Llankelly Place Gets a Make-over

The temperatures are rising and the days are getting longer... there's still a chill in the night air but nothing to deter an outdoor dining option or two.

Lucky then, that the City of Sydney continues to champion the personality make-over of Llankely Place, with the announcement of a trial period for this Potts Point laneway that will include extra room for outside tables and community events.

Home to a great variety of eateries, the choice in this little laneway is excellent and wildly eclectic - pizza, greek, tapas, malaysian, fine diner food, fresh juices and excellent coffee are all on offer here.

Llankelly Place is just a stone's throw from the action of the Cross but pedestrian access only means it's an ideal spot for outdoor dining and lingering over a meal - the recent refurbishment of the "starburst" lights have prettied up this once dingy, druggy spot, added to the safety aspect and given the neighbourhood a much-needed dining precinct.

getting crafty

Everyone seems to be doing it these days - getting etsy, crafty, creative, and artisanal and quite frankly if you havent knitted, felted or potted something lately you're not as hip as you think you are.

But dont despair, the City of Sydney has some free workshops lined up over summer destined to release the artist inside (kids and grown-ups alike)...

Fancy having a go at life drawing, zine making, pottery, knitting or "upcycling" jewellery from office waste? Well, theres a workshop just waiting for you and did we mention FREE?

Lord Mayor Clover Moore wants Sydneysiders to meet up, have fun and get creative and says  “Our libraries are so much more than just a quiet place for study or reading. From pottery to Christmas crafts, knitting and social media workshops, there’s so much on offer in our libraries".

David Quoy, a graduate of the College of Fine Arts and recipient of the Highly Commended Award in the Lloyd Rees Memorial Prize, is one of many talented artists sharing their knowledge and techniques in the workshops.

“Libraries are a lovely, open environment for people from all walks of life," says David.

“Hosting these classes in a library is special because it’s more open for the community, as opposed to studios which can be very private places.

“Making art can be a little bit daunting at first – most people have preconceived ideas of what art is or isn’t, and I’m hoping that my classes will give participants a more wide-eyed scope of what art can be.

“I’ll be utilising unconventional image-making methods grounded in traditional drawing techniques to help the participants explore their imagination and create unique works of art.”

CLASSES INCLUDE:

Draw on Imagination
Saturday 12 October, 11am – midday, Kings Cross Library, Level 1, 50-52 Darlinghurst Road, Kings Cross.
Wednesday 16 October, 5.30pm – 6.30pm, Ultimo Library, Level 1, 40 William Henry Street, Ultimo.
Join printmaker, drawer and sculptor David Quoy for an introduction to basic drawing techniques, which will help open up your imagination to the possibilities of art making.
Free; bookings essential on 02 9265 9333 or coslibrary.eventbrite.com.au

The Artist is WHO?
20 September – 20 October, Haymarket, Glebe, Green Square, Kings Cross, Newtown, Surry Hills, Ultimo, Customs House and Waterloo Libraries. Opening times vary.
Discover your inner artist with City libraries housing an art station where you can draw, paint or write to your heart’s content.
Free; no bookings required. For more information visit artandabout.com.au/festival-program/the-artist-is-who

We heART librarians
20 September – 21 October, Surry Hills Library, 405 Crown Street, Surry Hills.
Our library staff have come out of the shadows and into the very public space of the library to display their secret artistic talents.
Free; bookings essential on 02 9265 9333 or coslibrary.eventbrite.com.au

Typewriters, stamps & secret zine workshop
Tuesday 24 September, midday – 3pm, Newtown Library, 8-10 Brown Street, Newtown.
Join legendary zine maker Vanessa Berry and make your own DIY photocopied publication.
For ages 12 and above.
Free; bookings essential on 02 9265 9333 or coslibrary.eventbrite.com.au

Make Me: Clay Creations
Thursday 26 September, 11am – midday, Newtown Library, 8-10 Brown Street, Newtown.
Use clay to create cut-out animals and figurines step-by-step, or make a cup using coiling techniques.
For ages five to 12.
Free; bookings essential on 02 9265 9333 or coslibrary.eventbrite.com.au

Kinder Art
Tuesday 1 October, 10am – 11am, 11am – midday, Glebe Library, 186 Glebe Point Road, Glebe.
Let your little artists create a painted masterpiece on A4 canvas to hang on the wall.
For ages zero to five.
Free; bookings essential on 02 9265 9333 or coslibrary.eventbrite.com.au

Spring Jewellery
Wednesday 2 October, 11am – midday, Haymarket Library, 744 George Street, Sydney.
Jeweller Zara Collins will help you create your own necklace with a spring theme, using 21st century office waste.
For ages five to eight.
Free; bookings essential on 02 9265 9333 or coslibrary.eventbrite.com.au

Make Me: Beautiful Beads
Thursday 3 October, 11am – 1pm, Newtown Library, 8-10 Brown Street, Newtown.
Design your own jewellery, such as necklaces, keyrings or earrings, using a range of beads.
For ages eight to 16.
Free; bookings essential on 02 9265 9333 or coslibrary.eventbrite.com.au

