SAP OF LIFE

Sap Of Life Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm

The sap of life? What do I mean by this? Well, sap could mean many things, from the literal to the metaphoric. However, one of the most obvious connotations is water. Regular readers will know of my interest in water! And, indeed this new painting was initially inspired by thoughts of water and its life giving and sustaining qualities. These thoughts were also influenced by major concerns many people have [including myself] about threats, posed by coal seam gas [CSG] extraction and expanding coal mines in Australia and around the world, to above and below ground water systems. I have written about these fears previously. [Links below]

But, rather than paint images of destruction, or potential destruction, I believe images which 'speak' more positively and with beauty, have the power to remind us of what we lose if essential life elements are plundered, poisoned and polluted. This reminder surely galvanises intent more robustly than constant regurgitation of images of destruction, mayhem and disaster. The media very successfully keeps us hooked into these kinds of images anyway! I can see no point in art being part of the regurgative and power neutering process.

With its association to birth, water is symbolic of the Great Mother, the divine feminine, the giver of life. Sap becomes a metaphor for the source of everything, manifested and in potential. And, of course, it perfectly resonates with my love of the transcultural/religious tree-of-life.

Using the tree-of-life motif I have placed the Great Mother, Mother Nature, at the centre of 'Sap of Life'. She is the link, the synapse, between two trees-of-life which erupt from her outstretched arms and feet. Each tree is suggestive of the capillary-like appearance of water systems... and vascular ones. The branches of both trees end in white, creating an almost halo-like appearance. This light represents illumination and a forever connection to something beyond. It's up to the viewer to imagine beyond, into the halo!

In the background, the entire canvas is covered with a dark blue tree, which whispers a universal song of quivering energy. The moon, in its various phases, beckons us into the realms of space, reminding us of the pull of its orbital tracking. Indeed, as our oceans dance to the lunar tune and rhythm we experience impulses from beyond.

A snaking white line ribbons across the cavas, weaving its way through the trees. Have you ever seen a river from the air? This line is a river, both literal and metaphoric, traversing across the 'landscape'. It seems to reflect the moon's light as it flows with meandering purpose. All connected...

PEACE AND QUIET

There are, as I wrote above, many connotations for sap. I'll leave it up to you to come up with more. However, there is one I'd like to mention, mainly because it came to me today when I read a short article in The Australian newspaper. The article written by Margarette Driscoll is about a new book called 'Quiet: The Power Of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking' by Susan Cain. The book is about research that shows people are more creative when they have time alone. It apparently refutes the benefits of group work, open plan offices etc in business, schools and so on. Well, can I say, from my own experience... I totally agree! I remember  my first experience of group work in grade 4. It was the mid 60s, and from what I can remember, group work was a new and supposedly innovative way to teach. I hated it! My first feeling of being totally sapped!

The last paragraph of The Australian article is a quote from Cain's book, "Anyone who has ever needed noise-cancelling headphones in her own office or marked an online calendar with a fake meeting in order to escape yet another real one knows what I'm talking about," brings back memories of me sitting in evening prep at boarding school, with ear phones on to keep out the constant chatter and noise created by a hall full of teenage girls, inadequately supervised by young mistresses! I remember the Head Mistress came in one night and I was hauled out of prep with accusations that I was listening to music. Far from it...all I wanted was peace and quiet! I recall the Head Mistress was somewhat chastened when I told her I was wearing ear muffs, that my parents had bought me, because the noise in prep was so distracting. Thank goodness I am an artist and can have peace and quiet, and be on my own whenever I want [well apart from the demands of being a parent as well]!

Peace, quiet and alone time...sap of life!

PREVIOUS BEAUTY POSTS

BEAUTY

BEAUTY AND THE VORTEX

BEAUTY AS A PORTAL

BEAUTY GIVES HOPE A CHANCE

PREVIOUS WATER POSTS

WATER LANDSCAPES

WATER

CURRENCY

AIRSPACE AND PHANTOMS   [This post is the most popular one on my BLOG!]

