out (t)here

for some years now i have been sharing a wonderful place in my country with just a handful of visitors, mostly those who have wandered in across the oceans and might otherwise only be exposed to urban life but also a couple of close friends

it's a place that infuses me with vigour, fills my head with dreams and magic (well, yes, ok, i can actually find those things most places, but) and puts good red dust on my boots (harder to find). it provided the foundation for my exhibition 'back country'

is a source of solace and a good place to rediscover who you really are (something that sometimes gets lost in the compost of the daily grind)

last October i was there with Dorothy Caldwell and Sandra Brownlee...a most happy confluence indeed. the place is Wirrealpa Station, owned by Warren and Barbara Fargher. they've done extraordinary ecological restoration work there and are splendid hosts.

i'd always considered it a kind of private and precious place to go but when Barbara asked me whether i would consider hosting a workshop there i thought about it a bit, pondered logistics and said, "why not"? sharing is a good thing.

so i've come up with

out (t)here 

a site-specific retreat centred on the deep experience of place through immersion in this very particular landscape

it's a big venture, we have to carry in all our food for the week and also reserve supplies in case of rain.* food will be completely wheat-free and vegetarian but with side-dishes to satisfy carnivores. (there are no stores so i'll be baking spelt bread daily)

i've also had to think about the best means of getting y'all there. the outback is not to be taken lightly if you're inexperienced so i figured the safest option was to have participants collected from Port Augusta by minibus (with a trailer for luggage)

there are only nine places available, two have already been taken

so

that

leaves

7

as a bonus, if skies are clear we should be able to see the Orionids meteor shower on October 21 + 22 while we're sitting outside by the evening dye cauldron

* rain is also the reason participants should take out travel insurance. while the weather is likely to be fine with mostly blue skies it is, as my atheist (and metereologist) father used to say

"God's way of keeping us on our toes"

and who knows what the Dogs Above will send.

the solace of north

i've been wandering

northwards

taking some visitors to country

that is quite unlike the place where they live

it's a long way there

but worth the trek

my role was driver and camp cook

and keeper of the flame

feeding the wood stove in the kitchen 

and the donk that heats the water for the showers

[the visitors very kindly took on the washing up]

but in between i still found time for writing

and for drawing on and with country

on the seventh day

i left the visitors in Port Augusta

to make their way to other things

and went north again

this time a little west

past a lake of crystal salt

for a few days quiet work at the Observatory

where i found

six contributions for the Solace project

already awaiting me

all the way from the UK and the USA

as well as closer to home

roses roses all the way

roses, roses all the way
but
unlike the Browning poem
no "myrtle mixed in my path like mad"

merely the nice chap at Central Market Flowers
calling out to me in passing last week
that he had a lovely pile of rose petals
and was sure i could find a use for them

i'd always liked the thought of being showered with rose petals
- this is as close as i am likely to get -
so smiled broadly and accepted the pile with glee

the fragrance was heavenly
and i enjoyed it for a few days
while pondering what to do with them

i had a little white book, made in Dorothy Caldwell's class
- the intent was that it should have marked pages
&
that it was to be stitched/woven together with coloured threads

my eyes don't work well with colour
i find white much more restful
so i was a little naughty and quietly bent the instructions

which meant i had a lovely blank/blanc book
awaiting play

warning : the fragrance of semi-dried rose petals is utterly intoxicating

the wee book was bound, gagged and submerged

under the close supervision of Johnnie

who likes to drape himself along the masonry

that backs our wood-burning stove

this was good
because i didn't want the pot to boil
and
we all know
a watched pot NEVER boils

and then i went to bed

this morning i opened my present

a rose-scented dorothybook
just for me

hits and misses and a very fine exhibition

"where are you headed, miss?"
asks the kindly conductor in an avuncular fashion
he looks at the ecoprint felt landskin arrayed across my person and adds
"San Francisco?"

"only in my dreams" i say

"well, in that case, i'll wake you at Albany"

it is 3.40am and i have just spent 6 hours camping in the Amtrak
rail station at Niagara Falls

i am on my way to Vermont, having taken a train from Hastings,
another from Toronto
and then a taxi across the US/Canada border

i am probably the only visitor to this area who has not bothered to go and gawk at North America's oldest tourist attraction

in my defence, it is raining cats, dogs and iguanas and i am schlepping a sodden bag full of exhibition along with my changes of undies, laptop, new cookpot [thanks Monika] and toothbrush

after winding up at Joshua Creek [a delightful venue created by the visionary Sybil Rampen]
i had three days of r+r [ie doing my own work] boiling up pots in the woods of Ontario



incidentally, i would have posted more images of that last workshop, but for the wifi only being available at about midday [otherwise turned off]. given midday is working hours when teaching, it made things tricky.
no wifi, no posts, less publicity for the Joshua Creek Arts Centre. too bad.

oh, and whilst briefly in Toronto i also had the great joy of viewing Dorothy Caldwell's latest exhibition.
exquisite. [after clicking on the link, find Dorothy's name in the right hand column and click to view images of the work]