Show Me The Treasure

Home Archive for 2013

at 16:37

Yule Tide Eco- Fire Place Insert

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Not being one for a trad tree, each year my yule tide task is to make something Christmas-esque. And what more evocative of home and hearth, than dancing flames ? Of course for us Southern Hemisphereans, where Xmas is bought to you by Sweat & Swelter, a hale fire ( NB that was not a conscious pun) is

at 20:31

Nothing Beats an Extra Pair of Hands at Christmas Time

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Nothing Beats an Extra Pair of Hands at Christmas Time Image

Eight-feet Pete's Great Aunt Lou-Ella (more properly known as Mrs Woo) finds, while she is not run off her feet at Christmas, having like Pete eight of them to share the load, that she often feels short handed, and so has adapted this slightly unwired kitchen whisk to a perfect state of handiness. Exactly what might be done

at 22:25

Lime Spiders for Summer ?

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Three spikes of spiderish blooms, speckled, elongate tepals, dark green raised spots on green, a labellum with the same spots on white.The set seem out of season and so, something of a triumph. One frond was lost to possum pranks, while the whole plant gives lie to the oft-heard axiom that orchids like to be pot bound to

at 20:54

Retro Gate

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Watergate has a lot to answer for, as soon as wrote 'Retro Gate' that once was a word 'gate' becomes a suffix for underhand spooks and phone taps. Unlike this MBC Gate, phone tapping and other assorted forms of eaves dropping, sadly, never goes out of fashion. What happened to good manners? Perhaps it still exists in some

at 15:54

X to the n

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Carol Jenkins's second collection of poetry Xn is now out, Woo Hoo! Xn might be the shortest poem possible between two letters, a mathematical metaphor for poetry, shorthand for a process that takes something specific and transforms it into something more intensely itself. Jenkins’ second collection begins pre-big bang, and proceeds, democratically investigating life. Is she mining the

at 08:45

Freesias Concentrating

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Leaving aside chrysanthemums and other members of the compisatae family that go from fresh directly to stinky swamp water, there is a point when a vase of flowers which having been sinking past their prime turn start to wither gracefully, roses become crepey, take on a blown beauty, and where these freesias have dried to glassine crisp petals

at 18:48

Raining Jacarandahs

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In the list of flowers of longevity the jacaranda falls to the bottom, but oh what a fall. As part of the Match Box Project I made this small scene with one blossom in mid-air - well, really swinging on its trapeze of Silko. I made five flowers, one for this box and four to give away as

at 20:58

Floriad's Ferris Wheel Iconographic Shadow

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Floriad's Ferris Wheel Iconographic Shadow Image

Ferris, parts patterned on a central spindle, shadow nearly not exaggerated by the five o'clock light, proves to be made of sterner stuff than the tulips, a mercy since S and I trusted ourselves to rise above it all in a gondola. Ferris, parts patterned on a central spindle, shadow nearly not exaggerated by the five o'clock light,

at 19:56

Pitched perfectly, an NAB ATM does Dorothy a deal.

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Pitched perfectly, an NAB ATM does Dorothy a deal. Image

At first sight, I wondered was this clever marketing? Feeling, yes I know it's close to felling, but I felt nearly like a thief stealing this photograph of the NAB ATM in Mosman, its glossy read booth perfectly pitched to flatten a western witch. What was this? Strangely most people just ignored it, well after all Toto it's

at 07:40

Holography for Beginners

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In an odd reflective moment the laser surface of this CD becomes, well, three-D. The charming cone that levitates off the regular reflected image makes one wonder, does it have an equivalence hovering unseen above the CD? Perhaps it's only trace is that sharp line of light. In an odd reflective moment the laser surface of this CD

at 10:17

Consolidated Shadows in Black and White

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Consolidated Shadows in Black and White Image

Perhaps in a presentiment of what will happen to the clothes these forms once wore, this black and white collection loiter late afternoon, post market, like consolidated shadows. The calico covered form in front, without the anatomical chutzpah of its companions, suggests that elegance tells less. Perhaps in a presentiment of what will happen to the clothes these

at 17:15

The Orchid Stream Steams Ahead

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In my imaginary orchid competiition the 2013 winner might be this denbrob with its elegantly elongated petals, that scissor the morning light into a maze of hatchings, or is it that they cross-hatch light amazingly? And if you glossed over the difference in some hypothetical translation would the meaning be changed in some important non-linguistic way. In any

at 21:35

In Gratiation -A Smiling Art

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Like a cross between a folding screen and two lost smiles flanked by hole-iness this exemplar of elegance is from my friend S's zesty collection of graters. Holding the possibilities of cheese partitioned into two or three variations, nutmeg and lemon rind this grin and bare it grater, is not something to mince words with. Like a cross

at 08:35

A Rose is A Real

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An invite to anagram, or riff, this sign might be a little iambic, that begs for Hired Rose Leers, or is a Rose Real or Real Fire for Hire ? There is something not quite formal in this four by three layout. Does it feel like hell fire or rose by an up and down reading? This attraction

