Back in Le Triadou!

The last 10 days have flown by in a flurry. Firstly a workshop on linocutting at  Open Drawer in Camberwell went ahead ( I had thought it would not) which meant packing everything up in the shed and covering everything with dust cloths two days earlier than I had thought. Then I had to say goodbyes to family and some friends as I am going to be away for some time,then a dyeing session up at my mothers- though I did not end up taking the cloth as it would not fit into my suitcase as I had to bring the European sentinelles back to Europe so they can be returned to their makers and also whatever books I could fit . I can tell you my suitcase weighed exactly 30 kg, and i won't tell you what my hand luggage weighed but I got away with it ( just). My flight left at 3.30 am from Melbourne but was delayed for an hour- and  I flew into Barcelona at  8.30 at night (24 hours later but because of time zones still on the same day) where my friend Margo Bimler very kindly picked me up and drove me to le Triadou, a 3.5 hour drive- so that I could at least talk with my friend Liwanag before she departed for the Phillipines very early in the morning- so we had a lot of catching up to do and also things to sort for my  time here as housesitter, so not much sleep that night. Needless to say my body clock has been a little haywire since and I am only now starting to feel vaguely adjusted- apart from it being cold!

So little work has been done , but I am settling in, and have arranged my desk and workspace- now to get some textile inks and some cloth dyed so I can really get going!

The dog, Nesta, and I have been taking our daily walk- she remembers exactly the route we used to walk in 2010 and the first morning we walked she nearly pulled out my arm in her excitement to  get to  the vineyard within the shadow of Pic st Loup. How different it looks in winter and the Nesta doesn't run as far as she used to, I guess she is approaching middle age and is taking things a little more demurely. But it's been lovely reacquainting myself with the territory that I grew to love so well in 2010.

Pic st Loup is very distinctive and stands out as you approach from the east side of Montpellier. My walk takes me directly in its direction before looping around and returning to the village.

The little stone shed that we always walked past is still there though it's roof has become more dilapidated, But this time I have taken the time to see what is inside- I am surprised I never did previously because I am a curious person at the best of times. It does not look like its been used for quite some time and so the patina of age has added charm.

The patched wooden door only leads to the stone wall behind which makes you wonder why was it  there at all? Perhaps the stone wall was added later. I know  we are in Herault but this landscape always reminds me of that marvelous tele movie Jean de Florette which was a great favourite of ours.I also found some treasure  which is a canister with a siff bottom- all rusted and worn . And then there is the little stone house- last time someone was working on it, but it seems abandoned now-it would be quite lovely to have  as little house...

And finally today I  did some linocutting. Because my body clock has been so awry I seem to be awake for several hours in the middle of the night ( and I am not normally an insomniac) so I have been drawing banksias in my journal ( i did bring one or two banksias with me and now I am wishing I had brought more). I wanted to create something softer for background over which to print the banksias and had not thought about the wonderful shapes the leaves have  and the lovely negative space they create. So I made a banksia leaf linocut inspired by the leaf shapes in the  La Perouse journals/botanical  drawings.

Unfortunate;y I can't print it as I don't have  printing inks here- will have to order some, but it's a start and I can't wait to see what the print looks like.

Next post I will put up a page of workshops I will be teaching her in le Triadou- there is studio space in which to work and even the possibility to stay if you were interested.

And last but not least if you cannot get to le Triadou I am teaching an on-line linocutting class starting 26 January 2016. Of course you can use such other materials as easy cut or  speed cut. The class runs for  8 weeks and costs $60AUS. If you are interested please email me

If you are interested in my book and you are  in Europe, I have books with me which can be posted. The cost of the book is 45 euros and package postage is about 8 euros, making a total of 53 euros. IN France I can be paid by cheque, but otherwise  Paypal is the easiest way to pay me which incurs a small fee. The book contains a dvd  with explanations of the techniques I have used, in French and English and also videos of how I work.