WATER GALLERY

MURRAY DARLING CURRENCY

Just a reminder that my book launch for 'For Everyone: Words and Paintings' is Thursday 23 February! Click HERE for more details.

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NEXT SOLO EXHIBITION

QUIVER

'Sap Of Life' [above] will be in my next solo exhibition QUIVER 18 - 29 April

Graydon Gallery, Merthyr Rd, New Farm, Brisbane

Open daily 10am - 6pm

Other paintings which will be in QUIVER are: There will others too.

Elemental Dance

Out There Somewhere

Perpetual Beginning

Breathing Across Time

Quiet Fierceness Of Light

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

TO GROK LANDSCAPE

Thank Goodness [It's Raining] Oil on linen 92 x 207 cm

To grok is to intimately and completely share the same reality or line of thinking with another physical or conceptual entity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok

Regular readers will know of my concerns for the planet, particularly with regards to water and soil. Since I started this BLOG in 2006 I have often written about my concerns, plus the paintings which I call my 'quiet activism'. My more obvious visual statements are made using small $ signs and words to create ambigious 'landscapes', which pose questions about how we 'value' our land, and its life giving and sustaining qualities. In Australia and elsewhere we are witnessing a rush to extract huge amounts of minerals and coal seam gas. Like many others, I am not anti-mining per se, but I am anti rushing into extraction activities without a scientific analysis of the risks to water, food production etc. There are enough scientists, and others with experience, calling for caution to indicate that there are risks...and major ones.

Earth For Sale Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm

This painting is created with small $ signs.

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2008/07/earth-for-sale-120-x-160-cm-oil-on.html

But, this post is not about mining or coal seam gas or farming. Rather, the paragraph above is a short backdrop for new readers.

TO GROK?

To grok is to intimately and completely share the same reality or line of thinking with another physical or conceptual entity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grok

As I ponder the environmental dilemmas confronting the world today, I can't help but think about the manner by which we are connected to land. Yes, we use it, move around upon it, photograph and paint it, some watch it from satelites, we dig into it, we manipulate it for all sorts of reasons. However, I sense we largely see ourselves as separate from it. We are observers, witnesses, users, particpants upon. Yet, what if we saw ourselves as part of the landscape, enmeshed with its ebbs and flows, absorbed into the one pulse of life? What if we were to grok with the land, the Earth?

I suspect that early humans did not differentiate themselves from the land, their environment. From the distance of thousands of years into a future characterised by dilemmas of survival, our forebears' attitudes seem highly evolved.

 Heaven and Earth Oil on linen 90 x 200 cm

How can we return to a early humankind relationship with land, in a way which is reconcilable with their future...the one we now inhabit?

SYMBOLISM

I'd like to suggest that the answer lies with potency of symbolism. And regular readers will know what I am going to write next. Yes! The age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life symbol holds clues, I'm sure, to how we might re-imagine our future relationship with Earth and land...and given modern understanding of outerspace...with the cosmos as well.

I am sure there are other age-old symbols which have the kind of potency that can propel re-imagining forward, as it speaks to the past. However, for me, the tree-of-life holds so much endless potential to re-awaken human race memories of connection and rapport with our environment, its physicality and its spirit. The vascular quality of the tree, speaks of systems...and systems keep us and the planet alive. I'd suggest that systems also ensure the propulsion of the Universe...and possibly the Multiverse! We may not understand, or have even identified, some of these systems, but we know they must exist. As I have writen before I have faith in complexity!

 Radiance Oil on linen 92 x 208 cm

Mountains and Metaphors Oil on linen 80 x 200 cm

PAINTINGS
The paintings I have uploaded for this post are a selection of 'landscape' paintings since 2006. All, but the one immediately above and Earth For Sale , depict the tree-of-life totally absorbed...grokked...into the 'scape'. It is THE energy at the same time as being THE 'scape'...one influences the other to manifest. The tree, as a symbol of life, is simultaneously a symbol of us and our environment, here on Earth and within the Multiverse.

