small things

i am at home
looking closely about me
and taking time

behind the studio door

 

 

and
out in the paddock

this old friend is
Eucalyptus sideroxylon
an elegant black trunked tree

 

whose beautiful leaves produce a delicious red dye
as does the sap [although a bit too crunchy for cloth]

and in the image above, that blackish dot next to the retreating ewe is a lamb that bears the same colour markings as a Border Collie

if i had a male Border Collie on the farm i would be questioning his priorities. but there ain't. maybe one of the Pandas from the zoo nipped out for a weekend in the country. it's a very cute lambie.

be that as it may, i am enjoying this quiet week at home...especially as next Sunday i'm heading this way

deep breaths

a few last images of Melbourne
likely the last time i shall be there this year
other than transitory moments at the aerodrome

the multiplicity of leaf shapes from one specimen of Eucalyptus polyanthemos

the traditional doublepark as performed in Brunswick

sign of the times

and Martha, who decided to dispense with the cold-shoulder treatment
and happily snuggled straight into bed with me

potted

 

call me old-fashioned but

i could have found other uses

for these treasures!

from Melbourne to Los Angeles [well, sort of]

remarkably i am keeping a clean workspace
in Velma Bolyard's shifu class

possibly due [in part] to the fabulous breakfast
partaken of at Grigons & Orr
prior to settling down to all that paper spinning
which
i can now say
is considerably more tricksy than wool
paper doesn't have anything to grip with
unlike those fishlike scales that make working with wool so much fun

fortunately for us
we have an excellent teacher
guiding us through the intricacies of shifu
[i don't think Hiroko Karuno needs to lose any sleep over my efforts though]

i find it healthy to be a student from time to time
it makes me pay more attention as a teacher
because i am firmly reminded how it feels
to know very little about something

speaking of teaching
i will be sharing the ecoprint bundle technique in Los Angeles next month
at the Grau Haus
please contact Claudia Grau by email if you'd like more details

called by the wild

i abandoned the city [and the hotel bear] for one night
in order to immerse myself in the forest
and help a friend with a project

the colours of the Australian landscape
are truly wondrous

third time lucky photographing the splish

some quiet stone-stacking

and what i used to call a 'bird bridge' .....when i was four.

back in the big smoke now and ready to be a quiet student in Velma Bolyard's shifu class tomorrow...

now is the winter made gloriously colourful

from the drying lines in the workroom

to one in the hotel bathroom

yesterday i had another big day
and magical colours were produced
in spite of it's being midwinter here

proving that
it is indeed possible to coax brilliance from leaves
without using toxic adjunct mordants
at any time of year [mind you, scrabbling under snow to collect them could put a dampener on things]

the Amazing Marion at Beautiful Silks
has had a new cloth woven
Broadcloth...in a blend of silk and wool.
a bit sturdier to hand than the pure silk
[also warmer] and takes colour very well indeed
as the wool element simply sucks it up
[it's the sample on the right in the blurry bathroom shot]
...get it while you can...i can't find it on the website yet
but if you drop her a line
marion[at]beautifulsilks[dot]com
i'm sure she'll help you!

more detailed images of participants work [from yesterday's class] follow below

long day's walk into a quiet night

after a long day teaching a huge class
it was good to walk back through the dark to an evening of monastic silence in my hotel room
[note the use of hotel rather than helltell]

the Lindrum

is simply wonderful.
furnished in a simple and slightly Japanese aesthetic
quiet [although in the CBD]
with a BATH. bliss. i can't think of many improvements [with the possible exception of a view over San Francisco Bay... not, however, something i'm likely to find here in Melbourne] other than changing the wording on their website [which describes it as "very unique". in my book, something is unique or it isn't. not a quantifiable quality...]

usually it would be way out of my budget
but thanks to a splendid deal on wotif.com
i'm here.
i was met on arrival by a bear

who is excellent company
he respects my need for the Great Silence
after telling stories to
and answering questions from
23 [very nice] people
at Beautiful Silks yesterday