Lost in Space

2009-11-21T18:49:00.009+11:00

As you can see, I have not been here for AGES. . . . Sometimes, Life moves just a little too quickly. I am taking a break with the 'blog' and I hope to resume in the new year - in a slightly different format.

In the meantime (and before I close), I will post a few photos from my garden - as I promised some time ago. The garden (at least the back garden) is now finished and I am happy with the way it looks. It has been a lot of work, but it definitely was worthwhile.

Hope to connect again in 2010.

2009-10-08T08:44:00.002+11:00

We are putting up a new fence. Prior to the new fence going up, the old fence had to come down which, of course, opened up our backyard considerably. It also put us in contact with the neighbours behind us, a couple who had lived there for more than twelve years without our ever having exchanged a word. The 'coming down of the fences' meant that we all started talking with each other - the neighbours on both sides and behind us - and everyone was so happy to discover that they had such lovely neighbours! This 'boxing' up of people, either behind fences or in flats and units is, no doubt, part of the present day communication problem. Apart from the fact that everyone has a mobile phone and can talk with anyone, anywhere, any time, we do not seem to be able to 'communicate' and part of the problem seems to be architectural.

2009-10-05T17:19:00.004+11:00

Thank you, Peter and Annette, for your comments, which give quite a lot of food for thought. I suppose it is true that everything moves on and changes and, as we regret the loss of handwritten letters, we must also give a thought to those, who experienced the loss of stone tablets or papyrus. I suppose that in a spiral-kind of fashion, everything eventually repeats itself. And, yes, I do agree with you, Annette, that new technology has made communication almost instant (which compares favourably to the three months that it used to take a letter to move between Europe and Australia back in the nineteenth century). Nevertheless, an awareness of all the above does not completely negate the feeling of loss, as hand-written letters become relegated to the past.

By chance, I found an article on the subject, published in SMH last year (and sent to me by someone special). I have scanned it and, hopefully, you may be able to read it by clicking on the images to make them bigger.

Finally, several people have contacted me and said that they would love to leave a comment, but they don't have a Google Account and they don't want to 'sign up' for an account. It is not necessary to have an account to leave a comment. Click on the arrow (next to Google) and go down to Name/URL. Click there and then write your name in the space provided. Write your comment and then click on post comment. It couldn't be easier!

2009-09-30T09:27:00.003+10:00

Following on from my post yesterday - I suppose I am wondering if hand-written letters (and all the thoughts and memories associated with them) will disappear, like quill pens and bottled ink. After all, how many people, reading this post, remember writing with nib pens and all the debate, when the first, rather faulty biros arrived? Eventually, no doubt, the idea of ever having written letters by hand will be regarded as rather 'quaint' (and, of course, 'frightfully time-consuming'). Thank goodness that we have been able to save all that time, which we can now use to tap out inane messages on our mobile phones.

2009-09-29T17:31:00.003+10:00

In this age of electronic communication, I wonder how many people still treasure hand-written letters, carefully folded in original envelopes and kept, silently, in dark drawers or boxes, closed with worn ribbons? Open an old letter and all those moments and memories come rushing back, through the faded paper and the recognizable writing and just that particular shade of ink. The faces; the places - it was raining; it was sunny; the postman handed me the letter, as I opened the door. . . . . It has all become part of the letter.

Will a saved electronic message communicate the same kinds of things, in ten years time, twenty years time, forty years time. . . .?

2009-09-24T09:15:00.002+10:00

Over the past few days, there has been some kind of technical 'hitch' and your comments, though seemingly okay when you sent them, have not fastened on to my site. I am letting you know this, so that you don't think that I have deleted your comments intentionally. Those of you, who have left comments which did not appear on the site, might like to re-send them as, hopefully, the 'hitch' has now been sorted.

2009-09-22T07:54:00.003+10:00

If you want to read more about the artwork, you can go to my website http://diane.eklund.abolins.net
Click on 'art' and then choose the option to look at some of my work. Finally, click on 'present work'.
By the way, this is my 100th post, so perhaps it is a cause for celebration!

2009-09-20T11:55:00.000+10:00

(I worked it out).

2009-09-20T11:34:00.003+10:00

These two images (which together make one painting) should actually be displayed side by side - however I wasn't able to manage anything so complicated. The title is 'Life'.

2009-09-17T19:40:00.004+10:00

The painting is almost ready to be 'posted' - so I hope that you are all 'holding your breath'. In the meantime, another thought - I find it so amazing and thought-provoking that in this 'age of communication', where people can communicate electronically with each other every second of any day - via electronic gadgets that seem to cover every communication possibility, i.e. the spoken word, the written word and images - communication has become superficial and almost 'throw away'. Is there such a thing as a glut of communication? Was our communication with others more valuable when letters had to be hand-written, phone calls had to be limited and images still held a sense of awe? Any ideas?

2009-09-12T09:51:00.000+10:00

If you want to be happy, be.

Leo Tolstoy

2009-08-25T12:12:00.003+10:00

While the painting is slowly progressing, I thought I would go off on a tangent.
I am reading a book by Théodor Kallifatides - it is about his parents but, more particularly, about his mother. He writes (in translation), explaining why it is so important for him to write the book, "When real memories disappear, uninteresting ones take their place. This is one of the reasons why it is important to talk about what has happened. Every memory that disappears is otherwise replaced by a cliché. The world of the cliché is a world of forgotten memories."
I think this is true.

2009-08-20T19:35:00.003+10:00

I am working on a new painting about Life - the beginning and the end; that is to say, there are two paintings that, together, make one painting. It hasn't got far enough to be photographed, but it is slowly 'coming together'. We reach out and we welcome new life but we try to hang on to those, who are dying. It is as though we are trapped between those two inevitabilities, which makes up the 'known', and beyond, there can only be the 'unknown', which, of course, is coloured by our fears, our imagination or our hopes.

2009-08-16T08:26:00.002+10:00

I posted the paintings on seeking asylum because I felt that they connected with the post from the 5th August on the war in Afghanistan. This is, after all, the other side of war - the thousands, if not millions, of displaced people. People, who through no fault of their own, can no longer call home 'home'. Obviously, we are doing something wrong and we need to sit down and work out what it is.

2009-08-08T10:19:00.002+10:00

I am working on some new paintings, about life and death. They haven't evolved far enough to be photographed (unless plain, white surfaces are your 'thing'!), but I have been doing a lot of thinking. In the meantime, I thought I might post a work I did a few years ago. It is about seeking asylum and consists of ten panels, each (122x49 cm).

2009-08-05T09:56:00.001+10:00

2009-08-05T09:26:00.002+10:00

Oh, my goodness! I haven't been around for quite some time (and I don't think anyone else has been either). This site has been a bit like the cardboard box, pushed right to the back of the cupboard in the guest room - forgotten and ignored. For my own part, there have been so many other distractions, including an exhibition opening and the continuation of a garden make-over. The Opening went well and I will try and post a few images from the 'hanging'. The garden is still being 'made-over'.

I don't know if you read about the British soldier, who is facing two years in gaol for going AWOL? In a letter to the British Prime Minister, the soldier wrote, "It is my primary concern that the courage and tenacity of my fellow soldiers has become a tool of American foreign policy. I believe that when British military personnel submit themselves to the service of the nation and put their bodies into harm's way, the government that sends them into battle is obliged to ensure that the cause is just and right, ie for the protection of life and liberty. The war in Afghanistan is not reducing the terrorist risk, far from improving Afghan lives it is bringing death and devastation to their country. Britain has no business there. I do not believe that our cause in Afghanistan is just or right. I implore you, sir, to bring our troops home."

