Bundanon

Susan Buret, Northward Aspiration, © 2010, acrylic and paper on gessobord, four panels 31 cm x 31 cm.

I am in one of the studios at the Bundanon trust property after receiving a last minute invitation for a residency and to help with a schools workshop.

I was last here in 2008 and, as Bundanon and the surrounding Shoalhaven area have a special place in my heart, I jumped at the chance to return. I piled as much of my studio as would fit into the back of my car and drove down the escarpment and along the slippery muddy track to arrive on Monday morning. After spending two days working with the students from Bombaderry High School, I am now working in my studio.

There is something extraordinary about this place which allows one to focus without any disruptions. I feel privileged to be the beneficiary of the Boyd family's generosity where the beautiful setting, no mobile, no television and crackling radio reception leave only the internet as a diversion.

The top two images are the views from my studio window; one towards the pastures and the other towards the native bush that covers most of the Bundanon property.

Since being here I have been working on Northward Aspiration. Using a section of an old map of the world which includes Africa, the Middle East, India and Europe, I have cut airplanes and pasted them over a damask inspired pattern.

The old map shows a colonial Africa divided between Britain, France Germany and Italy and I was thinking about how the inhabitants of the poorer nations of the south often moved north in the hope of a better life. The immigrants were screened and often refused entry to these countries where, paradoxically, the affluent were happy to adorn their homes with patterns borrowed from the very southern cultures they wished to exclude.

Inspiration

I have just been listening to a more earth shattering spine tingling version of Saint Saens Symphony No 3 while I paint. OMG now I feel like painting the side of a skyskraper.

My Inspiration

My inspiration doesn’t only come from other artists it often comes from people I admire from all walks of life.

On Sunday I went to see The September Issue. I love high fashion, not because I want to wear it or can afford it but because it is a feast for the senses, a path to fantasy.

Grace Coddington, the creative director of American Vogue was my inspiration when I was a teenager looking at the fashion in English magazines and dreaming about what the future held. Now she produces the most beautiful fashion shots that like good art engage and transport us.

Grace Coddington modeling in British Vogue.

The quote below her image is one that I think all artists relate to. It is what makes my life as an artist so rewarding, the idea of living in the moment and being able to take in ones surroundings. There is never a chance to be bored.

This idea also came up in Peter Thompson’s interview with Greg Mortimer on Talking Heads last night. He said that when climbing you were in a state of heightened awareness and focused only on the present. He made me realize that climbing a mountain was the same sort of experience I have when making art (major epiphany). When asked if being the first Australian to conquer Everest was his major life experience he said that he believed that there is always something more exciting out there to come even in later life. Is this what drives us all to continue?  

Feeling Slothful

This is the view of my temporary desk, aka the dining table, from the couch. I am having a really slothful and unmotivated day. I am blaming it on the temporary desk and the temporary studio but I don't think either is the real reason. I think we all have days when it is better to forget about trying to be productive and write the day off.

In an effort to appease my consciense I am about to go look at the art21 blog which is generally a source of inspiration.  I hope it works. Even my internet speed is slow today. Here's to tomorrow.