crafthaus2024-03-29T09:18:26ZRoss Annelshttps://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/RossAnnelshttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/357608028?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://crafthaus.ning.com/forum/topic/listForContributor?groupUrl=craft-collaboration-and-crossing-continents&user=3jgtolaq8k8q7&feed=yes&xn_auth=noOnly the Echoes Remaintag:crafthaus.ning.com,2012-07-01:2104389:Topic:3534992012-07-01T13:27:57.091ZRoss Annelshttps://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/RossAnnels
<p>And then, it’s over. </p>
<p><span>The pieces are gathered up for photography, tools are packed, and workshops cleaned. All that remains is the auction and the goodbyes.</span></p>
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<p><span>Members of the public are invited to share a meal and attend the auction - a few notable collectors are in the audience, as well as friends and relatives of the artists. The auction is a great success - a fabulous pair of auctioneers who are associated with the Center for Art in Wood drive the…</span></p>
<p>And then, it’s over. </p>
<p><span>The pieces are gathered up for photography, tools are packed, and workshops cleaned. All that remains is the auction and the goodbyes.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span>Members of the public are invited to share a meal and attend the auction - a few notable collectors are in the audience, as well as friends and relatives of the artists. The auction is a great success - a fabulous pair of auctioneers who are associated with the Center for Art in Wood drive the processes with humour and skill. </span></p>
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<p><span>Two favourite moments: early in the auction they drive a mock bidding war between non-existent buyers, taking a piece that had raised a tiny opening bid to over $6000, much confusion and laughter ensues. And a truly poignant moment, a young woman buying her first piece at an auction, made by a friend from timber donated by her family, is moved to the point of (private) tears by her successful bid. It is a rare and precious thing to make work that embodies such strong connection.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span><em>It came from the lake - some of the works awaiting photography.</em></span></p>
<p><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058249651?profile=original" width="533" class="align-full"/></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248927?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248927?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058250033?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058250033?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058249213?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058249213?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248819?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248819?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058249448?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058249448?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058244995?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058244995?profile=original" width="533" class="align-full"/></a>And the echoes?</span></p>
<p><span>The works that have gone out into the world. The new friendships made. New techniques shared and explored. I wonder what the more distant echoes will sound like?</span></p>
<p><span>Thanks to all the collaborating artists, and to the Echo Lake organising committee.</span></p>
<p></p> The Pointy end of Echo Laketag:crafthaus.ning.com,2012-06-29:2104389:Topic:3532912012-06-29T01:58:31.627ZRoss Annelshttps://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/RossAnnels
<p><span>There is a tipping point in every collaboration event - when the mood changes from the playful “maybe” and “how about” to the realisation that there isn’t much time left.</span></p>
<p><span>“We have to get these pieces done in time for photography and the auction”:</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058247741?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058247741?profile=original" width="533"></img></a></p>
<p><span> …</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span>There is a tipping point in every collaboration event - when the mood changes from the playful “maybe” and “how about” to the realisation that there isn’t much time left.</span></p>
<p><span>“We have to get these pieces done in time for photography and the auction”:</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058247741?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058247741?profile=original" width="533" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058243837?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058243837?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a>Is there enough time for the glue/paint to dry, </span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058244130?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058244130?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a>How can we do this that we didn’t really think through in our playfulness, </span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245012?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245012?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a>How on earth are we going to mount this object ...That furniture maker could make us a base ... Or maybe the metal guys can help us.? </span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058244618?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058244618?profile=original" width="533" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058244951?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058244951?profile=original" width="533" class="align-full"/></a>And for those of us working in the medium of wood, sanding always sanding ....</span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245022?profile=original" target="_self"><br/></a></span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245423?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245423?profile=original" width="533" class="align-full"/></a>I’m so tired, but I know I can get this finished...</p>
