Mother's Day, Milestones, Marking: Morning Meditations in May

two views of Hiromi Tango's 'X chromasome', mainly textiles, found objects

 

Sally Smart's 'Artist's Dolls'

Judith Wright's 'Wake'

 I found time to drop into GOMA ten days ago, to see Contemporary Australia: Women, on until 22nd July, and QAG, for Modern Woman: Daughters and Lovers: Drawings from the Musee D'Orsay in Paris, until 24th June... images above - to get an idea of the scale of Hiromi's work, you can walk inside the fibre structure, its like a magical hollow tree, much better than Enid Blyton!

Mother's Day couscous

drawing tools

'finding a still centre': wax crayon and dyetex

One more week of the first semester to go: that is a huge milestone for me, both as a social work student and as an art therapy lecturer. Also, this blog is about to reach its three thousandth view, which is also huge, especially considering my neglect this month. 

Although I have all but abandoned my original blogging structure and commitment to self-scrutiny, I am feeling very motivated to continue, and I know its helping me to 'keep it real'. Morning meditations have been happening most days, and have extended to 25 minutes. The image above is an attempt to capture the feeling of inner stillness, despite the external panic and craziness. Mainly, its working.

Mother's Day last Sunday (my lovely sons made the couscous salad) was a nice in-breath before the most insane week this semester, mainly due to over-commitment and 'marking activities'*. So being on placement next semester could be almost like being on holiday, ha ha...we'll see. 

All assignments should be in within the next week or so, phew...

more later.

*sadly this is not about 'mark-making'!

Teen romance, mindless gang violence, underage sex, and youth suicide: What's not to love about 'Romeo and Juliet'?

Having started a year or two ago with Hamlet and King Lear, and now with the added incentive of being able to take advantage of student/youth-rate theatre tickets*, I am trying to take my sons to as many Shakespeare plays as possible while they still agree to come (one is in year 11, and one is a new English/ESL teacher, so it makes sense!). Last night it was Romeo and Juliet. Strangely, all the themes resonated exactly with my current assignment on young people and mental health issues.

'no shelter' - pastel drawing and watercolour

Its been a tough week - or should that be fortnight? (I am losing track of when I last posted, always a bad sign). The image above is in relation to one particularly difficult client situation, with the sense of hopelessness I am feeling about the possibility of change, and below is the detail, which in fact, turns it around to focus on the four of us (me and the client's family) standing under the (inadequate) umbrella during a very violent storm...

detail of 'no shelter'

Changing the colour electronically changed the mood somewhat - if only it were that easy in real life! 

This week I left my phone at work, lost my keys (found them later), missed a train, and left an assignment at home that I was supposed to bring to class. On Friday, my I-Phone blew a fuse when I tried to charge it, and it died, along with it four months of 365 Project photos, and all my phone contacts. Then I went to the gym with only one new orthotic to correct my posture/cure my plantar fasciitis (need one in each shoe or feels very lopsided) - so I did Body Pump with no orthotics and no insoles - very weird (you have to take out the insole to insert the orthotic). 

'enough is enough' - pastel and watercolour

I did this (above) in class with my art therapy students, looking at cognitive approaches, and thinking about Affluenza, which I have been reading this week. Its about having enough, which according to the authors, is never enough...but it was written before the GFC.

So, in  a week in which I 'had to buy' a new phone and shoes to fit my new orthotics, I have been reading about overconsumption. 

 

'on Goodwill Bridge'

However, there is a happier ending. Turns out that buying the phone was relatively easy, and I didn't have to wait for 25 minutes to be served, as I didn't go to the Telstra shop. The sales assistant was a very personable engineering student (I know!) who even gave movie recommendations when I told him I was a social work student. And the phone was 'free'!* 

Actually, I have to pay another $10 a month, but no upfront fees, and it includes more calls than I will ever need to make. I am sounding like an ad, argghh. And speaking of Urgghh boots. Allelujah. Ugg boots accept orthotics! The next few months are suddenly looking much brighter. 

And cycling was fabulous today, in the bright sunshine, chilly, but made the coffee on the bridge that much more wonderful. May is a beautiful month in Brisbane. Now if I can just get my assignments done by the end of the month...

more later.

Ugg boots accept orthotics!

*This bizarre logic derived from the 'save by spending' philosophy outlined in Affluenza.

Who can it be now, caught in the ghost net...?

'not sinking, floating': water soluble pastels

Those of you who like me, listen to Radio National whilst driving to work, may have picked up on the conflation of two items in the news today, both of them very culturally specific, referenced in the title of this post. 

