January 28, 2011 in Current Blog, Sculpture, Things I've Learned by mariejon

67. One Amazing Woman

This artwork “Community Spirit” made from handmade ceramic and mosaic is part of a public sculpture called the Federation Gateway Sculpture at the entrance to Balaklava a town in the Mid North, South Australia, which I will tell you about another time.  However this story is about the running lady in white on the left hand side holding the torch.

Christina Angus is her name and she never ceases to amaze me because there is nothing that she cannot do, Christina is one of these “can do” people, whatever you ask her to do, she will fix it, do it and sort it.  There is no mountain too high and no river too deep for her, no siree!  Well that’s not that unusual you may say; there are lots of amazing women out there doing lots of stuff.  Yes and I agree so there is; however this amazing woman is legally blind and has only got 6% sight in one eye and nothing, zilch, nada in the other.  If you think that’s going to stop her from getting on with it, you have another thing coming.

So let me tell you about her list of achievements which just continue to grow as we speak and a list too long to describe here.    Let’s start with the Olympic Torch Relay depicted in my artwork, here she was chosen as an outstanding Community member for the Sydney 2000 Olympic summer games, to run part of the leg when the torch made its way through the Clare region in SA, cheered on by hundreds of local supporters.

Then it was time to do the Kokoda track as part of a fundraiser for her employer the Guide Dogs SA&NT.  She was joined by Cosi from Triple M and 14 other Australians and the whole thing was made into a documentary for Chanel 9 by Troy Gray.  The Kokoda track is one of the most challenging treks in the world and spans 96km between the northern and southern coast of Papua New Guinea.  Many soldiers lost their lives there during the war fighting the Japanese and the unforgiving Kokoda trail has also claimed 8 Australian lives trekking in peace time.

In 2010 Christina set off for Italy and trekking through the Dolomites followed by Cinque Terre where she and her husband took the walking trail between the 5 villages on the on the rugged coast of the Italian Riviera called Sentiero Azzurro.  Not to mention she has also climbed both Uluru on 4 separate occasions as well as the Kings Canyon.

At Christmas time this year Christina could be found 75 meters up a Karri tree in Pemberton in Western Australia, climbing up on metal spikes fastened into the tree trunk with no safety net.  I have to point out she has to feel her way as she cannot even see her feet.

If that wasn’t enough, Christina as the “stoker” and Andy Griffiths as the “pilot” just finished the Tour Down Under section called The Mutual Community Challenge and rode the 135km from Norwood – Strathalbyn on a tandem bike reaching speeds of 60km an hour.  Move on over Lance Armstrong she is catching up!

So I shouldn’t have been surprised when she jumped up on the one meter high and 50cm wide marble bar at her 50th birthday party held at The Banque and did a crazy go- go girl routine should I?  The only problem being she threw the gauntlet and I, her best friend had to follow, right?  Much to the horror of the bar staff who saw an accident waiting to happen (well we are talking past midnight and let’s just say I at least, was a little bit happy) but all is well that ends well and you only live once!

Christina is the current Events & Partnership Manager for Guide Dogs SA&NT where she has worked in several capacities including as the Public Relations Manager for many years.  So if you would like to donate to this very worthy cause, or perhaps help and raise a puppy please go to the Guide Dogs website  or contact Christina direct by email;  christina.angus@guidedogs.org.au

I think the following quote fits rather nicely here said by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Till next time,

Love Marie xxx                          ©

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January 21, 2011 in Current Blog, Family & Friends by mariejon

66. Its Raining Men

You know it is really strange to be living without a roof over your head for a while, you see, we are renovating, putting another story on our house and to be able to achieve that the old roof had to go.

So we have had live-in workmen here for the best part of a month and the whole house is a shambles with dust and boxes, stacks of timber and insulation bats and bits of this and bits of that.

This particular painting is called “It’s raining cats on dogs” but I will get to the “men” part later.

It is driving our dogs crazy too as the workmen live on the ground floor and when they come up the stairs the dogs go mad and bark their heads off at what they perceive as the” hobos” from the basement, lol.  Now I must clarify that I don’t share the dogs view on this, not at all.

You know there is something so enticing about guys who do physical work, all that sweat and the bare chests to look at, it is really quite easy on the eye!

