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.

sailing on [a] high

self portrait at Big Sur

as a parting gesture

i set two boats afloat at San Gregorio

[a paste-up of which appears below]

oddly

one turned to the right and floated straight out into the Pacific

the other turned left

and literally went upstream

back into America

hmm

and then i drove to the airport

through the redwoods

too big and beautiful to attempt to capture virtually

you will just have to imagine them

and their wonderful fragrance

sadly the connection from SFO to LAX

was over an hour late
but there was a glorious sunset over San Francisco
[though fog obscured my favourite bridge] 

meaning that by the time i scrambled to the Qantas checkin

having covered about 300miles through LAX on foot

getting from one end to the other

there were no window seats left

i'd been hoping to gaze at the Perseids

while floating up on high

[had time permitted, being on the west coast two days later

would have allowed for perfect viewing]

ah well, i'll be looking out for the Draconids in October

they are best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere

and have the advantage of being easy to find

high in the sky as night falls

they aren't usually quite so spectacular as the Perseids

or the Leonids

but have the reputation of being able to put on a surprising display

maybe

this will be my lucky year

[certainly has been generally wonderful so far]

stargazy pie

Oscar Wilde famously pronounced

"we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars"

and some of us like stars so much

we'll kneel down in the gutter

and take rubbings of them

  much to the amusement of passersby

+++++++++

poetry is everywhere

some quite obviously placed

and some, you have to read between the lines

 after five glorious days in my favourite city

during which i have been offered extraordinary pleasures

sitting for a while on on a ceramics class for teachers of science

taught at the Exploratorium by Nikki Jackson

[for whose friendship and companionship i am deeply grateful]

where i was able to observe some of the alchemical processes

that lead to this

i say farewell

and board a south-bound train

headed for the City of Angels

for twelve hours

the caterpillar mumbles through the countryside

i arrive in Los Angeles and the dress gets an airing

after snuffling in the stuffiness of suitcase

light breezes here in the Hollywood Hills

should help to prevent it turning into a furred bear

[i don't want it going mouldy]

after a restful night in the arms of the angels

we venture out in search of dye material for tomorrow's class

which will be here in a charming complex of eclectic buildings

on Sunset Boulevard, once an outdoor shopping mall

at the Farmer's market

in between stalls of fragrant produce

there are more stars