tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61816300347959346202024-03-05T19:46:14.483+11:00pennywhistles and moonpies.Amy Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06729797355740881039noreply@blogger.comBlogger152125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-41005817583636827202013-07-07T12:25:00.002+10:002013-07-07T12:48:57.329+10:00Lermontov Wisdom<blockquote>
"It's far more disheartening to have to steal than it is to be stolen from."</blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">- Boris Lermontov, <em>The Red Shoes</em></span></blockquote>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Amy Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06729797355740881039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-30249679855871467752012-10-23T22:21:00.001+11:002012-10-23T22:21:12.685+11:00A Gnostic Odyssey<p align="left">Since I keep mentioning on this blog that Shaun and I had been planning/just arrived back from a big adventure overseas, and since we arrived home from said trip several months ago, I thought it was high time I elaborated on what that entailed. </p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTT9CQWwhLn-5yQ7bOEPeRMq3mN52ycrkkSW5EtsRDA_WAhdAA0jBvuVOdPhxd5rFfy6bvCgWtX2MlKYiMkMd64yPw6m1d__GWnvDRkonCBgCRYULP3vv3Igonro0CBaa-MP0oyPP6id0/s1600-h/_DSC3548%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="Kerlescan" border="0" alt="Kerlescan" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0UkvkwmqlY14JitaprwpzpLU2n471DxYuwlrS35TJp3isGU_qq_yrMXNvij1Sv-kO5TNUJTxbSmVdPe6a8H3zatxW3sTe3ulIm24JHTmaZlYz5Jrb1sYn2YgsY8TfG5ztvUgqJLDg8A/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="602" /></a></p> <p>Starting on the Autumn/Spring equinox, the former in the Southern hemisphere where we left off, and the latter in the Northern hemisphere where we were going, Shaun and I embarked on a journey best described by the great <a href="http://www.headheritage.co.uk/" target="_blank">Julian Cope</a> as a Gnostic Odyssey. Our main objective was to connect with our ancestral heritage by visiting various important megalithic sites, and though I couldn’t tell you exactly why, the opportunity to experience them first-hand meant more to me than words can possibly describe.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4VkB4plEdx-4-c-Uxmi3BTuhc9ws1WPjxsAOvThSucfXEI9kT4Z40m1FwLszLJIrJzORjXe_yDCGwfG-s8a2qkC3Od-TTpdy0hjRlUdQdFu9lzmqlYHXeQRCcoCj47y3Th6rFPZ_5t8/s1600-h/menec46%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="menec46" border="0" alt="menec46" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-OLRmNhdS5cAh453xRlTjum3nLtOHtbIpCc_GGutKEq69ywkpXZbfU6FG6NR6QCoC_Iw7l2e4VqFDJaS-8dlzDXy21fQj7mUMV2mqnucWuUC9glIUvlH_1g3npyG-7MAi2L-CPdoOXk/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="300" /></a> </p> <p align="center"><font size="1">The Menec Alignments, Carnac.</font></p> <p>As Shaun and I are both of European descent, and as we live about as far away from Europe as you can possibly get, we have felt for some time now a profound desire to visit the land that our families hail from; particularly sites that were of importance to our pre-Christian ancestors. Having only a month to do so, we planned our journey with the aid of Cope’s wonderful <a href="http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/the_books/" target="_blank">guidebooks to Megalithic Britain and Europe</a>, and made sure we saw as many of these magical places as we could. We also wanted to make sure we could spend time at each site rather than drop in or drive past, so we arranged accommodation within walking distance of them where possible. Beginning our trip with a few relaxing days in Barcelona, where we saw a breathtaking Gothic Cathedral and an equally breathtaking live show by <a href="http://www.thronesanddominions.com/" target="_blank">Earth</a>, we headed over to Paris where we would be taking several trains and buses to reach our first megalithic destination: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnac_stones" target="_blank">Carnac</a>.</p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP59bWEnHp3wgdl-UE71FD9DSBaMjed2QRcq2CHGTCpQkNGRjAc0DvFPmxY8LJ3QHmvDb2yAIqkaDkLajnFySTdWKKmtARSxLA09N7mIw4x-iw8QhOeeIN-hndqCc4MIAPPJW4qhtA8D4/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPVQTeo7WvaQ1oPxHtbocEQ8o5jz3HIAPRYdbSrbfDiV2n8O2GHPpXD0JAI0gdw106njNdnuIoAQXP75zUfSpWHeeLgx0z9Z5eJPAWU0GKLAT0kGgFUYrIq0FkSG8OBEgjPKYL0PGm0w/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="604" /></a><font size="1">The Kermario Alignments, Carnac.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIx1TzKFlUqyd2L8RFz7zRndCYrXpyJsl8X4MlXTYSD0vkni_q8Wd60QcD9n4_kt1JSYNsMQ3QledkhHBWzZawW8ObXh3s8r6__Z0HBcZq64eMEIWs-L9jWtaey9YwwrgQHu2oHL7NXL8/s1600-h/IMG-20120324-01361%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="IMG-20120324-01361" border="0" alt="IMG-20120324-01361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_U1yPl10Iczqqi65qIbH7T5E8I93z34c0NdNFaxwGupPEOwR8McSvwse4iBn5d_GamnRzMo-M3SHZ0anxnKgk9wmMR9LWsf7p31aVDvDvF5LskUHj149rL2hY6y69ppz0-RK6jJ9NQlo/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="533" /></a> <font size="1">The Kermario Alignments.</font></p> <p>Carnac is a remote coastal town in Brittany with a particularly large number of well-preserved standing stones and other pre-historic sites, many over 6000 years old. It’s an extremely beautiful place and we were lucky enough to have arrived there while the weather was perfect, but tourist season hadn’t quite begun. The whole town was practically deserted and we had the megaliths to ourselves for the most part. Rather than being overly commercialised, the sites in Carnac were mostly just part of the landscape, with some discreet ropes and fences in place for protection. Nothing can describe the feeling of seeing them for the first time, as we rushed from our hotel to beat the sunset on the day we arrived, but Shaun <a href="http://apemanspaceman.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/menec-alignements.html" target="_blank">attempted to</a> on his blog and said it better than I ever could. His photos are also better than mine, naturally.</p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-r4yrit1VXUebmFyHNdkAcGyd8HgJ5t3BQ9O3L4fzRmA_MGnyWv0vokGo1LBl-h-l9x7FyRAfOFeISOQLT3KrifSj1Wu6kvUpAsAk5-iYWR82n8cSltjEvgnhlxeu8udYB6vk-uv6ZJ8/s1600-h/LannManeDolmen6.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Lann Mane Dolmen" border="0" alt="Lann Mane Dolmen" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgogV1WsC3rP2xYDS7OPeLleM89x5YdlbMncCxj8Vs2UCilWRw5CeI2NhFaO2NK-KDeAug7Wkms4aM3ReMcwy0fYREevk3Tyf9FQOGGYDWuHakMDBU-VvN6tyUHfJNbk-TM-akRt03I6iU/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="300" /></a><font color="#c0c0c0"> <font size="1">The Lann Mane Dolmen </font></font></p> <p align="left">We spent the better part of a week in Carnac, and since there is nothing except the stones there and little in the way of public transport, the majority of that time was spent walking the length of the alignments, which extend for about 3.5 kilometers from the Menec stones through the Kermario stones and Lann Mane Dolmen, to the Kerlescan stones and Dolmen De Kerlescan. We experienced the stones in cold misty mornings, clear spring days and beautiful sunsets, each of which lent them a different atmosphere. Other sites we managed to see along the way were the magnificent Kercado Tumulus, Le Geant Du Manio, the Manio Quadrilateral and the Christianised Tumulus Saint Michel.  (For the uninitiated, a dolmen or tumulus is a prehistoric burial mound with an internal structure of heavy stones, and many have been found to contain human remains and various other artifacts).</p> <p align="center"><font size="1"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6b_pmrfsaAhwiMIfc-Nre6-toMvzU9asnhP9JkmYanXfBo-hVBjNO8UI-xBCUeteQJYM2gMWd-T0EvaKFNFyf8LXizXFPcq6reC4tHh8M9649aeGXy3Lo3xQ7toN7K2I77Er5MpYdA5Q/s1600-h/kercado%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="Kercado" border="0" alt="Kercado" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ey6sXat3OgC2n_yx1kWv-7KQ_5V0pmRWYlF3mpkC__7bc9xLB1sZGWTeoebnIrO_bHwb5DRNaIZMb1EsPhYGvTm4G46UM9v3u9fyCKHUnu_hPPiozvj30nPOPaEua43Z_B0GG7XUbrs/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="266" /></a>  The</font> <font size="1">Kercado Tumulus.</font></p> <p align="left">Kercado in some ways was one of the most  profound sites we saw in Carnac - not as visually spectacular as the towering rows of giant stones at Kermario or Menec, but incredibly old and well preserved, with its original cairn still intact . We were also able to walk inside the eerie stone chamber, which had been fitted with a small light;  arrowheads, pottery and axes were among the artifacts discovered in there and some primitive carvings remained on the walls.The setting was quite remote and beautiful, and we didn’t see a single other person during our two visits.</p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7VW3UrzqgbVEdx71cJ5CDcoZD3FoCb7U4Sbqtl-30HTe50Z4Y2H9SiIrXJfDpYkTHEp0s8WD4pFLEbRUNOLHbcK6HYvez2Teu5UYc0B2SV_FW8nZM2yPTg_Pk67Gv6soC0PQqriYvE4/s1600-h/Kercado%252520dolmen%2525201%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Kercado dolmen 1" border="0" alt="Kercado dolmen 1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZKV_x7ukLpu1gNOax1Ou9n7P_yi93pT1QG6VqdH_eUwi7eqA1tmOHzrn9OLAcpUckhV7daDhYjegLQL1aL-mVqg3t05egjb1PfsFJl839gEtZ0K4xJlIvzj2Qh-s6cNXHXvBSELEDiY/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="533" /></a><font size="1">looking out from inside the Kercado Tumulus.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRmWyAF6zmVIatT_D9hp911gKlOR00SZCnw2Q1SjqJuynuDmoRcLYh2y9Y_M2-63dUQMT9c8WPEGHXCTsrHuQXJ6B0HWzUWjH_Ip2Vy01vUkwZxZcmKYJlWQ1ht9Ucd0mD8zmknj_yz0/s1600-h/Tro%252520Braz%252520Alignments%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Tro Braz Alignments" border="0" alt="Tro Braz Alignments" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBU7niD5tzTpiGuQwu0f4B8Ll7CeyTJtUxppbvcdClHFw8KrH1kaX53DJwgV2uYa5ck3mFMXEDp8zNQasKIiY8SvMVIusZPVlvZMc-2JFxkjmLH7tnnLvk5gQgqvgiU354bJPFaBD06ag/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="300" /></a> <font size="1">The Manio Quadrilateral.</font></p> <p>At the end of our long days of hiking we collapsed into chairs at local Creperies, which had cool names like the Magic Potion, and enjoyed some of the best food we ate in all of Europe, as well as the best hospitality.  After an overwhelming first week that we’d hoped would never end, we bid Carnac farewell and headed to London for the next leg of our trip. After a few days enjoying the comforts of a big city, delicious warm beer in pubs without TVs or pokies, the company of some dear old friends and the delights of the British Museum, we jumped on a train once more and headed towards Wiltshire where Stonehenge, Avebury and other wonders awaited us…but they’ll have to wait for another post. In the meantime, here are some more photos from our trip to Carnac:</p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYoBUFg6A-y97h_acEWafI5HlgGP7M8AYoZKwJ-OVVKNRUkAfBKrLjIEQGfFJr0vegCY7FcV_RgTZyVgI6iRHIxKzzvn_-xMqqaLKyegqzk33r9Hqr4qF3lTMHw7NzyH6CNRWVZcmrqhk/s1600-h/menec345.