Residency-the start

Working so far from the studio is scary and fun! So first we decided to move the big rock to a better place and then we wanted to move a companion rock. Leon turned up with a huge yellow machine - steering on front and back wheels and legs that went down to support an extending bucket - and the skill in driving it was amazing! So there was the project - a complete redesign and food for thought.

So I began- setup the tools, establish the water and power supply and figure out how to make things safe when the performances are on.

Of course the first incident was that a piece feel off - oh dear! well what do you expect after dropping it into position. Such is life with sandstone.

Morning from the Black Queen

The start

Now to work! Establish the rhythm and off we go.

Lightning Ridge Residency at the Black Queen

walls of bottles beautifully executed.

Gale and Roger Collins run the Black Queen Outback theatre. It is a performance about the complex of spaces, the lady who built it, why they bought it and culminates in the museum where we witness the story of light.

The museum at dusk before the lamps are lit

That museum is a magic space that compliments the performance. And the lamps themselves do indeed "light up the night"

I'm looking forward to working here on the sandstone of the Ridge.

Morning on the Ridge

Jasmine's Ent

Just a little branch off the Manchurian pear tree - but the Ent spirit wanted to stand there.

and is he happier now?

What Happened to those Horsemen?

Well they never got made in glass. And just as well too - the balancing of my first kinetic sculpture was a tricky business involving fishing weights and dome nuts - best hidden behind the cold cast aluminium. So it was shown at Herring Island - and whilst it didn't find a good home it had a few admirers. And such is life! The clip below may not read in your browser but you can see it on YouTube here

Thinking about the theme further - and reading Jenny Donovan's "Designing to Heal" the revelation for me is that acts of theft, violence and injustice break the network of community and the social contract upon which we all depend.

Life and Love that happen in between sculptures...

Rohan and Jennifer are married - it was very beautiful by the river. The cake was the ephemeral sculpture - that was the last of the warm days - just a prefect fairwell to autumn mildness.

It was just the way to celebrate love and life - with music and friends and the river.