Sunset and beach grasses

I am sure everyone knows how much I love the beach sunsets.   I struggle to turn away and walk up the little hill until the light completely fades and if by chance I do I spend more time turning and pausing thinking 'should I take another photo'.  I missed today - rumblings again may mean another storm tonight - we need it as it hasn't rained for 3 days and that is almost a drought in the wet!

Pucker Gallery's Randy Johnston Exhibition touched a chord.   The beach grasses are beautiful so I am drawn to his wonderful free strokes on his work.   I marvel at the variety of grass cover in my little beach environment and the change in dominant vegetation as the wet moves through its cycle.   The dry sees all this rich growth disappear and what remains is often ravaged by fire.

Have I touched clay.  Surprises of surprises the hands actually were dirty for a few days - how I miss that passionate embrace on the spinning wheel.  A new year begins!

Xmas Wishes

Xmas Wishes - May you all enjoy family and share this special day together in happiness.

Malcolm Davis

For a shino lover the passing of Malcolm Davis is such a loss to the ceramic world.   Beautiful, beautiful pots.

Three hours, one fish, rain, sunset - what a great afternoon!

Male Carpenter Bee

This photographic specimen sat quietly while both my neighbour and I snapped happily away.  There is quite a colony of female bees burrowing into a dead section of the teatree.  I initially thought they were bumblebees but a great website on native bees enlightened me.   I have a healthy population of different native bees in the front of the house so hopefully this means I have a healthy little environment at my front door!

These were the final colours of sunset two days ago and last night the whole sky was the most incredible  palette of greys with soft pink blushes punctuated by crispy white thunderheads rising higher and higher into the sky.  Wet season skies make up for the oppressive humidity leading into the Wet proper.   That humidity is my excuse for not getting into the clay!

Cook's first taste of the Great South Land!

This is not where I live (we don't have hills!!!) but its still a special family place and sharing it with my wonderful Mum makes it even more so.

This is my lovely Mum.

Coming home was filled with mixed emotions but I did feel inspired to fix that one annoying burner and throw some shino around on many pots. I love this little one in the rough local clay. Two firings seemed to bring out its true hidden qualities and I keep thinking it should stay in my cupboard - trouble is if you saw the pots I hate to let go you would shake you head!

I love the Weipa shino and its movements over bauxite and interactions with my glazes and have to consciously stop myself from using it on everything I make. Unfortunately my market is limited and the appreciative Shino buyers are too few....so the cupboards grow.......

Still all this is a good sign - I am back eager to get my hands in clay again when time permits.

Sunset Inspiration

Just some of the wonderful colours which inspire this.

Special memories of 'the walker' leaving his footprints in the sand will always be in my heart.