Any comments?

2009-07-12T09:38:00.001+10:00

The House Beyond the Trees Part 3

I did not notice anything around me. I had only one goal and all my energies were directed at that goal. If I could just reach that flat stone at the side of the road, and then that large, green bush and then the trees. The trees. The trees and then the house on the other side. Not far to go now. I urged myself on, step after step, I dared not look behind me; I dared not look anywhere, but straight ahead.

The white curtain flew out from the side of the house, waving lightly across the darkening sky. It skimmed the tops of the trees and dipped down past the bushes, lining the path to the gate. At the gate, it paused for a brief moment and then, finding its direction, moved slowly down the road.

I had past the stone and the bush. I had begun to dare hope that I really was free; that I would reach the house and that someone would sit me in front of a warm fire, with a warm drink and would then listen sympathetically to my story, while my family, delighted to hear that I was still alive, would be speeding through the night to collect me and return me to their bosom of care and love. I almost began to sob again, the picture was so wonderful and yet, until it became a reality, it was thwart with problems.

The white curtain wrapped slowly around my body, halting my movement forwards. I raised my arms in panic, but it deftly wrapped my arms close to my body. I tried to sink to the ground, throwing all my weight against the flimsy material, in the hope that it might rip into two. But the curtain’s hold became harder and I felt like a paper cut-out caught in the knot of a heavy rope. I closed my eyes over the tears that had already begun to fall down my face.

The rope of whiteness hauled me back the way I had come, my feet barely touching the ground. It was pointless to struggle. I let out a sob of despair, as I realized that I was once again within the confines of the fence and that I would soon be back in the empty house. The front door opened, as if on some unspoken command and I was pushed on to the floor, the curtain unrolling itself from around my body and disappearing out through the door, before it closed again with a loud bang.

I lay on the floor for quite some time, attempting to will myself to a place beyond consciousness. At length, I rose and walked through the cold rooms, trying to find a reason, trying to add the reasoning from one room to the reasoning from another and, hopefully, reach an answer. My head ached. I looked at the bare walls, trying to find the answer. I knew that it was here, somewhere, but I did not know where. My body longed for the house beyond the trees, but the answer was here.

2009-07-10T13:01:00.002+10:00

(The House Beyond the Trees continued)

My heart could beat no faster and, for a moment, it almost stopped; cold serpents of fear, writhing through my already terror-rid body. I began to walk, telling myself all the time that everything was alright and that it was not that far and that there would be someone there, who would understand; someone, who would be able to help. I lifted one foot after the other in the normal pattern of walking, as I had always done, ever since I had learnt to walk, all those years ago, and my feet obeyed me, but, after five minutes, I was in the same position and the house was still looking at me and the fence was still running like a row of sentries along my right hand side.

The trees were still just as far away.

This was not fair. I knew that I was on the verge of becoming hysterical. I wanted to scream, but I dared not. I slid down on to the ground and held my head in my hands. Quiet sobs seeped between my fingers and mixed with the grey afternoon. I should be free. I should be running down the road and someone should be waiting for me, with their arms held out and words of comfort and assurance on their lips.

The tree near the house sighed again and a gust of wet wind made me realize how cold I really was. I rose to my hands and knees and tried to crawl; the newly created mud sticking to my hands and to my clothes. I no longer cared as I had only one goal – to be free. I dug my hands into the soft, wet soil and urged my body forwards. ‘I must move forward! I must move forward!’ A wet branch hit my face and I recoiled, both from fear and pain. I looked behind me; I had actually moved a couple of metres. Heartened, I pushed onwards, oblivious to my soaking clothes and the pain in my head.

The white curtain, at the upstairs window, blew out through the window, defying the rain and waving, like some kind of strange peace flag or was it a sign of surrender?

I had reached the end of the fence. Dare I stand? Dare I try and run again? I looked anxiously up and down the deserted road in the hope of seeing someone, anyone, who would be able to help me. The rain was falling more heavily and the house, now somewhat behind me, had become darker and more ominous. I raised myself into a half-standing position and began to run again, taking long strides, wishing that, like an aircraft reaching the end of the runway, I could suddenly lift into the air and become totally airborne.

The curtain was waving further and further down the side of the house, almost impervious to the wetness of the rain around it.

(to be continued)

2009-07-08T11:37:00.001+10:00

Something different - a short story in three parts.

The House Beyond the Trees

I walked out of the house, closing the door behind me. The noise echoed, backward in time, through empty rooms, with timber floors and high ceilings. In one of the top rooms, a white curtain moved in the breeze, captured through a window not properly closed. The bushes along the stone path brushed against my bare arms with their long branches, covered with shiny green leaves and, somewhere in the garden, a tree, growing too close to the house, made a soulful, sighing sound.

At the gate, I lifted the heavy iron clasp and opened it. My heart was beating with the anticipation of escape and the terror of being discovered this close to freedom. The sun had disappeared behind clouds and there was a smell of rain in the air. I looked up and down the country road; there was no-one to be seen.

Should I leave the gate open or should I close it? For a brief moment, my mind tackled the problem from all perspectives, while I became bathed in cold sweat. I could see some trees, further down the road and, beyond, something that looked like smoke, sketching a hazy pattern against the darkening clouds.

People! I was not sure if I fully understood the implications of such a possibility, but I moved quickly in the direction of the trees, my mind having decided to leave the gate open. The rain began to fall and I revelled in the wet feel of against my face. I began to run. My legs rose and fell rhythmically, in time to the beating of my heart; however, the trees seemed to have come no closer and, looking behind me, I saw, to my horror and consternation, that the gate was still looming only metres from where I was running. Or from where I thought I was running.

I concentrated on the trees and pushed myself in that direction with all the remaining energy in my body, but I still remained by the gate; the tall, stone house gazing at me, over the blackened iron posts of the fence.

(to be continued)

2009-07-03T16:13:00.000+10:00

I've created a butterfly to get justice for the 'comfort' women forced into sexual slavery during WWII. Will you? www.amnesty.org.au/comfort

2009-06-27T09:14:00.002+10:00

This is the final image in this series and, in the next post, I will move on to something completely different. Twisted and coiled by hands no longer with us, the rope joins the past to the present. The past, the present, youth and age, are all entangled in the one reality.

2009-06-26T09:29:00.003+10:00

This is a painting on the same theme - youth and age - that I did about three years ago. Once again, it is an expression of the fact that the 'inner person' remains the same, despite ageing. The painting is 90x121 cm.

2009-06-22T14:58:00.003+10:00

This is not a particularly good photo, but it is the only one I have at the moment. Lots of different ideas here:- (1)we are onlookers to the ageing process - our own and that of others; (2) windows allow us to see 'essence' of people; (3) we are always viewing life and each other through 'windows' - which is the boundary of our own perception at any given time and, of course, at any given age.

2009-06-20T09:29:00.002+10:00

Panel 6. The measurements (all panels the same) are 120x100 cm - I finally remembered to measure them!

2009-06-19T14:14:00.001+10:00

Panel 5 (and I WILL get the measurements before I upload the next panel).

2009-06-17T12:59:00.000+10:00

Panel four (I still haven't done any measuring!)

2009-06-16T12:33:00.001+10:00

and this is panel number three.

