Last day

Today has been my last full day in the cottage ...and at the gorge. Tomorrow I head back to Brisvagas - a little earlier than planned. After going home for a day I am off to Emerald  in Central Queensland to join in the opening of the Streetscape project that I have been involved with (along with other artists Scott Maxwell and Maragret Worthington) for the the last 3 years.

I started the day with good intentions of packing but got distracted by the sky racing past the trees on the other side of the gorge. Two hours and lots of filming  and photographing later I returned the data projector I had used for the nightly projections, back to Ralf at Arts Alive - many thanks!

This evening I have written in 'the book'   - a ritual it seems for every resident on the eve of departure - so am feeling reflective, a little sad and also grateful for the experience of the last 4 weeks. Many thanks to the lovely Gina from the council for this opportunity to live, breath and focus on my own practice for such an extended time in such a profoundly beautiful place. I will leave you with one of the hundreds of photographs I have taken of the tree and the view acrosss the gorge. Cheers and thanks to you for joining me.
Catherine  Nov 2009

Deloraine Arts and Crafts Festival

Wonderful day on Saturday - weather was a Queensland heat temperature of 26 degrees and clear skies. The day itself was a grand adventure full of a memorable car trip, good company, great food and a wide range of quality art and craft work. The festival is the largest of its type and very well managed with venues, parking, and transport.
The focus this year was on glass and the high end work in this medium as well as original jewlery and wood furniture was supurb. Made some damage to the bank balance with purchases including a silver ring made from an antique spoon and I managed to find a hat that has been on my list forever. Lunch included home made rasberry icecream (and tart) and a boutique beer and steak sanga from the rotary club.

Yesterday spent the afternoon working with the last two people on their digital narratives. We walked around the basin and back through the zigzag track. The day was another glorious spring day and many people were out and about walking, swimming and swanning about.
Have still been getting good crowds to the evening shows - last one tonight.

32 people!

Had best night of viewing yet last night - 32 people and clear, crisp weather. Yoohoo!
Decided today, after waving to and photographing daily, I would join one of the boats passing my window. The shortr of the two offerings was a 50min short tour of the Esk rivers that lead into the Tamar and then onto Cataract Gorge. Trips like this are always valuable - after you have spent  some time getting a bit of background yourself - as they expand and extend the stories that you have already gathered. Loved seeing the gorge from another perspective.

I then went for a walk around town and the parks in particular for more photos. Just got back to the cottage before the afternoon settled into rain.... and then clear skys now at 7pm. Looking forward to tonight's video show. Am off tomorrow to the Deloraine Arts and Crafts festival - the largest one in the southern hemisphere. looking forward toward another excellent day.
:-)

Blue skys replaced by grey

Spent the day yesterday at Arts Alive, volunteering in the gallery for the current exhibition. It was a good time to sit and plan further my exhibition in February - now that I have a clearer concept of the work I am doing now and will finish off when I head off home.  Came back to the cottage to drizzle so canceled the nights video projection. 

Image below is  panorama shots form the shoreline looking back. Kings bridge and the gorge behind it is on the left.

Today was a little cloudy so spent the majority of the day working on photos and starting a couple of full sized works. Eventually my eyes had enough of the computer screen and went for a long walk aound the shoreline and then around town. Came home to more blue than grey so projections are all go for tonight. I now have four short stories looped together for display.

Seals and other living things

Went out early this morning. Its such a ever changing and lively place that it takes me up to an hour to walk the 15mins to the first basin!  Most of the time I am taking photos or video so...thats my excuse! Consequently I have met and chatted with a few people who usually do actually take 15mins to walk in.... except now they are chatting to me. I was talking with Christine today about halfway along the track about seals. When I left the cottage I heard a splash and next a hiss/blow noise. As we were discussing how unlikely this was - too early as they like the warmer summer water - when the seal came and chased food in the clearing where we were. The water wasn't quite warm enough for him to play on the surface and he was moving 20m between breaches so we still didn't see him but heard him lots. Good fun. Todays shot is of the trees at the edge of the clearing.

