An expression of love

“Encouragement is the greatest form that love can take” — Barbara Blackman

Years ago I had a girlfriend who worked at the National Gallery of Australia and I used to enjoy getting a personal tour of the exhibitions she'd helped put together.

While looking at the Federation exhibition she remarked how one painting had been loaned by the Australian Government from the Governor General's residence, where it had accumulated years of smoke that needed to be cleaned off. This reminded me of a sociology lecturer's remark that the rise and decline in tobacco smoking had been one of the biggest social changes in the 20th Century.

One of the last exhibitions this girlfriend invited me to see was Joy Hester and Friends in 2001 and Barbara Blackman was at the opening.

I didn't meet Ms Blackman but she made an impression on me as she was holding onto my girlfriend's arm. I'd arrived late to the opening and the two of them were standing near whoever was opening the exhibition.

My girlfriend smiled at me when she spotted me in the crowd and I was surprised to see that Ms Blackman's head turned toward me in response.

Even though I could see nothing had been said between the two of them, the blind woman had also registered my presence.

It's been an example for me about how many other senses we draw on everyday. Humans use sight as their primary sense and I often wonder whether it's a detriment that we don't better use others.

Encouragement is the theme articulated by Barbara Blackman in the quote above and if she hadn't made an impression on me at that exhibition opening I might've missed her opinion in The Guardian today.

I am very grateful for the encouragement I've received from those who love me. At different times it's made a difference to my life.

Flood waters recede

This haiku by Julie Briggs is the second in the series of poems about Narrandera that are being shared by Naviar Records:

Flood waters recede
Narrandera eucalypts reflected
Which way is up?

I've written on my Bassling blog that for me it captures a sense of the turmoil that's created when your town is isolated by the rising Murrumbidgee River.



Below are the contributed recordings responding to this haiku.

Eclipsed by a comic typo

It's no secret that I love reading horoscopes and also love typos, so finding the above was a doubly entertaining moment for me today.

Inspired doodle

Sorting through the pile of papers that accumulate in the kitchen and I thought my part in this quick doodle was particularly inspired.

I appreciate that my daughter Neve encourages me to draw because it really does make me feel more creative within a few minutes.

Bad Mummy

More of Neve's work. 

She has a very dark sense of humour.

Neve's bottled mud pie

Dry July

It's interesting for me to look over previous years on here and see annual trends.

For example, July seems to be traditionally the time of year where I have little to add.

I look over the months and see it's the month where there are consistently less posts.

This drying-up of content suggests I should develop a theme to focus my efforts.

Maybe something like the "May I share" posts during May or the "March into the archives" that I've done during previous Marches.

One idea off the top of my head is to reflect on things that I'm grateful for in my life.

Many people tell me they gain benefit from expressing gratitude and I'm sure I'd be surprised at some of the results.

Looping around town

This week the collaboration with Naviar Records begins with a poem by Greg Pritchard.

I've recorded my audible response to Greg's haiku and look forward to hearing how others interpret his words.

The results will be part of an exhibition planned for the Narrandera Arts and Community Centre in late October.



Below are the contributed recordings responding to this haiku.

Nice owl

My friend Rebecca Tapscott is an artist who's difficult to pigeonhole.

In recent years she's branched out from painting into ceramics and print.

I observed some of the results and wrote about them here after attending the Feather and Leaf exhibition at The Roxy Gallery in Kyogle.

Today I saw this owl on the Rebecca Tapscott Facebook page and am really taken with it. She wrote:

Owl watercolour over Bogon moth and cockroach cyanotype. 18.5 x 12.5 cm. $40

Help improve Fivebough Reserve

Useless superpowers

My kids play this game called Useless Superpowers, where they invent unlikely comic book heroes.

Recently they were playing the game while we were driving home from Queensland and it was pleasant to hear the excited chatter from the backseat.

Yesterday Neve drew this picture that I think represents a kind of useless superpower.

Flying a drone for the army

Noticed a scrap of paper on my daughter's floor and found this snippet of a short story:

I was picked out of 34 people to fly on a giant drone for the army. It had a really comfy chair and a seat belt. It was two metres in width and two metres in length. I had been equipped with a big purple parachute so they could see me coming down. They had given me a really small backpack with a full packet of M&Ms, gobstoppers, Oreos, a Snickers bar, a Mars bar for...

The Breville Dead

As a fan of remarkable sandwiches, this horror movie cover reworked by Ya What is more appealing to me than a ham and cheese combo.

