HIGH UP IN THE TREES

Late afternoon 5 senses.

It's that time of the week for the roll call of five sensory glimmers from the week.

SMELL:
Wednesday's yoga card highlighted all things fragrant - "The fragrance of flowers cannot be smelled if you stand downwind, but the fragrance of good actions can be recognised anywhere." (4. Flowers, verse 54).
The fragrance of jasmine rice bubbling in the rice cooker can also be recognised anywhere in the house, downwind or no downwind.
The lingering smell of Kiehl's Original Musk Bath & Shower liquid body cleanser in the bathroom...
Quickly obliterated by a lingering, pungent smell of a recently vacated kitty litter box.
The chemical aroma of the air freshener employed in vain to combat the afore mentioned kitty scent. Ahh, the joy of pets! Incidentally, if you have furry loved ones (of the four legged variety) here's a handy hint: Put on a tight rubber glove and rub your hand across the surface of any chairs and cushions to remove all the hair from its surface. It's gross, true and highly effective.

HEAR:
The 'clickity, clack' of Omar scampering across the top of the bed frame. Back and forth, up and down. This area of his domain appears to hold the greatest interest... a sleeping lump of a human on the mattress below merely a convenient stepping stone.
CLICKITY
CLACK
CLICK
CLICK, CLACK

(You can just make out our collaborative print The Tears of the Elephant from 2003, in the background too.)

TASTE:
The bitter taste of coffee sliding down my throat in the morning.
The bitter taste of coffee sliding down my throat in the morning, mug number 2.
Followed by the minty taste of toothpaste... or, perhaps the taste of a freshly toasted hot cross bun to herald the imminent arrival of all things Eastery.
AND, the salty taste of two pieces of White Hungarian Salami stuffed in a salad roll to cater to my taste-buds craving steak & chips on Monday.

SIGHT:
Digging in the archives. Rummaging through some old drawings - like this one:

And, family snaps - like this (Dixie my lilac Siamese buddy):

Taking our four recent artists' books to Anita's studio to be documented (finally).
Watching through the window, the pigeons congregate in the gardens of the nearby Hosing Commission whilst Anita re-parks her car.
Watching said pigeons disperse when a woman and her jeep wheel past.
Recent orders all wrapped up by the front door awaiting there trip to the Post Office, alongside a seed-bell to give to Hawk the Canary when I see him tomorrow.

TOUCH:
The feel of the carpet underneath my hands when inverted in a right angle position with legs up the wall during yoga.
The feel of my hair falling over my face whilst upside-down.
The imagined feel of a new haircut (I want one but alas the purse strings say otherwise).
The also imagined feel of a full wallet.
Walloping the 'publish' button on this post.

X marks the escaped museum exhibits.

We've been snowed under of late. Tangled by timelines, deadlines, clotheslines. Those tangle-me-up lines & burials. The week previous of festival craziness has finally caught up with us. Washing beckoned. Journals needed their spines knotted. And various other tasks and design jobs called. Nevertheless, I thought I'd squeeze in another posting, one before my next contribution to the wonder that is 5 Senses Friday, lest I need to rename this space 'only in the trees upon sporadic basis' or 'swinging from the branches one day a week' or perhaps 'Friday Senses underneath a small shrub'...

So, with the crazy wonders of the week easing to a soft lapping at the feet, and without giving too much away (otherwise what else will I put in my Friday summary), I can recommend most heartily that if you are in ol' Melbourne town that you pop in to the RMIT School of Art Gallery in building 2 to see X Marks The Spot... featuring work by many of the lecturers who taught Louise & me all those years ago. Phil Edwards, Peter Ellis, Robin Kingston, Greg Moncreiff, Nick Mourtzakis, Fran van Riemsdyk, Wilma Tobacco, and Louise Weaver. (We've not long returned from the opening, chuffed to learn that we're in time to watch an episode of Inspector Rex, that somewhat delightfully daggy, doggy addiction.

Download the catalogue we whipped up for the exhibition here (it's a tiny 372KB download)... and have a good look through.

Also, head on over to Pasadena Mansions and say hi to my Mum. She's joined the merry blogging bandwagon and making it a family affair. Next week, be not surprised if I am plugging 'Auntie Rhoda Sounds Off' or 'Cousin Ed's Animal Wrestling Tips & Other Hairy Tales' or 'Belinda's Public Transport Adventures in the Mighty Metrop'. (All fictious family members, of course. Disclaimer: Any similarities to real and existing blogs completely unintended). Louise is also continuing with her motorbike watercolours... I should know, they're on the scanner to my left as I type.