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<p><span>I am putting finish on the jelly fish lamp legs, Dan is sanding the gourd edge and waxing it, and Miriam and I are attaching the legs and wiring the lamp - we decide to use 5 of the 6 legs I laminated and mount 2 at a different length so the lamp can “walk”. </span></p>
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<p><span>Kelly and I approached the metal workers regarding the “monster” and they have made some lovely copper “prosthetic” horns. Kelly has glued in the teeth. I had suggested that we mount the monsters head on a high dynamic stand, but after discussion Kelly and Leah use a piece of branch wood to make a multilegged base. Its a good call - and we go back to the metalworkers for one prosthetic leg. I spend a few hours shaping the monsters neck with a rasp and spokeshave...</span></p>
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<p><span>And I make a base for a sculpture... its a lovely sculpture made from some more of the interesting metal pieces that came from the amusement park ride manufacturer.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
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<div><span> <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245105?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245105?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></span></div> Nakashima Studiostag:crafthaus.ning.com,2012-06-24:2104389:Topic:3527412012-06-24T22:34:11.469ZRoss Annelshttps://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/RossAnnels
<p>One of the great joys of attending a collaboration event is the generous, talented and creative people you meet. This post is a personal thank you to Miriam Carpenter, one of the go-to people of the collaboration, who successfully worked on many too many projects, including our lamp project!</p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058244025?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058244025?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a> <em>Miriam with Mark Sfirri…</em></span></p>
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<p>One of the great joys of attending a collaboration event is the generous, talented and creative people you meet. This post is a personal thank you to Miriam Carpenter, one of the go-to people of the collaboration, who successfully worked on many too many projects, including our lamp project!</p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058244025?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058244025?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a><em>Miriam with Mark Sfirri</em></span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245005?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245005?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a><em>Miriam Carving</em></span></p>
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<p><span>Miriam is an industrial design graduate of RISD and works with Mira Nakashima as a designer at the Nakashima Studios.</span></p>
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<p><span>George Nakashima stands out as a very significant figure in the development of the studio furniture landscape. Many furniture makers have found inspiration in his work and lifestyle. Nakashima’s work with live edge slabs spawned a whole slew of imitators, although very few, if any, achieved the beauty of his work or extended his vocabulary. I personally found inspiration in his use of the cantilever in furniture, and particularly in his experiments with curved and cantilevered architectural forms in his studio compound. </span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://www.nakashimawoodworker.com">http://www.nakashimawoodworker.com</a></span><span>/</span></p>
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<p><span>But over time I found myself becoming a little sceptical of the reputation he attained. On a previous visit to the USA I had seen some Nakashima pieces for sale in New York that really didn’t sing, and wondered if the work relied too heavily on the beauty of the material without sufficient strong underlying form. I began to find it very difficult to separate the image and myth-making about the work of the Nakashima studios from the actuality.</span></p>
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<p><span>The Nakashima studios are quite close to the site of the Echo Lake Collaboration. To my great joy, Miriam took time out from her myriad of projects at the collaboration to give Reagan and I a personal tour. Taking photos is discouraged, so I don’t have images to share, but it is an understatement to say my skepticism is removed. </span></p>
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<p><span>Thanks to Miriam I was able to see and touch many beautiful Nakashima pieces. I was able to see her design drawings matching individual slabs from the vast, vast collection of catalogued slabs to furniture for clients. The huge shed full of slabs stacked to the roof is a treasure that most woodworkers wouldn’t even dare to dream of. </span></p>
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<p><span>I was able to meet some of the workers: in the chair studio, the cabinet studio and the finishing studio, who displayed skill, dedication and pleasure in their work. I met one guy in the cabinet shop who told me with great pride he had been working at Nakashima studios for 40 odd years. In a quiet sort of way he was having trouble containing his excitement at the beautiful book-matched sliding doors he had just made for the latest cabinet. </span></p>
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<p><span>And to see the furniture in the context of the beautiful, peaceful, large-span, interior spaces of the reception house and conoid studio was to see it with completely new eyes. The forms sit perfectly in the spaces and lifestyle Nakashima was developing and promoting. It was a wrench to leave the calm beauty of the compound and return to the Collaboration. Thank you Miriam.</span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245724?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245724?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a><em>Miriam at Nakashima Studios</em></span></p>