2009-06-15T09:03:00.001+10:00

and this is the second panel - same artwork.

2009-06-14T14:41:00.002+10:00

This is another work - and this image is the first panel of six. Once again, it is fairly large (I will have to check the sizes of my paintings!).

2009-06-11T19:44:00.004+10:00

This is a work I have just finished. It is quite large (but I don't have the measurements in my head at the moment). It is a comment on the fact that, no matter how old or how young we are, we all have the same four features - mouth, eyes, ears, nose - which, in turn, are basic to how we relate to and communicate with our environment.

2009-06-09T09:33:00.004+10:00

Obviously, no-one felt like commenting on the fate of the rabbits and what is 'moral' and what is 'good'. Personally, I feel that it is quite possible to have situations where things are 'moral' but not 'good' and vice versa.

2009-06-03T12:51:00.002+10:00

For example, the council wants to shoot rabbits that are over-running an area, not far from where I live. The animal lovers are opposing this action, using all means at their disposal. Although I love animals and I don't like the idea of anyone shooting them, I feel that, in this instance, we have a moral obligation to eradicate the rabbits from the area. After all, we brought the rabbit to this country, where it has absolutely no enemies. Our taking the rabbit out of its natural habitat was not a good action (though we probably thought it was good) and we now have the moral duty to play the part of the rabbit's natural enemies - this is the only way we can balance the equation and return some kind of normality to the situation. In other words, it is good, not to want to kill animals but, in this case, it is not moral. By doing what has to be done, and killing the rabbits, we have made a moral decision, but the fact that they have to be killed can hardly be seen as something that is good. Or does someone disagree?

2009-06-02T17:13:00.000+10:00

Can something be moral, without being good, or good, without being moral?

2009-06-02T17:08:00.002+10:00

Well, I now have an answer to the last riddle (Peru) and, as no-one seems to have solved the first one, I can tell you that the answer is 'counterfeit money'.

2009-06-01T11:15:00.001+10:00

Obviously, no-one has the answer. I'll wait with telling you, in case there is a late starter. In the meantime:-

Which country has been hidden in the paragraph below:
The local habitat around a railway track can be very interesting. For example, supporting the track is a sleeper, under which you can find the lesser spotted great weevil.

2009-05-30T10:16:00.002+10:00

Something completely different this time. Does anyone know the answer to the following?

Whoever makes it, tells it not. Whoever takes it, knows it not. And whoever knows it wants it not.

2009-05-29T12:38:00.002+10:00

Referring back to what I was talking about yesterday - water and fruit - I feel that it is good to have this as the framework but, at the same time, it is important to be able to be flexible. If, for example, you want/need a cup of coffee or a cheese sandwich or whatever, then you should be sufficiently 'liberated', within your framework, to be able to enjoy such things. After all, if you are drinking several litres of water a day and eating lots of fruit, I can't see the problem with small divergences. This attitude should also apply to the remainder of the day as well (more fruit and lots of raw vegetables). That toasted cheese and avocado sandwich in the middle of the day might not be exactly the same as a salad, but if it gives you enjoyment, then it is worthwhile. Like with any eating plan, enjoyment must be one of the factors to consider.

I think that everyone would agree (perhaps not) that water and fruit and raw vegetables are essential to our health and, by making them the core of our diet, I feel, we are giving our bodies a better chance to get rid of illnesses and avoid contracting new ones. After all, we have a responsibility to ourselves to see that we function as well as possible, for as long as possible. I feel that it is important to establish a healthy core eating (and drinking) plan and to then allow ourselves the flexibility to include 'less healthy' foods in smaller amounts. It is probably obvious that jam sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner, or white toast for breakfast and chips for lunch and dinner do not equate with a healthy diet but, for the person, who has a good healthy core eating plan, then the occasional piece of toast or bowl of chips probably doesn't do that much harm; in fact, it may even help make the person happier.

One of the problems with cooking (even steaming) vegetables is that the enzymes are lost, however, if you use vegetables in soups then most of goodness is retained in the soup itself. Personally, I find that adding a large mixed salad to whatever our main meal might be (even if it is soup) is a satisfactory solution to the raw vegetable 'problem'.

In conclusion (and I will be moving on to a new topic in the next post!), consider 'upping' your intake of water, fruit and raw vegetables, but do it at the pace and in the way that suits you best. Here are two more websiteshttp://credence.org/,http://www.foodmatters.tv/ . Have a wonderful day!

2009-05-28T12:09:00.001+10:00

The Course is actually called 'Disease-Proof Your Life' and it is being run by Jennie Taylor, with help from her husband, Howard. You can check out her 'blog' on http://groups.to/diseaseproofyourlife

As I said earlier, there is nothing new in these talks - just an underlining of what we have always known but which we have, perhaps, pushed to one side. First and foremost WATER. Drink at least 2 litres of water a day - preferably much more. Before you do anything else in the morning, drink about 1 litre of water (more if you can manage). Between getting up and midday, you should just eat (or drink!) only fruit. If you have a blender, you can blend together 60% fruit with 40% green vegetables - e.g. spinach, kale, avocado, cucumber, parsley, sprouts (alfalfa, green barley etc). . . (don't try cabbage - we did and it is not very nice!). Eating green vegetables this way means that the enzymes from the vegetables go directly into your system and you will feel more energetic. As I mentioned earlier, the morning period should be the 'elimination' period, when you get rid of all the unwanted things in your body.

Our bodies are too acidic because of all the processed and wrong types of foods that we eat. If we are to avoid illness, (any kind of illness) we must make our bodies alkaline - the way to do this is to eat lots of fruit. Actually, we are very lucky here in Australia, because we have fruit all year round. . . .But remember, unless you buy organically grown fruits, you must peel them.

Illness is a symptom of our eating the wrong foods or eating the wrong way. Dehydration (and most people suffer from it) can cause, for example, high blood pressure, heart problems, colitis, migraines, stress-related illnesses, obesity, abdominal problems and even allergies and asthma! Consequently, the very first thing we should do is to drink more water.

If you haven't been drinking a lot of (or any!) water and have been surviving on coffee (which drains water from the body), your body will be a bit like a dam in a drought and it is going to need a lot of water to fill it up. In other words, you can't expect a change overnight - but after a few weeks of consistent water-drinking, you should see, and feel, changes. If you are drinking copious amounts of water, it is a good idea to add about 1/2 teaspoon of rock-salt to your daily intake of water (water in very large amounts tends to flush the salts out of the body.

I think that this will be all for today - water and fruit.

Here are a few more links that you may find interesting:-
www.healthbooksummaries.com
www.truthpublishing.com
www.watercure.com

2009-05-19T10:08:00.002+10:00

The idea is (as you have doubtlessly heard before) to eat only fruit and drink lots of water until 12 noon. Lunch can be a salad or more fruit and perhaps a sandwich and, of course, more water. About 60% of the evening meal should be raw vegetables. Cooking vegetables (or fruit for that matter) destroys the enzymes and it is these enzymes that we need for good health. Of course, it goes without saying that all processed foods, including white flour, sugar and coffee should be handled with extreme caution. At the moment, it feels very positive. I'll keep you posted.

2009-05-18T08:58:00.002+10:00

We have been attending some talks on 'Nutrition and Health'. Nothing that we didn't already know - just a sort of a 'nudge' and a reminder. Like, for example, that raw fruit and vegetables should make up the biggest percentage of food eaten in any one day. It is very easy to slip away from this and, since making the effort, we really do notice the difference.

