, and you have kids aged 7 ~ 12, then this might be for you! I'm starting up a new style of kids art classes with an eco-focus ... check out the flier for details (click to enlarge).
I'm so excited, my three favourite things are getting creative, working with kids and the nurturing the environment ... so I've bundled them together!
Please pass on through your networks!
Thanks, C x0x

fabric jewellery playtime!

My new obsession ~ making fabric eco-jewellery (and having a ball!)
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Taking over the kitchen table (sorry husband!)
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... and the ironing board ... ironing and cutting to size
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A big new batch of earrings in the making ... ready to be stitched
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Playing with different stitching options ... leaf viens, circles, ovals
I've now got three shops to stock plus an upcoming eco-fashion parade ... Yay!
It feels so great to share something I love with people who love it!

clean up cheer up

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Isn't it amazing how a really good clean out makes you feel, well, cleansed? My studio has been functioning at a mediochre level for ages now... and not being able to find anything puts a real damper on art making!

So, 5 hours later ... check it out ... colour coded drawers! All my fabrics now have their very own section! I'm sure they'll love their new home with like minded friends!

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Yay, I'm all inspired to create!! ... So now the only challenge is to keep it like this!

The Tree Told Me So ~ inspiration

Acrylic, recycled fabric and permanent markers on board. 2010. Chrissy Foreman C
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Inspiration:
A trip to Sydney late last year allowed me to connect with a long lost soul mate and creative machine, Miss Marnee Fox.
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I’d sit around and listen in her lounge room as she sang me her beautiful songs and played her acoustic guitar. I’d tell her my stories and dreams, and show her my wares; we’d read together and get lost on long walks.
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Marnee had one particular wearable artwork I loved, which she’d up-cycled from a second-hand grey washed denim jacket. It had small shoulder puffs and beautiful ruffling along the seams. Along the back of the jacket she’d sewn a gorgeous silk feature design over a strong black and white striped background. It was the most INCREDIBLE piece. The stripes packed such punch and a daring strength of design. I loved it!
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A walk along the beachfront completed the inspiration for my piece. I sat on a bench under a big old tree, looking up through the canopy and into the sky … the shape and placement of leaves on the tree were so exquisite, I grabbed a couple off the floor and brought them home to incorporate into the artwork.
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So, I have a beach tree to thank for this piece, and Marnee’s amazing jacket design for the inspiration of one half of the theme of this exhibition.
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Check out Marnee’s amazing one-off wearable artworks at bettyfox.com.au
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Original artwork and limited edition prints for sale on my website here

Edgar’s Adventurous Journey ~ a half-true tale

Acrylic and recycled fabric with hand-made stencilling on board. 2010
Chrissy Foreman C
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Edgar’s Story:
Edgar Peacock whispered his love, which would float like a breeze through the trees. He’d died long ago, but could watch from afar, his longing to connect with her stayed strong all those years.
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He would watch her create; his heart swelled with pride. Generations had passed, yet he was still with her in colour.
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Just last year, on a cool night while she slept, she picked up on his call.
In a dream, she spoke, ‘I see you in colour, Edgar, but I know not what you want. I am a human and you are a Peacock.’
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He told her of tales from afar, of his life from both worlds; of long rides on zebra back and a sunrise of flowers; of mountainous sunsets and dreaming for hours.
He told her he loved her and to not be afraid. He told her he saw her while she painted and played.
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And then one night, she saw in a dream … he had once been a man, many years ago. Now from the after world, he had come to her in a way she would love and know. It was then that she realised, that he was her kin, whispering his love, as she had for him.
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She awoke and painted his journeys and tales from afar. Edgar can now live with her in both colourful worlds forever.
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Limited edition giclee prints available for sale on my website here

Barbara Had Babushka Tendencies ~ a quirky tale

Acrylic, lace, card, printed paper and eggplant prints on board. 2010. Chrissy Foreman C
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Barbara’s story:
So this is Barbara. Barbara seems quite the regal character, a bit like a golden goose only in Peacock form.
She’s the type of gal who sits and sips tea from hand-painted porcelain cups, spends hours sewing elaborate needlepoint artworks, and regularly watches croquet from the sidelines with the other Pea-ballers’ wives.
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The difference with Barbara is that for many years, she’s desperately, secretly, wholeheartedly wanted to be a Babushka doll. A strange phenomenon really; ever since she first cracked one open and saw all the perfect mini dolls on the inside, she’s dreamt of having hoards of her own fluffy Babushka Peacocks filling her belly.
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Sometimes, she’ll sew little ‘miniature Barbara’s’ with her needlepoint technique and swallow them while no one is watching to see what happens. She’s even visited a taxidermy craftsman to see if he could help. And he thought he was weird.
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Barbara certainly is strange, yet she’s also a loving creature. Plus, she’s great to have around the house if anything needs mending; just don’t get upset if she eats it.
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Please, though, if you decide to take her home, at least be sure that she has plenty of needlepoint cotton to keep her dream alive. And when she says ‘Hey, look over there’, pretend you didn’t see anything while she gobbles her offspring.
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Original artwork & Limited Edition Prints available for sale on my website here

a heart full of art (therapy)

