repetition

I was stung by a bee on my morning ride today, an interesting thing happened… (unfortunately the bee passed away) it left its stinger in my arm and as I brushed it out I could feel the pain starting. There was nothing for me to do as I has left my lavender oil on the kitchen bench, and I was in the middle of nowhere, so I kept riding. I waited for the anaphylaxis, due to my increased heart rate, but none started, and the pain went away pretty much immediately. Very curious. I am noticing many changes in my physiology now I am training consistently. I have a clearer mind, better focus, more energy and patience, particularly at work.

beechmont lookout 6.00am

I am training for a particularly challenging event. I’m taking it on as an arts project. Art/sport/science: can it be all joined and made useful in its mesh? We shall see. My PhD project was about art/gardening and I believe the two mediums are symbiotic in nature, one feeding the other and as time goes on there is no doubt in my mind that the Art world has embraced the concept of food and gardening and food foraging as a valid medium, due to more committed artists than myself including Artist as Family, Janet Laurence, Fiona Hall and many others. We are all as humans intimately connected to all things, scientifically and mathematically indisputable.

(images and words by Gyorgy Doczi. ‘The power of Limits’ Shambhala Publications 1981)

The event I have chosen is so far on the edge of my capabilities it’s nearly not doable. I am seeking the journey of what processes I go through as I train, what the repetition of pedaling, breathing techniques and riding to 432HZ music brings forth in my consciousness, and what artworks I produce from the process, already I am hearing EMILY XYZ  poetry in my memory as I ride. As an artist I would like to see what happens to me as I submit and push myself through training boundaries to a place of meditation as I ride up a 18% incline to the Binna Burra Teahouse hill and how I change as the event draws closer. I am reminded of Mike Parr’s many many self portraits (repetition) and sitting through the pain of sewing his lips together (endurance).

the view at 6.00am beechy rd

 

I am using this as a visual diary, and any artworks that I produce I will put up here on the blog, perhaps someone may find it interesting. At the very least, it will be an interesting project for me to focus on. My Sons keep telling me I need to leave my comfort zones to come up with new art works, Im not quite sure this is what they meant, considering the extremes they go to to produce their art, but it’s a start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKUUztrrPvE    (Mack)

http://www.seashepherdglobal.org/icefish/crew/sam-simon-crew/clancy-walker.html (Clancy)

here is the link to The Peaks Ride in August.

https://www.bicyclenetwork.com.au/peaks-challenge-gold-coast/

I am so lucky to have the support of my family and amazing friends with me on this crazy journey including Dave Groom and his wife Lara. Dave is my cycling buddy, who happens to be a landscape painter: http://www.davegroom.com/  (Yes we do talk about Art on our rides sometimes!) as well as my Sister who is one of my yoga teachers helping me maintain some softness physically and in camel pose, opening my chest and heart whilst facing challenges and not ‘armouring up’.  http://www.new.surfeasy.com.au/lessons/yoga-and-surfing/

My friends who are part of the support crew (you all know who you are) thanks again.

dave and bikes at the border gates

 

Mr Pink and Curves of a Naked Lady

 

1/3 of the tri team Beechmont Babes

 

support crew

I finish this post now with the words of my undisputed favourite philosopher (though I know he would cringe at that title) Masanobo Fukuoka from his book ‘Sowing Seeds in the Desert’ (2012) who constnatly reminds me that life starts in the garden and ends in the garden and seeds are the future and the past and the present

‘I look forward to the day when there is no need for sacred scriptures or sutras. The dragonfly will be the messiah’

Read Full Post »

Exquisite

One of my favourite garden treats is a Cape Gooseberry, Psysalis peruviana. It is part of the Nightshade family.

I go hunting often for it, looking for the ghostly pods, today I found some lying around in the freshly cleared vege patch. Before scoffing them all, like a vitamin c starved lunatic, I took some pics.

It is a beautiful plant. Skeletal in its decaying casing-it holds the seeds to new life within. The beginnings and the ends. all together. very clever and it’s yummy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIFE FORCE

by Geraldine Bigelow

 

“…..I move with the memory

of all I pass

the secret folds of middle earth

and run them through the field of Man

of great beast

and flirtatious bird

seeking out myself

I spray forth

taking the wind

and its chiming message

down to the pool of water

where all life has gathered.”

