I cannot believe how fast this year is zooming by.
But on the bright side a much more productive month for me, after being so slack in May.
This month I am splitting this into categories as it will be easier than putting dates.
Birds
Malcolm and I made a couple of bird feeders (Malcolm did most of the work, I feed the birds)
This first one below is a bicycle wheel with eight little feeders attached, it sits on a post, and when the birds hop on to the feeders it spins around.
Hey look, I put a video in for you to watch and it has music, so turn up the sound. (This was taken on my time lapse camera)
This second one sits in the tree at the front of the house and it has a Solar Light in the roof, just in case the birdies need to find their way home at night. They love to sit on the roof during the day feeding and fighting!! Those Green Finches are very bolshy.
I am hoping it will used as a nesting box.
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| Taken during the day (obviously) with a Green Finch on the roof |
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| Taken at night, you can see the lights on in the little windows (looks quite spooky actually) |
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| A Green Finch getting aggressive with a Sparrow |
Crafts
Below are some machine embroidered coasters I made, I think they will make great gifts. (Sonia Showalter Design)
Freestanding Lace Flowers, these can be added to clothing, cards etc. (Sonia Showalter Design)
It has lights (red) on the wreath at the top.
This is made up of 6 different birds embroidered twice giving 12 birds, they are hung from different lengths of nylon around the wreath to give a spiral effect. (Urban Threads Design)
Now, you have to imagine this mannequin has armies!!
A knitted twist top which I have finally finished knitting.
Auckland Festival of Photography
The festival has been and gone, I did manage to visit a few of these over the 3 weeks this was on.
Silo 6 showed Truth and Fiction by various artists
First up Inner Spaces - Surreal Worlds - Dirk Hanus
Dirk Hanus’ displays follow his fantasies and intuitions completely, as his early works do already. On one side, with the selection of models, rooms and interiors they are dramaturgically very carefully prepared. Otherwise, they live from spontaneous decisions when carried out. If his pictures in their computer edited appearance differ from reality later on, this happens in conviction that curiosities and peculiarities of everyday life and of abundant media-presented events from all regions of the world beat all our imaginations. In terms of sociology, Dirk Hanus shows the world of European middle class in his light and color rooms. The actors are all shown solo in interiors, suggesting a certain loneliness and forsakenness. In spite of a varying body language, the pictured persons remain in seemingly dream-like or cinematic scenes, of which we neither know what has happened before nor what will happen in future. The viewer has to create his or her own story. Thus, these surreal scenes become sources of our real emotions and fantasies.
Dirk Hanus’ displays follow his fantasies and intuitions completely, as his early works do already. On one side, with the selection of models, rooms and interiors they are dramaturgically very carefully prepared. Otherwise, they live from spontaneous decisions when carried out. If his pictures in their computer edited appearance differ from reality later on, this happens in conviction that curiosities and peculiarities of everyday life and of abundant media-presented events from all regions of the world beat all our imaginations. In terms of sociology, Dirk Hanus shows the world of European middle class in his light and color rooms. The actors are all shown solo in interiors, suggesting a certain loneliness and forsakenness. In spite of a varying body language, the pictured persons remain in seemingly dream-like or cinematic scenes, of which we neither know what has happened before nor what will happen in future. The viewer has to create his or her own story. Thus, these surreal scenes become sources of our real emotions and fantasies.
The series is a selection of vernacular photographs which were found on the Internet and digitally manipulated afterwards. The final collages demonstrate a collision of two cultures: Russian women in their domestic interiors in the poses they borrow from Western mass media as an exemplification of female sexuality. The series looks at assimilation and possible integration of cultures of post-Soviet territories with the Western values and how these processes reflect in women’s role in the society
Julia Fullerton-Batten has created a series of images which challenge the viewer to contemplate the intimate adult relationship between mothers and daughters and the love, struggle and rivalry in their shared lives.
lastly Paramita by Han Jiangang
Paramita, the boat of the other shore, the life of the other shore. This work represents beliefs around the origins of life. For more click here
Next at Britomart was Ticket by Julia Durkin
Over a lifetime as a soccer fan, Julia Durkin has followed "the beautiful game" in several countries - NZ, Cook Islands, Japan, Brazil, UK, Australia. Fans of football come to see this photography, including last year's Brazil World Cup
This touring Exhibition showcases the highest scoring photographs from 2014 Awards. Organised by the NZIPP for more than 30 years these annual awards celebrate the excellence of NZ's professional photographers.
First up Sunrise over the Viaduct from Waitemata Plaza
Another night I was leaving work late and the Sky Tower was Red
A glorious Winters day
