In the midst of the lockdown, Karin Murphy Ellis got so many laughs out of works for her
new exhibition, she wondered if she’d gone mad.
By Karin Murphy Ellis
FROM an early age I displayed an aptitude for making things. My mother wondered how I managed without using a pattern as she was a dressmaker and relied on the formality. My favourite items to create were hats and so all my “fluffy friends” got one.
Many years on, I still have most of them, though the hats no longer remain. I was never fond of dolls, found them a bit spooky.
As a young adult I finished my dance training and began a career as a professional performer going on tour all over Australia and New Zealand. During this time my trusty sewing machine came along for the ride, and so the guys and girls got G-strings, very small bikinis and various garments one would wear to functions.
FROM an early age I displayed an aptitude for making things. My mother wondered how I managed without using a pattern as she was a dressmaker and relied on the formality. My favourite items to create were hats and so all my “fluffy friends” got one.
Many years on, I still have most of them, though the hats no longer remain. I was never fond of dolls, found them a bit spooky.
As a young adult I finished my dance training and began a career as a professional performer going on tour all over Australia and New Zealand. During this time my trusty sewing machine came along for the ride, and so the guys and girls got G-strings, very small bikinis and various garments one would wear to functions.
I have had a varied life with regards to occupations, but I never gave up sewing. When my girls were young I earned an income by making animals for a large toy company. One such creature was called a “Puggle”, a very adorable cute animal with a long snout and very long whiskers.
| All bears were designed and hand crafted by Karin Murphy Ellis. Story concept and limericks by Liane Arno & Matt Stone. Book Design by Jeni Jobe. Photos by Warren Reed.  Maybelline  Sassy  Coco Merbear | When we moved to the country I was given the opportunity to teach dance at the local high school, I had already opened my own ballet school in Meeniyan some years earlier which indeed was how the then headmaster found me. It was there I encountered a group of incredibly talented people who subsequently helped stage many lavish productions. These productions, of course, required costumes. Back to the sewing machine. Even back then we would scour the op shops for interesting fabrics and colour themes to add authenticity and depth to the productions. Now my work still predominantly uses recycled, often disassembled, items, re-purposing fabrics, shoes, bags, machinery, jewellery, hats and other bits and bobs. I am mainly attracted to colour, form and content, and the challenge of thinking outside the norm. The main body of my current work has been displayed at ArtSpace Wonthaggi where I have an eclectic range of creations. When I joined the gallery some eight years ago I had amassed a rather large collection of fabulous fabrics sourced and donated by wonderful friends, so when Ken and I had to downsize, effectively halving my work area, I wondered what on earth to do with all these treasures. Having seen a “Merbear” I had made long ago, a dear friend suggested perhaps I could make bears. Thus, the seed was sewn and fermenting when along came COVID-19 and the lockdown. For me this was a blessing. It gave me the time and space to create all the “cuddly friends” contained in this book, Bears and Art Objects. Each bear is sketched out with specific fabric pieces in mind, created by hand with stitched layering and brought to life by contrasts of textures and mixed media. They each in turn were fun, made me laugh and wonder if I had really gone mad. Karin Ellis’s ‘Cuddle Bears and Art Objects’ is at ArtSpace Wonthaggi from December 18 to January 18. The opening is at 2pm on Saturday, December 19. Copies of Bears and Art Objects will be on sale for $20 at ArtSpace, free to anyone who buys a bear. |