And I was worrying about the crocs!

My home for the recent Cairns residency was spacious, well set up, and on the whole very comfortable!

 Some of you might have seen these images...

It was a 5 min walk to the Botanic Gardens and Tanks Art Centre... 2 mins on the bike I hired. I nested and soon got into the swing of being in the tropics, more or less... for 4 long, busy weeks!

entrance path to Gardens

I arrived home last Thursday at 11am and went straight to bed.... for 5 days. Well ... in between I went to the doctor twice.

Why?

Well... it was this little fellow...

modified from: Kettle, D.S. (1995). Medical and Veterinary Entomology. CAB International. Wallingford

I've just googled sand flies, or midges as they are better known, to find an image and this info. I could not even see the little things they are so tiny!

"Biting midges are responsible for acute discomfort, irritation and severe local reactions. Itching may commence immediately after the bite, but often not for some hours later, and most individuals are unaware of being bitten at the time. Biting midges have their greatest impact on people arriving to an area or tourists. Local residents seem to build up some immunity to the biting. In some sensitive people, midges can produce persistent reactions that blister and weep serum from the site of each bite and these reactions may last for several days to weeks."

Well, they sure did sucker on my legs! Must have been a lovely fresh tasty tourist... I had an allergic reaction like I've never had before...but discovered this to be not so uncommon! So many commiserated with me I soon learned how others had fared with these tiny midges. Everyone in fact had a story... their friend or daughter etc... so it became clear that although newbies generally come off worse for wear some people have a perrennial allergic reaction that makes them very wary indeed!

And there I was riding my bike each day over Saltwater creek past the mangroves thinking I might run into a crocodile. 

Who'd have thought this minimal creature could wreak havoc! I was bitten a number of times during my stay...so that by the time my exhibition went up my legs were looking a little savaged close to the ankles. You know how non-stop and all-consuming Art-show preparations are... I'd managed not to look too closely in my haste yo get things ready that it was only a day after the opening that a lovely visitor to the gallery took one look and said..."oh you are from out of town! Get thee to the doctor now!"

   
Bless my visitor from Kuranda! Her tales were effective as was her care!

That aside... it was a brilliant month and I have many blissful and enriching memories...  the reason I am telling you this is so you'll understand why I ran out of blogging mojo. The only online place I have been turning up has been my Homage to the Seed facebook page because its the easiest site to manage when you are bedridden, legs up to enable blood to get to infected lower legs... and falling asleep every five mins!

Right now I am sitting beside the Brisbane River at the park in New Farm, gazing out on the Jacaranda blossoms falling off the trees in the breeze and making the most of the free wifi that Council has wired up near the Rotunda.

Image found here

On my left one can see the river and the occasional City-cat passing by... these catamarans are the my fav form of public transport in this city. Walkers and joggers pass by as well, but its peaceful and pleasantly cool today.

Found here

A job awaits downloading photos and tying up many a loose-end from the month away. You can probably sense I am relishing this slow moment between commitments and activity. Always good to breathe out... guess I can thank the mighty midge for that!

When flying out of Cairns last week I had this strange sensation of wanting to hug the place - wrap my arms around the entire landscape and people there as I looked down over the views from the aircraft window. I was embraced in such a warm way during my stay and the time spent bike-riding meant I was a lot closer to the ground and saw more than I otherwise might have. My trip to the Daintree, a World Heritage National Park in the most stunning Wet Tropics Rainforest with indigenous friend Sheryl, a former park ranger there, was perhaps the highlight. 

I just felt so grateful ... no doubt where that impulse to offer loving arms came from! Below the plane lay the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet tropics Rainforest with all their rich biodiversity ..  and added to that are people of all different cultural backgrounds, many of whom I found to be deeply attached to this place, with great reverence for the natural world. 

So long to Cairns but I will be back... and of you ever get the chance grab it... you wont be sorry! Just watch out for the midges!

catch up week!

Well this is supposed to be a catch-up week but its been as busy as recent weeks... even if in a different  way! I seem to have caught up with so many different threads of life here...its been intense but quite wonderful!

Even this photo is from ages ago...  I'm yet to photograph all the work I completed in time for the Exhibition last week. What a wonderful residency and show... can't say enough about the people I worked with... and the friday show brought familiar and new people along... all added up to being a wonderful day and memorable conversations!

