The publishing of
takenoticedesigns.com marks the point at which proper promotion of the artworks
produced thus far can finally proceed. I can now direct all visitors and enquiries
to this site and over time, build interest, sales and realise some long-held
goals and aspirations.
Like the ‘best laid plans
of mice and men’, often things just don’t work out as one would have hoped.
Frustrations, resistance, and no doubt some excuses thrown in, have delayed
this moment by many years.
I had tired of graphic
design as a full-time occupation and recall thinking over a decade ago I couldn’t
see myself doing that beyond 40... It’s been a struggle – an ongoing one –
and, at the end of the day your dreams are but yours alone. That said, the
struggle has also been that of my wife Arlene of six years, sharing in a life
of limbo. “Sorry, Babe, I’ll make it up to you one day!”
The artworks have been
produced for some months now, essentially for an exhibition held in November
2012. Beware the gallery owner claiming contacts and databases! The entire
exhibition experience was a joke at my expense – bugger-all promotion,
attendance and opportunity. More about that one day...
At this point I’d like to
thank Shaun Gardener www.twentyonetwenty.com.au
for the Take Notice soundtrack, Scott Creswick for the YouTube video creswickcreative.com.au and Tim Turner www.timturner.com.au for the photo
reproductions of the artworks. I recommend all as capable and reliable
suppliers in their fields.
I consider myself an ideas
person. I have an archive of concepts I now want to turn into reality. The
artworks shown represent concepts that I considered the most appropriate entry
point in an introductory and commercial sense. Other more complex productions
have been held over for now, but over time I would like to think I could pursue
these and also venture into other mediums such as furniture and jewellery. To
assist in the development of future works and enterprises I am always
interested in building contacts be it with suppliers with necessary expertise
and of course possible networks for generating sales and so forth. As such, I
wish to build a database of my own – of reliable, talented people I can call on
and engage in forthcoming projects and ventures.
The nature of art &
design produced by Take Notice Designs will likely comprise a variety of
limited-edition projects over time. That said, I aspire to one day produce
large-scale public artworks working with substantial budgets. Short to medium
term assistance is likely to be sought from specialists in hi-end water-jet and
laser cutting, CNC wire & steel bending, coatings, bonding,
pressing/rolling, artist representation, art delivery, grant writing, interior
design, architecture, creative & comedy writing, photo retouching,
photography, flatbed and newspaper/magazine printing, illustration and so
forth.
The prospect of engaging
family members to assist with the artworks is a remote possibility. For the
time being, operations are on a small scale. My daughter Olivia is currently
undertaking a course at one of Melbourne’s design schools, but the vibe is she
wants to do her own thing – there’d probably be a clash of wills anyway! If all
goes well, perhaps Arlene can become the public face (more attractive than
mine) of much of what is produced at Take Notice Designs. My 6yo son Clyde says
he wants to help with the artwork, so I may have to wait a while before that
happens. In the meantime I’d like to focus on producing more artworks, however
this ambition is predicated on sales of the artworks that have already been
produced. One day at a time. Let’s see how I go.