2009-05-13T08:24:00.002+10:00

I suppose my last Post brings me to the obvious question, regarding the surmise that 'Ignorance is bliss!'. I mean, for the other passengers on the plane, who were blissfully ignorant of the possibility of conflagration and oblivion, there was really no problem. In the same way that, for any of us, ignorance of imminent disaster means that everything is okay. And I feel that this is probably justified (and definitely the better option!), when the impending disaster is 'natural'; however, when the disaster has definite moral connotations, can we still take cover behind the wall of 'Ignorance is bliss', or are we compelled to take some kind of action, in spite of possible danger to ourselves - physical, mental or otherwise?

2009-05-12T10:08:00.002+10:00

Did anyone watch 'Spooks' last night? What's your feeling about sitting on a plane, knowing that a lightning strike (of which there can be many) is more than likely to blow up the fuel tanks? I don't think that I could do it? Could you?

2009-05-10T09:10:00.000+10:00

I found this and found it thought-provoking.

"Each of us literally chooses, by his way of attending to things, what sort of universe he shall appear to himself to inhabit." William James.

2009-05-07T15:51:00.002+10:00

I have been giving some thought to how one should view a 'blog'. Is it, in essence, a personal diary and, consequently, should probably not be read by anyone, or is it a way of communicating with others? If it is the latter of these two, the question then is, how can one communicate, if the only person 'communicating' is oneself - i.e. one is communicating with oneself. Perhaps this really doesn't matter because whatever one (read 'I') might be saying is relevant to myself and, therefore, has a right to be expressed - much in the same way as thoughts in a diary. But now we reach a difficult situation because, if the 'blog' is a collection of my personal thoughts, why should I post them a site where, possibly, someone may come by and read them! As far as I see it, a 'blog' is more for communication of ideas, not very personal thoughts (i.e. the kind that one would hide in a diary) and, therefore, is reliant on some kind of feed-back or communication from others.

I am not a very good 'blog' or 'internet site' person. I find the idea of following 'blogs' or sites very time-demanding, so I can understand that others would relate in a similar way to my 'blog'. (Although there are two 'blogs'/sites that I DO try and visit as often as I have time - one based here in Australia and one in Latvia!). I think that a 'blog' should have a reason for its existence - it could be merely communicating ideas for general discussion, but it could also impart information on particular subjects. This, perhaps, could be the way to go but, of course, being lost in space, it is very difficult to locate likely 'blog' companions. Until next time. . . . .

2009-03-30T15:39:00.001+11:00

'The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.' Joseph Priestley

I found this quote extremely interesting, in the light of present-day communication systems. What do you think?

2009-03-27T17:35:00.000+11:00

And another one:-

'The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.' C. S. Lewis

2009-03-26T12:22:00.000+11:00

“The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.” Albert Einstein.

It is an interesting thought, isn't it?

2009-03-20T09:42:00.002+11:00

Congratulations to the person having a birthday and 'happy spring' to all those people celebrating the first day of spring (I'm not sure if the rest of us can say that we are celebrating the first day of autumn - I have a strange feeling that that occasion has already passed).

Some of you will have received a link to this blog, simply because I have posted something on it. This is simply part of my marketing plan and you don't have to feel obliged to reply - at least you will know that I am still out there, somewhere.

2009-03-12T20:07:00.002+11:00

I had a 'wake-up' experience with an internet site - PlanetDVDStore - and will be more wary of internet shopping sites in future. The DVDs are most probably pirated/home-made and, as there are a large number of them, it will take some time before I know whether they are all OK or not; however, so far, so good. (They were a birthday present for someone special!). My biggest disappointment with the company was that no-one answered any of my many emails and there are no contact details (beyond the email address) on the website. Otherwise March is galloping along toward April and I am in danger of being left behind.

2009-03-01T14:09:00.001+11:00

Happy March!

2009-02-24T18:21:00.002+11:00

Time has obviously got away with me this time. It possibly has something to do with my feeble attempts of mastering the art of talking to myself! Anyway, I am still around - somewhere - and I will try and post 'something' (thoughts, photos. . . ) a little more often.

2009-01-15T13:39:00.002+11:00

The 'new year' is fast becoming an 'old year' or, at the least, part of the general day-to-day running of things. The January page on the calendar is already worrying about being replaced by February and, in another month or two, people will start wondering what they will be doing at the end of the year. . . and so it goes.

I noted that I have not written anything since November; possibly because I have been emptying and then painting the house. We are having new floors put down and then everything that was 'emptied' will have to be 'filled' - I can assure you that this is not something that I would fancy doing every year!

It is 43 degrees here today and the computer is beginning to object, so I may make this a short post. I hope that any of you out there, who happen by my 'blog, are enjoying the year (new or otherwise) and that you are all well and happy.

2008-11-30T20:08:00.002+11:00

If you are just 'dropping by', do make a comment or start a new discussion. It can be a bit lonely in space.

2008-11-23T22:53:00.002+11:00

With snow in the mountains and cold, wet winds whipping around the house, it is difficult to accept the fact that only days ago we were sweltering in temperatures of about 35 degrees. As someone was saying, perhaps we are moving from a system, where climate follows a routine, marked by seasons, to a new system, where each day's climate is selected by something akin to Russian roulette and where the excitement of 'not knowing in advance' will become the new routine.

2008-11-21T20:08:00.002+11:00

Has anyone tried to order anything on-line from Sweden? I have tried many sites, proudly claiming that they sell books, music and/or both 'on-line' but, upon eagerly making my selection, I am told that deliveries are not made outside Sweden! Perhaps Sweden believes that the internet is restricted to Sweden. . . . One site, which stated that it was the leading Swedish internet music site, actually delivers to all of Scandinavia and, wait for it, all the Baltic countries; so, obviously, it has stretched the limits of cyberspace a little further than the normal Swedish internet site.

2008-11-16T09:52:00.008+11:00

Time seems to be constantly getting away from me. As many of you already know, 'we' did another Walk in October and I have placed some images from the Walk on to my website (once you open the site, click on 'Bushwalking' and then scroll down to Great Ocean Walk). It was a great Walk, despite all the ascents and descents, and the views were spectacular. I'll add a couple of photos to this post, just to give you some idea.

At the moment, I am trying to make sense of lots of notes on my mother's mother's family - i.e. my maternal grandmother. The notes have already taken me back to the Great Famine in Ireland and have led me into many convoluted and interesting side-tracks. Among other things, there is a relationship with Carmen and Paula Duncan (the actresses). More about all this later.

Otherwise, I have been painting a lot lately (perhaps that is why I am having problems with 'time'?). Hopefully, I will soon be able to post some images.

Take care and feel free to comment or introduce a completely new topic for discussion.

2008-10-27T22:47:00.000+11:00

My goodness! Almost a whole month has gone by in complete silence! I will try and get back here very soon and give some kind of 'run-down' on what has been happening. Take care.

2008-10-01T17:43:00.001+10:00

I actually did remember the photo! The painting is called 'At the Edge of the Sea'.

2008-09-28T16:11:00.002+10:00

I am still trying to come to terms with the fact that the painting I painted specially for the Gosford Art Prize never got a chance of being hung, simply because I got dates mixed up and did not submit it in time. Seeing as I started painting it at the beginning of July (in order to have it finished in time), I am rather put out (with myself)! I will try and remember to put a photo of it on the 'blog' (but, of course, having forgotten to submit the painting itself, there is no guarantee that I will remember something as insignificant as a photo!).

