SO COOL

I'M WEARING SOCKS!! and three layers!  it's divine, i've cancelled my proposed mungo trip with the camera group and will work in the cool, printing for the next few days.
Last night i meet friends at Fossey's for a paddle of gin. Graeme Peeble, Bill Young and Anita Laurence are in town, graeme and anita both have exhibitions at the art vault.

sonja, graeme, anita and bill 

a beautiful drive home

Here are the results 

of my dyeing on 

sunday at our 

open studios  

TUESDAY - NOTHING TO REPORT

SPENT THE DAY PRONE - bombed out after a very busy week of getting everything ready for sunday, then three lovely days with sunny.

just enough energy to photograph the eastern sky at sunset

MONDAY WITH SUNNY

WE HAD A LAZY START to the day, a very sleepless night, overnight low was in the mid twenties.

On the way to the airport in the afternoon we visited the Inland Botanical Gardens, i hadn't been before and was surprised at the large scale and variety of plants.  

specially the 'wow' tree, which was a bit of an anti climax visually but supposed to be 2400 years old!  that can't be right??!!

mystery plant, no label. very
attractive long weeping
branches of berries

OPEN DAY

SUNNY AND I were so busy having a lazy evening i completely forgot about making the banners for open day so we spent a half hour before bed madly ripping up bright coloured sheets i've been collecting.
Up early to play around with tying them on bamboo and i was pretty pleased with the result.
it was hot - too hot, humid as well but people still came. i was as busy as last year, over fifty people through as i unwrapped eco dyed scarves throughout the day.  

After a run, Sunny chilled out and read and slept and we ended a satisfying day with scrabble, prosecco and a visit from sue and derek.  the breeze had started up and the evening was nice.

 unwrapping silk scarves

and hanging them out

to dance on the clothesline

    ah, the end of a hot day

WHAT A GREAT DAY

UP EARLY, a bit of gardening and tidying, off to the airport to pick up sunny - a beautiful sunny breezy morning.
a nice chat to anne about her new house while waiting.  then off to the op shops for the morning, sunny and i both got some good things. lunch outside with a cool beer, home to read on the banana lounges with a G&T, we both made dinner, fish and salad with potatoes, a movie - then i suddenly remembered we'd forgotten to put the banners together for tomorrow's open day -  EEEK!!
so i grabbed all the large bright coloured sheets and doonas i've been buying at op shops and we've ripped them to shreds.
in the morning amazing things will happen  :0+

THE BIG CLEAN

WHAT A DAY  i got up and just went for it - tidied up the yard, raked, swept, weeded, transplanted, moved pots, cleaned all the studio, all glass surfaces gleaming (stay away frogs!)  mended curtains, hung fabrics, rearranged artworks -

so at the end of the day i rewarded myself with a couple of large g&ts, smoked salmon and a tiny rack of lamb, then a bath - slept like a log  :0)

today, the back room - i want it to look more gallery like for the open studios day, more rehanging and cleaning. then to rip up lots of coloured fabric i've been collecting from op shops, and hang and tie it to the bamboo poles i'm putting out the front on the road as a banner.  hope there's a bit of a breeze.  also hope a few people come, although if they don't all the more time with sunny :0)

WALK WENTWORTH SING

LAST  SUNDAY  was the now annual 'walk wentworth sing', organised to be the weekend before our open studios because we were hoping the Mildura/Wentworth arts festival would go ahead.


 but ARTS MILDURA has been in a funk and the festival didn't happen. the day of song was a big success nevertheless - the town hall was packed at the end of an afternoon of different choirs and the combined adult and schoolkids did a few big numbers - a lovely end to the weekend.

BEAUTIFUL SKIES

WE'VE HAD GORGEOUS SKIES - the weather has bought cloud over and the light is beautiful

MORE BUSY BUSY

BIG YARD AND STUDIO CLEAN TODAY, maybe a fossey's visit but i'll probably be pooped. Pleased to hear from steve that they'll be open over easter, i can take everyone in for a paddle of gin tasters :0)

I drove in to the art vault opening last night, graeme peebles show.   i was a week early wasn't i  :0(  so i took photos on the way home - there are masses and masses of corellas around, flocks of 1000's in the sky and on the ground

BUSY BUSY

I MUST GET UP SOON - so much to do before the weekend, i have to get my current illustration well underway, it'll be a monoprint.




also have to fill the copper and boil up all the silk scarves i'm preparing for our open studios, i'll unwrap one every hour on the day.

these hands belong to melbourne friend rachel who

called in for a visit. i asked her to do one of the

scarves and it's interesting to see her completely 

different take on it, she's created a pattern

ready to go, i've done a couple more and now i have silk soaking in an alum mix. i'll do those this morning and get the copper going later today :0)

i've been looking at swan lake's cover, we're sorting out the fine details of the type. also been in touch with li cunxin for a quote for the cover - which he's done :0)  I'm pleased about that
getting media stuff ready for the dromkeen exhibition - done.  gotta tidy up the studio, back yard and back porch/gallery space.

i have a meeting at council today as Makers chairman, an opening to go to tonight, Graeme Peebles is doing a residency.  eek. i'm feeling a bit under the pump.  sunny's coming saturday but her room's all ready :0) 

MARA

ONE YEAR OLD
and getting cheekier
by the day

CLEAN WINDOWS

I WAS FEELING ASHAMED that my kitchen windows are so foggy with accumulated grime.  finally got out there and really cleaned them - so nice to have a clear view.
Today i realise why they were so dirty, little froggie feet have been leaving layers of prints.   now i can see on the clean window the neat little marks they make

SUNSET

LAST NIGHT