Clean up

I know it still looks like it is full of junk, and it is - that's what I do, but the junk is now organised somewhat thanks to a couple of days sorting and cleaning. Now I can actually work in my studio!

Studio Sale

It has begun! You can find the link to bid at http://www.32auctions.com/annrussellstudiosale, make a free, no obligation account and you are good to go. Remember that your purchase will support the good work of the RSPCA. Some of what is on offer at bargain prices (bids start as low as $10) below:

 

 

Studio Sale Coming Soon

Bunya Buzz

Been at the Bunya Mountains again, for what has become an annual pilgrimage. We were there for a week which was peaceful and blessed, but woefully short, I have to say. Not even close to being ready to re-enter the fray.

Anyway, lots of wildlife encounters as usual - pics below; including a bandicoot, countless different species of birds and one that I could have done without. I was reclining under a tree, struggling to care about the aesthetic philosophies I was reading, and I heard a noise behind me. Assuming it was a wallaby (which are everywhere all the time) I didn't investigate. When I did turn around it was to discover a pair of amorous brown snakes a few metres away - both of them a metre and a half at least. Fortunately for me, their minds were elsewhere, and I managed to control my urge to flee long enough to get a couple of good photos. On reflection, they are quite beautiful, really. When they had enough of each other, both went to ground.

I also got in a spot of painting. Nothing major, but below is something I dabbled with during the week. Now that I am back, it is right back into study and other less desirable tasks, so bird watching is pretty much off the agenda. Oh well.

Theory for Therapy

Am beavering away at the Masters and mostly enjoying it, but in case you were wondering, that's the reason that blogging has taken a back seat. This semester we are thinking about thinking and been reading Plato, and Aristotle and various other philosophers. I love Plato's cave story, including the irony that he wrote it to illustrate how dangerous art is because it deludes us into thinking that the 'shadow' world of imitation is 'reality', when everyone knows 'truth' is only possible via rational thought. Being a 'parable' or 'metaphor' it is clearly relying on art to convey the message that art conveys a dangerous message. That aside, it is a perfect analogy of what we fondly call 'reality' television - a phenomenon that is driving me further and further up the wall.

Obviously (least I hope it is) it is portraying what is actually a highly engineered, artificial, circumstance as reality. I feel very sorry for those gullible enough to be involved in the various shows and who are terribly exploited. For those of you who like to watch these shows, for heavens sake, read Ben Elton's Dead Famous, and wise up! One day, reality TV will undoubtedly lose favour and hopefully disappear to a large extent. I just hope they don't kill someone before that happens.

Anyway, I'm putting in a link to an animation of Plato's Cave, which you might like to watch in the interest of your cerebral nourishment! Enjoy.

Plato's Cave Animation

Semester Break

So, like some of you, I am currently on a semester break from Uni, having completed semester 1 and waiting on the final results and have just enrolled in semester 2 courses. I have enjoyed my semester one, despite having to fit it in around work and Minister for Everything duties at home - learnt alot, about myself as much as anything, and have emerged even more of a rampant feminist/pagan, than I was before. Who knows what I will have turned into by the end of next year. Meanwhile, here are some photos of a project I undertook for one of the courses. The piece is entitled Persephone, referring to the Goddess of the same name, and in a nutshell is about the Divine Feminine, along with womens' roles. If you want the longer explanation of what it all means and where it all comes from, am happy to pass on the 2000 word statement that went with.

Katoomba de-install

I know it was ages ago, but this is the first chance I have had to wind up and draw a line under the whole Katoomba thing. We arrived there to de-install at about 4pm on a wet, cold, windy Friday, thinking...great: a day in the rainforest in this! But for once in our lives, we actually brought the Qld sunshine with us and the next day was gorgeous - as you can see from the photos.

 

On the way back home, we stopped briefly at Jenolan Caves, and there I saw my very first non-captive platypus. Because we got there late in the day, we didn't see much of the caves, but catching this bloke cruising around in the river made the trip worth it for me.

 

The sculptures from Scenic World are now all back home and ready to be packed away - some of them needed drying out after shipping some water. So ends the Katoomba saga...huge and not sure I am up for it again anytime soon, but a great experience. We did alot of travelling which was tiring but enjoyable, and I am now officially in love with the New England Tablelands. Could be the site of the artist's retreat if there is ever enough money to make it happen. The following pics are taken in Tenterfield.