a creative adventure

Two days ago I was frantically running around my house in a panic. With only two hours until my city-bound train left, I had some serious packing to do for my exciting adventure ahead: a two-week Bundanon residency with four other artists working in various disciplines – writing, music/sound and visual arts. Over the last few months we’ve been developing a collaborative project, and these two weeks at Bundanon – Arthur Boyd’s property on the south coast of NSW – are an amazing opportunity to workshop, experiment and explore ways of working together.

While tempted to take all my favourite books and CDs – comforting means of inspiration, my “eco-conscious” self decided to limit possessions to what I could fit on my bicycle – environmental sustainability all the way! And so, with a bit of a wobble and a cheeky grin, I set off from my house with some changes of clothes, digital camera, laptop, a few books, paints, writing gear, a bunch of canvasses and sheer excitement that the next two weeks were going to be devoted solely to creativity and reflection… (In the end, I did decide to off load my canvasses and other super heavy things to the other artists: 22kms of frantic wobbling wasn’t really that enticing, especially up the hills towards Cambewarra!)

The beautiful property is situated alongside the Shoalhaven River in a wildlife reserve, which was the southern boundary for the Wodi Wodi people, whose territory extended north to Wollongong and the northern boundary for the Wandandian, whose territory went south to Burrill Lake. As I set out cycling from Bombaderry station, the scenery slowly changed from the hectic traffic of the princes highway, to farmland and then eventually into bushland. So many birds! Cycling to Bundanon was the perfect mode of transport. I felt the stresses of work and home quickly melting away and I easily found myself completely present in the moment. Being ambushed by three incredibly scary dogs, on two separate occasions, certainly helped this transition. They jumped out of the bush and barking incessantly, began to chase me up the hill! I think they were just as shocked as I was. I’m sure they’ve never seen a crazy womyn riding along the dirt track before! Boy, I’ve never cycled so fast in my life! Anyway when I actually arrived at Bundanon, I felt energised and refreshed, ready to take on the challenges that the two weeks will surely present…

I had the afternoon to myself, as the others weren’t to arrive until later that evening. I spent it tinkling on the baby grand piano in our cottage; practising yoga; soaking up the warm sunshine; sleeping; and reading…

After a leisurely breakfast (accompanied by the discovery that we have four bags of coffee and at least 10 bars of chocolate between us!), we spent today wandering around the property, soaking up the atmosphere and admiring its beauty; chatting about the directions we want to head with our project and eating lots of yummy food (I was on cooking duty today: a delicious eggplant, zucchini and tofu pasta and a vegan carrot and orange cake for desert!)

I’ve been quite stressed about participating in the project. So many risks… What if the two weeks don’t bare any fruits? What if my creative juices refuse to flow? What if I let the team down? I’ve decided to try and let go of any expectations of what we might achieve during this time. I’m viewing this residency as a time to simply explore and experiment. To let the creative artist in me play and have some fun! Yippee!!

And as I let go of these expectations and start to relax, ideas actually emerge and flutter around inside my head desperate to break out… A few things I might consider exploring:

Environmental Sustainability
This is such a HUGE aspect of my life. I’m becoming increasingly frustrated by the consumerist society in which we live. Science is telling us the consequences of our bad habits. Global warming is upon us and something needs to be done fast! People are slowly taking action, but society expectations (generally driven by the big bad economy) continue to demand that we aim for the age-old Australian dream – to get a well-paid job, to own a house, drive a fancy car, and have kids… Work, work work… until we blissfully retire and enjoy all the material possessions we’ve bought over the years of hard slogger. Life is so often reduced to working, consuming and dying… And boy, do we consume!

All that waste – particularly food – drives me nuts! My journey has taken me into the exciting world of dumpster diving and veganism. I’m an avid cyclist and public transport advocate. And I obsessively attempt to tread as lightly as possible on this earth: communal living, renewable energy, re-using, recycling, reducing…

So I’m keen to begin exploring some visual art techniques that reflect these values. Perhaps experimenting with some natural pigmentation, reusable canvasses, found objects. I’m particularly drawn to exploring skin as a canvass…

Community
The beauty of Bundanon isn’t just in the landscape. Part of the magic of this site, at least for me, is that a community of artists have worked and lived here and continue to do so. I’m so excited to be a part of that! I’m really interested in exploring this idea. From a writing perspective? A series of interviews with artists who have worked here? A radiophonic work? I’m particularly interested by the projects that have engaged directly with other communities in the area (local indigenous groups; at risk teenagers etc.). I’m fascinated by community and believe the development of community is vital. Positive action. Celebrating the goodness in people.

Sound Installation
I’ve always been fascinated by sound installation, particularly with the way it challenges the time element of music, forcing it – at times – into a timelessness existence. It would be really interesting to work with Serena/Rhi/Julian (all working with sound/music) to experiment with this art form. So perhaps potential for scultpture or photography… Also interested in exploring research on site-specific art in this regard…

Song Lyrics
Julian has an idea for a song cycle he wants to write and needs some lyrics. So perhaps a writing opportunity here for me?

Piano Collection
I’m also really psyched to check out the piano collection hidden in a shed in South Nowra. Apparently there are over 200 pianos sitting gathering dust – history just waiting for someone to unleash all her untold stories and tales…

It’s only the end of Day one and already I’m really energised for what lies ahead. Who knows where this will take us!! Oh, and if you're keen to keep up-to-date with our project: check out our blog over here...