Explore Sophie Munns' 196 photos on Flickr!

Elisabeth Cummings apologises for taking her time opening the door. She's temporarily confined to a wheelchair in a friend's house in Balmain, recovering from a bone fusion operation on her right ankle, the result of dilapidating arthritis. Fortunately, her wrists aren't as badly affected, so she can wield a brush: ''They're not marvellous, but I can still paint,'' she says.

Commenced may, 2009, brisbane, australia by visual artist|facilitator sophie munns. Homage to the seed Project launched 2010. Based at SeedArtLab in Brisbane Northside since 2014. Visit Website, IG + FB for updates.

Currently on show at the Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, is the exhibition 'Floating Life' highlighting the importance of fibre within Aboriginal culture and the 'commitment of the Queensland Art Gallery to developing a unique collections of more that 300 objects'. Banubirr (the Morning Star), water, and the notion of movement through time and place are major themes. Read more here. I absolutely loved walking into this exhibition with little knowledge of what I would find. It took my breath away! This is an exciting and memorable collection of woven forms in diverse materials, including the obscure such as found fencing wire as well as a considerable number of natural fibres such as spinifex, bark fibres, jungle vines, and pandanus leaves. Each room contained more surprise and I have returned several times to see this exhibit. Forms of every kind, size, structure, method and purpose are featured. This string bag or Abmin by Doreen Yam (b 1947) was constructed with knotted-netted polypropylene and had a particularly contemporary feel. Below: This room featured fishing technology and contained examples of nets, traps and even a canoe sail made of woven reeds. The curator Dianne Moon has written an essay titled: 'Visible songs: captured flight' that gives a lovely introduction to this work...well worth reading if you wish to know more! This exhibition has drawn a great deal of enthusiasm from all who have been lucky enough to visit.

There have been places I've lived that needed a distinct injection of life and colour to make them feel more livable... favourite things ...

Queenie Mckenzie, Ridge Country on the Way to Banana Springs, 1998, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Courtesy and © Estate of Queenie McKenzie: found at museum ludwig

Hello to wanderers who happen to pass this often neglected spot in the blogosphere. After a period of slowing down to recover from a winter virus followed by a week of tech glitches I'm happy to say things are moving again. I've given new life to the ONLINE STORE I set up earlier this year called SeedArtLabStudio at Big Cartel. One of the New Prints available in two sizes UNFRAMED When adding these to the Store I divided the artworks into related series... one lot are seed photos, most are digital altered artworks and photos that are highly layered and 'hybridised' images. I've often painted in that manner over 2 decades so it was an interesting extension of my work. Online Store: http://seedartlabstudio.bigcartel.com The other work I've been pursing of late is planning and running workshops. With the development of the Seeds through An Artist's Lens workshop for PLANTBANK in May Ive been able to run this at SeedArtLab Studio which is at my Brisbane home plus begin to make plans to offer it at other venues. Michelle Auer The two images, above and below, are from last week's Studio Workshop. Michelle and Debbie were returning from the previous month to add another day to their new experience of exploring Seeds visually. Michelle brought this Hand-bound Journal she had made using pages from our previous class... that was incredible to look through and I really loved the idea of using pages from a specific time in a new book. Deb below surprised us with a huge stack of Photos she has taken on theme... nature, leaves, seeds, bark and so on. Stunning! I was incredibly thrilled to see how beautifully she captures her subject and the flow through of thematic material. She had described herself as a beginner so it was fantastic to see the strength of her aesthetic awareness. She was able to reference some imagery in her tasks that day. Deb Davison It has been an interesting process working out how to schedule home Studio workshops seamlessly, without chewing up too much time & focus. I slowly hit apon the idea of going away from the studio to run bigger workshops in venues for other organisations for the most part... then being able to work at home with small groups, only on demand, rather than doing that highly constant scheduling, like clock-work, once a week ... go, go, go. The result has been brilliant. Small groups... 2 to 4 people... plenty or room and time to get to know each other. Artistically it is actually really fulfilling for me in this set-up as I can join in, pull things out to look at I've been working on plus generally bring a more alive energy to the studio without the pressure of constant grind............................................................... Speaking of other venues ... I'm returning to Sydney in September for another PLANTBANK Workshop at the Australian Botanic Garden, Mt Annan. I've put a map up here... its been very confusing for some as to where this Botanic Garden is. It is sometimes mixed up with the National Australian Botanic Gardens in Canberra... understandably. Sydney has three gardens... one in the City overlooking the Harbour, Opera House etc, near the Domain. It was established early on in the settlement of the City. Mt Tomah is at the Blue Mountains due west of the city and is a spectacular day trip for being in that location. Mt Annan is virtually on the Hume Hwy, the link between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne...and close to the very early established Agricultural region for Sydney at Camden. The grounds of this Botanic Garden are huge and contain all Australian Flora. Plantbank was opened on the grounds in 2013 although its actually housing 30+ yr old NSW Seed Conservation projects. One can get here by car or train/bus... although due to the extensive grounds a vehicle sure helps. I made the notes below for my Instagram posting last night: SYDNEY Mid Sept ... who'd like to muse on seeds in Australia's most exciting #biodiversityhotspot contained in a NEW architecturally awarded facility known as #Plantbank at the @australianbg in south west Sydney???. Leave your contact deets/email here so I can send INFO... One day only is possible if you have a long drive & can't stay nearby. Bring a friend or bring yourself for a totally unique opportunity that will likely blow your mind & leave you with so much to think about! Definitely an OPPORTUNITY that will speak to both BEGINNER dabblers with the curiousity to learn much more and ESTABLISHED/seasoned creatives keen to respond to something very exciting and timely that is central to future challenges and #needtoknowagendas! Text your email to 0430599344 if that's best for you! You can check out the FB event site here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1475346906115018/ at the FB page of Australian Botanic Gardens Mt Annan. Images from Plantbank residencies: Melaleuca globifera Waratah seeds and pods - Floral Emblem of NSW X-ray seeds In fact anyone who would like to know more can write/text & also follow my Instagram feed which keeps posted on such things + updates very regularly. A recent blog post about the workshops can be read here! Cheers all! Sophie

A couple of years ago when visiting my favourite bookshop in Newcastle 'The Bookhog ' the manager Suzanne (who happens to be one of those quietly extraordinary people who knows her customers well and acts as mentor and book whisperer...well...I needed a name for what she does...so I had to make that one up on the spot) came up to me and put a book in my hands and said buy this one Sophie! Rarely a false step on her part in recommending many a book I took time to pour through REX RAY ART and DESIGN ...and yes... it came home with me! I was very drawn to his process of working and his story was compelling, visually and otherwise. An article posted at Artworks magazine in 2008 covers the story quite succinctly. A Chronicle Books publication the book on REX RAY was indeed appealing. It felt Iike I was entering a world of colour and form when I opened the pages. Douglas Coupland says in the foreward this art manages to be "unslick - but...superslick at the same time." Its not that no one else has worked with these materials or shapes ...they are certainly not unique to him. BUT there is a singularity in his particular immersion in colour and form that works like its very much his own language...born of something authentic within the artist that has found it way out into the world, without contrivance, or being added on or copied. In the last 2 images shown above the walls are filled with collaged works on paper. Anyone who has attempted similar exercises with cut and paste know poetry does not arrive simply out of placing and gluing some bits of colour on paper. The rhythm here is evident though...in shapes, in tones and hues, in variations on several key themes. He listens to music intensely in his studio whilst at work and the music seems to very much be alive in the work. I'm tempted to think of them as colour poems. Some have been quick to pass him off as 'too' graphic, 'too' design oriented. However, having worked compusively with a particular elliptical form in my work over some years, long before seeing this work, I find it only too easy to recognise how deeply a form can live in you and need to be articulated over and over. The artist at work (above) earlier this year on a 9' x 25' canvas bound for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver. Visit the website here. NB Michael Paglia wrote an essay for the Chronicle book on the artist coining the phrase 'Flamboyant Formalism'.