When you're a real professional

Big guitar

For a while I've been meaning to try Narrandera's guitar, which is reputedly the largest playable instrument of its kind in the world.

I'd heard it's out of tune, so I wasn't in a rush but a haiku needed a photo of it this weekend.

When I walked into the Visitor Information Centre there was a family taking photos with the guitar.

While I waited, Sally at the counter engaged me in conversation and we discussed how the instrument was approaching its 30th birthday.

When there was opportunity, I stepped onto the step that allows access to the neck and plucked at the strings.

Some of the notes were so low as to be almost inaudible but I was interested in how the different gauges of rope imitated the look of the wound strings on an acoustic, while the higher strings seemed to be varying gauges of nylon -- much like the instrument at a regular size.

Then I put my head toward the soundhole and plucked the lowest string and was awed by the deep rumble that resonated in the body of the instrument.

It was like a passing truck and, given the number of trucks that pass, I'm not entirely sure it wasn't.

As I continued talking with VIC staff about my interest in recording the guitar, they asked if I'd like to tune the instrument.

Discussion is required with Council's staff who oversee management of the Centre, but I'm hoping to return soon and get samples of this unique instrument.

Say haiku Narrandera

Neve Amethyst?

Another of my daughter's sketches and the prominence of the colour purple makes me wonder if that word is meant to be amethyst.

The items on the right look like ears, tail and some kind of weapon. I'm going to have to ask if this is a paper cut-out doll to be assembled and where the inspiration came from.

Quick doodles

My daughter likes to draw, so I introduced her to cadavre exquis, which is a game where each person draws a section without seeing the parts drawn by others.

I was surprised at how the game developed. At first I drew something resembling her head but, by the time it was passed back to me, I was using my imagination.

In later games, like the one shown here undertaken with both Neve and her brother Eden, I found myself really wanting to push myself and come up with even more outrageous doodles -- such as these Siamese twins

The games have been rewarding, both for our entertainment and a sense of pleasure.

The experience came to mind when I read about a study that found "an inherent potential for evoking positive emotions through art-making—and doodling especially."

The results of the study by Girija Kaimal et al, titled Functional near-infrared spectroscopy assessment of reward perception based on visual self-expression: Coloring, doodling, and free drawing, suggest that it only takes a quick doodle to get into a creative mindset:

In fact, in surveys administered to the participants after the activities were complete, respondents indicated that they felt more like they had “good ideas” and could “solve problems” than before the activities. Participants even said they felt the three-minute time spans for art-making weren’t long enough.

Hi cutie

There's been lots of talk about haiku in my household recently

I've been writing a haiku a day this year, which has been a challenge. I've also been trying to interest people in writing haikus to describe Narrandera for an exhibition that will be held there in October.

Anyway, it was a nice surprise when my youngest announced he was going to write a haiku. This is by my eight-year old Eden:

Lying on the leaves
fresh air blowing on my face
it's lovely weather

Octopus teapot

Love this octopus teapot by Keiko Masumoto.

Seen here

When people call you a "snowflake"

As a fan of Fight Club, I enjoyed this discussion of its lasting cultural impact in the use of the term "snowflake" allegedly written by Adam Protextor.

Unleash the creative goddess

Clearly Facebook's page suggestion algorithm can use some work

If it knew anything about me it should be that there's a domestic goddess within me!

Seriously though, why the need to gender creativity? Pretty sure it's a universal trait.

30 versus 30,000

This is an epic battle in miniature, as hornets take on a bee colony.



Reminds me of the battle scenes in Ran. Especially love the glitchy bits.

Crossing Streams will cross borders

Narrandera’s writers, photographers and audio producers are invited to join an inter-continental collaboration that will exhibit at the town’s Arts and Community Centre in October.

Western Riverina Arts will work with London-based Naviar Records to develop an exhibition that draws together haiku poetry and audiovisual responses.

Development of the exhibition begins with haiku and workshops will be held at Narrandera Library on 19 and 24 June to share tips on crafting a poem within 17 syllables.

“Writing a haiku is a fun challenge as you want to convey an observation within a strict structure,” explains exhibition curator Jason Richardson.

“That word limit is stricter than Twitter, so we’ll accept tweeted contributions if they use the hashtag #Narranderahaiku

Haiku contributions are encouraged before 15 July for the next step in developing the exhibition. They can be sent via email to crossingstreams@naviarrecords.com Naviar Records will use selected haiku in their weekly haiku challenge for audible interpretations.

