Artist, Organiser, Performer
was held on the 1st of September at the Whittlesea Showgrounds
in Whittlesea, Victoria.
In follow up to last years event…. INTO THE LIGHT-The Unfolding Story was made up of a lantern parade with 12 primary schools from the Whittlesea, Kinglake, Flowerdale and Nillimbick Communities,
a spiral,
video projections that filled the side of the cattleshed,
a 30 meter shadow play
and so much more……..
Here is the video of the night……..
for the first time
in a long time
I stopped and stood in the studio
instead of
passing through
on my way from brushing teeth
to sleep
I stood
thinking i was only going to stand
and feel the breath of the space
upon my skin
and to
think
about maybe one day soon
But the breath turned to a breeze
and
before i knew
a night dance had begun
moving me through space
folding, falling, expanding, contracting
a hidden story
emerging from muscles and bone
relief flooded me
like when on old friend
you thought you would never see again
returns
How quickly a couple of months can go by
a crazy time filled with work, lanterns, children, paper and cello-tape
A time when personal projects/ my practice has been put on hold and the studio gathers dust and i lose track of what it was that i was doing and why i was doing it.
But….. my work is creative, and i am earning a living from it and quite possibly this too is “My Practice”
and
as October turns from empty
a space i was relishing as a time to return to ‘My Practice’
into overwhelming
as i try once again to pack all of the wonderful offers into my diary
and once again i surrender the idea of studio time….
I do take the time to be thankful for the full diary,
and to reflect on what it means to work as an artist
and the compromises that entails…….
but i wonder (with a longing) how and when i return to that other project
The one that requires me to say no to income
and how i maintain the energy and focus to “do everything”……..
and if i really mean it when i say “never again” to doing events……
So
what have i been doing??………….
A Cecil st Fundraiser….. downstairs
A Paper Planet …. in Sydney
A community lantern parade
(12 schools + community groups etc….) in Whittlesea
A sticky maze……. in Newman
(that’s in the North of Western Australia…a mining town in the out back…. ok i know this needs its own update…..actually they all do but ……)
which brings that 10 weeks to a beautiful close
was last weekend
It was fantastic
we were blessed with a week of beautiful sunny weather.
The parade continues to grow each year, although I’m hoping at 2000 people it has reached capacity!!
This year i was only in Lismore for a week, thankfully i had some awesome people helping me to pull the parade together ……..
heres a link to some of the media
echo net daily
northernstar
and nastsky’s very beautiful photos
Im in there carrying a fiery dragonfly…. my treat for managing the parade…. it can’t be all work…..
I’m currently on tour with Polyglot Theatre
Building cardboard city’s in
Scottsdale, Arizona
Fayetteville, Arkansas
and next stop
Huston, Texas
The show is We Built This C
ity
an interact work that invites children and adults to build out of cardboard box’s
It’s a delightful work that encourages play
I love it
it’s fun
and
Its simple
In January,
when i was looking at my year ahead,
i made a commitment to show some work in May.
Life, and work
as it tends to do
took me in a slightly different direction,
On the day i booked a gallery, i was also offered a tour to the USA with Polyglot Theatre,
needless to say
i took the job
and i leave on Wednesday.
I did install the work into the studio one friday night and had a play with a couple of friends and…..
and made a short video
and here it is
my May showing…….
yesterday was open studio at River studios,
while not overly successful in terms of people coming through
It was a great excuse for me to get back into the studio (its been a while)
sweep away the dust 
and
rearrange a few things
in preparation for the next wave of creative urge.
was Williamstown Festival,
i coordinated a lantern parade and created a choreography with 18 seagull puppet lanterns (and ran a few schools workshops to make some of the 500 pyramid lanterns that were created for the event)
Due to events beyond my control (insurance and ignorance mostly) the candles were replaced with torches.
My favourite response to this when i was explaining to a school group was ” but isn’t it tradition to light the candle”
yes,
yes indeed it is tradition,
and may it stay that way in times to come.
Lead by a pipe band, it was an event very much enjoyed by parents and community members. yay!
The photos below were taken by one of the parents.
Finally these 4 pieces are finished and delivered to Salvage and Selvage (Johnston St Fitzroy) where they now adorn the walls , waiting for someone to fall in love with them and take them home.
I was determined to finish them, but maybe didn’t really allow them to evolve to their full potential….. an impatience to complete something in this time when work keeps me away from the studio.
But
well
hmmm
we’ll see what the world thinks!
was the Whittlesea community festival…..
we made bunting out of children’s drawings…..
and a few signs to show the way
and i have to show you the work of Paul Blackman whose magic touch always adds to a festival or event……
Stefanie Robinson 