After a morning of coffee at the Tilba Teapot, and prowling the wonderful stuff at Apma Aboriginal Gallery and Giftshop, I walk with a friend of 30 years through the Bermagui wetlands (last time I did this I was leading a gaggle of primary school kids seeking writing inspiration), onto the beach, and back along the clear waters of the estuary. Conversation and an attempt to keep pace with my companion took the place of photography.
Lunch was aptly named bliss salad – grated beetroot, fried tofu, fresh herbs and a sweet dressing – at River Rock cafe. I met a new musical instrument, the cabasa, listened to conversations about the difficulty of buying guitar strings in the country, and heard the birth of plans for a trip to Mongolia.
Narek Gallery was a perfect end to the day, an exhibition showcasing Annie Franklin’s multiple skills – painting, ceramics, carving and moulded frames. There was poetry in the names of her pieces, some merely place names, none of this “untitled” nonsense!
3D tributes to trees were contained in boxes.
Ceramics were also displayed in carved boxes, or on a kind of mini-stage with a landscape behind them.
Paintings, in frames moulded by the artist, have something of the naive about them, attention paid to every blade of grass.
Her tribute to a tree is painted against a background decorated with images of all the life that depends on it.
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