Weekending

Biosphere by Tomas Saraceno

I used to love working in the City; dressing up, the hustle and bustle, the people watching, the sense of being part of a bigger picture, the constant state of flux. There was always an air of possibility, and I feel it still when we go exploring in the City. There is always so much to see and do, especially if you know where to look.

Saturday there was not only the new Harvest exhibition to discover - complete with children's activities, there was also the GOMA Store Winter Design Market, and Southbank's Regional Flavours. As a result I came home with handmade goodies, beautiful wine, roasted honey macadamia nuts (that didn't last long) and worn out children. 

Sunday we indulged our homebody-ness as we pottered around the house and worked in the garden. It was  so satisfying to stand back at the end of the day, brush the dirt off my hands and the hay off my knees, and survey the two freshly turned veggie patches, the 25 strawberry plants, 12 cherry tomato seedlings, eight baby spinach seedlings and potted flowers.

Yes, it was a good weekend indeed. 

I hope yours was too.

Weekending - in the City

 

I love visiting Brisbane City. There is always a sense that something is happening. A sense of possibility. A sense that you may stumble upon something fun, interesting or different. Something out of the ordinary from our usual day to day. And so it was Saturday.

 

When our previous plans fell through I asked Cohen what he wanted to do with our day. "Make art at the gallery." (Music to this Mama's ears.) And so we did. First there were little mouths to feed, public art to admire and bridges to cross. We peered in to the river, peered up at the buildings, pointed out all the interesting things we saw. We discovered a live band at the top of the Mall and Cohen did a little dance. We treated ourselves to our favourite foods. Looked at a few stores. Then we found our way to the Pop Up Ekka at Southbank, where we patted baby animals, feed balls in to the mouths of clowns and Cohen proudly caught a rubber duckie. As we neared the end of our loop Emerson fell asleep. We wandered through the Queensland Art Gallery and on to the children's art centre at the Gallery of Modern Art, where we decorated kangaroo masks and hopped around on the scenery. By the time we were driving home both children were asleep.

 

Yes, I love visiting the City, and the City didn't disappoint.

Weekending

1. I'm over half way now on Emerson's Camilla Blanket and I am still in love with knitting it. It is my biggest project to date and I was worried I would fall out of love with it along the way. So far so good. I love watching those fans forming.The nights are getting cooler now and I hope she'll be using it by Winter.

2. We've had a week of rain, with another week forecast. There has been Lego, play dough and balloons to keep a certain boy amused, as well as rain coat and gum boot jaunts in the garden.

3. We visited the Qld Art Gallery and the Museum yesterday. Another perfect rainy day activity. I brought this $10 print home with me from the gallery store. Cheap, beautiful art. (The framed picture in photo 2 is another gallery store purchase.)

4. My cheeky little laundry helpers, who played 'throw the cloth nappies at Mama' and rolled around laughing.

5. My veggie-store-brought sweet potatoes sprouted, so I'm growing slips from them. I recently harvested my first sweet potatoes from the garden and I'm hoping for an even bigger harvest next time!

6. Cut flowers from the garden. My dream of filling the house with flowers I've grown is slowly becoming a reality.

7. And they smell amazing.

8. These delightful roses change from pink, to peach, to yellow as they open.

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My second eye surgery is today. Hopefully I will be able to be back in this space in a couple of days. In the meantime take care.

Souvenirs

One of my favourite places to explore, alone or as a family, is the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane. GOMA is currently hosting the 7th Asia Pacific Triennial, which I have been frequenting since I was a teenager. Today we spent a couple of hours taking in the exhibition. Seeking out the pieces that most appealed to us. Pausing before the skill and craftsmanship of many of the pieces. I found myself drawn, as always, to the paintings of interiors and sculptures displaying craft elements. (There are more photos on my flickr account of some of the pieces that caught my eye.)

It was quiet at the gallery today. Quieter than I had expected, given that it is a school holiday weekend. I love feeling like I have the place almost to myself. There were no queues, no rush. We wandered into this interactive exhibit and had a wonderful time. These images are our souvenirs of this mornings adventure. I love them all, but particularly the one of my little man alone, pulling a cheeky face.

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APT last year on the blog.

