My desert home and a Quandong tree

It has been over a month since I got on a plane and flew away from Titjikala and all that I had called home for the previous 10 weeks. 

It was not an easy thing to leave the art centre the people and the landscape behind. The incredible impact it had on my life is something that I will always carry with me.

On our road trip to Ernabella we came across this little Quandong tree on the side of the road....it was so full of the bright red fruit that we did a U-turn on the highway and pull up on the side of the road to pick a bag full. These fruits have an almost savoury tasting skin and a wonderful extrude seed which can be dried and used to make beaded jewellery. 

good old troop carrier took us there and back again

Titjikala to Ernabella

I am very excited to be writing about this experience.

During my last week at Titjikala it was decided that we needed to take a road trip with some of the older ladies all the way down to the South Australia boarder to visit Ernabella.

I can't quite describe how incredible this adventure was. To be able to make this happen is one thing but to go on this trip with a few of the women from the community is something that you can not recreate. It was fun and unique. The landscape was stunning all the way down to the Ernabella hills and back again.  

So we hired a trailer and a lot of Swags, we stocked up on food and made some tasty meals and off we went.....that sounds so simple doesn't it? well is did take a little organisation and a lot of running around the community....which I should point out is not a big community but Jane and I did managed to spend over an hour driving around it (if you can imagine a map that plots the journey of two people around a small space you would have lines cris crossing and back tracking all over it..... to draw this will be one of my next fun projects)

I guess this whole road trip was promted by Sandra who wanted to visit her sister and daughter at Umawa, which is a small service town just outside of Ernabella 

Jane, Nora, Nita, Cora and Janet with the troopy

The first sight of the hills

this is the very friendly donkey at Ernabella

This is just down the road from the community so we didnt get far before a little glitch....a stone flew up and smashed the back window......after a very impressive cardboard and gaffa tape repair we were soon on the road again.

evolving pots

Ok so for the last month and a bit my life has changed so dramatically. I moved from my 10 week desert home to Shepparton in Victoria for a week of exhibition install and opening night excitement. From there I spent 5 days in Melbourne to explore gallery's, museums and artist run spaces. It wasn't long before I was flying again...this time to Adelaide for the Triennial Ceramic's conference.

WOW! now that I have written it all down I can't believe this was only a little while ago......but anyway more about that later. I have more desert stories to write. 

Firstly I need to apologise for the lack of communication. I have been neglecting the blog for ages now and I really need to post about all the wonderful things that have happened.  

You might remember that while at the art centre in Titjikala I was making large hand built pots that were being decorated by the artists. I have such lovely memories of every aspect of my time in the desert but this is one of my fondest. It was wonderful to be involved everyday as each artists marked, scratched or painted lines on their pot. 

to watch these terracotta forms be transformed into works of art was amazing. I loved charting to each artist about the stories and landscape.

    



Nita's pot at the front and Nora's just hiding behind



Marlene, Noela and Hazel

The funeral

this is the church the morning before the funeral.

Yesterday a man was buried in the Titjikala cemetery. The funeral was held at the Church in the community.

This funeral had been arranged for a long time but there had been so many complications with getting the money together for the funeral costs and transporting the man out to Titjikala.

After much family discussion and finding the huge amount of money that was needed things were put in motion and it was decided that  a Troop Carrier would be driven into Alie Springs to bring him back to his family. 

Ok so the funeral was arranged for 3pm but because of a flat tyre and other unforeseen problems the body of the man didn't arrive til 4pm. It was a bit of a rush at the end to have him arrive at his own funeral at all. BUT he did arrive and his family gave him a beautiful tribute. 

The old man had not lived in Titjikala but it had been his wish to be buried with family. It was a huge community event and family members had traved from Mimili and Kings Canyon to pay their respects. 

The little church was swept and cleaned, new (plastic....they last longer) flowers were arranged out the front of the church. 

Everyone attended and sang beautiful soulful songs.  

market day

The day after Desert Mob...

