Sad times and Xmas

This is Mum's beautiful Verbena, her outside Xmas tree as it ends up covered in these fluffy white flowers for Xmas. Sadly its also a reminder of Glenn's passing, as he always picked it to freshen up his car for his drive home. We never know what life has in store for us and I suppose that is part of the wonder and despair of its winding pathways.
x
Grandad and Nicholas enjoying Xmas Eve in the cool of Nicky's aircon. How nice to eat in comfort as the typical monsoon temperatures mean any house other than Nona's is better! We can all roll around and play without feeling uncomfortable.
Nicholas locking me away in his room - very exciting playing behind closed doors! Look at that 'do not disturb' face.....
Here we all are waiting to open our crazy presents - think we are a little over our supposed $10 Xmas - Nicholas enjoyed handing the presents out and took a little prompting to finally start checking what was under all that paper. Grandad picked these great wooden toys to win little and big boys hearts. And could Xmas be more fun with bubbles - and a little boy chasing them amongst the typical Northern footware - a giveaway to their location.
This little kitchen was a big hit with the chef and he has been cooking up a storm since Xmas day and speaking of Xmas Day - spent in the comfort of Aleta's aircon - this was the end of a great Xmas lunch.
Family is fun and having everyone home at Xmas was a great end to a big year.

December already

December already. Seems November slipped by too fast - Grandad has been away a whole month - cough cough, brmm brmm - as Nicholas always says. I think Grandad is missing his little boy. Now this month has seen some incredible cake making - just look at that face and the wonderful mixture everywhere. We really do have a chef in our midst and he taste tests every creation before and after! This little chef had a major event - his first sleepover with Nona - he slept really well but I think Mum and Dad were missing his company which is understandable.


And this was the last birthday for the year! Nicholas was so keen to help his uncle unwrap his exciting parcels - there was a shortage of paper but the oh so creative ones and lots of sticky tape worked wonders. Of course there was the dreaded sponge and the family and dreaded neighbours and their dogs!

The pottery club exhibition went well - always a busy time of the year with end of year events happening every weekend and this time we had to share the evening with the Dance concert so a lot of mothers missed out but came through the week so the little shop is starting to look quite bare again. I finally did some cups and beakers but most sold so will have to sit down and face putting those handles on again. The weather is perfect for quick drying but pretty hard on the potter as its just so hot and humid. We were apparently 40 yesterday so I had the industrial fan blasting away, the noise driving me a little mad as well!
I must apologize for the following repetitious display for my pieces
- and I call myself a photographer!!!

I love the beach - how often I say this! I feel its mine even though I share it with lots of walkers and their four legged friends but there are mornings when Midnight and I are totally alone on our 20 minute walk and its total bliss. The freshwater creates such interesting gutters along the shore after the torrential downpours - its amazing how much water falls out of the sky but the beach is testament to the quantity as it seeps out on the sand, reversing the patterning created by the tidal movement.

I know, I can see that fresh track - a blot on an otherwise beautiful view.

More porcelain pieces with their dash of bauxite to attach them to place. These were a late addition to the last firing but they didn't go down to the shop - I have more pieces to fire so will wait and enjoy looking and touching a little longer.I couldn't resist this sunset photo with the frangipanni in the foreground - the flowers are touched with the same yellow in the sky and are the most delicate of pinks.
Now this is the start of a huge thunderhead - they build and boil and seem to climb endlessly up into the sky before the lightning begins. Spectacular and I could sit and watch for hours but for the mosquitoes - they are the unwelcome guests the wet weather brings along.

Studio

I finally attacked my work area opening it up with the addition of a new giveaway work bench - can't believe my luck as its made my little area so much more user friendly. My shelves have found a new home in the garage section so now I have more natural light. Of course I immediately filled my bench up with work - about time as I have had too much time away from the clay. Now the glazing begins! I am a tad inspired as I have sold some of my pots at the 'Between Seasons Show' at Cudgegong Gallery !!!
Nicholas was so interested in my hand movements trimming so he wanted 'up' and then helped compressing and then decorating with some deft strokes. He will have a record of this little event with his Nona. Of course there's always the unexpected in this household and today was no exception - a frog let out a croak from the icecream bucket in front of us. Well this had Nicholas enthralled and a little apprehensive even though he loves frogs and we have to check one of their favourite haunts every day. We decided to take this frog to the frog house and see if he would be happier away from the constant prodding of trimming tools.

So here he is ready to disappear into the depths - overnight he must have decided he wanted to remain a potting frog and returned to his former residence amid the tools! Nicholas will be fascinated again when we sit at the wheel.
Tomorrow I must finish glazing and load that kiln......

