15th Annual Beaniefest @ Alice Springs

My 'Mother Earth with First Breath' hat has won the Champion Elements category for this years Beaniefest's theme In our Element : Earth Fire Air and Water

 It started off with the sky and the clouds...... and as I worked down I just had to finish it off as a newborn baby sized hat, as it just looked so cute at that size, I couldn't imagine spoiling it.


 It sat for a few months as I began a couple of 'volcano' hats to go beneath it.... but neither of them was going to work as they'd be hidden.

Finally with time getting shorter, I decided on a second sky hat with a central hole for the mother's hair to cascade like a waterfall, and attach the baby's 'First Breath' with a crochet Dragonfly Brooch, never having crocheted with wire before! Having created the first one I realised I'd need two more to secure the baby  Breath of Sky  hat ....( they were great fun to make )

 

Living in an extinct volcanic Caldera made me wish to include Mt Warning into my hat  .....so around the brim there are two active volcanos either side of Mt Warning and then two mountains of earthy rock to their sides.

I really love being involved in the AliceSprings Beaniefest, as it really stretches my creativity each year !

 

Stand in the Sand

 Nearly 3,000 people Stood Together In The Sand (STITS) on Byron Bay's Main Beach yesterday May 29th, followed an hour later with nearly 3,000 down at Austinmer Beach in the Illawarra to form the words "Stop Coal Seam Gas!".


I'm Standing with my Rainbow Sun Umbrella and two yellow Lock The Gate Triangles
The weather turned on another specky array for us like the 3,000 strong rally in Murwillumbah on 14th May, where we had a Rainbow Corona high in the Ice Crystal Cloud honour our presence below.


We had an amazing build up of tumultous mushrooming, towering clouds as we drove down from Tyalgum in a quite 'cool' morning, with rain predicted for sometime later.....

The Clouds held back, out over the Ocean allowing all to enjoy a glorious Northern Rivers autumn day ....and only came in over land for an afternoon/evening torrential downpour !! We were so lucky ! This morning it's grey and drippy wet again, out here in the hills

I didn't have my camera as the battery charger for it is dying, waiting for a 2nd hand DSLR to arrive in the post any day now .....(fingers crossed) ...so these are photos from the plane or helicopter and Michael Mc of NRG....the Northern Rivers Guardians.


And another from Ashley, who got the Byron STITS going after hearing about the Illarwarra one on Austinmer Beach near Woolongong.....

Circus Skills at The Channon Market

Circus Skills , originally uploaded by ArtNomadix.

Someone just added this pic to their favourites, on Flickr, and it reminded me of the weather back in early 2008....

Via Flickr:
Sorry photo no longer in my Flickr photostream due to their changes to pricing. Out on the oval, a new stall has set up, teaching circus skills to all those wanting to learn juggling and other skills.

It's been so wet since this was taken I'm not sure if they've been back ......or if they were nomadically 'travlin' thru..........

Oh bring on the 'Dry Winter' ...'rumoured' about today ......

Our last market day at The Channon ....was a beautiful exquisite autumn warm day just like this.........after near on 2 years of fairly constant rains every month, with sporadic dry & sunny 'glorious northern N SW' weather.
Today we had perfect sky weather down at Main Beach Byron Bay, for a 3,000 person Human Sign for Aerial Photos.......

An incredible Array of Mountainous Mushrooming clouds ...out to sea......Towering over the Land.......waiting for the Event to Enjoy The Sun, The Wind, The Water,
Those Clouds .....came in as we finished and later the heavens opened and cleansed us yet again

Beaniefest time again

Aaaah I have finally sent off my 12 hats for this years Alice Springs Beaniefest.
The theme is 'In our element - Earth, Air, Fire and Water'

I have had much fun creating my two exhibition competition hats which I will post pix of soon.

Just getting the 12 hats detailed and hung with their swing tags, their details written onto entry form and swing tag, took me most of the day, and then I had to drive 25 kms into town to get the box into the mail, for slow post.

I had weighed and priced the box the day before at my local PO and it was just over the 1kg, which meant it would be cubed and priced accordingly, we cut a bit more off the cardboard box, but it still had 50gms extra. Local PO worker said it'd be OK.

Today with the 5kg express bag  full with the above 10 hats sealed inside, I had to open the box and take out one competition hat and send it in a separate tough bag, as "It would be fraud" said the PO worker, ( in larger town), when I asked if she could just let it thru.  No you'd have to pay $28.74  (an extra $15.68 ) than the stamps I already had on it.
Buying an extra tough bag and postage came to $5.40

Yay they're off at last and on their way ! I won't be able to make it out there in person again this year,  :(  ......but,    maybe next year I'll get back out to the Amazing Alice Springs Beaniefest !