at 08:53

The Hot Seat or Don't Look Now

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This opportunity to combust not ones own goose but ones derrier seems to be an offer that most would decline. Perhaps it might appeal to those wanting to loose a few inches without the cost of surgical procedures? The hot seat indeed, but perhaps I've read that 'c' too literally and it also means c as in 'see'

at 08:52

Cloisonne Sky

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The coral trees, Erythrina, early August Sunday morming divide a section of cold wind swept sky into cloissones, the tips just breaking into flower, pivot points of season, the next week red brackets of a preemptive spring. The coral trees, Erythrina, early August Sunday morming divide a section of cold wind swept sky into cloissones, the tips just

at 21:39

Winter Windfall, doubling up Dendrob Points

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Winter Windfall, doubling up Dendrob Points Image

When everything else is twigs and sticks, bare branches or plain leaves, the orchids are going speccy with lovely spikes loaded with tepals, petals and labellum, mocking the insect world, or perhaps colluding in a cabaret of insectival innuendo. When everything else is twigs and sticks, bare branches or plain leaves, the orchids are going speccy with lovely

at 08:27

Hoola Tree - Annandale Goes Hawaian

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Hoola Tree - Annandale Goes Hawaian Image

There is no skirting the issue, this paperbark just off Annandale Street has been hoola-ised. That this tree shimmies is a certain thing, a kind of dance to the music of grass, an every little breeze seems to reveal the tree's knees, a Hopkinian sussuration, a benign and positive form of hooliganism. Will councils create dress codes for

at 08:45

I'm Being Followed By a Snow Shadow

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I'm Being Followed By a Snow Shadow Image

LIke an odd and hectic electric pole, or a bristling lateral tree, the shadow of the chairlift and its load of skies and skiers, lays down indigo, light navy, mid-tone cobalt, and so one gets to slide up and down the hill. LIke an odd and hectic electric pole, or a bristling lateral tree, the shadow of the

at 08:19

Idiosyncrasies of Phototaxis

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In a spike of Zygopetalums one has rotated in a kind of botanical raspberry to its fellow flowers. Is this a my error in positioning and aspect of the plant, where experience has shown the critical thing is to bring the plant in before possums devour the stems with their honeydew promise. In a spike of Zygopetalums one

at 08:04

Tree Bling Iridescence

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More iridescent than the eighties these beetles, coleoptera I guess as they look more beetle than bug were swarming out of one tree, across a picnic bench and onto another tree in a beachside Balmoral park last week. Each a ambulatory study of scarab-esque they appear to be either laying these eggs, or perhaps eating some thing else's.Or

at 08:28

Cloud Storage - The Plain Facts of Going, Going, Gone

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Cloud Storage - The Plain Facts of Going, Going, Gone Image

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at 12:21

Anti -Tea Device: The Kettle as a Dead End

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Anti -Tea Device: The Kettle as a Dead End Image

A week ago I made a cup of tea. It had the unmissable taint of formic acid, the pungent signature of the ant. Undrinkable of course. I suspected a stray ant in the teapot. Cut to yesterday afternoon, I heat the kettle for tepid water to make bread, and along with the 450ml of aqua out comes a

at 11:58

Single Flower Theory

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Camellias, easily bruised, difficult to arrange, ephemera in a flower. What's not to like? This one , gleaned on a late night walk, was well and truly over the fence, and it might have been a public service, to take it making one less slippery fallen flower underfoot on the morrow. Here it sits, a might be anemone,

at 12:59

Con-Chivances - An a Buddance

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Bought for soup, the bundle of yet to flower budding chives, thrives on its release, each head listening for the next move. Bought for soup, the bundle of yet to flower budding chives, thrives on its release, each head listening for the next move.

at 12:31

Enclave of Sea Glass, Driftwood and Crockery Shards

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Enclave of Sea Glass, Driftwood and Crockery Shards Image

Like a corner where old memories are washed, there is a tiny Sydney Harbour beach where the tide, the habour currents and the wind contrive to create a home for flotsam, a pantry of cracked crockery, crazed pottery, wave-turned, sea-polished wood and sand-smoothed sea glass. Someone, or someones, have salvaged and arranged the harbour's offerings into a

at 10:40

Churning the Sea of Milk - Angkor Watt's Marine Survey

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Churning the Sea of Milk - Angkor Watt's Marine Survey Image

One of the best creation myths, Angkor Watt's elegant frieze of asuras and devas churning the sea of milk might also double in as a survey of the marine life of the twelfth century commissioned by Khmer king Suryavarman I. The whole relief, a consummate drama of swish and pull, watched over by Amsara, underpinned by fish, runs

at 18:15

Beaufort Re-Scales with an Extra Strong Umbrella

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Beaufort Re-Scales with an Extra Strong Umbrella Image

