health

Thinking about health, the differing ways we
try to maintain it, through intercession from 'above',
needles, knives, pills, potions, shamans, doctors et al.
(I like an occasional tune-up for the body from
a particular practicioner of cranio-sacral osteopathy.)
Real well-being is more about enjoying this moment as it is,
wouldn't you agree?
These gorgeous & healthy looking children are in Kerala.
(photo by Michael Wholohan)

Have a look at Richard Lang video if you haven't already

I made a series of small paintings, years ago, about the homeopathic
remedies that produce certain kinds of dreams. These 3 are
Phosphorus, Silicea & Lycopodium. There were words & trance
inductions to go with them. All sold in an exhibition.

Today I heard the news at 6 am, of a tsunami in Samoa
& the Cook Islands area. Someone very close to me has been
sailing in the area for 10 days. I was truly relieved to hear
they are ok, ~ they felt the earthquake (8.3 !), & saw enough
to act with speed & get the hell away from the island
they were moored near. Too close for comfort, I'd say..
I should hear more in next couple of days.

bali scans

I was lucky to see Bali before the excesses of the 20th century
beat a path to their door. Am glad they now have electricity
& so on, not so sure about motorbikes, but it was quieter
then, in so many ways ( still the odd snake-oil salesman)

The pace of life then was perfect for me, & it was lovely
to really slow down over several months.
( did I ever speed up again ?) & you know, it's not just nostalgia~
anyone who finds an attractive calm shangrila feels sad at the
changes that tourism ushers in. It's some version of
wanting to have our cake & eat it too, no?

Just saw this notice at Kitsunenoir, re Aung San Suu Kyi
..continued awareness would help too..

postcards

Found 2 postcards closer to what I meant before,
left from Maui, the other in Kyoto. I wish I was more interested in
being super organised, but.. there is about 40 years of work
in my house. Plus, isn't a bit of mess conducive to some
cross fertilisation? Certainly that's what seems to happen
in imagination: a thought jumps, out of context, into another..
Or maybe the hybrid leaps into the mind from nowhere..

Lovely work from Janet Jones

bodhisattvas

More drawings in museums, from chinese sculptures ~ bodhisattvas

& buddhas, pretty sure they are Northern Wei style,
I like that period best, to me they emanate a kind of
uncomplicated delight that ~ perhaps ~ goes with those times.
But who knows, we seem to bring our complications to all eras.

Friends are celebrating the life of Marcey Jacobson 1911-2009
today in San Cristobal de las Casas, have been tuning in.

Love saintverde's combinations

preferences

How are we meant to be without distinctions?

hot/cold, wet/dry, whatever ~ if you don't recognise the difference,
there's going to be some rather uncomfortable moments..

maybe the aim is to drop the preferences, though why not go for
the jugular, & stop believing in the I who'd have them..
Reminds me, somehow, of the description of a
homeopathic remedy, (sulphur ?) :
'thinks everything is beautiful' ~ only it's meant
in a derogatory way, as if you'd be crazy to think so. Weird, no?

Lots of superlatives you can use here at agence eureka

a few more

Here's a bit more of Recipe for Dreaming, written by
Bryce Courtenay, with my illustrations, you should be
able to find 2nd hand copies, it was reprinted several times.
top left is the cover image, top right is possibly my favourite,
(When you're skating on thin ice you might as well tap-dance)
then the initial sketch for it's finished page.

From yesterday's link, Alexey Titarenko's stunning photographs.

back when

Left is the initial altered photo, top right the full image in the
2nd edition of Recipe for Dreaming, I used a bunch of letters
I'd written my mother. Above right is from the 1st edition
(my paintings; the more recent edition has my photos)
& below right the initial drawing. Text was about Aussie blokes.

The hands were on the invitation to my first exhibition.
It's a Tibetan mudra, but can't recall the meaning. The other
picture is Shiva. I have only a few b/w photos of that series,
they had quite delicate ink washes ~ in Dr Martins' inks
which are beautiful but extremely light sensitive.
Clearly I wasn't thinking ahead in 1970...

