Afloat with the Warringa Printmakers

Four classes done, two more ahead. Today a day off, until 5pm when we set up again. Everything turned out well in this last class. Most of the students are printmakers, so it was a stretch for many of them to turn on the torches, fire up the palates, and slather their work in hot wax! They forged ahead courageously and made some beautiful work.









At the end of the day, we packed our boxes in record time and set off with our host, Susan, in a pounding rain storm. In fact it poured all day yesterday, so the streets were flooded, and traffic was intense. After dropping off all the equipment at our next venue, we went to Susan's house to feed and walk her little Boston terrier, Lucy.





Finally we three went out to dinner in Susan's neighborhood, Bondi Beach, at a very special and unusual place, The Iceberg Club! This is a members-only club that sits right on the beach. Last night the waves were crashing right into the Iceberg's oceanside pool and washing up to the base of the restaurant. Here, to retain membership in the club, each member must swim in the ice-filled pool at least 4 times each winter! If they fail to do this, their membership is ended. It was a wonderful treat to be taken to this amazing place. Be sure to look at their web site to see the views of the pool, the city skyline, and the beauty of Bondi Beach. We had a delicious steak dinner watching the wild surf, then finally got back to the hotel at about 10pm. Tired but happy!











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Location:Sydney, AU

A Challenging Day

Here are a couple of photos of our great. Little home away from home in Sydney. It is a charming old hotel in a charming neighborhood. Last night there was a fire alarm at 1:30 am which I totally missed. Daniella got up, went out in the hallway, and waited around for the firemen to give the all-clear, but I was so sound asleep I missed the whole event, very unusual for me, a usually light sleeper! I am obviously sleeping well here.





It began to rain heavily here yesterday afternoon, and the rain continued all day today, along with heavy winds. The forecast is for this to continue through the weekend. So much for tucking in a little sightseeing between work hours, but we will try.


We set up our classroom last night, and the space is very good, spacious, warm, plenty of electrical outlets. The location is in Mosman, about 45 minutes from here, across bridges, through tunnels, and out near Manly Beach on the outskirts of Sydney. A very kind woman picks us up in the morning and drives us out there and back again in the evenings. We are seeing a lot of Sydney while driving across it. Frustrating indeed!

We are done with day 1, having a picnic in our room, and watching some Aussie TV. Feels good to relax " at home".




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Location:Sydney, AU

OUT and about in Sydney

Went exploring our neighborhood this morning. First stop was for coffee and chai latte at a small coffee shop called The Bunker, a local hangout full of people, dogs, and good cuppas.


Next we went to the National Art School of New South Wales to see a joint Korean/Australian art exhibit.


This school is housed in a former prison (or gaol as it's called here), a massive series of buildings inside a heavily fortified stone wall enclosure.





The skull and bones does not mean that we are at Yale, but is a leftover from prison life.

Next we wandered down to Oxford Street and found ourselves in the equivalent of the Castro, rainbow flags everywhere, gay businesses everywhere, and a thriving gay community.


In the center of this huge square is a monument called Camp Stonewall, a concrete bunker covered with tiles scrawled with gay graffiti and messages, and a sound system broadcasting first-person coming out stories. It was very moving,














Just before lunch we walked back in the other direction from our hotel, and within a few blocks found ourselves in the red light district, King's Cross. Oh, and about two blocks away is the Crest Hotel which offers complete Korean bath house treatments, scrubs, massages, ginseng soaks, etc. We just might have to bite the bullet and try it.

Ate our fabulous Thai leftovers for lunch, now getting ready to go set up the next workshop.


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Location:Sydney, AU

Bye bye Melbourne, Hello Sydney

We flew into Sydney this afternoon. Here it is balmy with sunny skies, feels like summer after Ballarat. Our new hotel is Morgans Boutique Hotel in Darlinghurst, a snazzy neighborhood with everything a "foodie" could dream of just outside our door. A huge collection of casual ethnic restaurants, upscale grocery stores, a gelato shop, wine shop, great bakeries, and so much more. Better yet, we have a kitchenette in our hotel, so we can make some of our own meals, a welcome change from all the eating out. There is a supermarket about a block away, and the equivalent of a fancy Shoppers Corner on the next block down.

Yesterday we had a quiet last day in Melbourne. We made our way into a suburb to have lunch at the home of Gail, someone D. Met in Korea last year at the Papermakers convention she went to.





After lunch Gail took us to the Heide Museum built on the estate of a family who were artists and art collectors. There is a large sculpture garden and several exhibits there. It was a grey and drizzly last day, and the exhibits were also pretty dull.





We decided to go out for one last good celebration in Melbourne, at the Oriental Spoon again where we ate Kim Chee Chegai, and Bi Bim Bap. Yum!





It was sad to leave dear Melbourne behind. We have now had four separate stays at the Hotel Victoria since we came here, and thoroughly scoured the surrounding neighborhoods on our daily walks. It is an alluring and enticing city, so richly textured and colorful and comfortable and full of sweet surprises. Perhaps Sydney will get that way for us at some point, but today it feels as if we have left behind a dear old friend.







We have learned a lot about the huge role of sports in Australian culture. Football, or "footie" is a mad passion here. Every district has it's own team, particularly in Melbourne, and people swarm the matches in droves. The players wear shorts and jerseys, no helmets, no padding, and they play rough. It is quite amazing to watch it on tv. Another thing we learned is that Australia has a national holiday every year for the Melbourne Cup horse race. The whole country comes to a halt for the race, and, we were told, even the Aussie soldiers in Afghanistan stop shooting for four minutes while the race is happening!