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="menec34" border="0" alt="menec34" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXDMV2_2UN9XBHc9oDx3gARG216aoQQhcjazv8qPF8xZKb0ehh3V0pg9kuuq2ugWJqq3B0aOVAWMeZTIrNBl_TbJDWEbnBRDLszw4CDJIMFb8UV95TuLd4iulox0ak0pFw0sKFAaQwiec/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="301" /></a><font size="1">The Menec Alignments</font></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAytxvLetxbPmJsQ-LZKUz-aWdPjLgyfKiVvP5Ct-WjM7nMVCT1jlq738-NLI_ENO_PqygeHdEa-bkZFs79VHWzhteH0uA1hvR2fGr6_TqIUgVgYJ8s5kx5SJ1CXIOoJVe6ZxVZQvcck/s1600-h/shaun%252520kerlescan%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="shaun kerlescan" border="0" alt="shaun kerlescan" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2oohg222ycxQwRe6fbu5SLd8bu_YDWIwBHdJZuwOWlcK48uUafd356eAWvIAs9awztx5QtLEmHUn9YyRlx1ALe9nCDVRJR_68jBiZAMQrekoV1gdwBDDsJys04ekTWhuyTgZRYx1ZBwI/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="300" /></a> <font size="1">The Kerlescan Alignments.</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPty-XCPgeYxrAPpmoKMjZcmSugJrskr8zw6Zdee04Rh8VPSRv8BWgsRFsr91uixSA5rVOHlT6f5I3wGrhyphenhyphen8U2gyWWyHvhkIqSox54pUvEPbma_D6G9jh9LSBKteWBQFvAutiq3OaXakc/s1600-h/Shaun%252520and%252520Dolmen%252520du%252520Mane%252520Rethual%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Shaun and Dolmen du Mane Rethual" border="0" alt="Shaun and Dolmen du Mane Rethual" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP41ZTgtgHask5iTUkipiyZv3CNCRSz7CrrMq3a3JcgtPdCY9nMOy_IjiFSVqMIGWzn5ENp4zPR8ms0wdFN7d8dwuRA7wtxlyTyrVU7uYCfGpATLwAcCSnNINWYrvFiakRx7qGaHG9wmE/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="533" /></a> <font size="1">The Dolmen du Mane Rethual</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj49Sp8gvKeqczAS3-59JIazRUb_Baac5WX0Qy_ZdvSgHi178u8tNOG5sC9KVRGUDro7g38tdihg2dH9ldCv2R11a9hWOG7UAu76gAdgRB7YdMB3AoAZzWX-9SV2In_v-lXZyYClUNSieg/s1600-h/Shaun%252520and%252520Tumulus%252520Saint%252520Michel%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Shaun and Tumulus Saint Michel" border="0" alt="Shaun and Tumulus Saint Michel" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdHDVI_K0K8jrvrMqAk1QkwQkTf8itLTsWlRPjhBnP9dJALXHiUSt5X4naQpZfyuyCCRxlnwPwlLxlFTYPHueD63QX2EfVk4VFu60jpqxrI6lGa_HFyYfkWYx1r45PHMNORkXIv8TnmXA/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="533" /></a> <font size="1">Tumulus Saint Michel (Christianised tumulus).</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjqESIdxsOwxi4cj48LQjv1ItzOxvV5iaDPQTI9RsYBR4i3uQ31RRZA44v7wkm6WRZceAN0JKihJj4Vk2sLMBDbRMBwJwGk_BFvdodUFDMLoEcCu5L76LFYq_FpUe5zBmB_sGiW3L3cCo/s1600-h/Le%252520Geant%252520Du%252520Manio%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Le Geant Du Manio" border="0" alt="Le Geant Du Manio" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOLehR-8L975PfI9QJRrkK3D5tQz-r64lhtrdTM2mOwGNVeWADZQpTbpuoA45h9_J6gI-ttCAIeS4F__DuVptF5pGEZ1vVl4Z1kNx05lZdQn2ZCmDDdEfabIiRQ5nUk0XU4gi5YrdDaXM/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="533" /></a> <font size="1">Le Geant Du Manio</font></p> <p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NtX-FqL0P27NPRGVi5_AyOCFCuPfdscbocR-48gpSFDFFuEmfWXylR_NPoqBkHWOM7mQvgjSvxFhdDsKCo7ygjfqqfIqOl9e-1t5jMtsgN_ZO2blg6R4gHu6gUPHhcDJXekhHv1s8ZA/s1600-h/dwarf%252520trilithon%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="dwarf trilithon" border="0" alt="dwarf trilithon" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiurMfMRmQhRMgx65T86L0LKzTEVPbhflm1sSTi26np6YqqyCiAdeS_jr_WppM-nuaT_Qn8UQwEuEAOtu4nOfkwnfZSYKN9yDK0e2aKJCJ-IHlwdu20-CVZKq_aCmGX3HCf9EEo89XItko/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="602" /></a> <font size="1">Les Petit Druides! (with actual megalith  <font size="1">Le Geant Du Manio</font> in the background)</font></p> <p align="left">And if you’re not bored out of your brain already, you can see more of these on my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/amy-d/sets/">Flickr page</a>.</p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Amy Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06729797355740881039noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-17585728671778992512012-10-21T17:54:00.001+11:002012-10-22T08:47:56.186+11:00GrailsSo I just got to see my <a href="http://grails.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">favourite band in the whole world</a> play in a pretty intimate venue, and it was absolutely magical. I’m still high as a kite from it and wishing I’d spent every last penny I could find to see all the shows on the tour. The core four members of the band, Emil Amos, Alex Hall, Zac Riles and William Slater, were joined by two friends Jesse Bates and <a href="http://ashblackbufflo.bandcamp.com/">Jay Clarke</a>, who lent their talents on a range of additional instruments and were completely essential to the live experience. I’m rather incapable of being objective about this band, so I’m not even going to try…if you want a review of the show instead of an unabashed outpouring of affection, you might need to look elsewhere.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmnbG8g7ksJb1s_NBKWBsLUFSHlbTkR43FpQdch7qVt5UcO1pzk8233Pl5LJaLuRw_W9080BDR6rCJJm57gIOD_BaBgFRE0w7zCfweHEzVMDAXZAyvjK54FYp3ZYNikSm_jDWNJ75PIzA/s1600-h/grails%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img alt="grails" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZJbrEZAP1kzIl7tMgPfY9EAQdHOvK4gLQIZJ26FzoTrewIiPcjUNJQ_PqMcW1UQcinoA4qsGgC_lwKRJiuagnd3Vf9TDpXKqH6IAFl6Gjoqp7XxAcuhUhvApXcRUJAffo3ficX0uwO78/?imgmax=800" style="display: inline;" title="grails" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtupzsfjY6WE4Pf9ZsdfJRY2b2OxTi12oiMpVz-1i0y3nkCFnxJ-rHSa7ziamgbrpRw3AornvBGMSd_SE1hOoifK9uWDh6_DJboPW4znG6ymj6A-t1bP0-BEOAmD1HdDPFxK_PKnAYsTo/s1600-h/grails%25255B4%25255D.jpg"></a><br />
For those who haven’t heard them, Grails are an instrumental band from Portland Oregon, who draw inspiration from a vast array of eclectic music that ranges from Pink Floyd and Sun City Girls to Italian film soundtracks and library music. Their sound changes from song to song and album to album, and is sometimes dark, sometimes exotic, but always beautiful, atmospheric and amazingly descriptive.<br />
It was pretty great to see each musician up close and get a better grasp of their individual styles, as most of them play a number of different instruments both live and on the recordings. Standing right up the front with only a couple of people occasionally blocking my view, I watched Zac work his magic on 12-string guitar, William lay down his distinctively mellow bass-lines whilst juggling a few keys and even some vocal texture, and blood pour out of Emil’s left hand after some over-exuberant drumming (if you’ve seen Emil play with Om you’ll know this isn’t particularly uncommon).<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Jesse Bates (lap steel), Emil Amos (drums) and Bill Slater (bass):</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFDyFwHLfyoZWUYAuoAVN_ZJtQiz04YTTphPasZBobCAxk3CNV6HvdwCilyf5LjqEmk57PYiit8vdzepUhyphenhyphenPp8_euoNlvQ2Rjcc_CUdsU3PAsjk-mPytdUSb0kWgPVjQtEfjfLZCkQpdI/s1600-h/jesse%252520bates%252520smiling%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="jesse bates smiling" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4kKRt8yjlUblTA1klU53RnCH_6bU-0mD8zXwZ7jeVPh1_bwR6zpz8rYwOBtP0zr926Q8By2rQnCcbqrJqYlwAu3NsCwiYY3S9BMnVVcAkGiAlb7C4XuAcl8vllFWZpnRl3uI-4yxVu_Y/?imgmax=800" style="display: inline;" title="jesse bates smiling" width="400" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Zac Riles (12 string and guitar):</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSXjFhYK0kbmLMfsE9-C9hXw0AVUOW2vOkdE6NVU57N6dzvGN3XPVErGbNjFtHr5A8_EVEQnbvXO_4BiSk_IhuSaXfyQ_MW7rJxEqYmybLdFHEapxEMstDDNWYRQGvBiaH3RuA414u-7g/s1600-h/zac%252520closeup%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="zac closeup" height="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwTAv9hYavvUv4UiCyEC6JNwhUqAo-tUiv1g5Z-EsIr-wULh00FmZwmW-_ENsRO06TGr3EcBhaoOAGWuXGxgNfVHYoxOcCr_A389Zx69XaHr6nnGVv9oRccKd6p567glCgGoOaLGsdOh4/?imgmax=800" style="display: inline;" title="zac closeup" width="400" /></a> <br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3oraiVKVSheEMTZ9PPtNN77Mf-Nk7V3sLnlKID5hEZBOmjN64Qj8KI93Eq1P2tuaPKYJGMR1Yj0H-novEylI4-528MI19grMx2PUvtgxog8beJW_N9UwcnafSwnLHxjTaphLvx9PJt7g/s1600-h/zac%252520riles%2525202%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="zac riles 2" height="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vBTtVglbLufXIzzR4UMgfT85b69ihq_5V69qXHexANjMP6hoot93Ce0bIE7MbHFZLnu074VSm1Y2PyuK69ucTkcEYp4EeNC2HZL30wWGJ178D_KL3Sh0h8xda7K5Yp-mfoKvUCEBFK4/?imgmax=800" style="display: inline;" title="zac riles 2" width="400" /></a> <br />
Sitting quietly to the side of the stage, Jay contributed melodica and other keyboards as well as some samples and extra percussion here and there, while Jesse proved to be an incredible lap steel player who sat up the front and played many of the familiar lead guitar lines throughout the show. He also added some extra percussion here and there, and played drums on several songs including the wonderful <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i07WGcZTRlw" target="_blank">‘Almost Grew My Hair’</a> which was possibly the highlight of the whole show for me. <br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Jay Clarke (melodica):</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicSwegXOEIPi9YC2FdE7KR-bxaXI8MfAvmQesbGnlPgvNBik_ahwi4EAuDx7CdYNdcL8yRkmslkAUeRE8d_2myDZO6wSSdULPH2VPmXYbrF4sqV6vxbP3QR-JXE_f73bwvb2NZcHVCcVw/s1600-h/jay%252520clarke%25255B28%25255D.jpg"><img alt="jay clarke" height="603" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMml04vJv6liq1lkwuaiIURxnRPhU6296uKpwct8NN16K_LM9UHRpiaT19B6UIUkc-P5ocuHY4IOk5BT5r1zJwJutdy2zsayVJymLLlYxuqeMvt55wiU8Bcnme5HtH2TmH3xAtapvmxKQ/?imgmax=800" style="display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="jay clarke" width="400" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Jesse Bates (lap steel):</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmEhiKhsqpQQ-2k0jKRczUaq7PLZAYvP1zgtBe_vgF2OQr7-kpLwMsReE2rU0IqCCjX9Q5__P9TmGeDJaeahcVt7Z3z0fDHBS7QPuhGm_q-bYu_8SFtuCcvnEoKWqKXx_Sseq3Y9pT94/s1600-h/jesse%252520bates%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img alt="jesse bates" height="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYzw8cDKqHmlFiXj27DYunlkXaS_PPM1KD_g3rLYiKgp3pjX_Ax1h8Q9_O6aFDlTuxGclvCnaqy5Da64hc5DmcBKVeecrztFJiJwjy6PlTL5NStwLQqOoY3lXo6RlqRLJH_cCF5TjFbGk/?imgmax=800" style="display: inline;" title="jesse bates" width="400" /></a> <br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Alex Hall (guitar) and Bill Slater (bass):</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMt2YkJ1Omto1iCKzNvaELInAmv3uRGs20uNOx1wCTYkeWyPpTj46uw8Y4Nr9xZ47vTyz9BVW05J6x2cQ_-3CVJf4wvazfQeUaI-jr0AhLR3hKFJArbxQTW81O73bOTMKarX6j410EwE/s1600-h/bill%252520slater%252520alex%252520hall%25255B13%25255D.jpg"><img alt="bill slater alex hall" height="603" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JclvJs_MQdaKo6SY7ac39rykuMlUgXtdyYmZBAu-3zp7ABkqZV_qUsYVXOEpAE505bsE1ca1r37QhR6ATeq0HVTYIawG4oFSBfehKvRMMQgly6sZGAIxDVYRXOyBlzwtL6ZKqlxRO0M/?imgmax=800" style="display: inline;" title="bill slater alex hall" width="400" /></a><br />
If my memory doesn’t fail me, the set was opened with the semi-spooky ‘I Led Three Lives’ from their latest album <i>Deep Politics</i>, and then proceeded through a surprising catalog of my personal favourites from every album after and including the <i>Black Tar Prophecies </i>collection. We were treated to a synth-driven re-imagining of ‘Back to the Monastery’ that gave it an awesome futuristic prog vibe, the majestic ‘Silk Road’ and ‘Origin-ing’ from <i>Burning Off Impurities</i>, ‘Reincarnation Blues’, ‘Immediate Mate’ and ‘Acid Rain’ from <i>Doomsdayer’s Holiday,</i> ‘Take Refuge’ from <i>Take Refuge in Clean Living,</i> and also from<i> Deep Politics</i> was the gorgeously cinematic ‘All the Colors of the Dark’. I couldn’t have really hoped for a more perfect set-list, and every track sounded even bigger and more intense than I expected.<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Emil Amos (guitar), Jesse Bates (drums) and Bill Slater (bass):</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7aWvfn00YffWBGStCpprs8gYOXpOSlOtJbeb7mh6JgH90ZqGA7Yg3I1nfbttMDtlxlwjBLqps0Xx8YwXFt8f_BkXKOwjUlt8XpNxzg3pMFZ69Fm9FOCwMsb7abk6dYc-aquRUTE6yBSU/s1600-h/emil%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img alt="emil" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3pYeEdIky_QYS98aqm5xzOrZU4a4dXqhkQKxODMq8LfyKmJETmdo4lpavZEvDWSr67eXJmNfbW2JQQC4xiyxT_iHFQYAd2IGdJLamU5nrL9Wfbs4uBbPMqXhMILSxOn2Ot8Ny25PShdI/?imgmax=800" style="display: inline;" title="emil" width="400" /></a> <br />