In Mountains and Metaphors [immediately above] the moutains are symbolic of overcoming adversity. In Earth For Sale small $ signs create an ambigius landscape. The $ signs are only discernible when viewed up close. I am asking 'Have we noticed?' Have we noticed how we 'value' our land?

Into My Galaxy Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm

Majesty and Order Oil on linen 36 x 36 cm

The Beginning Of Everything Oil on linen 90 x 180cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/11/beginning-of-everything.html

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FOR EVERYONE: WORDS AND PANTINGS

BOOK UPDATE

Please check out Kris Wampler's great online interview about

FOR EVERYONE

http://kriswampler.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/interview-kathryn-brimblecombe-fox/

Plus

http://www.spbroundup.com/nonfiction/religion

and

http://bloggers.com/KathrynBrimblecombe

and

for book launch details, where to buy etc etc

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/p/my-book-for-everyone-words-and.html

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FOLLOW MY BLOGThank you to everyone who is visiting my BLOG...currently between 2,500 and 3,000 of you a month!

Please FOLLOW me by clicking on the 'Join This Site...Google Friend Connect' button on the right side column. Or submitting your email where it says 'Submit' also on the right column [up the top].

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

FOUNTAIN OF LIFE

Fountain of Life Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

My last post was called 'Below The Surface' and this new post will be linked, but tangentially so. Regular readers will be used to my tangents!

BACKGROUND

Regular readers will also know of my interest in water. I grew up on a grain farm on the rich black treeless plains outside Dalby, on the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. As an adult I spent eighteen years living further west in a small rural community called Goondiwindi. For much of my life water, its uses, cost, manipulations and 'value' has been part of my life. Goondiwindi was the commercial and social hub for a diversified agricultural community...cotton, sheep, cattle, grain, pigs, some fruit and vegetables. Irrigation made much of the farming activity viable, and above and below ground water supplies watered livestock.

This link HERE will take you to a Google image of my childhood landscape. The red colour in the fields is sorghum [obviously a very good season!]. It is truly beautiful! Imagine fields of sunflowers or wheat. The treeles flat plain is like an ever changing canvas.

WATER

Issues surrounding water are of paramount importance across the globe. In Australia water and its uses, allocations, price etc seem to be constantly discussed. Currently the ongoing debate about the Murray Darling catchment area, and agricultural use vs environmental impacts, has heated up. Also, heating up are concerns about above and below ground water and the impacts of coal seam gas mining on them.

So, for any new readers, the above paragraphs provide some background for the inspiration behind my paintings. My interest in water is part of a larger concern for the planet. I've listed more water paintings and posts below.

FOUNTAIN OF LIFE

In this new painting above, I wanted to capture a feeling of water rippling below the surface. Yes, there's that term below the surface from my last post. The female figure is Mother Nature. With the trees-of-life erupting from her feet and heart, she is the source of life on Earth and the Multiverse. She seems to swim in an ambigous 'landscape'. Is it an earthly landscape or a cosmological one? For me it is both and all. Beneath the main tree-of-life, with its vascular-like embrace, faint lines and shapes are discernible. Are these the remnants, meminders of life's first pulse? Are they below the surface or do they beckon to the beyond? The blue symbolises water, itself a symbol of the subconscious where the impulse for life exists? So below the surface, as I wrote in my last post, is a loaded term...is the surface a literal or a metaphorical one?

As we scramble to plunder the earth's resources, do we take time to ponder those elements which breath life into her and thus keep us alive? We are 70% water...and so is Earth.

I am not against mining per se, but I am concerned about the rush to develop and expand, without rigourous research into potential impacts on the environment and food production.

BOLIVIA

Bolivia is taking some interesting steps to place nature's rights on par with human rights.

http://www.pvpulse.com/en/news/world-news/bolivia-set-to-pass-historic-law-of-mother-earth-which-will-grant-nature-equal-rights-to-humans#startOfPageId776

Eath's Wisdom Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

Earth's Wisdom...need I say more?!

