Purrly and the Plastic Sleeves…..

I have been sorting out my artwork and had dozens of A3 plastic sleeves in various piles around the room. I went out for a coffee and when I returned, noticed that some of the sleeves had tiny little razor marks on them and were not in the same place.

I placed the hidden camera in my hands and found the culprit.  Purrly  playing “Enemy”….

 

The Nunga TV – Smart Mob – The Car that makes people smile….

Sometimes when we are out and about I forget that we are driving in the NungaTV car- so beautifully painted by Mark Blackman and the Warriappendi students. People often smile and some feel compelled to wave…such is the Spirit of connection and appreciation that Aboriginal Art invokes. Although if I have forgotten about the outside of the car, it does feel as if people are just waving and smiling because they are having a good day!…….(;-)

With the NungaTV car, it’s as if people are seeing a mobile dot-painting for the first time.  

And they are of course!……..

 

 

 

Even  grown men, when they  stand near the NungaTV car, just want to play!….

 

 

The EarthSong Brothers………

Great to see Tony again after nearly 15 years and to be able to share in the   EarthSong vision together…….

Create New Dreams…Seeding the Future Vision

We had a wonderful weekend camp…thanks to the gorgeous Goddesses who came from two Communities up north to join us in the Riverland.

Along with the Mandala art and making clay beads, we work-shopped the Vision for the Womens groups…then painted terra cotta pots and planted the Sunflower seeds that will grow along with the new changes..

Thankyou to the Women for allowing us to photograph the art work and capture the many wonderful moments where Nanas and great grandchildren, Community leaders and members sat and enjoyed the  creative processes  together….what better way to spend a weekend in the Riverland sun?

Deanna Nungala and I feel very privileged to have been invited to host the Celeberating our Community camp and look forward to our Miminis Nopin Inc ventures in 2009 when we can return the gifting by visiting the Women and seeing how the Sunflowers have grown….

Miminis Nopin – Women on the Move…

 

We think we have found art based activities that everyone- young and old -can enjoy together…and sme1954 …you may find new pathways open when you get creative too!

 

Deanna and I wearing the clay necklaces we made during the Apology week, to honor the Mothers whose children were stolen from them.  Nungala is a Stolen Generation survivor and a Warrior Woman of the heart in the truest sense….

 

Our Vision Workshopping Board….

 

Painting the clay beads they have rolled earlier in the day is wonderful for concentration for the little kids and fun~creativity for all ages…

 

Little sister can create and paint her own beads too!

 

 

This pot-painter will seed some fantastic changes for her  Community I am sure…

 

 

The gorgeous goddess with the smile that lights up rooms and hearts…

 

Our Chef extraordinaire took time out from her delicious food-making to paint a pot of her own…

 

 

Lady birds for good luck turned up on the top of this artists work….

 

…as you can see….

 

Mother and Daughter creating together……they have a vegie garden at home and the new Sunflowers might fill that garden one day! One single  seed births the seeds of many new flowers over one single season… 

 

…seeding the Vision is a journey of process, attention, watering and ….patience….

 

…all pots are sealed with varnish and the upper torso lean, with head titled upward is a spraying skill learnt after accidentally inhaling a nostril full of varnish dust on the first ever pot.  Interesting shadow cast on the ground there….

The trip to Aortearoa (New Zealand) was a rather magical time!

 

 

 

 

I LOVE books…so this was such a great sight!

I was born into a book loving family…which is very fortunate as my parents were born into the low-to-no-opportunities of a northern English factory town where education often stopped very early in life and menial work began.
Neither of my parents had the opportunity for higher education but that did not stop them from reading, learning, reading, learning…and passing on the passion for books to us..crossword puzzles, scrabble, big books, small books……libraries are a big part of our families external life!..:)

On the weekend Sal and I went to the markets at the Port Adelaide docks and as we strolled around the second level of these big old converted wharf sheds…this is what we saw.

A higgldy-piggldy mass of books, books, books…with such chaotic order, that I am sure some of those books on the bootom are never viewed, because their sole purpose is to hold up the pile!

I would tell you a secret but….

….Purrly says that would be letting the Cat out of the basket!

“I AM at Home with Peace and Prosperity”

This was the theme for our empowerment art work this week…to become comfortable with Peace and Prosperity when there has been a history of chaos and poverty….

I am ever amazed at the completely individual and unique creations that emerge from the same black and white template……..

Friends…

We were at a public event and I didn’t know that one of my old friends knew my friend so I asked another old friend to frame them!

A picture paints a thousand words….

Shirley- Big Heart Big Smile

Relationships change and friendships come and go. Family is not always defined by those who swim in the same gene pool and although many years have passed since Shirley and I were in close and regular contact, when we get together those years melt into the ether…

Shirley has a big heart and has walked a big journey. She is a Woman who is never happier than when she is surrounded by family and friends and laughter.

Purrl the Feline Dog…

Someone has to tell her….

Because she just doesn’t listen…  

 

Day in and day out she just wants to play fetch with the tennis ball…and not let you have once she has pounced it of course.