writing desk

i've had a couple of lovely emails of late
( especially from readers in far away lands )
asking to see a picture of the writing desk i bought on my
recent road trip . . .
above is it's current position in my home -
the window behind overlooks the rambling hilly suburb

i live in, here in brisbane.
the window looks west so heavy curtains
are needed to block the scorching setting sun
( only for a short time each day though )
i do like sunsets so when the heat is gone the view is beautiful

the second shot is the inside of the desk stained with ink of
writers past . . .
this is now covered over with books and paper and
all sorts of bits and pieces . . . like this
it's nice to have a place to keep all my words
( and hide them when i need to also)
scattered words that, at the moment, are being
shaped, formed, and molded into new poems . . .

patterns

above is stock for my online store (coming very soon)

the patterns that formed as the quote tags came out of the kiln
added a splash of joy to my day this morn . . .

TeXt

phew . . .

fresh out of the kiln and no breakages or cracks . . .
these letters are for the upcoming exhibition
( to be installed this coming week )

this relief also means i can now have
a couple of days of breathing space

seeing the letters like this
makes words appear to me that don't feature in
the poem that will be the work . . .

kind of ceramic boggle or scrabble i suppose. . .

good friday

my studio has the most beautiful view,

and has the biggest space in my loft apartment if you
have more than two dining . . .

today i had my family and a couple of dear friends
for lunch . . .
only a little amount of rearranging and hiding was needed . . .
the wonders of a tablecloth for a clay splotched table!

life . . .

a charming sign found
attached to a tree
in a park
on the road trip
from last weekend . . .

text

. . . is the name of an exhibition i have
been asked to be a part of at
fusions
cnr malt & brunswick sts, fortitude valley, qld

the exhibition opens
to the public next thursday april 16
with the opening event on friday night the 17th

i am creating a wall installation piece and
it has been a good challenge for me to branch out a bit
and work on a larger and different work

above is some of the letters i've created for the piece . . .
these bits are unfinished, and as you may guess
the poem i'm using for the piece doesn't have an x
( so i improvised for this photo . . . )

i will share the an image of the final work when
it is in the gallery
and if you are in brisbane you can pop along
to see it in real life if you would like . . .

i will post more details soon,
as well as the invite . . .

remembering . . .

a journey from last year,
and taking into my day today
the teachings of this flower :

the transience and fragility of life,
and that of renewal . . .

bellingen

despite the rain and floods

my sister, along with one of my most dear friends kate, and myself
headed to bellingen over the past few days
for work
( but also a road-trip-girls-weekend-away )

amongst the travels were dinners and breakfasts
with the beautiful suzi and dan from affirmations
such open and wonderful people . . .
the kind of souls that confirm your faith in the world
and make you feel as if you've been friends for years !

and, for me, finally traveling to bellingen
brought me to the place where oscar
traveled up the bellinger river with his glass church as
both proof of his love of, and a wager with: lucinda . . .
in peter carey's wonderous (fictional) book
OSCAR AND LUCINDA

the book was also made into a film
( which i love with equal passion )

and . . . while in bellingen i bought a fabulous antique
writing desk-top with a lifting and sloping lid -
one that holds all your papers, pencils, and ink inside . . .

not only have i been looking for one like this for years
but it seemed such an appropriate memento from
a trip to oscar-and-lucinda-land

i can just imagine oscar writing to lucinda on it
as it was their letters between each other that held their hearts . . .

being a romantic is both a blessing and a curse
( trust me ! )

above is a photo of some beautiful old tiles on the front of a shop in town