SELECTION OF WATER POSTS

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/01/water-landscapes-land-and-consciousness.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/02/water.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/03/currency.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/05/lifeblood.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/10/water.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/10/water-gallery.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2011/09/currency.html

UPDATE FOR EVERYONE: WORDS AND PAINTINGS

OFFICIAL LAUNCH
23 February 2012 6-8 pm
Fireworks Gallery
Scott Emerson MP, Queensland State Member of Parliament for Indooroopilly and Shadow Minister for the Arts, will be launching FOR EVERYONE: Words and Piantings

Please check out FOR EVERYONE's own page here

I am now listed as an author at Goodreads

Cheers,

Kathryn

You can see more of my work at: www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

BELOW THE SURFACE

Below The Surface Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

BELOW THE SURFACE Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

This work on paper is part of my Mother Nature series. The female figure is symbolic of Mother Nature. The trees which extend from her feet, and grow from her heart, reach out, below and beyond the surface. The pale green tree, which cascades across the 'scape', evokes the land's abundance, while the red, symbolic of soil, gifts the planet its nutrition. The white wavey lines and small blue strokes which whisper within the layers, speak of life systems, contours and hidden depths. The blue is suggestive of water and sky, the below and beyond. Regular readers will identify that the trees are my much loved transcultural/religious tree-of-life. This age old symbol speaks of life's systems and connects us with the past and propels us to the future. In the present it is up to us to hear its symbolic power.

BELOW THE SURFACE-LOADED TERM!

What a loaded term below the surface is! We talk about what's below the surface in a scandal, in financial implosions such as the GFC, beneath celebrity status, double entendres. We also talk and argue about what's below the surface of environmental issues. Below the surface can imply the 'real motive', the psychological impetus, the subconscious, intrigue, subtefuge, secrets. It also implies that what's below the surface is much larger, and possibly more significant, than what appears on the surface.

We are all so much more than what our exterior body appearance indicates. What's that old saying...'Beauty* is more than skin deep'. Or did I just make that up!? Funny though, when you think about what below the surface means it becomes appparent that it's not just about the below, but also the beyond. Indeed once the below is stirred and recognised its influence permeates across and beyond the surface. This can be a real physical influence on a material surface and into the atmosphere, or we can be propelled into other realms, such as the spiritual, imaginative and psychological.

CSG

This brings me to the coal seam gas debate [regular readers will know of my keen interest] which is heating up here in Australia with yesterday's release of the Senate Enquiry into CSG report. Here are just two media reports about the Senate Committeee's report  ABC Lateline Business and The Australian  Indeed, the Senate Enquiry dug beyond the surface, over many months of hearings and have recommended a number of actions based on well documented and research based fears, from various informed groups, about the affects of CSG mining on the Great Artesian Basin. Other issues involving potential impacts on prime agricultural land, health, social cohesion, farming practices, economic value were also presented to the Enquiry. The report is critical of, particularly the Queensland Government's, non precautionary principle stance. Indeed, I attended a forum on CSG at the University of Queensland in late 2009 where various representatives across the CSG debate spoke. The Government representatives indicated that their approach was 'well see as we go.' 

Another investigation that goes below and indeed beyond the surface is Paul Cleary's book 'Too Much Luck: The Mining Boom and Australia’s Future'. Check out the publisher's site Black Inc Books I have just finished this very thought provoking book. It examines a range of issues for us now and into the future. Cleary's concern for future generations means he has gone not just below the surface, but beyond as well. I highly recommend your read  'Too Much Luck: The Mining Boom and Australia’s Future'.

So, to a more literal level...a CSG well is not just its surface appearance. What happens below ground, and what is brought up from below ground, may have far more reaching influences, many of them possibly unknown for many years eg: a breakdown in naturally ocurring barriers between aquifers could possibly cause cross contamination of water types [saline and non-saline], loss of pressure could cause leakage from higher aquifers to lower ones and this may result in soil subsidance; methane gas leakage can cause a plethora of problems with one issue of paramount importance ie: methane is a  dangerous contributor to global warming. There are many more possible outcomes which have been expressed by farmers, scientists and academics. The precautionary principle seems pretty sensible to me!