Naviar’s founder Marco Alessi has been inspiring a community of musicians from throughout the globe to record and release albums of contributed music and soundscapes.

“Naviar Records were responsible for having my music heard in exhibitions in London,” explains Jason Richardson. He has been a participant in haiku challenges for over three years.

“I’m keen to promote their activities as I think too many people are frustrated with their creative abilities for the wrong reason. Duke Ellington is famously attributed with the line ‘I don’t need time, I need a deadline’ and it’s true for talents.”

“Everyone benefits from having a prompt to try an idea and I want to encourage everyone to challenge themselves to describe a Narrandera scene in 17 syllables. You may get to hear your observation as a piece of music, possibly on a CD album at the exhibition.”

For more information see http://www.naviarrecords.com/crossing-streams/

Arose in my mind

Rose Byrne came to mind while I was having a bath today.

If you know the Australian actor then you might think that's a lascivious observation, and it kinda is.

I mention it because at the time I wondered why she'd come to mind.

Then at the library I was reading The Australian and there she was in the magazine.

I'd like to believe this is my intuition at work today but I am fond of Rose Byrne.

She sat next to me at a festival once and her voice had that Sydney accent that had reminded me of an ex-girlfriend when I'd seen Two Hands.

Personalities

One of the women at my workplace told a story about how interesting it had been to undertake Myer-Briggs-type personality tests with her kids.

Last weekend I suggested a website to my kids and they were enthralled by the questionnaire.

One son let his pizza go cold while he pondered whether he agreed or disagreed with the statements.

The result wasn't immediately exciting, as three of the four of us shared a result.

Then today, more than a week later, I asked my son what to make of the result and we pondered how best to negotiate a particular personality trait.

Expectations

My son bought this egg last weekend. 

It was meant to hatch before my partner got home, but it didn't. She had time to quip we'll tease Eden if he misses the birth of his monster. Then he began stressing about whether Godzilla was going to appear and it began to feel like it was a pregnancy.

Never thought I'd be happy to see another crappy toy but I am.

Near Nirvana

Over 25 years ago I watched Nirvana play at the ANU Bar from outside.

I didn't join the crowd who pushed through a window and into the gig. I stayed outside and watched from the beer garden, then was surprised when the band emerged for a breath of air before returning to play an encore.

Kurt Cobain avoided eye-contact but I did get to enthuse with Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl about the show and asked the former for a plectrum. You can see the orange guitar pick on the Nevermind cover in this photo.

Just now I spotted this photo of a ticket to a show featuring Nirvana from January 1992 and was excited to see it's accompanied by another orange guitar pick.

Neve's very bad parents

I've been encouraging my daughter to start a sketchbook diary but she never finishes her comics.

It's just like how she eats her dinner, saving the important vegetables until the end and then leaving them.

Clearly there's a conclusion required here to explain why the parents are two mums.

Bjork at wjork

Unwritten laws of English

History is our story

Leeton Shire Council recently asked for input in "activating" local heritage and it has prompted me to look at connections between the past and present.

Heritage, like history, reflects stories about the past that continue to be meaningful in the present. The Shire's existence is tied closely with the development of the MIA. There are many links to explore, possibly via the people who made it a success.

One underappreciated example is Jack Brady, manager of the Leeton Cannery, who promoted rice as a crop. This was significant in making the irrigation scheme viable and continues to be relevant as Leeton is the home of SunRice.

Another example is the name Whitton comes from John Whitton, who oversaw significant developments in rail. This seems particularly timely with recent discussion of new inland rail connections and the surprise announcement of billions dedicated to this project in the recent Federal Budget.

The Shire's links to the Griffins elevates Leeton to an international standing, recognising developments in urban planning as well as the lofty ambitions of the Modern age. If you consider Walter Burley Griffin's inclusion of a bandstand and parks within the town design, you see how architecture recognised roles for culture and nature within society.

One more significant story comes from prior to the Shire, when early settlers in the Yanco (Yonco as it was called) region coexisted with the original inhabitants of the land. The Wiradjuri people fought to retain this landscape and there is increasing interest in the so-called Frontier Wars, such as the wreath unofficially part of the ANZAC ceremony in Canberra this year.

In the interest of promoting harmony as discussions continue to promote constitutional recognition of Australia's indigenous and possibly treaties, it would be great to recognise how a European negotiated an early treaty in what is now Leeton Shire.