Everyday enchantments & twist-in-tale finales.

Last night if I'd written a post it would have gone something like this: "It's 1.30am and I'm hungry... frightful hungry... hungry for a huge steak and a serve of golden chips (note: I've been largely vegetarian for the majority of my life... in-fact I don't think I've ever eaten a steak before. I've scoffed down a chop or two as a kid in my Primary School days, nibbled on a sausage at a bbq... and indulged in the occasional piece of chicken or serve of fish... but right now all I really want is a steak & chips! Shh, don't tell anyone.)". I also would have probably written something along the lines of "do you actually need to see what your hand is writing in order to write?"... the answer (today) is 'yes'! So, here instead is a Spike Milligan verse from Silly Verse for Kids, which I've enjoyed re-reading over the weekend...

Tell me little woodworm

Tell me little woodworm
Eating thru the wood.
Surely all that sawdust
Can't do you any good.

Heavens! Little woodworm
You've eaten all the chairs
So that's why poor old Grandad's
sitting outside on the stairs.

Several of the pages still contained my small, homemade tags too. I must have been keeping track of favourites. Favourites such as...

Down the stream the swans all glide

Down the stream the swans all glide;
It's quite the cheapest way to ride.
Their legs get wet,
Their tummies wetter:
I think after all
The bus is better

From Spike to Roald Dahl, I've been plundering my favourite authors as a kid and finding them to be just as I'd left them &mdash FABULOUS!

So fabulous that I thought I'd share with you the opening lines from Madame Rosette by Roald Dahl, written in 1945 (The Best of Roald Dahl - Perfect bedtime stories for those who relish sleepless nights, Penguin Books, 1986)... be warned, you may well find yourself hooked. You may well find yourself searching for this very book upon your shelf only to be dismayed when you find it's not there.

" 'Oh Jesus, this is wonderful,' said the Stag.
He was lying back in the bath with a scotch and soda in one hand and a cigarette in the other. The water was right up to the brim and he was keeping it warm by turning the tap with his toes.
He raised his head and took a sip of whisky, then he lay back and closed his eyes.
'For God's sake, get out,' said a voice from the next room. 'Come on, Stag, you've had over an hour.' Stuffy was sitting on the edge of the bed with no clothes on, drinking slowly and waiting his turn."

Told you you'd be hooked!

So, in no way related to wet bellied swans and whisky swilling stags... Here are a few new drawings from over the weekend. From a little series going under the working title of: We are the mice who have tucked our tails in our pockets.

And finally, from one verse to another, from me to you, my Monday morning yoga card went a little like this... well actually, exactly like this: "All craftspeople ply their trade, and the spiritual aspirants are no different. They have trained their minds, not their hands". (6. THE WISE PERSON, Verse 80)

Many a thing to ponder on! Enjoy what is left of your Monday.

5 little senses.

By the skin of my teeth... here is my 5 Senses Friday (early evening) contribution.

SIGHT

(note the many small pin holes to the right hand side)

My favourite, faded poster in the little roof top office at RMIT where I sit and assess the Open Learning folios and painting assignments. This little shed on top of the roof affords me a wonderful view of the city and the domed roof of the State Library. If it weren't so hot and other things ceased to beckon, I could happily sit here a long, long while.

Catching the W11:Karachi2Melbourne tram outside the old gaol on my way home. A tram so fantastical that it could almost slide into all 5 sensory categories. With it's decorating splendour it easily rolls on into the 'sight' category... the music filtering through the speakers caters amply for 'sound'... the smelly armpits of fellow passengers takes care of 'smell'... etc. etc. Peacock imagery and other feathered friends litter the walls and windows, strands of sequins dangle and bob in the breeze, small flashing lights blink... every surface of this Pakistani moving wonder has been embellished... (quickly, quickly, you still have two days to hop on board this free rollicking ride through the city streets).

"The Karachi decorators have built a vehicle reminding us of our simple human capacity to move, and be moved" (Mick Douglas & Durriya Kazi catalogue).

Fans such as you have never seen

Feathered Friends

Bobbing sequins (find more on flickr... soonish)

Louise's Easton Pearson starry patch blends in

SMELL
Me... not too good and none too pretty after a long hike home in the hot, hot weather. Where be Autumn? Doesn't the weather man and mother nature know I'm hankering for layers!

TOUCH
Little Omar plonks down across the keyboard and magically changes the keyboard setting to Estonian...

