artwork and scaffolding

while i have been unable to use my right hand for much that does not mean that nothing is happening. luckily for me i work with someone who doesn;t mind doing more than her fair share when required and my brother is visiting for a couple months. so we have 5 good hands between the three of us.

deb and i had a small job that needed installing for the city council. we enlisted adam's help and deb;s partner joe to get the install done. my job was mostly watching, documenting and a bit of safety bunting positioning and a tiny bit of painting. 

the first part of the job was to erect the scaffolding. this took a fair amount of time as it was going to be set up for a 4 meter platform, and Adam had never worked with scaffolding before.

 

once it was up we rolled it into place and leveled it. then the safety bunting went around. 

this was especially important as we were installing in a popular kids playground area. 

 

the job we had to do was to install 3 windsocks on top of 3 wooden posts that were already in place. we also had to paint some lines and numbers on 10 metal poles that were already in place. 

so adam and deb climbed up to the top of the scaffold with a large stainless steel pole and drilled holes, bolted it in place and secured the windsock in place. 

 

then we had to move the whole set up to the next location, making sure not to run over any kids or families in the process.

and again install the stainless steel pole and windsock. joe and i were on safety, making sure no one entered the safety zone for a ball, and making sure adam and deb had everything they needed.

after the second windsock was up, we relocated to the third and final wooden post, but had to reconfigure the scaffolding. not so easy to do but adam and deb and joe were pros at this point

the final windsock is in place and we can pack down for the day. it took us most of the time to set the scaffold up. but after that smooth sailing. 

more photos of the final artwork in a week or so when i get to documenting it properly.

but it was great having adam's help could not have done it without him.

birthday bon fire

it was my birthday last month. i decided to embrace the autumnness of the date and celebrate with friends at my place around a fire.

it was a perfect night for it.

 

on the menu were brownies

baked potatoes

vego chilli

 

 all the trimmings, (chili corn chips, sour cream, chives parsley, corriander)

we had a great time in the garden

 

here is borris lighting the fire pre-party!

new years day 2015

i am not a huge fan of new years eve. it is all hype. i would rather celebrate new years day. a new beginning early in the morning, a fresh start to the year, with all the shops shut. perfect!

 

borris, otto and i made plans to meet with tom and rosie and xi and chris and patsy at belair national park. otto enjoyed mostly being in the shade of the trees, but really would have preferred being inside during the hot weather if he had a choice.

 

so we met at the park and tom and chris managed the bbq area in style

 

borris and xi played some golf,

 

and we all enjoyed lunch under the shady tree before going for a stroll in the park and playing at the adventure playground area.  it was a nice way to celebrate the new year together.

maybe this can be a new tradition as well. i would like to go back to the national park and do a few of the walks. that is on my to do list this year. otto can come too as long as he stays on his leash!

oh and we also go to use a christmas present from my brother.

the kombi looking like the millennium falcon! cool!

christmas day

on christmas day borris and i have a very relaxed routine. generally we have a bit of a sleep in. i think this is just because we can, so that means up around 9 or 10 which is much better than the 5 am wake up his sister deals with on christmas day.

then we open some pressies together and have breakfast. i skype with my family if they are around and then we have to get ready to head out.

 

another tradition for christmas day is lunch and kate phil and maxine's place. they generously host a christmas day lunch/afternoon/evening for a bunch of us who dont have family commitments on the day.

here is borris overseeing the serving of the chocolate roll yule log. kate and maxine made it. with meringue mushrooms, minty mossy leaves, and 2 kinds of chocolate bark. it was a serious undertaking, and also very tasty. 

 

we had lunch outside. before desert we had roast leg of lamb, and ham, and lovely salads, deviled eggs, and other snacky foods.

 

and of course champagne and lots of wine throughout the day. After lunch we sit about and drink and carry on a bit more until it gets dark and chilly out. Then we head inside where Phil who can play every instrument known to man and borris who loves christmas music jam and all the other musicians join in, while a few of us non music folks listen and hang out.

its was a good day and another nice tradition when your family live so far away at christmas time.

home made gifts

i made some gifts for christmas for some of my friends.

i got the pots from a wholesaler place near me, and then went to the plant shop to get the plants and dirt and rocks.

it was fun to make small succulent arrangements

and i got myself a small christmas star succulent

i also made a couple reusable shopping bags for people as well.

the animal eye fabric is great, i bought it not knowing what to make from it and these bags are the perfect thing.

rainbow birthday cake

last month my friend kumi had her birthday. we had a small dinner party at my place. kumi made us dinner, a yummy japanese meal, soba noodle salad, gyoza. 

so my neighbour george and i decided to make her a cake.

 

but not just any cake. a rainbow cake. we followed this recipe.

 

you make the batter, divide it up and add the food colouring, then make 6 mini cakes. this means lots of washing up but the cakes cook in only 12 minutes each, so it went quickly.

 

after the cakes cooled we made a creme fraiche and white chocolate icing.

layering the cakes with the icing

in the order of colours of the rainbow.

until all 6 cakes are stacked up and not falling over. then we iced the whole thing.

 it was a big cake, and i think kumi was surprised

we sang happy birthday

 

 and the candles were blown out

it was nice to see the surprise of the layered coloured cakes when she cuts out the first piece.

everyone enjoying a slice of the rainbow

i think this is my new favorite cake to make. not too sweet, yummy and fun!

highlights from melbourne trip

a couple weeks ago i went to melbourne to take down my exhibition. i arrived a day early and went to heide museum of modern art and had a picnic in the garden. it was perfect.

i had a bit of time to walk around melbourne, this was a temporary public artwork on the stairs to the library. i really liked the grass, it really changed the vibe of the place.

 

i met up with my good pal tass, and we talked art, and checked out her studio.

 

then of course cocktails on the roof top above the city.

 

the weather was perfect.

 

and then the dangerous part of the visit, a trip to tesuti fabrics.

i bought this black floral liberty of london fabric

 

some really dark blue almost black linen (not sure i am a linen person yet)

this see through black cotton that has a lovely texture, and also some white fabric to line this fabric with.

 

and this lovely blue and purple floral cotton.

and then i bought some patterns.

this one is for the black see through lined with white fabric

these patterns are free and from the tesuti web site and for fabric i bought last time i visited the shop in melbourne

this one for the linen but i might make a black cotton one too

 this pattern will be the blue and purple one but in the shorter shirt version.

and then when i thought i could not shop anymore i ended up with this dress!

 

its called pina colada and has pineapples and a black background, so i was definitely in love with it.

i was not sure about the elastic waist but i think it looks ok, and might be a good new dress to copy a pattern from. 

i will update on the sewing madness that has begun soon.