Yonco was particularly significant in presenting a narrative of tolerance and respect. In 1838 it was the one remaining white settlement in our region during the Frontier Wars.

Historian Bill Gammage suggests the tolerance of both the Yonco land manager and local Wiradjuri links these events on either side of the carnage and that it is likely a form of treaty was negotiated. This seems particularly relevant in light of the recent push for a national treaty to follow the one that has begun in Victoria.

The trees shown in the photographs here are thought to be Wiradjuri scar trees that are currently unlisted in Leeton Shire.

Whimsy

Love these whimsical enhanced photographs.

Toasted Vegemite sandwich

Vegemite is an Australian icon and the salty paste has many applications, stock in curries for example.

My favourite place for Vegemite is on toast with olive oil but my collaborator Ben, who publishes music as Kelp, suggested I should include it in my next toasted sandwich video.

For a while I pondered what would go well with the black flavour, then my friend Ash proposed beetroot and it made sense. Australian hamburgers sometimes feature sliced pickled beetroot (or pineapple but not both, it's a contentious issue).

The result was tasty but I think there might be a better flavour combination.

Resistance is fertile

Been reading how electrical resistors became a symbol of protest in Poland.

When the Solidarity movement was getting started in Poland in the early 1980s, any obvious public display of sympathy with the nascent union was dangerous, and immediate arrest (perhaps with a beating) was certainly a possibility. Media were suppressed, tanks guarded television stations, propaganda and lies were the party line, and the very word ”truth” was bandied about in a meaningless Orwellian polit-speak. Taking back the language was as big a piece of the movement as was the trade union. The Solidarnosc badge having been banned, union supporters took to wearing a small resistor…an electrical resistor…the way we might wear a campaign button. According to a Finnish reporter, “School children removed electronic resistors from old radios and attached them as visible badges on their clothes.” Add to that, the symbol of the disassembled (silenced) radio. Add to that the fact that movement leader Lech Walesa was a shipyard electrician, so the “electrical connection” (sorry!) meant something as well.

I love the complex symbolism that comes from such a simple signifier.

It's great that it continues to be a cultural artifact, such as these earrings that I found via Etsy.

Elsewhere I read about people picking resistors based on the coloured bands.

Why stroll when you can roll?

One of those unfinished ideas on my desktop was a short tour video to show the size of the museum where I worked up until the start of the month.

I added a piece of music to it and it seemed to go much faster, even though I'd sped up the footage. Then it occurred to me that it's a bit like the first music video I made about 12 years ago, featuring a bike ride outside Wagga Wagga but without the dramatic ending.

Black day

Sad to read of Chris Cornell's passing, particularly now they're reporting he took his own life.

Songs like the one above are open about depression and that's why the song still resonates with me around 25 years after I first heard it.

Cornell singing seemed effortless and the way it maintains that fry up to the high range is really distinctive. Watching this recent version of 'My Wave' brought to mind memories of jamming this song with the Pongrass Bros in the mid '90s. I still love how the track opens with a part that comes in on the offbeat, so the first time when I heard the drums come in it really messed with my expectations.



Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger album was among the first CDs I bought with money from Christmas in 1991. It's still a phenomenal album and I expect a lot of people will now also revisit it.



The band had been one I'd wanted to hear since seeing 'Hands All Over' on Rage.

I loved that slow riffing of Soundgarden, like when I bought Badmotorfinger 'Rusty Cage' left me wondering if I was going to return the album, before hearing 'Outshined' and 'Jesus Christ Pose' -- which seemed incredibly heavy at the time and grabbed the attention of many liking thrash metal.



I saw Soundgarden play at the Big Day Out in 1994 but only for a few minutes as I was desperate to get a good spot for Primus, who were playing in the Hordern Pavilion.

My memory of the band was watching Cornell playing guitar and simultaneously hitting notes that seemed on the edge of a male vocal range. I recall thinking "how is that even possible?" before being left speechless while watching Primus as they dropped Metallica's 'Master of Puppets' into the middle of 'Pudding Time'.

Another musical highlight at a Big Day Out was seeing Rage Against The Machine play and Cornell would form Audioslave with members of that band, leading to the beautiful lament below.

Tom Morello's guitar work is exemplary too -- I think he's the Hendrix of our age.



If there's any message or meaning to be taken from Cornell's passing, for me it's that now is a good time to check in on the friends who I used to listen to Soundgarden with and ask how things are going.

