Towards a Better Blog

After blogging for about two years I have decided to do a Blog Triage Course with Cynthia Morris and Alyson Stanfield in the hope that I can inject some freshness and excitement into my blog.

Today is the first day of the course and my assignment is to describe the people I would like to visit my blog and what I hope to get from blogging.

I started writing this in sentence form but it seemed to be getting out of hand (rambly and boring ....everything I don't want my blog to be) so here are the lists:

People I would like to visit my blog.

Friends

Other Artists not only visual but from other disciplines.

Curators

Museum and Gallery Directors

Collectors

Arts Writers

Those interested in Contemporary Art

Those who share my love of gardening, and life in general.

All age groups.

All nationalities, races, religions.

I would really like comments and the chance for dialogue with others in the blogosphere.

What I hope to achieve with my blog.

A record of my day to day arts practice and the joys of life.

A platform for my work which might lead to other opportunities for collaborating with other artists, exhibiting and marketing my work.

Links, dialogue and friendships with other artists.

Becoming part of an international community.

Maintaing links already established and informing those interested of what's happening in my life.

Entertaining and amusing visitors, sharing my amusement and observations.

A minimum of navel gazing.

I would like to express my opinions more freely. Going into print is often terrifying.

The Joys of Exhibiting

Last week I travelled back to Brisbane, seven weeks after leaving, to exhibit my work in a group show with Lyndal Hargrave and Jacinta Howard.

Madness you might think, especially as I have yet to cover my expenses, but it was a really great experience.

Firstly, I just love showing with Lyndal and Jacinta who are not only very good artists but are also great to hang out with.

The exhibition gave me the opportunity to look objectively at the new work I had produced while at Ragdale and since I have moved to New South Wales. I also got some feedback from peers whose opinions I value.

I will soon post images of the new work on my website but in the meantime here are some hanging shots of our work.

The exhibition at Doggett Street Studios, 85 Doggett St Brisbane 4005 continues until 5 September

Exhibitions, Bower Birds and Country Life

It's been a full and lovely day. I spent a lot of time sending out email invitations to my upcoming exhibition, gardening and making strawberry jam. And here are two images of the bower bird nests in the garden. I took a blue milk bottle top (not the ring) into the garden for them and it was gone before I could turn around to walk back. I am now on the look out for more blue items.

Exploring

My favourite colour is red, no blue, no its actually that pale turquoisey sea green.

Last weekend while were taming one of many hedges I noticed a tropical rhododendron hidden in the undergrowth of beautiful camellias which grown along our side fence.

Today safe in the knowledge that all reptiles are in a frozen torpor I decided to investigate and transplant the vireya. As I made my way through the bush a beautiful ultramarine cookie cutter caught my eye. Being my first or second favourite colour I was about to grab it when I realised that I had found a bower birds nest IN OUR GARDEN. I hope I haven't caused too much disturbance as I took one blue feather and left. I then took another route to rescue the vireya.

And why the lead in about favourite colours? I have just bought some wild bird mix so I can watch the rosellas as they feed. Such a beautiful red. 

PS. I have just realised that the bower bird will be beside himself when my 100 blue bells bloom. I hope he doesn't pinch them all. I did notice that he had a grape hyacinth decorating his nest.  

My Studio and Other Constructions

Firstly, here's a shot of the temporary studio complete with elegant furnishings which I trip around every day sadly missing the grand piano from Ragdale.

And, on a more important note, fruit and vegetable producers of the world be warned, the Buret greenhouse is now built and fully operational. This morning the farmer manque sewed dill, chervil and mesclun in the hope that they might be ready to plant out in spring.

Frosty Morning

I am still marveling at the weather here. So different from life in the sub tropics. This morning there was frost. The back garden looked so beautiful. The day has been sunny and the afternoon light catches the bare branches.

New Work

Faye has found my camera leads ..... yipee! So here is an image of some new work from the provisional studio. I'm not sure it is finished. I'll look at it for a while. More images to come.

Later note: one of the advantages of blogging is it gives you a new 'window' for viewing work. I am now sure this is not finished.