The rest of the day involved more meeting with people. Gina, Andrew and Chris from Parks & Recreation, who run the Cataract gorge residency program and then later with Ralf from Arts Alive to sort out some details about my exhibition in february 2010. Another productive day in paradise!

Now to get ready for tonights projections.

People

Today I had the privilege of meeting with the man who grew up in the cottage I am now living in. Geoff Flood kindly allowed me to video and interview him as he recounted his stories about the Gorge and living in Kings Cottage. This really brought home the unique part of being in a residency - having access to such wonderful characters and important stories. people have been very helful and supportive.

As I have been doing the projections over the last four nights, this theme of the importance of people  is one that seems to be enduring. I have thoroughly enjoyed chatting to people about my work and in return hearing their stories. Many are locals who have read the article in the paper or passed my poster in their daily walks and then made the effort to return. Some also are tourists who have heard about the projections from the  cruise boats who daily bring visitors up the gorge and past the cottage.

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This afternoon I finished another 'story' and burnt a new disc ( finished burning 5 mins before showtime!). This one involves the huge traffic on the water...boats, ducks, kyakers, more boats..

Projection and colours...again

Friday was offical first projection night - announced in the paper and all - so spent the morning and much of the afternoon reworking, and refining the two works i have ready for projection. Burnt the disc to discover that (who knows why?) the last 10 seconds was gone from one of the works. This was a problem so had to do more rework and re burn. All went well, and drew a good passing crowd. Including people taking photos of projected video and me taking photos of them....

 Made a sign this morning, that included the article from the paper, and put it up near where I am projecting. Have seen lots of people stop and read so maybe over the next ten days will get even more passing crowd.

After lunch went to the bridge and started to video from there, looking back into the gorge, a different perspective from what I get from here. Also took some photos which I have been playing with. Some good things happening - a not so good one here to give you an idea of what the better ones may look like.  Day off tomorrow so will catch you all again on Monday.

Beautiful one day...

Fantastic work and weather today. Spent the day at the cottage. Am editing video for public viewing tomorrow night and beyond, and in between giving the computer time to process the footage I painted. Completed a small 30cm x 30cm canvas of the rocks opposite the cottage. A view that changes hourly, and daily. When its dry and warm the rocks are grey and pale white, which transforms over the day as shadows come and go. The water level rises and falls over a metre which comes in so quickly that you blink and half the rock is gone! Treated myself to lovely fish n chips for lunch from 'the best Tasmanian seafood restaurant and takeaway in 2009'. Was good, was great, was yum.

Tonight am going out to take some night shots.
Photo today is of my place of residence, The Kings Bridge Cottage, Launceston, Tasmania.

Walking, walking, walking

Went up the zigzag track again this morning (easier, flat walkway is closed due to a rock fall - opens again tomorrow - I hope!!), and onto first basin again. Joined basin volunteer, Geoff and a small but dedicated bunch to walk the 45min each way trek to Duck Reach power station. It took as 2 hours round trip, but that was due to the excellent stories told by Geoff. This walk is part of the 'Walks on the Wild Side', council initiative and always finishes with a free BBQ -  starving artists have to get a free meal when we can!
Was an entertaining trip with lots of silly talk also provided by Klaus (say no more for those that know him!), David (our genuine walker), Michael (good company and good to keep pace with) and me (in it for the free food)  and volunteer co-ordinator Bernard who had the audacity to drive there and back only to nip into the track to take photos. A great morning and thanks to Bonnie for my vege burgers that I am growing to really like.
Had to zigzag home again so legs gave way this arvo and needed a rest, so researched some new photography techniques .... from the comfort of my chair.
Now is 6:15 local time and am enjoying a red and salmon pate, watching the water drift past.
Photos are looking up towards Duck Reach from the bridge (walk is on the left hand side - up and down...) and a narrow rock wall along the path that has another rock wedged on top!

