TheDelightOfTheDelight

The happy kids in their new sandpit

and then 'willow' the dog came to play

My first 'play'ground was a sandpit in a small backyard in Holland
a place where my creative spirit found its childlike expression
Later in life, as an adult, and a long way from my first sandpit
I played with sand, as a street artist, in a number of city streets in Australia
creating replicas of nearby architectural features
which in time lead to the 'architectural fragment' in Melbourne
Now in Daylesford I delight in the delight of others

'it is your future you are remembering'

TheRapeOfTheLog

From this.........

To this........

The rape harvesting of the forest has begun
the intense and persistent drone of the giant tree eaters

The machine grabs a tree cuts it off at the base
turns it horizontally, peels it, cuts it to size and stacks it
all in no time
In no time reducing the forest too a scene of devastation
we understand that this is tree harvesting
but it is still hard to take
having the local forest environment reduced to this
sigh........

"Nothing divides one as much as thought"

OceanWithoutAShore

The WaterWindow at the NGV an introducton to what lies beyond

What lies beyond I also came to see, it had a connection to the WaterWindow
The new acquisition, a work by Bill Viola, titled: 'Ocean without a shore'
This is best observed with
a feeling of leisure
a feeling of reverence
a feeling of Zen
a feeling of the poetic
or just a feeling of very very slow
Originally this piece was created for the Venice Biennale, 2007
and set in a medieval chapel.

three video panels displaying a waterwall through which people pass
accompanied by an amazing soundtrack
I won't reveal anymore, but,
If you have the time this by itself is worth a visit to Melbourne

I followed this up with a pre-viewing of the movie ELEGY
Ben Kingsley, Penelope Cruz, Dennis Hopper
another poetic, and very moving movie, experience
also worth journey to Melbourne

"honour the playfulness of spirit that lets everyone win"

SkyLight

This feather cloud image was taken over my garden today
the 17th March at 7.30pm

It reminded me of my time with the Pueblo Indians
In many of their houses there was a feather hanging in the doorway
it lightly brushed your head upon entering
to remind you, I was told, to leave any negative feelings you may have, outside
This in turn reminded me of the following:

This has to do with pottery making,
plus, of course, many other aspects of life.
It is about the Spirit line. When an Pueblo Indian potter makes a ceramic bowl, she always decorates it with a painted line along the rim. However, she leaves a small opening in this line. This line is called the spirit line. I asked what this spirit line and small opening in it was for and was told that the opening in the spirit line was a sort of doorway, to allow the spirit of the bowl in and that of maker out. When I asked why that was important, I was told the following, (and this was an important signpost in my life) when your spirit gets caught up in a bowl, or any other object for that matter, it gets imprisoned and stops traveling. Meaning, it stops growing and thus can’t develop anymore.

'Training begins with what you have already learned'

DaylesfordDharmaSchoolHomeTruths

I am presently volunteering at the Daylesford Dharma School

Last Friday there was a visit from the monk Gyatso,
who, among other stories, told us about his three year retreat
some time ago.
He explained how he was all alone
and had no one to talk to
at which one of the younger kids piped up with:

"Did you talk to yourself"

"Life's O.K. I want more of it"

SeoulStreetSong

This afternoon
while rummaging in the vast metropolis of my computer
in the neighbourhood of the suburban district of I-photo
I found this image

I came across this man
writing in the street of Seoul

He arrived with a roll of paper
and a small bucket of ink
unrolled his empty scroll, wrote upon it
and when finished left the writing in the street
picked up his ink bucket
and walked off

One of the daily surprises while writer in residence in Korea

'make your work movements as unhurried as caresses'

WelcomeToAutumn

welcome to autumn
with cool mornings
warm days
and fresh evenings
but first, before that celebration, a few more fire alert days
Like tomorrow here in Victoria Australia
the forecast is for low humidity, stormy wind conditions
and high temperatures
A recipe for potential disaster
Bushfire plan in order
stay safe
no panic

'After each event, take some time off'

FIREfriendFIREenemy

Kiln firing

It is well to remember
that the fire which is our friend
is also our enemy

It is well to remember
to treat it with respect
and because fire is careless
it is well to remember

to treat it with great care

'Be vigilant for negative thoughts in your head'