Touristing and Playing at Home

Last weekend we went for a drive up the coast

to visit Mission Beach

Where we found 

a beach that looked like this

Wonderfully decorated by small crabs

Every now and then 

one would pop out of a hole 

and race across the sand to another hole

Then we had lunch 

and we sat down at a table

looked up and there on the wall

a picture of Hillary's Boat Harbour

we used to live up the road from here

And had dinner there on our 

last night in Perth

Walking out around Port Hinchinbrook Marina

Interesting to see how neatly the tides arrange the sticks

very Andy Goldsworthy or Chris Drury

And then up in the studio

I had a visitor

I don't think he really belongs

on the third floor

so I moved him back downstairs to the garden

Some solar dyeing is happening

Using plants gathered on my 

morning walks

The indigo pot is begun

I have started the process with

banana and custard apple

The work bench is looking fuller

with a backing to protect the wall

and a cover for the bench

it is some cement sheet 

so will also be good when I get out the blow torch

My two wax pots arrived this morning

at only 100watts each

I have decided to work just with clear 

and white for the time being

I will underpaint of course

Some staining and rusting has commenced

as well as finding lovely purple

seed fruits that when ripe

give great colour

this is just rubbed on

The seed to the furthest right

has had the out coating removed

I assume by birds

before I gathered it

and this little spot I have dropped on

some alkaline water

and the colour has shifted

 to a more greenish hue

x te