The Scenic Way Home - Leaving Australia for New Zealand

Having left Australia after living there for 6 months, it felt sad to know we are flying out of there not knowing when we will return.  Australia is great country,  one thing that really stood out to me was the quality of life.  It is a country that really gives its inhabitants a chance to enjoy their free time and get the most out of their surroundings.  People over there work to live, not the other way round and it is so refreshing to see that.  People young and old are out in the fresh air enjoying themselves even after the sun has gone down.  I will never forget one night after sunset, I was running along the beach path and a bell rung behind me and turning round a group of ladies rode past me on their bicycles. It was such a great sight that really did put a smile on my face :) Instead of sitting on the sofa watching t.v they were out with friends and keeping fit.

A run along the beach path, Gold Coast

Arriving in Christchurch yesterday, we were obviously, after the recent earthquake, not quite sure what to expect.  We did think about staying one night on the edge of the city but after driving around and seeing the damage which had affected even accommodation out of town we decided to start the long journey down to Queenstown.  After driving for 4 hours we finally stopped at our place of rest, Lake Tekapo.  The Lakeside Backpackers Lodge was our bed for the night and waking up the next morning we were greeted with glorious sunshine, blue skies and an incredible view of the lake.

Lake Tekapo

Setting off at 10am, we were well on our way to Queenstown and after a few stops including a traumatic bungy jump we were there before 5pm! Queenstown instantly WOWed us! Dropping down the hill with the town on view in front of us, it was beautiful to see.  There is such an optimistic feel to the town, positive activity is happening all around you at any time of the day and as the lights go down at night the wood fires are started and the delightful little drinking holes start to come alive.  Next stop...Wanaka :) 

By the lake in Queenstown

The Scenic Way Home - The Beginning

Arriving in Cairns at 11.30pm at night, I was expecting a cooler air but no it was unbelievably humid!! I have never felt humidity like that ever!  Waking up the next day and seeing our surroundings you could understand – it is so tropical up here. So much greenery, lush trees and lots of wildlife to go with it!!  Cairns is a beautiful place, obviously very focused on the Reef and the tourism associated with that but it does have a little charm of its own. 

Monday we went on the Great Barrier Reef...what a day!!! It was surreal swimming down there and a little nerve racking! I nearly drowned in my excitement of spotting a turtle!!

Lisa Cahill's glass piece

Visited Cairns Art Gallery the next day, which is housed in a beautiful Government building and with amazing air-conditioning!  I saw a glass exhibition that really opened my mind to glass work and showed me a really exciting side to it.  One piece by Lisa Cahill was a beautiful snowy scene inspired by her travels to Iceland.It was a beautiful piece and reminded me of my friend's work, Jo Bramley.  Her work uses different materials, such as paint but they both had this similarity of exploring these snowy untrodden landscapes.  Lisa Cahill creates a multi-layered piece using glass, like Jo, building up the image and it is also something I can relate to in my own working style.

Artwork by Jo Bramley

For the next couple of days we hired a car, giving us some freedom to explore.  Driving up to Kuranda on the first morning through the rich dense rainforest was a great drive and winding through those towering trees I couldn't help but think of Rosie Snell's work.  In anticipation of seeing the elusive railway or skytrain, I was reminded of her intricate landscapes and striking industrial machinery that she so carefully places within this.



Kuranda

Reaching Cape Tribulation later that day was an unforgettable drive.  Driving along the Captain Cook Highway was just incredible.  Being up in the north of Queensland really did feel like we had landed on a tropical island paradise.  The greenery, beautiful beaches, lush rainforest, endless encounters with nature is all so overwhelming - ahhh Australia :)



The start of our journey hasn't gone quite as planned but I think we have made the best out of the situation. Instead of taking a relocation car up to Cairns, after serious thought we are flying up to Cairns to get the most out of the next week. With a week forecast of rain, and an already precarious drive ahead of us we decided to remove the risk of not getting up to Cairns and head straight there. We hope that by having a few extra days up there we will get to see some parts we never thought we would reach, including Cape Tribulation and Kurunda.

Leaving the Gold Coast today left a heavy weight in my stomach and an ache in my heart but I think we are leaving at a good time as friends we have met are starting to head their seperate ways. As the summer months are behind us now hours available at work have dropped dramatically and Australia is an expensive place to be in without money coming in!!

Since moving away and not having my studio as a work space I have begun to view my work and the process of making it in a different way.  I love the organic nature of drawing, from observation and from memory and I enjoy using these sketches combined with another medium.  Making work that is so changeable and impermanent really excites me.

Found a new artist whose work I like today. Nicola Williams.  Came across her whilst on www.a-n.co.uk.

During my visit to Melbourne in January I took myself on a self-guided tour of the city and I came across a backstreet covered in graffiti, where earlier in the year there was an original piece by Banksy.  

I asked a complete stranger to take my photo and it was exhilarating jumping up into the air!! There are a couple of, what I assume, homages to Banksy's piece just above me in the photo which I think is great - the piece lives on!!

Have a look at 'Jumping In Art Museums' blog where you will find my photo and many others from all over the world.  It is a great blog, really puts a smile on your face.  Visiting art galleries is not something you usually photograph yourself doing and so I think it is a great idea, as it creates a memory of this normally unrecorded experience and also adds fun to it! :)  

 

Check out this article, it explains what happened to the Banksy piece!!

 http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/28/2884476.htm.