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.

Funny coincidences

Wow! this is a small world......The other day my friend Sarah sent me a photo of herself and Robin Best with nine completed, hand built pots that looked remarkably like the ones that the artists of Titjikala had been painting. 

It turns out that while Sarah was working with Robin a few years ago they visited Central Craft in Alice Springs and produced these beautiful vessels.  

Great pots.......beautiful landscape.

Chambers Pillar part 1

So last Sunday was spent out bush.....

I have been in Titjikala now for almost 5 weeks and the other day when I was talking to George Summerfield I found myself being told off for not making the time to go out bush. George told me how beautiful the bush around Titjikala and and down to Fink river is and that I had to experience it while I was here.

So on Sunday Jane and I packed up the troop Carrier with billy can, water, tea, milk and sugar.....oh and Kangaroo tail and drove around the community to pick up some of the art centre ladies for a trip down the road. Jane, Marie, Christopher (Marie's grandson) Nora, Emily, Sandra, Hazel and I drove the 40km to Chambers Pillar. The Pillar is a 50m high tower of sandstone, red and yellow, in the middle of a huge reserve. The quiet still landscape around it is just as breath taking as the structure itself.

The land that the art centre stands on and the land between it and Chambers Pillar is the traditional home land of Hazel Ungawanaka. Her family are the traditional owners of this land and so it was very important for her to come on the trip and show me her home.

Now I took so many photos on this little journey and had some wonderful experiences that in order to do it justice I am spreading this story over a few post's.......this one documents the walk I took with Hazel

Chambers pillar in all its glory

I have to apologise for the smudge on the lens but I really liked this photo anyway.

 
Hazel took me on a walk around Chambers Pillar and showed me where to find some bush tucker....bush tomato's. She has a lovely generous spirit and it was such a privilege to walk with her 

The view from the base of Chambers Pillar

Another view as I walked around the base

......and another view. these rocks surround the pillar and they reminded me so much of the ruins of a medieval castle. 

This is looking out towards Fink river....all the way off in the distance

To be continued.....

  

A tiny bit of Spring

As promise to the lovely Elise

Just a few desert wild flower that I have been fortunate enough to come cross on my treck's in the desert.
A lot of these images were taken on Sunday during a trip out bush with Jane and some of the ladies from the art centre......that is another story though.....

Its really quite remarkable to find such amazing colours in a very harsh environment. As you walk you feel the crunch of the cracked earth and the dry grasses beneath your feet.
But occasionally you wander across the path of the wild flowers                                                                          

I wish I had the names for all of these flowers however I think these look like desert violets                                                                     

These little yellow ones really looked like they were stretching for the sun

The fragile one flowers are my favourite as they have a striking purple centre but if you look at them some a distance they are just white heads swaying in the breeze   

I found this little fellow hiding under some grasses all alone

I can imagine that after the rains have come and gone the flowers comer the bush like a carpet but even without any rain for such a long time I was still able to see groups of wild flowers scattered across the ground in all directions 

    

  

exhibition sneak peak

In just under a weeks time the artists of Titjikala will be presenting new works for exhibition at the June Marriott Gallery in Alice Springs. 

For the last few weeks we have been preparing and getting paintings and pots finished. 
The Show will feature the bowls that have been beautifully decorated the hand made papa's that everyone has had a go at making. 
There will be the finished pots by Marie, Cora and Nora and of course some paintings on canvas of happy papa's and people no less.

There will be pots

Glazed and packed ready to be fired the little bowls so lovingly decorated

There will be papa's

Sandra finishing off here painting of the camp papa'a. This was taken on an afternoon when we were all seated around the table chatting and laughing away. A good mornings work.....

Cora just putting the finishing touches to her painting of the train through the bush

So in keeping with the theme we decided to title the show Painting's, Pot's, Papa's and People.