Movin' on...

I've moved over to a Dismal Carnival. Hope to see you there!

Looking forward. Looking back.

Hello 2009! Woohoo! It may only be 6 days into the New Year but already I've shaken off the dust that had settled upon me towards the end of 2008 and I'm feeling fresh and alive. The start of a new year always promises so much, there is potential to be reached and opportunities to be had. Bring it on! In the spirit of reflection and looking forward I am......

Looking back at: completing the second third of my degree. Travelling to exotic Dubai. Losing 7 kilos. Cutting my hair short. Painting the bathroom (finally). Trying to quit smoking (again and again and again!). A splendid splendour. Making art that surprised myself. Learning to be less inhibited. Turning 31. Reading many music biographies. Experiencing the wonders of the outback. Disaster in my suburb. Learning that disaster unifies people. Lots of lovely rain after a decade of drought. Growing in confidence. Making video and sound art. Making new friends. Too many busy weekends. Not enough time to relax. Kicking an addiction to carbs. Learning that insurance companies are exactly as you’d imagine them to be. Fair health. Lots of love, laughter, tears and much, much fun!

Looking forward to: completing the final year of my degree. Travelling somewhere new and strange. Losing 3 more kilos. Growing my hair a little. Getting the house fixed. Quitting smoking (for good!). A splendid splendour. Making innovative and exciting contemporary art. Being bold and courageous. Turning 32. Reading many more great books. Experiencing long lazy days by the ocean. A year of regrowth and regeneration. Learning how to be more generous of spirit. Lots more lovely rain. Continuing to stand up for myself. Learning new technical skills. Making new friends. Long, slow, relaxing weekends. Eating healthier. Exercising more. Having a new studio. Excellent health. Lots of love, laughter, tears and much, much fun!

Since my studio is still packed up under the house I have little going on artistically speaking. However I have begun to take tentative steps back into making mode by working on a few little fun things, not the least of which is a cheesy tapestry that I bought in the post christmas sales. I hope to alter it somehow but for now it is just keeping my hands busy. Until I have something of artistic merit to show, catch ya later!

P.S. Check out the awesome sunsets we've been having lately. Simply spectacular!

The good, the bad and the blessings...

It has been nearly a month since we returned from our holiday and I've only just finished sorting out the photos. Going through them makes me long to be back there. Things here have just been so complicated since our return. We are stressed out and tired, and our frustrations are building with the insurance company. We are finding communicating with them difficult and tedious - messages go missing, different people say different things and progress feels slow - very, very slow. In fact sometimes I feel like it is one step forward and two steps back. I had high hopes at the beginning that the insurance company would make things easy like they say in their advertising, but honestly their lack of communication and constant attempts at avoiding giving us any concrete information is simply adding to our frustrations. I'm sure it is like this for lots of people. We'll just soldier on with it I suppose - what else can you do?

Anyway, adding to my angsty nature at the moment is the fact that I haven't done any art for like 3 or 4 weeks. My entire studio is now packed in boxes in the garage while we wait for repairs to be done upstairs. From the sounds of things, this could take many months (but fingers crossed it doesn't). Everything takes so much longer than we ever imagined - but then, who ever imagines that these things will happen to them? Still, the thought of not being able to access my materials for a long time is quite upsetting. But, I'd do well to remember that it is just a temporary inconvenience and that things will be sorted out in due time. Yes, I would really do well to remember that.






Apart from the aforementioned dramas life is coasting along at a crazy pace - I can't believe that Christmas is in 10 days!!! I did most of my Christmas shopping in one day last week and have wrapped them ready for giving. There's no Christmas tree or decorations this year as we have been preoccupied with cleaning up - it's a bit of a bummer, but I'm determined to have an awesome festive season in spite of all that. Three days on a Noosa houseboat should do the trick. I really can't think of a better way of spending the festive season this year - pure bliss, as long as we aren't hit by more insane storms - eeeek! Don't jinx it!




Anyway, I thought I'd post these photos in order to cheer up the written content of this post. Really, the good times we had on our trip far outweigh the frustrations we have endured since getting home. So we are blessed, really. Sometimes you just forget to count your blessings - I think I'll take stock of them thisafternoon.

Desert dreaming...

Well, our holiday was wonderful, despite the bad news that we received half way through. We spent two weeks in the red centre of this great country, travelling through the desert to see the great icons of our land. Being there brought home to me how beautiful and precious this country is - and how diverse it is too. Being in that place, so harsh and inhospitable, yet so entirely majestic and beautiful brought us both a sense of peace, and a recognition of place as being central to our identities. Never having been to central Australia before we realised how much our Australian identity is defined by it - the rough coloqial ways of the Australian identity are wrapped up in the experiences of those who have lived in and attempted to tame the Australian desert. It was bone dry, and then it was wet - really wet. They had the most November rainfall ever recorded while we were there, and it was a blessing for us in many ways because we experienced Uluru with waterfalls which was pure magic.




I was impressed with the care and attention given to Indigenous culture and history in all of the national parks. Most sacred spaces are off limits (as they should be) and the visitor is repeatedly asked to respect the land and culture of the Indigenous owners of the land. Stories are told when they can be shared and they only add to the mystical aura of places such as Uluru and Kata Tjuta. We spent many hours walking the national park trails around the most amazing landscapes. There are so many spectacular land and rock formations, gorges and waterholes that just rise from or sink into the relative flatness of the desert plains. The wildlife is tough and built for the harsh landscape they inhabit. We saw wedgetail eagles and hawkes, big red roos, the most amazing reptiles, wild camels and horses and beautiful small desert birds.





I loved the desert. I felt relaxed there and at ease. I felt the power of the earth beneath my feet. I felt small and insignificant - an entirely exhilerating way to feel. The desert tells you what is important. It forces you to listen to the world around you - the natural world. At night the sky put on a spectacular show - the milky way was visible in a way that I haven't seen for years. The night sky when seen in its full glory always prompts big deep conversation. We ruminated for hours about the nature of life whilst lying under the celestial blanket. The whole universe seemed to be before us and our minds dared to wander into it.






But now we are home, back in the big city and life, as it does, has settled back into routine. The desert seems so far away, and indeed it is, but there is a piece of me that longs to go back there. It's the simplicity you see - the obvious and honest nature of the land and people. It is harsh - full of both life and death, and the truth of it all is right there for you to see. There is nowhere to hide in the desert.

Sometimes things happen that put everything else into perspective. While we were on holiday our home was pummelled by the most vicious storm seen in our suburb in over 30 years. The event was deemed a disaster and the chaos that ensued a 'state of emergency'. It was major news and volunteers and workers travelled from all over the country to help in the clean up. So, what we came home to was this:





It was a shock to say the least! It's a few days later now and we've cleaned everything up and the insurance assessor has been around and we're fully covered for all work that needs to be done as well as contents - what a blessing! But I tell you we're just so grateful that noone was injured, and that we still have a home (85 homes were totally destroyed including our neighbours). This event has brought out the best in people - so many people have been around to see how we are and how we are coping, some even bearing gifts! It's so heartening to see people pulling together in such a way. Human decency is still alive and strong.

Check out this video of the storm:

The Red Centre.

I'm off to here:



See you when I get back!

Image from this site.