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I've just returned from a 5 day trip to Melbourne for my new Art Therapy university adventure. It's been a few years since I've been enrolled in 'formalised' study, yet the experiential approach of my new uni, MIECAT, was anything but formalised ~ in a REALLY GOOD way.
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It's hard to put my experience into words when I've just spent four days expressing my self and engaging in wholly meaningful interactions through multi-modal creative responses ... drawing, poetry, sculpture, collage, drama, singing, music ... connecting, listening, hearing, feeling.
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Some words that come to mind of the experience are:
*open heart*
*gratitude*
*feminine*
*whoosh*
*gush*
*vulnerable*
*free*
*surprise*
*meaning*
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Suddenly,the jigsaw textures now have more meaning, than the vision of a finished piece.
I love my new journey.
C x0x

new upcoming community art project

Southside Sustainability Centre, Carindale, Brisbane.

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Last year I collaborated with B4C to develop an 'eco' community art project proposal for the Southside Sustainability Centre.

Today, we were officially granted funding by Signature Brisbane for the project! WOOHOO!

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This means, over the coming months, I'll be leading a series of community art workshops to design, develop and fabricate a community mural on the centre's wall space above, plus a whole bunch of signage information points around the centre's gardens, which will be created using recycled materials.

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The first item on the agenda is to meet with locals and volunteers at the Southside Sustainability Centre, as well as a couple of school groups in the coming weeks, to determine that 'theme' will be decided upon for with the mural.

To do this, I'll be running a few arts-based workshops to allow participants brainstorm and share their ideas creatively, which will then feed into the overall design of the artwork.

It's gonna be a fun one, I can feel it already!

new fabric jewellery

Fabric eco-necklace.
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Fabric eco-earrings.
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Yup, you guessed it ... another eco-necklace.

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So these are a few items from my new range of eco jewellery.

I already sell my eco jewellery in a couple of stores in my hometown, BrisVegas, as well as on my website, but I'm wanting to spread my wings a little more too. So I've been thinking about setting up an Etsy shop.

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The excuse I'm using to not go for Etsy so far is the currency conversion thing ... Because I'm Aussie, and Etsy is a US company selling in US dollars, I'm wondering if it's gonna mean I'll have to keep changing my prices to keep up with the currency changes?

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Are you an Aussie Etsy user? Or wherever you're from, have you had much experience with Etsy? Mind sharing the good, the bad and the ugly with me?

I'd really love to hear your feedback, experiences and ideas!

Love C xox

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The Hilltop Happening ~ Inspiration

Acrylic, fabric and printed paper on board. 2010. Chrissy Foreman C

Inspiration:
I had this idea that I’d get hubby to take a photo of me in the lotus position and I’d create a whole series of artworks around that theme. I got bored with it quickly (this is one of two artworks that made it out alive), though I really enjoyed making this piece.

So this is me, sitting on a hilltop, waiting expectantly for all the richness in the world to drop in my hands. Like now. And now. Anytime now please …

I’m not sure that I’ve quite reached Budda hood yet, I’m working on it, but I’ve enjoyed morphing a mountain with a rainbow, and sticking little oval eggs around the mountain ‘just ‘cause’, and painting myself with a blue/aqua aura nonetheless.

For me, not all art has to mean something. But it should be fun.

Original artwork and limited edition prints for sale on my website here

Polly Wolly Doodle All Day ~ the 'what the?'

Permanent marker and acrylic on board. 2010. Chrissy Foreman C

Inspiration:
Anyone who knows me well knows that I’m a self-confessed doodler. I’ll doodle on anything ~ envelopes, notepads, diary pages, bills, my desk … my hands rarely keep still.

Over the years I’ve generally doodled the same sort of things; stars, leaves, flowers, ovals, consecutive curvy lines, fireworks, that kind of thing.

In fact a while back I had the idea that I’d do a whole exhibition of doodling … but that never happened.

Anyway, suddenly, I realised that with the commencement of my new exhibition, I was coming up with new kinds of doodles ~ different shapes, different styles, and different line work.

So, I thought, what the heck? Let’s see if it passes as ‘real’ art?!

I don’t know what Polly Wolly Doodle All Day symbolises ~ I can’t say. My doodles are just doodles ~ I guess this one is just a bit more fancied up with paint ~ La-De-Daa! You be the judge!

Original artwork and limited edition prints for sale on my website here

She’s Singing Her Own Song These Days ~ my story

Recycled fabric, hand-embossed card and acrylic on board 2010. Chrissy Foreman C

Inspiration:
This artwork makes me feel so, so happy.
I wanted to celebrate my newfound commitment to speaking my truth, and the sense of honesty, personal freedom and self-acceptance that comes along with that.

Instantly, I received a snapshot in my mind ~ A bird atop a steep, tall mountain range, singing it’s truth to its heart’s content; God rays (that’s what I call them) coming from her mouth as she sings; lots of beautiful textures and colours, ‘feathers of old’ falling from her body with the power of her new found voice.

