Necklace #21-somewhat nascent
Well, not so much an actual necklace as an idea for a necklace. We are still on the road and because of extremely tight weight restrictions I couldn't pack any polymer. Only my note book and camera. (I did however squeeze in a few kg of the Nepali ladies' jewellery just on the off chance I could get some markets en route. My inadequate wardrobe and polymer sacrifice was justified when I met the delightful and encouraging Louise who not only bought some jewellery for herself, but bought some to take to gallery owner friends near her home. Very generous and much appreciated. I am the world's absolute worst salesperson so I am grateful for people approaching me as me approaching them is terrifying to some extent! But I digress.)While I have travelled a lot in Nepal, to my shame I have travelled less in Australia. Seeing Kakadu a few years ago was profoundly transforming for me and made me rethink my identity as Australian. And gave me a revitalised appreciation of indigenous art. Then coming to Far North Queensland ( and I LOVE that they call it FNQ!!!! Remember the old Effin' G block in Dharan Istib and Ana?!) has been just as eye opening. I knew I'd love the colours and textures of the corals and fish at the Great Barrier Reef. Snorkelling was a great way to explore and a good opportunity to practice calming
breathing. Through a tube.What I had not anticipated so much was the wealth of inspiration in the rainforests. Obviously if I'd thought about it I would have but I didn't really have time to think much in advance and it took me by delighted surprise!Daintree is utterly amazing. Green, green, green, green. Soooo green. (Spot the desert dweller) Magnificent bird-sized buttlerflies, a profusion of incredibly varied leaves and vines, a cassowary in the wild (can you believe it? I was as excited as when I saw the red panda in the jungle in Nepal) and all of this tumbling luxuriantly into the magnificent coast line. I think this is the one part of the world where two World Heritage Areas meet- it is breathtaking.
And the fungi. OMAG the fungi. Mystifyingly, one member of my party (the other one) soon tired of the fungi related gasps and photo stops. It may have been because these, when combined with the Look at that texture stops and the Can you believe how varied the leaves are? stops our progress was WAY slower than anticipated. We shared the camera to the extent that I was going to give it to him when he wanted it but then we got a bit separated. Oh well. Price you pay.It goes without saying that the old red book got a good work out when I came back. Soooo many
little sketches and so many design challenges to address. (I shouldn't go so far as to say I envy my dear Nepali sisters for their Simmons Slicer but I do. Just a teensy bit. I could really use it in polymer fungi production I think!) I am seeing necklaces with fabulously layered and folded fungi inspired discs; and bracelets inspired by fig buttresses and sinuously twisting stay-awhile-vines (lawyer vines is the other name. How great is that? No offence)
Whether I can reinterpret these ideas into actual polymer is anyone's guess but you can bet your sweet bippy I'll be giving it a red hot go.And fortunately this week's mindfulness practice was THREE. Remembering to take three breaths mindfully. I say fortunately because it is a nice one to come up with a tile design for (see the last post to learn of my somewhat ambitious plan to symbolically tile these!) and also because three mindful breaths is as much as I can manage right now without images of fungi, butterflies, corals and leaves DISTRACTING me!