pop.....

I know I'm late posting this but.... a bit over a week ago,  I headed off (tick attached to neck) to the opening of Poppy Benton's solo stint at Narek...

 narek welcome dog...

 mmm big things...

 more big things...

 

little things

(I red-spot earmarked something on this table....)
Poppy calls the piece I picked 'fat stripe - skinny stripes'
(no that's not its arty title - just our conversational one)

I really like these little vessels - they are slightly elliptical, and have a pressed thumb mark in the side of each, which gives the little pieces a lovely feel in the hand.... 

I'm looking forward to bringing 'fat stripe - skinny stripes' home and making a nice cuppa)

the show is on until the end of may if you happen to be in these here parts

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wrestling progress...

 I've completed all the individual components for my BAO 'paper wrestling' piece... including the itty-bitty letterpress pieces...

 and the soon to be semi hidden calligraphic element...

Yesterday I started to bind the edition..... with luck I might even get all 25 in the edition all bound up by the end of the easter break.....


(ps hope you are all having a restful easter, and like me you're doing what you love, in a place you love, surrounded by peeps that you love...)


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life on the farm...

what our days look like now...

 

more pics and words here...



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found...

Yesterday I headed bush.... into the Kooraban National Park (yep the park that we share a boundary with) it was koala survey time again - this time with an arty edge.... We were joined by arty folk from ANU

 some parts of the walk in were easier than others...

  mmm mossy bits beside a pristine tiny creeklet...

 

fungi found...

more fungi found...

tall trees...

trees marked to be surveyed...

and....

a little while later...

 excitement!

 koala scat found!!!

finding evidence of koalas is not something that happens everyday..... so Chris was very very very excited that we had an active plot... I'm not sure what the ANU peeps thought about it all, but they got into the spirit of things and everyone gave freely of their time and energy and attention and respect...

another favourite find...

one of the lovely peeps in the group bought along an amazing op-shop find - a funny little book with a koala as central character... and she let me cart the book in and take a piccie on site.... 

ahhhh a good day....

*** update - I'm actually a tad under the weather today - two days after koala survey - I pulled 2 little ticks off my neck in hours following the trek... and one of the bites, nicely positioned on my throat, atop my windpipe, has turned a bit nasty (I have 'allergy' problems with certain bugs.... like certain ants, bees and, yep you guessed it TICKS) .... have resorted to the trusty anti-histies.... (ps this is not an alarm call  - its not THAT bad... I'm just a wimp!)

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excitements...

 (completely unrelated pic of acacia pod and euc leaf.... but exciting enough in their own right I think...)

It's been one of those golden days today.... not just because of the dual warmth and chill of an aussie autumn.... but its been a day filled with lovely little excitements...


excitement one: email from Manly Library - "Thank you for submitting your book and being a big part of our Artist Book Award.  So many clients have commented on your book since the event, Manly Library would like to acquire ‘serpens volumen’ and to have it become part of the library’s permanent collection." 

('serpens volumen - arcus pluvius' - rainbow serpent book  detail)

yay little snake book! you get to live forever-more in a library (soooo fitting.... given that the piece was created from rejected library books!) - happy dance


excitement two: phone call and email from Byron Bay Writers Festival director - "I’m delighted to attach your ‘official’ invitation to the Byron Bay Writers’ Festival for 2011...."  - Yowza! (gulp) it's real... In August I'm heading north to be artist-in-residence for the Bryon Bay Writers Festival

Now - how did this invitation come about did I hear you ask? welllllllll - remember the speed dating for artists gig? yep - this all came about because of an informal sideline chat that day with Tony, the CEO of  Arts Northern Rivers .... moral? not everything comes through the front door,  and you don't need to be a 'go-getting-gal-about-town' (I'm really lousy at promoting myself..... it just feels icky and false to me) - sometimes it's better just to be yourself and let things develop all on their own (like acidophilus culture on milk...)

(sorry for what seems mostly an 'aren't I great' post  - I just wanted to share my excitement.... and encourage other arty folk far from the centre of things to keep on keeping on... 'cause that's the REAL moral to this tale)

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found...

Yesterday I headed up the hill behind me - to set up more 'stuff' in another of my ongoing  collaborations with nature....

on the way back I stumbled over some past pieces.... now coming along very nicely indeedy...

 

 

book pages disappearing in the paddock....

 

(I shared another soon-to-be ex-book on tumblr)

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tumblr....

For any and all tumblr users I thought I'd let you know - I've relented and set up a little table in the tumblr universe for my booky research project  'codex infinitum - the infinite book'....

You can find me as bookron.  I'm collecting all things booky and throwing a few of my book things on the site for good measure.... if you use tumblr (especially if you're also a booky arty person) make yourself known!



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quick visits...

I did a very very quick trip to Sydney this week to meet Yves Leterme... for the uninitiated (eg all you non-calligraphy peeps) Yves is a spectacular calligrapher - known for his gestural calligraphic works that hover between the fields of art, craft and design. Yves lives in Bruges (which seems to have waaay more than its fair share of talented calligraphers.... like {gulp} Brody Neuenschwander...)

Yves and I have only ever traded emails and fb notes and such like... as you'd expect given the geographic distances... so when I found out Yves was headed this way to teach a series of workshops we hatched a plan to find a couple of hours in his busy schedule to meet....

so we sat for an afternoon and mulled over the future of calligraphy - and I admired his wonderful works - then it was off to Chatswood for his slideshow presentation - and dinner with the Sydney calligraphy mob...

had to share this moment where Yves chuckled at my 'oh no.... not a dead duck'
(there's nothing like a BBQ duck in the window to reassure a vegetarian...
not only did I have the 'what to eat?' moment - I had to decide whether I would sit facing the tank of live fishies
or dead ducks... hmmmmm.... decisions, decisions )

Got to say - it's wonderful to meet people who you've only ever traded the odd note - and find that they are indeed completely delightful. Yves is not only a fabulhoot calligrapher, he's a generous, easy-going, modest, erudite (my goodness how many languages does this guy speak?), funny, calligraphic superhero. 

Thoroughly worth the 13hrs of driving up and back to Sydney....

oh here's more Yves related stuff:
  2009 blogpost interview on calligraffia... (this is actually how we 'met) 
Yves website & new blog

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tumbling....

I've just realised tonight the Manly Library Artists' Books Award opens..... stooopid me! my older work serpens volumen - arcus pluvius (the rainbow serpent book) SHOULD be up there doing it's best to look attractive to the judges... (go little snake book!)

even though the piece is currently (hopefully) being tenderly fondled by all-comers... I was scratching my head trying to figure out why my rather ancient blog post about the piece was suddenly attracting so much interest (WTF?) so (I admit it) - I googled...... only to find that my wee book had suddenly gone viral in tumblr.....

I found my snake book here and here and here and here and.... well you get the idea .....


beee-zare!


huh!



(if only I could harness that tumblr love and send it off to the Manly Library
right... about.... now!.....
at least most tumblrs were doing the link-love.... so that's my consolation prize)


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