Wednesday's Salvaged sextet.

{In the borrowed costume for Vaslav Nijinsky as the Prince from the pas de deux L’Oiseau et la Prince, after Léon Bakst, 1914, with a Northern cricket frog (Acris crepitans).}

{In the borrowed costume for a Courtier from Le Chant du rossignol, after Henri Matisse, 1920, with a Northern tamandua (Tamandua mexicana).}


{In the borrowed costume for a Little God from Le Dieu bleu, after Léon Bakst, 1912, with an Eastern collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris).}


{In the borrowed costume for the Bonze from The Nightingale, after David Hockney, 1982, with a Nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) and a male Gouldian finch (Erythrura gouldiae).}



{In the borrowed costume for one of three Brigands from Daphnis et Chloé, after Léon Bakst, 1912, with a Diana monkey (Cercopithecus diana).}

{In the borrowed costume for a Young Man from The Rite of Spring, after Nicholas Roerich, 1913, with a Great horned owl (Bubo virginianus).}

I couldn't resist sharing, from a loose series of fifteen, here is a look at six recent collages on cartes de visite that will be available individually at the forthcoming Melbourne Art Book Fair. They sport costumes and companions from the animal kingdom I can only but dream about.

With costumes still in mind, Frederick Ashton's charmed take on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Dream (1964), opens tonight (in Sydney), and I cannot wait to see it together with Monotones II (1965) and Symphonic Variations (1946) when it comes to Melbourne (in June). Until then, here's to Bottom en pointe! And headpieces fashioned from (living) Nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus). How obliging. (Now hold still! I beg you, my Plaited Tail.)

And now, head across to the State Library of Victoria's blog to read all about Louise and my work with (papered and helpful) animals. (Thanks Anna.)

Gracia & Louise on making artists' books: This month we welcome guest bloggers Gracia Haby and Louise Jennison, the artists who created the spectacular piece featured on the cover of the latest La Trobe Journal. In this guest post, Gracia & Louise discuss their work with books and paper, and the nature of inspiration and collaboration.



{Underneath Soane's 'star-fish' ceiling, the library at No. 12 proved anything but quiet, our collaborative collage for the cover of the La Trobe Journal, 2015.}

We will have copies of the La Trobe Journal available from our stall in the Great Hall this weekend. There is also talk of doughnuts. See you at the fair, tailed or otherwise!