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