<p></p> Getting Earnest at Echotag:crafthaus.ning.com,2012-06-24:2104389:Topic:3525562012-06-24T10:39:42.403ZRoss Annelshttps://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/RossAnnels
<p>Things have begun in earnest now - well at least as earnest as they get at a collaboration event.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245444?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245444?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a> <em>Harvey wore a carefully selected non-matching socks every day</em></p>
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<p><a target="_blank"><img class="align-full"></img></a> <span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058249967?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058249967?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a> Humour plays a big role in…</span></p>
<p>Things have begun in earnest now - well at least as earnest as they get at a collaboration event.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245444?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245444?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a><em>Harvey wore a carefully selected non-matching socks every day</em></p>
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<p><a target="_blank"><img class="align-full"/></a><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058249967?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058249967?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a>Humour plays a big role in collaboration, building relationships and generating playful projects.</span></p>
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<p><i><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058246198?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058246198?profile=original" width="533" class="align-full"/></a>An oarsome bench takes shape</i></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058247447?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058247447?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a><span>And talking, lots of talking.</span></p>
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<p><span><i><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058247779?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058247779?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a>Woodturner Beth Ireland, carver Jeanette Rein talking over a project with Jack Nichols</i></span></p>
<p><span><i> </i></span></p>
<p><span><i><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058249708?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058249708?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></i></span></p>
<p><span>Techniques are demonstrated and shared</span></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058246349?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058246349?profile=original" width="533" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><span>And everyone relaxes into the relationships and the work.</span></p>
<p><a target="_blank"><img class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><span>I have begun work on two projects. One is a project started by Kelly - to transform a gnarly piece of wood into the head of a creature. The other - to take the gourd I selected from the resource table and turn it into a lamp - I propose laminating the veneers to form wiggly jellyfish like tentacle legs. Kelly’s friends Miriam and Dan - both know Kelly through Bucks Community College - join the lamp project. This tenuous connection - the college friends of the person who agreed to give me a lift - leads to a precious collaborative experience.</span></p> The Group Project at Echo Laketag:crafthaus.ning.com,2012-06-23:2104389:Topic:3525412012-06-23T15:13:04.074ZRoss Annelshttps://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/RossAnnels
<p><span>Group projects are a cornerstone of Collaboration events, serving to draw together makers from disparate disciplines and media. At Echo Lake the major group project is a print project:</span> <span>linoleum blocks about 58mm square (2 3/8") are individually carved and then arranged and printed in groups. </span></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248797?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248797?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a></p>
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<p><span>This is a little…</span></p>
<p><span>Group projects are a cornerstone of Collaboration events, serving to draw together makers from disparate disciplines and media. At Echo Lake the major group project is a print project:</span> <span>linoleum blocks about 58mm square (2 3/8") are individually carved and then arranged and printed in groups. </span></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248797?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248797?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><span>This is a little challenging for a maker of 3D objects - my drawings are all directed to developing concepts of form - not graphically strong images suitable for linocuts. I filled pages of my notebook with little abstract drawing of place and eventually settled on a mnemonic drawing of the view from my studio back in Australia.</span></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248896?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248896?profile=original" width="533" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058249351?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058249351?profile=original" width="533" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248518?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248518?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058247236?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058247236?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><span>In the experimental spirit of the event, I decided not to carve my block with the supplied tools, lino carving being much like carving wood without the complications of grain. Instead I marked my block with dapping punches. I had been introduced to these beautiful graduated sets of ball-headed jewelers punches at a collaboration in Australia. I was a little nervous about the outcome, but ending up being quite pleased. The prints had an interesting evolution as the compression of the lino changed slightly with each journey through the press.</span></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058247438?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058247438?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><span>This was a welcome place to start, to focus on a making process, and a way to meet many of the other collaborators. Working individually but in a collective space, without the negotiation needed to collaborate fully is an easy step on the journey from solo studio maker to collaborator.</span></p>
