http://www.dickersongallery.com.au/artists/Blackstone/Blackstone%202008%20Online%20Gallery.htm

Cliff Reid,Wati Design, Acrylic on Linen 124 x 86 cm

BLACKSTONE ART

Papulankutja Artists

2a Waltham St Rrichmond VIC 3121

T: 03 9429 1569 F: 03 94299415

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  Exhibition dates 9 April - 4 May, 2008
  Opening night Wednesday 9 April, 6 - 8pm
  Gallery hours Tuesday - Saturday 11 - 6pm
  Sunday 12 - 5pm
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Jimmy Donegan, Pukara, acrylic on linen 71 x 101 कम

Andrew Mitchell, Walu, acrylic on canvas 76.8 x 101.6 cm

A hell of a weight off my shoulders!




Well at long last, the audit report came through and we were able to get the management report signed off and hold our AGM. The paperwork for OATSIS is completed and on it's way.

I trawled the community for attendees and enticed with a hot sausage breakfast. We have been pretty devastated with the many funerals and sorry camps, it has been a difficult few months. The sorry camp will move to Blackstone again after Easter and one of the Mitchell family, a man who has been ill for a long time and on dialysis in Alice Springs, has died and his funeral will be here soon.

It has been difficult to get the numbers for anything of late, even the trip to Warakurna for the recent Governance training only had two Blackstone ladies attend.

I was non the less delighted with the turn out for our AGM and the new executive committee appointed, some new hands went up, we have retained some experienced members and gained some new blood. A good result all round. Peter Shepherd our stalwart Governance Consultant convened the meeting, hence the timely reporting and shipping of the necessary paper work.

I faxed down the audit report and management letter to ICC Kalgoorlie, time will see what feed back we get from that. 19/03/08 Well it seems that I did not send the management letter, it seems I sent a letter with the wrong title. I sent an Auditor's comment listing the findings from the audit ... I should have sent an auditors management letter which listed the findings from the audit.

One more try .... had to have a go at getting this one up, my grandson busy at work at the Womad Stall! He turned out to be a good little salesman.



well if that worked I will try another one .....

One of the Womad visitors showing her little daughter how to pull the paper.





More visitor paper makers ... this activity was a great success!



Amy, my daughter joins the team for a well earned rest on the grass in the cooler night time air.




I guess you really had to be there!

Happy snaps

Getting ready for the big event.


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We are pretty happy with the way things are going!










Visitors have a go at making paper!

I am having trouble getting the pictures up for some reason, so this is as far as I can go. The workers are on the Ghan now, steaming their way to Alice Springs, from there they board the Centre Bush Bus and I will collect them from Uluru and bring them back to Blackstone. There will be some wonderful story telling for the weeks and days to come.

Focus for me now moves to our Melbourne Exhibition at Dickerson Gallery, when I can I will post the details from the inviation on the Blog. Michael Stittfold from Patjarr, Kayili Artists and Papulankutja will be holding a stall at the Melbourne Art Fair on the 18,19th and 20th April as well. So busy busy busy ...

40 c' in Adelaide today.

The team enjoy a break under the trees in Botanic Park.

A huge day yesterday, an exhausted and very hot group rest a little this morning at Keswick.

Jodie and Jacqui have headed in to set up and regroup after a big day. The ladies are resting in the aircon. preparing themselves for the busy night ahead. Vicki my sister-in-law will take them into Womad mid afternoon for the big finale to the event. Hopefully the heat will have dissipated a little and the ladies will not be melting with their paint over the work they are doing.

The Indigenous Community Volunteer guys will he off this afternoon after being a great help and hopefully getting some good pictures and stories for their magazine.

Amy, my daughter is headed back in with Harlan, my grandson, this afternoon. The worst heat of the day over, they will enjoy the last of womad and be ready to help get the tired workers home. Wow! what an event and who would ever have believed it would be soooooo hot.

Last night, the music show with Andrew Ford on ABC radio national, broadcast live from Womad, it was almost as good as being there. I will take the opportunity to stream this again.