2008-09-13T13:19:00.002+10:00

As an aside to everything else (and, let's face it, everything is, perhaps, only an 'aside'), I was glancing through a newspaper and caught the words, 12.00 am, when what was actually indicated was 12 noon. This is so common nowadays but, logically, there can be no such thing as 12.00 am or 12.00 pm. At '12' - be it in the middle of the day or the middle of the night - we switch from am (being morning) to pm (being afternoon/evening)and vice versa. What happened to 'noon' and 'midnight'? Surely, if people are not sufficiently 'numerically literate' to be able to use the 24 hour clock, then they should, at the very least, be able to use the words 'noon' and 'midnight'.

2008-09-12T08:45:00.002+10:00

The 'visuals' are telling us that it is spring (even summer!), but it still feels cold - so we are not convinced. Is reality, as we each perceive it, dependent on all senses relaying the same, connected information, or is it possible to fully accept and understand a 'reality', even though one sense may be indicating the complete opposite?

2008-09-03T10:46:00.000+10:00

Returning to comments made at the end of August, thank you, Coldbite, for your input; the fact that you intercept some of these thoughts means that they are not just floating around in the universe (or cyberspace) un-read, un-loved and completely lost. This leads me to the difference between diary writing and other writing (where an answer may or may not be expected). A diary (once one gets past the noting of dates and times and changes in the weather!) can be extremely personal and is usually not written for anyone else but the writer; however, ‘other’ writing (including comments on the internet) are written with the realization that someone else MAY read it. I feel that this realization impacts on what is written and how it is written. I don’t feel that I write with any particular audience in mind, but I am aware that whatever I write may be read by ‘someone’.

Having given it more thought, I must agree with you that any creative activity must contain part of the ‘creator’s’ soul – no matter whether it is art, poetry, an essay or a diary. Perhaps my initial feeling was that the more personal the writing, the closer to one’s soul it must come; however, I dare say that is debatable.

On the subject of passed-on articles - if Audrey the Mechanical Pencil, with whom you have had an interesting and varied relationship, ends up at Vinnies, the person, who eventually buys her will, firstly, not know that she is called ‘Audrey’, will not know that ‘it’ is a ‘she’ and will have no idea of the interested and varied relationship Audrey had with her previous owner. This is what I meant about the ‘story’. Audrey will go on to have a new life as a mechanical pencil, most probably without a name, and, in all probabilty, very different to her life with you. You wrote, “I had the power to destroy her. I did not. This was key in her advancing career.” This is true but, because she is a mechanical pencil, she will be expected to act as a mechanical pencil and the personality that you have given her will no longer exist.

Finally, I do agree that by changing our relationship to the ‘things’ around us, we may think twice before replacing them. However, we must be aware of the looming danger where, if we personalize all innate objects, we may reach a point where we cannot discard anything, even though they are things that should be discarded.

2008-09-01T08:07:00.002+10:00

Yesterday was the end of something and today, according to the calendar, is the beginning. Suddenly, we expect a change in the weather, in the vegetation and even, perhaps, in our way of thinking. Sometimes, however, these expectations can be dashed like, for example, when my mother, after having spent several weeks in hospital and expecting to go home on the first September, was told on that very day that she would have to remain for a further period of time. And, when working at a Youth Hostel in another hemisphere, where autumn mists and rains were making themselves felt, I slipped on the top step of an outside cellar and fell to the bottom - once again, on the first September. So the change doesn't have to be all positive (at least, not on the surface). Perhaps it is as Karin Boye wrote, "Ja visst gör det ont när knoppar brister" .

2008-08-30T16:54:00.001+10:00

I felt that your last lot of comments were extremely interesting, Coldbite. Reading a diary that one shouldn’t be reading is a bit of a dead-end road. After all, one cannot discuss the content with anyone and there would be a constant feeling of having ‘gone somewhere, where one should not have gone’. I don’t think that there is any way that this feeling could be even remotely compared to reading someone’s ‘musings’ on the ‘net. After all, most people writing something on the ‘net, do it with the full understanding that someone is going to read what they have written – in fact, they actually want someone to read what they have written! The diary writer usually writes for him/herself.

By saying this, I do not deny that the internet writer’s thoughts may be extremeley interesting (similar to those one may encounter in a book), however, the thoughts in a diary can often be the type of thoughts and observations that shed a light into that particular person’s soul. In other words, I feel that there is a major difference between these two kinds of writings.

Your comments about ice cream are valid and, perhaps, this is the hurdle that has to be crossed. I suppose we have to realize that our thoughts and feelings, even though they may be different, usually have the same or a similar instigator and, therefore, are connected, on some level. The sharing of these different perspectives (caused by the same incident) may be a way of increasing our understanding of each other and ourselves. But it is often a matter of taking this step and placing our yellowed leaves of paper and computer files in the blinding light of day.

You do have a point about ‘once loved’ articles and perhaps I was a little hasty casting them off. It is great if they can be ‘re-loved’ by someone else and the idea of positive vibrations remaining with the article is, I feel, very valid. I suppose the point I was trying to make is that the ‘story’ behind each of these articles is gone, once the person, who knows anything about the story is ‘gone’ or is removed from the article. I think that the articles can go on to have a happy life (if that is possible), but the new life will be different and it will not be reliant on any previous history. Perhaps an understanding of this fact is necessary if we are to remove ourselves entirely from the many chains tying us to the materialistic society, which is the present day common denominator.

2008-08-27T20:12:00.001+10:00

Yes, Coldbite, I do agree that reading old diary entries can take us back to that particular point in time and, from that point of view, they definitely do have a part to play. Perhaps if diaries or journals are kept with the idea of later using the information for some particular purpose (for example, writing an auto-biography!), then it makes sense. However, most of the time, this is not the reason for the diary.

I sometimes wonder if writing things in a diary is our way of trying to hold on to something (similarly to the way people buy souvenirs, in an attempt to retain the holiday or the show or whatever). As long as the words are there, in the journal or the diary, then we feel secure in the knowledge (real or otherwise) that that which is described by these words is part of us. We ‘own’ it in a special way, even if we never look at it again! If we do, then it is as Coldbite mentioned, we re-experience what we wrote about in a very real manner. But what happens ‘afterwards’, when we are no more. Our ‘souvenirs’ can easily end up at Vinnies, but what about all these thoughts and comments and ‘blank pages’?

2008-08-26T21:50:00.001+10:00

Thank you Coldbite and ‘a’. It feels quite special to know that other people have actually shared my thoughts (so I suppose I had better be a bit more ‘aware’ now, when I write something. . . .). Coldbite’s question, ‘Why then do people keep diaries?’ was interesting. I have been thinking about this lately and I don’t think I have the answer. I mean, what is going to happen to the diaries after one passes on? Most people I have spoken to say that, if they haven’t burnt them themselves (prior to their ‘passing’) then they will leave strict instructions for them to be burnt afterwards. Then, of course, one can ask, ‘What was the point?’ It takes time to write in a diary and if no-one is going to read it (or them) then it must be a waste of time. I suppose that it is possible that some people keep diaries just to remember things, but perhaps it is not that important to remember the things that they are trying to remember.

The idea of everything around about absorbing the thought that has been thought, or the words uttered to no-one in particular, is very interesting and I believe that immaterial objects do capture certain facets of our thoughts and actions. I think that this is why it can feel so uncomfortable in certain places and very harmonious in others.