Not many people were filming or recording, which was actually a nice change from the majority of shows I see these days, so I doubt many videos will surface of this show, but someone did catch the second half of ‘Take Refuge’ which you can enjoy below (bummer they didn’t get the first). If you ever get the chance to see this band live, do yourself a favour and go. They don’t tour often, and when they do it’s a rare and special experience.<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="225" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wonRdMZR8pU?rel=0" width="400"></iframe> <br />
Thanks Grails, you’re the best!<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Amy Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06729797355740881039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-53604428508914968552012-07-30T00:08:00.001+10:002012-07-30T00:15:43.969+10:00Ink Dots Black Spots<p>Once again I have neglected my blog, and as with my last post I have dusted off my keyboard to tell you about a group art show I have a piece in. This time it’s a Melbourne based show conceived by lovely local artist <a href="http://simplesime.com/" target="_blank">Simple Sime</a>, involving 50 artists from 15 different tattoo studios around Australia and New Zealand. All artists were instructed to create a piece of art in plain black ink on white, which would then be screen-printed by <a href="http://www.dangerfork.com/" target="_blank">Dangerfork</a> for the exhibition.  A limited edition of 20 signed and numbered prints per piece will be for sale, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Cancer Council of Victoria. An impressive list of the artists involved  and other relevant details can be found on the website <a href="http://www.inkdotsblackspots.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1lWZdfTrp60vlM9vaXz9D3q_P9BQ9MpQ0_KxkfQruQhQ8gOl30Ch3cHqo6CdbfY9K_Ok5VNNo3QUD2buvzsqEVfwIWaFpaaBPGQGYeedrM23MZ1vZEgubdhWq2RoZ47rFkBgzNO_HCXI/s1600-h/IDBS_Flyer_Digital_VIC_Sml%25255B8%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="IDBS_Flyer_Digital_VIC_Sml" border="0" alt="IDBS_Flyer_Digital_VIC_Sml" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJNTF6RMSG8WRPZB4ODVZFTKMkx_QNixMfFPzoVb69vMVLJRO7n3jkf3QYQhA0FzUiYbdKqDxykKUO_sY9qqf6QHoQXgInWG3iVaoWhyphenhyphen9WxSSYW01yAu0-gPvww6WF-iBpj_JTdGmq8o/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="674" /></a> </p> <p>I really enjoyed the challenge of creating a piece without the smooth gradients I usually employ to give depth and tone. I’ve always wanted to try plain ink work for the purpose of screen-printing, but have shied away from it for that very reason – I still think I’m better at drawing and painting in my usual style, but I think having tried this method I’ll experiment with it some more. I will happily admit to being strongly influenced by gorgeous poster artist <a href="http://www.dvdandrea.com/" target="_blank">David D’Andrea</a> with this piece, one of my favourite illustrators whose prints I have hanging both at home and above my bench at the tattoo studio. As he works almost exclusively with black ink I thought of his posters often for much needed guidance.  </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEispxr8L2o_aWxa2o5U5xmufAm-qzvcirkfwbWAvsrrTOzyKhmGZMGtFdqsFo6H-cxOFVxgJyuwdwq3PjuiUNEo9x0txhXAan0S7wHiwh71D4PtypOpchWytT4LnU7II9Q50OBiLoLIKcE/s1600-h/passionflower%252520nest%252520small%25255B15%25255D.jpg" target="_blank"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="passionflower nest small" border="0" alt="passionflower nest small" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvbZMEXZ1nKu7Aez7gKc8293czMli6xEY08XHcVqBdh7I7d0mpklIKJn21vYtiyyrWH8GsM7K3qY6rXK8l9QkGJMYt22THTG2oo8qmrX7Hs9SCpFiXkoPTZbG26j8SQY6T9G6WMmYuUQs/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="327" /></a></p> <p align="center"><font color="#808080" size="1">(click to enlarge)</font></p> <p>The concept was something I’d been planning for a while, and that I felt could be re-imagined fairly well for a detailed, line-heavy drawing. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passiflora" target="_blank">Passionflowers</a> are by far my favourite flower and a treasured herb in my personal pharmacopeia. I fell in love with them after their gentle sedative effects saved me from crippling anxiety as a teenager, and have used them ever since (though these days it’s mostly for insomnia). They are truly beautiful and amazing flowers, rather like strange organic space ships…and as if that weren’t enough, they also give us sweet, delicious passionfruit! For some reason I can’t discern, I’m infatuated with portraying fruits that have been torn open by birds, exposing their flesh and seeds. So…without wanting to delve too deep into what that’s all about, that’s how my disorganised ideas about those things managed to become a halfway organised drawing. </p> <p>Some close-ups of the detail in the flowers and nest: </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCEyGy5VMKDSzh491Qhua_WhcQEmwYOC2rAxlR51iw3fYu8DQwYs8JCx0gUtlXsTVOtdbhkV5kw1B779BpEa6Y-XbRCW_2jrkxANMSDs8XycMJRh-8ATP5yBP9bxnambslLCgygCIBV68/s1600-h/passionflower%252520closeup%25255B10%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="passionflower closeup" border="0" alt="passionflower closeup" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw5188vnoeKCz4YREi0MNRi-r6tUFaGYN6MaUYLM74lC6SroiSN8jsM_hOIjalQkyxwPbVsq6Nr9gl6D7iC2zNsjb1ma4H6X6Xj1AtATLxThhDNVgd3CATcLdifzuYEPFhvM-iAMDx0jU/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="535" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2wdMV7yn5W3NgrJTFDLgBgM8jT8dIKNDJ2hiW3mzB0WIakncaFweSPkCDgkSYbIZMgy5Be_mKDeVEnT6ahluitpscYDNNH24AKOau1Sk0VMj7rXE0J5U9cBUWtH_4Dn4c9kSYxRL9fA/s1600-h/nest%252520closeup%25255B12%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; border-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; border-right: 0px" title="nest closeup" border="0" alt="nest closeup" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAlO7VR818fYUlzSKmxP0HvnUa-G0c719mkiqQUqZcUMuOUsKvSdYBwE4o8Vrx63f7tZxc0rhZGSr9zDiR13YjbFyQhPasv6pOZUqn5adsoF_CsZXWWgzkRDbe0ApeOJ-gwwaZGhCv-c/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="538" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p>Hopefully some of you will like the print  (or someone else’s) enough to buy one and help out a worthy cause. The exhibition opens on Thursday August 16th at The Vic Bar in Abbotsford, and all prints are reasonably priced at $60. Would be great to see some of you there.</p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Amy Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06729797355740881039noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-81102354873406077102012-04-20T02:21:00.000+10:002012-04-20T02:21:58.130+10:00Empty Night SkiesSo I've been overseas for a month and haven't posted since. I have many stories to tell and pictures to show, but in the meantime I wanted to post about <a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/164845570301630/" target="_blank">Empty Night Skies</a>, a bat-themed art show in Philadelphia that I have a piece in.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7sK2fjMHNVVXJFGXizuefz53mo0FDrr78V4fdZ258t3G0J2K7XCHtU9sGpIutpUFFpf8NCnt-pzMGz9gWu_cm3ku6b7EqhpJXux55W6WIlIlwbAxkmTyEyV9wx5sjQQ8VEJpaZZb7BE-X/s1600/525538_10151487937220206_781615205_23569271_1190907555_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7sK2fjMHNVVXJFGXizuefz53mo0FDrr78V4fdZ258t3G0J2K7XCHtU9sGpIutpUFFpf8NCnt-pzMGz9gWu_cm3ku6b7EqhpJXux55W6WIlIlwbAxkmTyEyV9wx5sjQQ8VEJpaZZb7BE-X/s400/525538_10151487937220206_781615205_23569271_1190907555_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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It's opening happens tonight I believe (I'm not good with the time-zone thing) and is being organised by a particularly awesome and talented lady named Jeanne and her (also awesome) partner Mike. The show is a benefit in aid of bats, as the poor critters are dying rapidly in that part of the world and are in dire need of help - you can read more about the plight of bats and Jeanne's reasons for doing this show on her own excellent blog <a href="http://wanderinggenie.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/bats-have-left-bell-tower.html" target="_blank">here</a>. You can also see the humbling list of participating artists, which includes the rather incredible Paul Romano whom some of you may know from Mastodon's <a href="http://www.workhardened.com/work/1/33/*/*/*" target="_blank">first four album covers</a>.<br />
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I really loved the idea of doing something a little more artistic with this piece, but knowing my rather time consuming working habits and having a really strict deadline before I left for Europe, I figured it might be best to stick with graphite pencil and a straight scientific study from a real bat - a style of drawing I feel comfortable with and that can be chipped away at over a number of weeks. I also figured the chances of someone else having done something similar were slim...here's hoping. You can click these images to enlarge:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyfbBu31_vC_x_tNfggxHnILDLwjQQRnreZOJeohzGz4b7HaXMSdavFlrP47JTjCD5gev4fpDSnkp4UsAyAzWP5czhx3oI1IfTj_M85PrgObC_JR9TepyuHCOP5Dane8fVC1v-07v7NsH/s1600/bat_finished_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyfbBu31_vC_x_tNfggxHnILDLwjQQRnreZOJeohzGz4b7HaXMSdavFlrP47JTjCD5gev4fpDSnkp4UsAyAzWP5czhx3oI1IfTj_M85PrgObC_JR9TepyuHCOP5Dane8fVC1v-07v7NsH/s400/bat_finished_small.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">detail:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASlJfrAgWsmfJQqJ9-oaf-MU2zwFAJOCFZXgevlfqW9obAp628jtP1-tZTk246IHJSm2zaY-WXSjxWB4A94jLRMZ52ng0D2QLp4kcOFnyQqTkIURmhc9rZ68JuLL35NEOobW0lIMyPlCv/s1600/bat_detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhASlJfrAgWsmfJQqJ9-oaf-MU2zwFAJOCFZXgevlfqW9obAp628jtP1-tZTk246IHJSm2zaY-WXSjxWB4A94jLRMZ52ng0D2QLp4kcOFnyQqTkIURmhc9rZ68JuLL35NEOobW0lIMyPlCv/s400/bat_detail.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