Coal Gas Seams Good Unti You Measure The Methane

PERSPECTIVE

Ideas of below and beyond the surface link with my interest in perspective. Regular readers will know of my interest! I play with perspective in my paintings by creating ambigious 'scapes'. As I have written before, I deliberately try to stimulate the viewer to move back and forth from my paintings. When viewed up close small details are discernible, but from a distance they are not. This dance back and forth, is similar to the 'dance' I move to as I paint. I work up close and then move back to view a painting from a distance, or I place a painting-in-progress in a spot where upon re-entering my studio, I see it with fresh eyes/perspective. I do think this 'dance' is a pretty good metaphor for how we need to negotiate life as we live locally in an increasingly globalised world.

Some earlier post on BEAUTY

* BEAUTY

* BEAUTY AS A PORTAL

FOR EVERYONE: WORDS AND PAINTINGS

My new book has it own PAGE - FOR EVERYONE

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

LUCK?

Becoming The Light Oil on linen 160 x 120 cm

It has been over a week since I last posted. But, as you can see, if you are a regular reader, I have revamped and upgraded my BLOG! There's all sorts of things you can do now! You can Tweet posts share posts on Facebook or share the blog on Linkedin and more. Plus, on the right I have listed links pertaining to my book 'FOR EVERYONE:Words and Paintngs' and listed some of my 'quiet activist' posts which deal more specifically with my concerns about the rapid expansion of mining in Australia, particularly CSG.

SUBSCRIBE

If you are a new visitor please subscribe either via email in the place provided on the right [up top] or the Google Friends subscription. The benefit? Well, you get notification when I write a new post, which is normally once a week.

WHAT I AM READING

I am currently reading Too Much Luck: The Mining Boom and Australia’s Future by Paul Cleary. I went to the launch at the Queensland University of Technology about 10 days ago. There were three speakers including the author. The second speaker was Ruth Armstrong, a farmer and an ecologist from near Cecil Plains, on the Darling Downs. Here's a link to an article which will fill you in on her story http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/fertile-grounds-for-coal-seam-test-case/story-fn59niix-1226059965718 The third speaker was Prof Kerry Carrington http://staff.qut.edu.au/staff/carringk/ Prof Carrington spoke about the social impacts of the rapidly growing mining and CSG industries. She called for great caution in the face of potentail eco-terrorism and more.

In Too Much Luck: The Mining Boom and Australia’s Future Cleary examines various aspects from the economic, social to the environmental, looking at current events and their immediate impact, as well as long term issues. He looks to history for lessons...which our politicans seem not to have learnt. He compares Australia to other resource rich nations [Chile, Norway and East Timor] which have 'harvested' profits to ensure they return and maintain economic benefits to the people now and into the future. He very clearly highlights the economic impacts on other industries in Australia eg: tourism, manufacturing and education, pointing out that these industries employ more people than the mining industry. However, all three are suffering major losses. I recommend you buy Too Much Luck: The Mining Boom and Australia’s Future http://www.blackincbooks.com/books/too-much-luck

Can We Eat Coal For Breakfast? Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/11/food-fantasy-in-future.html

UQ SYMPOSIUM

Last week I attended an afternoon symposium 'Governing Human Beings In The Age Of The Brain: A Symposium With Nikolas Rose' hosted by the University of Queensland's Centre for the History of European Discourses. Fascinating presentations . Here's the program:

 
“The Biological Imaginary: Science and the Somaticised Self”
Elizabeth Stephens, ARC Research Fellow Centre for the History of European Discourses
The University of Queensland

“Avoiding the Seductions of Neurohype in Ethical Analyses of Addiction Neuroscience”
Wayne Hall, NHMRC Australia Fellow
UQ Centre for Clinical Research
The University of Queensland

