Kamishibai Boo-boo.

A while ago I completed a set of story cards for Jackie Kerin, for her Kamishibai box, made by Ted Smith, master craftsman. It was the story of the Princess and the Pea.
The project was finished, cards are out in the world now. I had patted them on the head and called them a success. Jackie has been telling the tale to young and old, from various kindergartens to the Williamstown Literature Festival. I was feeling a bit too clever by half.
That was until this morning. Jackie had a gig at Everlasting Books, Yarraville. She was showing the cards to Dharma, the lovely proprietress...............










Was Dharma the first one to notice? Were people just being polite? Did anyone else notice that the prince has six fingers?

You would think I would have noticed while I was drawing it!

Not sure what to do, do I;
a) re-draw the whole thing?
b) leave it as a 'spot the boo-boo' thing?
c) claim it was a statement about the Royal Family?

Any suggestions?

Happy Mother's Day!

A big Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful women in my life. Thanks for all your support in good times and bad. Thanks for all the laughs, hugs and slaps over the head when I've needed them. (Metaphorical slaps of course).
And a huge thank you to my own gorgeous Mum. Mother of eight, grandmother of thirteen, and now a great-grandmother. On a miniscule budget she fed and clothed us all. This pint sized lady was a tower of strength.
A fabulous cook, years ahead of her time she could cater for any crowd. Skilled in drawing the best from the farm, garden, chooks and the shops. Any windfall gain, like the lovely fish she is holding in the photo, would have been cooked up into something really special.
An op-shopper before it was fashionable, she fitted us all out in the very best. She encouraged us all individually with what we were good at. That often included having a kitchen full of kids making candles, scones or whatever. She refereed our fights and praised our efforts. My kids share these memories. Going to Granny's was always a treat.
Mum is still with us, but now in the advanced stages of dementia. It has been devastating for all of us. I miss her so much every day. But I am so lucky to have had her in my life. In conversations with my siblings, it seems to be a common theme that we hear her voice, say things that she would say etc. I see her face when I look in the mirror.
What an amazing life!

Canberra National Folk Festival.

Arrrgh!!! This computer is so slow, and it keeps freezing and eating my writing!!! This posting was for over a week ago. It seems like forever now. And its refusing to load most of the photos. Anyway, I've written it now so I hope you all enjoy it out there in blogland. I will try to upload more pics when possible.

What a week! Fun and festivities coming at you from every angle!
A simple walk to the shops could involve dodging Morris Dancers all a-jingle, leaping about through the crowd, hankies flapping in the breeze. Or you could be led Pied Piper style into a nearby tent by some fabulous tune.

Workshops galore! Ever wanted to learn Appalacian Clogging? How about Broom Building? Choir, Percussion, Dance, Yoga, all manner of Arts and Crafts from Blacksmithing to Oragami. Brush up on your Fiddle Skills, learn some Swing Guitar, improve on the Bits Between your Songs or maybe Stage Craft is your thing.

Buskers, busking at every turn. Acrobats performing deadly acts, street performers, giant seagulls pinching your chips, little kids trying out their newly learned skills, groups of teenagers having a sing-along with their favourite tunes, an assortment of choirs, dance troups, poets and musos. Even the Newport Bush Orchestra strutted their stuff and drew a crowd.

And speaking of NBO, you could catch us everyday at 2pm at the Stockman's Camp. It was a fantastic gig.

There was plenty of eye candy at the instrument makers exhibition . We got to drool over some beautiful, hand made instruments. You could chat to the makers themselves about the finer points of constructing their wares. They even let us play them.

A huge circus tent dominated centre arena. This hosted a variety of shows, including a late night Not For Kids Kid's Show. We were treated to some acts of absurdity by balloon blowers, contortionists and the like. Plenty of ooohs and ahhhhs and ouches coming from the audience.
The session bar was just a bit too much fun. A huge human soup of all kinds of people, sporting every concievable instrument. Dancers leaping about, singers singing. Too many of us made the tragic error of going for one last quick stroll through on the way to bed. You would be dragged into the maddness, and before you knew it, you would be performing solos to an appreciative, but slightly sozzled audience, dancing on tables etc. until they threw you out at the crack of dawn. And then you had to find your way through a sea of tents, tripping over guy ropes, making lots of apologies, (sometimes to the people that you woke up, sometimes to lamp posts).
Then you had to chip the icicles off your tent, quickly put on every piece of clothing that you own and get into bed. Those Camberra nights are freezing.