Firstly, the death yesterday of Greg Ham, 58, flute and saxophone player in Men at Work, that 'iconic' (or possibly  'ironic') 1980's band who as well as 'Who can it be now?' which inevitably reminds me of Julia Zemiro on Rock Kwiz, also sang the classic Aussie anthem: 'I come from a land down under' with the video that always looked way too colourful and cute, with references to Kombis and vegemite sandwiches: definitely not to be taken too seriously. But that was a long time ago, and I lived in another country...

The drawing above is more about studying, and the way that things can seem simple, but suddenly get complicated. I have been confronted with a couple of reminders of past events this week, which has been a bit uncomfortable. In one case, I met someone whom I had met fourteen years before, in very different circumstances. Brisbane is a very small world.

 

ducks on the sill

'Ghost nets' are the remains of old fishing nets, which have been discarded by fishermen, and are left to float around in the ocean, damaging marine life, like dugongs and turtles, which get caught up in them. Like memories, thoughts and past events, which we can also get caught up in, and dragged around by. 

The current exhibition 'the Long Tide',  at the Artisan Gallery, Brisbane, features artworks made out of recycled ghost nets, by Indigenous artists from the alliance Ghost Nets Australia. I am hoping to go this weekend...

I also have an exam to complete. Its a take home exam, which is like having the convenience of take away food, and less anxiety than a 'real' exam. The disadvantage is, it takes much more time, so I am hoping to actually have a weekend this weekend. 

more later. 

apron swap results!

I signed up for an apron swap at Rhonda Hetzel's Down to Earth blog a few weeks ago, and this is the finished result. The idea of a swap is to make something for someone, in this case an apron, and in return, they make one for you. In my case, I am paired with a special ed teacher in Wisconsin, north of Chicago, on the shores of Lake Michigan. I wanted to have palm trees in the photo, as its probably very different here (in Brisbane, Queensland) from the US Mid West.

The thing I am most pleased about (apart from actually finishing the apron on time) is that I made it using material and a pattern I already had, so I didn't have to buy any new supplies. This includes the basic fabric, which is a natural coloured, loose weave linen, and patchwork squares from a set called 'Hometown', which seemed appropriate. I attached the squares with double sided iron on interfacing, which is great for applique. I then zigzagged around the edges of the patches to make them more secure (aprons get washed lots). The apron looked very basic and utilitarian until I added the patchwork squares.

I also sent my apron buddy a recipe for Anzac biscuits, which seemed suitably Australian. And hopefully it will arrive before Anzac Day, on 25th April...

Back home, I am on holiday from work, and have the obligatory holiday virus. Uni (both teaching and student-ing) has settled down a little; its coming up to mid-Semester break. I have submitted my first assignment, and will have a take home exam next week. So you can see why I needed an apron project right now! Its called experiential avoidance; doing something instead of what you should be doing, because you want to avoid the uncomfortable feelings...

Its been a busy but fun week so far, and I am planning  more experiential avoidance, AKA relaxation, over the Easter weekend.

It was fun to set a movie as homework for my students this week, in this case, a Dangerous Method,  as we were studying Jung. Some of them were shocked that he had a sexual relationship (which also involved corporal punishment, AKA spanking) with his patient, Sabina Spielrein, excellently played by Keira Knightley. Spielrein,a Russian Jew, went on to become a psychoanalyst herself before being killed by the Nazis in Russia in 1942. Yes, the affair was a major breach of professional ethics. My experience suggests such breaches are not uncommon. Does being a pioneer excuse him? Perhaps not. But it shouldn't negate his contribution.

more later.

Time for Change?

Cauldron: Anxiety

Change, the Buddhists say, is the only thing we can be certain of. 

Still a bit shell-shocked by the recent State election, in which the Labor Party were almost annihilated. What is surprising in particular is the extent of the swing to the National Liberal Party. Some it seems wanted change no matter what, which of course, is what democracy usually delivers. The longer the governing party stays in power, it seems, the harder the fall in popular support, when it comes. 

This drawing, above, is about an experience of anxiety early this morning, due to thinking about assignments! I had an internal image of the bowl or cauldron, which is a shape I am often drawn to, full of moving fragments, like fleeting feelings and thoughts. Interestingly, the image in my mind was originally in black and white, but I didn't have those pastels in my pastel box. The pastel that looks like white, is actually green - the colours are washed out due to the camera flash. The black was added later, with watercolour ink. The sensation was one of upward movement and agitation, of constant flickering, like fireflies rather than butterflies. I did manage to breathe through this sensation, which changed it enough to feel calmer, but not enough to go back to sleep. 

