'Storm Music' in Skylight 47

This Thursday 15 September at Clifton Library, County Galway, Robyn Rowland shall launch Skylight 47 latest issue of their magazine. And delightfully, one of my poems, featuring donkeys and wrens, is in the magazine.

About Skylight 47, (taken from the festival website) : "The first issue of Skylight 47 was published in January 2013 to celebrate ten years of Galway’s Over The Edge poetry readings in the City Library. It was only supposed to be a single issue, but founding editors Kevin O’Shea, Susan Lindsay and Nicki Griffin were so taken with what they had produced, they decided to carry on.

Their editors have changed: Bernie Crawford, Nicki Griffin, Marie Cadden and Ruth Quinlan are now at the helm of the publication. They are still associated with Over The Edge, which provides them with tremendous support.

Their newspaper format allows us room to spread our wings, and gives the work of our contributors space to breath. "
https://www.clifdenartsfestival.ie/event/launch-of-clifden-issue-of-skylight-47/

Poetry Reading at Wheeler Centre

Let's get Modern - 21st Century poetry revisited

with Michael Farrell & Gig Ryan

Poetry against Borders with:

Janet Galbraith, Anne de Hugard and Allis Hamilton

Wednesday 30th September at 7pm

Wheeler Centre 176 Little Lonsdale St

Let's Get Modern

'Your Beautiful Names' Book Launch and Exhibition

'Your Beautiful Names' Book Launch and Exhibition

BOOK LAUNCH & Exhibition
Asylum seeker issues featured through art and poetry
Dean John Roundhill will launch Out of the Darkness on Saturday 28th March in the Anglican Church Hall at 3PM. This powerful and moving exhibition has been created by a group of Queenscliff artists and is hosted by Castlemaine Rural Australians for Refugees and Christ Church.
At the launch local poets will be reading poetry written in response to a collection of poems written by asylum seekers. An exhibition of this poetry, Your Beautiful Names, will be shown in the Word Mine.
Both exhibitions will be open from Saturday 28th March – Sunday 5th April. Free entry.

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Storytelling with Taffy Thomas

Got to hear Taffy Thomas- UK Storyteller Laureate, along with Andrew Mckenna, today at the Food Garden as part of the Festival.It was a real treat. I get to tell one of my poems next week with Taffy at 2pm Food Garden Castlemaine. What a privilege!

Sound Journey Meditation

Jason Hendrickson and I are running two sound meditation journeys as part of Castlemaine Fringe Festival.

A sound meditation journey is where you come, lie down and relax, while you are bathed in the resonating sounds of various instruments, creating a deep, relaxing aural journey for the listener.

The instruments we use include Tibetan Singing Bowls, Bells, Medicine Drum, Gong, Voice, and Mongolian Morin Khuur.

What to bring: A yoga mat or blanket to lie down on and a light throw to put over you.
Entry: By Donation

Sound Meditation Journey is on at the West End Hall, Sun 15 March at 4.30pm and Sat 21 March at 10am.

http://castlemainefringe.org.au/2015/portfolio/music/sound-meditation-journey-jason-hendrickson-and-allis-maun/

Bimblebox Art Project

To raise awareness to the Bimblebox Nature Reserve in Queensland that is under threat from one of Clive Palmer's Coal Mines, the Bimblebox Art Project asked writers and artist to create a piece on one of the 153 birds found in the Bimblebox. I wrote a poem about the White-Necked (Pacific) Heron for their national touring exhibition.

Bimblebox 153 Birds


Mabinogion

Yesterday I was introduced to the Welsh treasure box of story – the Mabinogion, by Christine Willison, at a storytelling event at Ballarat Art Gallery, hosted by Storytelling Victoria.
What a beautiful day spent with storytellers and enthusiasts from around the world.
Through the stories we travelled back in time and into the hearts and minds of our ancestors.
We got to tell a tale or two ourselves as we roamed around the gallery at the end of the day.

Photograph by Jackie Kerin

Photograph by Jackie Kerin

'Healing Well ' Exhibition

A couple of my new pieces of art
'The giantess town of Alone, grows heavy from gravity'
and other older works are going to be gracing the walls of
'Healing Well' ,
147 Mostyn Street
Castlemaine
from tomorrow until further notice.
Feel free to pop in to have a squiz, and you might even be inspired for some wonderful healing treatments whilst you are there.

Edith Piaf dance piece

I had a brain haemmorage that paralysed and made numb my left side. After a lot of work, having danced a lot before the stroke, i attempted to dance again and see what happened. I am seated in this piece as it was easier for me to start gently. i want people to know that a stroke is not the end of creativity, in fact that as long as you have a beating heart in love with life anything is possible.

I had a brain haemmorage that paralysed and made numb my left side. After a lot of work, having danced a lot before the stroke, i attempted to dance again and see what happened.
I am seated in this piece as it was easier for me to start gently.
i want people to know that a stroke is not the end of creativity, in fact that as long as you have a beating heart in love with life, anything is possible.

Coalface project- 153 musicians to save 153 bird species!

I am a part of this wonderful project. I created the sound for the Diamond Dove.

153 musicians create the sounds of the indigenous birds threatened by the proposed coal mine in the Bimblebox Nature Refuge (50km NW of Alpha, Central West, Qld) is 8000 hectares of privately owned, high conservation value land and supports a range of ecosystems.  It was purchased in 2000 by a group of concerned citizens for the explicit purpose of saving it from land clearing.  Our Federal Government believed this property’s conservation value was important enough to contribute tax dollars to its purchase.  A perpetual Nature Refuge Agreement was signed with the Qld State Government in 2003, and it forms part of the National Reserve System of Protected Areas.  At present nature refuges are not protected from mining.

Coalface Project Link


Drawn-out Moments & Sketchy Lines

CASPA Gallery CASPA Lane off Hargraves St (Above Stonemans Bookshop) Castlemaine

Drawings and mixed media works on paper by
Jinari Mountain & Allis Maun
Opening Party: 6pm Friday 5th September
Life is like a drawing.
Sometimes it is approached with slow deliberate care, and sometimes it is rushed at with mad frenzied inspiration. In this exhibition you will see the skill and beauty of long laboured works and the energy and passion that can be transmitted to paper when an artists expresses in the flow.

Opening Party: 6pm Friday 5th September

Castlemaine Poetry Cup

In Februaury, I won the Castlemaine Cup, http://castlemainepoetryreadings.org/ a monthly poetry competition, which features usually two acclaimed poets and holds a lively open section, which is judged by the featured poets.

I was judged by the featured Mark Time poets, Ann de Hugard, B N Oakman, Tru Dowling, Ross Donlon, Rob Wallis, Ray Liversidge.

Here is my little cup.

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