Old Stories New Yarns Beaniefest

Yes it's that time of year again....... Beaniefest in Alice Springs !

and this year to honour the Theme for this year, I have attempted to tell two stories that play a big part in my life.

First the Rainbow Regions biggest extinct Volcanic Caldera of the southern hemisphere, with Mt Warning in it's centre.

Mt Warning is a Weather magnet !  It draws rain, clouds and rainbows to its fertile vibrant green flanks almost continually ! 

It has rained  so much over the past 4 years, since my journey in the bus decided that 12 years was long enough, and it was Time to be close to my genetic family, for some quality time. 

Mt Warning (viewed from the south on the hat, and from the north in the background), is always catching clouds on it's peak.

The second hat story is about The Rainbow Chai Tent, which I have been involved with for nearly all of it's  30 years of existence, from the early days at St Andrews Market, and Down To Earth's 'Confests'

 I may have to start making another hat like this just incase it sells and doesn't come home, as Benny Zable, the infamous painter of Rainbow Flags, and amazing banners, has declared he wants to paint a portrait of my brother Michael 'Wombat' Chai, wearing a Chai Tent Hat, and enter it in The Archibald !

I have never attempted to make something like this before, and I had many ideas of how it might finish up.  My 'fatigue' that has been 'plague-ing' me for the past 4 years, meant that I left my beanie making to the Very Last month this year !! and I found I ran out of time to add in all the detail, I thought I wanted to try and include.
'Tho in hindsight, less is better. It has a nice simple and clean, uncluttered feel to it , and I felt pleased with what I achieved. I do hope it does come home after the exhibition, as I had only a day to really admire it before it was gone.

Last years hat, won the Champion Elements - Earth, Fire, Air and Water, and was sold, so didn't come home to me ! Luckily I did get some lovely photos, but I miss that it is not part of my collection in our local Tweed Valley Artist's Co-op Gallery here in Tyalgum, Northern Rivers Rainbow Region, NSW, Australia.

Waterfall Way to Canberra

Driving down to Canberra for the 40th Anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Liffy and I decided to take the scenic route  via the Nymboidia valley as the best way to reach the inland highways and avoid the coastal highway. What a perfect time to leave the rainy and soon to be flooding Northern Rivers region.

 Ebor Falls were powering ! Soooo much water thundering over the two falls !

 And even images from the past showed themselves briefly for those with eyes.

35Degrees Centigrade and Rising

...well ... I am resting today !! .... it's over 36 degreesC  here, (97F) and I've only just bought the thermometer outside  and the mercury is rising ('twas 35 as I brought it from inside 2 minutes ago.........
'tis so hot I forgot what I went inside to get ......and just got the camera'/puter cable to start doing pix from saturday and yesterday ........
a while ago the breeze from the fan 6 feet away seemed to stop !! .... I think the air just got tooo thick for a tad .....?
37 already ..... it feels like it is over 40 ! I bet it is out in the sun ..... it'd have to be !!
Came home early from The Channon market yesterday  

as soon as cars could move thru the packing stallholders, and as the drummers and dancers were just getting going at The Chai Tent ........ where Amanda (Blossum) has garlanded everyone with Marigolds !(had to drive home in the hot westerly sun !! 'tho !


Our Art Cafe went Brilliantly and everyone was most impressed 
...... we gained an active new member who learnt to make Toasted Foccacias and has delegated herself 'publicity officer' !! hehe 






We'll be getting her to send an invitation to the CEO of DreamWorld,to our next ArtCafe,    He/she Flew down to Tyalgum in 3 Jet Helicopters for lunch at Flutterbies Cafe !!!  ....landing and taking off out the front of hall beside the Tyalgum Cricket match ! 'Twas all on in Tyalgum ! (our sleepy little village )
37.5 now ! and rising
Thought I post my chat comment from over in our DUST forum thread as 
seem to be writing in there than ever posting in here ...... just about to
'process' my recent photos  and then I'll maybe add them in here too 
it got to 38 and dropped back to 37 ...... 'tho I hopped into the cooling
overhead waterfall of my new outside/undercover shower several times as it
rose and fell
Put thermometer out into the dappled shade for a short while and just
checked it 41C.. (103F)

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