Wednesday, February 11, 2009

No TV. No Game Boy. More fun. MIlith. Bee and the audience




Milith benefitted greatly from our belief that "good TV comes tomorrow". Like an old world child, he would convert any scrap or empty box into a raw material of his creations. As we did with his sister and brother we never bought him expensive toys like battery operated or electronic ones, Game Boy and toy guns. Instead when possible we gave him wooden, rubber or soft toys and building blocks. Ever since he got his first set of building blocks which had been handed down to him from his brother, he fell in love with it. He usually works on a creation for hours and days gathering pieces, removing them and putting them back. Milith improvises the material out of grass, small stones or pebbles, leaves, feathers or any other thing collected from the garden. . He would tell a story about it as well. We have been enjoying his "art pieces" ever since he started producing them. I got a great joy in photographing them. Last couple of days he was busy creating an audience for the Bee who was at a solo performance.


Monday, February 2, 2009

Graham's shed. Liz's studio. Oasis. Mount Kembla

Graham and Liz's place is no doubt an oasis. Thanks to Anoli (http://www.theertha.org/red-dot-artists/anoli-perera) i got to know Liz who is a great artist. After training as a weaver in the USA, Liz returned to Australia in 1977 and subsequently established a production weaving workshop in Sydney in 1979 where she trained apprentices in her studio. In the early 80's, she established the Barr Street Weavers in Sydney and also worked as a community artist training rural and urban educators working in out of school centres, travelling extensively around NSW. Liz's collections are permanently housed at several mseums, galleries, universities and collections of private collectors both in Australia and overseas which include Power House Museum, Sydney, New South Wales; Queensland Art Gallery; Araluan Art Gallery, Alice Springs Northern Territory: University of Southern Queensland; University of Wollongong New South Wales; Wollongong City Gallery, New South Wales; Goulburn Regional Gallery, New South Wales; Mackay Regional Gallery and Art Gallery of New South Wales. http://www.lizjeneid.net/index.html

Liz's partner Graham is an artist and sculpts with metal. He does work with wood as well. In greeting Graham said to us "am still wearing my Australia Day t-shirt" on which "Captain James Cook was discovered by Aboriginals" was printed with black, red and yellow graphics. Graham's shed is an amazing workshop which houses heap of tools some of which are not even available in the market. "Every thing here works" he affirmed. Graham being a versatile man from electrician to metal and wood artist, Liz said "he is a treasure to people here".

I would love to have more time to photograph the oasis of these wonderful people. Hope time permits me.









Liz's studio





Graham's shed and entrance