This piece and many other excellent artworks will be for sale at Empty Night Skies, with all proceeds going to <a href="http://www.batcon.org/" target="_blank">Bat Con</a>, and I believe some artists will have prints to buy both at the show and perhaps online. I wasn't able to get prints ready in time for the exhibition, but I will make prints at some point soon and will donate a percentage of each sale to Bat Con. If you're interested in a print, keep your eye on <a href="http://www.lepusluna.com/" target="_blank">Lepus Luna</a>, and check out Empty Night Skies on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/164845570301630/" target="_blank">Facebook.</a><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-71669239957968223892012-03-01T00:06:00.000+11:002012-03-01T00:06:11.902+11:00Mehndi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Got to do these fun mehndi-style pieces today on beautiful Indian dancer Kajal, one of the Underbelly teachers and performers who works alongside my belly dance teacher Mel. Not my usual style, but I really enjoyed doing them. Thanks Kajal.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCOJS3sfAzhqzt5gaWR2zQkSorsku5sfqQs0CZgfqBWLYOoHyuQV7KJSLngw5eXEjN-nVnEGtOzOQ9kBc0M6WxeRor5kIN_-ihtWMoCOX2z2FX9Mz8pb6-LwsMIDE3fEnx_aTaFMX8SILM/s1600/mehndi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCOJS3sfAzhqzt5gaWR2zQkSorsku5sfqQs0CZgfqBWLYOoHyuQV7KJSLngw5eXEjN-nVnEGtOzOQ9kBc0M6WxeRor5kIN_-ihtWMoCOX2z2FX9Mz8pb6-LwsMIDE3fEnx_aTaFMX8SILM/s640/mehndi.jpg" width="328" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(triangular design on centre of wrist by another artist)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIibeP1gZ0r6qA74xNAyO982-dH14pJxC0AqbCIVmHEuoOPGOFX9oWHQLr5NAXp8c146lg7xTd_G-bfw5ynC9bV3U0ggtlyKxi3vympNFbD04i04iYSLfC-IOjY-cHM7E8kbayAocOj_B4/s1600/dots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIibeP1gZ0r6qA74xNAyO982-dH14pJxC0AqbCIVmHEuoOPGOFX9oWHQLr5NAXp8c146lg7xTd_G-bfw5ynC9bV3U0ggtlyKxi3vympNFbD04i04iYSLfC-IOjY-cHM7E8kbayAocOj_B4/s320/dots.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-17600816736847596042012-02-28T03:27:00.001+11:002012-02-28T03:50:18.484+11:00Lilacs and Champagne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrja01IZd5hz04Zr70pbE-OsPD0G9DTNaolspRqN1ItuPA6FL8oLrl3FTyXSUXOAQapvjbZxd0x8-jLnVyU7h-D8zv1nmyadyC9TFr0RufXQjjPUrzKi4yY9TkrvEbER6L8ZLOV9cHy9tJ/s1600/L%2526C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrja01IZd5hz04Zr70pbE-OsPD0G9DTNaolspRqN1ItuPA6FL8oLrl3FTyXSUXOAQapvjbZxd0x8-jLnVyU7h-D8zv1nmyadyC9TFr0RufXQjjPUrzKi4yY9TkrvEbER6L8ZLOV9cHy9tJ/s200/L%2526C.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>This new project by Emil Amos and Alex Hall - roughly one half of <a href="http://grails.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Grails</a> who are definitely my favourite band of recent years - is ruling both my turntable and my iPod at the moment. I've always loved sample-based music, and in fact one of my first musical obsessions as a young teenager was Pop Will Eat Itself, a band with a philosophy of recycling music (hence the name) that consisted of live instruments and vocals coupled with layer upon layer of samples, some impossibly obscure and others as blatant as the vocals from Mel & Kim's <i>Respectable</i> which they used in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdfNh6P_A3g" target="_blank"><i>Hit the Hi-Tech Groove</i></a> (their song from 1987 that describes the aforementioned philosophy)....but I digress. Lilacs and Champagne bear no resemblance to PWEI and have more of a spooky instrumental hip-hop vibe, which is better described and reviewed <a href="http://thesilentballet.com/reviews/2012/02/lilacs-champagne-lilacs-champagne" target="_blank">here</a>. Below is one of the neat videos Emil made to promote the new L&C record:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="295" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/36995016?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/36995016">LILACS!</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user370387">The Fact Facer</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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I think what I love about sampled music is the juxtaposition of soundbites both new and familiar, arranged in unexpected and harmonious ways to create mood and texture and narrative unobtainable by conventional instrumentation or vocalisation. Perhaps it's partly to do with referencing or capturing someone else's sentiment and re-framing it to say something different, or to emphasise something that would be difficult or awkward to express more candidly...either way, it's fun and I hope L&C have more like this to come. If you're into it, order the CD or LP from Mexican Summer <a href="http://www.mexicansummer.com/shop/lilacs-champagne/" target="_blank">here</a>, check out the L&C Facebook page <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lilacs-Champagne/250095151711555" target="_blank">here</a>, and check out more of Emil's effed-up videos on Vimeo <a href="http://vimeo.com/user370387" target="_blank">here.</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-86032785205861064582012-02-26T17:45:00.000+11:002012-02-26T17:45:28.956+11:00Amanita print.<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Not sure if I posted about this painting on here when I first did it, but it's my first finished watercolour painting of an Amanita muscaria mushroom, and Shaun and I have just made prints of it. You can read more about it and order them from our paypal store over at <a href="http://www.lepusluna.com/" target="_blank">Lepus Luna</a>. </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4gq4-u58ZS0b5VIQYkWzLwwQgBE7nicqy80u22QlhOlvNJf3woD8VHWe15DVsWo8d9mG7VBkvJMf2L2potYq0DC7NLrUBZ-o9XEDnCdzjRJ59oKkQyaR2_MTSoxbAh3y39LU0h14x0k3r/s1600/amanita-final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4gq4-u58ZS0b5VIQYkWzLwwQgBE7nicqy80u22QlhOlvNJf3woD8VHWe15DVsWo8d9mG7VBkvJMf2L2potYq0DC7NLrUBZ-o9XEDnCdzjRJ59oKkQyaR2_MTSoxbAh3y39LU0h14x0k3r/s400/amanita-final.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-80966949067463816932012-02-25T23:03:00.000+11:002012-02-25T23:03:46.896+11:00More Monty.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Can't get enough of my new Lumix camera, a hand-me-down from Shaun after he treated himself to the camera he mostly uses now - a Fuji X100 (which he won't stop talking about). Of course I pretty much only take photos of the cats with it, but I see that as a perfectly valid thing to do with an expensive gadget; and Monty does so love to laze around the house being precious and photogenic...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIFzGtrcisuDDd6RXsM6rrDSgdqQ8kYwZNQicJ7-5JfVeRLvdIevAXCsRyJuGgTw4ejHQktCcqyJ-OznPXMgo3veLoDVphwvHBBq3EaH5O9JvYV4m4B8uG05TJU3Tiuy_K4Z6EXTfgsLpg/s1600/monty4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIFzGtrcisuDDd6RXsM6rrDSgdqQ8kYwZNQicJ7-5JfVeRLvdIevAXCsRyJuGgTw4ejHQktCcqyJ-OznPXMgo3veLoDVphwvHBBq3EaH5O9JvYV4m4B8uG05TJU3Tiuy_K4Z6EXTfgsLpg/s400/monty4.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4EPnV1S3-LFKyMlPl_Vyo1VuSxN78HW58pnuwS9rxfNCem-qInFooTJApMsCt6rf7CzbH0t3DB4EoB1B8JsOFB_Azz0oSOkNmBFRAGSouwn4bbfjIJCuAcHw-Dv9VQiOIIYAhb1sWaPi9/s1600/monty2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4EPnV1S3-LFKyMlPl_Vyo1VuSxN78HW58pnuwS9rxfNCem-qInFooTJApMsCt6rf7CzbH0t3DB4EoB1B8JsOFB_Azz0oSOkNmBFRAGSouwn4bbfjIJCuAcHw-Dv9VQiOIIYAhb1sWaPi9/s400/monty2.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMyUqimAvNGGjMdYZx3tEvAKRmgAkYKG-pdiBOl8W9WbAkRazu04VIXue2mpjvemXIKasqsNE_u-qdgpyIAnRUZeF2EXKhU05ID-RMGNpN9hMrRt6b16mszT0i6MHk_HwgGFjljpmyhCc/s1600/monty3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLMyUqimAvNGGjMdYZx3tEvAKRmgAkYKG-pdiBOl8W9WbAkRazu04VIXue2mpjvemXIKasqsNE_u-qdgpyIAnRUZeF2EXKhU05ID-RMGNpN9hMrRt6b16mszT0i6MHk_HwgGFjljpmyhCc/s400/monty3.jpg" width="265" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dmJ853eiV_isoOsR0c3N5fOptBsGOZK5IZsg1Nz29oeMFt28VSBS_P-ptnxhRWOq41g4d5pUZhIlgCtTSzgrfOQCsNEt3R9OkGWK5B2kAuAMOJwA8i_ndkECvpNrUfgR4KzcnwBR9YJ1/s1600/monty1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9dmJ853eiV_isoOsR0c3N5fOptBsGOZK5IZsg1Nz29oeMFt28VSBS_P-ptnxhRWOq41g4d5pUZhIlgCtTSzgrfOQCsNEt3R9OkGWK5B2kAuAMOJwA8i_ndkECvpNrUfgR4KzcnwBR9YJ1/s400/monty1.jpg" width="400" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-47825376303350334012012-02-24T22:55:00.000+11:002012-02-24T22:55:54.153+11:00Bat drawingStarted work on a drawing for a group exhibition that my friend <a href="http://www.wanderinggenie.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jeanne</a> is putting on in Philadelphia. The show is a benefit for bats and hence carries a bat theme...I don't want to spoil things by showing the whole drawing, so I'll show you my little studio set-up instead, and a little sneaky peek at the progress on one of the wings. More about this soon.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6L7o9tJg8Z6L9ix4HSv-yWHmr5DuVCggLyxYhCjge006N8xC3icFC5TS_8kK8XS8u3agseDb6y3N0aTTeaSszkmGacdNDAqMxYVB0PP00gezK9xXokx-glgoiCF8Kj67mjJRZrjXtWXcb/s1600/batstudio3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6L7o9tJg8Z6L9ix4HSv-yWHmr5DuVCggLyxYhCjge006N8xC3icFC5TS_8kK8XS8u3agseDb6y3N0aTTeaSszkmGacdNDAqMxYVB0PP00gezK9xXokx-glgoiCF8Kj67mjJRZrjXtWXcb/s400/batstudio3.JPG" width="300" /></a></div> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVHZyw1eLvL0aeGKrFlstl10iwmn2YkPOI3LtSPIlcRwW7QDVrqQpaQp6a3wp3RKy_6NEi7VLrYiyj0FtP_8aCI0Li11SAmEdNCaH85yYiSS7V1brgEyGIRzRSpwdQOen9v2bOnSfS5Sg/s1600/batteaser.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVHZyw1eLvL0aeGKrFlstl10iwmn2YkPOI3LtSPIlcRwW7QDVrqQpaQp6a3wp3RKy_6NEi7VLrYiyj0FtP_8aCI0Li11SAmEdNCaH85yYiSS7V1brgEyGIRzRSpwdQOen9v2bOnSfS5Sg/s400/batteaser.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmDya3LQdLgnhepeYfuQYG3xOJYSb2CfV0bYrlYpeXNzkUuow2vNa1V6T2bEmsLfN28-v_8DeB_YL1G2Un-jV3atPZA3DxFL3LbnBKdaYbnS2Xwop7ooFEehgJAbwff8TSNLop-zbqKaLW/s1600/batstudio1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmDya3LQdLgnhepeYfuQYG3xOJYSb2CfV0bYrlYpeXNzkUuow2vNa1V6T2bEmsLfN28-v_8DeB_YL1G2Un-jV3atPZA3DxFL3LbnBKdaYbnS2Xwop7ooFEehgJAbwff8TSNLop-zbqKaLW/s320/batstudio1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-47005898680513136472012-02-23T23:54:00.000+11:002012-02-23T23:54:45.884+11:00More tattoo fun.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lily Munster portrait in progress, soon to be surrounded by morning glories:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQ5B32FlJ83AKyblhCRslGhTluTOkUj_iUm6xHaK6ZrVEqgCmnBlbQ-XieiX4jaoRmqCJV6TzmlxIydsnNl9rgOsosGTqg_V8UAmY9WFhF6xYjMgNTYGhI7KPsG-LmKpO0n3BwbtTFQJU/s1600/lilymunster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQ5B32FlJ83AKyblhCRslGhTluTOkUj_iUm6xHaK6ZrVEqgCmnBlbQ-XieiX4jaoRmqCJV6TzmlxIydsnNl9rgOsosGTqg_V8UAmY9WFhF6xYjMgNTYGhI7KPsG-LmKpO0n3BwbtTFQJU/s320/lilymunster.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> More poppies on Kate:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtghQxfnbyVp0muSQ8QDQJrRmNNpEZSwandT-f5YjnUPPOcLuTuPi1aCJc9_1TC17me3mDo4GcLGwnnGfn1-uNql408L9B6Ot2mFjtMO2qhB19SqkySC9976axBkYjeRZY6lhPZCdpPvW7/s1600/redpoppy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtghQxfnbyVp0muSQ8QDQJrRmNNpEZSwandT-f5YjnUPPOcLuTuPi1aCJc9_1TC17me3mDo4GcLGwnnGfn1-uNql408L9B6Ot2mFjtMO2qhB19SqkySC9976axBkYjeRZY6lhPZCdpPvW7/s320/redpoppy.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Tiger and Samurai sleeve, in progress for over 2 years now!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8gwaVUAB9cIpvIhL_aRhpgxlVFdazDg6giAuMDRvfIpHyLs79kXzZcq6708U2WDwGasYeJmH-488CFQOIqakMqr4UQOHd1CaorOh2Tl7XjUfQbnFAB3_SxMvRc0mthVjDwHd0fb9tLgYm/s1600/tiger.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8gwaVUAB9cIpvIhL_aRhpgxlVFdazDg6giAuMDRvfIpHyLs79kXzZcq6708U2WDwGasYeJmH-488CFQOIqakMqr4UQOHd1CaorOh2Tl7XjUfQbnFAB3_SxMvRc0mthVjDwHd0fb9tLgYm/s320/tiger.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
