here's something different. while on holiday in australia i got the notion to go check out the gallery there in cairns. mathieu agreed, off we went. as we weaved our way through the space we stumbled across a show by australian local Jenny Valmadre. immediately mathieu and i were taken aback by her work. it had an energy to it that gripped us right from the start. i scribbled down her phone number and after a good solid look, we completed our visit to the gallery. about an hour later, i gave jenny a call to see if it were possible to meet with her to discuss the purchase of a piece or two. she happily agreed...wouldn't you?...cash was on the line. mathieu and i caught up with her at 6pm that evening back at the gallery where some of her students were having an opening. jenny was kind, generous and inviting as we discussed her style and approach to what we were seeing. very textural in appearance, we learned that among other things she used hardware store varnish, paraffin wax, household irons and fire to create these pieces.

next came the hard part...selecting one for purchase. mathieu expressed interest in a few pieces at the beginning so i did what any decent person would do, i let him choose first. he chose a more expensive painting which was later discounted due to what i'd call either laziness or lack of multitasking skills on behalf of the gallery staff. my first two choices were already sold so i opted for the one i liked third best. that painting you'll see below. it's entitled 'the weaver'.



earlier today i filled out some customs paperwork and varified my identity with the proper officials so i'm expecting delivery sometime within the month. so the next time you're in a foreign land and the souvenir shop is screaming at you to bring home a trinket or some sub par knick-knack that'll just get shelved...try something different.

  ¶ 6:53 PM :: i8bozo at gmail dot com