How to make a baby elephant float ~ lots of interesting images
& what a great name

design

While Thai decoration gives a sense of exuberant flora, was never
sure it was based on actual plants. But something about this grass
reminds me of it. It looks so fragile, but when the wind blows the
stems together, they lock, & that action releases the seeds.



I'd like to make something delicate with them.
Also am reminded of Bali.. & then spring in the forest.. & that's
the way our minds move, isn't it?



Today there's a very strange milky light, somewhere between
ochre & orange. The dust storms from out west have come
to the ocean.
We used to get them often, in far western Queensland left,
except the dust was red, as at Ayers Rock. There was a
10 year drought, while we lived there,followed by the
whole Channel Country flooding, for hundreds of miles.

I like Sophie Blackall's blog & pictures. We lived a couple of years
on a sheep station some distance from a town named Blackall.

growing art

It can be quite wet where I live, so there is an ever changing
design of lichens on many trees. Plus gum trees (eucalypts)
shed bark in pleasing ways, different each year.

Patrick Dougherty , Nils Udo , my funny eye ,
David Nash & a lot more

abstract walls

These were in Ayutthaya ~ I get some odd looks photographing
textures, everyone else seems keen to have themselves
making weird signals in front of ruins etc. I prefer 'ruined' walls
to most abstract art, time's finger paintings.

There's a few good shops here in Byron Bay, plus markets,
unfortunately also some of the mainstream ones
but this is interesting shopping ~ sfgirlbybay

writing

This is what caught my attention today, looking
through files & drawing books. clockwise: part of a letter from
a friend, a Tibetan monk; practicing the alphabet; a sufi poem
I wrote on a tshirt; & a section of a sanscrit love poem
copied from a book in India. Don't you love the different
letter forms, even when they are totally unknown?

2 awesome paper artists Toshihiro Hattori & Miriam Londono

it's like this

A few more shots at the island, the cottage is simple &
comfortable, we are outdoors a lot. Trees are a paperbark,
beside the skirt of a palm. Cottages at other locations often
have a similar feel. One we had many happy times at in
Canada was on a tiny island, fairly rudimentary but
snug in winter, we could drive across the
(frozen) lake to get there, then.

agoodideaonpaper, ingrid siliakus, & junkaholic

clear days

These from yesterday at Byron's main beach

Probably have enough water photos to make a movie..
never tire of the patterns in water movement.

A dear friend has died. Long ago he gave me the use of a
stone cottage next to a lighthouse, a superb location.
I owe him a lot for that year,
hope I can do the same for another, one day.

Love & thanks DHK. It was here

bees & flowers

Walking into town today, the grass trees are flowering, lots of bees
also at the neighbouring white flowered tree, I had to watch out
for a grumpy magpie, he/she stopped dive bombing once I
explained why I was there. The stems are about 8 feet tall,
above the grassy part, that's my height. Arresting plants.

Then I went to the beach (tomorrow) am always
amazed at the small differences, today there was a large
deep hole at one end of Main Beach, the tide made patterns.

Yesterday I checked 2 blogs I like a lot: bookbyitscover &
littledoodles, both wrote of blatant cases of theft, the latter of
her delightful drawings; some of the comments say stuff like
'imitation is flattery' ~ bullshit! I have quite strong views on
that 'inspired by' line, too: that's why so much on the net
is so boringly similar. But these were flat out copies.
What do you think?

postcards

Tried a few different images like this, which can be read in at
least 2 ways, though my favourites are photographs that make
sense from all sides, great for postcards. Just can't
locate one right this minute.



This isn't quite what I mean, it's one of my altered photos.

Finding some lovely art & craft blogs lately:
postcards from behind the hedge and beyond is one

shells

T
he pacific ocean is usually way too rough to find delicate
shells, I bought these two. & in the painting used both kinds.
Ashamed to say I only just thought: all the shells being used,
for decoration of bodies & houses, how often do they propagate?
Is there a season when they must not be harvested?




