more from the handmade book pile...

Today was a rare day of sunny warm weather this summer..... noice! - double noice as it was the local swimming club carnival.... (yay to our fishy kiddlettes who came home with a swag of medals and happy grins!).

So no creative work for me today - but here are a few more (blank) books recently created...

these are small (about postcard size) -the pages are soft hahnemule paper, covers are a decorative paper, stitched over little leather 'tapes' (scraps from that amazing collection of bookbinding goodies I scored last year!)...

the red covered books feature some oil marbled papers on the inside covers (I created and stockpiled these papers more than a decade ago! you never know when something will be useful... and I simply cannot bear to throw anything away)

the brown covered books feature a snippet of old road ordinance maps inside the covers (another gifted stockpile - my bestestest mates are geologist blacksmiths, P&M once worked for vic roads and they collected a pile of maps that vic roads was throwing out - somehow this pile ended up at my place.... now the salvageable bits are making their way into some arty projects..... expect to see more of them in the future!)



tomorrow is the last day of the summer holidays before it's back to school for our two.... EJ will no longer be the youngest kiddie in the school (she is now a big yr 1 student - watch out world!). Sass will get to see his 'girlfriends' again (he's just starting yr 3, so I trust that this 'girlfriend' business is an innocent affair.... he IS however his father's son..... and the world's biggest flirt, so the mind boggles!)


just for the record (as I often get comments like 'how do you manage everything?') - I find juggling arty things and community commitments and farm and garden and family (most particularly - giving  our young kiddlettes what I feel they need)  is ALWAYS tricky... I never feel that I get it right: that I give all the different spheres what they need and deserve... so I live in a permanent state of guilt. I try to keep my fingers busy (so my mind doesn't wander and wallow) and pack every available minute with work at hand (that's why I have my lists... otherwise I get lost or distracted easily - the lists bring me back from the abyss...)


mostly I feel that I fail - but I tell myself that maybe tomorrow I'll do a better job....



fingers crossed




.....

back to the books....

As you'd expect, with my solo show rapidly approaching (eeeeeek - it's less than three weeks now! its time to hit the panic/manic button!) I've been trying to finalise a few things - but not everything occupying my fingers and mind is high-falluting arty-farty stuff.....

 Before Christmas I completed a small collection of coptic bound blank journals...

(this is part of the collection - they are a few more tucked away! )

These new books came about after the discovery of a really unusual set of old books (yet another rotary book sale treasure).  I didn't think much of the weird collection (they sport titles like 'physics', 'human relations', 'medicine' and 'mechanisation'). They had dusty, daggy, ripped old dust jackets and most of the pages were WAY past their best - but when I removed one old yucky jacket I couldn't believe what was underneath .... simply the most glorious cloth cover (in exquisite condition) - so I unwrapped another and another and another  - WOW what divine cloth covers in a rainbow of different colours!

look at the funny gold impressed diagrams gracing each cover.....

 (I think this one was from a book on 'space'?)

('our natural world'?)

To create new from old - on each book cover I added paper strips from an old atlas - you can see I had a lot of fun picking just the right atlas page for each unusually coloured book - and then even more fun choosing the right thread for the binding.....

(this is my favourite combination of book cloth, impressed design, atlas and thread selection....)

Inside, the pages are a mix of different drawing/ printmaking papers (like Hahnelmule)... all are a soft cream colour.

I suspect some might think it is unusual that I will have a collection of handcrafted books in an arty-farty exhibition.... but from the planning stage, I had every intention of including a variety of simple, people-friendly hand bound books as an integral part of my low-key (definitely not high-falluting) show.  I thought that some simple hand crafted books may play off some of my more esoteric and ephemeral 'book' works in the show, and pragmatically, I hope that the hand bound books might give the show something vaguely saleable... (I really don't have the funds for a solo show right now!)

As well as the books shown above, I've also made a small collection of blank concertina booklets and a few long stitch booklets (I'll show pics of all these soon) all of which I'll be taking to Spiral Gallery and offering as a 'cash and carry' collection. Anything that fails to find a new home during the show (and no - I'm not expecting a mobbing) I will stockpile for the opening of sams creek bookworks in May... a win-win situation I think (I just wish there were a few more hours in the day, and days in the week....)

now - back to binding!