It took a while to ‘tweak’ this artwork to truly reflect the feeling I had inside me. This piece, I really wanted to speak for itself (pardon the pun)!

I used fabric off-cuts left over from my very first paid community art gig, mixed with off-cuts I’d salvaged from sure death and potential landfill. I love the idea of reappropriating materials that were once seen as garbage ~ a bit like how I used to view my own voice in the world.

The colours, the textures, and the beautiful little bird really do sing for me ~ they illustrate how I feel and the way that I feel it, and I’m really proud to share this personal piece with you.

Original artwork and limited edition prints for sale on my website here

She Knows Her Rising Sun ~ my story

Acrylic and hand-made stencilling on board. 2010. Chrissy Foreman C.

Inspiration:
I’d been reading a book that briefly featured a girl’s affiliation with Ravens. Something inside me resonated and my ears pricked up. Upon researching, I found that historically, Ravens have been said to have magical, transformative and healing qualities. Their business is in both keeping and communicating deep mysteries and are therefore said to help us expose our own ‘inner secrets’ and ‘hidden thoughts’.

It was interesting for me to discover this, because for years, whenever a black crow flew overhead, I would release my worries to them, feeling as if they could carry away my darkness without being burdened by it themselves. They seemed to me, to exist ‘on the edge’, the fine line between life and death ~ and they never showed fear.

In a time where I’m beginning to face my own shadows, the Raven has become a talisman for me, symbolising my willingness to face and embrace my own darkness without fear, and accept the new rising sun. The actual Raven pictured in ‘She Knows Her Rising Sun’ was inspired by a photograph my husband took of a Raven while travelling through The States.

Original artwork and limited edition prints for sale on my website here

The Fertility Tree ~ my story

Acrylic on board. 2010. Chrissy Foreman C

Inspiration:
My lovely husband and I have been trying to have a child for the last year. I don’t like using the word ‘trying’ … maybe ‘Looking forward to having our first child’ might be a better way to put it.
I’ve been making this journey along with all the usual, friendly, well meaning advice from family and friends. It’s been quite a time.

So … when are you guys having kids?
You guys will make great parents one day.
Why is it taking so long?
It’ll happen when it happens.
Such and such fell pregnant first try.
Don’t worry, it took us YEARS.
Maybe try a detox.
And my favourite;
Just relax and try not to think about it.

So, I decided to paint to my own advice.
I painted my womb healthy … I painted my strength … I painted my future baby … I painted myself positive.
I cultivated. I symbolised. I shone. I cried.
I let go.

I painted what is becoming and known to me. I painted my creativity. I painted life.

Limited edition prints for sale on my website here

The Joining ~ my story

Acrylic, sealer and fabric on board. 2010. Chrissy Foreman C.
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Inspiration:
In amongst the development of a new creative style that feels more ‘me’ for this exhibition, I felt a sense of nostalgia for my old free-flowing, mish-mash, ‘layery’ technique from years past.
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A friend gave me a Peacock feather recently after discovering my infatuation with the colourful bird. So I decided to combine the image of the feather (new) into a mish-mash (old) ... Hence The Joining came about!
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I admit I’ve felt a little uncomfortable with this piece ~ there’s a sense of being in ‘limbo’ ~ looking back and looking forward; staying put and moving on; mismatched textures and colours, a sense of confusion and peace.
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Yet I figure life isn’t always comfortable; personal transitions are often unnerving and awkward, but we all go through it. Not all of us exhibit it outwardly though … so welcome to mine.
Limited edition prints for sale on my website here

exhibition recap & unfolding showcase

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Yaaay & Phew!
My exhibition opening on Friday night was a success ... good turn out, loads of great feedback, and quite a few sales to boot!
It was held @ Frank & Myrth, amongst beautiful indie designer clothing and accessories, and I must admit, it all fitted so perfectly with the space! Yippee! Unfortunately I got too caught up with the festivities to take any pics during opening night, so the pics you see here are ones we took on the day we installed the artworks.
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The lovely Brianne (above) helped me install the exhibition.
THANK YOU BRI!! What a gem you are!
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We'd strung up some of my Peacocks & Pinstripes limited edition prints, which turned out to be really popular on the night.
Every artwork was also accompanied by a short tale I wrote about each of the pieces ... some of them true, some of them heart-felt, some of them quite fanciful!
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Over the next couple of weeks I'll be showcasing one exhibition piece a day along with it's little blurby tale, so stay tuned!
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Oh yeah, and if you can't wait for the s..l..o..w unfolding, I've uploaded the whole exhibition onto my website in my Studio Art Gallery, so you can check it out there!
All the limited edition giclee prints, and any original artworks still available for sale, can be found in my Artworks & Prints Store.
I hope you enjoy!

C xo

my weird and wonderful green wish list

Green Home



Carrie Bicycle Basket



Eco Glow Brick



Jimi Recycled Plastic Wallet



Tractorgirl Cushion



Eco Paper



Biodegradable Cornstarch Pen