Interviews

From Riches to Rags: how being wrongly charged of rape cost John Jarratt his career

If you're Australian, and even if you’re not, chances are you have heard of John Jarratt. Being one of Australia’s most iconic and well-known Actors, staring in big-budget movies since the ’70’s, having titles such as Wolf Creek, The Last Outlaw, and Picnic at Hanging Rock to his name.
Well as of 18th November 2017, he would be sadly known for an entirely different reason. He was accused of rape by a former housemate from over 43 years ago. The issue went to trial and he was proven innocent, though the accusation still haunts him today. He has since come out with a tell-all book “Assault by media” to share his side of the story.

Yesterday morning I took a call with John to speak about his new publication. Our conversation went as follows...

I ask John about his new book ‘Assault by Media’, complimenting him on how the book really gives an insight into what he was going through at the time before, during and after the trial took place. John recalls “When I realised I would be charged with the lack of evidence and the ridiculous, ludicrous statement that she put out plus the 43 years difference, I just could not believe that the police could read that and hand it on to the Department of Prosecutions, and I could be charged.”

Read the rest here > https://www.kbsmagazine.com/single-post/2019/09/16/From-Riches-to-Rags-how-being-wrongly-charged-with-rape-cost-John-Jarrat-his-career





Today I interviewed Jodi from Shapeshift designs. A lovely, and very talented mother that has turned her hobby of using clay with her sons into a business. Successfully, Jodie has come up with many great designs that I will be stocking some of at KBS Cosmetics very soon! Thus conducts our interview.

Q. Hi Jodie, thank you for letting me interview you, I am so excited to have you on my blog. 

You have created such a beautiful jewelry line, how did you get started in the industry and what inspires you?

Hi Kari, thank you so much for interviewing me! 

I started out buying polymer clay for my four-year-old son to make Angry Birds sculptures, and then decided to make myself some beaded necklaces with the leftover clay to match my outfits. 

After about 7 months’ practice, a lot of trial and error, a lot of cracked beads from trying to get the heat circulating correctly in the oven, I finally worked up the courage to try selling some of my pieces at local boutique markets and online on Etsy.

I'm inspired by colours and patterns I see every day, and often take pictures of buildings, trees, books, clothing, anything with a beautiful mix of colours that gets my mind working and excited about making up my own colour combinations.

Q. How long have you been in the business and is it your full-time job? if so, is this industry one you have always wanted to be a part of and why?

I officially started Shapeshift Designs in August 2016, opening the Etsy store the same week as my first market at a university open day.

I'm a stay at home mum, so I make jewelry after the little people go to bed at night, and keep up with emails and social media during the day so that I can still supervise the kids. During the day I don't even attempt to get the clay out because my boys want to grab it and make Pokémon sculptures out of it right now.

I didn't plan on being in this industry at all, but my background is in visual arts, so I've always needed a creative outlet. Shapeshift is building slowly, and it's a lovely way to spend my evenings.

Q. Now knowing that you have a background in visual arts, clay would be right up your alley. What sort of jewelry do you specialize in, and what materials do you prefer to use? I have noticed that a lot of your jewelry is really unique in the way of materials that you use, e.g. clay and mermaid scales.

Most of my pieces are handmade from polymer clay, as that's what I started with. Early on I added the mermaid resin cabochon earrings, and some other resin pieces, and more recently I have started making glass earrings.

I'd love to learn more about resin, it seems like there are so many possibilities.

Q. That's great- I do not usually hear of those materials, but then again, I don't know anyone in the jewelry making business. I personally found you on Etsy, and am so excited to have your jewelry at KBS Cosmetics, is Etsy your main sales channel or can customers find you elsewhere as well?

Thank you, I'm excited to have jewelry stocked with KBS Cosmetics!

Etsy is my main online sales channel, and I do monthly markets in Perth that I list on my social media pages. I'm taking a break from markets in March to get the Etsy store filled and concentrate on the online side of things.

Q. That’s great! Markets can be a lot of fun. Do you have any social media channels we can follow you on?

Yes, I'm on Facebook and Instagram 

Facebook- www.facebook.com/shapeshiftdesigns 

Instagram- www.instagram.com/shapeshiftdesigns 

Etsy- www.shapeshiftdesigns.etsy.com

Thank you for your time and good luck with your beautiful jewelery!

Thank you so much

  To kick start this page, I have interviewed a lovely artist from Italy, she goes by the name Martina. Martina is a self-taught artist who focuses on sex and the female body in a positive way, which she shows through her art. This interview is translated from Italian to English, therefore there may be some slight misspellings and what not. Without any further banter, here lies the interview conducted by me and answered by the very talented artist, Martina.

I always loved to draw since I was a child, although I was not a prodigy, I always designed with passion. Sex and the human body have not always been my main subject. Since I discovered sex I always thought there was no shame in talking about it, and in my case represent everything on paper, from 5 years ago. Do your family/ friends know about your drawings and if so what do they think about your choice of subject? I honestly do not expect anything because I do it with passion and then if they are appreciated of course I'm very glad. Well, about the body, I want everyone to understand that the female body is not a sex object (unfortunately the media make us believe that). For me, the body is art, a form of expression. About sex, I really believe that we should stop seeing it as a taboo because all the people, good or bad explore sex, it is a normal thing.

Thanks for letting me interview you, Martina. You are obviously a brilliant and inspired artist, what inspires you?

Hi, Thanks to you who have chosen to interview me.What inspires me most lately (I have had several phases) are the lines of the human body specifically portraits and the female body.

At what age did you discover you loved drawing and has it always been the female body and sex that has fascinated you?

My family and several of my friends know. My family is not in agreement, in fact sometimes they view my drawings porn and obviously want me to stop. Now when I'm home, I have to hide my drawings. My friends on the other hand, have no problems, they know that I have always been open about these topics and it does not upset them representing scenes of sex or naked body.

Where do you see your art taking you?

Is there a message behind your art that you would like to send out to your viewers?

Lastly, is there any artist in particular that you look up to and why/ where are they from?

Honestly, I have not exactly a favourite artist, I just get attached to their works of art.

Thank you for your time :)