<p></p> It Begins - the Echo Lake Collaborationtag:crafthaus.ning.com,2012-06-22:2104389:Topic:3522642012-06-22T12:48:41.600ZRoss Annelshttps://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/RossAnnels
<p><span>I meet my lift to Echo Lake on a street corner in Philadelphia, and after an hour or so of driving and talking with my new friend Kelly we arrive at the beautiful Bucks County Community College. The Echo Lake collaboration is held in the arts buildings of the College, where Mark Sfirri is an instructor - what lucky students! (more on Mark in a forthcoming post) The arts buildings include a very (very) well equipped wood shop, as well as studios for jewelry, painting, hot glass, metal…</span></p>
<p><span>I meet my lift to Echo Lake on a street corner in Philadelphia, and after an hour or so of driving and talking with my new friend Kelly we arrive at the beautiful Bucks County Community College. The Echo Lake collaboration is held in the arts buildings of the College, where Mark Sfirri is an instructor - what lucky students! (more on Mark in a forthcoming post) The arts buildings include a very (very) well equipped wood shop, as well as studios for jewelry, painting, hot glass, metal sculpture, wood sculpture, and printmaking.</span></p>
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<p><span>The evening is taken up with finding working spaces, touring the studios, and looking over the resource room. The resource tables are piled with all sorts of materials that have been collected and delivered by participants. There are a number of partially turned wood objects, pieces of metal and glass, some branch wood, even a collection of false teeth: it’s a confusing array of objects. </span></p>
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<p><span>There is an air of excitement: most of the participants have been coming to the Echo Collaboration for years. They are already teaming up for projects, many of them comfortable in established working relationships and understandings. I only know a couple of the people who are at the collaboration on that first evening: Kelly Komenda who I met earlier that day, and Mark Sfirri, who I had worked with at CollaborationAu. </span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248051?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248051?profile=original" width="533" class="align-full"/></a>Kelly Komenda unpacking tools</span></p>
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<p><span>I look for familiar materials, an easy way to seed a project that I can use to meet people and begin collaborating. To my disappointment there is not much lumber suitable for a “furniture” project. I meet two fellow visiting furniture artists, Leah Woods and Reagan Furqueron, who are turning over most of the same materials that I am. Leah teaches at the University of New Hampshire, and Reagan, who is to be my room mate, works at the Herron School of Art and Design, Indiana University. </span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245075?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058245075?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a>Leah Woods - Her recent studio work are fabulous furniture garments - check out <a href="http://leahkwoods.com/home.html">http://leahkwoods.com/home.html</a></span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248449?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058248449?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-full"/></a>Reagan Furqueron - see his work at <a href="http://reaganfurqueron.com/home.html">http://reaganfurqueron.com/home.html</a></span></p>
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<p><span>I have no idea what I am going to do or who I will work with. I eventually select a little pack of veneers, a few long thin pieces of timber, a beautifully patinated gourd, and some interesting pieces of machined metal, which I later learn are offcuts from a amusement ride manufacturer! </span></p>
<div><span> </span></div> Leaving my Studiotag:crafthaus.ning.com,2012-06-12:2104389:Topic:3506472012-06-12T13:55:12.004ZRoss Annelshttps://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/RossAnnels
<p>I had planned to do a lovely post about the process of packing up my workshop, and choosing tools to travel with - complete with a carefully composed collection of images.</p>
<p></p>
<p><span>This is not that post.…</span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058242463?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058242463?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" style="padding: 3px;" width="750"></img></a> <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058239787?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058239787?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" style="padding: 3px;" width="750"></img></a></span></p>
<p>I had planned to do a lovely post about the process of packing up my workshop, and choosing tools to travel with - complete with a carefully composed collection of images.</p>
<p></p>
<p><span>This is not that post.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058242463?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058242463?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058239787?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058239787?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Chaos on the bench</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span>Instead time ran away with me. The rain returned, slowing progress and reactivating the mud, and my last commission - a cabinet in solid and veneered jarrah for a favoured client went a bit pear-shaped. I had to make a very difficult call to inform her that her cabinet wouldn’t be finished until my return in several months - she understandably wasn’t happy (and neither was I).</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058239306?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058239306?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a> </span><span>Carcass glue-up</span></p>
