Very hard to concentrate today, another gorgeous Montsalvat day.  

Lots of people all around the barn for ceramics demonstrations - raku firing outdoors, a wood fired kiln in operation and a potters wheel in the gallery.  All associated with the wonderful ceramics exhibition in the Barn.

All we could do was  climb a tree

Our Wedding Tree is finished  - but this is all you're going to see unless you come to the Open Day on September 17th!

Needless to say its beautiful! From the distance it looks just like a ghost tree and as you get close the details reveal themselves bit by bit.  But as I said, you just have to see it in reality!

And dont think you'll get out easily

Eight sleeps to go - can we get everything finished?

These arriving "home too late to blog" habbits seem to be on the increase!  

Yesterday was heaps of fun (I think) standing on a stepping stool working up in the branches of the Wedding Tree.  Have to say a very big thank you to Kerrie Kaskaminidis for her donation of doylies.  Its enabled us to cover a very large amount of tree.  Two small branches to go and it will be done!.

No pics, too intent on getting finished before it got too cold and the light went!

In the morning - much more work on the peacock's fan.......

Now all the white bits are silver and the tiny shiny looking dots on the flowers are bling!

I also managed to drop a little tag in a pond with people all round and nobody noticed!  Today I will try grab a photo of that too!

Today another day and......maybe another tree!

Its always fun when another artist comes to visit.  In fact it can be riotous fun - like when Kerrie Kaskamanidis comes to vist.

I never imagined such things could be done with a granny blanket!

So our lesson for today - dont take life  too seriously ......

Its now nine sleeps til the 15th of September when Montsalvat has its Open Day and sadly that will complete our time there.  We have had such fun!

So, just to tantalise you, and to make sure you come to the Open Day, for the next nine sleeps   I'm only  going to show you close up snippets of what we get up to.  And that even includes the horse! 

Today as we prowled around looking for likely yarnbomb sites we heard the cry "Dont stand still you'll get yarnbombed" echoing around the garden.  We just love those gardeners.  Not only are they doing  amazing stuff to those gardens they are just such a great bunch of people with a great sense of fun.

We found our spot and started work on "The Wedding Tree" 

A day with a difference - I took the day off and went to see "Monet's Garden".  Its always inspiring to go to the NGV anyway and for once I took in only the blockbuster exhibition because I thought the mood would be lost if I looked at anything else.

So many paintings I hadnt seen before and a completely different aspect to the artist.  Started by looking close at brushstrokes then found myself an hour later going round and round at a distance - the picures looked so different from each angle and meant so very  much more at a distance.  What really got me in though was his attempts, and success, at capturing the mood and feel rather than the reality. Oh wow!

It inspired me to experiment once again with my photography.  Back in the dark ages when film was used and the negative had to be spot on  ago I was given  a national award for an impressionist portrait that earned my reputation as a taker of fuzzy pictures.

The trick was to stretch a piece of black stocking over the lens and use only very high speed film that was a minimum of six months out of date. This gave a soft grainy effect and the blacks became navy blue.  I've almost been able to replicate  it  on the computer - although its still a little too sharp

However Monet is not reduced in colour, just delicate at times, savage at others.  Also I was blown away by the fact that he allows so much white. 

 So here I go experimenting with the garden at Montsalvat. I am absolutely not trying to recreate Monet.  Who could?  I'm following the example of trying to get into the spirit, rather than the reality  - capture some of the romance, the feel of a timeless place with a perfumed garden.

This is the back of  The Residents Gallery

Could the back of any chookhouse be more romantic.

The romance of the painting tradition at Montsalvat - as I walked through the garden on a lovely day - there behind the trees was a painter.  Could there be a more  pleasing sight. 

So these are a few quick experiments  after my brain blowing experience this morning.  With time I hope I can develop a more sophisticated result - but that will have to wait until after Open Day the 15th of September.

 

Another night where I could only get on to the internet intermittently and soooooo slowly  - and I'm only 30 km from the GPO! So once again here is yesterday.......

I know I promised more horse story tonight - sorry folks, I got so sidetracked by the glorious weather and visitors and more that I completely forgot to photograph her.  She is looking amazing, you should see her twinkletoes.  However the good news is that I know she'll be even more amazing by the end of Thursday - just wait and see!

Today was another of those beautiful  days -and only  just  two weeks left at Montsalvat so I had to make the most of the surroundings and take my work outside. 

So I sat on the ground glueing my fan/peacock tail,  smelling the perfumed air, and listening to all the birds.

Spring is in the air for all the birds now.  Lots of squabbling and arguing over partners.  The geese are the funniest, noisest and most violent.  Lots of squawking, chasing and beating of wings.

Then comes the evning when its time for them to settle down and we get the usual parade past the door.

They start on the lawn behind the the old hay store which houses the guitar making school ..

.

As you can see they were on the move pretty fast.

So, it being evening its  time for us to head home to our own paddock.

We are spoilt at the moment - another sunny spring day.

  

Just near this fountain is the outdoor courtyard to  Montsalvat's Meeting Pool Restaurant - surrounded by a perfumed garden - jasmine, viburnam and sweet pittospurmum .  

After a  lunch yesterday I just had to celebrate by tagging the garden next to the front of the restaurant.

Yes folks, one minute from this post you will find great food and coffee!

Tomorrow- more in the ongoing story of "Max"

 I find that blogger just takes hours to work after about 10 at night so  if I'm just a bit late its just not going to work trying to get anything up til the morning.  So as I was  just a bit late last night and expecting to be just a little bit late tonight I've decided today shall be both Saturday and Sunday rolled into one.  

Montsalvat is gorgeous on a sunny day and yesterday being the first really beautiful  day for what feels like  ages   Margaret and I decided to forget  our projects indoors,  just have some fun and do a bit of tagging.  You'll recognise  two tags that were sitting in the studio  several posts ago.  

But first of all we made some pom poms......

Just love early blossom

Even the garden taps at Montsalvat are interesting

Then the  "tack room"  - just the most desirable  tool shed you could imagine

Such a beautiful day, two weddings, an opening and the grounds were full of visitors taking advantage of the beautiful weather made it very hard to leave again.