Draw on Life
Saturday 5 October, 2pm – 3pm, Ultimo Library, Level 1, 40 William Henry Street, Ultimo.
Saturday 19 October, 2pm – 3pm, Glebe Library, 186 Glebe Point Road, Glebe.
Tuesday 19 November, 6pm – 7pm, Kings Cross Library, Level 1, 50-52 Darlinghurst Road, Kings Cross.
Join artist Kathe Payne for an evening of pencil shavings and creative minds, developing your sketching skills and basic drawing techniques.
Free; bookings essential on 02 9265 9333 or coslibrary.eventbrite.com.au

Social Media for Artists
Tuesday 8 October, 12.30pm – 1.30pm, Customs House Library, 31 Alfred Street, Circular Quay.
Join social media strategist and creative arts advocate Lachlan Hibbert-Wells in exploring the possibilities of social media platforms for artists.
Free; bookings essential on 02 9265 9333 or coslibrary.eventbrite.com.au

Learn to Knit
Saturday 12 October, 2pm – 3.30pm, Surry Hills Library, 405 Crown Street, Surry Hills.
Saturday 2 November, 2pm – 3.30pm, Surry Hills Library, 405 Crown Street, Surry Hills.
Learn knitting from scratch or brush up your skills. Wool and needles are supplied.
Free; bookings essential on 02 9265 9333 or coslibrary.eventbrite.com.au

Life Drawing
Wednesday 14 October, 7.30pm – 8.30pm, Newtown Library, 8-10 Brown Street, Newtown.
An adults-only life drawing class, where private ‘life’ will most certainly be on display in a public place.
Free; bookings essential on 02 9265 9333 or coslibrary.eventbrite.com.au

A Very Crafty Christmas
Thursday 21 November, 7.30pm – 9.00pm, Surry Hills Library, 405 Crown Street, Surry Hills.
Getting excited about Christmas already? Join crafty librarian Sharlene, who will share her talent for all things paper craft and take you through how to cut, fold, rip and scrunch your way to beautiful paper Christmas crafts.
Free; bookings essential on 02 9265 9333 or coslibrary.eventbrite.com.au


For more information, visit cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/library

Poetry in Motion

The City of Sydney cleansing trucks are set to get a face lift with eleven trucks hitting the streets this month decorated with verses by famous poets, thanks to a project curated by the 2013 Sydney Writers’ Festival.


Each truck features two giant poems, measuring more than two metres wide and one metre high, with a total of 19 poems appearing in the series.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore says “From Shakespeare and Wordsworth to ancient Greek epics and celebrated Australian writers, poetry has delighted and inspired people for thousands of years.

The Lord Mayor wants to  encourage Sydneysiders to look out for the poems as they roam the city streets in May "they might even be inspired to find their own favourite sonnet.”

The poems featured on the trucks have been selected by Luke Davies, the 2012 Prime Minister’s Literary Award-winning poet and 2013 Sydney Writers’ Festival guest.

The poems include W. B. Yeats’ “Vacillation”, Judith Wright’s “Woman to Child”, Peter Porter’s “The Unicorn in Love” and Kay Ryan’s “Fool’s Errands”.

Mr Davies said he chose a series of poems “that stop one in one’s tracks, and are utterly unlike the advertising copy that litters the verbal landscape.

“If one single non-festival-going, non-poetry-reading citizen out there is led to look up one of these poems, I will feel wildly successful in my task as curator.”

The Sydney Writers’ Festival is one of the largest writers’ festivals in the world, attracting more than 80,000 attendances and featuring over 400 writers and authors each year.

The 2013 Sydney Writers’ Festival runs from 20-26 May. 
For more information, visit: swf.org.au

Poets and their selected works featured on the trucks are:

Rainer Maria Rilke (from “Archaic Torso of Apollo”) (tr: Stephen Mitchell)
Gig Ryan (from “When I Consider”)
Peter Porter (from “The Unicorn in Love”)
Jessy Randall (“Why I had Children”)
Martin Harrison (from “Walking Back from the Dam”)
David Campbell (“Mothers and Daughters”)
John Berryman (from “Eleven Addresses to the Lord”)
W. B. Yeats (from “Vacillation”)
Kevin Hart (from “Dark Bird”)
Judith Wright (from “Sonnet”)
Kay Ryan (“Fool’s Errands”)
John Berryman (from “Op. posth. no. 13”)
Laurie Duggan (from “Letter to John Forbes”)
joanne burns (“revisionism”)
John Berryman (from “Overseas Prayer”)
Marilyn Hacker (“Villanelle for D.G.B.”)
L. K. Holt (from “From Inside the MRI Scanner”)
Judith Wright (from “Woman to Child”)
S. K. Kelen (from “Reality Check”)

book sale at Potts Point Bookshop

Highly anticipated annual book sale at the Potts Point Bookshop on now till Sunday 5 May....