A day drawing

Woke to grey skies that turned blue very quickly. Tis funny how the weather so influences ones mood and direction. Was deliberating whether to go to the basin and draw or edit video at the cottage when a shaft of light throught the window meant that I opted for the hike along the zig-zag track and onto the first basin. I walked around for a bit before settling in on a grassed area near the water.
I saw a Glover like vista (for magnitude n mood) before me and thought -I'll have a go.  Spent the next four hours drawing a detailed and intricate scene....which i'll have to go back to, to finish. What I love about drawing is seeing. Seeing the detail, the patterns and the rhythms of whatever is in front of you.

Came home exhausted but happy and organised myself to talk to  the Arts reporter from The Examiner to drum up an audience for the night-time video installations.

Its 6:38 local time and I have just glanced out the window to see the sun hitting a piece of rock that i hadn't noticed before.....hmmm so much to do. :-)

Awesome day

Best weather and day yet. Beautiful blues and light meant that I had my morning cuppa on the balcony and stayed to draw for the morning. Still totally overwhelmed by the magnitude of the view i concentrated on a small section of rock face. Happy with what i did - a postcard view for a lucky viewer. Have been excited by the result so more to come. While i was drawing i was also running across to the opposite gorge side of the water and filming myself to incorporate into video bits.....
Arvo... and went via the Zigzag path (a rock fall on the main path has meant closure to the easier main path to first basin) to full summer  - hot weather and teenagers, sitting, chatting and flirting as teenagers do. Some were jumping off Duck Bottom rock.

 

Came back to the cottage and had dinner before the night drew me outside to explore more time, light and imagery. Took about 100 photos to get about three i can work with, but still a good result!!
Hope for more sun tomorrow as i want to go out and draw some more  - will draw regardless now that I have started.

Changing colours

For the last couple of days I have doing a combination of editing video and taking still shots. The videos are taking muchos time rendering - thankfully I am only doing a few minutes for each piece but some of that involves editing down several hours of footage and I also am layering in multiple tracks..... Friday night rained and so my first actual public projection night was last night (Saturday).  This was really just trying to see if the spot was good and everything worked. I was happy with the result. Now I just need the media to come on board and get people to come for a look!

I am playing around with colour a bit in the video and still images. The way the colour changes so quickly is amazing. I am planning some more time lapse work. I think I will have enough raw material and concepts by the time I leave for the next two years. All I need is time to do them all! Ummmm :-)

Yesterday went for a walk around the shoreline to the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery. A really wide selection of historical and cultural works -including restored railway and foundry setups. Also included was uni and studio spaces. Their second site is being revamped so the art side was a little thin but had Philip Wolfhagens' Archipelago as the main feature. A truly magnificent work spanning over three sets of two panels. Each panel is 2m x 5m and together they form a view of land and sea that is windswept and misty. You can almost feel the salty air.
I am about to head off for a walk over to the showgrounds - Sunday markets. Then home to read the papers and watch the gorge change colours.

Four seasons in one day

Woke to a beautiful, crispy cool day and went for a long walk around the gorge. Lots of ducks out on the water today - maybe they knew the rain would come as soon as I walked back inside! This Thursday then continued to change constantly all day - from full almost cloudless sun to soaking rain. Temperatures rose and fell in sync with these changes.
Just off the walk path I found a little tableau that contained a Richard Tipping work.
Love finding public art in strange places!

I continued to work on film pieces - am working up a few for public showings each week. The damp weather meant that I couldn't set up and have a practice run when it got dark. Unfortunately rain is also predicted for Friday night so unlikely to project then as well. No worries. Am here for a while so I'm sure will get plenty of chances for fine weather at night.

Tuesday and Wednesday - connecting some dots

Tuesday. Met with Gina L, from Parks and Recreation, who is the co-ordinator of the Residency program to discuss the location of the video data projections that I want to do on the rocks outside the cottage. Because a main access road across the bridge is visible to much of the cottage, and therefore the rocks, we decided on an area that would suit but still not affect traffic. Have arranged to borrow the data projector from Arts Alive - and am most grateful for their support.
Did manage to start drawing this afternoon and have a start of a work before the light went. Also finished the book I was reading! The rain makes relaxing in between the work easier. :-0

By Wednesday I was drawing up plans for 2D digital works in my diary. Have an idea for a major work that will take a couple of days to photograph - and over 200 photos. The beauty of this is the residency allows me the time to be able to do this, and start the layering process in Photoshop. 
The day finished with a meet with 3 potential digital story volunteers. Am keen to get started more on this project.

