Art fest

Here we are on the brink of the eclipse of the century, the wind is blowing a gale and there is an eerie sense of something otherworldly out there.
My intention is to breeze through it all the best I can by creating art.

I have been busy as a bee creating this bee intention board, decorating it and photographing it. This timber art is leading me down a pathway I didn't expect to find. Art, for me, has become the art, plus flowers, rocks, crystals and photography. Recently I bought a second hand Nikon which takes much better photos for me than my previous attempts with the tablet.

There is no way that there can be too much beauty in this world and I am doing my bit to try and add to what nature has already given us. I visited Europe not long after Chernobyl 33 years ago having it in mind that it might be my last chance to see the landscapes there as someone might decide to destroy it. I looked at it all with extra appreciative eyes. Scandinavia and Scotland blew me away with it's voluptuous beauty and I am forever changed for having seen it, felt it, slept on it in my tent. 

It was important to me to be able to feel the rhythm of the earth while I slept in this hauntingly beautiful place. This is a photo of my 24 year old self looking out of my tent at Norway's fjord and mountains. I can recall that there was snow being scurried along at the top by a lazy wind.

I just assumed that the water was safe to drink!

I will be filling my Etsy shop with these boards and wall hangings next week so stay tuned.

Have a wonderful weekend and if you are up early enough, enjoy that incredible view of fiery Mars sitting above the fiery Moon tomorrow morning.

Intentions

It is about this time of year when I begin to think about my intentions for the coming season. What will I plant in the garden? What will I do for exercise? What will I do to enrich my business? For now, I have created an intention board. 

Over the decades I have learned many styles of spiritual, mindful practices. The area I pay attention to these days is literally that - what do I pay attention to? 

The intention board is something that can be used to focus your wishes and dreams on - to see the physical representations of what you want to develop in your life. These crystals have different meanings which lend them to different uses. The shape of the mandala lends itself to having specific places for these crystals to sit, whether it be the four directions which have their own significance or simply because that place feels right.

While I have plenty of background knowledge on these things I am a 'feel right' kind of a person. I know that my intention and deep feeling for what I want the stones to be used for is key in bringing about my end result. You could use shells or beads if you wanted to. This board is the prototype for a new piece I am developing for my Etsy shop. 

Meanwhile, here we have minutes before dawn and Doug seriously considers leg warmers.

The sun lights up parts of the garden as it begins to rise in the sky showing contrast with the frost.

This year my turmeric work station is outside under the carport. So far we have processed a third of the crop.

Wishing you all a cosy weekend in the Southern Hemisphere and a lovely warm weekend in the Northern Hemisphere.

Timber Time

New colours and new timbers are being added to my repertoire of timber art. When the crops are ready we have to make them a priority, so I have been pining for my studio (pun intended!)  However this week has been dedicated almost entirely to creating art and the turmeric processing hardly had a look in.

I am experimenting with new colours and some of it is on a new timber board. It has of course been made from sustainable forests.

For a long time I have been toying with the idea of different colours, so the grey and blue/green boards above show the effect created when white is painted on top.

I love the rich red paint on the natural timber colour, but then the white on stained timber will probably always be my favourite.

These efforts are a rough experiment to see what is possible and what looks best. I am trying new techniques which requires practice so the ones that are final for sale will be better than these ones.

I just love the contrasting timbers here.

There is something very special I have in mind for this one. In the coming weeks all will be revealed.

Meanwhile, if you would like to purchase turmeric straight from the farmer (that's us...) it is $25 per kilo plus postage. The powdered form is $16 per 100 grams and $10 per 50 grams plus postage. Buying from us you know it is local to Australia and there have been no sprays or chemicals used in any part of the process.

Have a great weekend!

Build it and they will come.

We are now the proud owners of this hand crafted bee hive! Rob made it himself and placed it up in the top garden where we have plenty of flowers to tempt the native bees. You can see the little tin pitched roof as the whole thing is attached to a post. It looks a bit askew here however I assure you it is on straight! It is placed in an alluring corner of the garden where there is shelter from the elements. So now we sit and wait to see if our native bee population likes the look of it too.

This month we are all honouring Plastic Free July and the demise of plastic bags in supermarkets. I have been enjoying the grapes available at our local although they come in this dinky plastic bag with handles. So I take the grapes out of the plastic bag and put them in my own netting bag which weighs next to nothing and is designed to hold fruit. I leave the offending plastic bag in amongst the other bags of grapes and give my bag to the person at the check out counter. There is usually a moment of confusion as this person tries to understand what has happened. So far they have always just gone ahead and weighed them without question. Voila!

Here we have the offending plastic bags at the Supermarket.

For years I have been using my own bags for grocery shopping however I had to re-train myself to remember to take the things in with me from the car into the supermarket. For so long I would get to the checkout and realise I was about to be burdened with another onslaught of plastic because I had forgotten to bring my own out of the car. In the end the only way was to keep my own bags on the front seat of the car so that I could have the visual reminder to take them in with me. It worked in the end. And it makes me wonder where my mind actually is as I park the car, get out and go into the supermarket. Mindful bag practice!!

Winter in all it's glory. Here we have a nest sitting amongst the bare bones of a native hibiscus. It is no longer in use as the fledglings have long since left. Most likely a Fire Wren nest, I didn't even know there was one in this particular tree. Fire Wren's are prolific in this area. Probably something to do with the seed they pinch from the chicken food bowl! I also leave seed out in the bird feeder in the back yard every now and then when I hear the babies calling out for food.

Twenty kilos of turmeric-y goodness all ready to deliver to a customer. I have also been turning it into powder and this has been selling quite well. 

I have been flat out processing turmeric so my artful endeavours have been a bit neglected. However next time I will have something new to show you in the way of timber art. Until then have a great weekend!