“Brain Whisperers: New Forms of Consumer Monitoring on the Frontiers of Neuroscience”
Mark Andrejevic, ARC QE II Fellow
Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies The University of Queensland

“A Neurobiological Complex? Governing Human Beings in the Age of the Brain”
Nikolas Rose, Martin White Professor of Sociology
BIOS Centre for the Study of Bioscience, Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Society
London School of Economics
 

This symposium follows another two day one I attended at the University of Queensland a number of weeks ago. It's theme was virtual anatomies. Plus I attended two interesting panel discussions at the Gallery Of Modern Art [GOMA] on creativity, young minds and so on. These were held in conjuction with the Surrealism exhibition which was on at the time.

 

Meeting Place Of The Mind Oil on linen 100 x70 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2011/06/meeting-place-of-mind.html

I sense a tension between the potential that our love affair with technology is prepping us for an 'evolutionary' development towards a state of singularity ie: human/machine, cyborg etc on the one hand and the desire to recapture the grace of spirit on the other. Abdicating our minds/brains to machines is already happening...in the name of 'progress', yet the juncture of culture, pscychology, technology, science, religion poses questions which grapple with age-old questions of what it means to be human. I have more thoughts on this and will write more over time.

FOR EVERYONE: Words and Paintings

Please check out the links on the right!

FOR EVERYONE is available on most online book selling sites:

PLUS:

Coaldrakes in Brisbane has some copies

and as of tomorrow [Thursday 24 November] the two bookstores at the Queensland Art Gallery and GOMA will also have some copies. I am dropping them off tomorrow!

BOOK LAUNCH

Thursday 23 February 2012

at Fireworks Gallery, Newstead, Brisbane

Scott Emerson MP, my local State Government member for Indooroopilly and Shadow Minister for the Arts will be launching FOR EVERYONE

The 30 paintings inside the book will be exhibited for a 2-3 day period too.

 

NEW GALLERIES: WEBSITE

I have made some new 'galleries' on my website. One is called 'My Women' and another is a selection of paintings under $1000. Please chack them out!

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

RITUALS RELICS AND ICONS

This exhibition is on at ANCA Gallery in Canberra http://www.anca.net.au/ from tonight until 4 December. I have a piece Hovering At The Centre  in the exhibition.

                                            Hovering At The Centre Oil on linen 30 x 30 cm

 

FABULOUS FORTY

USQ Alumni Exhibition

23 November - 11 December

Opening Friday 25 December

MadeCreativeSpace: Toowoomba

I have three paintings in this exhibition. I am not a past student of USQ, but I was their first Art Collection Curator back inthe early 90s when the University was the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education DDAIE

http://www.madecreativespace.com/

Well...I think that's all for now.

Cheers,

Kathryn

BREATH

Breath Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

I am enjoying working with gouache on paper, continuing with the kind of paintings I wrote about in my last post QUIVER.

These new paintings are inspired by a few things...the age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life, the female figure, my concerns for the environment, my interests in finding ways to visually seek out the potency of symbols so they have 21st century relevance and beauty. Regular readers will know of my interests and how they inter-connect to create paintings which are multi layered and often surprisingly political.

The painting above Breath places the figure of a woman, representing life giving, at the centre of a vortex or spiral. Have you ever played with a spiral? They quiver. It is this quivering, which reverberates back and forth, that makes me think of life forces, across time...past, present and future.

In Breath my much loved tree-of-life is depicted a number of times, with the red trees appearing almost lung like. The tree's capacity to mirror vascular systems and viscera excites and inspires me.

Signs of life ie: pulse and breath, do not recognise colour of skin, religion, sex or culture. We all share these fundamental signs of life, and as we feel our hearts beat and our breath's inhalation and exhalation, it reminds us of larger forces, earth's pulse and breath, and indeed, those of the multiverse. But, maybe we don't listen or take notice of these forces within us and around us? This question leads to the next painting called Montetizing Mother Nature, which has a more noticeably political intent, going beyond the reminder to notice which is implicit in Breath.