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<p><span>But I did pack tools to travel with. The process was more rapid and less considered than I would have liked. The “technical” tools are simple - laptop, portable hard drive, charger, universal power adaptor, camera, lenses, card reader, digital recorder, monopod, remote release, iPhone and a whole bunch of cables. Simple but what a lot of stuff! Whatever happened to a visual diary and a couple of pens and pencils? (I packed those too!)</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058240036?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058240036?profile=original" width="598" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></span><span>Electronic tools</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span>But the studio tools ... The whole of my workshop is a tool for making stuff - pretty much any sort of stuff - from wood. How to narrow it down? Not taking the bandsaw or the jointer is sad but straightforward - all that machinery is much too heavy. But what about the clamps, my workbench, my pattern-makers vice that will hold just about anything? They are critical tools to the way I work. And many other makers will know just what I mean by this - you get very used to working with your bench/workstation and the holding and clamping tools that you have - and anything else - no matter how good - seems like making do. Im sure it is good for us to be that little bit flexible - but Im packing under pressure here - right now I’m not sure if I can be flexible!</span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058240223?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058240223?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058242453?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058242453?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></span><span>The whole studio is a tool for making stuff (images courtesy Original Eumundi Markets and Katja Anton)</span></p>
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<p><span>But more seriously - how do you even begin to choose what tools to take with you - what are the most basic elements of your working process that you find it difficult to do without?</span></p>
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<p><span>I began by thinking about the most basic of the furniture-makers tasks - the process of marking out. Since my eyes are in their middle-aged decline I definitely need to include my very stylish (not) prescription safety glasses. And a measuring tool I can read - that would be the digital calipers. And a square, a bevel and a marking knife. Settling on one of each of these is hard enough - what size? And as a chair-maker I’m used to using multiple bevels - each one set for a specific angle on the job. But even taking one traveling is luxurious. I had included a digital bevel-box, a fantastic tool that allows you to set almost any machine (even the clunkiest ones) to a very precise angle - but it didn’t make the final cut. I would also include tapes and a variety of rules here - I always have a few scattered about the studio when I’m working - but they are not such “personal” tools - I can use someone else's without too much difficulty (although that may mean working with imperial measurements - when will North America make the transition to metric? It is quite simply a better system for makers, simpler and with appropriately scaled units). And I have a drawer full of marking gauges, and I don’t think I can fit even one in my luggage ...</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058239363?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058239363?profile=original" width="533" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a>Marking out tools</span></p>
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<p></p>
<p><span>Next I turned my attention to tools for shaping work. Like many furniture makers I have (literally) drawers full of planes. And they are heavy, all cast iron and tool steel. And of course I NEED all of them. When I look really carefully at how I work, most of the time I use just two, a small mitre plane, and a number 7, a giant of a hand plane that suits my size. With that luggage weight allowance in mind, I reluctantly put the number 7 aside and include just the miter plane. So much for shaping planar surfaces, but Im a lover of curves - so a spokeshave, and a couple of beautiful rasps - a big Nicholson pattern-makers rasp and a really beautiful fine cutting Aurio.</span></p>
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<p><span>And what about cutting joints? On weight issues alone, I choose a tiny japanese style saw - I use both japanese pull saws and english pattern backsaws in my studio - and I’m always telling my students that they should have saws sharpened in both rip and cross-cut patterns ... And chisels - wow - bench chisels, carving chisels, paring chisels, patternmakers gouges, mortising chisels ... I settled on just two of my favourite lomg-handled Japanese paring chisels, a narrow (6mm) and a wide (36mm) one.</span></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058242580?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058242580?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><span>Sure hope someone has some waterstones I can use for sharpening...</span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058241264?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058241264?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><span> </span></p> The collaborationists: Graeme Priddletag:crafthaus.ning.com,2012-06-04:2104389:Topic:3493522012-06-04T23:00:17.538ZRoss Annelshttps://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/RossAnnels
<p>Meet Graeme Priddle - wood artist from New Zealand and uber-collaborationist. Graeme lives in Northland, New Zealand, but works around the world: teaching and demonstrating at woodturning events and schools, and exhibiting his fabulous vessels and sculptures.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058233711?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058233711?profile=original" style="padding: 3px;" width="533"></img></a> Graeme at a workshop in my studio. Photo by Ross Annels.</p>