Prices start from $3, so get in soon and stock up for those rainy, winter afternoons. coming soon (maybe).

For book storage, inspiration, design check out bookshelfporn 

pic via pinterest

Foley Street Mural Launch & Street Party

A giant street party this Friday night, with food trucks, a DJ and pop-up bar, will launch a new 75-metre-long mural lining the walls of Foley Street, as part of Art Month Sydney.

WE ARE HERE, a 15-metre-high artwork presented by a collective of renowned Australian street artists, illustrators and photographers, depicts some of the city’s most significant people and events using a mixture of paint, collage, drawing, paste-ups, stencils and photography.

Each artist has completed a different section of the artwork, exploring a particular event or moment in time. The sections are woven together by a common colour palette, featuring bold reds, purples and blues, and the use of repeating motifs, including sign language.

In its early days Foley Street was part of the bush track linking Botany Bay and Sydney Harbour, then spent decades as one of Sydney’s busiest commercial centres, now its present-day life is as an emerging hub of arts, culture and creativity.

Foley Street will be closed to traffic for the launch. The event is part of Art Month’s annual East Sydney and Darlinghurst precinct night, with a host of galleries, artist studios and creative spaces in the neighbourhood staying open until late.

Mum's In

The first time I met Vashti Hughes was Saturday morning by El Alamein in Kings Cross and she was in character as the infamous Matilda 'Tilly' Devine. I was intrigued - like many of the other Organic Market shoppers - so I stopped to have a chat.

Vashti told me that she was inspired by Larry Writer’s seminal book “Razor” about inner city crime in the early 1900s that tells the stories of characters of the era like Kate Leigh and Tilly Devine.

Kate and Tilly were brothel owners, sly grog dealers and drug distributors who ruled the underbelly of Sydney from Surry Hills to Darlinghurst, Kings Cross and Woolloomooloo. By all accounts they were tough and they were mean. Plenty enough material there for some great yarns!

KATE & TILLY

So that's what Vashti has done - create a one-woman show called MUM'S IN: STORIES FROM RAZORHURST which is a warts and all cabaret romp through the age when cocaine, sly grog, prostitution and the keen edge of the razor ruled (oh how times have changed - no more razors!)

Vashti channels the molls and thugs who once ruled the streets and alleyways of the Cross in this dark comedy cabaret which continues to defy all current trends in Sydney theatre by extending its season time and again - yes its that good!

VASHTI AS TILLY

Check out Mum's In at the aptly named Bordello Theatre at the King Cross Hotel....

(go soon, as it won't last forever)

mumsin.com.au

Mum's In Promo......

The Yellow House

Late last year the Yellow House Pop-Up "popped up" in Macleay St much to the delight of local foodies who were all at sea when Brass Bistro disappeared, seemingly overnight.  What was to be a trial period of a few months has turned into a longer more permanent stay for the pop-up and this is a good thing.

It's a great little place with a good vibe, super friendly service, tasty food and it's situated in an ideal locale for lingering and people watching.

Under the stewardship of proprietors Jamie Morgan (chef) and Ben Sutton, Yellow House serves  "honest food for breakfast and lunch and dinner, designed to be shared and discussed," says Ben. The expertly prepared seasonal dishes are combined with a wine list put together by Melbourne’s sommelier of the year Travis Howe (The Age 2012) and can be enjoyed inside, by the bar or al-fresco watching the world roll by on Macleay St.

steak = honest food

This week sees the introduction of LIVE JAZZ and patrons can sample some of Jamie's fare with a Grazing Plate [$15-$25 dependant on seating]. Alternatively,  tuck into a bowl of Ricotta Gnocci, Steak or Fish of the Day [$20-$28].

Wine by the glass starts at $7 and carafes are $19-23.
Young Henry's boutique beer is also available, by the glass or by the growler (thats 2 litres to you and me).

Some of Sydney's smoothest Jazz musicians will be appearing -  the music kicks off from 6.30pm till 9.30pm. Get in early as seating is limited. Call Ben on 9356 3070 for a booking.

nobody puts baby in the corner

The Yellow House is a fabulous part of the local artistic history of the 2011 postcode, being a creative hub in the 70's and founded by artist Martin Sharp who told the ABC that "it really came out of an idea of Van Gogh's, 'cause he called his studio the 'Yellow House' and he wanted to start a community of artists in the south, in the sunshine, you know, to get away from the madness of Paris. In a small way, he certainly did it. And I was inspired by that idea." 

Every wall, floor and ceiling became part of this living gallery. The Yellow House was a 'multimedia' space and could be considered the first permanent "happening" in Australia. The building, a Queen Anne Terrace, dates back to the 1890's and houses the Pop-Up restaurant, a gallery and recently renovated apartments upstairs.  Some of the original artwork hangs in the lobby.  Nice to see it lives on....Expect more good things from the boys at Yellow House....