SOUND
Hastily whipping on the jeans after yoga to head to the Soundshell to hear the tail end of the Jaipur Kawa Brass Band The brass band took their leave of the stage to the grass below... & Louise was pulled into the middle to dance... taking happy snaps and she bobbed up and down. "This extraordinary Gypsy brass band... offer nothing less than the soul of the contemporary Indian's feast" (Jaipur Kawa Brass Band website).

(the view from LJ's camera lens)

TASTE...
Surely that's all five isn't it? Well, the green grapes are still in season and I'm a known slave to the grape! Does a lump in the throat count... a happy lump... every time I see and hear the Gypsy band?

Peacock wings & the big top.

Olive has a small peacock wing sprouting from her neck.

A Musical Bird.

Alas, no festival success last night, we had planned to check out the Daksha Sheth Dance Company, BhuKham - Circus of Earth & Sky in the Big Top, billed as "Indian martial arts meets contemporary dance", however it wasn't to be. We queued on the trampled grass with many folk for an hour, only to snake our way toward the entrance to miss out by a nose. With a seating capacity of something like 740, we were patrons number 745, 746 and 747. Obviously, news of such a freebie in the Alexandra Gardens has spread fast. So, if you were one of the lucky folk who saw last nights performance, I hope it was a mesmerising affair!

Late this afternoon we're off to check out Worldly Things: 'Fantasy' Coffins from Ghana (at fortyfivedownstairs)... for a long time now, Louise has wanted to be buried in a motorbike fantasy coffin. I once saw a doco on them being made and rather fancied one of of a giant leek, meticulously carved and painted in soft sage green... though it doesn't actually have much connection to my life. Rather fond of a side serve of fried leek, though perhaps not quite enough to warrant it being my final resting place. Perhaps I'll find a more suitable one to choose in this exhibition of eight, as we weave our way down Flinders Lane to yoga tonight.

Best flee, there's a new black and white cat making his way down the bendy branch of the white hibiscus and in to our back-garden. He's upsetting the local crew of cats and wildlife. There's furry, swishy, bottle-brush tails aplenty, on everyone except me. Much cat growling and bird wing flapping - oh, the serenity! I'll leave you with your last peek at some phoney fossils...

Gypsies & punctuation.

As promised, here are a couple of phoney fossil page details from our most recent zine, How to... (spot a phoney fossil). You can see a few more impostor fossils assuming a false identity, alongside their real counterparts, in hiding over here at Louise’s blog, elsewhere.

It’s been a fun, busy and yet strangely lazy weekend... if you don’t mind that “busy” cancels out “lazy”, and if I were truly idle I couldn’t have been bustling about... but there you have it... my weekend has been all of those things. We finished off a pile of journals for Distracted : Merchants of Fancy in WA and a few other orders, which was particularly tricky as my stars in both the newspaper and glossy mags proved to be correct: “ Now that we’re over the lunar eclipse, you can stop stuffing about and get your life in order. Unless you need a little extra time to dally...” (Starlite by Ptolemy II, Good Weekend magazine, March 18, 2006). Turns out I still needed a bit more time to “dally about”, so much so, that I’ve read the forecast for my star sign in every possible source. I’m not normally an avid reader of such, but that is what one does when a spot of dallying is called for.

My inner quest to waste time coupled with my tendency to over use parentheses (“parentheses are occasionally and sparingly used for extra information”), my love of the dash - to mark sharp turns in thought... and of course, my strong attachment to the ellipsis led me to the Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss Punctuation Game. Which, as it’s the same series of questions, you’ll find that the more you play it, the better your percentage score. You’ll eventually become a “100% stickler!” - yay!

Headed to the Alexandra Gardens to soak up some of the Melbourne Festival with seasoned festival folk M & M. We took in the wonderful Musafir Gypsies of Rajasthan workshop over at the Palm Stage. They’re on again tonight, at 10.15pm on the Garden Stage... so, if you hurry with the dusting off of your party frock, you’ll still make it in time. Though trying to find a party frock as beautifully delicious, black and colourful is going to be unlikely.

So, enjoy your Sunday night... and, if you’re still here why don’t you visit this funny little sight Dogs in Shawls. You’ve seen Cats in Sinks over at cute overload, so why not hounds in head gear, bonnets and scarves. A particularly handy site if you are attempting to illustrate your own version of Little Red Riding Hood. You’re bound to find a suitable four-legged, flesh eating, domesticated mammal to double as a Cunning Wolf disguised as yer granny.

5 senses Friday.

This week I thought I’d take Shari, of the glass doorknob fame, up on her offer of contributing to the growing joy that is 5 Senses Friday...