This has been a hugely busy week plus Ive been a little tired after last week's scurry to the finish line of the IMB residency. Had a wo...

I'm sure we haven't seen the last of summer in the sub-tropics but its been a most pleasant week or so here... cooler and easier for trying to concentrate on work. I've started work in earnest on the book that's been on the cards for ages. Today I collected a Limited Edition print which had been ordered for a client and thought I would post it here. The image below is a stretched Limited Edition print on canvas for a client last year. The artwork was wrapped around the wooden stretched frame... a mirror image of the artwork that is. I particularly liked the way this worked in real life. However this work below which was painted last winter... an unframed work on linen, 200 cm x 100 cm, required a different approach for the Limited Edition print. “Homage to our common inheritance” by Sophie Munns, 2 m x 1 m PLEASE NB: COPYRIGHT Sophie Munns The original artwork has a frayed selvage that I stitched in natural linen to strengthen. The work was given a layer of an Atelier varnish to seal the ink and paint surface on linen in addition to the surface having been sealed as an undercoat prior to working on this piece. On this framed print the frayed edge is revealed on the front of the work rather than attempting to wrap the design around the frame. Making a print from a work this large required professional scanning at an extremely high resolution which thankfully has produced an excellent quality print. Unfortunately the lighting on the work was not ideal for taking images this evening ... it seems to have thrown a warm glow on most of the images thus affecting the authentic colours. Apologies for this somewhat annoying problem. These close-ups give some idea of the effect of the print at least. The image below is ironically more true to the colours... however its not a good image or resolution. The other task of the moment I am very focused on is the book project that has been gestating for a few years. The weekend just passed was spent working on a draft of sorts! The computer clearly was useless for trying to capture essential material for a book which will rely heavily on text, image and a somewhat unorthodox composition of concepts... (hopefully)! Instead I've gone for watercolour paper ... It comes in 50 sheets per pack... 300gms, acid-free , cold pressed, 210mm x 100mm + using pigmented ink pens, lightproof, permanent + waterproof. I've tried books of every size, cheap A4 paper, computer, a private blog, post-it stickers... you name it. And this time it's working the way I need it to! One of my favourite painting projects was carried out on these excellent paper sheets. Once this stage is completed and I begin to transform material into pages on my computer I could paint over work on these cards if I don't wish to save them. I'm reminded how reliant my process can be on shifting between idea, text and image. Images are not purely illustrations and diagrams... articulating far more than words at times. It's filmic in some ways... and this is the Story-board. I can't be concerned with how it flows or comes together yet... all that matters is managing to assemble the disparate parts of something that's been long gestating. Capturing the key themes, musing on stages of one's Art Practice over decades offers much to consider. The challenge to pare back... to lift out what is essential. The search for central motifs and the leading thoughts is everything at the moment. I hope February is proving stimulating for you... with good challenges that are enriching. Cheers, Sophie

I'm sure we haven't seen the last of summer in the sub-tropics but its been a most pleasant week or so here... cooler and easier for trying to concentrate on work. I've started work in earnest on the book that's been on the cards for ages. Today I collected a Limited Edition print which had been ordered for a client and thought I would post it here. The image below is a stretched Limited Edition print on canvas for a client last year. The artwork was wrapped around the wooden stretched frame... a mirror image of the artwork that is. I particularly liked the way this worked in real life. However this work below which was painted last winter... an unframed work on linen, 200 cm x 100 cm, required a different approach for the Limited Edition print. “Homage to our common inheritance” by Sophie Munns, 2 m x 1 m PLEASE NB: COPYRIGHT Sophie Munns The original artwork has a frayed selvage that I stitched in natural linen to strengthen. The work was given a layer of an Atelier varnish to seal the ink and paint surface on linen in addition to the surface having been sealed as an undercoat prior to working on this piece. On this framed print the frayed edge is revealed on the front of the work rather than attempting to wrap the design around the frame. Making a print from a work this large required professional scanning at an extremely high resolution which thankfully has produced an excellent quality print. Unfortunately the lighting on the work was not ideal for taking images this evening ... it seems to have thrown a warm glow on most of the images thus affecting the authentic colours. Apologies for this somewhat annoying problem. These close-ups give some idea of the effect of the print at least. The image below is ironically more true to the colours... however its not a good image or resolution. The other task of the moment I am very focused on is the book project that has been gestating for a few years. The weekend just passed was spent working on a draft of sorts! The computer clearly was useless for trying to capture essential material for a book which will rely heavily on text, image and a somewhat unorthodox composition of concepts... (hopefully)! Instead I've gone for watercolour paper ... It comes in 50 sheets per pack... 300gms, acid-free , cold pressed, 210mm x 100mm + using pigmented ink pens, lightproof, permanent + waterproof. I've tried books of every size, cheap A4 paper, computer, a private blog, post-it stickers... you name it. And this time it's working the way I need it to! One of my favourite painting projects was carried out on these excellent paper sheets. Once this stage is completed and I begin to transform material into pages on my computer I could paint over work on these cards if I don't wish to save them. I'm reminded how reliant my process can be on shifting between idea, text and image. Images are not purely illustrations and diagrams... articulating far more than words at times. It's filmic in some ways... and this is the Story-board. I can't be concerned with how it flows or comes together yet... all that matters is managing to assemble the disparate parts of something that's been long gestating. Capturing the key themes, musing on stages of one's Art Practice over decades offers much to consider. The challenge to pare back... to lift out what is essential. The search for central motifs and the leading thoughts is everything at the moment. I hope February is proving stimulating for you... with good challenges that are enriching. Cheers, Sophie

This image was taken at the end of the Studio Launch weekend just passed... I've snapped photos on my iphone and they are not really in any order here... so hopefully it wont be too confusing! A new plate from the Biodiversity Conversation Plate Series painted last week, based on the Pongamia Seedpod This series of porcelain work was based on the seed clusters that you can see on the left in this image... in indigo, brown and black. A vignette with artworks in the background The gallery wall along the front hallway Looking out to the front of the studio on the right and hallway to the front door on the right These photos look across the table to the studio wall above ... and below to the hallway 'gallery' wall. Furniture was moved to another room to optimise hanging space new shelves were added last week Works on paper on display Looking in from the front door The 5 metre hallway makes a great gallery space The niche at the end of the hall is an interesting viewing space... and the triptych on the left managed to fit quite well on this section of wall. works in progress views of the room from various angles the flowers from a friend's garden Below is the watercolour series of works painted on Cotton paper a month ago. close-up Image taken during the Launch Two friends who've collected my work. A lovely crowd gathered for the 5pm launch or came Saturday or Sunday for a chat and viewing of the new space. the end of the weekend... Looking into the house form the garden path closing the front gate at the weekend's end. It been a huge week or two but I've managed to catch my breath now and have been busy following through on various tasks after the event. I was glad to get more sleep this week... but I have to say... it's been such a worthwhile undertaking ... holding this celebration of the next chapter at a new studio named to refer to the direction I'm keen to pursue next at SEED.ART.LAB. before I go I will add one more pic. Tomorrow is Thursday and until Xmas I am going to open the Studio each Thursday from Midday to 8pm as various ones unable to attend on the weekend wanted to come by. So you can either call and make a time or simply come and visit one Thursday. This Saturday I will also be open for several appointments.... so don't be shy if you are in this part of the world! Cheers all! Back to the blogosphere soon I hope. It seems awhile since I travelled around visiting my fellow blog friends. Apologies and best to all! Sophie

a new journal... linen-bound and beautiful paper! I wrote details when posting these pics at Facebook page: Homage to the Seed started in Cairns ...recently worked on it until all pages were filled... strange ... felt like I was writing a book. I went to a meeting with my book-publishing grow recently and laughing said I was "pregnant, with book..." which I translated for them as meaning... somethings trying to get out and it sure feels like a book! for days I have been putting together this program... and when not doing that painting... finishing this journal etc. Cooking up ideas and meeting people has been fun of late. To read a larger , clear version of this program below click over to my website .. if in Brisbane... do come along .... good things happening at the gallery in Feb!