It is an incredible feast of Colour and Yarns

Flood Relief AppealShop

Being a member of DUST, the Down Under Street Team, I got involved in helping set up a online shop on Etsy, the Australian Disaster Flood Appeal Shop.


At first I just volunteered to make a shop banner and Avatar for the shop for Manda of 'City Kitten'  who has taken on the role of chief co-ordinator of the whole shop.




 I soon found myself quite busy helping out with the 'flood' of enquiries about how people could donate items from their shops of handmade or vintage shops.

So far over 226 shops have donated wonderful things for people to buy, with 100 of the money (less Etsy's  and Paypals fees), to go to The Queensland Premiers Disaster Relief Appeal

In 4 days the shop has had 310 sales, with a tally of US$3541.68 to date.

We have 256 still listed for sale, with more being listed daily by a small team of **Listing Fairies**.

Please support the shop, as it gives everyone a sense of being able to help those in need, by donating something personal that they have made, particularly those who can't afford to donate cash.

The shop has had Donations from the US, Slovenia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, France, Germany, Britain......

....a Land of Flooding Rains

This weeks devastating floods have affected so many people.

We hear about some of the loss but some people just accept the loss, and don't make too much of it.

Yesterday as we went about our normal market at Byron Bay serving Chai to the community,

 our dear friend Lewis, calmly replies to Liffy's question, "so how have things Been lately ?" with .......

"Oh I lost my house and 2 jeeps"

Someone rang him during the devastating flood of water that tore thru the Tabulum area, Lewis asked him "How's my place, can you see my place?"
"No says the friend,  it's just all water!"

Lewis, tells us that normally the creek is 150 metres below a cliff !  His house was torn off it's stumps, and "went turtle-ing down the creek", he jokes.

My mum Liffy, asks him, were you insured , ....what are you going to do... etc

Lewis smiles and says " Aaaaah...  I'll go and live in a cave "

This strong and proud man is  Uncle Lewis Walker
The Keeper of Bunjalung Country.

He is the last man to walk through the old song lines and story lines and corrobaree grounds and still doing it today.

He is a warrior who believes in the oneness of All Universal Spirit. He is teacher to those who are willing to learn about the pearly fruits that will heal those who thirst for healing upon the Sacred Land that we walk upon.

He recognizes and lives the truth that we all come from the spiritual enlightenment.

He is a wise storyteller, a cultural reclamation leader, a unifying force between separated peoples, a healer, lover of all beings.

Uncle Lewis teaches us to feel and think with our hearts about the inner sacredness contained within everything.

Uncle Lewis believes that the children and the elders are to be treasured, respected, learned from and taught to be what they really are shining like the morning star.
The First Light People!
He leads groups of people on walkabouts to discover the true wealth of this world, that which is given by the Creator.
If you are interested in having this kind of experience, please feel free to contact Sky at skyhemp.gmail.com

Lewis is an acclaimed artist, with large paintings selling for upwards of $5,000
Some of his Bunjalung Dreaming Drawings can be viewed here

Lewis spoke 13 languages by the age of 14, when he came out to the white world, and learnt to speak english.

We had a brief first meeting at the market yesterday, to begin organising, the recommencement of the annual dancing of the Rainbow Corroborree.

This corroborree, was meant to be Danced every year, it hasn't happened or many years.
Lewis first heard about it 30 years ago, and is determind for it to be Revived.

A small team will begin to organise 3 events in 2011, in preparation for a large Rainbow Corroborree in Central Australia in 2012
Julinbah Yowarl


Lewis's house was near Tabulam, which  is a rural village in the far north east of New South Wales, Australia, 800km from the state capital, Sydney. Tabulam is located on the Bruxner Highway (Highway 44) between Tenterfield and Casino and on the Clarence River.
Tabulam is a picturesque village and its position on the northern catchment of Australia's most voluminous river affords it geographical and environmental significance. According to the 2006 Census, there were 573 people living in Tabulam. Tabulam is locally administered by Kyogle Council.

Etymology

The name Tabulam is derived from Bundjalung Dahbalam..

History

Originally, Tabulam and the surrounding farm and bushland was inhabited by Bundjalung Aboriginals. The land was first settled by Europeans in 1839.