First day of wet weather

All you sunny Queenslanders who said I was destined to wet,wet,wet! Haha - seven days of fine weather before first day of drizzle yesterday(and today)! Still managed to get in walks around the gorge and basin - a must do by me and locals alike.
The wet, however is not conducive to using electronic gear in, so did work indoors. Completed a short piece using the walkers across the way. Some stills attached. I am already realising that the track and its inhabitants are going to feature in my work quite a bit.

The rain has brought out a whole new colour spectrum - darkened the rocks and lightened the trees. Might be time to get out the drawing materials this afternoon. 

Internet up,internet down!

Enforced break due to my ISP being down all week-end. To catch you up.
Friday, spent the morning working at using a small installation space in the walkway underneath the cottage. The old ticket booth is a small space with windows. The bonus is power installed so I am working on a light installation. Will post images when I am set up. Friday night went an exhibition opening by Laura Eves titled 'Frozen Ground'. Exhibition online here: http://www.art.org.au/2009/10/frozen-ground/ She works directly with frost and inks/watercolours to make delicate but full toned landscapes on paper. The exhibition was at Arts Alive, the gallery space that I will be exhibiting in during February 2010.

Saturday was brilliant, full sun and I took the opportunity to set up the video camera outside to capture the walkers on the Zig Zag pathway directly opposite the cottage. I spent much of the rest of the day and Sunday morning working on editing this work and also working on an animation that will use a motif of a 'Hikermum' walking around the landscape. There are a lot of fit people, of all ages, who use this fantastic vista to walk and run around daily.
Sunday afternoon I walked through the first basin and then on the Duck Reach trail to the power station. Discovered some lovely, water smoothed, rocks that a clambered over and photographed. I came home the opposite way, over the bridge, up far too many steep stairs and through the Reedy Gully and Snake Gully tracks. This side the terrain was more green moss and lichen covered. a great contrast.

Research, research, research!

This morning was about researching more of the history of the Gorge and the people, past and present, who have been a part of its social and historical fabric. Much talking to people and making contacts for further research and development of concepts.

I have arrived at the right time - it has rained for the last 17 week-ends in a row and much of the week days as well. All days so far have been fine, cold (for a Queenslander!) and with elements of a biting wind. All good bracing stuff!! The first photo is the view from the suspension bridge looking up to Duck Reach. The flood water was up to just underneath the green sections last week.


My afternoon has been spent connecting some of my ideas. I am working on several short video clips that I want to project onto rock surfaces. Have also found a couple of spots that I want to use as installation spaces to photograph and film.  One of these is just off the Zig Zag path - a 'hard', hiking path that works its way through the rocks on the opposite side of my cottage. Amazingly many people jog up and down it daily. The next photo shows one section that I was delighted to walk down, after struggling to walk up! There is also a photo of the view from my cottage, which gives you an idea of the physical terrain there as well.
 

On-line and live! Wednesday.

Woke up to a beautiful blue sky that the fast winds brought over occasional cloud cover. This made for interesting clothes and camera settings during the day. Spent the morning with the 'Walks on the Wild Side' group walkin' and talkin' about the native plants in the first basin area. Right up your alley Lesa H!! Meet also my first 'volunteer' to work to do a digital narrative with, Bernard. Walk finished with a BBQ of healthy food including wallaby sausages and vege burgers and...... real meat for the rest! I did eat the healthy alternative and thanks to Bonnie (from the Launceston Council) and Roy (expert on all things plant like) for a great morning and noon.

This afternoon focused more on trying to cement into clarity my projects for the next 4 weeks. Am already noticing that the presence of the Gorge is seeping into the conscious - especially in the cottage where the fantastic windows invite the outside in, constantly. Already got too many projects to do....what bliss.