....

Oztraylya day....

It's Australia Day

a day that most that us here in the land of Oz scratch our heads going 'huh?'

'Advance Australia Where?' a collage from 1999

Oz Day surely must be one of the stranger public holidays.... as most little aussies have little clue what the date actually commemorates.... (but damned if any of us would ever give it up! it's the day for beer and bbq and bludging.... the three tenants of ozzie nation-hood!)

I've long held mixed feelings about Oztrayla Day.... as the direct descendant of not one, but TWO convict first-fleeters (and for the genealogically inclined - there were three 'double first-fleet' families.... my great-great-great-great-great-grandparents were convicts John Small and Mary Parker), I figure that if anyone should 'get' this day,  it should be me (after all the day actually commemorates the arrival of the first fleet in Botany Bay...)

but it's hard to fly the flag of self congratulations when I recall how much of this (already occupied) land was 'conquered'.....


these thoughts have formed recurring themes in my arty work (especially around the time of our 'Centenary of Federation' in 2001) ....

'Citizens all' - from 2001

and it sure as hell must be confusing for many that our foremost foundation of nationhood was a resounding and stupid military defeat...

'Anzacs' - from 2001

Yet like most who live here, I love this land - even its harshness (anyone up for another flood? drought? fire?)

  'In the forest' - 2001

I love what I consider are the best bits of being an Aussie: our egalitarian spirit and the 'can-do' attitude... And I have felt the greatest sense national pride in recent weeks when we've all seen that spirit in action in Queensland and Victoria (maybe that's what we can be 'celebrating' today?)

I think we should be able to own our unique personal histories, and have pride in our individualised conception of nationhood - irrespective of where we came from (or when).  

 

'Immigration/numbers' from 2003 

Yes, I feel it is imperative that we all acknowledge and appreciate this land's original inhabitants.... yet I don't feel that retrospective guilt accomplishes anything useful....

And neither does a stoopid, inflated, misguided sense of nationalistic pride that manifests itself as thuggery based on ignorance, prejudice and intolerance.

'here and there'  (the story of the banksia) - 2007

Today I'm going to oz day ceremony up town (in a small town it's a great opportunity to mingle and eat yummy scones, jam and cream courtesy of the CWA ladies!).. then we are heading out to our friends nearby farm/forest for more yummy eats... later on FP will be yarding the last of his beefy boys and girls who leave our place tonight... and I will be making more things.... 

its true - we ARE lucky people!

...

nose to grindstone...

It's now less than four weeks until the opening of my solo show at spiral gallery..... and although I intend for it to be a very low key affair, I'm still busy making a few things to add to the mix.

oh and if things work out, I'm also going to take a few of these....

 .... as part of an installation for the small sculpture show at Sculpture on the Edge (I just realised I'm supposedly speaking at the sculpture symposium at SotE as well.... I'll tell more about this when I know more.... but I think I'll make a little prop to distract the audience while I blab on about 'ephemeral amongst the monumental' or something like that)

oh and I'm organising a top secret sculpture intervention as a tag-along bit for SotE (hee hee hee - shhhhh - don't tell anyone down this way.... not even the SotE folk know about it.... I don't want to ruin the SURPRISE! but I promise I'll drop a hint here just beforehand .... keep your eyes peeled in early march)

so I suppose you could say I've got my nose firmly to the arty grindstone right now



......

nom nom nom.....

I am currently a patchwork of leech bites and tick bites and ant bites and mayfly bites
after my friday-bush-sojourn (aka koala survey)

it is neither pretty nor pleasant

I have resorted to antihistamine and a goodly amount of swearing

which has made me feel MUCH better

(FP just rolled eyes skyward and laughed....'see THIS is how nature repays you...')

yup..

meantime my daddio has gone all gooey over some plovers who made a nest in his yard ..... 

the birds finally managed to hatch a clutch of baby plovers....  