TOUCH
Playing with the corners of the page with my right thumb and index finger whilst reading tales of Jeeves & Wooster and A Short History of Tractors in Ukraine by Marina Lewycka.

SMELL
The mock orange blossom is again in full bloom in our front garden and it smells delightful.

SIGHT
”Look at the camera... look down the lens... look right in to the lens for me”. No, no, I can’t...

One patient photographer bore with my severe lack of strike-a-pose photographic skills.

“Find your edge”. What edge? Where’s my edge? Where did it go? Did I lose along the way somewhere when I ducked out to the shops?

After several hours (4) shooting our hammer & daisy stock for a forthcoming book all about handmade goodies in ol’ Melbourne town and an hour at the end of the session taking our portraits, Louise & I proved not to be naturals in the spotlight (surprise, surprise). My new Zambesi top tried its hardest to instil confidence in its wearer, but alas it was an uphill, up virtual cliff face battle. You can just make out the top here in these pics... afraid I can’t show you anymore than that as I’m in them and looking like I’m about to endure root canal.

TASTE
The fish & chips we scoffed down post haste, post photo shoot. Enjoying the salty goodness whilst watching an episode of Inspector Rex - a perfect pairing!

HEARing music filter down the phone line... Mum & Dad call from the Jimmy Cliff performance at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl... whilst we eat the aforementioned fish & chips in pyjamas.

Ho hum, humdrum.

A million things to do today... a billion tasks beckon... which is precisely why all I want to do right now is watch another pure escapist episode of the Long Way Round... imagining myself on a similar journey and enjoying the reduction of my thoughts to the essentials... "keep heading East".

Look, even my (collaged) animals have packed their tiny belongings and flown the coop...

Long weekends are for...

Long weekends are for...
Discovering some rodents are no longer extinct. The rock rat makes a comeback... in my morning paper (Rock rat back from 'extinction').

Spotting a runaway cat making a bold and terrifying dash across the footy field whilst watching the semi-final at AAMI Stadium, Adelaide, on the telly.

Marvelling at a tiny phoenix carved from a cucumber by a challenger on the Iron Chef.

Being overjoyed that a cd package we incorrectly addressed to our chums L&P is returned to us covered in a smattering of RTS stickers, front and back. Darby & Tarlton survive their latest adventure and need not be Lonesome in the Pines no more... (visit bear family records).

Finally completing our How to... (spot a phoney fossil zine). See more here and here - with plenty more pics to come in the next little bit. So much so that you'll be yelling "STOP! Please, no more! We needn't see all 36 pages! Really!!"...

Finding our print A lament to the sleeping Kingfisher, published in the latest copy of Imprint.

Picking up this Gold Buddha card at yoga on the Saturday: ”It is better to spend time with the wise and enlightened, rather than fools”. (15. Happiness, Verse 206)

And scoring this pearler of a verse on the Monday morning: “Suffering arrives in ten ways if you harm the innocent: pain, calamity, accident, illness, insanity, legal problems, accusations, death or financial ruin; or your house may be burnt down. Following this you will go to hell”. (10. Retribution, Verses 137, 138, 139 & 140)... Can’t say I haven’t been warned... particularly like the touch of “death OR financial ruin”, always good to have some choices.

Meeting this little fella out the window:

Helping Louise pack her imaginary gunny sack as she gets itchy travellers feet watching episodes of the Long Way Round on DVD. Over the course of the long weekend we’ve managed to make it to Mongolia. It’s the only thing Louise will talk about... well actually that and the Sentinelese Tribe of India’s remote Andaman Islands... Damn that Good Weekend magazine article!

Rediscovering my old charm bracelet from Secondary School years... and painting my toenails in a spot of Chanel Jasmin pink... if that doesn’t say road trip ready, I clearly am a fool and Louise ought read Gold Buddha card number one.

And finally, a huge oversight on my behalf... you've yet to meet Misha, our outdoor baby... sticking to the shady spots in the garden:

Watery schoklade.

After a second night of tossing-on-pillow anti slumber, awoke to the demands of our adopted stray cat and permanent outdoor lodger, Miss Misha, howling underneath the bedroom window for a breakfast served with a side of cuddles and company. Perhaps she'd sensed all the talk of all things breakfasty over at port2port. As I drained the cup for the last drop of coffee number 1, the inviting sound of snail mail delivery caused me to clasp my hands in excitement (once said cup was safely put down). Alas, it was only the morning paper which had been flung at high speed into the rose bush and a little business sized envelope from the water company. Throw your mind back to an earlier posting, and you will recall that when we last heard from City West Water they believed us to have a pool, so high was our usage. Our hearts cracked in two places, all civic pride shattered. But now I am happy to report - WE ARE FIRST CLASS WATER SAVERS!

