Fairies II

Looks like the fairy house construction is continuing. This new place is in the fork of a tree just near the washing line and faces the bird bath. Judging from the portico at the front, my guess is that it belongs to the Fairy Queen - she can stand on the balcony and address the rest of the fairies. There are probably more houses out in the forest that surrounds the property, but I haven't gone looking.

Real Men Don't Hate Cats

Recently, I heard a male television presenter - one I had hitherto respected - declare that he doesn't like cats. I experienced immediate disappointment and expressed to my family that on this basis, I didn't like him as much as I had.

My daughter immediately dismissed this as nonsense and a stupid way to determine a person's likability. Perhaps. But I maintain that the stating that 'I don't like cats' is indicative of some deeper issues - ones that smack of misogyny and a considerable distance to travel before becoming a socially and spiritually evolved individual.

Why? Well for starters, 'I don't like cats' (or worse, 'I hate cats') is a very different statement to 'I prefer dogs (or fish, or birds, or guinea pigs...or whatever)'. A lot of people I know prefer dogs, including lots of women. Totally fine by me. This statement indicates a general affinity for animals, but a preference for the characteristics of dogs (or whatever). 'I don't like cats' writes off the entire species, and makes no allowance for individual differences. Further, it indicates a dislike for the characteristics common to cats and for anything they might stand for.

And consciously or otherwise, they stand for the feminine. We've all heard the saying 'Cats were once worshiped as Gods and cats have never forgotten this'. In point of fact, Cats were primarily worshiped by the ancients (like the  ancient Egyptians) as Goddesses, female Gods. Goddesses such as Bastet, an Egyptian Goddess were associated with the moon, considered feminine due to the similarity of its cycles with the cycles of menses. The link with cats was due to the moon-like qualities of cat's reflective eyes.

Cats are enigmatic - as Sir Walter Scott says, 'a mysterious kind of folk'. They can't be nailed down, they are visceral and other worldly. They are often moody and are fiercely independent. These are characteristics often associated with women. We call difficult, contentious women 'catty' or 'bitches' (the derogative term synonymous with that which refers to female dogs). There is something overwhelmingly feminine about cats, and as such, they don't appeal to some men.

Men who 'don't like cats' often talk about how the only good cat is a dead cat, and apparently fantasise about ways to eliminate them in the cruelest and most undignified ways. I don't have the best experience with horses - suffice to say horse-riding lessons were a disaster. But I still respect horses as beautiful, even magnificent wild creatures. I would never do anything to hurt them. Non-cat people, though, are often highly amused by inventing ways of torturing and maiming cats. I have no well-researched evidence, but I am willing to bet that the majority of cat-hating men, tend towards the chauvinistic. How many male perpetrators of domestic violence have 'I hate cats' on their CV? By contrast, many learned and creative men are self confessed 'cat people' : Christopher Walken, Leonardo Da Vinci, Jules Verne, T. S. Elliot, Sigmund Freud and even Chris Hemsworth among them.

Yes, real men, the ones worth knowing at least, don't hate cats.

Art on the Edge

As I last mentioned, I spent the weekend up at Cedar Creek Retreat, enjoying a fantastic weekend with a dozen or so fellow weirdos looking at how we can grow our arts businesses. Awesome place (see some of the pics below), awesome food, awesome people. Thanks again, Michael and Ludmilla; and Amy and MBRC for the opportunity. The consequences will be significant and you will start to see some of the effects here and other places online. Watch this space!

A painting

Back to work on Monday and the picture below is really the only completed artwork for the holidays - one I did in a day. Still, keeps my hand in. And a bit of therapy. I have uploaded some images to a couple of pinterest pages, too, if you'd like to have a look. They are at Ann's Objects and Sculptures and Ann's 2D work.

A chair of my own

Have been feeling in a bit of a rut, lately, and over the Christmas break I indulged in a Boxing Day Sale purchase...MY chair. Its so cool to have MY chair. All I have to do if someone is sitting in it is arch my eyebrow a bit and presto...message received. I have always wanted a chair like this and long felt that I deserved MY chair as much as anyone else in the household! When I look at it, it makes me happy. No doubt it will become the seat of higher learning, of creativity, and of course the vegetative state. It is probably weird to be so attached to an inanimate object, but I really do love it. So far, Tildy doesn't, so I don't even have to worry about it growing a layer of cat fur!

 

 

 

Its all so dry!

I'm sure it must seem like I am terribly slack for not getting back here too often. Trouble is, just the opposite is true - been run off my feet doing some terribly ordinary things, including marking, compiling and documenting 9 year 12 folios during the last week of term, another 300 cubic metres or so of laundry (yes, I'm exaggerating, but only slightly) and the usual grocery shopping, paying bills, filling in forms...you know the drill.

As a result, the creativity has been pretty dry, I have to say. So has the weather. Sunny Qld has been living up to expectations and we've had barely a spit for the last couple of months. Spring has not been the usual heralding of life and regeneration. In fact the warmer weather has just turned the gasping plants into crispy brown things and yesterday I saw my first snake of the season in the back yard.

Generally my soul is feeling a little withered. However, I did, amongst all the busyness and madness attend a professional development workshop a couple of months ago making artists books. The books are great to fiddle around with when you get a moment here or there, unlike the 3D work I have been doing. I decided to make the first one about eyes (don't know why) and the second is just playing with watercolour. The photos below are some of the results.

 

 

Art and Soul and Continuum

Really chuffed to present the work of three women artists I worked with before going back to school: Karen McColm, Renuka Russell and Marie-Louise Fry. Today I went to a local library where their work is on display and it was a terribly moving experience to see the work I already knew (and the stories behind them) and new works that prove that they really are on the Art & Soul Continuum. Fantastic, ladies, well done. Your work looks wonderful and talking to the library people, apparently you have had many good comments.

Apologies for the poor quality photographs, the lighting was difficult and the camera wasn't great, but here is a work from each of these wonderful artists:

If you live locally, make sure you get into the Arana Hills Library to see them!