Burrawang Thursday 8 March - The Bigger Wet

After one fine day in the last week and constant torrential rain and wind associated with a low and cold front over the region we woke today to find our front garden beginning to flood.

Fortunately half an hour spent digging drainage trenches has lowered the level a few inches and the rain is forecast to clear today.

As manage communities in New South Wales struggle with the devastation caused by flood two years running we count ourselves very lucky.

The Big Wet in New South Wales

After a very cool and damp summer, 75% of New South Wales is either flood affected or under flood watch and many areas will have their average March rainfall occur in one day.

While we are not flooded heavy rain is predicted for today and nearby in Goulburn and in the Illawara communities are experiencing flooding with homes, farms and small businesses dealing with the devastation and loss caused by the inundation.

Tuesday 13th December - Moreton Bay

I spent Tuesday on Coochiemudlo Island in Moreton Bay, just off the coast of the eastern Brisbane suburbs. It was idyllic, which is how I always generally feel when visiting the small island, regardless of the weather. It has me wondering if our response to, or appreciation of weather (or lack of) is moderated by where we are or where we experience it. Yesterday was brilliant sunshine with heat building quickly in the morning. A light sea breeze on the island and shade under trees made it feel very pleasant; along with the lapping sounds of water, it just didn't feel as hot, humid and uncomfortable as the day before.

Burrawang Tuesday 29 November

After an overnight visit to steamy Queensland I was surprised to find, on my return, that it was also humid here. Temperatures today have reached the high 20s and with the unexpected humidity and little or no breeze it seems warmer. The forecast shows a cool change on the way.

Despite last weeks heavy rain the last few days have been warm enough for me to have to water the vegetable garden. 

As spring draws to a close the forecast is for a summer with above average rain fall.

Burrawang Wednesday 23 November

One day late with the Tuesday weather report but the cool change which came through mid Monday continues with Weather Zone predicting falls of 50 to 100mm in the coming week. The rain will be welcome as the volcanic soil in the area cracks and dries out after a few above 30 deg days.
Here a cold change is quite dramatic with maxima falling from the mid 30s on the week to the mid teens.

Late spring flowers have erupted after the recent hot spell. Summer plants like dahlias are now growing before our eyes.

Yesterday morning's grey overcast skies have now given away to steady rain which will result in another snail invasion.

Burrawang Tuesday 25 October

Misty Burrawang 7 am.

I have never enjoyed hot weather and when I lived in Brisbane there were two dates I associated with summer. Melbourne Cup Day usually heralded the end of comfortable weather and cool nights and if it was still hot on Anzac Day we had experienced a long hot summer. There was often a  heatwave in October after a brief spring.
 This year I spent much of October in Victoria and last week there were several days of hot dry weather, an October heatwave, there. Unlike the sticky heat waves in Brisbane the lack of humidity made the warm days very pleasant.
Returning to Burrawang on Thursday, the warm weather continued and I was lamenting the end of spring as I used to in Brisbane. But as a cool change moved in with the some rain last night the mist rolled in and  the garden is refreshed.

Pollen Count

Nicola Moss & Susan Buret, Pollen Count, 2011, weather exposed, cyanotype chemicals on dutch rag paper with gouache additions, 55cm x 38 cm.

Pollen Count is our thank you gift to Monsalvat for our residency over the past few weeks. The space and time have given us the wonderful opportunity to work almost without interruption to complete the work for our exhibition next year. I(Susan Buret) am leaving today while Nicola will continue to work here for another week.   

Wrapping it up.

It's one thing to make a big work and another altogether to name, document, wrap, store and transport it.
As we have completed the large work for our exhibition next May we now have to get it to Nicola's Queensland studio to co-incide with the next visit from the photographer to have the work documented to have images available for invitations etc to suit the gallery's schedule.
We were reminded again of how much time this part of an arts practice can consume.
Once again collaboration made the job so much easier as one pair of hands cut and passed tape while the other pair held the unwieldy but fragile parcel in a 'gentle' vice like grip.

Open Studio

Interior of the Pool Studio showing Nicola's work table (left) and Susan's work table (right)

Interior of Pool Studio with partial view of Choose Your Day innovative shelving.