One problem they have had is trying to do a balancing act up there on the rafters of the roof and we have had quite a few fall through the ceiling, all of a sudden as you are going about your business there is an almighty bang and a foot or a knee or something falls down.  My niece tells me when she had the same work done, her workman fell into the ceiling bum first, so that was a good view she said.  So I am patiently waiting for that and in the meantime find myself singing the song that “The Weather Girls” made famous – It’s raining men, hallelujah it’s raining men……

So it goes without saying then to get any work done at all I have had to rent a room 5 minutes away from here with a couple of uni students and that has been an interesting experience too.  However I find that after all these years of working from home I am quite disorganized and when I get to my other place I have invariable forgotten some important reference material or that special brush that I just needed that day.

Although I do have a bed in my new share house I have been going home to hubby and the renovations at night, most of the time the guys are still at it finishing off one thing or another and then we usually sit around and have drinks, chat and enjoy a BBQ.  I have discovered there are only so many BBQ’s that you can have in a week, lol but as we don’t have the gas connected to the house at the moment I will just have to eat it and shut up!

The Boss of the guys here is actually my nephew Kurt and we have especially enjoyed having him around not only is he just one of the best builders there is but also one hell of a nice guy and if that wasn’t enough-he plays the guitar too!  So at night we have been sitting around listening to the acoustic version of AC/DC hits such as Hell’s Bells and Highway to Hell.  I must confess that has me in my absolute element as they have always been one of my favorite bands.

In fact on a not so good a note lol, I think I will have to blame AC/DC on my slight hearing loss.

You see during my modelling days I spent quite a bit of time in Japan and the “Walkman” had just come on the market, so of course I had one glued to my ear everyday catching the subway and bullet trains to and from assignments.  The bands album “Back in Black” had just come out and I had that on full volume blasting my eardrums as they sang” Hell’s Bells”,” You shook me all night long”,” What do you do for money honey” and all the rest.  Funny isn’t it how when you are young you think you are invincible and those fuddy duddy adults and their silly warnings about hearing loss is just a load of rubbish.  Well maybe not! LOL.

So I think this saying by Francois-Marie Arouet Voltaire (philosopher and writer) fits rather well here, although I must point out it is only the hearing loss that refers to me, lol not the other afflictions.

“I am a little deaf, a little blind, a little impotent, and on top of this are two or three abominable infirmities, but nothing destroys my hope.

Till next time,

Love Marie xxx   (c)

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January 15, 2011 in Current Blog, Little Naughty by mariejon

65. That Old Fella

You know sometimes when you go to see a comedy show you may not be expecting too much, as the names on the show list are not people you are familiar with.  Well that is what happened to us a year or so ago.   We are avid comedy fans and go quite regularly and our top pick would have to be Billy Connolly, and as you can see by this painting called “A Viagra tab a day keeps the blues away” my humor can be quite naughty too at times.

However this night in question was a fundraiser for Shamus Liptrot a gorgeous local boy who was injured in a bike racing accident (he is making a remarkable recovery I am happy to say.)  Anyway the Balaklava Institute was full to overflowing this night with 250+ people in attendance and there were 4 comedians there to entertain us with local boy made good Anthony Lamond who although a comedian in his own right did the job as MC which he is very skillful at.

Now this could be hit or miss but I am happy to report that they were all good, however it was the last fellow who stole the night – Rodney Gregory, the old fella, as he calls himself.  Yes, that is how he comes across too, he is an old retired farmer but what comes out of his mouth is not the language usually associated with the farmers I know,   they are usually big on discussing the weather and the crops etc.  With Rodney it was a different matter altogether,  with Viagra being one of the topics,  not that I remembered hearing any swear words but the subject matter certainly is not for the faint hearted.

He was absolutely funny as a fit and quite unexpected too as when he first appears on stage you feel sorry for the guy and think he is way too old to be sharp and on the ball.  I couldn’t have been more WRONG!

So after this night I have followed Rod’s career and seen that it is just going from strength to strength with many sell our shows and great gigs like the Comedy club in Sydney and the upcoming Fringe Festival 2011 in Adelaide as well as appearing with the Australian Queen of comedy Fiona O’Loughlin at another fundraising show in Ardrossan.  Just recently he took part in the filming of a new Comedy DVD with another great comedian Mickey D at the Arkaba here in South Australia in front of 600 people with another 70 or so people turned away at the door.