Jason 1 Mice 0

Jason versus mice

Twice as many toasted sandwiches

See this toasted sandwich maker in action here!

The advantages of being a regional artist

Saw these observations from the Guerrilla Girls and thought some of it was relevant to regional artists.

The advantages of being a regional artist:

• working without the pressure of success
• not having to be in shows
• having an escape from the world
• knowing your career will involve doing something else
• being reassured that whatever kind of art you make it will be labeled “unique”
• being stuck wherever you are
• seeing your ideas adopted by other artists
• running workshops to help people understand your work
• getting a university degree so you can apply for a grant
• being invited to talk at morning teas and community group meetings

An We -- cut-up poetry

Observe the result of moving around the words in half of a famous Australian poem

4000-year old dentistry

This image of very old dentistry fascinates me.

There's something about adorning teeth that's both functional and aesthetic that's both terrifying and awe-inspiring.

Just yesterday I was talking with a neighbour about how people respond to teeth and remembered the glamour that seemed to affect me like a spell when she got her false teeth.

Put man back in jail

Thanks to the visitor who suggested we put the man back in the jail. He's here to frighten people again! #visitgriffith #griffithnsw #seeriverina #ilovensw #destinationnsw #seensw

A post shared by Pioneer Park (@pioneer_park) on May 2, 2017 at 9:34pm PDT

One of my final activities in the role of curator at Pioneer Park Museum was to promote the return of the man in the jail.

Earlier this year I noticed a visitor had made an unusual request in the Visitor Book. After raising the topic at morning tea, I was surprised to learn there was a history of a mannequin scaring people who look in one of the two jails at the Museum.

It's a simple thrill and one that the volunteers added to their list of projects.

The video embedded above also nicely rounded off my time representing Pioneer Park Museum on Instagram, marking the 300th post.

Spicy light and sound

Around 3000 people visited Pioneer Park Museum last Good Friday but only a few dozen saw the sound-activated projections I ran during the afternoon.

Enzo Ceccone's motorised mincer

In recent years the Italian tradition of making salami has gained increasing attention in Griffith as a result of the Festa della Salsicce (Festival of the Sausage), which is held at Pioneer Park Museum.

It is a laborious process to mince pork and then pack the meat into salamis. Usually it requires a full day, including butchering a pig before dawn.

Enzo Ceccone contributed to the preparation of hundreds of salamis, an activity which increased when he commissioned Yoogali Engineering to build an electric meat mincer during the mid-1970s.

“Dad used to do all his own salami-making,” remembered Nevio Ceccone. “Usually the machines are hand-cranked and he had one converted to electric. It saves a lot of time.”

“He used to go out and help others during the salami season,” which is during Autumn and early Winter. “Every weekend it was usually one or two” appointments to assist other families to prepare their salamis.

“As far as I know, he was they only person to have an item like this designed and made.”

On Facebook Denis Faganello remembered the machine “making salami with my dad”.

“He made salami for us year after year,” recalled Wal Snaidero. “I remember that mincer as a young kid.”

Nevio Ceccone recalled that his father Enzo would be “booked out for a month and a half” to make salamis in the region. His role in assisting other men to cure meat developed from the late 1950s and into the early 1970s, when the hand-cranked machine would be used.

The Ceccones had a routine that involved loading two tables onto the back of the EH Holden utility, as well as an array of knives and the meat mincer.

The collection of knives donated to the Musuem includes three which were replaced after many years of sharpening, as well as a homemade sharpening stone wheel that was used to hone the blades.

Family recipes for salami are guarded secrets. Nevio reveals only his father made pork salami with salt and some herbs, “but we don’t talk about them.”

Around six to seven pigs would be slaughtered to make salami for personal use, with another one to two each weekend slaughtered while assisting others.

Neve bunny

Cut-up animation with Terry Gilliam

Cheer yourself up

Everyday magic

Recently I was visited by a couple of my uncle Martin and aunt Arlene from North America.

It was lovely to hear Martin recount courting Arlene by taking her to a restaurant dumpster, where they waited to see a brown bear.

I was reminded of a recurring feature of my childhood when my mother would treat my sister and I to McDonalds but insist we eat it on Chapman Hill, so we could look at the lights of Weston Creek.

Love Without Violins

Keep coming back to this song.

I like the vibe up until the key change, then I find myself kinda intrigued by Brian Eno's cadence and lyrics.

Neko Neve