and waratah on Peta, healed photo to come. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchyphenhyphen8IiEwfs7NpShuqOURrVdMT-nso41R9M6oDGx4Xgm_Jv9OrdWs91sQalDEklkV96kmTg-F956e3MZOltHZv53TkZ9pFy4XegNWOpPFZ1RokoS58vR5F7mQ1jP1H-6oMUV9yzHIx-vCu/s1600/waratah.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgchyphenhyphen8IiEwfs7NpShuqOURrVdMT-nso41R9M6oDGx4Xgm_Jv9OrdWs91sQalDEklkV96kmTg-F956e3MZOltHZv53TkZ9pFy4XegNWOpPFZ1RokoS58vR5F7mQ1jP1H-6oMUV9yzHIx-vCu/s320/waratah.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-3485659163818961132012-02-23T23:17:00.000+11:002012-02-23T23:17:42.937+11:00More Angel's Trumpet From Sue's beautiful garden.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUy8BDBu5T1zgiIx7_DBBhMgOZmDe8Yqno7rhDxOWnSfjs690-j98XiP1UdcI-GKKjxpO_895WcivNL2-_7WE1jaH85z8YO0pn7fqEdxv7Pj-QR5dXurWOUtMs1mJyhjFdlO_-uiaqeXLJ/s1600/IMG-20111226-00859.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUy8BDBu5T1zgiIx7_DBBhMgOZmDe8Yqno7rhDxOWnSfjs690-j98XiP1UdcI-GKKjxpO_895WcivNL2-_7WE1jaH85z8YO0pn7fqEdxv7Pj-QR5dXurWOUtMs1mJyhjFdlO_-uiaqeXLJ/s400/IMG-20111226-00859.jpg" width="300" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rTVuvmBF1thkPEZe2Ida9eWT8giKpIvwd78s8bPcAYIm5oom8J5JiyfaZ9mi8_5uJjSoEtJkwBgetBa8etYqzGUGfQ10aCaAC3HRhZbg_MllF_8HCdoRlQKpNUz9YxsXwM0RtYlSKTgP/s1600/IMG-20111226-00851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1rTVuvmBF1thkPEZe2Ida9eWT8giKpIvwd78s8bPcAYIm5oom8J5JiyfaZ9mi8_5uJjSoEtJkwBgetBa8etYqzGUGfQ10aCaAC3HRhZbg_MllF_8HCdoRlQKpNUz9YxsXwM0RtYlSKTgP/s400/IMG-20111226-00851.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-61272264294530246242012-02-08T02:18:00.000+11:002012-02-08T02:18:36.252+11:00Live to work, work to live.<div></div><div>Ok, so I'm pretty much a complete workaholic: I derive most of my pleasure in life from work-related activities, be they actual paid work or extra-curricular activities like botanical drawing. Even when I'm not working, my idea of a relaxing evening is writing about said work in this blog...sad but true. Still, even I have my limits and I think last week I nearly reached them.; in a single week I spent about 60 hours in the tattoo shop, 18 hours at my <a href="http://pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/secret-teachings-of-plants.html" target="_blank">plant dissection workshop</a>, and another 10 or so hours at home drawing for my appointments. Still, if I hadn't done all that work, what the hell would I post about on here? Besides, I'm working this hard to save funds for a very exciting trip to the UK that I'll write in detail about on here soon. In the meantime, here are a few pics of what I've been working on lately.<br />
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Poppies around Kate's zebra:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGei86rQwCKzXO6xSGi0GO2rWRqdaSSVkD6XQ9moLr828ZiEbp6oE6lIKuHTcJv30EpVcqIKxbzho5lwaLNmWL2AdnOeGvmSSv7A6Ml21ImDrGslJwj7708OwJW_ehLKogpz1u62bOxTQ/s1600/poppy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOGei86rQwCKzXO6xSGi0GO2rWRqdaSSVkD6XQ9moLr828ZiEbp6oE6lIKuHTcJv30EpVcqIKxbzho5lwaLNmWL2AdnOeGvmSSv7A6Ml21ImDrGslJwj7708OwJW_ehLKogpz1u62bOxTQ/s400/poppy.jpg" width="271" /></a></div> Some lotus flowers for Katherine:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUX0dSeKtqzmtx5JfZK673h32oBd2m7hs0CEtc-g_0-Lr-pAFLdbWYt558ASVZO7Je0_-hMn4_z0Alq66TNh3C-os_JOFeyClsTD5aAb1cSD6Q7UOyfGaNcufr-hz9DYOLpSfQ0xKcR1BJ/s1600/lotus+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUX0dSeKtqzmtx5JfZK673h32oBd2m7hs0CEtc-g_0-Lr-pAFLdbWYt558ASVZO7Je0_-hMn4_z0Alq66TNh3C-os_JOFeyClsTD5aAb1cSD6Q7UOyfGaNcufr-hz9DYOLpSfQ0xKcR1BJ/s400/lotus+1.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJERkKiKVchlV3Jm0Ft7aBJI11QjVX3sQaa4B8e07hOF5tKbxlXoUZC47VjQFhOHHCjARGLaTZTqGthnSIP4ww-a2KqQma_o0mpF3rMfzqAkKMb2XziCUtktRhydcbtTOhDxirXdM0_UJ/s1600/lotus+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJERkKiKVchlV3Jm0Ft7aBJI11QjVX3sQaa4B8e07hOF5tKbxlXoUZC47VjQFhOHHCjARGLaTZTqGthnSIP4ww-a2KqQma_o0mpF3rMfzqAkKMb2XziCUtktRhydcbtTOhDxirXdM0_UJ/s400/lotus+2.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
Anthony's pirate ship...what's kraken? <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfk3puxenQT7uj1QHkp9Q0YAqQ3TycHNE-Ser9Q1A1ZfKiEDETl4hb01OPtRN1W_0rh4hyRUn2-sbkohSm9mn1N8_HmXUJSGh9YId6839oHm9vId-J7hnS1gHXk7ostBHjDqHR2W1d-Ety/s1600/kraken.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfk3puxenQT7uj1QHkp9Q0YAqQ3TycHNE-Ser9Q1A1ZfKiEDETl4hb01OPtRN1W_0rh4hyRUn2-sbkohSm9mn1N8_HmXUJSGh9YId6839oHm9vId-J7hnS1gHXk7ostBHjDqHR2W1d-Ety/s400/kraken.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
Vampire lady for Maddi...will look a bit nicer healed. The text says 'cursed beauty':<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrq5hbMu9MFTzksVaiCqjWiRHGRFkwSEKQIb8FKjh9AE35qC8NIUe1AlmMCtcv3zSTQtzzxikcqLkFT86-1B-az5siusRnFRqJxCeYeSDoFcB7e4QMZozK9l0D0onAIcpatA5q9XiOBq1G/s1600/cursed+beauty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrq5hbMu9MFTzksVaiCqjWiRHGRFkwSEKQIb8FKjh9AE35qC8NIUe1AlmMCtcv3zSTQtzzxikcqLkFT86-1B-az5siusRnFRqJxCeYeSDoFcB7e4QMZozK9l0D0onAIcpatA5q9XiOBq1G/s400/cursed+beauty.jpg" width="235" /></a></div><br />
A tribute to the lovely Anneke, on her also lovely husband Ryan:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO-Zf_5qH9EWVY3-xs9cWsSuOyVRySLGCZboNnaPBks0M3CrEdc7U9DNXMcuyYCOb9-sbRNdF_YLb0iE7LkB6ajFnUBOWeKIOOVHnvf_-02phxjRz3t7Y65M4p2Wtt8OOqtNVxv5UtwG-3/s1600/photo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO-Zf_5qH9EWVY3-xs9cWsSuOyVRySLGCZboNnaPBks0M3CrEdc7U9DNXMcuyYCOb9-sbRNdF_YLb0iE7LkB6ajFnUBOWeKIOOVHnvf_-02phxjRz3t7Y65M4p2Wtt8OOqtNVxv5UtwG-3/s320/photo2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
A six-armed dingo goddess back-piece for my fellow belly dancer Briohny: final design is a little different but didn't get a photo.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEMvEQVJdIpnms8HreHygRBhhL-RGjaaw7NiPdsX_yAD2FQI1o3js8rfmJeicPwAi1KYv_ISwWwCFy-j1l2H82tvA2kII3pdKfighDRl78DCmCewwG26eA5Ogk4oGnl-_ByewuDdoQ68h/s1600/dingo+goddess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQEMvEQVJdIpnms8HreHygRBhhL-RGjaaw7NiPdsX_yAD2FQI1o3js8rfmJeicPwAi1KYv_ISwWwCFy-j1l2H82tvA2kII3pdKfighDRl78DCmCewwG26eA5Ogk4oGnl-_ByewuDdoQ68h/s400/dingo+goddess.jpg" width="298" /></a></div><br />
And...an homage to the mothership for the epic photo-collage album cover that Shaun and I are working on for our good friend Ishan. More on that soon.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIbJr0SMNBQ5W7gZyWaFnx2_M2qa_cBlPCgf8q-xO0jKsb5JXclQ1oltV1HC6p29LRhzzH-nwatFNM1u32DVXMcisJcwJzJoQhaBx61bOEVsZoQ_o5ZJsW6zVfyvtbSpz9GKfloBisV1Xi/s1600/mothership.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIbJr0SMNBQ5W7gZyWaFnx2_M2qa_cBlPCgf8q-xO0jKsb5JXclQ1oltV1HC6p29LRhzzH-nwatFNM1u32DVXMcisJcwJzJoQhaBx61bOEVsZoQ_o5ZJsW6zVfyvtbSpz9GKfloBisV1Xi/s400/mothership.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
I have a bunch of other new photos on different cameras around the place, but have been lazily using my phone camera for most stuff lately. More pics coming up when I get around to it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgsWIR9w6JD84QU2EI2AvM25asFTKbxY8AJgqdTu9YX3HBxetDZfv0g9Khy4Q-aCcyirI24lhHckuoQHzMrXXfALBaKQfrkhXARKEExKk6ZKQC3oilVOjuwOHQ7SU4sLwGgOQRVCODyYq/s1600/flaming+eye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-5187295179884390392012-02-07T02:40:00.001+11:002012-02-07T02:40:32.907+11:00Dylan Carlson solo project.<div>
<a href="http://drcarlsonalbion.wordpress.com/2011/11/" target="_blank">Dylan Carlson</a> makes some of the most melancholic and profoundly beautiful music I have ever heard. I don't know exactly how to describe it, other than that it's slow and patient and meditative, and at times incredibly sad. To me, this music is the sound of a man's intimate relationship with his own being; a life-time of painful reflection, and an exploration of the way chords and melodies and lingering moments of empty space can become extensions of ones self in order to communicate those abstract sentiments that words can't possibly express.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXDyxCsjO75luXSkirYkC8A7Wtin-2sRsMq9V5ZyGKNV7SbayX1tF93wi8PsAJ9qLo9EM22DHjblorvZG0lmnrZj_NsQtDRL3qWd6fgTl0rnKofvJfE0j4SZjfbVQGCTr9vBN-fEnkGiR/s1600/carlson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXDyxCsjO75luXSkirYkC8A7Wtin-2sRsMq9V5ZyGKNV7SbayX1tF93wi8PsAJ9qLo9EM22DHjblorvZG0lmnrZj_NsQtDRL3qWd6fgTl0rnKofvJfE0j4SZjfbVQGCTr9vBN-fEnkGiR/s400/carlson.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Appropriately, Dylan's band, for which he is the founding member and principle songwriter, is called<span class="Apple-style-span"> Earth. The only comparison that I can think of is Popol Vuh, because their spacious and repetitive music, used to great effect in Werner Herzog's slow-paced movies, invokes the same kind of meditative visions that Earth do for me. I remember discussing both bands with Shaun once, and saying that I felt it was impossible to have mundane or vapid thoughts whilst listening to their music - it almost demands that you slow down and reflect, and contemplate matters of importance instead.</span></div>
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But enough about Earth; the reason for this blog post is to bring some attention to the fact that Dylan Carlson is currently trying to reach his funding goals for a solo project called <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/160700771/dylancarlson-wonders-from-the-house-of-albion-lp-c" target="_blank">Wonders from the House of Albion</a>, and he only has one week left. The album sounds like it will be an ambitious and deeply personal work, involving a visit to his ancestral homeland in the UK to make recordings at megalithic sites, and investigate his experiences with suspected ffayre-ffolke or familiar spirits. As Shaun and I shall be making our own gnostic odyssey (to put it in Julian Cope's words) to the UK in about 5 weeks time, the concept behind this album is particularly exciting to us. If you would like to help with his project, no matter how small the amount, please visit his <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/160700771/dylancarlson-wonders-from-the-house-of-albion-lp-c" target="_blank">Kickstarter page</a> and donate what you can. In the meantime, enjoy some Earth.<br />
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As if in obedient response to my <a href="http://pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com.au/2011/11/victoria-amazonica.html" target="_blank">recent expression of interest</a> in illustrations of plant dissections, my botanical illustration teacher <a href="http://www.malimoir.com.au/" target="_blank">Mali</a>
held a plant dissection workshop over the course of three days last
week. As it turns out, she teaches them over summer every year; but I'm
not going to let that ruin my enjoyment of the coincidence. I was
particularly happy that it would be Mali teaching this course, because
I'm extremely fond of her and find her love of scientific drawing
contagious. This is an example of an exquisite Boronia painting with
dissections by Mali:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieLVd9jSDQdrJBQIP0UKEUru1rNgCA3_rneKax9wUSEWPWayyEH_DRzkaIsi6rbvOfKX0XgZSqJdneXuNka_UvnfTjf4LSq9tCQwQHwkVjh3NQOqWKejLSQzzUyLNa69YV3n4zgWzQyrD6/s1600/Brown_Boronia_megastigma.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieLVd9jSDQdrJBQIP0UKEUru1rNgCA3_rneKax9wUSEWPWayyEH_DRzkaIsi6rbvOfKX0XgZSqJdneXuNka_UvnfTjf4LSq9tCQwQHwkVjh3NQOqWKejLSQzzUyLNa69YV3n4zgWzQyrD6/s400/Brown_Boronia_megastigma.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Needless to say, I was very excited to be learning these skills
and was determined to get as much out of the course as I could. I
managed to scrounge up enough pennies for an old stereo microscope that I
found on ebay, and swindled a free dissection kit from my kindly
vet-student sister Kate. Although was looking forward to it immensely, I
actually enjoyed dissecting and observing plants even more than I had
anticipated; and despite the fact that I barely managed to dissect and
illustrate the inner workings of a single flower over the whole
workshop, when the three days were up I was left wishing it wasn't over.