I goes without saying then that we have been to see him again, and saw another fantastic show just a little while ago at the Noarlunga Art Centre, together with another bunch of very good upcoming comedians.  Rod was the headliner and closed the show and had us all crying with laughter.  The age range at our table was from 19-75 whom all thought he was funny as a fit, his humor appealing to a broad range of ages.

I must say that I was quite surprised when we caught up afterwards – his stage persona is more like a dottering old fella, but that is just a very clever stage act and the real life Mr. Rodney Gregory is quite debonair, with a real sophisticated charm and seems years younger than his onstage persona.

So if you as yet have not caught up with his show, I strongly suggest that you do so, here is the link to his website www.theoldfella.com.au/ for more information.

If you live in Adelaide, perhaps come along on Saturday 12^th February, Semaphore Lifesaving Club, where $20 will get you;

Rod Gregory “The Old Fella”

Rich Naberhood – because he comes from a rich naberhood.

Steven Copley – The Comedians Comedian and the the Bad Boy of Comedy.

Mo Taz – Winner of Raw Comedy Adelaide Final 2010 and Green Faces 2010.

This treat is being organized by Anthony Lamond and all of them will be going on to do solo shows at the  Adelaide Fringe.  Call Anthony on 0428 472 868 or Rodney on 0428 629 676 to book your tickets.

Rod’s catch cry is; wouldn’t be dead for quids!  Perhaps Rodney had Samuel Johnson’s (writer & lexicographer) words in mind when he left farming behind.

“Don’t think of retiring from the world until the world will be sorry that you retire.   I hate a fellow whom pride or cowardice or laziness drives into a corner, and who does nothing when he is there but sit and growl.  Let him come out as I do, and bark.”

Till next time

Love Marie xxx                                                                            (c)

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January 9, 2011 in Current Blog, Travel by mariejon

64. Flying to Japan (continuation of Signing the Contract)

At this stage I had signed with the Japanese gallery and then spent one year painting like crazy.

This painting “If I could turn back time” was one of the artworks that the Japanese Gallery wanted to see in real life before we signed the contract and it was sent over during the negotiating stage (available as a limited Giclee print).

My contract stipulated 40 artworks in various sizes from small 30cm x 40cm to the larger ones at 120cm x 90cm, luckily I had a few in stock but all the rest needed to be produced.

The problem for me is that all my artworks take a very long time as they are so very detailed and also the paint is layered with lumps and bumps (all bottoms and breasts stick out!)   At times I wish I was an abstract artist and could just slap the paint on and make at least one painting each day, but oh no life cannot be that easy, mine take at least a week for a small one and more like a minimum of 3 weeks for the larger works.

My studio is just outside the backdoor in a separate building with views of the paddocks and the trees along the river, so it’s just as well that I love being there and painting as that next year and the years following I nearly spent every waking moment in there.  My husband always jokes to friends that he keeps me locked up in there, and that is almost true, lol.

Finally the big day has come, I had an all expenses paid trip to Nagoya Japan Business class mind you, for me and for the two gallery guys from Melbourne who were my agents at that stage.  We get picked up from the airport and put up in one of the nicest hotels and wined and dined every night at some of the most wonderful and interesting restaurants in Nagoya.

However it was the actual opening of the exhibition that really threw me!  I am used to going to exhibitions obviously, lol with a drink of wine or champagne in your hand you stand around and chat to the clients and friends and have a merry old time, and that is what I was expecting.

Wrong!  Around an hour before the opening I get told that I am actually going to be sitting behind a desk and drawing little pictures for their clients.  So now I get really worried, I am really not very good at drawing on command like that.  As you know I am a naïve artist and my drawings look more like stick figures – so now I was really breaking out into a sweat.  If that wasn’t enough now I also find out that we have to sit in a tiny little room and wait for the gallery to fill up with people where I will be presented like the Queen, lol,  I have to walk through the crowd as they part ways and line the sides and clap, and present me with a huge bouquet of flowers before the speeches.

Then as promised I sit at a table with my translator and meet the people one by one as the clients stand single file in a big line which snakes along the room.  Each Japanese person has got a white board embossed with gold edge which they ask me to draw something on.  Most of them know what they would like me to draw, maybe a bird, a cat or a flog (well that’s how they pronounce FROG lol) and I am to write their names and a little message as well as well as sign it.   As paintings sold I also had to write a message on the back of them too.    So I was flat out working for a couple of hours straight and not a drink in sight (unless you count the glass of water lol, but that doesn’t count does it?)

