Abundance, peaches
Helen’s Instagram
More beautiful linocuts were made at Saturday’s workshop. I wish to thank @westgippslandartscentre and @regionalartsvic for funding this series of workshops which pay homage to the way nature adapts and rejuvenates after hardship. The funding was from the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Community Arts Grants. My students made linocuts representing the charred plant fragments which fall from the sky after a large fire.
Today’s Pinnacle day walk was about 17km, much of it on beautifully engineered bush paths, steps & stairs which kept walkers on the track, protecting plant species, minimalizing soil contamination and erosion, and enhancing the trail. Never mind that @malteshred and @hen .grant took off their shoes for the descent from the summit on some sort of masochistic challenge. I don’t recommend it - but it really shows how excellent these tracks are.
So yesterday when my neighbour Loris offered me these saffron flowers I was quite surprised to find they were a beautiful shade of mauve. Somehow I had expected orange flowers. We picked them from her garden and she offered me some bulbs, and then at home I plucked the long reddish stamens for drying. Remembering the price of saffron, I got my son onto google thinking that maybe I could retire from my art and design business and just use my future saffron crop to carry me comfortably into old age... then reality hit: I probably had about $10 worth
Our laundry is separate to our house and is part of the studio structure. It is where I clean palletes and platens. It was built about 1948 (after WW2 when materials were scarce) from some very crumbly concrete blocks resembling early Bessa bricks. The roof is corrugated iron with a couple of laserlight sheets added by us to let in extra light. The walls are bagged concrete. The original door is made from wooden planks and of course there is a stubborn louvre - tre moderne - window. The concrete floor was tiled by previous owners with Italian stoneware tiles
I have an exhibition coming up. I'll be loading in on Anzac Day and open for your viewing enjoyment the very next day. If your favourite food group is wine and cheese, then join me for opening drinks Sunday 5th May 2-4pm. For those who like to draw, I'll be hanging out with @lauriecollins1 on Friday afternoons at the Gallery for the life of the exhibition. Do come and join us.
Countless photographers have stood in this exact spot and snapped these Tidal River rocks. I’m pretty sure I take the same pictures each time I visit The Prom... it’s pretty hard not to take good photos here.
Sorting out design ideas for tomorrow’s linocut workshop at @westgippslandartscentre
Look what arrived from Wahlstedt Germany! Printmaker, woodcutter and publisher Christopher Coltzau @time_cuttingboards has sent me one of his limited edition cutting board prints on a paper shopping bag accompanied by a copy of the beautifully typewriter written Cuttingboard Tribune... an authentic wireless message. I’ve been following Christopher for about three years on Instagram, and received a print a couple of years ago. This one will join it in my studio until I can get them framed. I love this project for the idea of the beautifully crafted prints folded into a letter with sewn ends, which ends up on
Some of the beautiful student work created at today’s linocut workshop...
@malteshred our exchange student on what will be one of his final adventures. The last 9 weeks have been such a blast and I think we may have managed to convert him to Richmond
Balmy evening in Melbourne, and so lovely to be out watching people fishing at Docklands.