Autumn fruit: persimmons and tamarillos

Change of course is as inevitable as the seasons. We can try to resist change, but it doesn't work. This book will save your life, which I have written about before, is a very satisfying book by A.M.Homes, about a man who tries to avoid the unpredictability of life by staying indoors, shunning human contact, and trading on the (admittedly changeable) stock market. His life becomes a roller coaster of surprises and opportunities, after a sink hole opens up outside his house (this is set in L.A.), and he experiences extreme physical pain, both of which events seem to have symbolic, as well as literal, meaning. I think it would make a great movie. 

I have just read another (non-fiction) book by A.M. Homes (whose first name is Amy), The mistress's daughter, which is about her investigation into her birth family, as she was adopted. She also wrote the Safety of Objects, which was made into a film a few years ago. 

Personal Learning Plan: Assignment one

On the subject of change, I want to make one more comment, this time about the politics of fashion. I have a book called Fashion and Anti-Fashion, which is a kind of anthropological investigation of the purpose of fashion, arguing that fashion is basically about change for the sake of change (and selling products, of course). The content is basically irrelevant. The constant element of change is what is important: it signifies being fashionable, and presumably, being open to change.  On this note, and with some irony, I was interested to read this article about Asma Assad, wife of the Syrian president. Asma was apparently admired for being keen on (French designer) Louboutin platform shoes, which was supposed to denote that she would espouse 'Western values' of democracy and freedom. Shock horror, apparently not true! Asma does like French shoes, but doesn't want democratic change in Syria. Quelle surprise!

Now the evenings and mornings are cooler, I am happy wearing my unfashionable fake ugg boots, bought in New Zealand, much to the disgust of my family. Doubly uncool - not even real uggs. 

more later.

its knot all black and white...happy harmony day!

'knot all black and white': collage and pastels

I made this collage after thinking about how to integrate art therapy and social work knowledge.

The colourful flowers or cogs, represent art therapy knowledge, and the black and white 'knotty' patches represent social work theory. Not that it is colourless or anything, I am actually enjoying reading the theories and frameworks, but it is a little different from art therapy texts - actually better written I would have to say. And its all about the words: no pictures, and only a few diagrams!!

Basically, I have always believed that most disciplines, although having their own knowledge base, also use a lot of shared, or generic, knowledge. (This is what I have learned from belonging to a discipline that is only just on the edge of being recognised as a valid discipline, at least by the 'powers that be', whoever they are...in Evidence Based Practice-land.) This view was challenged by being asked recently to write something that I see as generic, 'from a social work perspective', which to me was pretty meaningless.

Well I am sort of getting it, now. Luckily, as this is what I am paying for, to have a 'social work perspective'. It made me reflect on what knowledge is shared, and what is specialised, or 'owned'. Art therapists also feel ownership - of using art in clinical settings - but that view is not necessarily shared by others. Interesting stuff.

Lights and lanterns, La Boite, As you like it  

Words can be a delight, as they were in the recent (current) production of As you like it we went to see last week at La Boite, also at  'my' university, QUT. Shakespeare surely is all about the words. And I love it!! The photo, above, is part of the set, taken in the interval. Its a collection of lanterns and fairy lights, meant to evoke the Woodford Folk Festival. 

knots - silicon baking ties.

I can remember seeing a play by RD Laing called knots. It was hilarious. 

Its Harmony Day today. Apparently (according to the government website) its all about Sport - how Australian! Actually, its all about racial harmony. Sorry chaps.

Happy Harmony Day!

more later.

lets talk about death, grief and suffering

collage: garden

Friday night, I went to a talk on Secular Buddhism by Stephen and Martine Bachelor. It was interesting, although hard to concentrate in the heat, after a long day at work. The highlight was a walking meditation around Musgrave Park, like a bunch of zombies. 

Is atheism the new black? Suddenly it seems to be everywhere...

Yesterday was the second anniversary of my father's death. It was a sad and reflective day. Really, anniversaries are a gift, an opportunity to reflect and connect with feelings. I liked my sister's comment in her blog, about other people's need to use the euphemism 'passed away' - which is probably even more prevalent here in Australia - instead of mentioning the words death or dying. 

collage: letting go

I love the image of the girl letting something go, she has such a great expression. I made this collage just after dad died. Ironically, I find this a joyful image.

The weekend was also the first anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March last year. I read something in the weekend magazine about a father who lost his wife, and who did not know how to talk about the loss with his sons. He waited two months to even tell them she died. This was really really sad.

We all run from pain. But if you are a Buddhist, you know life is suffering. So why run? Or should the question be, run where? From life? 

Two good things - I got credit for one of my courses this semester. And I am doing project 365 on my I-Phone, a photo each day of something I am grateful for. 

Tried to explain to someone today, why I write this blog. Hard to articulate. Perhaps I should have said, read it, its self-explanatory. I hope it is. 

more later.