Still to visit so many I love to keep connected with in the blogosphere.... but I had some lost sleep to catch up on and then suddenly things got busy again and I've just spent the past two days at QUT tutoring ... Wednesday First Year Architecture and today a guest spot presenting on the Journal Process with the First year Interior Design students.

The week has been taken up in conversations of every kind... saying goodbye at the Molecular Science Lab,  discussions re the coming months, catch-ups with various ones...and a meeting a friend's new baby girl!  

I did just put up a photo of some works down in April at the studio blog... but otherwise Ive been VERY quiet online this week! Think I overdid it last week fitting everything in and I have been finding quiet moments to do some stitching of pod forms on linen this week ... avoiding the computer as much as possible.

See you again soon I hope!
Ciao,
S x

pics from up the coast...

It was a wild old day when I set off on my coastal escape. 

Heavy rain slowed things down ...but I had a lovely afternoon with my niece at North Arm, near Yandina, before joining friends at Coolum for the evening. Next day we found a dry hour or so for a beach walk ...the coast looked windswept but the ocean water was rather tempting as it was warm enough for a dip!

These images are very low resolution ... still getting use to the laptop i-photo. Tried adding them to Flickr and Facebook this morning... I'm only keeping a public Homage to the Seed page on Facebook...  the wonderful followers here at Blogger are  the friends I want to keep in touch with ... I can't quite see how there could be enough time to keep track of the friend scenario over there at FB so I have not gone that way!

As for Flickr ... well I am a slow learner over there... nothing much happening yet... thinking about a new camera at the moment. Anyone know of a fail-safe camera for dummies... I really have little interest in gadgetry...i like on-off buttons,,, point and click. Well ... I do like being as artful as possible with framing things... but the technology for recording the image.... simple please!! 

Coolum .... steps up from one of the many small beaches.

When we settled in at Noosa on Monday afternoon at our accomodation it was bucketing down. The pool was steps away, a private jetty a little further along... and where were we? Inside with our noses to the window staring out.No... it wasn't that bad!!

 A trip to Organika for a few supplies and coffee (+ to check emails) was highly worthwhile, in large part because I discovered that my fav bookstore/gallery (that had been next door) where I had a show early in 2010 has relocated to Melbourne where its doing well ... situated close to the State Library in the heart of the city. 

Organika in Wyeba Rd, Noosaville

Embiggen Books previously next-door to Organika in Noosaville...

Warren and Kirsty at Embiggen's first wonderful home - next to Organika!

I just found a great blog post on the new Melbourne store... so if you get to/live in that fine city be sure to pop in! And here's a photo (below the map) from the blog post. 

Embiggen Books on little Lonsdale St in Melbourne

the Melbourne store

Back to the getaway story....

It rained heavily day and night Monday... and when I woke at 5am next morning I was itching to go explore. Despite grey with heavy clouds it was definitely not raining outside. At 5.30 I headed out with an umbrella and a little cash hopeful to find a coffee spot after my walk.

I came across this tree after hearing a quite amazing cacophony ( will send pics to a botanist friend for the name of this tree) coming from its blossom-heavy branches. Excuse my low res pics... can you see what was hiding in this riot of yellow?

Not just one... but a whole host of what I think were Rainbow Lorikeets. If ever there was need of a good photographer to capture this sight of a tree laden with delighted birds after the heavy rains... feasting on the nectar from these blossoms.

I think I passed two others on my walk along the beach. I guess everyone was tucked up asleep... you'd have thought the town completely deserted on this morning ... a rare sight over summer in this popular place I must say!

and yes... I did find a place that opened early... I was here by 6.30am and as you can see getting a seat was not an issue! The morning paper from Brisbane was gloomy about possible flooding... but then it was the 12 month anniversary last week for those who'd been through a particularly harsh summer of floods in our neck of the woods. 

another cafe view... 

Just about home from my walk it started raining again... luckily my spotted brolly, which I picked up at an Op shop in Cornwall last October, was on hand!

I managed to get in a swim everyday ...  and found cafe's with wi-fi. I'd brought along my inks and brushes here ...  and as getting to the end of a busy day I was left to occupy a corner seat for a long stretch!

