judy horacek

Danger signs

judy — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 03:43:53 +0000

Does it bother anyone else that the radioactive symbol is used as the icon on your computer to signify burning cds and dvds? Shouldn’t that symbol only stand for Danger! ?

Warning Radioactive Material! Beware! Don’t tamper with anything here! Get the hell out! Danger! Danger! Danger!

Radioactivity is a really really bad thing to come across. So how come software producers are allowed to co-opt this symbol? And turn it into something so familiar and so commonplace that it no longer retains any sense of danger, nor indicates any need to take safety precautions. ’Oh look, there are radioactivity symbols on this barrel, it must be burn cds somehow. Let’s take it home and open it up’

Hold on!

judy — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:38:56 +0000

This morning I saw on the side of a bus stop, a big ad for 600ml Coke in a NEW BOTTLE. The new bottle has added grips – that is, small raised dots that supposedly make it easier to hold onto. I can’t help but wonder what it is that people are doing while drinking Coke that mean they need extra help to keep hold of their bottles.

But then I’m the kind of person who wonders why anyone would drink Coke in the first place, so I could easily have missed something.

Topic of the Month – March 2010

judy — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:52:03 +0000

This month’s topic is ‘Balance’. Work/life, funny/sad, relaxing/stimulating, spend/save, home/away – does anyone get it right?

Every month this website will feature a different cartoon topic. April’s topic will be ‘Cuppas’.

If you would like to go on the mailing list to receive emails about the Topic of the Month and other things happening with Judy Horacek’s work, sign up at the chicken on your right. Tell your friends.

Birds from Yellow

judy — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:17:39 +0000

I can’t as yet reveal the full beauty of my new book Yellow is My Favourite Colour, but here are three birds for you to be going on with. They are from the green page, the purple page and one of the yellow pages. I’m sure you’ll be able to work out which is which. Is posting birds some form of tweeting?

Yellow

judy — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 07:00:00 +0000

I’ve finished the artwork for my next children’s book, Yellow is My Favourite Colour, which is out in June, published by Penguin. The proofs have been signed off and it’s at the printers now. (Yellow is my favourite colour by the way.)

Topic of the Month – February 2010

judy — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 05:34:53 +0000

The first Topic for the new year of 2010, and the new round of the alphabet, is Appearances. Look beyond them or look no further…

Every month this website will feature a different cartoon topic. March’s topic will be ‘Balance’. (It’s an aspirational topic!)

Topic of the Month – December

judy — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:01:59 +0000

This month’s topic is ‘Beginnings and Endings’ to acknowledge the end of the year (a hard one for many many people) and the start of a new one. As John Lennon once sang, ‘Let’s hope it’s a good one, without any fear.’ (Well, no harm in hoping.)

Every month this website will feature a different cartoon topic. As usual, there will be no January topic, but we’ll start the alphabet up again in February, with ‘Something beginning with A’.

End of an Era at Helen Maxwell Gallery

judy — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:42:22 +0000

The much-loved Helen Maxwell Gallery, where I have shown my work for a decade, is closing at the end of this year. It’s very sad for everyone in Canberra and all those who visited from afar. HMG is a beautiful gallery, and Helen has show some of the best contemporary work being produced around Australia and nearby. It has been a wonderful space for me to exhibit, and I have very much appreciated Helen’s support and enthusiasm for my work. But here’s to new projects and opportunities for Helen!

The last opening is tonight, with two exhibitions of paintings- Ruth Waller and Waratah Lahy. There will be a final sale of works at the Gallery from 14 to 21 December, including works by me. Helen Maxwell Gallery, First floor, 42 Mort Street, Braddon ACT 2612.

Topic of the Month – November – ZZZZ

judy — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:15:14 +0000

This month’s topic is ZZZZ, for Sleep. I thought it was quite an ingenious solution to the problem of finding a good topic starting with Z. Anyway it’s something most of us don’t get enough of.

Every month this website will feature a different cartoon topic. Next month’s topic is ‘Beginnings and Endings’ as befits a topic that has to cover both December and January. (As usual, there will be no specific January topic). The alphabet will begin again in February – I couldn’t bring myself to start with A in December!

Books and colours

judy — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:48:21 +0000

Here are the artist’s books, on display at Helen Maxwell Gallery in Braddon, until Saturday November 14. They are a simple concertina construction, with covers made from proper book fabric, and fastened with a satin ribbon. Of course they took a lot longer than I expected, but they were a lot of fun to make. I think they look gorgeous. Here are details from Fairytales (Green) and Fairytales (Red).