Hello to wanderers who happen to pass this often neglected spot in the blogosphere. After a period of slowing down to recover from a winter virus followed by a week of tech glitches I'm happy to say things are moving again. I've given new life to the ONLINE STORE I set up earlier this year called SeedArtLabStudio at Big Cartel. One of the New Prints available in two sizes UNFRAMED When adding these to the Store I divided the artworks into related series... one lot are seed photos, most are digital altered artworks and photos that are highly layered and 'hybridised' images. I've often painted in that manner over 2 decades so it was an interesting extension of my work. Online Store: http://seedartlabstudio.bigcartel.com The other work I've been pursing of late is planning and running workshops. With the development of the Seeds through An Artist's Lens workshop for PLANTBANK in May Ive been able to run this at SeedArtLab Studio which is at my Brisbane home plus begin to make plans to offer it at other venues. Michelle Auer The two images, above and below, are from last week's Studio Workshop. Michelle and Debbie were returning from the previous month to add another day to their new experience of exploring Seeds visually. Michelle brought this Hand-bound Journal she had made using pages from our previous class... that was incredible to look through and I really loved the idea of using pages from a specific time in a new book. Deb below surprised us with a huge stack of Photos she has taken on theme... nature, leaves, seeds, bark and so on. Stunning! I was incredibly thrilled to see how beautifully she captures her subject and the flow through of thematic material. She had described herself as a beginner so it was fantastic to see the strength of her aesthetic awareness. She was able to reference some imagery in her tasks that day. Deb Davison It has been an interesting process working out how to schedule home Studio workshops seamlessly, without chewing up too much time & focus. I slowly hit apon the idea of going away from the studio to run bigger workshops in venues for other organisations for the most part... then being able to work at home with small groups, only on demand, rather than doing that highly constant scheduling, like clock-work, once a week ... go, go, go. The result has been brilliant. Small groups... 2 to 4 people... plenty or room and time to get to know each other. Artistically it is actually really fulfilling for me in this set-up as I can join in, pull things out to look at I've been working on plus generally bring a more alive energy to the studio without the pressure of constant grind............................................................... Speaking of other venues ... I'm returning to Sydney in September for another PLANTBANK Workshop at the Australian Botanic Garden, Mt Annan. I've put a map up here... its been very confusing for some as to where this Botanic Garden is. It is sometimes mixed up with the National Australian Botanic Gardens in Canberra... understandably. Sydney has three gardens... one in the City overlooking the Harbour, Opera House etc, near the Domain. It was established early on in the settlement of the City. Mt Tomah is at the Blue Mountains due west of the city and is a spectacular day trip for being in that location. Mt Annan is virtually on the Hume Hwy, the link between Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne...and close to the very early established Agricultural region for Sydney at Camden. The grounds of this Botanic Garden are huge and contain all Australian Flora. Plantbank was opened on the grounds in 2013 although its actually housing 30+ yr old NSW Seed Conservation projects. One can get here by car or train/bus... although due to the extensive grounds a vehicle sure helps. I made the notes below for my Instagram posting last night: SYDNEY Mid Sept ... who'd like to muse on seeds in Australia's most exciting #biodiversityhotspot contained in a NEW architecturally awarded facility known as #Plantbank at the @australianbg in south west Sydney???. Leave your contact deets/email here so I can send INFO... One day only is possible if you have a long drive & can't stay nearby. Bring a friend or bring yourself for a totally unique opportunity that will likely blow your mind & leave you with so much to think about! Definitely an OPPORTUNITY that will speak to both BEGINNER dabblers with the curiousity to learn much more and ESTABLISHED/seasoned creatives keen to respond to something very exciting and timely that is central to future challenges and #needtoknowagendas! Text your email to 0430599344 if that's best for you! You can check out the FB event site here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1475346906115018/ at the FB page of Australian Botanic Gardens Mt Annan. Images from Plantbank residencies: Melaleuca globifera Waratah seeds and pods - Floral Emblem of NSW X-ray seeds In fact anyone who would like to know more can write/text & also follow my Instagram feed which keeps posted on such things + updates very regularly. A recent blog post about the workshops can be read here! Cheers all! Sophie

LUMINOUS THE LANDSCAPES OF ELISABETH CUMMINgs Edge of the Simpson Desert 2011 On Friday I got to see a couple of shows...one by Australian artist Elizabeth Cummings and the other...well ....you'll see. from a SMH article Text from SMH article: Elisabeth Cummings is the subject of two exhibitions but the artist remains reluctant to talk about herself, writes Steve Meacham. Elisabeth Cummings apologises for taking her time opening the door. She's temporarily confined to a wheelchair in a friend's house in Balmain, recovering from a bone fusion operation on her right ankle, the result of dilapidating arthritis. Fortunately, her wrists aren't as badly affected, so she can wield a brush: ''They're not marvellous, but I can still paint,'' she says. At 77, Cummings was recently described by The Australian Women's Weekly as ''the Invisible Woman of Australian painting''. Even the media release for the grandest exhibition of her career (so far) - a survey of her work over the past 30 years at the S.H. Ervin Gallery titled Luminous: The Landscapes of Elisabeth Cummings - introduces her as ''one of Australia's visual art quiet achievers''. So, unless you are an artist yourself, an art critic (the Herald's John McDonald wrote in 1994 that her painting ''calmly restates the imperishable value of a fundamental visual intelligence''), or one of those astute collectors who have discovered her increasingly sought-after works over the past 20 years, you may not have heard of her. Read more by clicking on Text heading above! Pilbara read more here. Images from the artist's King St Gallery shows: The Shearer's Kitchen, Mt Murchison 2011 Post Prandial 2011 For images from her latest show at that Gallery click here.. To read about the show I just saw visit the National Trust website. I now think Today maybe the last day of that show... I was lucky my friend was so keen to go on friday. We also spent a few hours viewing this show, which depute being a blockbuster allowed us some intimate time with an artist we rarely see work of in Australia. From the NSW Art Gallery website: Picasso: masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris More than 150 important paintings, sculptures and drawings created by Pablo Picasso, which have come from the artist's personal collection. The Art Gallery of New South Wales will host the most significant exhibition of Picasso’s art ever held in Australia. More than 150 important paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings created by Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) have come from the artist’s personal collection – works he was determined never to relinquish. Picasso: masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris is the most ambitious exhibition ever undertaken by the Gallery. Jointly organised by Musée National Picasso, the Art Gallery of NSW and Art Exhibitions Australia (AEA), the exhibition is part of the Sydney International Arts Series, bringing the world’s outstanding exhibitions to Australia. The exhibition was conceived, curated and mounted by Anne Baldassari, general commissioner and president of the Musée National Picasso and one of the world’s leading experts on the artist’s work. The international tour was initiated and created by the Musée National Picasso, the largest and most significant repository of the artist’s work in the world. Since 2008 works have travelled to cities including Madrid, Tokyo, Moscow, Seattle and San Francisco. This unprecedented opportunity to bring this exhibition to Sydney is possible because the Musée is closed for renovations. The exhibition room by room From Spain to Paris: 1895–1905 The enchantments of Oceania and Africa: 1906–1909 Cubism, collage and constructions: 1910–1915 A return to classicism: 1916–1924 Brushes with surrealism: 1925–1935 Anxieties of love and war: 1936–1939 World War II to Korea: 1940–1951 The joy of life: 1952–1960 Last decades: 1961–1972 image found here The bathers The opportunity to see things up close rather than online and in books presents one with just how different one's preconceived image might be from the real work. This painting is tiny compared to how my mind saw it. I was shocked and delighted to finfd it to be such a small work. The collection of works on show was stunning. Far better than I was expecting. Why do I say this? enjoyed his work with the motif of the guitar - this looks to be an interesting book. The tedium of walking through a show with hoards of people can really put one off.... on this occasion staggered hourly viewing sessions made a difference. Even though E and I sat midway to muse and talk at length no-one moved us on... we simply took in the show at our own pace which made it quite wonderful experience. Ive not been able to find online images of the works I particularly enjoyed. All I can say is it was deeply satisfying to see so many works I'd not seen before. The Picasso Museum was closed in November when I managed to get to Paris briefly.... so this certainly made up for that disappointment. The acrobat Well I am setting off soon to take in some interesting places. Back soon. The sun's out after a grey old week... and I have a car today to get around easily!