Three days of staring at such microscopic detail ended up feeling like
three hours, and I felt as though I would need another month to actually
complete what I was trying to draw...which amounted to little more than
a few pencil sketches and some notes:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-R21zO8C0E2JzSk9J1KhFFVdz-E_DOMmx4k1dlP22qC8Bybp9RThdHIYTHE7DF-n0HeiwcXwhKA05cXLW2tbtdlG6qFj5BCXA7BXUSbskmIfvvaB0nh6XuJdR-lvCxaEBke-ioT0y6-2/s1600/sketches.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB-R21zO8C0E2JzSk9J1KhFFVdz-E_DOMmx4k1dlP22qC8Bybp9RThdHIYTHE7DF-n0HeiwcXwhKA05cXLW2tbtdlG6qFj5BCXA7BXUSbskmIfvvaB0nh6XuJdR-lvCxaEBke-ioT0y6-2/s400/sketches.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Just
to deliberately confuse and challenge myself, being the
contradiction-loving Gemini that I am, I chose to read a book called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Teachings-Plants-Intelligence-Perception/dp/1591430356" target="_blank">The Secret Teachings of Plants</a>
on my way to and from the workshop. The book, a gift from my very dear
friend Jerome, discusses the limitations of science to accurately
describe nature, and specifically plants. Not that the book dismisses
science altogether, as it necessarily covers a lot of scientific ground,
but it does call into question the sense of certainty that people
derive from the process of scientific reductionism. I haven't finished
the book yet, but what I read of it served as a nice reminder during
those three days that I was merely observing patterns that frequently
occur in nature, rather than discovering cold hard facts that were
indisputable.<br />
<br />
So anwyay, onto what I
did during the workshop: first up was pulling apart a lily and bud to
see what a fairly simple flower looks like when pulled intro it's
various sections. I was rather pleased to be working with lilies, as the
ones we used were very similar to the gorgeously scented Stargazer
lilies that I had in my wedding bouquet, and that I am familiar with
from years of drawing them. As I'm sure many of you have noticed, these
flowers have one of the most visible reproductive systems of any plant
you're likely to see:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhceYNMss__KRW5vTt0h37dJPjADNBKhMJs3-yvk-wlG3Eu4tjoec4LX6tFWTB9UU7jRhTtL_PmH9KHKezCaC47in9VdtuuxI4Ns7dFnRpSW3aufMu-2NTUb4nLg1_8bl8f4ZIy7fiAPmZR/s1600/oriental_lily3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhceYNMss__KRW5vTt0h37dJPjADNBKhMJs3-yvk-wlG3Eu4tjoec4LX6tFWTB9UU7jRhTtL_PmH9KHKezCaC47in9VdtuuxI4Ns7dFnRpSW3aufMu-2NTUb4nLg1_8bl8f4ZIy7fiAPmZR/s400/oriental_lily3.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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Once
we'd pulled them apart and identified the various parts - petals,
sepals, stamens, anthers, stigmas, styles...then we got to cut them up
and look at them under a microscope. It was pretty awesome. I can't show
you any images from under the microscope because mine is a rather old
one (there are new digital ones with a usb cable you can connect to the
computer), but maybe that's better anyway - all the more reason to draw
what I'm seeing accurately so there's no need for photographic
documentation. We learned a fair bit about basic botany on the first
day, and about how images are sized, scaled and arranged on a page both
for scientific and artistic purposes. <br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMy34Y9zIsSxKpjad5_AdsZt3B_1ucJ_EwuB53ioU7Uc66Y9H0dFGhm8HDjzdoBLfURWRV9hlOQ8rfAX3bGd1L1bw9KCm8n0Gkng46IskIVi6AUsvttSvJbdvtzU4cl7R7P_AJpN22C6Oy/s1600/exploded+lily.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMy34Y9zIsSxKpjad5_AdsZt3B_1ucJ_EwuB53ioU7Uc66Y9H0dFGhm8HDjzdoBLfURWRV9hlOQ8rfAX3bGd1L1bw9KCm8n0Gkng46IskIVi6AUsvttSvJbdvtzU4cl7R7P_AJpN22C6Oy/s400/exploded+lily.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
On
the second day we got to dissect flowers from the daisy family, and
happily Mali had brought Echinacea flowers which happen to be another
one of my favourites. Echinacea was my introduction into the world of
herbalism, a subject close to my heart, and I've always loved the
flowers as a symbol of that initiation. Like lots of things I love, I
originally thought they were weird and not particularly beautiful at
all, which I think is what makes me all the more fond of them now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6bAmzwfy1-35LP_SVnONoVB7Tnrf5AIdawH6BfueJB4y-dw4X2fs8Cbe9nWe5XNRihdHr_Wy6dOxehKNZg68JqRy6yesVE9nex4YNyMsWstbMeWQ-31zoeZFDnyuBF4F5KYPNt7s6gbF_/s1600/echinacea+3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6bAmzwfy1-35LP_SVnONoVB7Tnrf5AIdawH6BfueJB4y-dw4X2fs8Cbe9nWe5XNRihdHr_Wy6dOxehKNZg68JqRy6yesVE9nex4YNyMsWstbMeWQ-31zoeZFDnyuBF4F5KYPNt7s6gbF_/s400/echinacea+3.jpg" width="300" /> </a></div>
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The
reason Mali had chosen daisies for us to dissect is because they're
thoroughly complicated, as I soon found out. The really interesting
thing I discovered about the Echinacea was that the actual flowers - ie
the section of the plant containing the male and female parts used for
reproduction - were in fact covering the entire surface of the spiky
receptacle in the centre. This was not one flower, but many flowers
combined, and the long orange spines that protrude from each flower are
just the bracts. This meant that dissecting one of these tiny flowers in
order to find out how it reproduces involved picking one of them up
with tweezers and cutting it in half under the microscope. In the cross-section below, each of the orange spines represents one flower, and the halved seeds can be clearly seen at the base of each one:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vhd8ZhqztrFAXohx3MCdDTEVRG1dMV7KMk5Wu5ci3TBQqSU6UfQcCFKF_vUtz9TmGBgGFz2tUxlnyBR8dGwsFzkBEJzP5fZYXRIrN81ZQ8RoufJtt4x83icM4oNSIJiUP4CgYZJ68q4_/s1600/dissected+echinacea.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vhd8ZhqztrFAXohx3MCdDTEVRG1dMV7KMk5Wu5ci3TBQqSU6UfQcCFKF_vUtz9TmGBgGFz2tUxlnyBR8dGwsFzkBEJzP5fZYXRIrN81ZQ8RoufJtt4x83icM4oNSIJiUP4CgYZJ68q4_/s400/dissected+echinacea.jpg" width="295" /> </a></div>
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flowers and bracts: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsvJQjhVna1rVrpAFvZ7bO4FMPR_g5mDiARGMX3QXKofdSTO5JIB9P6iqI_kLXbpmLu0XL4roZK-NojwsKx97NgQKJrPBiM_4Ct9cWsSEKGdBfhd8uojicWYI7Op5zcm9D7Hm9JUBIF-DA/s1600/bracts.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsvJQjhVna1rVrpAFvZ7bO4FMPR_g5mDiARGMX3QXKofdSTO5JIB9P6iqI_kLXbpmLu0XL4roZK-NojwsKx97NgQKJrPBiM_4Ct9cWsSEKGdBfhd8uojicWYI7Op5zcm9D7Hm9JUBIF-DA/s400/bracts.jpg" width="285" /> </a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrASSYrqoOSCfowRGtn7vpyKVE53W45Gviy0dONJfFEA4qS4fhkUz3dPJzSfvIMkv7I72iyVDAu3FzOzm7XnZTF9o_82xkX0MWKsS7Lzm5IDaKVGL3a6_KJB-czKqKvs1CTU3H3oSKA6Qt/s1600/echinacea+parts.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrASSYrqoOSCfowRGtn7vpyKVE53W45Gviy0dONJfFEA4qS4fhkUz3dPJzSfvIMkv7I72iyVDAu3FzOzm7XnZTF9o_82xkX0MWKsS7Lzm5IDaKVGL3a6_KJB-czKqKvs1CTU3H3oSKA6Qt/s400/echinacea+parts.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
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Each
flower was only about 9mm tall and 1mm wide. Below you can see my
sketch of a seed on the far left, then a flower in the middle, and a
bract on the right, all magnified by 10. I couldn't believe how long it
took to draw those simple little things, and it occurred to me that
perhaps I was taking more care and spending more time observing rather
than drawing because I knew I didn't have the benefit of photographs
that I could refer to later.<br />
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<br />
Unfortunately
I wasn't able to take my echinacea specimens home after the class due
to current restrictions on plant matter leaving the gardens, but I have them sitting in the fridge at the botanical garden
observatory where my classes are held, and I intend to squeeze some
more drawing time out if them before they perish. Hopefully one day I'll
have time to complete a full scale painting of an echinacea in colour,
and with all the dissections and individual parts illustrated also. One
day.<div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-62356278759702319822012-01-23T13:23:00.000+11:002012-01-23T13:23:42.020+11:00New Moon<div>
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Ok, so I missed the boat on a timely new year's post, but since it's the first day of the new lunar year today it seems like an appropriate subject to write about. I had intended to write a post much sooner, but this first month of 2012 has thus far been astoundingly busy and my blog has been neglected...which is a shame really, because I have lots of things I'd like to write about - in particular, my growing fascination with and collection of these vintage new year's cards featuring my favourite mushrooms...they'll just have to wail 'til next time.<br />
<br />
My new year's celebrations comprised a romp in the forests of Daylesford with some of my <a href="http://apemanspaceman.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">favourite people</a>, far away from the city and the brutal heat, and under the spectacular night sky that you can only appreciate when you get that far out. We spent the afternoon playing hand drums and singing bowls amongst the trees, and the evening camped around a fire, admiring the silence and beautiful stars in the crystal-clear sky. It was exactly what we all needed, and a perfect way to welcome in 2012.<br />
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I don't usually celebrate the new year with much enthusiasm, mostly because I associate it with the kind of awful public drunkenness we're all familiar with on such occasions, but I felt this year was an important one to acknowledge. 2011 was the lunar year of the rabbit, and the year Shaun and I decided to start <a href="http://www.lepusluna.com/" target="_blank">our own business</a> which we named for the rabbit in the moon, unaware at the time of the significance of doing so. I'm so fond of these serendipitous things that seem to happen so often these days; in the past few months I have been seeing rabbits absolutely everywhere, including a few feral ones up at Daylesford which Shaun and I took to be a lucky sign, (we also found an Amanita mushroom in the pine forest <i>completely</i> out of season, which we took as another sign of luck) and I have become completely engrossed in studying the moon and all symbols, traditions and deities associated with it. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Greek goddess Luna, also known as Selene</span> </div>
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I think the first inkling of this fascination may have occurred a year or so ago after reading a wonderful book called <a href="http://www.wisefoodways.com/moons/" target="_blank">Full Moon Feast</a>, which discusses how the various cycles of the moon related to the changing of the seasons and subsequently of our available food supply, as well as issues like light pollution and how this affects our connection with the moon. More recently my interest has shifted towards the lunar cycle's effect on human fertility, as well as it's role in astrology (something I've been secretly interested in since I was a teenager). Since I have neither the time nor the inclination to write about such things in any detail, I am working on a number of paintings that explore my fascination with La Luna and all related subjects. In the meantime, the new moon today welcomes in the <a href="http://blog.californiapsychics.com/blog/2010/05/2012-year-of-the-dragon.html" target="_blank">Year of the Dragon</a> , which promises an exciting shift in consciousness, luck and prosperity. Happy New Year!</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-64381198874835502762011-12-19T13:19:00.001+11:002011-12-19T13:19:30.754+11:00<p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-r1lZVKU8q_4/Tu6fIc5SJiI/AAAAAAAABrw/ixcD6uwoQsQ/s1600-h/montysunlight13.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="montysunlight1" border="0" alt="montysunlight1" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-RvICHgUmhY8/Tu6fJZUH2zI/AAAAAAAABr4/ukA5j6KtYbg/montysunlight1_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="266" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-MAEjfU9Q4Pg/Tu6fKm0EI5I/AAAAAAAABsA/VFMpmcPLvUE/s1600-h/montysunlight23.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="montysunlight2" border="0" alt="montysunlight2" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-E8D7NVH3Zb0/Tu6fL4JEPOI/AAAAAAAABsI/Pmvvw_NHIE8/montysunlight2_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="266" /></a></p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-19031905517947473622011-12-18T21:16:00.001+11:002011-12-18T21:16:51.169+11:00La Louve art prints.<p>Limited edition of 23, up now on the <a href="http://www.lepusluna.com" target="_blank">Lepus Luna website</a> if anyone’s interested. AUD$160 shipping included.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-27_Nab9Y21o/Tu29jBvFlxI/AAAAAAAABrg/-SXBiCegrxM/s1600-h/full%252520print%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="full print" border="0" alt="full print" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-b3etEwyHHuc/Tu29keDpOiI/AAAAAAAABro/-wyKc4z5fwY/full%252520print_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="337" height="480" /></a></p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-49362733415173609252011-12-18T20:37:00.001+11:002011-12-18T20:37:42.892+11:00Happiness of late.