I don't think I've ever seen my mummy and daddio more proud or involved

in the lives of any small creature (myself and baby brother included)

as they are right now with the baby plovers....

but I suppose in all honesty, 

the baby plovers are far cuter than I ever managed to be....

....

koala survey...

"We're going on a bear hunt.... we're gonna catch a BIG one....

I'm not scared... it's a be-ut-ee-ful day"

EJ looves singing that toon - and today as I was trudging up hill and down (a very sweaty affair in the  muggy heat) I couldn't get the song out of my head! But as EJ would tell you - I wasn't really going on a bear hunt - today I was off on a KOALA hunt - and koala's aren't BEARS!

Our property borders the kooraban national park - and lucky us, a very small (tiny really) population of koalas has been found as part of a massive koala survey of gulaga, mumbulla and kooraban parks (and the koala population here in the kooraban has been found VERY close to our place - in fact we HEARD one a few months ago - which excited the heck out of us.... have you ever heard one? MY GOODNESS for a small animal they can make a big, scary noise!)

Today I went into the bush from our place with Chris Allen from National Parks and Wildlife... he was about to show me all about koala surveying... first things first....

koala poo...

 koala pellets - I reckon you'd describe the shape as bullet-like and the big thing I learned was that koala poo breaks smoothly in pieces - that's because koalas munch munch munch of those eucalypt leaves so the particles are really fine...

I never thought I'd get all excited about the prospect of spending a day scouring the ground for poop...

But I'm getting ahead of myself - first we had to walk in to the co-ordinates (surveys are done with scientific precision!)

I looked at the topo map. I felt good. I KNEW I could find this place. And, anyway, Chris had a compass, and a map, and a GPS thingy that you punched the co-ordinates into and it would let you know that you had to go 'x' metres in 'x' direction to reach your destination (I've never walked in the bush with a compass and a map and a GPS thingy.... wheee this would be FUN)

I started us off (in of course the opposite direction to what the GPS thingy said....) we walked up and up and up the hill (in what I knew was a gentler grade) into the forest behind our place, then across the hill .... then I gave Chris a look that was meant as the equivalent of 'you have reached your destination'. Chris was not convinced. GPS demanded that we walk 200m NE (I was starting to resent the GPS... how dare it show up my lack of map-skill) But I'm not one to argue with a machine. And then a bull ant entered my boot and bit my foot (I removed boot, removed ant, blamed GPS). On we walked. Up to the edge a steep gully. I was feeling terribly embarrassed by now that I stuffed up and obviously had no idea where we were meant to be (and my foot hurt... ) as a result of my stooopidity now we had to slide down a hill, crawl over a slippery creek and crawl up the the side of the gully. THEN I realised -  after an hour of heavy bushwalking, the GPS had led us to a spot only a few metres into the bush from one of our paddocks

I now wanted to and bury myself - yet I plucked up the courage to request a look at the topo map (surely I couldn't be this stoopid). I looked and things just didn't add up.

oops GPS was set to wrong co-ordinates. GPS reset - off we went (again)

we walked out of bush - back down gully, over creek, up other side of gully, up, up, up the hill and there we were...... about 10m away from were I had put us (before the gully adventure).... I looked at the GPS very smugly....


NOW we could get going.

A midpoint tree was set and identified with tape...

 

Clockwise from this tree we had to find a further 29 trees with a diameter greater than 150mm that were closest to and surrounding our mid tree - as we went, these were marked with tape also. These were to be our survey trees.
 

(Chris had a nifty tape that converted the trees circumference to diameter reading.... noice!)

We donned gloves - it was time to get down and dirty. Looking for koalas, I quickly learned, was all about scouring the ground for scat... and by scour I mean moving every bit of leaf litter for more than metre circumference around every survey tree.... lifting the litter, shaking the litter, peering deeply deeply into the litter for those little koala bullets...

after the first few trees the term 'needle in a haystack' took on a WHOLE new meaning. After all the tree base was scoured for signs of koala, the tree diameter and species was recorded and off we went to the next tree.

I found some fabbo fungi....

Chris showed me what he identified as old koala scratch marks on one of our big survey trees....