I agree with ‘a’ that, ‘A blank space may be thought provoking, yet a visual and readable space is more exciting.’ Blank spaces can, perhaps, lead to misunderstanding, though the image is rather fascinating. Imagine people sitting on a train, all reading books with blank pages!! Perhaps this will be the answer to the present age of over-communication and over-stimulation.

2008-08-23T17:36:00.002+10:00

It is an interesting concept - talking to oneself. As one already has some idea of what one is saying or is about to say, then there is really little need to actually 'say' it. In other words, I could leave this space totally blank and I would know exactly what I intended to write, even though no-one else would have any idea about what I was thinking, or what I would have said, if I had known that someone would read it! So, a little blank space in cyberspace would mean that although my thoughts remained 'unsaid', I did actually have something to say. This gives another dimension to the saying, 'Watch this space!'

2008-08-16T15:50:00.003+10:00

Time just rushes along or past (or is it that time stands still and we rush past?) and 080808 has been and gone and what happened last week has already been put in a box, marked 'past' and there is already anticipation, regarding what might happen tomorrow or in a week's time, or in a couple of months and whether or not it should go into a 'general' Past Box or whether, perhaps, it should be categorized into 'positive' experiences, 'negative' experiences or just plain 'experiences-of-absolutely-no-note'.
Perhaps I am exaggerating a little, but perhaps there are elements of truth, squashed in between the thoughts.
I haven't had any comments here for a while, so I may start feeling that I am talking to myself (which, as they say, is one of the first signs. . . . .). Anyway, if there IS someone out there, thanks for stopping by.

2008-08-07T15:27:00.020+10:00

First of all, the quality of the photo (From Avoca to Norah head) is not the best; I will have to try and do something about it!
Secondly, thank you Coldbite for your comment about past, present and future. I particularly liked your comment:- "forgetting that there is a past (thus making it gone) would seem to remove all sense of 'forward' movement, in my humble opinion. With this in mind, I think the future will always come and go, but "without a very present past" we wouldn't notice the future."
This is all so true.
My most recent past is tied up with a place called Mystwood, not far from Wollembi. I've attached a few photos and, by sharing my past (which is now part of my present and my future) I will, inadvertently, no doubt, be colouring some aspect of your present, even though your experience, through images, will have to be different to mine.

2008-07-29T09:29:00.003+10:00

This is the painting (as far as it has come). To give you some idea what it is about, it is called 'From Avoca to Norah Head'.

2008-07-27T17:15:00.002+10:00

If there is anyone out there, reading this, then you may be relieved to see that, though lost, I am still 'in contact' (though, of course, I am fully aware that you may not be even slightly interested!). Time has been galloping past me, these last couple of months, and writing thoughts on a blog has been as far from my mind as the moon seems to be from the sun.

I have been working on a new painting and, when I get around to taking photos, I'll paste at least one image on this space.

Just a thought, before I go, I came across the following quote somewhere, 'There is a past, which is gone forever, but there is a future, which is till our own'. Is the past really gone? I mean, from a Time perspective, it has to be gone, but isn't the past, in some way, incorporated into who we are and what we want? Without a a very present past, there can be no future. Or, am I wrong?

2008-07-06T19:19:00.002+10:00

I haven't had much time to be 'posting' (but that is what happens when one is 'lost') and, at the moment, the cat is walking up and down the key board (which does not help creative expression - but perhaps it helps cat expression). Just a very short note to let you know that I am around, somewhere, and I will catch up with everyone a bit later on.

2008-06-11T10:28:00.002+10:00

Thank you, Keith T. I DO agree with you. As an exchange of, or as a record of, information, photos are very helpful, but they usually cannot convey the emotion to others that motivated their creation in the first place. Well, not always. An 'art photograph' will convey an emotion, though it need not be the exact emotion that the photographer had intended. Any emotion aroused by a photo, we have not actually 'experienced' must, I feel, be linked to something we HAVE experienced and this, of course, may not always equate with the photographer's experience and subsequent emotional reaction. It is almost as though there is a 'barrier' between the onlooker and the image. This is very much the case, when looking at other people's holiday photos. We can appreciate the beautiful buildings or statues or landscapes, but we are removed from the 'instant' and the response is often-times more intellectual than emotional. Perhaps you have the right idea, when you wrote Maybe we should all find time in our busy lives simply to reminisce. After all, it is what we have 'inside' - our thoughts and our memories - that are important; not all the 'props' and things that we hold on to, in order to try and retain all those fleeting instants.

2008-06-10T15:27:00.002+10:00

Why do we take photos? Do we take them to show others; to remind us of something we have experienced; as a kind of artistic journal for future creative projects or as a way of holding on to that which has been? I know that this question has been 'nudged' in earlier posts, but now I am presenting it more directly.

2008-06-06T19:54:00.002+10:00

Motivated by the fact that 'things' are probably not as necessary, as people would like to believe, I am making little piles of all the 'things' that will eventually be handed on to others (i.e. everything), so the house is beginning to look like a second-hand 'op shop' and, in all probability, I will soon have to move! Of course, the piles of 'things' will just add to other people's piles of 'things' and other people will, eventually, have to do much the same as I am doing at the moment. Perhaps this is the point where I should write some kind of instruction for managing 'things? (I decided that 'ruby red' was an appropriate colour for this text).

2008-06-04T17:53:00.000+10:00

Thank you, Ephemeral. "I take a photo of my laptop, and I send it to everyone I know, and they either chuckle and delete it, or they store it somewhere on their computer for "later". When their grand-children are sifting through what was once a Seagate HDD, they won't be able to chuckle, because they will most likely not know what a laptop is. So instead they form a cult and write a book about how in the olden days people had a God called DELL, and they used a flat silver tablet for praying." That was delightful and possibly very true. I am not sure if we accumulate ‘things’ to prove to others that we are leading (or have led!) fulfilling lives. Perhaps it depends on what the ‘things’ are.

I agree that we are connected in different ways and that some ‘things’ will speak to others, even if the interpretation may change somewhat. I have been thinking that we should, perhaps, leave notes with everything, explaining why it is a ‘saved thing’. For example, this is a toothpick that I found on a table in a restaurant and was, most probably, used by XXX (XXX is, of course, someone famous!). Or, this is a photo of our neighbour being chased across the paddock by a mad bull (you can’t actually see the bull in the photo, as I was concentrating on my neighbour!).

Regarding your dying laptop – perhaps we need the photo to remind us of the fact that the laptop actually died. This is probably even more important once we reach a point where our memory (and I am not talking about computer memory!) has all but disappeared. But then again, when that happens, we won’t even know where the picture is stored. . . .

2008-06-03T22:11:00.000+10:00

Thank you for your comment, Coldbite. I tend to agree with you that everything is ‘within us’, but we have to reach that awareness – until we do so, I feel that we continue hoarding ‘things’ to remind us of what has been. The person, who has been on a holiday, actually has all the experiences within him/herself, but will hang on to his/her suitcase of photos and souvenirs – just in case. . . .

`Things' serve as a reminder of that which we wish to hang on to (and not), and I think often trap us into not wanting to `throw the memory away' for fear of losing the love or the lesson. I think that is very true and it emphasises the fact that we have to have more confidence in ourselves and in our memories. Everything we have ever experienced is, as you say, within us and it must be much easier to carry all of this within us than to lug around suitcases and boxes of souvenirs and ‘keepsakes’ and photos and. . . .

