Sept/Oct in review 2024
Sept/Oct 2024
Season: Spring
Spring has arrived and the vegetable patch has been planted with both seeds and seedlings. I planted variety of lettuce, radish, leek, baby spinach, silver beet, pak choy, broad beans, climbing beans, peas, kale, carrots, beetroot, parsley, oregano and mint. I bought a couple of varieties of tomato seedlings and separated them into 24 larger punnets which I’ve been lovingly tending to, taking them to and from Melbourne like they’re my babies. I plan to gift a lot of them because who doesn’t love the harvest of sweet tomatoes. My grandfather used to bring his grandchildren a plant each year to enjoy. I plan to carry on this tradition with my own children. You can’t plant the tomatoes too early as the frost will kill them. They’ll go into the ground first week November. The other day I bought another 6 varieties from Mount Franklin Organics a grower in our neighborhood. So I’ll have 8 varieties in total. I’ve now also planted pumpkins in a makeshift garden bed to see if they grow down the hill outside the vegetable patch, I planted sunflowers as companion plants. I’ve also potted a variety of peppers and chilies. Zucchini’s and cucumbers are next in line and will be planted in Nov. It’s interesting to watch myself be so loving to the veggies, growing is a caring relationship it’s good for our mental health.
It’s October now and we’ve had our first real bout of sunny weather. The animals have been busy. This morning on our walk we saw half a dozen kangaroos with their joey’s in pouch. There’s lots of baby bunnies running around. Bodhi caught one of them, it was his first kill. I was in shock as if my beautiful dog would ever do such a thing to another animal. It was so typically human response, to ignore his natural instincts.
I also came across a rather long tiger snake the other day in our back garden. It’s taken me time to calm my nervous system and come to terms that we need to coexist. A reminder that we share the land and that we need to operate with more caution at certain times of the year. I called the local snake catchers to get their advice - the snake disappeared into the bushes - unless we knew its exact whereabouts, the job would be pretty much impossible.
We also did a burn off - it feels so good to get rid of a years worth of waste, shedding a layer of worry.
Spring is a rude reminder that there is plenty of chores to do to keep the property fire safe. The gardens need tending to, the grass needs to be cut - there’s no rest for the wicked.
The land we are temporarily looking after reminds me that it is alive, I feel blessed to be learning ways to move and grow with it.
It was our 27th wedding anniversary in Sept, being on the property is our happy space ❤️💫 Rod is clearly not thinking about the kiss he’s giving me 😂
My work:
I held my first exhibition at home in September. There was a great turnout of around 60 people. It was the first time I’ve ever shown my work and it felt good to share it. Even though it’s only the start of my painting journey it felt important to show up. A sign that I am taking this path seriously and that I’m willing to get uncomfortable. I sold around 20 pieces which felt incredible, a nod to keep exploring and developing my process. I loved listening to people discussing which piece they loved the most. I’ve made and sold many things in my life but this exchange felt different it feels like it’s the first time I’ve made work that is incredibly personal.I remember watching the movie Maudie. She got such joy from painting all day - I remember thinking I want to live that kind of creative life.
I said a little speech:
I often wondered what it would be like to live a life as a painter? To respond to your surroundings and emotions with colour and mark making. To create works that reflect how I see the world and to paint primarily for myself.
But there was so much fear attached to doing it. Fear of being a struggling artist, fear of not being able to stand out, fear of thinking small, fear of being seen, fear of not being seen …
Elizabeth Gilbert wrote in her book Big Magic, “Do you have the courage to bring forth this work? The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say yes.”
I said yes, and here we are today.
I began painting 2 years ago when dreaming of a tree change. In this body of work I have drawn inspiration from my love of the Australian bush, a road trip to Central Australia and our move to Mount Franklin. Nature provides me with healing wisdom and fills me with hope. When I paint I aim to capture the spirit of the places I’ve visited through playful marks, shapes, textures, and colours.
May you enjoy my first treasures as much as I have enjoyed making them. This is just the start of my painting journey, I look forward to sharing more work with you as I grow.
I started The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. This is my second time. I had forgotten just how powerful writing your morning pages is for your clarity. It’s a 12 week self guided course for creative recovery, it’s excellent I highly recommend it to anyone who might be feeling stuck.
Things I’ve been thinking about -
challenging myself to lean into the slow process of art making and taming my desire for instant gratification.
Approach painting with playful freedom
My creativity is fueled by practices of care - for my self, my family and this beautiful land we are living on.
What can I do to be more bold? Gather things from your surroundings for mark making. Let nature play a role in my process. Use different materials. Your background was in fashion - how can you incorporate it?
Take the time to be in the landscape quietly listening to its rhythms. Audibly and visibly- let the sensations of nature wash over you.
