Birds Project 2007

"Conceived as a child's toys these small sculptures are made of found objects, from the beach at Apollo Bay Victoria".
link to birds project on my wesite

This project stayed dormant for a long time but it has re-surfaced again.

I went for a walk on a beach last week (March 2008) and found that the pieces of driftwood washed ashore were all looking like pieces to a puzzle which wanted to come together.
The result was about 20 birds made in one evenings work. It took a little longer to string them up in my studio and take photos on a text background.

The text is made up of names of extinct bird species.

Germaine Greer - Shakespeare's Wife

Last Night (10th of March) the Athenium theatre was filled with a crowd of mainly women, who were there to hear Germaine Greer talk about her new book "Shakespeare's Wife".
The ticket I received last week (cost $10), was a photocopy which could have been forged by anyone who had access to a photocopier. I would be curious to know how the organisers have been able to keep track of who would be allowed to attend the talk.

The talk however was worth the money. Greer was articulate and told the story of Ann Hathaway a woman who for years has been ignored by the academics who have written volumes on one of the greatest writers of the English language. In fact she said that "the wife of our greatest playwright, is often portrayed as a jealous nag who drove the bard out of her life and into adultery. Yet the sonnets, which are full of repentance, enduring affection, and tell a very different story"

Paul Auster and Siri at Readings

I'm not the type to go out of my way to be in a crowd of people.
But I did just that this evening and it was worth every painful standing moment.
I stood in the crowd at Readings bookshop to hear a conversation between one of my a favorite author's (Paul Auster) his wife (Siri) also an author, and critic Peter Craven.

I have read novels by Auster for the last 10 years. I never thought I would be standing in the crowd watching him talk about his work. He was relaxed and talked in a straight forward manner not forced or pretentious. His thoughts about chance, the aging human body, and contemporary American politics were insightful and funny. These two shots from my phone are not very clear but it's all I have.













Also at Readings was a wall of fame. Autographs from Authors who have been there.
Here are a few...