Tomorrow we will go out exploring this new city. In the afternoon we set up for the next workshop. And it will be Thai food for dinner!! G'night, mates.

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Location:Sydney, AU

The Waxing Down Undah Women of Ballarat

Here are some photos from our Ballarat class of fabulous women.




Liz


Christine



With their torches...


Kathryn



Kathryn again


Lisbeth


Janette


Dawna


Christine


Gaye


Mo


Margaret

Location:Ballarat, AU

Half way there.

Our time in Ballarat drew to a bitter-sweet end yesterday. The class was terrific, such a remarkable group of women, so talented, playful, funny, and warm. We grew to love each of the ten of them, and know we will see them again someday. There were closing festivities in the frosty dining hall, and then we packed our bags and said a happy farewell to the dreary boarding school life we have been living. Loved the people, did not love the facilities!





Daniella got people folding boats wherever we went. These lovely ones were made by the marvelous Margaret from Bruny Island, off the coast of Tasmania. Her husband is a boat lover, so she made a big series of boats.
The photo below shows some of the finished student work on the last day of class.





We met a woman named Linda who has become a big fan of Daniella's by watching her DVD. She was vibrant, smart, and sassy and she offered to take us on an excursion yesterday, which we were thrilled to accept. It turns out, she is a terrific artist and a delightful person. She picked us up yesterday morning and first drove us to a town called Daylesford, a delightful spa town in the hills north of Melbourne. We visited a convent on a hilltop that has been converted into an art gallery/cafe/shop, a gorgeous renovation of a beautiful old building.





Here is Linda at the beautiful spa resort in Daylesford.





The sign at the entrance to the converted convent cafe, Bad Habits!





The view from the top of the convent, looking out over the countryside.





A typical Australian house from the gold-rush era. We have seen hundreds that look like this, with the elaborate cast-iron gingerbread trim.

Next Linda took us to Castlemaine, another lovely small town, where a gallery had an exhibit of her stunning assemblage pieces. Wow, she is so talented!











Finally we drove through spectacular countryside to her home, where we were treated to a fabulous lunch and tour of the home and surroundings. We met Peter and Lloyd, her husband and house mate, and had a delightful afternoon with them all. Weather was perfect, for a change, and we relaxed and soaked in the kindness and hospitality.










Finally Linda drove us back to Melbourne, a nearly 2 hour drive, and dropped us at Hotel Victoria once again. Very soon after we checked in, our friends Bernie and Sue provided valet service from our hotel to their place in Fairfield, where they had cooked us a totally divine meal: champagne, Turkish soup and bread, osso bucco with gremolata, mashed sweet and white potatoes, and many steamed vegetables, all served with their usual blend of spicy and stimulating conversation and laughter. We are truly the founding members of the lucky girls society, and blessed with these rich friendships we are making over here. We LOVE Australia and these wonderful people!

Location:Melbourne, AU

Cuppy Cake

Dear Desmond,
You're my honey bunch, sugar plum
Pumpy-umpy ump kin
You're my sweetie pie.
You're my cuppy cake, gumdrop,
Snoogums-boogums
You're the apple of my eye!
And I love you so
And I want you to know that
I'll always be right here
And I love to sing this song to you
Because you are so dear!

Happy 3 year old birthday. We love and miss you so much!!
Keema and Zuzu


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Location:Melbourne, AU

Winding down in Ballarat

On Wednesday evening, we escaped from boarding school and went out into the countryside for dinner at the lovely home of a friend whom Daniella had met in Korea. Rosalind, and her Irish husband Paddy built the place themselves with adobe bricks, hand- hewn beams from their own trees, and beautiful river stones. Every inch of the place was beautiful, and they made a lovely dinner for us, a welcome break from the daily boarding school meals we have been eating here. It's not that the food is bad, but I wouldn't call it good either.





Then yesterday we had another little break when we went into central Ballarat for the first time to visit a little gallery. The downtown looks remarkably like many of the California gold-rush towns, all historically preserved to tell the story of Australia's great gold rush years. The photo above is a quick shot of the street.





In the middle of yesterday afternoons class, Pamela, the resident Aboriginal artist, came into our workshop and gave a talk about the history of Australia's indigenous people. The map she is holding shows how Australia was held by different tribal peoples before the arrival of the white population. She is an amazing resource, and has a wealth of cultural knowledge to share.





Each class gets to decorate the "head table" in our freezing cold dining room with art work from the class. Our class contributed the little folded boats. Can you believe that D. has been folding boats all over Australia and gotten a whole bunch of people to join her?!





Today is the last day of class. For the most part (if you don't count the icy cold weather and lack of heat) it has been a great time. The women here are a resilient, joyful, and rowdy bunch. They work hard, love a good laugh, and are amazingly creative and enthusiastic. We have made some amazing friendships over the five days together. Yesterday D. was invited to come back in April, 2013 to do it all over again. We will think about that. Meanwhile today we have to pack up all the equipment by 3 pm, when it will be picked up by truck to ship to Sydney for our next adventure. Tomorrow we return to beloved Melbourne for two more nights at the Hotel Victoria.


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Location:Ballarat, AU