It was all great fun. The best bit of all for me was the comeradie. There were plenty of Newport Folkies at the festival, and in true NFFC style we soon constructed a small community. Some of my favourite moments were sitting around the camp site, sharing food, a cuppa, a bottle of wine, a conversation and some music. I had so many belly laughs that my ribs were aching.

We Cut the Giant Pumkin!

A while ago at work, a giant pumkin was harvested. We, as they say, Here 'tis! Looks a bit like a brontesaurus steak, doesn't itI took home just one slither, even though there is still a pumkin plague in my back yard. (Never could knock back a freebie). That slither has made three meals so far, and there is still a bit left.

Kamishibai Story Cards.

We're all very excited in this part of the world. I have just completed my part in a shared project. My friend, Jackie Kerin, storyteller, had this beautiful Kamishibai box made by our mutual friend, Ted, master-craftsman. Kamishibai is a Japanese word for Paper Theatre. Traditionally sweet sellers would travel from town to town on bicycles, with these boxes attached. They would throw sweets on to the streets and call out to the children to tell stories. They would usually finish the story on a 'cliff-hanger' so that the children would look forward to their next visit. The box opens out to make a miniature theatre. A series of story cards are placed inside. They are pulled out and placed at the back as the story progresses. And my part in the project? I got to illustrate the wonderful Hans Andersen story of The Princess And The Pea. We've tested them on various kids, and also various big kids. We have been given the thumbs-up by all. Here are some of the cards.

Jackie has also illustrated some cards herself. These are of her own stories, the tall Aussie tales of Split-Dog. I think she has a few other artists cooking up some goodies, too. Stay tuned.........

Some Exciting New Workshops and Classes.

Nicole Mallaieu has just released her new catalogue of all her latest courses and workshops. There really are some fabulous offers, so be sure to check them out. But Wait......... There's More.......... I'm running one of them.

Read all about it here.

It is a six week, comprehensive course that will have you drawing like a pro in no time.

Edible Art.

Ahh harvest time. A gardener's greatest reward. These hot little numbers look fabulous on my lime green kitchen wall. They will keep for up to a year like this. All it took was a needle and cotton to thread them together.

Newport Lakes Bush Dance.

Last Sunday's bush dance at Newport Lakes was a fabulous affair. A fun time was had by all.

Highlights for me were the wonderful acts performed by some of our talented locals.

Working as a team to put on a great show. Having a laugh on stage. Putting our musical skills to use. Watching people enjoy themselves, dancing and having fun.

Storytellers Jackie Kerin and Dave Davies.

Some extremely talented younsters. And quite possibly the tallest and the smallest fiddlers in the world,
on stage together!

We already knew that the big feller can play. He is, of course the inimitable Greg O'Leary. His little mate also did a stirling job. Michael Stewart accompanied them on keyboard, and the whole show held us all spellbound

After the show, our lovely Swedish girl, Annette plied us all with shots of schnapps. As is her custom.

We all went home exhausted, but happy. Another splendid event brought to you by the Newport Folk Club.

Artichokes- Three for a Dollar.

When I mentioned to a friend that I had put two Jerusalem Artichokes tubers into the garden, she hastily told me to take them out. Put them in a pot, and a big one! They will take over.

Oh that's fine, plenty of room in my small, suburban back yard.

Well, look how big they grew! All from two small tubers.

The tall boy wouldn't pose for a photo. Apparently he's sick of being used as blog fodder. And sick of being used for height reference. So his lovely friend Hannah hopped in, as well as my own beautiful daughter.

Anyway, the girls are both quite tall, and much prettier than the young feller. Much better models all round. I really should have had less sons and more daughters.

Only joking, of course. I love my boys to bits. They are both quite sweet in their own way.

Its Pumkin Time!

Pumpkin vines have been growing every where at my place. Up the trees, over the shed......... There are even whole pumkins hanging from branches.
So we have been living on a staple diet of pumkin soup and home made bread.
Some things you just never get tired of.