(can you see the few diagonal scratches?)

after checking all 30 trees which took about 3 hours... nope no sign of koalas in this plot

so was I disappointed?

nope not a little bit. I learned so much - not just about koalas (koalas can tell the toxicity of individual trees..... fancy that!) - and about tree identification (goodness it is a tough thing to tell one Eucalypt from another!) and that I'm not bothered by bull ant bites (and I'm a wimp - so that was a big discovery) that I enjoy scratching around in the dirt looking for scat... I'm planning on volunteering for more koala plots in the survey... (maybe NEXT time I'll find the allusive koala poo...)

now it's time for a shower (I'm grubby and smelly... and I have just discovered a leech bite on the other leg.... who knows how many other freeloaders I might have lurking in body crevices.....) I suppose there has to be a down side to some things...



....

farmer to farmer....

 

I can't know how it must feel to live in queensland right now... to have your life turned upside down by water water everywhere.... I can only imagine - and as a farmer I CAN imagine what lies ahead - lost stock, lost paddocks, lost livelihood, months and months of cleaning up and rebuilding - and a lifetime of regathering, remaking, reviving land and life.

I haven't spoken much, only hinted at what we've been working through over the past few years. Let me tell a little today. Over the past year we have survived here at Sams Creek with the assistance of government support (Exceptional Circumstances Income Support - which in our case was $720 per fortnight..... making life happen on $720 per fortnight is a whole other tale... as is the process of getting gov support).  Our land and lives were devastated by the worst drought in recorded history which lasted 10 years. Drought brings a slow creeping death over the land - things aren't immediate - there is no raging torrent or inferno to fight.... just a grinding year after year of hanging on....

Even though the drought broke here almost a year ago, we are on the lifelong journey of rebuilding, regathering, remaking, reviving...... It will take us at least 15 (good) years for us to get back to square one....

(February 2010 - the drought broke.... these were our feeding troughs ....
you can see them in action here)

How much more horrible it must be to watch your life's work wash away.

or worse.... (I don't want to get maudlin or sensationalist so I'm not going to go there)

to all those affected (and you don't need to be in a flood prone area to feel the affect) I send thoughts and hopes and prayers for your safety and recovery.


here's a link to where everyone can donate.



.....

virtuous-ness....

Although it didn't figure on my to-do list for 2011 - today I rebuilt my website - yep with my own two hands (with an awful lot of help from the easy-peasy make-your-own website software that comes inside every mac.... ahhhhhh I love macs - they make non-computer-clever people like me feel almost competent...)

so after about a 2 year hiatus - it's baaaaaaaack!

R h o n d a   A y l i f f e

AND 

also today I made a fb page for sams creek bookworks....... 

(you can find the little fb page button on sams creek bookworks blogsite as well)

AND 

I still managed to read 'Millie' to small girlie at bedtime......

sure I didn't get on to the hundred and one other things on the list....

but there's only so much virtuous-ness 

that my body can hold at any given moment....

.......

book journey....

rotary book fair

three little words that make my heart go pittery-pattery

yes I came home with a carload of books

again

and as I was putting the new tomes to bed I noticed that one find
(an oxford dictionary)
 held a cryptic message in the first pages...

I couldn't help myself.... I turned to page 67

nothing

so I tried 467...

 720....

812....

and my favourite.... 

927...

 

oh and when I got to 1431

3 lighter-than-air pressed violets blew up and kissed my face
(I had to chase them down and gently return them to their spot!)

and would you believe

I didn't even notice the relationship of words on the chosen page
and the specimen inserted until I looked through the camera....

I've closed the dictionay

and put it and its booty into my 'treasures' wunderkammer

I wonder if someone else will marvel at it in years to come.....

....

more news.....

I was so pleased to hear that the BAO group entry was selected for Southern Cross Uni Aquisitive book art award (yay team!) and also how BAO peeps Sara and Fiona had their individual entries also selected - and what with all my list-making, dairy-building, solo-exhibition-preparations, and rapid blog postings this week I forgot to say...

SNAP

(yes my small piece has also been selected.....)

ahhhhh nice news to kick off what promises to be a Very Busy Year.....

group hug to all the BAO peeps.....