Monetizing Mother Nature Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

The three female figures are connected to earth via trees-of-life, as they are connected to the heavens. These vascular-like trees seem to pulse with life. The women are representative of nature, with the figure on the right is inspired by me! Yes, I have a very long plait, which reaches well past my hips. When my children and I went to see 'Avatar' we all thought I must have been the inspiration for the blue people, the ones with long plaits that could be connected to the life forces in the ground.!!!

Anyway, moving on...the women are 'decorated' with small $ signs. The 'landscape' is also painted largely with small $ signs. Regular readers will know that I often use small $ signs, initially not discernible when viewed at a distance, but clearly seen when the viewer is up close. I am 'asking' the question 'Have you noticed?'. I am also interested in the idea that a painting seen from a distance can be a different painting when viewed up close. This is a metaphor for the life we lead today ie: we live locally in an increasingly globalised world and we need to be able to 'see' multiple perspectives simultaneously in order to negotiate [I prefer dance] across the 'stage' which exists between the local and global.

In Monetizing Mother Nature I am thinking about the commoditisation of natural resources, the monetry value placed on carbon, water, wind and so on. Will a carbon tax eleviate global warming? That will be something we'll know in time, but I am sure there will be people making a lot of money carbon trading. Regular readers will know of my concerns about coal seam gas extraction and mining here in Australia and overseas. Huge amounts of money are being paid for exploration, mining, production, and foreign companies buying land and Australian mining companies. But at what real and ongoing cost? There is a vocal and growing community anti-CSG movement here in Australia, asking this very question. Without adequate scientific analysis of impacts on above and below ground water resources, potential soil degradation, plus social and health issues what might we ultimately lose? People are very concerned, frustrated, angry and anxious...all potent ingredients for social unrest.

Regular readers will know that I grew up on a farm on the Darling Downs and that I also lived, as an adult, for 18 years further west in the samll rural township of Goondiwindi. I understand the concerns people have about water and soil. I also understand farming practices and how CSG, and increased open cut coal mines, can affect production and efficiency. After reading a number of reports and articles, and attending forums on CSG I have been, and continue to be, deeply concerned about the haste of CSG activity, and the government's inadequate pre and current monitoring of the industry.

If one steps back from the close view ie: money money money to be spent and made...to take a view of the bigger picture as seen from a 'distance', the money to be spent and made now pales against the potential massive 'value' loss caused by a plethora of issues ie: the potential for loss of food producing farm land due to aquifer water cross contaminations, introduced contaminations, depletion, plus soil degradation; erosion of farming IP due to farmers leaving or forced to leave the industry plus subsequent unraveling of rural social fabric; the fact that methane is a more dangerous contributer to global warming than carbon dioxide..I could go on because the picture is BIG.

In Monetizing Mother Nature I am playing with the word monetize. It's a word I see on my BLOG backpage where I have opportunities to monetize it. The opportunistic nature of the commercial world is fascinating, but not so when the mindset erodes how we might 'value' things by monetization when their 'value' goes way beyond money.

Please see below a list of other psots where I write about my use of small $ signs.

Now for something a bit lighter!

What I Think About Whilst Planking/Bridging Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

This is me planking. Yes, my long plait, mentioned above too, has a gravity defying life of its own! I started planking, to keep me trim and tight, a while ago when a friend spoke glowingly about its affect on his waist line...and it was discernible! But, it is so incredibly boring. I count in tens, sometimes in 20s, just to break up the time, to get to around 40- 80 seconds, depending on how bored I am. But, when I start to imagine, as in the painting above, the time goes much more quickly.