Obviously there are great expectations for the paper mermaid kite that came with this advice and safety directions. The prospect that it might reach the same altitude as any plane is an exciting one. Though perhaps there plane envisaged is a paper plane, though this I doubt is something to be warned abut. Then the mermaid kite may

at 08:13

The Other Face of Luna Park -Sydney

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The Other Face of Luna Park -Sydney Image

The side of the famous front door smile of Luna Park in Sydney is elegantly exuberant art deco tower of geometrically intricated lights and plaster. Here the Chrysler-esque finials are just a a faint arc of lights,.And that garishly gorgeous grin ? It might be a world away. The side of the famous front door smile of Luna

at 18:26

One tomato, two tomatoes - virtuosities of flavour

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One tomato, two tomatoes - virtuosities of flavour Image

Another summer gone, and all that's left of the garden tomatoes are two sketches, neither of which would make one suspect how truly delicious these tomatoes were. I pick them just as they start to colour pink, getting in before the resident possums. The yield is maybe one or two tomatoes a day over summer, not much, but

at 21:44

Camus in Conte and Pencil

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Another sketch in the famous author series, taken from a photograph in the Little Black Book of Books.. Camus is perhaps someone to read in one's twenties, as I did, diligently consuming The Plague and A Happy Death, thinking of him as an ancient. Now I see he died at 46. Not, ahem, that old at all. The

at 08:33

The Brassica Plot Thickens

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As many of you will now be sadly all too aware of, Bart Brassica has gone AWOL, which Mavis Eggwhistle says stands for Absent With Out Leaving a Note. This leaves the Brassica Farm in a Predicament, most of the farm animals followed the literary tradition they know from Animal Farm and Charlotte's Webb, and set up a

at 21:57

Home on The Range - Bart's Search Party

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Home on The Range - Bart's Search Party Image

For quite some time now, Bart Brassica has been missing. At first it was thought he'd was perhaps sleeping off a tad too much fermented beet liquor in some shady corner, or was taking a rare holiday to the Annual Cabbage Festival and Sauerkraut Soiree held in Hooterville. But after seven weeks of complete invisibility all the local

at 17:36

Grennan Castle subsides into its pasturage.

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Grennan Castle subsides into its pasturage. Image

The road from Ballyduff to Thomastown in County Kilkenny, runs along the valley of the River Nore, past Grennan Castle , now a picturesque ruin, the roof top grass as lush as any meadow. The castle's proud position is undeterred by the loss of carved lintels and window arches by vandals, its moat a remote memory in the

at 12:41

Sixties Dandelion Yellow at Tanpopo

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Sixties Dandelion Yellow at Tanpopo Image

There was something about the way this young woman's hair framed her face, that reminded me of a a character in an Ishiguro novel, a kind of demure resoluteness. But perhaps this a bit of wistful retro-fitting, a kind of post-hoc intertextuality bought on by finishing Ishiguro's short story collection 'Nocturnes'. After being so smitten with 'Never Let

at 12:06

Owlish Viewpoint in the Blue Mountains

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Owlish Viewpoint in the Blue Mountains Image

Spheroidal weathering, water wear, torsions of time and place, have given this outcrop, just below the ridge before Leura Falls, this owlish face creating a wide-eyed observer of valley. Spheroidal weathering, water wear, torsions of time and place, have given this outcrop, just below the ridge before Leura Falls, this owli... Spheroidal weathering, water wear, torsions of time

at 08:29

A Metaphor for Analysis

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At first it seemed obvious which one of these two parties had it together, who was the counsel and who the counselled, but then the more I consider each position, the more ambiguous it becomes. At first it seemed obvious which one of these two parties had it together, who was the counsel and who the counselled, but

at 16:57

Two Motifs for Urban Loneliness

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Why does the railway line curving away in the distance to nothing read as lonely? Perhaps it's the vision paradoxical endpoint, you believe it keeps going but your eyes tell you something else. Another contestant in Cliches of Urban Loneliness game is the desultory street fire. The Hanoians are good at these, the one below giving off a

at 22:33

Built to Cast

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Pure treasure, candelabras that celebrate and create a shadow garden of birds, flickering in the candlelight through trees that oscillate mildly. Pure treasure, candelabras that celebrate and create a shadow garden of birds, flickering in the candlelight through trees that oscil...

at 08:25

A Chekovian Moment in Hanoi's Military Museum

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A Chekovian Moment in Hanoi's Military Museum Image

There is something eerily elegant about this French pistol, suspended as if floating in time, in the Military Museum in Hanoi. In one way it can be seen as a potted history lesson - a French 'pistole' captured by a Vietnamese man used to fight the Chinese and Japanese. And in fulfillment of Chekhov's principle, if you bring

at 06:59

Politic Reqest to Maintain Political Awareness in Hoi Anefuse

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Politic Reqest to Maintain Political Awareness in Hoi Anefuse Image

Travelling around Vietnam one is conscious that one's political opinions may not always be the best thing to shout out about but this polite note in a historic 'tube' house in Hoi An insists that we maintain our view. The arrows above it, just out of frame, broadmindedly offer both the left and the right as ways of