<p>Amazing Moss Agate ring from my local crystal shop:</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-9sWbt7-GhGc/Tu20I3EGUjI/AAAAAAAABpo/JEfQTi3BZvA/s1600-h/moss%252520agate%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="moss agate" border="0" alt="moss agate" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-eGM3tDtyKac/Tu20JxZ5Y7I/AAAAAAAABpw/spsFuunf4no/moss%252520agate_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="533" /></a></p> <p>Kooky tiger painting from my boss Jane: </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-_AUgDzw06HY/Tu20KwbKLoI/AAAAAAAABp4/t5mVBghKPck/s1600-h/janetiger%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="janetiger" border="0" alt="janetiger" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-69Ph_SUQFcw/Tu20MM_tsXI/AAAAAAAABqA/M589thlMtRc/janetiger_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="533" /></a></p> <p>Origami unicorn tattoo from my friend Dan, in homage to my favourite movie ever: </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-ICaSfRgMCtM/Tu20NYNF_8I/AAAAAAAABqI/1aXaC5ljxEA/s1600-h/unicorn%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="unicorn" border="0" alt="unicorn" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-PRpf5ZnLbQA/Tu20Ofm7yTI/AAAAAAAABqQ/1cBEZekAPug/unicorn_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="292" /></a></p> <p>Scans of old family slides my Dad gave me recently. I don’t remember this occasion but I do remember the Rainbow Starbright mirror I’m holding. I think this is the coolest photo of me ever taken; I look like I’m donning my war-paint and bearskin in preparation for some kind of school-yard battle or shamanic initiation:</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-TLCpZqCvmDk/Tu20PQGjkBI/AAAAAAAABqY/pNkyiZXsK1o/s1600-h/face%252520painting%252520small%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="face painting small" border="0" alt="face painting small" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-JIWkBMMV9Xw/Tu20Qfhh31I/AAAAAAAABqg/pzfqLXObmIc/face%252520painting%252520small_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="563" /></a></p> <p>Speaking of bears…this is the cat I grew up with, whose name was Bear:</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-wtKGCzpROB0/Tu20Rn6m6RI/AAAAAAAABqo/MFiolLbQqHs/s1600-h/bear%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="bear" border="0" alt="bear" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-5_8G42vYSM8/Tu20TIloJ-I/AAAAAAAABqw/OI-ma35dOus/bear_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="529" /></a></p> <p>Porch-side drone jams with Shaun and Jerome:</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/--gCv8TRCv9Y/Tu20ULnghCI/AAAAAAAABq4/-TjXemnL3qg/s1600-h/IMG-20111023-00734%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="IMG-20111023-00734" border="0" alt="IMG-20111023-00734" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrLz8D6qRKxCuIWC3vKW6VacEox9-8wQPhcuggjcpq_MEXdT1Xf-wJuWBeDZki_AVPGs10NzidrRkf32PhiPR3VyVkVH2vFPkZz3fdXSDZyNdO6lKsRdVTLIOyjGP0cNA6lWMBMxXCza7/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="300" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-soY8JGQcksA/Tu20WrrHmrI/AAAAAAAABrI/OGswj2TiBsE/s1600-h/shaun%252520with%252520singing%252520bowl%2525204%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="shaun with singing bowl 4" border="0" alt="shaun with singing bowl 4" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-QtZ9Arel6VM/Tu20YEYmZtI/AAAAAAAABrQ/JySIaKUxG7A/shaun%252520with%252520singing%252520bowl%2525204_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="533" /></a>  </p> <p>and Saturday afternoon break-beats…</p> <p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:fdf60712-63ea-4f17-9241-7b77637b680b" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="eb12efe2-acf6-48a5-8b34-ab7c135033cf" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mD3U0L_dlA" target="_new"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-SICVbwiGil8/Tu20Y1JaJ-I/AAAAAAAABrY/cdl5xmMZj1Q/video946cbd066e24%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('eb12efe2-acf6-48a5-8b34-ab7c135033cf'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/-mD3U0L_dlA&hl=en\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/-mD3U0L_dlA&hl=en\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"355\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div></p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-34577119926773885432011-12-18T18:48:00.001+11:002011-12-18T18:48:29.478+11:00Semi-precious<p>I’ve been experiencing some synchronicity in relation to crystals recently, so thought it was about time I wrote some blog posts about them. Crystals are something I’ve always been interested in, and a large solid sphere of rose quartz that I received for my 21st birthday is among my most treasured possessions; but there’s always been something holding me back from diving head-on into an enthusiasm for these mineral friends. The thing I am referring to will be familiar to anyone who has ever entered a new-age or Theosophical Society bookstore, and was once succinctly described by my friend Jerome as <a href="http://www.visionsofadonai.com/crystalbarn/crystalbarn1rev.html" target="_blank">The</a> <a href="http://www.joanocean.com/index.html" target="_blank">Purple</a> <a href="http://www.magickalgraphics.com/angels.htm" target="_blank">Horror</a>. As you might expect, one of the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Love-Earth-Kaleidoscope-Describing-Metaphysical/dp/0962819034/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324177668&sr=1-1" target="_blank">best books available on crystals</a> features a cover that suffers terribly from a case of the purple horror - so much so that a friend of mine went to the effort of covering hers with black contact so she didn’t have to look at it ever again. I’m considering doing the same to mine…but in the meantime, I’ve been really enjoying this beautiful King Penguin book from 1952 which features one of the coolest  book covers I’ve ever seen, inspired by the beautiful mineral Malachite.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNkcX5qdaUCDijCdqgS6Sf6n3aYMCOlJolss3Zc3ox3j8Sg5MKZD5_8DCQ5QXTsX1nJOa46viadKBehEoJz_c1Swz6jac9N0ZHKD2jEgfS23T6d4UVrZcKIPvejT_L7BWr5UZcduyANgX/s1600-h/cover%25255B8%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="cover" border="0" alt="cover" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ObQXSZVfCKk/Tu2aRigN-qI/AAAAAAAABmA/rOOqOIf33TQ/cover_thumb%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="586" /></a> </p> <p>The very same day that I’d been discussing my love of crystal illustrations with my friend <a href="http://www.wanderinggenie.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Jeanne</a>, who recently included some in a painting she did, a customer of mine brought this book in as reference for a tattoo of jewel that she’s getting. I immediately jotted down the name and found myself a copy on <a href="http://www.bookfinder.com/" target="_blank">Bookfinder</a> (best website ever), because I really love these scientific illustrations and don’t come across them very often.  My scanner’s not the best so I photographed the most interesting illustrations, all by an artist named Arthur Smith, for you to enjoy.</p> <p>This first illustration is definitely my favourite.  Something about the combination of the triangular facets of the quartz and the more organic composition of the minerals growing on it just seems magical to me. I have a bit of a thing for this trinity of colours too, pink yellow and blue being visually harmonious variants of the classic primary colours. Also, as Shaun pointed out, with its overlapping triangles it rather resembles a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valknut" target="_blank">Valknut</a>.</p> <p> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-YXI8SKPs2Qs/Tu2aS_pO1nI/AAAAAAAABmI/Ysgtcw1XUJc/s1600-h/1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="1" border="0" alt="1" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-jv5D-Q982EM/Tu2aUHWB1iI/AAAAAAAABmQ/D8VNDgG8jwM/1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="505" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-951iw2_57DY/Tu2aU3RvhhI/AAAAAAAABmY/TeAlCzeemug/s1600-h/2%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="2" border="0" alt="2" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg7XpZMCEumNrtXbQa7chY57ZgUpdxbF4F4QV9dgDlSDPmF4rWY05ocKieVv1ZR0NM60Jga9TdjDmInnKFvchwIML8ehCPbpZcSjEvOR2Y-VlGHB9L5bQSdkohg0elC5lzIvGfShIWCpVh/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="598" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-aqCAHPsVxHk/Tu2aXKY_N0I/AAAAAAAABmo/wTx-2x4cirk/s1600-h/3%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="3" border="0" alt="3" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQnGphMTcr_jNsEm8pPKBf1FWOuRLkPznBgESBH5nwOyuxnBtViOYszwwY0GPL68qFs5FFjxo89JXMwnyrtSvPs6lKW_UKGJFT5CEB-nuPqkhyphenhyphenleiC8RTT8awzHr1ULvwWEEfoAdasRPrm/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="625" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-64n36spO86I/Tu2aZPCYzRI/AAAAAAAABm4/rBZOU6sFM6I/s1600-h/4%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="4" border="0" alt="4" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-KPsLTfea3_c/Tu2aaRrJDDI/AAAAAAAABnA/cssu-OCdUGk/4_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="533" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Wq3QQEJmHb8/Tu2abbpVHXI/AAAAAAAABnI/AxmVlsMqvrE/s1600-h/5%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="5" border="0" alt="5" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-GYSw2Y3RTlE/Tu2acazr6CI/AAAAAAAABnQ/R8FDsdiqOgE/5_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="355" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-kOc2bMlpkBY/Tu2adkcLNXI/AAAAAAAABnY/F-ax3-eXboU/s1600-h/6%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="6" border="0" alt="6" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-xeKc-xSfNU0/Tu2aeni8khI/AAAAAAAABng/l0a7JjR-ZbI/6_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="320" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-udERI25GnzU/Tu2agESifEI/AAAAAAAABno/U5XABUxhnh8/s1600-h/7%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="7" border="0" alt="7" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhxItLMc7jVI0jwZyw0GrordFS6NPVXScoZD-FKvLjwOWHD8QJyzhEH6Tj07xLOlOZgSZr9MI27lNhxecxyFj5DK_5pZ5TMkIfb790A-p4yTOPiVGvRjbKUf6IAcnm3lZ7NfeBPA_Lqox/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="331" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-tVSqnFxP2eQ/Tu2aitqUlUI/AAAAAAAABn4/QYgY7x-OgZ8/s1600-h/8%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="8" border="0" alt="8" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-tWH1SYwZeoY/Tu2ajrUXq4I/AAAAAAAABoA/sRWZX1Vqd4c/8_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="272" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-tDLC2eTynr0/Tu2akyc6kaI/AAAAAAAABoI/s-RLZWv9kB4/s1600-h/9%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="9" border="0" alt="9" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-s4xbp1pSGK0/Tu2amz-HJHI/AAAAAAAABoQ/Zx3W2cSLTFc/9_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="349" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-sDatigjO3UM/Tu2aoLQtyHI/AAAAAAAABoY/IQvDscxB6zg/s1600-h/10%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="10" border="0" alt="10" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/--J7cG-b4JEI/Tu2apVFLI7I/AAAAAAAABog/mc9LW_Jl3eE/10_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="316" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-E_6WLuGZu0A/Tu2aqpcQ8ZI/AAAAAAAABoo/OUhiCdFpWK4/s1600-h/11%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="11" border="0" alt="11" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-pR3gNM1MIEw/Tu2arjsDRYI/AAAAAAAABow/HpV5hQ14LYY/11_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="319" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-7Rg8I5ITAgg/Tu2atKmnaTI/AAAAAAAABo4/EN6epalM4jg/s1600-h/12%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="12" border="0" alt="12" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7QestfPI9uo/Tu2auD1IRBI/AAAAAAAABpA/mVJP8TUoeCY/12_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="294" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-UppokFfwHTk/Tu2avqztjEI/AAAAAAAABpI/BaqvgE9iXBo/s1600-h/13%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="13" border="0" alt="13" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-pJWT7iJp6M4/Tu2awplkpNI/AAAAAAAABpQ/utJ68wkqAa0/13_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="265" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-dDvSCFNbIIQ/Tu2ax2hZB3I/AAAAAAAABpY/B9i3pl0iyP4/s1600-h/14%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="14" border="0" alt="14" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-S4gcsKKkzcQ/Tu2ay8yymFI/AAAAAAAABpg/0NHz8p_oGKE/14_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="301" /></a></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Since discovering this book I’ve also been led to a whole host of other crystal art which I intend to share when I have a spare minute. I’ve also been inspired to use the skills I’m learning in my botanical illustration class to do some paintings of minerals that interest me in the same sort of style. First on my list is my current favourite stone, Moss Agate, which is reputed to encourage a stronger relationship with plants among other useful qualities.</p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-47099889418774842472011-12-04T15:33:00.001+11:002011-12-04T22:55:12.489+11:00Lepus LunaSo if you've noticed that I haven't been posting here as much of late, that would be because I've been busily working on an exciting new project with my husband Shaun, which we've named <a href="http://www.lepusluna.com/" target="_blank">Lepus Luna</a>. Motivated in part by the desire to spend more of our time working together from home, as well as by the numerous requests we've received for prints of our respective paintings and photographs, Lepus Luna will be a mutable space that can accommodate whatever we're working on at any given time, either individually or together. This is our brand new logo!<br />
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The most significant move we've made towards getting this thing off the ground is the purchase of a large-format digital printer that is capable of reproducing artworks and photographs at museum quality standards - commonly known as <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gicl%C3%A9e" target="_blank">giclée</a> </i>printing. Not only will this make it possible for us to make our personal art available to people, it will eventually give us the opportunity to help other artists we know and admire to make prints of their work as well. With the photo-editing skills and printing knowledge that Shaun's been gaining at his photography course, he's able to achieve printed results that are as close to the original artwork as possible, which has always been a challenge for me in the past.<br />
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As we are both still working full time, progress with this thing is going to be slow, but we plan to have our first print available before Christmas this year - a very limited edition of my painting from earlier this year called <a href="http://pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com/2011/07/la-louve.html" target="_blank">La Louve</a>, signed and numbered with some hand-painted gold detailing. Check out our new <a href="http://www.lepusluna.com/" target="_blank">blog</a> and follow by RSS, or like our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lepus-Luna/284626308235355" target="_blank">facebook page</a> if you're keen to get updates on prints and other things we're doing. Cheers!</div>