Here is an excerpt, note the gleeful usage of no less than three exclamation marks, theirs not ours: "Congratulations!!! Your household used 208 litres a day for February, which is a reduction of 44.4% per day compared to the month of January. This is a fantastic effort! Keep it up!"

The letter stopped short of a smiley stamp and elephant sticker, however if you read between the lines you can clearly see it's implied. Overjoyed that we can now pack our groceries once more in our "I'm a water saver" blue bag... it doesn't take much for us to have a pleasant morning. In fact, Louise is bounding about the place as I type. The sound of our neighbours radio pleasingly percolating through the adjoining walls and our cats soaking up the morning sun.

Further news from the morning thus far... we have a new zine in the outbox of recent activities &mdash Geschlecht und Schoklade, made in collaboration with our friend Gaby, based in Berlin. Her blush-worthy, would-feel-right-at-home-nestled-between-a-late-night-SBS-movie-and-a-pair-of-suspenders series of risque poems have been transformed into a 16 page yellow zine... with collages by us.

Behold the assembly line:

Enjoy what remains of the morning... I'll leave you with scenes from our walk to yoga last night and the mini cityscape at the bottom of LJ's hot chocolate at Journal... PRE yoga. Needless to sat, the forward bends and pigeon were an effort.

Dear things...

So far the early stages of the week have brought forth some pretty good stuff... Favourite things so far - not wrapped up in brown paper and tied up with string - include waking on Sunday morning to find some dear deer friends in the paper (Deer friends take a walk in the park, photograph from the Sunday Age, p.10):

"Follow those antlers: a deer herd passes through early morning mist in Kralinger Park in Rotterdam, the Netherlands."

Watching the Inspector Montalbano films on DVD for an "entirely unique Sicilian" experience. Gaping in awe at the many splendid textiles on display as part of Threading the Commonwealth - Textile Tradition, Culture, Trade and Politics (1 March - 30 April, 2006 at RMIT Gallery). If the following words sound like your cup of tea... silk, braid, metallic thread, woven flax, merino wool, beaver fur, ribbon appliqué, glass and stone beadwork, khadi cloth, emu feather, mother of pearl buttons and so on and so forth... And if you've always hankered to see a baby's jacket from the Thar Desert, Sindh province, Pakistan and a Maori Chief's cloak shining brilliantly in peacock feathers alongside a Egungun Yorba Masquerade garment from Nigeria, c. 1950's, then this exhibition has your name written all over it and you'd be well advised to pop along.

Next to a bridal collar and robe worn by the Straits Chinese, and cast aside like a worn-out glove we came across a small green card from the (mis)Information Bureau, Collectable Card no.16, Relaxed and Comfortable... which we've managed to trace back to the Museum of Modern Oddities latest installation. See for yourself:

And finally, our latest collaborative zine with a friend based in Berlin is nearing completion... If all goes to plan we'll be stapling it down the middle later on this-evening, with the Special Features disc of Charlie & the Chocolate Factory playing in the background. I've be hearing marvellous things about the trained nut-sorting squirrels... sounds like a Golden Ticket to a perfect evening.

The same but different project pt.8.

THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT - 17 objects selected and drawn by gracia & louise
A collection of small drawings of everyday items from around our home.

GH - Medium: pen & ink on 200gsm Velata Avorio, Magnani wove book paper
Dimensions: 14 X 18 cm
LJ - Medium: watercolour, pencil and pearl-ex pigment on 300gsm cold-pressed watercolour paper
Dimensions: 10 X 15 cm
(with photo of the actual object)

Object Sixteen: Clothing Swing tag X2 (from a favourite gray Olaf woollie and LJ's Rare (Rag Recycle Rag Restyle) Winter jacket from last year

Object Seventeen: Small silver pill box, used to house earrings

THE END (for now)

The same but different project pt.7.

THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT - 17 objects selected and drawn by gracia & louise
A collection of small drawings of everyday items from around our home.

GH - Medium: pen & ink on 200gsm Velata Avorio, Magnani wove book paper
Dimensions: 14 X 18 cm
LJ - Medium: watercolour, pencil and pearl-ex pigment on 300gsm cold-pressed watercolour paper
Dimensions: 10 X 15 cm
(with photo of the actual object)

Object Fourteen: Figure 8 business card

Object Fifteen: Favourite silver leaf earrings, from Alice Euphemia