Thirteen generations, 2006

For the past 2 weeks I've felt incredibly quiet and sought out considerable alone time, mostly in the studio... whilst also not writing, talking, emailing or working/communicating online much at the moment. It seems after a period of noisy, busy exterior activity there's a craving for the opposite to balance out again ... then gradually I am lured back to externals and so the cycle continues. A day spent at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens last Monday was relaxing .... led to many photos and some seedy finds! This was a flowering South African Tree. Ive been painting over these couple of weeks. I was so shocked to actually find time to focus on painting ... it'd seemed to be eluding me! Plus when I think about it painting usually does quieten me down and increase the desire to withdraw. There were the days of extreme tiredness as well that made me question if I was ill... even imagine all kinds of things wrong. All in all... this quiet, slow period felt dreadfully important. Much was being processed ... painting, work and life in general. Last friday evening I was exceptionally pleased to attend a lecture at QUT by UK based Barrister turned Eco-Law advocate Polly Higgins. You can read her website here or the website for Eradicating Ecocide. With Charles Eisenstein and Polly Higgins at Månefisken. Image from her Facebook Page Watch her TED talk here and go to the Facebook page here. About Ecocide is the missing fifth Crime Against Peace Mission Our mission is to stop the extensive damage to the environment and people’s lives by making Ecocide the fifth International Crime Against Peace. Company Overview In March 2010 international barrister and award winning author Polly Higgins proposed to the United Nations that Ecocide be made the fifth Crime Against Peace. There are currently four Crimes Against Peace: genocide, war crimes, crimes of aggression and crimes against humanity. Ecocide is the missing fifth crime – it is a crime against humanity, against current and future generations, and against all life on Earth Description Ecocide is the extensive damage to, destruction of or loss of ecosystem(s) of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been or will be severely diminished. Another image from her FB Page. She was an exceptionally fluid, easy-to-listen-to speaker. I had booked to attend weeks ahead and started wavering on the commitment last week. Feeling jaded and unwell enough to prompt a visit to the doctor midweek did I really want to hear about Ecocide I asked myself? For the past ten years Ecocide has been the lens through which I've looked at the planet all too frequently (even without that name for it)! Late night sleeplessness is occasionally brought on by worrying over the madness of being in a chronically under-financed Artistic vocation or some variation on that theme... but more often I'm kept awake wondering how we under-prepared, often head-in-the-sand humans will manage climate shifts that are and will escalate all kinds of critical issues. Conducting a project like Homage to the Seed makes me feel a lot better about waking up each day but it does not take away the waves of dread and horror that come with thinking about eco-systems breaking down and leading to ever more complex issues. Clearly no longer the "maybe" scenarios they once were. Its happening ... we already are where we don't want to be. So... the lecture on Ecocide. It was brilliant and it was tremendously uplifting. Not because of any hyped-up grand fantasies about the future but because here was a woman with the gravity and leadership of someone that Nelson Mandela might have been proud to shake hands with. Grace and inner strength in abundance... hers is a kind of vision that is so large it includes us all.... and it crosses over work many others are already doing... it just gives it a stronger name and direction. She was not, I might add, anti business or corporation ... but utterly convincing on changing laws to curtail and end environmental damage... clearly that calls to the big end of town to get with the program... but... via Legal mechanisms ... something tangible that can be argued and not pushed out of court. Her incredibly well-reasoned argument came without noise and fanfare. No heavily packaged tour... just a hardworking, well connected, global-hopping self-contained woman with a vision that happens to make a lot of sense. She is doggedly working with Nations, Organisations and individuals toward making an amendment to the Crimes against Peace to include the crime of Ecocide. From the Campaign Early on she lightly touched on one of the tough but unspoken things about this era concerning advocates who throw themselves into work to bring forward crucial new agendas in society... and the fact that whether such advocates are quiet souls or larger than life ... there can be a toll on the person who sees the change needed and comes to feels discouraged in the face of continued stuck-ness and ongoing Eco-destruction. She talked of the fact people can get to the point they give up.... even give up on life. Choose not to stay and watch further damage after having worked continuously for that very thing. It was an aside, a momentary one, but I appreciated this honesty. I personally was very pleased to hear this mentioned. I realised when asked at the Doctors what was the matter the other day I couldn't quite admit I felt heart-sick for the planet and tired of complacency, govt incompetence and civilisation marching on as if nothing was different. I'm overcome with anxiety from time to time, then I bounce back and get distracted in activity. I've been finding others similarly affected despite being very active campaigners and workers for change across all kinds of sectors. As we have discussed this is not because we are naturally gloom & doom types... but simply because it is a time where the global population and our way of living are not remotely sustainable with the status quo. And short term economic goals and projects simply speed up the worst case scenarios! Mostly I am just glad to do something useful and get on with it... feeling motivated to be working to offer something to children in particular. I see them inheriting our mess a bit like how someone might feel moving into a new home only to find its been left trashed and needing absolutely everything attended to, there's no money to do it... and energy is committed elsewhere... so how to get through? Only the scale of the problems we are handing down to our children are much larger and more complex than that. And yet we've not begun to accept there is a problem and work as a team to tackle it yet. Lately I've been somewhat torn trying to work out the best focus of my somewhat limited energy and resources. It's gotten to me temporarily ... an overwhelming sadness for the planet who's natural inheritance is valued way below its commodities and is being discarded over and over and over where it matters. I'll pick myself up again and keep on. It doesn't hurt to wail at the moon every now and then. Curiously I've also had many positive experiences of late. New friendships have formed and connections have been renewed with treasured long-term friends. Good teaching opportunities have come about or are being planned. Some exciting proposals have been floated... time will tell how they go. A new residency venture will happen soonish which I am truly excited about. Last month I broke into my rainy day/Noah's Arc fund (?!) and now have a newish car as the old one was no longer trust-worthy ... a smart, safe set of wheels to go on trips and enjoy. And some place to visit which are looking good! So back to the studio ... these works on paper have kicked off a series of paintings. Its slow, layered work that means adding and subtracting as I decide on compositional adjustments. You can see the work on paper in the foreground above ... and on the left of a new work on linen a large canvas that had been hidden away ... looks like I may have just found it a home with some lovely people who noticed it and asked after it! These works are all in progress... minor adjustments are best applied slowly and after deliberation at this point! These paints suit my mood.... a dry, dusty textural quality subdues the colour yet allows for a depth of hue I find pleasing. Below is virtually the same image put through a watercolour app... what this did was allow me to consider the composition and balance in a curiously simple way. It also highlights for me something about this palette... the colours are called Australian Grey, Burnt Umber, Deep Ultra and Blue haze... and in the previous post I talked about the company Art Spectrum which is based in Melbourne and developed their colours specifically to evoke truer colours that one sees in this country.... although it must be said ... it's a large and extremely geographically varied continent. I always found the colours of the Subtropics where I've grown up (and now live again) so utterly different from the geographically inspired palette of say Melbourne where I spent 12 years and found the straw coloured landscape of summer so alien! I'm making slow progress on about 5 paintings at the moment... working on each at length and then leaving off to think for awhile, then returning to finesse or change something if needs be. This one needs a better photo... hard to get accurate colours. I'm pleased to be working with a strong, engaging theme ... the whole series feels shaped by this earlier work from January which was titled "Seed Collector's Notations". I've been able to bring a fresh element to something more perennial in my art practice! I feel as though 'Seed Collector's Notations' is actually the name of a whole series of works... rather than a single painting. It essentially ties many important threads together. I am enjoying a welcome sense of integration in the studio at the moment ... its as if the visual ideas are marrying with the research I've pursued and the impetus behind the project Homage to the Seed. A quiet but welcome feeling ... I'm not about to shake things up... and that feels good for one who found last year's domestic and work-life changes impossibly upsetting, drawn out and tedious! I've been thinking about these blues tinged with red... they lean towards purple and mauve ... and the combination with a warm, red toned brown means when mixed with the warm grey or in any combination there are so many hues that bring back to mind childhood reveries under Jacaranda Trees in a country town in NSW obsessed enough with them to hold an annual festival in it honour. In Festival season when Jacaranda trees were at their best, blooming profusely, laying a glorious mauve carpet under their spreading boughs, all one could see were the mauve blooms and brown limbs of the tree. And then there is the faded memory of all the brown seed pods I picked up... curiously observing their structure, absorbing the colours and textures all those years ago of pods, blossoms and bark textures. Stormy skies were by far the most dramatic back-drop to the mauve blooms. And when mature trees were intensely in full-bloom there were few green leaves to distract from this purple brown palette. More recently I've thought more about this annual festival held to celebrate an introduced species. In the same way I've thought about my twice weekly piano lessons with the Sisters of Mercy at the convent by the river, from the time I was 8 through to 16 when I changed Piano teachers. I'd wondered over those years why European composers were almost always the only ones we studied. Indigenous culture... that was a topic banished from halls of education I moved through. I didn't study Geography nor Science to any useful degree. History... well that was about Europe! Only when I became a teacher did indigenous topics finally surface out of a pressing need in me to explore and discuss what had been so kept down and why! The silence on Indigenous concerns of any kind remained stuck or behind closed door in the early 80's when I first taught in schools. I taught in cities and country towns ... it was the same everywhere at the time... suppressing indigenous culture made NO sense whatsoever in the presence of these proud yet massively shamed people.... even more so when teaching in small towns with a population of