Today I have my letter for the minister to finalize and my funding application for the outreach project art worker to complete.

I taped "The Great Race" yesterday, I am hoping to get some time to watch it, one of my favourites!

A big wind today, baby sitting two extra dogs, hoping the art centre troupie will return home, and getting ready for a giant week of governance training, traveling and the art centre AGM.



One of the chunky, funky pieces of jewellery made from hand moulded and hand painted spinifex pulp beads with local seeds. Each piece of jewellery is quite individual and they are proving to be a very successful addition to the craft activities for our enterprise.

Set up and ready to go!


Photos ..Nadia at the display and Jodie Lane manning the stall.














Photo top far right.
left to right...........Rona Reid, Melissa Donegan, Nadia Forbes and Janet Lane

At 1.00 am this morning, Jodie emailed me a short note....

"yep its been a bigg'n but a good'n, all's well, 1am and just got home with the two young girls, Amy (my daughter) brought the other two home earlier."

I think the stall looks great, Jodie and Jacqui had a big day getting it all ready. A lot of talking to do to get the ladies to attend the stall. So Many people, so much happening, very overwhelming for a group of four women from the Gibson Desert. All power to them, they are giving it their best shot.

A break of dawn call from my enthusiastic sister-in-law Vicki and Jodie was rudely awakened to yet another day. Vicki came to collect Jacqui to go to the Womad stall, some preparation needed for today's activity.

I spoke to Jodie while she was having coffee, contemplating getting the ladies to Botanic Park for another day. This is a big ask for Jodie and a HUGE ask for the ladies Melissa, Janet, Nadia and Rona. Still Amy tells me they loaded into my little red Toyota and headed off in timely fashion.

The interview on ABC local Radio brought a good collection of interested people to the stall last night. Hopefully the interest will continue. The Paper making set up is in place and Jodie had pulled and is pressing, to dry overnight, a good batch of paper, anyone going to the stall will see the the birth of the product through to the finishing touches. I know from past experience that people love to see this "whole of production" show. Those who want to pull paper will be able to arrange to do that with the mob also.

This is a great chance for the paper artists to engage with the outside world and to view first hand, the appreciation and value the public has for their wonderful product.

I am so happy that we managed to get them there.

Another quote from Jodie's mail this morning....

"The Black Armband" fantastic indigenous line up and the girls started to realize what a special place they were in."

Jodie sent up a photo of one of the display works. This is the first time we have put together a triptych, I think it came up rather well. We are playing with a wide range of methods in presentation, soooo many possibilities, still haven't scratched the surface.



A quick snap shot, still I think you will get the basic idea.

The adventure continues ........... to quote Barbara Budd "more as it happens".

The Paper Project ladies are currently in Adelaide setting up for Womad which opens on Friday. This is a very exciting event.

We have assistance from Indigenous Community Volunteers. The ICV supported an art worker (Jacqui from Margaret River) to assist Jodie, the paper project officer, while in Adelaide. The project has engendered considerable excitement from ICV, the regional manager is coming down to WOMAD Adelaide 2008 from Canberra with a journalist, they intend to do an article in their magazine and a photo journal for the Koori Mail.

This should be gorgeous because we have wonderful papulankutja miniatures and cards in Adelaide, Jacqui is working on the paper mache jewellery with the artists and they are making some stunning things. The Artists will be working at their craft for the weekend. This great experience for them an exposure for our product.

Participation in this project is quite widely considered an exciting activity. We are certainly thrilled to be at Womad Adelaide 2008.

Too bad our funding body, the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, our sector icc, does not consider it an exciting activity, too bad icc could not accommodate any assistance in getting this group to Adelaide. Too bad icc is so caught up with its big stick policy and not in to productive assistance in problem solving.

Lucky, I have been able to get some travel assistance through the CDEP program at Blackstone. Lucky, I have a house in Adelaide where the group can stay so there are minimal accommodation expenses. Lucky, I have a car in Adelaide for the artists to use, reducing cost and travel difficulties.

Too bad there will be no positive press for icc!