only a few hours to go

if those of you who purchase the bundle book

[and those who have already bought it]

email me a copy of your receipt

then

i will make a lucky dip

choose three names from a tsunobukuro bag

and send a hand-embellished ecoprint tsunobukuro bag

to each of those three people

if you happen to mention the book on your blog or facebook

[and send me the link]

you will receive a bonus entry for each separate site on which you do so

entries will only be accepted via this email address

wanderbear[at]gmx[dot]com

the missing page

there was one more page i wanted to include in the recently published book of student work
but
for some reason i had filed it as 'z.doc', i suppose because i intended it to be the last page
and then
it got lost in the electronic filing system.

but as they say in the old country
"wer suchet, der findet"
and today i found the page so here is the text it would have contained.

I have on many occasions also been a student and would like to acknowledge and thank those who taught me. I wish I could remember all of your names but alas, age hath wearied and the years condemned...and some of the detail has become fuzzy with time.

But here’s a spirited attempt to list at least some of you :

Mrs Pownall [Nature Studies, Shelford CEGGS, Melbourne]

Mrs Williams [English and History, PLC, Melbourne]

Michael Peake [Art, Heathfield High School]

Nalda Searles [string theory]

Karen Diadick Casselman [lichenologist and dyer]

Dorothy Caldwell [textiles]

Christopher Orchard [storyteller and magician of charcoal]

Helen Carnac [enamellist]

Robin Best [ceramicist]

Julian Roberts [fashion]

Roz Hawker (metal magic)

Velma Bolyard (shifu)
Sandra Brownlee (notebooks that beg to be held)

John Kelley (my sax teacher)

Naomi Shihab Nye [poet]

John Schenk [Architect]

David Thomson [nurseryman]

Karoly Szabo [nurseryman]

Bob Blows  [nurseryman]

Tex [whose “real” name is lost but who was a stylish and erudite Professor in the Architecture Department at the University of Adelaide in the 70s]

Victor MacFarlane [Professor of Anatomy, University of Adelaide]

Brian Grigg [human encyclopaedia of sheep]

Arthur Phillips [watercolourist]
Joyce Schulz (milliner, cocktail appreciator and philanthropist)

Nikki Jackson [the miracle of the trashcan kiln]

Nancy Harford (interior designer, collector and passionate "liver of life")

...and of course my entire family, that goes without saying

+  +  +  +  +

i feel much happier now that's done.

in fact, i look a lot like i do in this picture, shot by the fabulous Haley Renee

student book : an update

am delighted to report that i have received 41 submissions for the student celebration book
i've filed them all in an orderly manner
and now begins the task of compiling them.

i need to think of a slightly catchier title than "student celebration book"
so if you have any brilliant ideas do please drop me a line in the comments
[if there's one that sets the chimes in my New Orleans inspired windsong tree ringing i shall reward the author with a small surprise parcel]

i shall also be trawling through my enormous collection of images
and choosing a selection of those to add as well - wishing i'd had the sense to mark workshop locations on a map from the beginning as it would be quite amusing to follow those breadcrumbs

ah well.

in the meantime,
Velma, bless her, wrote some thoughtful words about fieldnotes
and kindly said she didn't mind if i shared them
so here they are

ps there's a kitten chewing on my toes.

Chillsome breezes and pretty beadses

I'm in New Orleans getting ready to install 'fieldnotes' 

by happy coincidence it is Mardi Gras time

And there are fascinating costumes everywhere

and lots of beads

But I wasn't expecting it to be quite so cold

Good thing I found a coat at a thrift store in Hollywood 

a fond farewell

 the five days at Titirangi have slipped by in the twinkling of a twinkling

and all too quickly we found ourselves gathering on the morning of the last day

my students wrapped their bundles

we lit the cauldron [one match, no paper, honour satisfied]

 and then we made gumbo

willing assistants helped chop vegetables

while i stirred the roux [cornmeal with peanut oil and some butter because butter makes it better and only butter butters] until it was a bit darker than the colour of my skin

i slung in some previously toasted spices [a cajun mix, some ground pimiento, a little extra sweet paprika] followed closely by the trinity [finely diced green peppers, celery and onion]

but after that we deviated from the traditional ingredients

adding kumara [we are in Aotearoa after all], pumpkin and sweetcorn

the gumbo sulked quietly on the stove for a few hours

while we stoked the fire

and mumbled a few quiet blessings

then i headed back to the kitchen to prepare some "green stuff"

a garnish [again not quite traditional] composed of finely chopped spinach, parsley, chives, lemon rind and a squoze of same. i simply didn't have time to prep the other necessary accompaniments [rice and potato salad]

nonetheless our gumbo was damned fine stuff sir and a nice flavour contrast to the super healthy boot camp soup we had yesterday [a lentil, leek and ginger brew]

 just as well that soup was a light one...yesterday Renee brought in a cake made by her partner 

that was so squishy and delicious it was difficult to decide whether to eat it or rub it on.

after lunch we extracted the bundles from the cauldron

 and headed down to Otitori Bay to open them up

much to the bemusement of summer beach-goers

the results were glorious

 and for the record

Manukau Harbour mud makes very good marks on cloth

[i tried it on my nightie!]

what i would really like to try 

is magic dust.

sadly they were fresh out of it at the market.

dang.