indigenous people that extended way back int time. It continued on and on... I left teaching in 1986 disgusted and glad to be in London for a couple of years. Where I was circulating in that city, intellectual hothouse of cultures and ideas that it was after the tiny country NSW town I'd lived in previously... these critical discussions were not at all suppressed in 80's London ... far from it! Perhaps in painting these particular works, where the associations of the colours run so deep, I am sifting through essential matters. It's a timely re-engagement with how it came to be that so many of us have come to this continent to live yet take so long to engage at all with what was here and is here now that is enduring. Some have remarked at the aboriginal sensibility of these works. For this reason I have placed images of this painting here. This is the structural foundation for many a work I have painted over decades now. Geometry and architecture I've always loved and have an affinity for... not all but many works I do on canvas have some architectural structuring in them. Incidently I spent several years from age 13 drawing house-plans and imagining I would be an architect when I grew up. Design work I did was often highly structured. But never was I afraid of the organic line... nor drawn to hard-edges or tightness. I liked space... negative space and ambiguity. My work between 2001 and 2007 was often a curious juxtaposition between organic, fluid layers and architecturally complex structures. And then there were to forms and the symbols that would never disappear ... they'd keep coming back and felt often at odds with what else was going on. Its been a lot of work to integrate these profoundly diverse compelling elements in my art-making. When recently asked to spend a whole day working with a group of Year 12 Students on Expressive Mark-making I dug into that rich stream in my work to find inspiration, examples, exercises and direction for a long days work with highly energised students. When teaching Adult courses in Melbourne in the 90's I gave emphasis to this expressive way of working and stressed at great length that one has a certain signature or expressive manner or way of working to uncover that will resonate and feel stronger and more authentic... and for this reason not everyone will find their way through life drawing and classical training. Nor do we all look in the same direction for what we require to be able to grow and mature as an artist. I found myself teaching what I was trying to learn for myself ... as one very often does. Its took me years to work out what was essentially true for myself as it was often contradictory and that is why it perhaps took longer and demanded that I counter oppositional compulsions and approaches until there was a gradual inner and outer dialogue I could grow into that really made sense. Two years ago asked to lecture on "The Senses in my Art Practice" I was again reminded of another rich seam of exploration I've lived by over years... also taught in my Melbourne courses on Journal Practice and Colour Exploration. Both these courses relied heavily on exploring the senses from all directions. I often get restless with teaching material and tend to want to create whole new programs when actually a focus on the senses is an incredibly rich and important departure point for creating... and in contemporary life begs us to take notice on a highly critical level re what we are making and why. The senses can really bring us to a much clearer appreciation for things... far more multi-dimenional experiencing and noticing. Attuning oneself to a simple leaf can be through sight, touch, sound, smell and taste. And sight is not just one thing either... to really notice the colours brings an artfulness to the effort... one aspect of seeing amongst many! Its easy to march into a store and buy endless colours with an assumption that anything goes. Consumer society allows us to pick and choose yet remain very, very undeveloped in our choices because fashion can dictate and take away any need to fathom, learn, respond, observe, become familiar with anything that exists in the world in its pure form. It can be quite wonderful to find inspiration in other artists and creatives, and hopefully over the years the artists will change even if some remain perennial favourites. Yet in taking on colours, mediums or approaches of others, whilst fine up to a point, at the end of the day stalls something important in us. More seems to be required of us than replicating things we love when pursuing art with some diligence and devotion. Which is an interesting moment to mention painter Paul Klee who was, as a young student a great inspiration to me... an again in several key stages over the years he would be so again. He has written powerfully about seeds and was greatly influenced by plant life and gardens but it was through musical references that I was drawn to him years ago.... and the structural aspect of his work... structure that would collapse and dissolve and go somewhere else. Reading how he studied music very seriously for years and might easily have remained in that profession interested me ... and that he did commit to painting at a certain key point. I felt this musicality in his work ... immersion in European traditions... but then there was a divergence at some point ... time spent in North Africa must have shaped not only his visual language but also other aspects of his sensibility. In 2006 I met a mature female artist from NZ who discussed at length why she felt revisiting Klee was such a vital wellspring for anyone coming to terms with abstraction ... or investigating it all over again. She felt he was one of the most crucially important artists for abstract painters to look deeply into and we discussed how many incredibly different abstract painters from around the globe still pay tribute to Klee as a foundation in their thinking about painting. Often painters who one doesn't easily equate an influence in. Why I revisited Klee at key times was because somehow the say he structured many of his works really resonated. However as I was seriously developing my art practice I was at pains not to copy or derive direction from his work. That's the challenge of being influenced. You work with certain devices and approaches and you push off hopefully in search of a more resonant story or way. There have been many, many influences in actual fact. Another strong influence is Hundertwasser. Not so much visually... although I did rather like his instinctive way of handling paint and composition... and his exuberance in taking that and putting it on buildings and the rest! However ... it was his ideas... the obsessive way he stayed with developing themes that run across all his preoccupations and mediums he worked with. I applaud the way he named the need for eco-warriors for the future. He got the message out and it was never lost or muddied or irrelevant even it some would find him far too quirky and offbeat. He won people's hearts and changed things ... affected how people thought. And he kept painting. I also loved his manifesto about straight lines making us crazy... our cities being far too hard-edged and isolating. Permaculture looks familiar with him coming before putting trees and plants everywhere and making irregular lines, spirals and symbols people could interact with in the built environment. The idea of notations had obsessed me with the above work. The desire was there to layer on transparent pages of notations... counting seeds, marks and symbols... layer upon layer as if notations across time. Seed collector's through time keeping count! In discussing the layers of ideas, influences and indeed decades of reckoning with things that I've moved through and around ... perhaps the reading of something 'aboriginal' in my work won't be touched on too lightly or carelessly after reading this. The recent works aren't derivative of or originating from the influence of work by indigenous painters. In saying that I have to say I'm exceptionally interested in the art of a great many indigenous artists and have been deeply nourished by range of their vision and the rich cultural legacy they share with newcomers to this country like myself. It would be hard to live in Australia and not be impacted, influenced and touched by the enormous wealth of Indigenous painting. But I wonder if what influences me more than their immensely beautiful visual languages is the message that comes through to me of there being other ways to live and to see the world. The (perhaps watered-down) European vision I was born into has worked brilliantly for some aspects of living and disastrously for other dimensions of life. My work on seeds and plants from this continent has given me an quiet entry point into indigenous culture ... its been slow, gentle and deeply revealing. Not been a fact-finding mission instead its a slow, quiet thing of getting to see and understand bit by bit how life is shaped from responding to being in an utterly unique bio-region. Understanding the complexity and diversity of bio-regions, how small and unique they can be and still right next to quite different environs is a consciousness that I seem to have understood so much more through seeds. In the same way introduced species overshadowed my childhood appreciation of the place I grew up in... introduced cultural lifestyles completely overshadowed a way of knowing and appreciating local indigenous inhabitants. The seed pods I used to pick up on childhood walks... some of the rainforest species I like to draw and learn about now ... they were perhaps the one thing that kept a genuine link alive to the stories not told, the histories not learnt and the landscape not truly engaged with. I was quite competent at playing Bach and Debussy, did well enough in my study of Modern (German) History but was frightfully unknowing of the place I grew up in. The work of the last two weeks is essentially a pared back version of the January work... colours, shapes, and markings are all pared back, allowing me to enter a more open space to ponder and refine something in this persistent visual language. from the 'Seed Collector's Notations' Series There is a push-pull thing that is so strong much of the time in my work... a tension between structure and organic, fluid, open, moving spaces. Tightness and looseness. Things coming forward and things receding. It takes quite a time for these paintings to fully resolve even though they can seem to be coming together at a certain point. Its a process of constantly adding and subtracting till a moment to cease arrives! I've spent little time blogging this year ... partly it's finding a new routine in a new home and studio set-up. Making headway with other aspects of work takes time too and there's planning and setting new goals. The desire for changing the way I engage online is also a factor. I had no immediate answers but the question that came with me into this new phase at SEED.ART.LAB centred on how to do being online differently. To date that simply means not keeping up with any old expectations I placed on myself. Maybe , hopefully, it might just work itself out without too much thought. I suspect that more than anything what has really changed is what I wish to bring to the online experience... I'd like to deepen content here to address this very particular time. I find myself far less able to keep up in a meaningful way with the panorama of wonderful people I've met online and I regret that. What I'm realising however is I really want to dig down into things and give shape to my own thinking more effectively and thoroughly at this time. This makes me less able to take things in... to absorb and respond. So... Why still post here? Well ... despite all the material in circulation out there... who knows... there's maybe still room for an honest, searching voice that is endeavouring to discuss both where I am heading, and where we are collectively heading, wanting to acknowledge human vulnerability and resilience, find strength in different possibilities for creating, connecting and see where that takes things. To read such a long blog post is a big ask. I certainly won't be expecting anyone to attempt that! Sending all my very best wishes! May you be well and find much to reward your days, x Sophie

