People Profile: Douglas McManus.

I first met Douglas McManus last year and quickly becoming aware of how grossly talented this man is, and he soon became one of my favourite mentors. 

Douglas McManus is one of Australia's leading textile artists with recent exhibitions at the MONA dark mofo festival (laundry of the terminal psyche) and the CRAFT gallery (conversation of gentlemen) while also having works among the NGV permanent collection. Douglas' artworks are monumental sculptural installations that explore his concepts of men, masculinity and emotional states of being. His work is dark and striking, yet it has an ethereal ambience and beauty. He uses digital technology to create delicate pieces of artwork that will leave you awestruck. 

Douglas is someone I have wanted to interview for a while (because I don't think he could ever give a boring answer) and his upcoming exhibition Surrender at Fort Delta gave me an excuse.

- Alessandra 

What makes you the happiest? 

 Being in my studio making art, exploring textile ideas using my new high end TROTEC laser cutter.

What are you most excited about right now?  

The arrival of the lix smallest 3d drawing pen I purchased as part of a pozzible campaign. (Yes I'm a tech nerd).

When did you realise textiles and art was something you wanted to pursue? 

Way back at art school when I started putting fabric through print presses. I was so excited by the effects I created my whole printmaking folio out of fabric instead of traditional paper (to the horror of my lecturers) but I didn't care. The switch landed me a residency in Melbourne after graduating and ever since I've been passionate about textiles as medium for art practice.  

What is a fashion fad that you look back on and cringe?
Cut-off denim shorts (I mean really, really arse flashing short).  God I used to wear a pair when I first started lecturing in textiles at RMIT University. What was I thinking?!

Where do you draw inspiration from?
Inspiration comes from life experiences and interactions with other creative minds. I try not to think too much but just make. My latest show Surrender is about giving in to the process and going with whatever happens.

When do you feel most creative?

Just before dawn after doing yoga, I like the space between dark and light, it is where one can be still. This is when creative ideas come to me.

Do you think there is a difference between art and fashion? 

Depends on your definition of art and fashion. I mean my favourite designer Alexander McQueen crosses boundaries with his extraordinary vision. I think identifying and labeling something fashion, art , design or craft is irrelevant for me.

If a biography was to be written about you what would it be called?  

Confessions of The Glass Collector 

I'm intrigued...Why Confessions of The Glass Collector? 

Oh because the first job I had when I came to Melbourne was collecting glasses at an infamous gay pub, where I was able to meet some amazing men who became the catalyst for many early textile art pieces including hair couture 2000 acquired by the NGV.

Okay, please write that book!
Where would you be if you could be anywhere right now? 

Berlin, I love that city.  

What is your favourite thing about Melbourne?  

The creative energy that exists here. Everyone is involved in some project/performance/space. It amazes me the amount of talent in Melbourne.

Catch Douglas' next exhibition Surrender at Fort Delta opening on Thursday the 8th of October.

*Mosaik does not take credit for any of the images used in this article

Christine's Online Oddities: Kickstarter

Have you ever had an incredible crazy idea/invention/event idea and thought: 'I wish I had enough funding to actually make this happen?' Well look no further, the Kickstarter community is for this specifically!

Kickstarter designers and planners go through a simple sequence: they come up with an idea, they create an instructional/promotional video to show how their prototype works or how their thing* will improve your life, and present a timeline and what you will get if you donate a certain amount of money towards their project.

(*thing = event, comic book, instrument, pet product.. anything!) 

As an Industrial Design student myself, this is such an incredible platform to get support from people and also to support others' dreams or projects that I may secretly want myself.

An example of one of the successful projects that hit their money pledge and are starting up their company through Kickstarter is the 'MemoBottle', a water bottle shaped like a notebook. You may think it's silly, BUT JUST THINK HOW MUCH EASIER IT'LL MAKE PACKING YOUR BAG!? It's such a simple concept and I love it. Check out their original campaign, and you can then view their progress through the 'Updates' tab! They're now even available for purchase > here. 

You can read all about their journey by clicking > here.

You can support anything from design projects and comics, to dance events and publishing for new and upcoming magazines. It's such an amazing and creative  place to lose countless hours to, and in the meantime you may just make somebody's dream come true! :)

* Mosaik does not take credit for the images used in this article

Appreciating the ABC

Now that all of Sam's roses have been given away, you're probably like me and feeling some serious withdrawal. Fortunately there's the good ol' ABC. Their line up of brilliant, locally created content is definitely worth the switch. I’ve reviewed three of my favourites for you:

Upper Middle Bogan

Beth, Alessandra and I discovered Upper Middle Bogan late one night while on holiday. We loved it so much we made sure we had an early dinner the next day so we could run back to the hotel and polish off the rest of the first season. When Bess Denyer discovers she was adopted as a baby and sets out to find her birth parents, she learns their lifestyle couldn’t be further from her Upper Class upbringing. Over the course of the two seasons the Denyers and Wheelers come together to form a dysfunctional but very loveable family; and even if you don’t identify as an ‘Upper Middle Bogan’, anyone who lives in Melbourne will be able to relate to the show.