I suppose the thing that needs to be discussed is whether or not our memories are important to other people (that is to say, after we have ‘wandered off’). We wander off with our memories and experiences, but are our souvenirs and photos and bits and pieces (all connected to memories and experiences – OUR memories and experiences) of any value to other people? Or do these ‘things’ create new experiences and memories for a new group of people? The memories will be different, because they will be filtered through new people, but perhaps some essence of the original experience remains and can be handed on to others?

2008-06-03T11:37:00.002+10:00

Thank you for your comment, Keith T. I agree that there are fantastic 'images' in Nature - in fact, I often use Nature as a stepping-off point for my art.

I have been thinking a lot about how we collect things - all kinds of things - as a way of trying to hold on to that which has already been and gone. Photographs, souvenirs, magazines, books, articles, bits and pieces. . . . The list goes on and on. And, what do we do with all these 'things'? We put them away, safely, and then, the knowledge that they are there, somewhere, is sufficient for us to feel that we are still connected to the person, the thought, the experience, the idea for which the 'thing' has become a symbol. Then, one day, we are no more and all the 'things' remain, but the experience, the thought, the idea remains with us, wherever we might be.

Or, what do other people think?

2008-05-25T17:25:00.006+10:00

Well, here I am again, with a few more photos from Adelaide. The autumn trees were almost finished, but were still beautiful.

2008-05-22T00:15:00.003+10:00

I haven't been here for awhile (as you may have noticed). Firstly I was in Adelaide,

and then, I managed to get an infected foot, after a creepy, crawly, wriggly leech bit me. I won't include a photo, as it would probably disturb those of you, who are more sensitive. It is sufficient to say that it was a nasty experience - for me, at least; I am not sure how the leech fared.

Adelaide is a lovely place and being there only emphasised how 'relative' everything is - speed, distance, crowds, cold . . . . As someone insinuated only this evening, we all live in our own little plastic domes and it is only very occasionally (possibly never) that we really connect with another person 100%. Most of the time our relationships with others (like Adelaide) are 'relative' to what ever else is going on.

2008-05-12T08:21:00.001+10:00

I'll be away for a few days, but I'll be back here at the end of the week.

2008-05-08T13:51:00.003+10:00

08-05-08
I just had to post something today! Thought I'd post a more recent image (from 2007), which is called Behind Windows and Doors II. This painting (oil on canvas 40.5x30 cm) is part of a series, where I looked at the relationship between the built-up environment and people and how a window or a door may stop us from seeing what is going on behind them, but does not stop what is actually going on. Like the many small images in any one single image, there are also many happenings in any one single happening. Our looking through a window or a door is one happening, but it includes all the unseen happenings of, for example, the person walking down the street or through the room; the man asleep in a corner, the wind blowing a paper across the street . . . .

2008-05-07T09:02:00.006+10:00

Over the past few weeks, I have brought up a number of different topics, for example, equality; the individual versus the crowd; change; people in relation to the environment; symbols and the concept of wounding. Most of these ideas have formed the basis for a number of my artworks and I thought I might post a few of these images. The work above is called 'In the Crowd' and is from the series 'the individual versus the crowd'. It measures 46x123 cm and is done in acrylic and oil on board and small boards.

The work below, 'Identity', is from the same series and measures 61x245 cm. It is also painted in acrylic and oil on board.

The final work for today is also called 'In the Crowd' and measures 123x160.5 cm. It has been done in mixed media on board.

2008-05-05T14:55:00.002+10:00

Andris, Jonathan and I have just got back from a two day walk through Dharug National Park (approximately 100 kms N.N.W of Sydney) - see slide-show. We were very fortunate with the weather - lots of sun and low 20's. We did a 30 km loop and the amazing thing is that we seemed to be clambering upwards most of the time; I still haven't worked out how that could have been possible! Wading through an icy cold creek and avoiding a horde of very determined mountain cyclists, who were using a small part of the track, only added to the excitement. Part of the track was actually used by the first pioneers in the area and a small cemetery had dates going back to the early 1800's which, for European Australia, is really very old. Bell birds and butterflies kept us company for most of the walk and, though we didn't see any, wombats are supposed to frequent the place where we camped. On the second day, we walked under Clare's Bridge (the second oldest bridge on the Australian mainland). There was no chance of walking over it, unless you had a superman complex and were adept at flying from pylon to pylon.

Anyone interested in commenting on the walk or on the similarity between 'wounds' and 'doors' is more than welcome.

2008-05-05T11:57:00.002+10:00

Thank you for your comment, Keith, i.e. "A wound could also be seen as a doorway, but in this case in the sense that it has been left open, allowing unwelcome intrusion." I feel that this opens up a complete new area, worth investigation - doors into different aspects of society; into our thought processes; into our emotions.

2008-04-28T20:32:00.003+10:00

I really liked Frejasphere's comment on 'change'. Change is, in fact, the only constant, even though many will try and prove otherwise, while they cling to the false sense of security embodied in the concept of 'no-change'. It is a fascinating topic and I suppose we could continue discussing it in numerous different directions, however, I have decided to launch in on something completely different.

The concept of 'wounding' is usually defined as causing injury to living tissue, however, it can also have a more abstract reference, for example, 'wounding' someone's reputation or someone's emotions. In other words, a 'wound' (be it concrete or abstract) can be seen as separating a physical or an emotional body (i.e. one unit) into two fields. This is a separation, which can be seen everywhere and on all levels - emotional, physical, psychological, intellectual - leaving its mark on people, landscapes, ideas and society.Take, for example, the image of a rock fissure. Rock, in itself, embodies the feeling of permanence and strength. Does this 'wounded' 'separated' rock become fragile and exposed? Is there a parallel between this image and an emotionally 'wounded' person? Does a 'wounded' society become more fragile and is it more likely to succumb to other influences? At what point is it no longer possible to restore the separated parts to the original 'whole'?

2008-04-22T10:44:00.001+10:00

Change, I feel, is such an important, structural part of existence that it permeates everything, even our abstract thinking. If, for example, we were to consider ‘symbols’, which are, in a way, a bridge between the abstract and the real, we would have to admit that not only do they change like a living, developing thing from age to age and between cultural groups, but that the symbol itself can take on completely different connotations from one society to another. For example, do all cultural societies regard the symbol of a ‘door’ - new beginning; freedom and new possibilities etc - in the same way (i.e. assuming that all groups have such a symbol!) and to what extent does our different interpretation of similar symbols impact on our understanding of each other and our tolerance for cultures different to our own?

2008-04-18T10:36:00.002+10:00

Hegel's process of the dialectic, i.e. the theory that change occurs when the thesis is challenged by its antithesis; the ensuing conflict resulting in synthesis (not the victory of one over the other). This synthesis then meets a new antithesis and the process repeats itself. I feel that this is pertinent to what we have already noted regarding 'change' in the environment and the constant flow and flux between people and the places where they live. Every change is taking something of the past with it and re-forming it into a new reality.

2008-04-14T18:46:00.003+10:00

Thank you both Frejasphere and Coldbite for your very interesting comments. Frejasphere's 'picture' of a city, viewed from a bird's perspective, without people was really quite eerie - and that, in itself, could be a topic for further comment! What is it about the image of the empty city that conjures up such feelings? Surely, we should have more reason to be afraid of a city filled with people than of a city with only brick and steel structures? Or is it, perhaps, that people are an intrinsic part of a city environment and their absence is what causes this sense of anxiety?