SeedArtLab Its almost 10 years since I started this blog. Sadly its going on 2 years since I last posted here. I'm reluctant to close it down for the fact of its wonderful archive of stories on the Art and creativity of many from all around the world ... as well as posts that capture the slowly developing stories from my studio... and some speedy moments too. Late 2013 I relocated to a new Brisbane home with studio known as SeedArtLab ... in the early days it was quite pristine and so organised. Currently it's cluttered & busy with projects in various stages but with workshops starting soon a spring-clean will definitely be taking place. Ive enjoyed the first really big break in a decade since November when a trip to hospital forced a slow down for medical tests until it was clear what was occurring. Last year turning 60 it was curious how health matters did come a-begging for attention ... and others also around this same age were likewise sharing stories of dealing with changes in their lives. Glad to say nothing too harsh to make me put away my paintbrushes! In fact once I am in possession of a Sleep Machine & have adjusted to it, I've been told I'll regain energy & focus and be back on track in no time so I'm looking forward to that. When this blog got going I was terrified of the process of talking about my ideas and work where unknown people could see it. Its hard to believe how the world was then and how it is now. Too much time can be taken up online so its been quite a journey to work out what the purpose was for me. I started this blog around May 2009 when someone insisted it would be good for me and I finally relented and got started. At first I didnt put my own work up... that seemed wrong... who would look at it and why I remember thinking at the time. By the end of that year though I'd become quite accustomed to posting ... and enjoyed the conversations with a small community of bloggers I'd discovered. I didn't like selfies though so only very rarely did I include photos of myself and that hasn't changed. 2010 I began a year long residency at Mt Coot-tha Botanic Garden in Brisbane prompted by a discovery in the middle of 2009 of the Seed Lab at the BBG where I began volunteering in order to learn more about the work of this Seed Lab which was funded initially by the KEW MILLENNIUM SEEDBANK Partnership based in the UK. I applied to do a residency hoping to pursue The HOMAGE TO THE SEED PROJECT but assuming competition would be too steep and that would be that. Fortunately (for the part of me that keen enough to hope) that most unexpected phone call came in January 2010 inviting me to come & set up my Homage to the Seed project at Mt Coot-tha. With a quite minor awareness of Seeds in relation to the history of human life on the planet I had a great deal to learn. Science had not been a focus of my growing up years & even though in the 2000's I was considerably more fascinated by & open to learning about Science I knew I was starting at the beginning. So I read and conversed and researched and discovered throughout the year, trying to keep up with this new flow of information and all the duties and undertakings that came with the residency... to paint and engage with the public. Discoveries were being recorded in a visual journal and a brand new Homage to the Seed blog where links to websites of interest held a lot of reference material that proved highly useful. In 2007 I'd begun an MFA at Newcastle University in the Visual Arts Dept... at the same time I was working in schools and trying to keep up my painting practice in my home studio. Before the end of that year I was dealing with serious illness and a few months later packing up my home and moving to live with family in Brisbane. A strong desire to undertake a research project pushed me towards to MFA in Newcastle. Once settled in Brisbane I pondered picking up where I'd left off but in time gravitated to Seed collecting. Out of that questions arose which led to connections with all kinds of organisations & most fortuitously with the Seed Lab at the Botanic Gardens. I started another blog as well to document my studio archive. Sophie Munns Studio blog is now almost 10 years old ... the last post in 2017... but you will find most of the residencies and main events are recorded there over 6 or 7 years. Visiting the blogs you'll find images & stories in posts from the journey that followed Mt Coot-tha. Residencies can be found 2011 October-November UK Study trip and Millennium Seedbank Residency. 2012 May Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland Residency. 2012 October Cairns Botanic Gardens 2014 Plantbank. Australian Botanic Gardens, Mt Annan. NSW 2015 Plantbank. Australian Botanic Gardens, Mt Annan. NSW 2016 Plantbank. Australian Botanic Gardens, Mt Annan. NSW NB: From 2016 onwards most online posting has been done at either INSTAGRAM: Sophie Munns or FACEBOOK PAGE: Homage to the Seed. 2017 May The ISF ACADEMY Pokfulum, Hong Kong 2017 November Kellett British International School in Hong Kong 2018 Queensland Academies Creative Industries Kelvin Grove Urban Village, Brisbane In 2014 I did the first of 3 residencies at PLANTBANK in Sydney, Australia. The photos below come from my time at Plantbank. Seed Vault at PlantBank Microscopy room X-ray Seed images form the Microscopy Room Drawing from the collection at PlantBank 2016 PlantBank Exhibition Seed through an Artist's Lens. IMAGES FROM KELLETT BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL 2017 RESIDENCY STUDIO AT KELLET In the Atrium where a week was spent working with student on a 16 metre painting that was later hung in this space. Students working on a section of the 16 metre painting in the Kellett Atrium WORKSHOPS ARE ONGOING IN 2019 FLYER FROM 2017 2019 CALENDAR USING ARTWORK FORM A COMMISIONED WORK FROM 2018. IN THE STUDIO Here's to the tenth year of this blog!