You can catch Upper Middle Bogan re-runs on the ABC on Wednesdays at 10:15pm. 

Gruen

Over the past seven years, advertising panel show Gruen Transfer / Nation / Sweat / Planet / Help me I can’t keep up, has covered just about everything. But Wednesday night it came back for its latest series – Gruen “spin free”. From so wrong they’re right political campaign videos to questionable celebrity endorsements, advertising executives Todd Sampson and Russell Howcroft, along with host, comedian Wil Anderson cover all advertising bases, the good, the bad, and the very ugly. If you want to learn all about the tricks advertisers use to sell you what you really don’t need, or just want a laugh, this is the show for you. 

Gruen is on the ABC each Wednesday at 8:30pm.

Utopia

Think of it as Australia's take on 'The Office'. Set in the completely dysfunctional office of the (fictional) National Building Authority; technology, politicians and over enthusiastic designers wreak havoc at every turn and the office managers just can't seem to get anything done. Utopia's got the perfect amount of satire and dry humour, and I can guarantee you'll be laughing and rolling your eyes along with them every time something gets in their way.

The ABC is currently showing season two episodes every Wednesday night at 9pm.

- Miriam

*Mosaik does not take credit for the images used in this article.

What's the Right Diary / Planner for You ?

The Workaholic/Big Organiser: Kikki.K: Personal Planner (or Time Planner)

I purchased a personal planner earlier this year and have fallen in love! For anybody who is at uni or working full time and wants something where they can pop important dates and also compile their notes and other projects all together - this is the planner for you.

The personal planners come with tabs and note paper already inside it as well as a little to-do list and note pad at the back. Kikki.K also offer tonnes of cute Planner Dashboard Kits containing extra pockets, stickers, page markers and more to help you to start jazzing up your diary, or otherwise you can add your own little personal touches.

Anything you can hole punch can live in this planner. Invitations, concert tickets, note-papers to jot meeting notes on, photos, inspirational quotes cards, ANYTHING! If you are the on-the-go person who doesn't want to be carrying around 4 different books and note-pads, this is perfect for you.

The Mum/Student/Health-Buff/Busy Bee: Kikki.K: A5 Family Diary

This is my all-time favourite Kikki.K diary! Whilst it may be called the 'Family Diary', it's layout offers the perfect solution for any mum, student, health-buff or busy bee in my opinion.

The way this is set out is with the days gridded vertically and six columns lining the top so you can catergorise your days. For a mother, she could pop in all of her children's names, 'gym', 'social' and 'birthdays' to keep track of what herself and her family is up to. For anybody else wanting to use the Family Diary, I think it's awesome to keep track of lots of things at once. I'm going to give the Family Diary a go next year - categorising my sections into 'uni subject 1', 'uni subject 2', 'uni subject 3', 'work', 'social' and 'other'... but how perfect is this for anybody who wants to keep track of their own well-being and what not!?

I can also totally imagine a health buff using this for 'breakfast', 'lunch', 'dinner', 'gym', 'social', 'other' ... THERE ARE JUST SO MANY EXCITING POSSIBILITIES. Plus, it has perforated shopping lists and a plastic zip lock pocket at the back, (like I needed another reason to love it.)

 

The Glancer:
Kikki.K: Wall Planner

If you're one of those people who just like to know what's going on in the week but don't need all the details and stuff jotted down as you can just check your events tab on Facebook, this is ideal for you! 

It's a super simple, paper wall-planner which has each day gridded and allows you to simply glance and know what's going on in your day. Even if you wanted to grid due dates and use a diary separately, this could work super well for that too. I love the possibility of adding cute stickers (check out 'Life's Little Stickers' on the Kikki.K website) to keep track of everything going on and make it easy to colour-code and track things.

 

 

The Bits 'n' Pieces Person/Scheduler:

Marks Inc.: Storage.It Weekly Diary

If you are a specific scheduler and need times printed on the page to plot everything in your day and also want something to organise your backpack or handbag a little better, Marks Inc. has provided the perfect solution! 

It has a timed day grid, allowing you to schedule your daily plans orderly, and also has an amazing plastic zip-lock cover you can pop all your bits 'n' pieces into. It's large enough to store headphones, pens and anything else you use to organise your life. The diary comes in a range of colours so you're sure to find one that suits you, and I am a huge fan of this layout. These diaries are available on www.notemaker.com.au (and while you're checking out the diaries ... take a look at the whole site - it's so addictive, and check out 'Rifle Paper Co' too). Sorry in advance, your wallet may not like you very much after this, goodbye money! But is it so worth it.

 

I hope this little article has pushed you a little closer to picking your diary for next year! Organisation is just the best, enjoy setting up your new diary/planner! :)

- Christine

*Mosaik does not take credit for the images used in this article

The Kikki.K diaries featured in this article can be found here