We have opened our studio over the weekend to give friends and family around Melbourne the opportunity to see the works we have made so far during our stay at Montsalvat.
Open studios often cause some angst as artists show both finished and unfinished works and allow visitors into their private space, the studio. However, it has been a good opportunity to watch visitors as they engage with the works and to have the opportunity to talk a little about the work.
The weather project is one which focuses more than most of our previous exhibitions on public engagement both with the works and the topic so it has been rewarding to see that visitors do engage with the works.

On Collaboration and the Benefits of an extra pair of Hands

Since arriving at Montsalvat a major part of our time has been spent on a large site specific work for our exhibition at Tweed River Gallery in 2012.
The work consists of 4 large panels each approximately 3.4 m x 1.4 m, and, while it was often only feasible for one of us to work on the work so as to provide uniformity of surface, the constant interchange of ideas and assessment as the work progressed seemed to be easier and faster than when one works alone. The large panels would have been almost impossible for one person to move or hang.

Susan Buret & Nicola Moss, Work in Progress, 2011, 4 panels each approx 3.4 m x 1.4 m.

The above image shows the four panels attached to the wall by the very agile Nicola while I held the rickerty kitchen table that served as a ladder and passed tools and implements. At this point, early in the process, we had begun to experiment with a variety of paper cut forms as we worked towards the final image. 

For the first few days after arriving at Montsalvat we worked on Choose Your Day, a multi-panelled work on paper on which we had collaborated  via mail and email. It felt a bit like Christmas as we each unpacked the panels we had each been holding and spread them on the floor. I (Susan Buret) had been coating dutch rag paper with cyanotype chemicals and exposing them to various weather conditions in southern New South Wales. I then made gouache additions to some of the works before forwarding them to Nicola Moss in South east Queensland for further additions and to be assembled into a multi-panelled.
With a few more additions and an elaborate assemblage of fishing wire and bulldog clips we constructed the final 15 panel work  which now hangs on the lime washed roughly rendered  stone in the poolside studio.

Choose Your Day, 2011, (Detail 4 of 15 panels), weather exposed cyanotype chemicals and gouache on dutch rag paper,

150 cm x 250 cm approx.

Eltham Tuesday 11 October

Today it was cool and partly overcast with maximum temperatures in the mid teens in Eltham, Victoria.
It is now a week since Queensland artist Nicole Moss and I arrived at Montsalvat Artists Colony east of Melbourne to begin a four week residency to continue working on our collaborative project which examines and records weather observations and changing perceptions of weather and it's impact on our lives.
Earlier work had looked at weather as almost peripheral force in our day to day lives, a phenomenon which was often relegated to polite conversation. However in the last year many Australians have experienced violent extremes of weather conditions which impacted strongly on day to day life. It is the malevolent and uncontolable aspects of weather that we have decided to look at during the residency.
In future posts I will record some of the work and ideas we are developing during the residency.
In the meantime here are a few images of Montsalvat.
Monsalvat is a huge and rambling complex of buildings constructed in the 1930s and it would be very easy to shoot hundreds of images on a quick walk through the picturesque gardens. Here are just three.

Nicola's bedroom is just under the spired tower.

My bedroom and studio are through the open door to the left of the barn. The main part of the barn is occupied by Chris the guitar maker.

The gardens are occupied by geese, ducks and noisy peacocks.

    

Weather Tuesday 11th October - Montsalvat

I haven't experienced the cliched four seasons in one day yet in Melbourne, more like two and a half. This morning was cool enough that I could see the warm vapour of my breath. The day warmed up with some lovely sunshine, interspersed with the occasional overcast period. Light rain fell in the afternoon with the air temperature dropping rapidly as soon as sunlight was gone. I must say it has been very pleasant the last week, with fine days and warm sunshine, not much wind and only occasional showers. I brought all my woollies expecting cold, but so far there hasn't been much need....we'll see how the next week goes.
Melbourne is looking beautifully green with trees unfurling fresh Spring leaves and bursts of colorful flowers filling garden beds. One thing I have noticed is how clear the air is without humidity or heat haze to 'fuzz' the horizon.