Miroslava Rakovic.

Commenced may, 2009, brisbane, australia by visual artist|facilitator sophie munns. Homage to the seed Project launched 2010. Based at SeedArtLab in Brisbane Northside since 2014. Visit Website, IG + FB for updates.

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of the practice of sophie munns

This has been a hugely busy week plus Ive been a little tired after last week's scurry to the finish line of the IMB residency. Had a wo...

sophie munns: post on Human Marks workshop at Bunya Qld Australia with Canadian artist Dorothy Caldwell

Commenced may, 2009, brisbane, australia by visual artist|facilitator sophie munns. Homage to the seed Project launched 2010. Based at SeedArtLab in Brisbane Northside since 2014. Visit Website, IG + FB for updates.

“Latest ADDITION to ONLINE STORE: Rainforest totem LIMITED EDITION print by #sophiemunns http://t.co/a7j9wNscyB”

I just noticed my last post was mid April. Unheard of for me to take such a long time between posts here at this blog. I can't even remember April now. I left Brisbane April 24th driving the coast road to Sydney staying a few nights along the way. Sunday, April 27th I arrived at Plantbank, the brand new architecturally designed Seed Research Facility at the Australian Botanic Gardens, Mt Annan, south-west of Sydney, where I undertook a two week residency. The new facility houses all aspects of Seed Processing, Seed-banking, Plant Tissue Labs, Offices, workspaces, a Library and Teaching space. Outside is an extensive Nursery and the old Seedbank Facility. And then there are the hectares of the Botanic Gardens which would take ages to get to know. The location is still in part a rural area with suburban sprawl encroaching, and nearby Hume Hwy access takes one to Sydney which is an hour northeast of this Garden. Seed processing room. In the centre of the Plantbank building is a large lobby lined with displays and education panels. The room in the image above is the Seed Processing room where new collections are brought in to be sorted and documented before removing to other areas of the building for other processes and storage. The Seed Vault consists of several refrigerated rooms set at different temperatures below zero, catering to requirements seeds have for storage purposes. This image was taken in the large open workspace where staff desks are located.I found this to be a great place for the odd quiet conversation during the day, and getting to know people throughout the residency. The seedpods I accumulated at my desk each day started many an interesting exchange. Something I find so fascinating about working amidst staff like this is one learns a great deal about Plantbank's numerous projects and the stories, research and background of individuals. Seeing a project in all its aspects enables a depth of understanding that is unique. As questions arise one can find someone with a response. 'Callerya megasperma’ , seed pods collected at the Tweed Valley. Hearing about collecting trips is also instructive. So much is what is involved in Plant Conservation Science begins to make sense when you see the connection between the in-situ and ex-situ work, seeing what occurs in the Nursery, Gardens, Seedbank and on collecting trips and field work. All invaluable work, Plantbank offers various programs for communication with the public, guided tours and so on. De-mystifying the work to new audiences can be crucial given aspects of the work can be all too easily misunderstood. Much confusion exists around Plant Science due to lack of public awareness of processes like gene-banking. Its highly problematic when seed conservation work is lumped in with the worst case scenario of Corporate Seed politics and practices. Education is the only way through false assumptions. In light of this miss-mash of misinformation currently existing around Seeds it was gratifying to see the constant flow of visitors at Plantbank and the excellent level of public engagement and education offered. In the large open room lined with staff desks I set up a workspace across two seeks with excellent storage and benches where I seas able to place seeds I was collecting from around the place. I spent most evenings working back late... that way I could wander around in the morning taking photos in the garden or looking at various aspects of the work being carried out around the grounds. Two weeks was far too brief a time for getting as much done as I'd have liked. I tend to make too many plans and always have to rethink mid-way. For this reason photographs become crucial records... and all one to come back to a topic of interest later. My plan is to return later this year... that was decided quite early in my stay which took some pressure of the fact of only having two weeks to make the most of the experience. The images above are of Parachidendron pruinosem, a small seedpod collected at Bellingen which I found captivating. Above is Melaleuca globifera, a Western Australian species I took many images of and also drew. The tree was was a great discovery on a walk one afternoon. I found myself returning again and again to observe this curious form, the way it grew half-way along rather thin stick-like branches, and the little globe itself. Daphnandra johnsonii ... these fascinating seeds (above) took spectacular photos in the late afternoon sunlight ... capturing these shadows was most compelling. The work above is a long painting on linen that I worked on in ink and acrylic paint. Based on various plantbank inspirations ... like working with petrie dishes, seeds under the microscope etc. The Microscopy Room was another source of great inspiration. The Microscopy Room offered access to a Micro-imaging computer and an x-ray machine which I was able to use to produce extraordinary images, once I learned the basic processes. I will attempt to work with some of this imagery soon. This Parachidendron pruinosem pod was quite intriguing ... especially so under the X-ray machine. This species I must check the name of ... it led to some amazing images as well. The small seeds were contained in centre of the sepals... it looked rather like a flower! The structure was fascinating the more I enlarged it. The image below is quite pixilated but reveals details I found very interesting... the veins and circular cell-like detail. A native grass going outside at Plantbank caught my eye so I ran it through the x-ray machine. So much beauty in the forms and details. Fascination with the x-ray process grew the longer I played around with the possibilities. Its definitely something I'd like to work on further. Finding I could alter the appearance quite radically by shifting the size and tonal contrast of the subject it dawned on me what might be achieved... as well as the magic of what I was looking at. Since returning home I've been flat-out working on several projects at once. A deadline for the Biodiversity Conversation Plates below meant some late nights painting to be ready for the weekend just passed ... the Mayo Arts Festival being held at St Margaret's, Ascot. I had already put aside plates I'd previously painted for the show... but on return home from Plantbank I decided too explore and interpret some of the imagery from the residency on this plate series. I could be posting much more about the residency, from the 100's of photos taken, the amazing people I had the opportunity to work with and reflections since. Life is lived very intensely when on a brief residency. Everything is under the micro-scope so to speak. Every conversation is potential material for further research. I certainly worked long hours and came away feeling really rejuvenated even if a little exhausted as well. Coming home to a whole series of projects timetabled for the last few weeks I've been heavily involved in preparation and delivering material on seeds and diversity as an artist-in-residence in a local Brisbane school ... Kelvin Grove Secondary College. The '100 FUTURES program with yr 8 started on my return from Sydney, as did a Yr 12 program with Brisbane City Council + KGSC, and this week another Jumpstart program for Yr 6 and 7 student at KGSC kicks off. Between working on the Biodiversity Plates and these Intensive programs with schools I have been absolutely flat chat and am only just now beginning to catch up and reflect back on Plantbank, write blog posts and so on. If you go to my Facebook Page or to Instagram you can track the last month in images and posts there. I hope not to take such a long time between posts in future... but sometimes one has to get on tha wave and ride it ... and not lose the moment that is requiring 150% concentration. Best to all who pass by here, Sophie