Berkelouw Books (and cafe) has long been a favourite of mine so I was so pleased to discover a few years ago they'd set up in Queensland at 87 Memorial Drive, Eumundi. 

This is a cotton paper book Ive been working in of late, playing around with the possibilities this paper offers. A basic mono-print below ... pressing onto the page that has been applied with paint straight from the tube.

my watch from the November Paris excursion... no... i didn't apply it with paint and press!

This concertina book I started at the KEW MSB in October... I find it interesting to keep adding and altering images at whim! There is something about this format that so suits mobile art-making.

MORE IMAGES of this work at STUDIO ARCHIVES blog ...posted also today!

Just noticed one of Berkeleouw's Sydney stores has this wine bar below.Now that's an idea!

The river-frontage of where we stayed was very peaceful. There were kayaks we could hire... perhpas a trip back here sometime when its sunny!

This amazing plant contains so much detail...  where to start drawing?

Yesterday before heading for home we stopped for a coffee... loved this very homemade fruit scone!

This chair perhaps will be waiting for me if I return... next time we'll hope with clearer skies!

Well... there's much to do now... its been a wonderful time away and I'm ready to hit the studio... so more soon!

Have a good week won't you!

x

sending a thank you south!

Aha! More downloaded photos ... the drought has well and truly broken! These are from Melbourne last week... feels like yesterday!

Jesse with portrait

You may well ask who this is? 

His name is Jesse and he came along to the Alumni Show last week as my friend CC had hung her portrait of him in the show and thought to invite him along. The very charming Jesse was spotted by CC and a photo led to the portrait... and his subsequent attendance. The crowd enjoyed placing him as the subject of the drawing and so he became a celebrity for a night.

Jesse with the artist CC

CC or Carolyn Cardinet is a lovely friend from VU whom I studied with back in 2000. Spirited and full of life the Visual Arts Alumni was born out of her enthusiasm and nurtured along with her consistent effort. Now I'm wishing I took photos when visiting her studio as this photo of the portrait does not do it justice... (apologies CC!)

Painting by Janita Ryan

Also in the show was this work above (I've misplaced the catalogue to check the title). As I said in an earlier post my days in Melbourne were so relaxed I forgot to photograph my friends in their wonderful studios. As I bid farewell I suddenly remembered the images I wished to take with me... So a rather hurried shot of Janita was taken (below)

More of Janita's work can be viewed here.

Thank you to kind friends for excellent hospitality and good company, to the People at VU for hosting a wonderful night and to the delightful friends I also managed to connect with. 

rewalking old steps...

Its great to discover that on one's return from a decent break a few things that were being a bit annoying before the break have righted themselves...magically! The photo downloading facility at this blog decided to play up before I took off to Melbourne last week.
Electing to forget about it... I was pleased to check it on my return and find it working again.... hence I have downloaded some pics from my time away. I must admit that I so relaxed I only took snaps on my last couple of days. I was simply too busy at first drinking everything in....and travelling light... not concerning myself with tasks!

One sunny day - waiting for the tram overlooking St Kilda Beach

on the tram... an unusual quiet time - sometimes trams seem to attract theatrical goings on!

visiting Victoria Market - where I used to once regularly shop!

NB - kangaroo salami?

In the mid 90's I spent over 4 years running a shop-front studio on this busy intersection in Collingwood. Now a restaurant - when I was there it still had old fashioned shop windows with a central doorway. I had a 3 bedroom dwelling attached to this shop-front studio...so it was quite spacious... but in the end I really missed the garden I had left to move here. In many ways it was a brilliant hub to live in... being the heart of a lively art scene with cafes everywhere.

below: 5 mins walk to Brunswick St from the studio - this lively pocket houses lots of creative people and there's an excellent art supply shop just 3 doors along through the greenery.

across the road is this abundantly stocked flower shop - 'Flowers Vasette'

below: into the city on this same sunny day for a viewing at the Ian Potter Gallery at Federation Square - love the side entrance I left by where the distinctive architectural geometry is replicated in the plastic attachment added to the permanent structure...presumably for winter's sake ... to create more shelter than is usual at this entrance?

Loved the effect looking through these fragmented shapes.

Below: outside - another angle of federation square!

Its late.... thats what happens when you download photos and start photo-shopping! Not to worry - its the weekend... have a good one everyone!