More mushroom musings

over at Lisa Kelly's open studio.

My pictures here

Canberra sky

Last week was perfect back burning weather: very cold and no wind. There was a slight smokey smell the whole week and it felt as though you where tasting air as much as breathing it. The up side is that we had some beautiful sunsets.

Flashed flowers #2

Stolen from my neighbourhood. Pretty sure this is cotoneaster - a weed. So I consider it a good deed to harvest the berry fruits for vases and then them discarded into the rubbish bin.

Japanese song #3

go to flickr for 30 seconds of Bec's marathon

Japanese song #2

Tomorrow at 1:30pm- right after lunch, I will descend into the dark and grimy cave that is Echo Point to participate in an artwork by Bec Dean. Bec is going to sing for 12 hours, non-stop, no repeats, only breaks for toilets and snacks. It's for an exhibition put together by Micheal Dagostino called When Good Curators Go Bad. He has invited former artists who are now curators to make a work asking the questions

If you stop creating do you stop being an artist? Are years of study wasted if you don't go on to have an arts practice? Can you be an artist and curator at the same time?

Bec has invited us one or two at a time for half an hour each, and will

be recording this entire solo performance on video, which will be played back at MOP and installed along with an Echo Point inspired mini-bar that punters are welcome to partake in.

The only thing that I have practiced consistently over the last 15 years besides writing and curating is Karaoke. Many of you have joined me in various Karaoke bars over these past years, and so I am making a work that is dedicated to you.

For some reason my post about karaoke on Bec's birthday has been hugely popular. It's the number 2 most popular post on my blog with 82 hits. Number one is Field Guide to the Birds of Tokyo's Metro System- 121 hits, which I think is popular as there is a band called Birds of Tokyo. Most of my post get about 20 hits with the popular ones reaching 40, so I am not sure what is bringing this post up. Perhaps Bec's legendary karaoke performances have reached international fame and are destined to be the next internet sensation. Stay tuned!

feeling nature

On the way to work on Friday morning I heard a pack of Australian Ravens making short barking sounds. It wasn't there usual call and when I spotted the group to my horror, I saw that they had flushed an owl from a  daytime roost and where driving it away. They where soon joined by Magpies and Sulfur-crested Cockatoos, with the poor owl pecked and harried. It was so distressing to watch. The owl was having trouble flying and getting away as its sight is affected in daylight. I couldn't help but anthropomorphise the event and project a feeling that the aggression of the birds was because the tables where turned on a top predator, who was weakened by being outside of his dark realm. I followed them around awaiting to see if it fell out the sky but they went over the Art School and into a groups of trees. 

I didn't have my binos so couldn't see what kind of owl it was, but going on size - it was bigger than the magpies but smaller than the crows, and colour - dark streaked brown, it was either a Tawny Frogmouth or a Barking Owl. The outline - a stubbed head and neat fan-shaped tail make me think that it was a Barking Owl. Will have to check the birders chat line to see if anyone has seen one recently.

Launceston gorge

I did a flying visit to Launceston on Wednesday, to check out some sites for a project in September/October this year. Photos above are from the Launceston gorge- which is in the middle of town- at night.

I was an intense 21hr trip and a late night of sorting out the ghosts in the machines when I got back to Hobart but everything is now back on track- enough time to start a new flyer drawing! If you happen to be in Hobart on Friday night come to CAST.