LUMINOUS THE LANDSCAPES OF ELISABETH CUMMINgs Edge of the Simpson Desert 2011 On Friday I got to see a couple of shows...one by Australian artist Elizabeth Cummings and the other...well ....you'll see. from a SMH article Text from SMH article: Elisabeth Cummings is the subject of two exhibitions but the artist remains reluctant to talk about herself, writes Steve Meacham. Elisabeth Cummings apologises for taking her time opening the door. She's temporarily confined to a wheelchair in a friend's house in Balmain, recovering from a bone fusion operation on her right ankle, the result of dilapidating arthritis. Fortunately, her wrists aren't as badly affected, so she can wield a brush: ''They're not marvellous, but I can still paint,'' she says. At 77, Cummings was recently described by The Australian Women's Weekly as ''the Invisible Woman of Australian painting''. Even the media release for the grandest exhibition of her career (so far) - a survey of her work over the past 30 years at the S.H. Ervin Gallery titled Luminous: The Landscapes of Elisabeth Cummings - introduces her as ''one of Australia's visual art quiet achievers''. So, unless you are an artist yourself, an art critic (the Herald's John McDonald wrote in 1994 that her painting ''calmly restates the imperishable value of a fundamental visual intelligence''), or one of those astute collectors who have discovered her increasingly sought-after works over the past 20 years, you may not have heard of her. Read more by clicking on Text heading above! Pilbara read more here. Images from the artist's King St Gallery shows: The Shearer's Kitchen, Mt Murchison 2011 Post Prandial 2011 For images from her latest show at that Gallery click here.. To read about the show I just saw visit the National Trust website. I now think Today maybe the last day of that show... I was lucky my friend was so keen to go on friday. We also spent a few hours viewing this show, which depute being a blockbuster allowed us some intimate time with an artist we rarely see work of in Australia. From the NSW Art Gallery website: Picasso: masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris More than 150 important paintings, sculptures and drawings created by Pablo Picasso, which have come from the artist's personal collection. The Art Gallery of New South Wales will host the most significant exhibition of Picasso’s art ever held in Australia. More than 150 important paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings created by Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) have come from the artist’s personal collection – works he was determined never to relinquish. Picasso: masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris is the most ambitious exhibition ever undertaken by the Gallery. Jointly organised by Musée National Picasso, the Art Gallery of NSW and Art Exhibitions Australia (AEA), the exhibition is part of the Sydney International Arts Series, bringing the world’s outstanding exhibitions to Australia. The exhibition was conceived, curated and mounted by Anne Baldassari, general commissioner and president of the Musée National Picasso and one of the world’s leading experts on the artist’s work. The international tour was initiated and created by the Musée National Picasso, the largest and most significant repository of the artist’s work in the world. Since 2008 works have travelled to cities including Madrid, Tokyo, Moscow, Seattle and San Francisco. This unprecedented opportunity to bring this exhibition to Sydney is possible because the Musée is closed for renovations. The exhibition room by room From Spain to Paris: 1895–1905 The enchantments of Oceania and Africa: 1906–1909 Cubism, collage and constructions: 1910–1915 A return to classicism: 1916–1924 Brushes with surrealism: 1925–1935 Anxieties of love and war: 1936–1939 World War II to Korea: 1940–1951 The joy of life: 1952–1960 Last decades: 1961–1972 image found here The bathers The opportunity to see things up close rather than online and in books presents one with just how different one's preconceived image might be from the real work. This painting is tiny compared to how my mind saw it. I was shocked and delighted to finfd it to be such a small work. The collection of works on show was stunning. Far better than I was expecting. Why do I say this? enjoyed his work with the motif of the guitar - this looks to be an interesting book. The tedium of walking through a show with hoards of people can really put one off.... on this occasion staggered hourly viewing sessions made a difference. Even though E and I sat midway to muse and talk at length no-one moved us on... we simply took in the show at our own pace which made it quite wonderful experience. Ive not been able to find online images of the works I particularly enjoyed. All I can say is it was deeply satisfying to see so many works I'd not seen before. The Picasso Museum was closed in November when I managed to get to Paris briefly.... so this certainly made up for that disappointment. The acrobat Well I am setting off soon to take in some interesting places. Back soon. The sun's out after a grey old week... and I have a car today to get around easily!

Mirco Marchelli

When I was told about a 4 day workshop at Bunya last year I had not heard of the visiting Canadian artist who would be leading this workshop. I picked up the message from the host that it was a not-to-be-missed event and gladly paid a deposit then preceded to get distracted with things till the call out came this year and I found online links. Nothing however could have prepared me for the 4 days of teaching I have just experienced at the home and garden of gracious host Roz who brought the wonderful Dorothy Caldwell to Brisbane to present her 'Human Marks' workshop. I've assembled the following photos as a snapshot of the 4 days... but I will post more at the studio blog soon as I wish to link to Dorothy's work and also her friend from South Australia, India Flint, who was here as well and will be doing a workshop this week at Bunya plus a book talk at the Brisbane City Library on Friday evening at 5.30pm and a showing of her work next day at Bunya. The first day was filled with lively mark-making processes... some centred around the garden. I was delighted to meet with various one's Ive met online or in person before as well as a number of new faces. The large works above were done in the garden with brushes on long sticks... free gestural works. The one just above was by Tracy whom I took awhile to realise was a blogger I had been on contact with at Soewn Earth. I'd only known her as T from Tasmania...and this person at the workshop was Tracey from Western Australia... so I was seriously surprised to recognise her as T, find she had moved to WA and that of course I was already familiar with her wonderful work! Dorothy Caldwell I used this leaf for one of my tasks... loved the unusual shape. Stitching was a big feature of the workshop and one I loved given it is all too rare I get to use a needle and thread these days despite having grown up surrounded by fabrics and threads. making pages... tables full of book making materials afternoon on the third day... a quiet but contented lot! the first book I put together last day... pages ready for the next book. This is a collection of pages from a number of the group. Dorothy gave us presentations each day on the elements that make up her practice and the inspirations for our tasks. Work above by the inspiring Imbi Davidson whom I've written about before... it was great to catch up again... above is her process for assembling her book. I'll be sure to post on her upcoming exhibition in a couple of months time. I sat next to the inspiring Sandra... lover of all things textile, flamboyant, quirky etc good conversations flowed. Will be linking when S gets her blog up...! Note green sequins in her hand... looking forward to seeing much more from this talented woman! Small books that were our first effort so much inspiration from Dorothy and everyone in the group... 14 people in all! Kellie was so inspired by India's class some years back that she is now studying full time... this was her table above ...so much good stuff going on! below: pages from books... The last 6 images are from Imbi's book... I wrote this post here on a painterly session with Imbi last year! Dorothy Caldwell at the end of the 4 day workshop. Shall pop back in with more links as promised... If ever you get the opportunity for a workshop with Dorothy its an utterly unique opportunity for engaging in multi-dimensional thinking... I really loved that there was such depth in her approach... incredibly warm, human and encouraging yet stretching nevertheless to consider many fresh ways of working. Her capacity to offer input was so subtle and yet significant... much to think on indeed. I am sure many who also attended have been musing today on what came form this hugely enriching 4 days. I'm also extremely grateful to Roz and family for the gift of excellent hospitality and organisation.... and I;m ever so glad to take away many rich memories and conversations to cherish! Now back to painting Dna images for a few days... the fascinating thing was that I worked so much in black and white at the workshop... not unlike the graphic work of the previous week! Hope your week is wonderful... deadline here so its a busy time for sure! If I am not managing to visit you will know that I am madly painting for the 18th of May!

Black bean pod motif. Pod rhythm.

When I was told about a 4 day workshop at Bunya last year I had not heard of the visiting Canadian artist who would be lead...

... as you might know I have been so busy of late I put the 'gone fishing' sign on the door so to speak at my last post! Well yes...the fish are jumping... but not so much that I cant pop in here tonight and leave a quick hello. I found something I saved recently...and how ever did i track this I could not say... ... from Jules at Joyful Studio a little something to savour from Louise Bourgeois. "Art is a guarantee of sanity. That is the most important thing I have said." --Louise Bourgeois and from Ocean of mind: "A writer - and, I believe, generally all persons - must think that whatever happens to him or her is a resource. All things have been given to us for a purpose, and an artist must feel this more intensely. All that happens to us, including our humiliations, our misfortunes, our embarrassments, all is given to us as raw material, as clay, so that we may shape our art." — Jorge Luis Borges • 29 October 2010 wishing everyone a lovely weekend and good creating! Sx

When I was told about a 4 day workshop at Bunya last year I had not heard of the visiting Canadian artist who would be lead...

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