I must say though that in the end I thoroughly enjoyed it and found the Japanese people so very lovely, warm and giving.

The exhibition was held over 4 days with four separate openings and each night we waited in that small room until it was time to start.  I felt like a movie star by the end of it and each day an average of 10 paintings sold until it was a sell out!  (I have now made many trips to Japan over the years, but I will tell you about them another time.)

Here is a saying by Michael Jordan (basketball player) that I can appreciate,

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career.  I’ve lost almost 300 games; 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed.  I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life.  And that is why I succeed.”

This Japanese family bought this painting at my first Japan show in 1993 and then came back for the 2006 exhibition.  They are holding up the drawings I was talking about.

Till next time,

Love Marie xxx     (c)

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January 2, 2011 in Current Blog, Family & Friends by mariejon

63. Smorgasbord (continuation of the Swedish Xmas celebrations)

After all these goings on we have a little drink and a break before the massive Smorgasbord eating session begins which has been prepared by my father and mother and no doubt taken them days.

The table is laden with Swedish treats; gravadlax, smoked salmon, smoked ham, meatballs, smoked sausages, omelet, sauces, salads and a wide variety of breads from a dense rye to crispbreads.

As you can see we are all gutses…

This is a section of an artwork called “Over the teeth around the gums, look out stomach here it comes” Mosaic and Ceramic

However this too is done in its own traditional way because before we tackle the smorgasbord proper we have to eat the salted herring, boiled potatoes and beetroot salad.  Now you can’t actually eat this until you have filled a small glass with brännvin (we use vodka) which has been in the freezer for days.  It does not ever freeze just is icy cold and stops any yucky taste.

Firstly we load the fork up with the herring etc, and then we raise the schnapps glass and sing ” Helan Gar” (Old Swedish drinking song about, having to drink the whole one (as in shot the glass) then you don’t get to have Halvan (the other half left in the glass etc) So we sing this all the way through and then raise the glasses and shot the schnapps and then quickly eat the loaded forks contents before the whole saga starts again.

So now you know where the drunken Swedes gets it from, it’s all Santa’s fault!   Traditionally the women folk try to calm the drinking a bit by hanging on the last note of the song …tral lalalalalalalalala………………….. to make the men wait just a little bit longer for that schnapps.  By now I imagine you think we are all falling off our chairs in a drunken stupor in the Jonsson-Harrison household but oh no, you have to pace yourself and the filling of the glasses slows down to just a little sip in the bottom of it before we tackle the rest of the food.

Meanwhile the kids are all asking when we are going to finish with the eating and drinking and when is Santa coming, not that you can blame them.

So the time has finally come and of course my father then suddenly has forgotten to buy the newspaper and has to go down the street and do that.  Typical, right in the middle of the festivities and you think he would learn don’t you because every damn time he goes out to get that newspaper Santa arrives and he always misses the whole thing!

Yes you heard right Santa actually comes to the house all dressed in red, big beard and very rosy cheeks, some years he is actually a little worse for wear,lol  or has forgotten his glasses and has to enlist the children in the giving out of the presents.  After which there will be coffee and desserts and then everyone is usually so tired and no wonder because the time would be getting close to midnight by this stage.  So that concludes the Swedish part of our Australian Christmas and then another time I will have to tell you about what happens the next day the 25^th which is the Australian Christmas and celebrated usually with my husband’s family.

Here is another joke from the website Funniest Christmas Jokes that tickled my fancy,

Jennifer was a pretty 18 year old girl.  In the week before Christmas she sauntered up to the curtain counter, and was trying to decide which of the many types of tinsel she would buy.  Finally, she made her choice and asked the spotty youth who was manning the fabric section.  ‘How much is this gold tinsel garland’.

The spotty youth pointed to the Christmas mistletoe above the counter and said, ‘This week we have a special offer, just one kiss per metre’.

‘Wow, that’s great’, said Jennifer, ‘I’ll take 12 metres’.

With expectation and anticipation written all over his face, the boy measured out the tinsel, wrapped up the garland, and gave it to Jennifer.

She then called to an old man who had been browsing through the Christmas trees and said, ‘My Grandpa will settle the bill.’

Till next time,

Love Marie xxxx     (c)

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