 

 

Read Full Post »

‘Haiku from Headquarters’

I am a carer, working in Aged Care. I work a lot in a closed Dementia unit. It is both beautiful and distressing all at the same time. As an artist I aim to bring communication in different formats to the discussion. I am most interested in discussing the social aspects of aged care, the effect Dementia has on the individual and family and friends.

‘Haiku from Headquarters’ is a suite of work I have compiled to bring a greater understanding to dementia, it’s beauty and challenges. I have included a link here to Altziemers Australia.

There is always a risk that works may seem patronising or diminishing, but I assure you this series has been made with thought and love.

I have pictorially represented the Haiku, to add to the feelings of disconnection experienced by the person living with Dementia, of their family.

https://fightdementia.org.au/support-and-services/i-care-for-someone-with-dementia/later-stages-of-dementia

Read Full Post »

December

‘She stood in the driveway

for a moment I did not recognise her

her face in repose’

In photography theory, taking an image is a form of death, a representation of a moment passed that cannot be reclaimed. Is living not similar to a series of infinite minute deaths with every breath? No one second the same as the next. Our bodies charging ever onwards through time and space. Nothing ever the same, trying to hold onto things is as pointless as trying to hold onto a handful of water.

I love the language of photography, it helps me make sense of things.

 

Read Full Post »

sunday lunch

 

its a great time of year now in the garden. the last of the winter veges are still there, and ive just planted some new seeds for the coming months. the purple potatoes i dug up by accident while making some room for the rockmelons. some words fromCate Kennedy’s book ‘the taste of river water’ that was given to me by a dear friend

‘..every hour you have ever spent learning language

has been for this, and nothing more:

to pronounce the simple words you need

perfectly and comprehensively, across the swell”

from ‘almost drowning’ p 12

Read Full Post »

no message, just having fun

 

I remember watching someone

peel an apple

a Pink Lady

I can’t recall who it was

But they were nimble fingered

Using a potato peeler

 

I was talking to them as they peeled

the whiteness of the apple

visible to me as I spoke

I was mesmerized by the hands

Peeling the apple

the apple and me, me and the peel

dry point etching

Read Full Post »

relationship ecology

relationship ecology

Written in ancient script

In an antique book

Our languages the same

We found the knot

Gracefully sitting at centre

Fertile as a vine

How fragile the knot was

As we pulled it

together we dissolved

Like dust we scatter

Fragrant as frankincense

Light as a million particles

Under the illusions of this human existence

Read Full Post »

any time?

fizz fruit

Markers of time

If I eat this fruit too fast

It will make my tongue fizz

I need to wait

For the right time

 

I seem to be time keeping

 

Not much time left now

Game is running into over time

Time waits for no- one

when you are busy busy

 

time is money (?)

 

What do I do when I realize

Time has run out

and there’s none left, to grab a wheel chair

And make a run for it ?

 

I would like my last expiration

to be as that of the call of a Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo

 

If I hold my breath, will my heart beat slow down?

I I tap my fingers on this wooden table

will it make the strawberries grow faster?

 

If I take the time

 

To get to know every scar on your body

And hear the stories of where they came from

 

Will I be late for my next job interview?

buying time

Read Full Post »

new work-what do we leave behind?

mysterious family heirlooms 5

Mysterious Family Heirlooms

I smell you on the breeze

That eases its way up the hill from Bondi

Jasmine perfume and salt water

 

A twist around my neck from a strangers’ hands

Hot on the beads, inquiring

‘Where are these from?’

 

Clip on earrings and a brush

Sit in my cupboard

a mystery

 

a pod full of beans, a definite taste

Watch them as I did

Climb a trellis in a time warp

 

Past present future

My golden haired boys

Mysterious family heirlooms

 

My handful of seeds

mysterious family heirlooms 1

mysterious family heirlooms 2

mysterious family heirlooms 3

mysterious family heirlooms 4

mysterious family heirlooms 5

Read Full Post »

paradox

 

collins english dictionary: close 1.shut, 2. stop, 3. prevent access to, 4. come together

 

Warm hands

Cool hands

Sweaty hands

White collar hands

Sculptors’ hands

Soft hands

Please hold my hand

Film maker hands

Surfer hands

Healer hands

Your hands

My hands

Hands up

Hands down

Rooster no hands

your pinning finger

 

 

Read Full Post »