Wow that came and went very fast.

In fact I think I blinked 

and lost the last two weeks.

OK so that is a tad dramatic 

but seriously where oh where did August go??

Well this weekend was spent in Alice Springs for the annual desert Mob exhibition and markets. It was a lot of work spread out over a few manic day to get all the art packed up at the art centre and transported into Alice but well worth it.

So I should explain what Desert Mob is....

As part of Desart, which is the Association of Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Centres, once a year all the remote art communities come together. There is a weekend of Symposiums, Exhibitions, Markets and of course music. 

Friday morning was the start of the art centre Symposium. This is a celebration of Aboriginal arts and the art centres that support the artists. The event included stories and images of the country, the history and the art.

Friday night was the opening of the Exhibition at Araluen, which presented over 300 works from Desart member Art Centres. From across Central Australia artists exhibited paintings, ceramics, fibre baskets and soft and metal sculptures that highlighted the high standard of contemporary Aboriginal art from this region.

I was blown away at how incredible the exhibition was. It was amazing to walk around and see all the art centres exhibiting in one place. Over 35 art centre were present and it was great to see so many of the artists had travelled the long distances to be at the opening. I met some incredible people. 

The opening was great but I have to say I was very happy to collapse into to bed that night. 

With a good night sleep Jane and I were up early Saturday morning to set up the market Stall. Some of the Women from Titjikala had come into town with us so we had plenty of help and before we knew it, it was 10am and Aboriginal art lovers were pouring in the gates to find a treasure or two.        

this is just after the 10am rush.......at about 1pm.......it was a very busy day.

Jane at the Titjikala stall and behind her we hung the beautiful
batik fabrics that Nora made. The fabric is a light Japanese
cotton and so the hand dyed cloth looked stunning with the light behind it. 

Teapots bowls, beads and music sticks....what more could you want

painted and burnt seed pods and red bush beans make the best jewellery.

It was a great market day with lots of sales and a good vibe from customers and stall holders a like. 

A one point a very nice man in a hurry come up to the Tijikala stall and handed me a few containers of seeds. I didn't know what they were and he didn't mention his name or give any details, just saying "these are for you. Have a nice afternoon". When the sales rush had died down a bit I showed them to Jane and she said " oh they are from Dave. They're quandong seeds"
That explains it....well not really.

Quandong seeds come from the fruit that comes from a quandong tree, makes sense. Traditionally the fruit was an important food source and the tree had strong medical properties. 
The seeds however have a beautiful texture and are perfect for adding to beaded jewellery (painted or unpainted) after a hole has been drilled through the middle.

All was explained. 
      

These are the quandong seeds. 

ONLY ONE WEEK LEFT IN THE DESERT!!!

Chambers Pillar part 3

I know....this was ages ago but there is still a stories to tell and photos to share. This particular post is about the eventful trip home from Chambers Pillar. 

On the way back from our road trip some of the ladies wanted to look for bush tabacco  to take back home so we had to take a little detour off road until Jane was instructed to stop the Troop carrier near a rocky hill....this had to be the spot to look.

So with keen eyes Christopher and I (being the youngest of the group) were instructed to climb up the rocks, looking in all the crevices for the highly sort after small bush with grey leaves and berries. 

Sandra and Christopher on a mission. 

Unfortunately we were unsuccessful in our mission but it was
a lot of fun climbing up the hill and looking out over the landscape

So we didn't manage to find what we were looking for but that is not the end of the story. It is when we all clambered back into the troope again and set off back towards the road that the really excitement began.

We got bogged.....sand dune bogged.
Everyone got out to help dig and lay branches under the wheels. It was actually really good fun and with a lot of help we were soon back in the car and on our way home again. 

We all jumped out and helped dig our way out. branches and sticks were laid down underneath the back wheels in order to add a bit of traction and stability and Jane also let the  a bit of air out of the tyres 

It was a group effort to get out of the sand with lots of helpful yet conflicting advise given...everyone had a different solution.

