GEMMA BLACK : ARTIST / CALLIGRAPHER

Just a follow up on the dishes & fishes. Here they are in all their glazed & fired glory. The fishes are pen rests just in case you didn't notice. Five of us gathered on International Women's Day for a celebration in clay. Thank you wonderful friend Carolyn Canty!

A brief message: Well that didn't go very well. I tried the Glover, I tried to sell a good work here but to no avail on either. Not to worry, we are well and that's the important thing. I am in the studio working and David is practicing for some small (three peeps) ensembles and interviews to be recorded by the TSO during the covid-19. Marvellous! Though here in Australia we do not have a total lockdown we, like so many others, are staying at home only to go out to the market and the pharmacy as short five minute walk for both. We check on our neighbours and we practice social distancing. I feel a bit more positive, more than I have over the past few days. Let's hope that continues. Covid-19 sucks!

Watercolour painting: 300gsm Arches cold press H 83cm x W 57cm Cost: $800 AUD I created this work as a response to the Australia bushfires earlier this year. The colours are of course more rich and sumptuous as appears here. The texture is almost tactile. If you are interested please contact me.

Tasmanian Mercury Newspaper 20th March 2020 This happened a few days ago but I would like to save this photo here so that a visual record will remain of this time. When I first saw this it actually shocked me, I think because it was a blatant "in-your-face" message which of course was what the public needed to hear. As I mentioned in my facebook post on this it jolted me to think "no room at the inn". Sad, needed and real. To be honest I am sick and tired of all the fun jokes and memes about the virus. I am normally not a doom and gloom person rather quite the opposite. And, I'd be one of the first people to raise the spirits of someone in trouble. I am bitterly annoyed though, at the the number of people particularly the young in Britain & Australia flouting the regulations to stay away and self-isolate. These are the very people who will either get sick or worst still carry the virus to their families and the elderly. Selfish selfish selfis...

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic all of my international and Australian workshops have been cancelled. For me this will mean a loss of that arts practice and teaching income. I hope to be able to change tactics in a creative way to keep a small amount of money coming in. I just need a small amount and I'll be happier than I am feeling right now. I know many in the arts sector are feeling this right now. I'm working on it!

Well, it has been a whirlwind of a fortnight with the virus spiralling out of control with more cases diagnosed in Australia.  Two nights ago the Tasmanian Government took the step to close our island borders only allowing a short period of time to receive returning citizens and residents and those returnees have to self-isolate for fourteen days. I was to teach in Sydney today and tomorrow and as of Tuesday past I was still going, then all of a sudden the spiral began. By Thursday I had cancelled my workshop with notice from Jetstar that my flight had also been cancelled. The workshop has been rescheduled to November 21 & 22 and my flight credit will be available "if" airline is still in business. Australia's borders have now been closed isolating us from the rest of the world but is it too late? Only time will tell.  Many people here in Australia are flaunting the rules of "social distancing" of course in some cases spreading the virus further.  My ...

I don't think there is anyone left in the world, perhaps with the exception of some refugees in war torn areas of the globe, who have not heard about the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19. It is a new influenza with no vaccine at this stage. We are four months into the spread of this new virus and right now the world is indeed a wretched place. It is wholely up to each individual to keep themselves free of the virus to the best of their ability . through personal hygiene and cleanliness. The stories and visual images of cities emptied of people & traffic, closed businesses and schools, people working from home and so on are compelling. Hospitals are gearing up for one of the worst epidemics we have seen since 1918 with the Spanish Flu, which if I remember correctly had nothing to do with originating Spain. The WHO has not called it a pandemic yet. Many in government and health circles believe it is just a matter of time. It is not funny but oh how fickle and selfish peo...