Creative Cauldron - Miso of Melbourne Tweet

It occurred to me that it might be a good/enjoyable/worthwhile/useful idea to do a regular post on my influences and showcase other artists or ideas that have made me stop and go 'wow'. Useful for me to have a reference. Fun to do. Enlightening for you. These have become the Creative Cauldron posts, where I explore the biggest influences on my art. Most of these are visual styles and techniques. Some of these are more about mind-set, attitudes and mental inspiration. I guess you could call them all muses of one form or another.

Miso. I like the soup. And I love the work by the artist who goes by this name.

Miso is a street artist in Melbourne. She, yes she, is nowhere near a run of the mill street artist. For starters, she's not a guy. Instantly sets her apart. And then she creates in paper. Yes, paper, of all mediums. Thin newsprint, posca markers, acrylic paint, a stanley knife and wheat paste.

I'd seen her work around for ages, but hadn't quite clicked that what I was seeing and liking was the work of one artist. Until I went along to see a screening of "Melbourne Ink" by French duo Romain & Julien, which is a documentary on the graffiti/street art scene in Melbourne. It's full of characters and there's plenty of the egotistical, macho guys with spray cans who've mastered how to write their made-up name in a fancy way (congratulations, you may now graduate from kindergarten).

And then there was Miso. Someone really contributing ephemeral beauty to the city. Whimsical, poetic, sublime, almost mythical images to ponder or just make you smile.

My favourite part of the film was the scene where Miso is walking along a street at night carrying a reusable shopping bag. She stops, pulls out a drawing on paper, unrolls it up against the wall, reaches into the shopping bag again, pulls out a wide brush covered in paste, and paints the glue over the picture, sticking it to the wall. Then puts the brush back in the pot in the bag, picks up the bag, and continues on walking.

Super.

Her Flickr stream is here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/city_of_reubens/sets/72157594452840186/

Her blog is here:

http://cityofreubens.com/

There's a great interview with her here:
http://www.thedesignfiles.net/2009/09/interview-miso.html

And another great one here:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3012/2579328699_8e225477d1_o.jpg

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