Tracks in the sand...do you think anyone would know we got bogged here??

 It wasn't long until we had freed ourselves from the sand dune and were on the road again. This is the road home......

Titjikala from the sky

This next post is brought to you by a dear friend (and geography nerd.) When I opened my emails this afternoon I was delighted to find a lovely, cheery email with images attached for the wonderful Sian. 

She wanted outlining the magnitude of this country and just how far in the desert Titjikala really is.

I loved the colour of the earth and the patterns of the sand dune ridges, dry creek and river beds and roads 

The landscape in the desert has left a lasting impression on me and these google satellite images illustrate the environment that surrounds Titjikala....just a little bit remote.
    

Thats us...right there under the red dot with all that beautiful backyard to wander.

The longest line of trees you can see running vertically through the left hand side of the images shows the creek. On the left hand side of the creek is where I have been living (In one of the houses with the very green, green lawn. The larger clump of buildings on that same side is the school. Then on the other side of the creek is most of the community. Take a right turn down the first road (at the red dot (not usually there)) the art centre is one of the first buildings in the large cluster.

  
Thank you my friend these pictures made me smile.

making making making.....

The annual Desert Mob festival, which includes an exhibition of remote community art works and market stalls over 2 days, is fast approaching.

This is a very exciting event because communities and art centres from all over Central Australia come together to show off their art and craft for this one time of year. There will be music and theater and so many people.
Titjikala art centre has been incredibly busy as paintings and pots are finished and fired.

Monday morning is always the busiest day as I am sure most people will agree but today seemed to fly by with only one cup of tea in the afternoon (that is uncommon for me). 

Sandra and I were making large hand built coil pots from Terracotta so that they could be painted with white slip ready to be decorated with sgraffito lines.   

This was the first day Sandra started hand building and I think she is a natural.

The lovely hazel

And the lovely Noela

Margaret was drawing honey ants and witchety grubs....bush tucker bowl

the artists

I can't believe it....
I very sadly had to arrange my return flight the other day which will mark the end of my internship in Titjikala.
Where oh where have the last two months gone.....

I now only have two weeks left in the desert and still so many stories to tell about the art centre and community and of course the landscape. 
While I have a little time left I can't help but look back at my first few weeks in the community. 

I don't want to say much about this post because I am hoping the images will speak for themselves  but I did want to mention that It has been the people, especially the artists, of Titjikala who have had such a profound affect on me and for that I will be forever grateful.

This is a large painting that Nita Ferguson is working on in the art centre. It has been amazing to watch Nita transform this canvas into stories with colour and design. 

This painting is about happy memories of Grandmothers.

painted in the sky

I am sorry I have been neglecting you for a while....
The last week or so has been jam packed with art centre happenings and great weather for being outside and soaking up the  desert moments.

So my lovely Kern came out to the desert for a week and it was wonderful. When we weren't in the art centre....and yes I made Kern make pots too....we were hiking, playing on the sand dunes, taking photos and making good food.

I have so much to report and lots of lovely photos to show you
This is just one magical desert moment that happened when Kern and I were hitch hiking out to Chambers Pillar (we managed to get a lift, the 40km and back with a lovely couple from Victoria). The clouds in the Sky were so unusual that they looked like someone had painted there on purpose.   

Shepparton Art Museum

This is a little bit of Shameful self promotion.

I have never been very good at promoting my own work and and I will never get used to advertising exhibitions that I am taking part in but here goes......

On Friday 21st September Shepparton Art Museum opens their new exhibition containing the recent works of three artists. It is through the Sidney Myer Fund award that myself, the very talented Australian ceramicist Kirsten Coelho and the equally talented Israeli ceramicist Michal Fargo come together to present a joint exhibition of ceramic works produced over the last 6 months. 