OTHER SMALL $ SIGN POSTS

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2008/07/earth-for-sale-120-x-160-cm-oil-on.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/03/currency.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/04/monetize.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/10/water-gallery.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/11/murray-darling-currency.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/11/food-fantasy-in-future.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/12/oils-aint-oilsany-more.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2011/02/commodified.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2011/06/planet.html

BLAKE PRIZE DIRECTORS' CUT EXHIBITION

My entry for the BLAKE PRIZE http://www.blakeprize.com.au/ whilst not a finalist was  in the group considered for the finals. AND, from that group the directors select works for what's called the DIRECTORS' CUT EXHIBITION. And, my entry COMPASSION is in it! http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/07/compassion.html

This link will take you to where you can see the list of selected artists. http://www.blakeprize.com.au/news/2011-directors-cut-artists-announced

The DIRECTORS' CUT is an online exhibition and the images are live from 26 October - 23 January.

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/kabrimblecombe?feature=mhee

NEW PERSPECTIVES?

Underground Currency [Great Artesian Basin] Oil on linen 80 x 100 cm

My presentation at the C.J Jung Society of Queensland last week went really well. I have had some great feedback. My topic was 'The Trans-Cultural/ Religious Tree of Life and Knowledge: An Artist’s Quest to Reinterpret Past Visual Representations to Revitalise Their Potency for the 21st Century'. I spoke for about an hour and a half with another half an hour of discussion during and after the presentation.

Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l9tT2iwGaI which is a video of a segment of the talk. My daughter took the footage. Fortunately she 'got' me while I was talking about my 'quiet activism'. Regular readers will know of my intense interest in and concern for the environment, water and food security in the face of the burgeoning coal seam gas industry and increasing open cut coal mining in Australia...indeed the world. 

In this footage I am talking about my painting 'Underground Currency: Great Artesian Basin' [pictured above]. I discussed my 'quiet activism' towards the end of the talk. I had spent some time on various aspects of the transcultural/religious tree-of-life in my work...distance, beauty, perspective, conversation, identity, life, systems and so on. All of these are important aspects of my 'quiet activism' as well.

Here's a link to my previous post for 'Underground Currency' http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2011/01/underground-currency.html 

My daughter also took some footage of other bits of the presentation. I will upload them soon.

Compassion Oil on linen 100 x 100 cm

I learnt yesterday that my entry 'Compassion' for the Blake Prize [for religious and spirtual art], whilst not making it to being one of the finalists, actually did make it to the finalist consideration stage. Thus, it is now in the running to be included in what is called 'The Director's Cut' exhibition, which will be online at the Blake Society webpage from October 6. Time will tell if it is in the exhibition.

http://www.blakeprize.com.au/  Here's my previous post for 'Compassion' http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/07/compassion.html

blogtalkradio

Interview

Wednesday 10 August I am being interviewed by Heather Price on her blogtalkradio show Connecting Consciously Radio with Heather Price. Here's the link for you to listen 9-10 am.  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thedifference/2011/08/09/connecting-consciously-radio-with-heather-price#.Tj_cC5cHO7Y.email 

Added after the interview: The link will take you to the recording too!

ART and INSIGHTS

Please check out http://www.artandinsights.blogspot.com/

for two upcoming workshops I am co-presenting with Gabriele Engstrom. In troubled times creativity can helps us problem solve in ways we may not have thought about before. Both workshops are designed to ignite creativity by exploring symbols.

CURRENTLY WORKING ON.....

I am currently working on a large painting...a new 'quiet activist' one! It is the map of Australia with the Murray Darling Basin highlighted in small $ signs...well I have to paint them yet, but that's the plan. Here's a link to the work on paper which has inspired me to paint a larger oil painting. http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/11/murray-darling-currency.html

AND

PARADISE @ Purgatory Artspace

Check out http://www.artabase.net/exhibition/3275-paradise

for all the details, including an artist's statement.

My forthcoming solo exhibition in Melbourne 8 Sept-8 Oct!

GFC and Current Events

In 2008 I wrote a blog post about some of my thoughts on the financial crisis which, at that time, was causing havoc across the world. Given recent events which have rocked fragile world economies again, I wonder if we've really heard the call to reality. In 'After The Implosion' I looked at the role a degenerative, unhealthy post modernism may have played in hijacking reality and arresting maturity.

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2008/11/after-implosion.html

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com