My sister was staying for a few days, we felted, & walked at
the beach etc, really love hanging out with her.
(wool & cashmere blankets for her first grandchild, coming soon)

Nice little bird video from Jarbas Agnelli

whatever

Growing up in Australia we get used to strong colours,
& I love that appreciation in asia..

..also the subtle can be so calm & satisfying..

..really, whatever the eyes see, in this moment,
can be enjoyment beyond compare.

Apologies if I've posted some of these before: I need to go
through the archives & make more catagories, so it's easy
to check.. some day I may..

hand coloured

Twice I was the guest of generous friends in Germany,
in winter (going into a sublime spring), & the landscape was
hardly coloured; deeply mysterious in the forest

I loved it, but.. long, long winters.. no thanks.

lovely polaroids & photographs from Pia Jane Bijkerk

colour of memory

One winter, staying in Provincetown, not much money.
Realised some memory had lost colour, as the few photos
were mostly b/w. Also it's a season of restricted colour, in the
northern hemisphere.

Became friends with some other artists who were very kind
despite their similar circumstances. One of them had this
gorgeous little cottage, it was only usable in summer.

You probably know Landscape & Memory ~ if not - it's great.

gold

More buddhas from Thailand. Left was a mirrored reflection,
the angle gives him 3 eyes. Right is the the hair..

.. of this large reclining buddha in Bangkok.

haven't been any time on the net lately, here's a random few
I'd bookmarked: live from the surface of the moon,
wee birdy, ink+ wit
that should fill a few hours.

avalokiteshvara

From 5 different museums, photos of Kuan Yin, & a drawing
I did of a 12th c statue. Originally Avalokiteshvara, the name
became Kuan Yin as Buddhism moved east to China.

She/he is the embodiment of compassion.
Sorry, it was long ago, ('80's ?) I didn't note where they were.

Buddhanet will fill in any blanks.. & listen to the beautiful
Ani Choying, also singing Amazing Grace, or anything at all.

ninety-six

9/09/09 ~ our father would have been 96 today.
Here he is in his 20's, breaking in a horse.

early
& here's the whole family, Dad is the boy at right.
Only the baby is still alive. I think they had a hotel & farm at
Clermont, in central Queensland, at this stage. Dad was
sent to boarding school in Southport from 8 years old.
We were all thinking of him today.

Dad managed a huge sheep station here
for some 15 years, it was much further away then.

at the island

Found quite a few quiet sand drawings at the beach..

My sister made both baskets, middle one got the ultimate
accolade, a bird made it's nest inside. She plans to make
some thing from the sponges ~ somehow they are
studded with various straws, seaweeds etc, & are found on
the beach after particular winds, the tide scrapes them up.
They're like mad little haystacks.

Origami blog ~ some spectacular designs

a heaven world

At first it looked as if it would be raining; I was taking photos
from the balcony when a kookaburra visited, the sun came out
so we loaded up the boat & took off..

.. away for a few days to a special place with great beaches,

wallabies, & splendid old trees.
My brother in law caught fish, & my twin & I beachcombed,
plus I took a ton of photos. It was heaven.

some asian food recipes that sound good

a few days

Away for a few days to see my twin.

Herman Leonard, Chien-Chi Chang, Raul Gutierrez,
that should take care of at least half a day

mexico again

In Mexico I photographed a lot of doors ~ as well most other
subjects ~ though it was film, so I had to use some restraint.
Altogether I was there about 3 years.

Started in San Miguel de Allende, stayed many months at
the Posada Carmina; the memorable lady who owned it
left Spain at the time of the civil war, I've very fond
memories of her, & the building is just wonderful.
I put several views together to make this one.

Just checked on web..tragic!! a different place altogether, now.
I guess it was more than 20 yrs ago. How it was (spare, quiet,
inexpensive, with big rooms I could paint in) is still the
kind of place I look for. Running out of world!
I think, being close to the US, there are now a lot of retirees.

sketches

Have always liked to draw, however my approach has been
fairly inconsistent, & not often with the drawing as
the end result, more as reference, or as a starting point.

These from a sketchbook I filled in Mexico.
Perhaps I'll do some Drawing...?

Sam Winston ~ truly brilliant.