Shh, my very own Ark is taking shape.

{The happiest and saddest of times all rolled into one. (Click to see a whole lot larger.)}

I have white paint on my hands, left and right, and I am painting, with Louise, twenty-one small to large wooden animal silhouettes. Painting each animal front, side and back is proving fiddly, a little messy and enjoyably repetitive. I am free to let my mind wander as I tackle the narrow gap between the squirrel's back and her fluffy tail in fixed position. I can think of everything and nothing all at the one time. I can think solely of what I am doing… brush in, stroke, stroke, stoke, repeat. I think of what lies ahead, be it a patchy aardvark in need of a second coat or a task that needs attending to tomorrow. The cats lie around us and the whole day stretches before us.

Here is a small peek at what I mean.

{The first animals begin to take shape.}

Wooden animals jigsawed by hand in the dusty toolshed the other day, to be exhibited in a cabinet 2.8 metres in length. As part of Sticky’s Festival of the Photocopier, Louise and I have a cabinet to ourselves to house all our zines to date (and reading these zines will be a host of animals).

(Coming up very soon... 4th - 29th February, Platform, Degraves Street Subway.)

Comments

[louise]

Yay, they're taking shape! One of my dreams last night was about painting them... brush in, stroke, stroke, stoke, repeat. xo lj

[cruststation]

The wooden animals look like so much fun!

[alyssa]

I love your collage, so mysterious and inviting. Is that a mutant pine cone or hilltops? Do I make sense? Looking forward to seeing all those animals, get their feathers, fur and scales:) Very exciting!

[Eunice]

*claps hands*
an aardvark. how splendid. (have you read cerebus? the only comic i've read about an aardvark.)

the idea of animals reading your zines in a cabinet... wish i could see it. are there going to be cushions? tea? scones? perhaps i am getting ahead of myself. :)

good luck with your handy tasks (pardon the pun).

[lisa s]

i love the cut outs....

mmmmm

[lottie]

oh, the bat, the bat! wishes for a wonderful weekend for you guys and your new menagerie. x

[Brydie]

Ohhh, I can't wait to check out Sticky. Well done you busy girls. And I must agree with Alyssa.... those abstract forms of "the happiest and saddest..." are exquisitely beautiful.
Thanks again so much to both LJ and yourself for dropping "The plight of the Birds" off. Haylie squirmed with delight. It is a beautiful piece xx

[julie]

oh this reminds me of your last project of jigsawed creatures! great work!
xxx

[Tiffany]

Sometimes the most mindless of painting can be a form of deep meditation - I feel very zen when I paint thoughtlessly.

Have fun with your ark of little animals!
Tiff*

[kate]

These are cool ... I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.

What is it like there these days? I'm dreaming of sunshine, warmth and lying in the grass looking up at leaf-filled trees.

Happy weekend!

[simple me]

stopping by to say hello to those beautiful creative hands ... love the idea of a white bat flapping its wings on a sunny day :)

I hope you are doing well and enjoying yourself

have a great weekend ... or what is left of it.

[andrea]

how wonderful to have your days before you with the aardvark and platypus, full of white paint and thoughts of nothing and everything. what i wouldn't give to visit that degraves street subway... :)

[wendy]

those animals are so fabulous!

[gracia]

Dear me, how dreadfully behind I have fallen with replying to all your comments. All your suggestions, your encouragement, all your feedback and your friendship… it makes having a space such as this a wonderful, wonderful thing.

I am happy to hear that these wooden animals have delighted you so. With the aid of the jigsaw, Louise was able to capture every kink in a rodent’s tail and every arc of a bat’s wing. I sat nearby sanding the curved snouts of a pair of long-footed potoroos and later painting, painting, painting. This weekend should all go to plan they’ll change appearance once again… this weekend they are going to be coloured!

So, thank you Crustation, Alyssa, Eunice, Lisa S, Lottie, Brydie, Julie, Tiffany, Kate, Paula, Andrea and Wendy.

Oh, and, Alyssa, I like very much your idea that, in the collage above, that odd shape could be some sort of hilly landscape. It is, indeed, from a tree.

And, Eunice, I’ve never read nor, until your comment, heard of Cerebus. You’ve piqued my interest and since digging about online, I am keen to get m hands on a copy. Thanks for those “handy” well wishes, too.

Very happy to hear it, Brydie. Louise and I always enjoy the chance to get lost in the hills for a spell, with a print on the backseat. And that windowseat… ah, how I wish I had one like that to curl up in and read. A good, solid kitchen table and a window seat are two things in a home I long for.

Thank you, once again, all of you. I can’t wait to show you how the animals are looking now.

take care,
g xo

[bugheart]

it's strange
to read
blog posts
backwards...
you see things
unevolve.
it's like
being
a blogger
archeologist.
;)
love that
first collage-
the colors
appeal to me
so...
xo