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