The first half of my year was spent working away in my studio space at Sturt Pottery in order to finish a large installation of Ladders and boats (all made out of porcelain). This was a great excise in working towards a deadline and producing an art work which wasn't part of an art school assessment. This was for me.

I feel extremely lucky to be part of this exhibition, which will include a number of exciting events such as workshops (run by the artists), forum lectures and talks from amazing artists like Jeff Mincham.

If you are anywhere near Shepparton in September please come and have a look. 

Mini mini

Dedicated to Nora's tiny Chihuahua Mini mini. 

The other day this tiny dog was bitten and seriously injured by another, bigger camp dog.....well all camp dogs are bigger than Mini mini. 

Unfortunately he had very abnormal breathing patterns and a painful back leg. He wouldn't eat or drink anything and just genrally looked very scared and fragile.
Nora has love and cared for this little dog in what can only be described as a very dangerous world for him in the community so he was sent to the vet in town for treatment.

The news came back that poor Mini mini either had very serious internal injuries or even worse spinal injuries.....either way the cost for x-rays, operations and recovery would have been well over what Nora or the art centre could pay to have him restored to his original spritely self.

The only other alterative was to take his pain away in a dignified and peace way. He was put down at the vet's in Alice Springs on Thursday 16th August. RIP Mini mini.  

Jane and the ever so adorable Mini mini in the art centre...he really does look like a joey.

People love their dogs out here an so it is very sad to have to say goodbye to Mini mini. 

Chambers Pillar part 2

I know it happened a while ago but I really wanted to revisit the chambers Pillar trip with some of the ladies form the art centre.......I just have too many photos to show you.

Traditionally when the women went out bush they would go hunting. Mostly for kangaroo and witchety grubs and honey ants but now a days you can buy roo tail from the butchers in town and take it out bush to cook up for lunch. This is precisely what we did. There is a camp site at Chambers Pillar now so there are fire pits for cooking....all we needed was a little fire wood and soon we had a hot cup of tea from the billy. The women had prepared the roo tail and wrapped it in foil and it was buried in the embers.

There was a lots of happy chatter around the fire. It felt very nice to be part of this.

The ever present Juju in the background...always the opportunist when food is concerned 

Roo tail and tea

Sandra did most of the fire building and roo tail preparation 

Emily and Christopher

Titjikala Exhibition

Last night was the opening of the Paintings, Pots, Papa's and People exhibition at Central Craft in Alice Springs. 

This exhibition took a lot of hard work and many hours on the road between Titjikala and Alice in order to have the work hung, installed and looking as beautiful as it did.

Jane and I ferried the paintings and pots into in the June Marriott gallery on Thursday and began the process of hanging and rehanging paintings, shuffling plinths around and arranging desert spinifex and red sand....a big job as I am sure you are aware if you have ever installed an exhibition........before long we were both in need of some food and a bit of fresh air.

With a full belly and a renewed sense of purpose we returned from  our mixed salads and tea(from the best cafe in town, the amazing Katja's) and dived straight back into hanging paintings.

All ready coming together. 

It took two days to have the work installed but boy did it look good when it was done.

On Friday night some of the artists came into town for the opening....Marie, Nora, Cora, Hazel, Sandra and Sid arrived just as we had put the finishing touches to the space.

Sandra and Cora infront of the collaborative painting of camp dogs. 

Marie and Nora in front of tow of Marie's paintings and the wire sculptures of horses and stock men by the one and only Johnny Young

A little bit of spinifex and sand just added to the unique quality of the bowls. The paintings are done by Nora and Cora.

The completed Robin Best and Sarah O'Sullivan pot, painted by Marie

And of course there were Papa's......smoke fired to give them the look of proper camp dogs

There is no limit to what the artists can do.....these beautiful baskets and beads were made by a number of artists and we just had to include them.

Marie standing next to the garden of Eden

    
It was a great night and at the end of it we all packed into the troop carrier and headed back out of town. the trip was slightly squishy and very bumpy but before we knew it we were all home again.