Papa's 80th Birthday

This is a special day - Papa celebrated 80 years. As we couldn't make it we decided to capture a crazy sort of greeting only this family can do. We all wished him a happy day and wished we could have been there to share it. Jeffery left today and will be up there with Papa and Nona tomorrow so will pass all the hugs from Weipa way.
Bruce and I were to be heading down for the big event but a lot happened this month so the flying away was put on hold as Bruce has left for better things workwise but its been a sad thing for family and we all spent the last night together around the table. Red to black - both marking the skin really well so he will be washing darkened work clothes.

I will have family to keep me going and lots of muddy hands doing my pottery as well as watching the two girls bloom as their finer shapes are moulded into a beauty only becoming of mums-to-be. I said I will be having twins - when they visit - as they are due within 5 days of each other and in the same month Nicholas was born. Must be something in the air up here as there are over a hundred pregnant women in town and still going. Such a shame the new hospital still won't cater for all these young mums who have to fly out a month before they are due - makes it very hard for little families especially if they have to rent for that time.
Now Christopher makes a mean banana cake and so does Nicholas - he watched intently and repeated all the steps mixing like a demon - a chef in the making!
Now the cake making moved outside and the colours just got a whole lot better and creamier. Tania even had her knee decorated so she could feel part of the action.
I just had to add this - after the night's high tide worked its magic on the dreaded plastic bag reminding it that special creatures like fish need protection from its clutches. I didn't think plastic could actually look so beautiful and to think the human hand was not at play in the artistic creation - the scourge became a thing of beauty in the early morning light.
The rain disappeared after that first huge storm but perhaps the bowerbird knows something as this year he has positioned his bower at the side of the road below the track down the hill - some distance from the beach - usually his bower is on the top of the beach above high tide. His beautiful creation is littered with white shells and bright pink and green. Some years its blue which takes his fancy but as always his little dancing area is immaculate - no wonder the ladies converge in great numbers when he prances with his little pink feathers rising on the back of his head a contrast to his dappled drab grey. He also oftens visits for a swim in my water bowl for all my feathered friends - mimicking many birds as he splashes loudly. He is another new bird addition to the front of the house.

First Storm, Nicholas gets a haircut

We had our first storm last night with huge claps of thunder and torrential rain. The neighbours had their phone blown off the wall with a lightning strike and then out went the power for an hour. I love the rain and accompanying storms with the night skies lit up like Lunar Park. Midnight hates it and gets to come inside until it passes, but he isn't quite as bad as Max and Gus next door.
We were the first on the beach, Midnight and I, and our footprints tell the story of our movements along the shore - interesting to look at the crisscross of midnight's journey while mine is marked by stops to grab a digital moment. The sky is heavy looking out to sea promising more rain - no wonder as we have had such hot days and the humidity is building. The rain will herald all the changes to the foreshore, green overtaking the browns of summer, washing the dust away for the next wet months.The beach was so soft underfoot, the rain peppered sand forming a gentle cushioning to our tread. I love the contrasts formed with wave washed smoothing.
Its nice to see the beach free of tyre marks with only these environmental etchings creating exquisite little images.
Just had to put this in. Nicholas loves planes and Grandad finds some great clips on Youtube so he sits up on his lap and watches intently until the images come up, often with the cutest little searching sideways looks at Grandad watching his reactions as well. We will miss this image when Grandad leaves.Here is our newest addition to the golfing circuit - he has some great shots but oh can he carry that bag complete with the swinging arm gait, determination etched across his face. Is this Grandad's future caddy and protege?
Now yesterday was a big day. Nicholas with the beautiful curls became Nicholas the little boy. Daddy cut his locks off - we were all sad to see them go but I am sure Nicholas feels so much cooler and looks cooler too.
Here I am doing my little boy thing - don't I look great!

September Kiln Load

This has been such a busy month and lots of good and bad happening. Still I managed to get this firing done as I wanted to enter a couple of art awards. Good for me to make an effort and actually do something. At least now with computer magic we can either email or burn images and the selection panel do the rest. This digital age makes things so much easier. I could have never taken the hundreds of photos trying to get the right light, angle and clarity. Still it would be nice to have a professional to resort to now and again.
Anyway here are some of the better pieces from the flames. The porcelain has won me over. Only tried a few pieces as I didn't want to ruin the whole lot and loved the results. Only wished I had tried it a long time ago but they say there is always a reason our development moves along certain paths.
This old barbed wire is courtesy of Merluna Station - I love the random rusting - the iron red mimicking local surroundings.
I really love the woven baskets - their intricate patternings and shapes used for so many things - beautiful, strong but delicate utensils no manufactured piece could ever match. I feel such an emotional bond when I am throwing and decorating the forms inspired by them.

These last two images couldn't be more different but I love the total contrast - but they still both have the attention to individual detail I love to give each pot I throw or handbuild. It is so satisfying looking at what you create and revisiting the thoughts you had working that particular piece. They all tell a story, albeit one known only to the potter but alluded to in the little signs captured by the flames.