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<p><span>I met Graeme at the first…</span></p>
<p>Meet Graeme Priddle - wood artist from New Zealand and uber-collaborationist. Graeme lives in Northland, New Zealand, but works around the world: teaching and demonstrating at woodturning events and schools, and exhibiting his fabulous vessels and sculptures.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058233711?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058233711?profile=original" width="533" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a>Graeme at a workshop in my studio. Photo by Ross Annels.</p>
<p></p>
<p><span>I met Graeme at the first Collaboration event I attended in Mittagong, NSW Australia. I remember feeling more than a little overwhelmed at the talent and ease with which Graeme and other participants playfully worked together to produce pieces.</span></p>
<p><span> </span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058236216?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058236216?profile=original" width="360" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058237102?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058237102?profile=original" width="483" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a>Graeme’s fabulous vessels - turned, carved, burnt and painted. Images courtesy the artist.</p>
<p><span>I shyly worked away and didn’t really get to know Graeme. Our friendship began later, when we worked together at another CollaborationAu. But Graeme’s approach to surface decoration lit a little spark that I took away from my first Collab and nurtured and fanned into life in my own studio. It was a direct challenge to the modernist orthodoxy of pure form and unadorned surface that my practice was built on to that point. The Echinoid Chair (the avatar for this group) was the first work that reflected this influence.</span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058237117?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058237117?profile=original" width="533" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a>Graeme at the bandsaw. Photo by Ross Annels.</span></p>
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<p><span>Graeme was one of the artists invited to the first Emma Collaboration in Canada in 1996 by Michael Hosaluk. He was so inspired by his experiences there that on his return to New Zealand, he set about creating the first copy of the Emma idea, and in 1998 the first CollaboratioNZ was held. Since that time, Graeme has been a regular attendee of Collaboration events: engaging, inspiring and working with makers at events including Emma, Echo Lake, CollaborationAu as well as being a mainstay of CollaboratioNZ. I attended CollaboratioNZ 2011, a fabulous gathering of 80 makers from around the world (including turners, carvers, sculptors, ceramicists, textile artists, furniture makers, print makers, blacksmiths, jewellers, glass workers and even a tattoo artist, a neon artist and a traditional bowmaker). The video of the 2009 event captures some of the excitement of a collaboration.</span></p>
<p><span> <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fzGSA1smMnY?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0"></iframe>
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<p><span>It is really a very simple recipe: take artists/makers, put aside economics, add materials, mix, and allow to work. The results are amazing.</span></p>
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<p><span>More about Graeme and his work at <a href="http://graemepriddle.com">http://graemepriddle.com</a></span></p> Bunya: can’t see the trees for the woodtag:crafthaus.ning.com,2012-06-03:2104389:Topic:3492492012-06-03T23:41:24.376ZRoss Annelshttps://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/RossAnnels
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>The magnificent Bunya Pine grows as a rainforest emergent in my local area. As a furniture maker it is too easy to become excited about the long lengths of easy working material they provide.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058237584?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058237584?profile=original" style="padding: 3px;" width="532"></img></a></p>
<p><span>But these trees are of particular significance to the local indigenous people, and the Bunya’s story highlights many of the complexities of black…</span></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>The magnificent Bunya Pine grows as a rainforest emergent in my local area. As a furniture maker it is too easy to become excited about the long lengths of easy working material they provide.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058237584?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058237584?profile=original" width="532" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><span>But these trees are of particular significance to the local indigenous people, and the Bunya’s story highlights many of the complexities of black white relationships in Australia. </span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058236118?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058236118?profile=original" width="533" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><span>Reconciliation Week has just ended in Australia; its purpose is to celebrate and build relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians so it seems appropriate to tell some of the story here.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058235943?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058235943?profile=original" width="533" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><span>Bunya’s produce enormous cones, about 300mm in diameter (12 inches), and they weigh anywhere from 3-10 kg (6.6lb - 22lb). The seeds - both raw and cooked - are edible and are produced yearly, with bumper crops every 3 or so years. </span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058236471?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058236471?profile=original" width="533" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058231890?