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<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-68891998578793482122011-11-28T12:59:00.001+11:002011-11-28T12:59:52.147+11:00Victoria Amazonica<p>I stumbled on these incredible botanical illustrations of Amazon Lilies recently and can’t stop looking at them. It’s difficult to tell from the pictures, but the pads of these lilies are <em>enormous</em> and covered in extremely sharp spines – nothing like the quaint lily pads you see floating on ponds in most gardens. I have witnessed these amazing things first-hand at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, where they have their own enclosed pond that I recommend you visit if you get the chance.</p> <p>The first image is a beautiful example of my favourite type of botanical drawing, with the cross sections and individual parts shown in separate diagrams – they’re so much more appealing to me than a simple image of the specimen as a whole. I think maybe I respond to them so much because they occupy a particular space in the scientific world that photography never can, and because they reflect mankind’s profound desire to not only appreciate these beautiful things, but to explore and understand them. I can’t wait to do a more thorough rendition of an Amanita muscaria mushroom in this style, which hopefully might happen next mushroom season.</p> <p>The first four of these images came from the <a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital_dev/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?parent_id=357909&word=" target="_blank">NYPL Digital Library</a>, and I found the last two in the exhaustive collection of images from <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Curtis%27s_Botanical_Magazine" target="_blank">Curtis’s Botanical Magazine</a> on Wikimedia Commons. Enjoy.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-_OdTT3IhHAI/TtLqwAN6eGI/AAAAAAAABgM/GYsb1Gusey0/s1600-h/Victoria_Regia._%252528Analyses%252529_%2525281851%252529%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Victoria_Regia._(Analyses)_(1851)" border="0" alt="Victoria_Regia._(Analyses)_(1851)" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-d0xPm1Bkx5U/TtLqxUBhlUI/AAAAAAAABgU/-b06jzQy-sQ/Victoria_Regia._%252528Analyses%252529_%2525281851%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="318" /></a> <a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-KXOvsL5WC6Q/TtLqyiXeWfI/AAAAAAAABgc/gq1NZfDImRs/s1600-h/Victoria_Regia._%252528Opening_flower%252529_%2525281851%252529%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Victoria_Regia._(Opening_flower)_(1851)" border="0" alt="Victoria_Regia._(Opening_flower)_(1851)" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-jsK-qgReSuo/TtLqzxhp5PI/AAAAAAAABgk/RH9p5iq5HCs/Victoria_Regia._%252528Opening_flower%252529_%2525281851%252529_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="314" /></a>  <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-BsTl8d7G9Zlss1-qhbC-U4g2-2hcXcgy577W-AtZBJKgPTnGVLk2QPi5LOhTLpx-FNsWMTinNwgIIaxEVhhaIbUKpfRMqvFoknSn3y7KJdEz5-oGx-_NDfX4nkeRNRfWcq1_uWpAc8y-/s1600-h/Victoria_Regia._%252528Expanded_flower%252529_%2525281851%252529%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Victoria_Regia._(Expanded_flower)_(1851)" border="0" alt="Victoria_Regia._(Expanded_flower)_(1851)" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwyHnGoCL4snSrWQo595lCwW55O53VCgTVf-zvo9Um3pFJ8skhBAFYMyAjYxzQ3w7WvZPcgHijawfqEeV4z319oCAtXiyRUe4PUl837zXFUHxHSUqbIA9LqUvcdXQ5_hyphenhyphenw2tpimW1DHj0G/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="312" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-pSp3qs3NTow/TtLq3XSsyHI/AAAAAAAABg8/d3l2YTPp_xY/s1600-h/Victoria_Regia._%252528Entire_plant_reduced%252529_%2525281851%252529%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Victoria_Regia._(Entire_plant_reduced)_(1851)" border="0" alt="Victoria_Regia._(Entire_plant_reduced)_(1851)" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-TXFEC9pMOl8/TtLq4rG6heI/AAAAAAAABhE/1G5TgMEqsAc/Victoria_Regia._%252528Entire_plant_reduced%252529_%2525281851%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="307" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga3_vLPa5K268Yk8U9kVieVy9m7_ZmDyCDG39M4Tc1D0T1RhfQMr_K4skbuEgdG6Y4JaThoq25e6o4DrzlEEIBvt9wMLAkQLtgt3G2k-glAafmPsFziwKg9AaY8aLWVj-QrifSjD61eRU3/s1600-h/Curtis%252527s_Botanical_Magazine%25252C_Plate_4277_%252528Volume_73%25252C_1847%252529%25252C_reduced%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="Curtis's_Botanical_Magazine,_Plate_4277_(Volume_73,_1847),_reduced" border="0" alt="Curtis's_Botanical_Magazine,_Plate_4277_(Volume_73,_1847),_reduced" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-xfspDzaa-xY/TtLq76C7o8I/AAAAAAAABhU/_z8ffqa82xM/Curtis%252527s_Botanical_Magazine%25252C_Plate_4277_%252528Volume_73%25252C_1847%252529%25252C_reduced_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="460" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-a7TqpgOjU14/TtLrAJYHuUI/AAAAAAAABhc/5z18L3g2Enk/s1600-h/615px-Curtis%252527s_Botanical_Magazine%25252C_Plate_4278_%252528Volume_73%25252C_1847%252529%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="615px-Curtis's_Botanical_Magazine,_Plate_4278_(Volume_73,_1847)" border="0" alt="615px-Curtis's_Botanical_Magazine,_Plate_4278_(Volume_73,_1847)" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-eqCD5MnECJ4/TtLrFY0qmUI/AAAAAAAABhk/31Y_sH9X5U4/615px-Curtis%252527s_Botanical_Magazine%25252C_Plate_4278_%252528Volume_73%25252C_1847%252529_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="400" height="664" /></a></p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-22380462474063283162011-11-23T23:28:00.001+11:002011-11-23T23:48:53.700+11:00Chapel Tattoo flash set<p>All of us at Chapel Tattoo were recently asked to paint a sheet of flash for a shop set, which I thought was an excellent idea. I’m really glad we were made to do it because I’ve always meant to try painting flash, but  never did for some unknown reason. I’m not sure my style of painting is very suitable for it, and I definitely added some embellishments here and there that you wouldn’t bother trying to put in a tattoo, but I think the designs could easily be modified or adapted to be tattoo-able, which I guess is the idea anyway. Whether they end up being used or not, I had fun painting this sheet and might even try doing some more one day.</p> <p>I’d been playing with some small sketches of magic and witchcraft inspired images for some time, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to flesh them out.</p> <p>The full page: (click for bigger res images)</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-jbnMlNvuz40/TszmwI1iVgI/AAAAAAAABfM/9odCT8keiIk/s1600-h/flash%252520sheet.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="flash sheet" border="0" alt="flash sheet" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-tN33gCDYZZQ/TszmxvEfk6I/AAAAAAAABfQ/xzlgnJ7XdvA/flash%252520sheet_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="286" /></a> </p> <p>Mandragora, or mandrake. I am super fascinated by the folklore and <a href="http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/mandra10.html" target="_blank">mythology surrounding this plant</a>, so will probably paint more of them in time.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JbfISdJEttE/Tszmy8FCnKI/AAAAAAAABfU/DnoxGbDpA0M/s1600-h/flash_mandrake%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="flash_mandrake" border="0" alt="flash_mandrake" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-mItaqZFsa2A/Tszm09hxjeI/AAAAAAAABfY/BID9maLdgUI/flash_mandrake_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="628" /></a></p> <p>The spider lady was an excuse to paint a lady face with some creepy extra eyes and legs; I like images of animals crossed with humans, or humans wearing animal pelts, because to me it suggests the transformation of a witch or shaman into their animal form.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-KFqle7o0blA/Tszrr5y4IQI/AAAAAAAABf8/yNJZU56kTfA/s1600-h/flash_spiderlady%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px" title="flash_spiderlady" border="0" alt="flash_spiderlady" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-DQOjhhDQcZU/Tszrs3lNROI/AAAAAAAABgE/tBg9Aa_iAPg/flash_spiderlady_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="243" /></a> </p> <p>Hissing kitty. Included because it’s a popular image for tattooing, and because cats are common familiar animals. And because, well, it’s a cat.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-LlDiHtPqmbQ/Tszm20_WfYI/AAAAAAAABfc/fxttZV2n4Kk/s1600-h/flash_kitty%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="flash_kitty" border="0" alt="flash_kitty" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-qZiymmFe980/Tszm4BG_U9I/AAAAAAAABfg/b_ezytUyLUw/flash_kitty_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="605" /></a> </p> <p>Ritual objects. Once again, skulls are such a timeless tattoo image that you can’t really go wrong with them; I included the other objects to resemble a ritual alter setting.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-011QhxF6AR0/Tszm5mGLTvI/AAAAAAAABfk/SBJfWCgsttQ/s1600-h/flash_skull%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="flash_skull" border="0" alt="flash_skull" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-JeAB_0TnSyM/Tszm7bGuKqI/AAAAAAAABfo/imKfXSSdC1k/flash_skull_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="579" /></a></p> <p>Hand of Glory.  This is an intensely strange and grim piece of folklore that you can read about <a href="http://www.surnateum.org/English/surnateum/collection/demonologie/maindegloire.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-nKixnJn8t_A/Tszm8YK_khI/AAAAAAAABfs/-wUTthrQicM/s1600-h/flash_handofglory%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="flash_handofglory" border="0" alt="flash_handofglory" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJWF41KDmK_fBZnTmbLL_qzI6kKeIbVs2U9NyDblDl7tE_1Zt3YRda8iV1kgV-7zhbg5Ta_4_J0vgpfDwecyVBdgxGp4xCnB34_fADU1wrohLQtNLcezF68rCcfLcds_DsAvi65QyW87-/?imgmax=800" width="400" height="669" /></a> </p> <p>Voodoo doll or poppet. This was inspired by a protective doll that a friend made for Shaun, and that has always fascinated me. I feel like the creation of <a href="http://www.controverscial.com/Poppet%20Magick.htm" target="_blank">dolls for magical purposes</a> is a really powerful and intuitive way of working that I’d like to try some day.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-5hWluQ2RIRw/Tszm_fXjwAI/AAAAAAAABf0/aAOADK3DPuA/s1600-h/flash_voodoodoll%25255B1%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="flash_voodoodoll" border="0" alt="flash_voodoodoll" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-p1nIKObiDqA/TsznBNJX36I/AAAAAAAABf4/8t0WoVU6mXQ/flash_voodoodoll_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="400" height="615" /></a> </p> <p>This sheet was mostly painted with Indian and Sepia inks on Arches watercolour paper, with a few touches of white gouache which was originally there to cover some boo-boos, but that I included more of because I like the blue-ish colour it created. The background was painted with good old black coffee dregs from my stovetop coffee maker. I’m not sure what’s happening with the prints of this set, but when I do know I’ll be sure to post the details up. I saw all the finished sheets the other day and it’s really nice seeing all the contrasting styles and personalities in our shop reflected in the designs.</p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-54337142408510692662011-10-24T08:24:00.001+11:002011-10-24T08:24:30.586+11:00Gramophone for Anna.<p>I had the pleasure of tattooing a lovely couple named Anna and Matthias recently who both got quite personal and unusual custom pieces done. I haven’t got pics of the finished pieces yet, but I do have one of Anna’s gramophone which I’m rather proud of. This took longer to colour than I’d care to admit, but I think it was worth it. Thanks Anna.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-C8c-MNmEe0w/TqSGB6RHrSI/AAAAAAAABbE/_YQ5zzxnWis/s1600-h/annasgramophone5.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="annas gramophone" border="0" alt="annas gramophone" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-X2Ywh-6YH4s/TqSGDc95XCI/AAAAAAAABbM/nYdIUI5bdR0/annasgramophone_thumb11.jpg?imgmax=800" width="388" height="660" /></a></p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6181630034795934620.post-40173713350484416252011-10-23T13:31:00.001+11:002011-10-23T13:31:59.127+11:00Michael’s lady sleeve.<p>Having lots of fun with this new sleeve I’ve been working on, consisting of beautiful ladies with jewelled insects and snakes. Finished this first lady a few weeks ago: </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-rCSO2ie9WaE/TqN8hrm7AWI/AAAAAAAABaU/KtkcsgN5Z68/s1600-h/redhead1%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="redhead1" border="0" alt="redhead1" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-q0hN1dAfyKo/TqN8ittExPI/AAAAAAAABac/fpU-7vuxh1k/redhead1_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="360" height="531" /></a> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-QewDbJQciWw/TqN8jyrFTOI/AAAAAAAABak/zWZ_WUTV9U0/s1600-h/redhead2%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="redhead2" border="0" alt="redhead2" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-PFUxHKZUNFw/TqN8k73uxQI/AAAAAAAABas/eT-LHJDABJk/redhead2_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="357" height="531" /></a> </p> <p>and started on another:</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-XN1ieEZqQcY/TqN8lwaxj7I/AAAAAAAABa0/5132mopCa6E/s1600-h/forearmlady1%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" title="forearmlady1" border="0" alt="forearmlady1" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ppU5iIA8aHY/TqN8nTD81eI/AAAAAAAABa8/x6tkcjzVUWo/forearmlady1_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="367" height="591" /></a> </p> <p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>…more progress photos to come.</p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">http://www.pennywhistlesandmoonpies.blogspot.com</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0