'Sculpture is Everything'

Gummo IV Lara Favaretto

 Wolken (Clouds) Michael Sailstorfer

Balmarra Alan Griffiths

Wanydjalpi (Yam sculpture) Elizabeth Djuttara

Glass Vehicles Heri Dono

Fiona Hall's interactive children's artwork Fly Away Home and Pooja (Loot) Simryn Gill


Phoenix, Indian blue peacock (Pavo Cristatus) Louise Weaver

I took photos of some of my favourite pieces from the 'Sculpture is Everything' exhibition we visited at the Gallery of Modern Arts on the weekend. I quite often find myself drawn to those pieces with a craft element to them. I love the blurring of boundaries between what is traditionally considered 'art' or 'craft.' A combination of two of my great loves. I enjoy spotting knitting and crochet in art galleries, like the taxidermy peacock with a crochet 'skin.'

I have found that Cohen is more interested in sculpture than painting. He ran to some exhibits, fascinated by them at length and circling them up close. The kinetic sculptures brought him the most joy.  He also lead the way to the Children's Art Center where we made our third bird at the Fly Away Home exhibition (which is free and runs until the 7th October.) Named "Sarah" by Cohen, our bird found it's home in an empty niche in a wall full of down lit birds. Cohen dictated the other information to be added to the tag. Under heading 'diet' Cohen requested I write "scissors." For 'behaviour' I dutifully wrote, "drinks milk in nest." For 'other interesting facts' Cohen advised, "also eats chips." 

How wonderful, the imagination of children.

When do you last visit an art gallery or museum?

Who is one of your favourite artists? 

Do you prefer painting, sculpture or something else?

"I can like the City"

I remember my excitement when Cohen was learning to talk, yet people often commented that I would eventually wish he wouldn't talk so much. I couldn't even imagine such a thing. Oh, how I understand these sentiments now. Toddler speak. I love it. But at times my brain reaches saturation point and I begin to tune out to the incessant chatter. Cohen is like his own commentator and talk back radio host rolled in to one.

But there are many moments where his grasp on language surprises me, and times where he applies his logic and his vocabulary and comes out with some sweetness. For instance, recently he pointed to a ink stain on a thrifted wool blanket and asked, "What's that bruise on the blanket for?" He uses "all days" to mean all the time or always. And lately he lets you know his opinion with either an "I can't like that Mama," or an "I can like that."

Yesterday we spent a family day making the most of the delights of the cultural precinct in the City. We explored Southbank, visited the galleries, made paper birds in the children's art center at GOMA, ate by the river and wandered through the museum. Cohen assured us as we walked back to the car, "I can like the City."

Me too.

'Modern Women'

Portrait of a woman, Albert Besnard

 Portrait or Mme X, Marie Bashkirtseff

One of my very favourite things to do is to visit art galleries. I believe it was probably the main reason I decided to do a bachelor of fine arts. Yesterday we viewed the current exhibition at the Queensland Art Gallery, 'Modern Women: Daughters and Lovers 1850 - 1918.' The beautiful drawings in the exhibition were sourced from the Musee De Orsay, Paris, from a collection of over four thousand works. Some of the pieces, framed in simple blonde frames, are being exhibited for the first time. The works were beautifully displayed and hung in rooms according to their themes, from mothers and children, with depictions of breastfeeding, to women working on the farm. From performers, to women of the night. Featuring the work of artists such as Degas, Renoir, Manet and Cassatt, who are all linked by friendship or aesthetics, the pieces range from simple line drawings to intensely worked pastels. Drawing at this time was undertaking a radical reinvention and being recognised as art unto its self, and not merely as preparation for painting, making it a thoroughly modern way to work. 

I particularly loved the way dress came in to play across the works. Whether it be fur collars, silk or shop girls dresses cinched at the waist, much of the clothing featured in the drawings was also thoroughly modern at the time and really places the pieces in their period for modern observers. I'm also drawn to interiors from the period. The stuffed floral couches, elaborate carpets and lush drapes are always a joy for me.

While Emerson and I browsed the exhibition with my sister and her husband, Cohen and Dave were making a bird and nest as a part of the Fiona Hall 'Fly Away Home' interactive exhibit at the Gallery Of Modern Art. Dave assured me that he and Cohen enjoyed this activity so much I should take the little man back and do it with him myself. I think I shall indeed.

So, if you are in Brisbane, I can recommend a trip to either gallery or both.