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058231890?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><span>The local indigenous people, the Gubbi Gubbi or Kabi Kabi, held large gatherings to feast on the seasonal plenty. Individual clans were responsible for trees or groups of trees, with custodianship passed from father to son. People from other tribal groups travelled from many hundreds of kilometers away to these important occasions, to share in celebrations and ceremonial business.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058231736?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058231736?profile=original" width="533" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><span>When Europeans first arrived in this area, the colonial authorities recognised the importance of the Bunyas to the Gubbi Gubbi. In 1842 a statute was proclaimed by the colonial authorities in far away Sydney to preserve the trees against occupation of the lands where they occurred and against the cutting of the timber. </span></p>
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<p><span>As more white settlers arrived in the region, pressure on the available resources increased, resulting in territorial disputes, resistance, and massacres of aboriginal people. In 1859 the new state of Queensland was formed, and in 1860 one of the very first acts of the new parliament was to overturn the previous proclamation, freeing the way for the exploitation of the trees and the land, and directly challenging the Gubbi Gubbi’s custodianship and culture.</span></p>
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<p><span>The Gubbi Gubbi who were not direct victims of frontier violence or disease were forcibly removed from this area in the period 1880 -1920, and placed in government reservations with many other tribal and language groups, resulting in large scale cultural disruption and loss.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span>In 2007 Beverley Hand, a local woman of Gubbi Gubbi descent, reinvigorated the Bunya festivals as the Bunya Dreaming - a deliberate attempt to rebuild local culture and to share and celebrate it with indigenous and non-indigenous inhabitants of the region. I am proud to be her friend, and my family and I join the gathering each year to celebrate and support the survival and growth of local Aboriginal culture.</span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058236257?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058236257?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058236748?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058236748?profile=original" width="533" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058235882?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058235882?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></span></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058237964?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058237964?profile=original" width="533" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058236544?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058236544?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 3px;" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><span>I still lust after the Bunya tree for its fine timber! But by knowing its history and sacred value, I only use it sparingly with great care and respect and we have planted many new Bunyas on our land.</span></p>
<p></p> Always be careful how you begin ...tag:crafthaus.ning.com,2012-05-22:2104389:Topic:3467742012-05-22T21:51:03.680ZRoss Annelshttps://crafthaus.ning.com/profile/RossAnnels
<p><span>There is an old superstition that says something like</span> <span>‘how you</span> <span>start</span> <span>the year is how you will end it”. I am wondering if the same sort of thing applies to blogs.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span>I wrote my first blog post about the rain - lots of rain - and unfortunately it really didn’t stop raining here until just a few weeks ago.</span><span> …</span></p>
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<p></p>
<p><span>There is an old superstition that says something like</span> <span>‘how you</span> <span>start</span> <span>the year is how you will end it”. I am wondering if the same sort of thing applies to blogs.</span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span>I wrote my first blog post about the rain - lots of rain - and unfortunately it really didn’t stop raining here until just a few weeks ago.</span><span> </span></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058225391?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058225391?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 2px;" class="align-full"/></a>Through the window</p>
<p></p>
<p><span>Our wet season has been longer and more intense than usual, and has resulted in lots of localised flooding - in one event we had about 390 mm fall overnight - thats about 15 inches of rain. The 150 mm (6 inches) a few days later just seemed like a light shower! </span></p>
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<p><span>When that much water falls and flows, it leaves marks - watermarks.</span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058230798?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058230798?profile=original" width="533" style="padding: 2px;" class="align-full"/></a>Flags on Fence</span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058230349?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058230349?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 2px;" class="align-full"/></a>Fence with Folds</span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058227682?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058227682?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 2px;" class="align-full"/></a>Felted Fence</span></p>
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<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058231182?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1058231182?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" style="padding: 2px;" class="align-full"/></a>Flow marks of mud on my workshop floor.</span></p>
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