ELSEWHERE

Kakapo, splendid Kakapo (A MIFF 2013 intermission, I)

Today's post is brought to you in between MIFF 2013 screenings. 53 films in 17 days! Such madness! To read a little of what we have seen thus far, head to Gracia's blog High Up in the Trees and read Quickly now, we're twelve films in already.

JULY
Kakapo               
(Strigops habroptilus)

Family: Psittacidae
Migration: Non-migrant

Distribution:
New Zealand, in the South Island, on Stewart and other islands.

Habitat:
The kakapo formerly inhabited a wide range of habitat types, including lowland Podocarp forests, upland beech (Nothofagus) forests and subalpine scrublands.

Much you may already know about the Kakapo, July's bird in my artists' book A Year of Southern Hemisphere Birds. It is the heaviest and largest parrot. It is nocturnal too and thus it is often referred to as an Owl parrot. It is the world's only flightless parrot. But did you know that having lost the ability to fly, these brilliant and robust parrots can cover a tremendous area simply by clambering about. Why, just look at those feet and its easy to see. A male Kakapo has been observed travelling from its home range to a mating arena up to 5kms away. And it has a subsonic mating boom that can travel several kilometres They are also known to be very curious, and I'd love to be given the chance to observe one in person as it lumbered about in the dark.

Brush up on your facts:
Kakapo Recovery, New Zealand
Kākāpō: New Zealand native land birds, Department of Conservation, New Zealand
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

(Photograph of an actual Kakapo by Shane McInnes.)

Two new greeting cards in hand herald A SALE!

At last! Two new greeting cards are now available. Featuring the postcard collages It had to be said, when it came to yachting, the Dog bat provided sails like no other and Could be far away you can now lay claim to them. You can purchase them through our online store individually, as a pair, and in sets of five (of the one design).

To mark the occasion, we are having a sale. From today until the end of August, we are offering 25% off everything (new card designs included) in our online store.

Simply enter the word ADVENTUREBOUND when prompted to receive the discount.

(These new card designs can also be found in the MCA store, and at Geelong Gallery for the duration of our show with Stephen Wickham, All breathing in heaven.)

Find your place

Gracia's artists' book from 2007, Find Your Place, appears in this tiny State Library of Victoria film about artists' books in their collection (that had long been on their site but is now on YouTube so I am able to embed and share it here). As I continue work on my giant bird book, finding places for my Southern Hemisphere birds on the large pages, 2007 feels and sounds so long ago now.

I hope you enjoy this mid-morning interlude. To artists' books past and present!

Dunblane

This time next month, as G pointed out, our work will be up at Geelong Gallery.

This time last weekend, I was at my parents farm in New South Wales, revelling in all the open space and beauty. I fossicked in the sheds and barns with my Dad, and I fed the many Boer goats with my Mum. I drove an old French tractor around the perimeter of the farm, a woollen beanie jammed on my head. And I loved waking up early to the sound of birdsong. Winter and the farm make for beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and here for you is a little of what I saw.

Now back at the drawing board, I long for the chance to soak up all that space.

Southern Boobook duo

MAY
Southern Boobook           
(Ninox novaeseelandiae)

Family: Strigidae
Migration: Non-migrant

Distribution:
Mainland Australia and Tasmania, and on some coastal islands. Closely related species are found in Timor, S. New Guinea, New Zealand.

Habitat:
A variety of habitats from dense forest to open desert.

I've just returned from a fleeting visit interstate, to my parents farm in New South Wales. Whilst there I had the chance to sight and hear many birds, from dusty-pink Galahs and little Willie Wagtails to brazen Cockatoos and Emus that think they're goats. A host of farm related images soon, I promise, but first a little pair of owls.

A Year of Southern Hemisphere Birds would not be complete without Australia's littlest and most common owl, the Southern Boobook. Tasmanian Boobooks are apparently smaller in size whilst those of the Cape York rainforests are slightly larger and darker again than their chocolate-brown counterparts. And the young Southern Boobooks are almost entirely white. This nocturnal sweetheart is often mobbed by songbirds if found in the day. (It is also referred to as the Mopoke or Spotted Owl.)

(1, 2, 3, 4. I've enjoyed quickly sharing the Boobook portrait in all its varied stages.)

(Cropped photograph of an actual Boobook by Mike Richardson.)

A pair of Red-rumped Parrots

FEBRUARY
Red-rumped Parrot           
(Psephotus haematonotus)

Family: Psittacidae
Seasonal movements: Sedentary

Distribution:
S.E. Australia, throughout most of New South Wales (though less so on the coast) and Victoria, with an isolated population in N.E. South Australia and S.W. Queensland. (In addition, escapes from aviaries may have led to an increase in some populations in some areas, namely around the Central Coast and Sydney, New South Wales.)

Habitat:
Commonly near water: farm paddocks with living and /or dead trees; grassy woodlands, pastoral country; river red gums on watercourses; mangroves, crops, farmyards, roadsides, playing fields, suburban allotments... and the North Fitzroy footy oval.

If September belonged to the Superb Fruit-Dove, February, my birthday month, belongs to the Red-rumped parrots. These parrots who mate for life seem an appropriate fit for the month of St Valentine. I am presently drawing the title page for these loved-up parrots. They are resting atop a wire fence similar to that of the local footy oval where I occasionally spot a pair whilst I am out on walks with Percy. (We also spot this fine hound too. Bernice the Bedlington Terrier.)

(Cropped photograph of an actual Red-rumped parrot by Larry Dunis.)

September belongs to the Superb Fruit-Dove

SEPTEMBER
Superb Fruit-Dove
(Ptilinopus superbus)

Family: Columbidae
Migration: Partial migrant

Distribution:
Australasian region from Sulawesi through New Guinea to the Solomon Islands, and in N.E. and E. Australia.

Habitat:
Rainforests, rainforest margins, mangroves, wooded stream-margins, and even isolated figs, lilly pillies and pittosporums.

September's bird in my giant book of birds (A Year of Southern Hemisphere Birds) is the Superb Fruit-Dove. A brilliant bird of vivid plumage, it is for Gracia's birthday month. It's brightly coloured feathers provide good camouflage high up in the trees amongst the fruit and foliage. The Superb Fruit-Dove lives in pairs or alone, and it makes a nest of twigs in vine tangles or in a tree. This bird is one of the most important seed distributors in Australian tropical and sub-tropical forests.

(Cropped photograph of an actual Superb Fruit-Dove by Ákos Lumnitzer.)

Dear you

Dear you,

Since 2008, Gracia has been working on a series of imagined travels that many of you will be familiar with. These particular postcard collages feature a story on the reverse. Many have made their way into printed zines of limited edition, and all at some point have been published High Up in the Trees. On Wednesday, a new home was finished especially for all of G's Dear You tales. All earlier ones from 2008 through to 2010 have been rescanned to the larger size blogs can now show images, and it is beautful to see them all in one special place.

I invite you to peruse Dear You. You'll not be disappointed.

Yours in awe of this project and in hope that it continues for many more years to come,
Louise

(The postcard tale you see above in this screen shot, "The nightly laughter it burns a hole", is one of my favoruites from 2011,indeed, from all time.)

Mosey, tootle, ramble

Exciting news arrived by post today. Gracia and my most recent collaborative artists' book, As inclination directs, is to included in the 2013 Geelong acquisitive print awards exhibition. Yip! Yip!

2013 Geelong acquisitive print awards
Geelong Gallery
Little Malop Street, Geelong
31st of August to 24th of November, 2013

Whilst you are there, you'll be able to catch our show, All breathing in heaven (17th of August to 13th of October, 2013), in the nearby gallery space.