Weather Tuesday 20th September 2011

After a bit over a week away, I came back to 32 degrees and brilliant sunshine, thankfully no humidity yet. What a difference a couple of weeks can make, the comfortable cooler air has ended and warmer summer days are on the way. The Spring equinox seems to sneak up on me each year, coming not long after the end of winter, making me think our segregated seasons are not so apt in the subtropics. Bees are buzzing, native trees are full of blossom and the chooks are laying again. While it remains dry, weeding is a priority, before the roots gain strength with fresh rain and growth takes off.
This week several bushfires in have filled skies in South-east Queensland with a thick smoke haze, enough to give a taste in the back of your throat. Spring is almost over, as soon as the humidity begins I feel like it's Summer.

Burrawang Tuesday 20 September.

Farmers in south eastern Australia will tell you that there is a phenomenon called the Equinox Gale. Here it is Equinox eve and its blowing a gale outside.

I think that the temperature on the forecast is a few hours out of date. It's 12 noon and outside in the sun it feels like it is in the low 20s.

The branches on the claret ashes are buffeted by the north westerly winds.

For the last week we have had warm sunny days and temperate nights. I have planted tomatoes and cucumbers with little covers to protect them in the event of frosts. Crabapple blossoms and fresh green shoots are sure signs that spring is here.

Weather Tuesday 30th August

It's brilliant blue skies and sunshine this morning (Wednesday), quite the opposite from yesterdays overcast day and stormy evening. Blanketing cloud didn't bring much rain yesterday, it was that in between weather, neither warm or cold, just right for gardening. Late in the afternoon the sky changed to a deep blue-purple colour on the horizon as storm clouds built up. A severe weather warning was posted, thankfully we missed the worst of hail and winds predicted. My fabulous new umbrella has been getting a good work out, loving it. The garden is verdant green again and ground wet from the few torrential downpours in the last week. Mulberries are ripening, fig birds have arrived and wait impatiently in the she oak till I move away, then they're in for a feed. Asparagus spears are starting to shoot and winter cabbages are beginning to split with the sudden rains. I am savouring these still coolish days..anticipating the spring heat that will arrive shortly.

Burrawang Tuesday 30 August (yesterday)

Yesterday was cold and overcast like a winter's day but the image shows the first signs of spring.
While we have perceptions of weather based on the actions we take to make our selves comfortable, wearing an overcoat, lighting the fire, using an umbrella, turning on the air conditioning, applying sunscreen, the plants around us let us know that the ground temperature is rising and that there have been more hours of sunshine. Nothing says spring more than buds and blossoms on bare limbs.

Weather Tuesday 23 August

Wild weather would be a fair and reasonable description of today. After torrential downpours over night, rain has continued in sporadic bursts varying between a fine mist and deluge. After a reasonable dry spell, the ground is soaked again and the local creek flowing, one sure sign of substantial rain. Winds have eased a little from yesterdays gale force southerlies that ripped leaves from trees and rattled flyscreens. I can hear rain trickling in the gutters and at the same moment a clear blue patch of sky has appeared between grey clouds. It's the kind of weather I associate with Ekka week, the last of winter, only it's come a week later than usual (unless Ekka was early this year).

Bowral Tuesday 23 August

As I can't work out how to add an image from my iPad camera roll this will have to be a venal description.
Today is the sixth day when we have had overcast conditions with brief episodes of sunshine. The conditions are mild for the last few weeks of winter with no frosts for a week and no strong winds.
it is a lovely time to be recupperating as all visitors bring me flowers from their gardens. I currently have Iris, Freesias, Daphne, King Alfred Daffodils, Magnolia and Cyclamen on the window sill.

Weather Tuesday 16 August - Willow Vale

The weather has been 'perfect' the last week, with bright sunny days and not too much wind. I am loving the sunshine and warmth outdoors. Some cool nights are persisting, but an early morning walk in the garden heats me through. It has remained dry with only occasional light showers that barely wet the ground. A bit more time is being spent watering the vegies and some fruit trees, but this is a very pleasant activity at this time of year.
Orange trees are now full of scented blossom and the buzz of bees, pepino fruits are ripening  and I'm picking turnips and cabbage...lots of winter veg soup.
I've made and heard lots of remarks about the weather lately, it's such a lovely time.