SOEWN EARTH

The Earth Reliant Artist



Trace Willans All Natural Mixed Media







Wednesday, May 28, 2014

A Glimpse and a Piece of Sky

Silk wrap just out of the pot
Like sky lying on my
artificial grass

Another silk wrap
cold dyeing with
what I believe to be Sea Almonds

They are now ripening and 
the trees are full of Red Tailed Black Cockatoos
eating them
Fortunately they drop a few
ripe ones for me to collect


and some new little paintings 
experimenting 
with shellac based inks
here in plain water

here in black tea

this is found rusty shapes
in black tea

all have been sealed with wax
and are 
10 x 10cm


This is a detail
of my entry to
the Cardwell Art Prize


and on an entirely different subject
this is my thumb
it is now on the mend



This is what happens when you are allergic to band aids
and are forced to use one
For days it was really swollen
and so painful
But now it just looks ugly.

x te


Monday, May 19, 2014

Another Trip to Cairns

Cane Sugar in flower

We are sorting out issues with our new to us car
which entails trips up to Cairns
It is a 2 1/2 hour drive not helped
by lots of road works
and this time
pouring rain

But we did find the pool on the Esplanade
tihs time

Right there in town on the waterfront
a free pool
Here you can see one of the life guards

there are no fences and no charge
to get in

what an awesome idea


Course part of the reason is you can't swim in the ocean
this day the tide was out
and you could see the muddy brown bottom

Lunch time saw us at Barnacle Bill's

Though my dining companion
was a little preoccupied 

Even older folk do it

This is a sample of the weather
we have been getting
Grey wet and windy
But not cold
It takes some getting used to.

Car issues still not resolved
waiting on parts
so there will be another trip
North

x te

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Echidna Blue


SOLD

New in my Etsy Shop

this one has a feather in a pocket

leaf prints


drawing

wool patches

a shell heart under mica



plus an Echidna Quill Closure
with Indigo Blue 
Cretan stitch 

and this is coming up locally


and as I have entered 
I best get on with making something
So above is a beginning
Silk Noil glued onto board
and coated in starch paste

Very wet and windy here
But still very warm
most strange

x te


Monday, May 12, 2014

Tyto and Wallaman

Last Friday Dan and I went on a sightseeing trip
around some of our local area
Above is a view of theTyto Wetlands
located in Ingham
and named after the 
Grass Owl Tyto longimembris
(on a tangent this looks interesting)

There were very curious turtles
who raced towards us
as we stood on the bridge
methinks some one has been feeding them

some of them even 
sported fancy head gear in the form of
iridescent blue dragonflies

This not only has the wetlands
but also an art gallery and 
a very nice restaurant
called Tiddalik
after the story of the Frog
who drank all the water


We made some very wise food choices
It was their first day
so we are looking forward
to going back and trying them again
hopefully it will only get better and better

Then we went off to visit Wallaman Falls
which are quite spectacular
I must warn you though the road in leaves 
a lot to be desired
very windy in parts
and partly unsealed
not to mention the 10km stretch 
with cows on the road
they promised Cassowaries as well
but still no sign of those elusive beasts

at the day use area
we went for a walk
found this awesome
strangler fig

with fabulous patterns

and Dan found some where for a swim
I think his totem has to be the seal
Being a Leo perhaps it is really the sea lion



and in the studio
playing still happening
This is a sheet of Hahn 150gsm
Print paper
Currently I am exploring 
tea, rust, ink, xanthorrhoea 
and a bit of indigo glue paint
This piece is about ready to tear up 
into a series of concertina books
which I will work back into 
and make cover/s for

x te


Monday, May 5, 2014

Etsy Revived







A little something in my Etsy Shop
Begun in the workshop with 
In Ballarat Victoria
finished
in Cardwell Nth Queensland

x te

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Touristing and Playing at Home


Last weekend we went for a drive up the coast
to visit Mission Beach
Where we found 
a beach that looked like this

Wonderfully decorated by small crabs
Every now and then 
one would pop out of a hole 
and race across the sand to another hole

Then we had lunch 
and we sat down at a table
looked up and there on the wall
a picture of Hillary's Boat Harbour
we used to live up the road from here
And had dinner there on our 
last night in Perth



Walking out around Port Hinchinbrook Marina
Interesting to see how neatly the tides arrange the sticks


And then up in the studio
I had a visitor
I don't think he really belongs
on the third floor
so I moved him back downstairs to the garden

Some solar dyeing is happening
Using plants gathered on my 
morning walks

The indigo pot is begun
I have started the process with
banana and custard apple

The work bench is looking fuller
with a backing to protect the wall
and a cover for the bench
it is some cement sheet 
so will also be good when I get out the blow torch

My two wax pots arrived this morning
at only 100watts each
I have decided to work just with clear 
and white for the time being
I will underpaint of course

Some staining and rusting has commenced

as well as finding lovely purple
seed fruits that when ripe
give great colour
this is just rubbed on
The seed to the furthest right
has had the out coating removed
I assume by birds
before I gathered it

and this little spot I have dropped on
some alkaline water
and the colour has shifted
 to a more greenish hue

x te