+

so tomorrow i fly home, a little sad to leave Aotearoa

i like it here very much

but

i have been told that it's time to grease up the sewing machines

and get back to the coal face

because

of the very first shipment that my new stockist Gilda's took,

everything bar one dress sold before it hit the shopfloor

which is rather exciting

and besides,

i have an exhibition in New Orleans coming up...

but i do wish Ananda lived closer

i'd love to photograph more things on her!

an unexpected event

this is not the sort of thing you want to see

when you are flying over your home patch

the Eden Valley fire ignited about 11am on January 17

[about the same time as i arrived at Adelaide airport]

by the time my flight was in the air

it had grown to a substantial blaze

thing is, when 13 people are relying on you to show up wearing you best set of bunny ears

there's really no option of pulling the plug and heading back home into the smoke

i have my fingers crossed that my family will be sensible

and for now at least the wind has changed

[which just means that it's a completely crap situation for somebody else]

after a sleepless night in Wellington

and a quick totter down Taranaki street to Te Papa

for some calming Colin McCahon therapy

 i hopped the straits to Nelson

to be wrapped in a huge warm welcome 

which made me feel a whole lot better

[on the way at the airport i taught a woman how to make string

because she was fascinated by what i was up to -

she hopped on her flight with a handful of wet silk shreds

and much enthusiasm, bless her]

anyway the fire is not the unexpected event. 

in Australia it's not a question of "if" the country will burn

but "when".

that's how it is.

the unexpected event

[title deliberately purloined from Tolkien]

was this

a parcel

addressed to me

from kowtow

a clothing company based in Wellington

there was a sweet note

and beautifully packed

between deliciously rustling tissue paper

two gorgeously soft timeless fabulous pieces

made from Fairtrade Organic cotton

and in a very comfy size.

thank you kowtow

i know where i will be shopping for simple

soft but sturdy things to wear

under winter layers

or for soft spring afternoons

[in summer i do a complete cover up]

i think our work goes very well together!

north by north west

i didn't take many pictures in San Francisco this time

too busy

listening to the sounds of the city

the glory of foghorns

parrots around t-hill

the whirr of humming birds' wings

the slow drift of the fog

the espresso machine as it unleashes my Africano into the glass

at Cafe Trieste

where

two older men address each other lovingly in Italian

i sipped my coffee

and

thought about friendship

and how much certain friendships mean to me

while reading "World enough and Time"

a book i was introduced to by my friends John + Patsy Sangster

on Lopez Island.

i think

i may make this book compulsory reading

for all workshop attendees.

after coffee i headed north.

i could simply have driven up the Interstate 5

but

it doesn't go anywhere near the edge.

i love the edge

so

i took the 101

which took me through Fortuna

and past this magical old cinema

i took this photo for my friend Shelley

i wanted to build a fort for her

but

it was really really cold.

so i went wandering instead

while wandering

i began to fill my pockets with stones

having a vague plan in my mind

to use them in Portland

+

looking down at my pinny

with its bulging pockets

i remembered that somebody

[contemporary of Virginia Woolf ? or other rejected lover somewhere?]

sewed stones into her dress

and then walked into a river

it would be so easy to do in a place like this

in the fog

where

footprints would soon be awash

and

the continental shelf drops away in moments

however

that was not something i was about to do

the water was far too cold

and i am enjoying the wild ride of this adventure we call 'life'

far too much

 

+

 

then a figure emerged from the fog

wandered over, making greeting noises

showed me a handful of exquisite polished stones 

pulled from a pocket

fished one out

and gave it to me saying

"take this one, it's a lovely amber colour and have a good day"

 

the stone looked like a piece of cold honey

reminding me of the eyes of a friend

[they are like those of a wolf]

honey coloured unless sparkling with excitement

when they suddenly turn green

 

 i was already having a good day

but that reminder made it even better

+

later i saw mollis azaleas

growing right beside the ocean

in Australia these plants are mollycoddled

and protected. otherwise they shrivel in the hot north winds.

here they grow like weeds. sigh.

wandering further north

i found evidence of my people

so

i left a mark of my own

 

and now i am in Portland

for six weeks.

bliss.

onesies

wouldn't it be so comfy to loll about in a pair of onesies all day, like the ones that Izzie wears?

[why are onesies referred to as a pair? that's ridiculous]

if lovely people like Sheri

continue to give me treats for the road

like this

then a pair of onesies

will become an absolute necessity

thank you Sheri, for that massive dose of endorphins :)

and Sidnee for the gin and Liz for my tiny silver heart

and

the sweetie much earlier in the week

whose name i regret presently escapes me

but who brought me a sustaining chunk of organic ginger root

to feed my tiny teapot

blessings upon you all

humming happily

i'm humming along happily in New Orleans

as a guest of the Joan Mitchell Center

working on a project for an exhibition next year

under the supervision of an old friend

the silk for the project was a kind donation

from my longtime friends at Beautiful Silks

and i have the offer of back-up studio space at NOCCA 

through my lovely friend Nikki Jackson

+

one thing often

leads to another

 and when i need a break from stitching

music is never far away

later on, wandering home

i step into a flower shop

and am given another present

a twig of Eucalyptus polyanthemos

which, oddly enough

was just what i needed