....

invitations all around....

I've been a busy girlie....

working in the studio (and on the computer) all day
preparing print ready artywork for my solo invitations

here's a sneak peek of how things are looking....

this may undergo a radical shape-shift  so don't be surprised if the final product is quite different....

I can't tell you how difficult I found attempting to do calligraphy...
I'm soooooo out of practice!
I hope my calligraphy mates will be kind and not notice all the blah bits!

and while I'm doing the sneak-peek thing..... 

here's a little peek at the Very Big Project I've been hinting at recently..... 

(I'll talk it all up in the next little while..... and tell you allllll the gory details...

right now I'm trying to concentrate on one thing at a time!
but I get too excited to hold it all in!)

...

all is quiet.....

new years day...

it's hot 

(mighty hot)

oh save my poor wilting garden!

As promised (or was that threatened?) I have completed my 'to-do' list for 2011 (and like me - did you find it as fascinating and insightful to read everyone's opinions and experiences of LISTS? .... I smell another project coming on.....) I plonked a copy of the list on my fb profile (so my fb friendlies have already had a chance to check it all out.... oh and leave some pithy comments there too!)

anyhoooo...... now all of my bloggy buddies (and assorted friendly stalkers...) can check it out too......

all the things I'm hoping to get done or get started in 2011.....

in no particular order - (big breath - here goes.....)

• train cats to NOT jump on my head at 4am in the morning
• survive solo exhibition (it's in february so fingers crossed I make it out alive)
• organise paperwork and get tax return done (yeah right!)
• prepare studio for public visits... ditto for garden
• join SCPA - sapphire coast producers association (http://thebegavalley.org.au/scpa.html) and head off to the farmers markets with my parsley and pumpkins...
• make very large bird exclusion cover for orchard
• get back into the pool (eeeek! try to ignore the screams of young kids running away in fear)
• create shade house plant propagation area
• complete my promised BAO project (http://bookartobject.blogspot.com/)
• plan/create permaculture food forest for the yard
• create less waste
• make curtains for sass
• paint verandah and re-oil the decks
• record the weather daily (set up the weather station that FP got as a chrissy gift about 5 years ago...)
• create kiddies art program for cobargo PS..... inflict art program on young people too slow to run away
• prepare for SOTE (http://www.sculpturebermagui.org.au/)
• don't sweat the small stuff
• help long-suffering-FP get new dairy up and going (with cows to milk...... make wish into universe for nice herd to appear from somewhere....anywhere....)
• be more friendly.... try to frown less as it is creating wrinkles around the eyes
• attend a local permablitz
• get geese, make home for geese
• learn to make bread (and scones..... for long-suffering-FP)
• make music (find the guitar, grow callouses, play guitar) - get kiddies into music lessons
• take EJ to gymnastics... and ballet.... try to help her find her inner princess... or at least to keep the hair out of her eyes
• fix spinning wheel
• finish at least 3 exegesis chapters... (oh brother!)
• help sass feel good about reading... it's hard to feel good about reading when you have dyslexia
• remember to attend meetings of organisations I have stupidly accepted a committee position....
• remember WHAT organisations I have stupidly accepted a committee position on.... 
• try not to wear my edward de bono black hat all the time (especially to committee meetings)
• create full scale permaculture plan for yard and farm(s)
• give EJ a super one-time-only big birthday bash
• plant nut trees in extended yard
• mulch the garden beds
• drink more water - eat less chocolate
• try not to offend and annoy as many people this year..... (rolls eyes)
• forgive those who piss me off (this surely must be the least likely thing to get done on this list!)
• apply to convert from MFA to PhD program
• try not to throw books etc. at cats when they still jump on my head at 4am in the morning
• prepare for the Very Big Event in May (more about this later..... shhhhh it's still a secret)

and of course......

• make more ARRRRRRRRRRRRT and CONQUER THE UNIVERSE!!!!!

here's  'ellie' - the good luck elephant.... 

I've rubbed her little head soooooooo now it's time to get started!

Lets see how many items I can cross off before the end of 2011!