I liked Coldbite's 'intrinsically superficial layer' where, for me, two opposites are fighting for supremacy. Perhaps this is what is all about and perhaps, eventually, that which was only superficial becomes an intrinsic part of the environment in question, subject as with everything, to constant change. In other words, people enter the environment as a new layer, but they become literally absorbed by the environment and, eventually, become enclosed into the concept of that particular environment.

It was interesting to reflect on the idea that an environment (any environment) would revert to its 'former' state, if people were to desert it. Given the fact that everything is in a constant state of flux, I do not know if this is possible. People might leave a particular environment (for whatever reason), but the fact that people were once part of that environment would have to, in some way, leave an indelible mark on the environment and on the pattern of continual change 'moulding' it.

2008-04-14T13:08:00.002+10:00

Moving on from 'change', I thought I might dwell a very short moment on people in relation to the environment. Are we an intrinsic part of the environment (and, if so, to what degree) or are we simply a superficial layer? We can, for example, say that birds are part of the bush environment, but are we also part of that environment? On the other hand, a city environment would hardly be a city environment without people - or would it?

2008-04-11T18:30:00.002+10:00

Thank you so much, Ephemeral and Frejasphere, for your very interesting comments. Both of you isolated the need for security versus the need for (or the inevitability of) change. It is thought-provoking that security implies a lack of change, while change is, in effect, one of the core aspects of life itself. I agree with Ephemeral that there are 'different levels of change' and that everything is relative i.e. some change can appear 'good' to some people and 'negative' to others, and vice versa.

I suppose I was thinking more about those almost imperceptible changes that mean that nothing can ever be the same from one moment to the next - a fly, flying through a room; a curtain, blowing in the breeze; a leaf falling from a tree; a frown replacing a smile; a person sitting, standing, walking, running. . . . There are so many 'images' making up one instant and they are all changing - constantly. And, yet, we tend to ignore all these (very real) changes and convince ourselves that our security rests with a 'known', unchangeable environment.

2008-04-10T11:54:00.003+10:00

Moving on from the discussion re the individual and the crowd, I thought I would dwell for a moment on the concept of change. Nothing can remain the same, not even for a split second, and our concept of security, based on the continuing 'sameness' of familiar things and places is, therefore, fundamentally wrong. Consequently, such feelings of security must be based on imagined ideas of people and places and environments which, because they are imagined, remain outside of the laws of change. So, on the one hand, we have the constantly changing environment and, on the other hand, each person's imagined, non-changing, idea of that same environment. Any ideas?

2008-04-09T17:06:00.002+10:00

Thank you for your comment, Butterfly Spirit. Yes, I do agree with you that strong individuals impact positively on society, but how do they impact on the 'crowd' concept? Does their strength colour the make-up of the crowd and, as someone else remarked, do we end up with an entity, which is ruled by the stronger individuals (positive or negative) and where 'weaker' individuals merely 'trail along' (hoping, perhaps, to experience a sort of safety and security in numbers)? If this is so, then there is no way that a 'crowd' concept can be an equal distribution of individuals and, as a new 'unit', it must, therefore, take on the characteristics of the stronger and/or more dominant individuals (or cells) from which it is formed.

2008-04-08T08:32:00.002+10:00

Thanks to Ephemeral and Frejasphere for their comments, which throw a couple of different perspectives into the mix. If, as Ephemeral suggests, the 'face' of the crowd is dictated by the strongest individual (or individuals), then it is no longer a merging of many individuals to form the physical concept we call a 'crowd', but a subjugation of the majority of individuals to one or a very few more dominant individuals. In effect, the 'crowd' is then taking on the individual characteristics of these alpha types and the lesser, weaker individuals are completely obliterated. In other words, the 'crowd' is not a merging of many individuals but is, instead, a vehicle for the needs and the whims of dominant individuals (and, please note, 'dominant' does not necessarily equate with 'positive'). This viewpoint is, I feel, quite distressing as the individual is not merely 'merged' into a crowd situation, retaining his/her individuality while, at the same time, creating the individuality of the 'crowd', but is more or less obliterated, becoming a sort of conceptual fodder for the stronger, dominant individual.

Frejasphere's idea that the crowd situation creates a safe haven was interesting and I can accept that there would be many individuals in today's society, who would be prepared to opt for this kind of security at the cost of their own individuality; but what would such a 'crowd' look like? A number of somewhat cowed individuals, huddled together for safety and loath to express their own individuality. Or perhaps this is the way it has to be! After all, society (which is a 'crowd' concept) could never function if all its members were unattached individuals and yes, I agree with Frejasphere, that our traffic situation could very quickly develop into chaos.

The question, therefore, is whether or not it is possible to have an equally balanced 'crowd' without domination and without fear? Can a group of individuals come together into a 'crowd' situation and create a new, positive, 'individuality', while each individual retains his/her own separate individuality?

2008-04-07T17:17:00.003+10:00

Perhaps equality and its 'to be or not to be' depends on one's perspective and who is supposed to be equal to whom, i.e. women to men or men to women. After all, there are arguments in both directions. I remain convinced, however, that, when it comes to the arts and literature, women still have a long way to go, before they can feel that they are recognised as men's equals (and not just as 'extraordinary' women).

I thought I might change direction a bit here and look at the concept of the individual versus the crowd, which is a theme I have used many times in my paintings. Does the crowd become a new 'individual' with many heads or does the individual remain the same individual notwithstanding his/her position in a group of many other (similar) individuals - i.e. a 'crowd'? If the individual becomes part of this new entity, (1) at what point does this happen and (2) is the individual absorbed by the 'crowdness' of the crowd or do the many individuals, comprising the crowd, each add a new perspective and/or a new characteristic to the unit?

2008-04-05T09:25:00.003+11:00

It is a fact that there are more women than men in the world and my understanding is that there are more women studying art - at all levels; yet, it is the men, who gain the recognition. Take the Archibald Prize as an example. Of the finalists, 30 were men and 10 were women (there were a few names that could have been either, but I have divided them equally). The winner, Del Kathryn Barton, will, for many, be remembered, not necessarily for the work she submitted, but for the fact that she is a woman and that she actually won the Archibald Prize! Of course, there have been positive changes in the last 100 years, but equality, at a 'subconscious level' is still light years away.

2008-04-04T16:31:00.002+11:00

I found the following few lines in an essay I wrote some years ago and thought that it could be an interesting 'jumping off point'. Do people agree; disagree; disbelieve. . . .?

''The majority of art history books would have us believe that women did not figure in any of the major art movements of any century. That their contributions have not been fairly recorded in male art histories is intimately tied up with social, religious and economic practices and the tendency for the art world (run by males) to regard the male as the norm and the female as the exception. For example, artists like Berthe Morisot, Georgia O'Keeffe and Frida Kahlo are all considered 'great' and, therefore, 'exceptions'. Art history, according to Nicos Hadjinicolaou, '... has served to rationalize the material base upon which patriachy in capitalist societies rests: men's control over women's labor (sic), power, sexuality, and access to symbolic representation.'''

2008-04-04T16:28:00.001+11:00

Just a word of thanks to Annette, who so kindly got this site 'up and running' (or 'out and spiralling').

Welcome!

2008-04-04T13:25:00.003+11:00

It has been lots of fun getting this far and I am still quite lost, but to those of you have stumbled on my 'blog', a very big 'welcome'.