Visitors

This week my parents have come to visit us in Hobart. They are our first visitors, and I lost my patience a few times, but it went so quickly and now the house feels empty. Fortunately we have another visitor tonight; so the quietness will be short-lived.
Mostly it took me from my routine but it was great to get out and explore with them. We spent the first day and a half getting our place habitable for guests (with the help of the guests), and the remainder exploring.

On Monday we waited for a bed delivery, trekked through North Hobart and the tip of the CBD, (where I checked out the CWA store for the first time and was impressed) Tuesday we went to Bruny, Wednesday we went to Russell Falls and Mount Field and Thursday Cygnet and Hobart again.
The highlights would have to be the $2 2005 German design mag I picked up down from the CWA, but am yet to read, the drive to the point (near art of the point) on Bruny which I hadn't been to before (although it was closed it was a nice drive), Russell Falls in Mount Field National Park (which I couldn't resist sharing again) where we saw snow, wallabies and so much growth, Dev'Lish Espresso on Macquarie Street, Hobart, where I had some really great gnocchi, and a Lark Whisky Chocolate Bar from Cygneture Chocolates.

Sunday

On Sunday we went out to South Arm to check the surf,  there was a little staffie-like dog who came running over to us, it hung by me while Robbie went out to surf. It was fantastic to have some company, and great to meet a dog! I've been missing mine. We went home to some coffee made with fresh beans and some home cooked chocolate ganache tarts (yum!). Loving Tassie time.

Mount Field

On Saturday we went out to New Norfolk; which we were visiting for the first time. I knew of the Drill Hall Emporium, an antique shop with a lot of old french linen and wares (but knew it was unaffordable for me) but it was nice to look around. There were antique shops scattered up the main strip, and we ducked into the 'cake lady cafe' for chai lattes (it looked folky so we knew that would be their strong point; it was they were great!) some toast and of course cakes. Then Robbie suggested we drive to Mount Field National Park since we weren't far. It was a beautiful drive through the charmingest strip of houses lining the river, I'm not sure which town, but it was so clean and quiet with lots of kids outside having fun. We stopped at parts through the National park, full of ferns and fungi in the middle! And when we reach the peak, there was beautiful Australian bush, with the sound of running water but it was so quiet and still at the same time. There were cars around but we didn't see any other people. It was unreal, magical! I highly recommend it. We also discovered that there is an active small ski field there in the winter, so close to Hobart! It was a really lovely day  

Cloud Cover

This week has been really cold, rainy and windy, the sky has such a thick cover of cloud it feels like it rolling into evening all day. We've had 16 degree days on average, yesterday was a high of 13. In true Autumn style all the leaves are yellow and orange, and this wind has made it a great specitcle to watch them all blowing around in the big gusts of wind with the pouring rain.

We have merino wool socks, gloves, beenies, jumpers and blankets, and a wool stuffed quilt which is leaving fur (balls of wool) all over the house. It looks like we have smuggled a white cat into the house, and into our bed.

I've baked four batches of cookies, and each one has come out differently; I need to get some scales. Only one batch worked well; and have been making coffee after coffee (from one of the best cafes in hobart, Pilgrim), and when the sun comes out, I walk into town past the very cool gate which says N.Zito on it in bright red. I wonder if it is their name? It reminds me a bit of Pop's house. Have a nice day.

Tmag

Yesterday Robbie and I visited Tmag, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in Hobart. It was a spur of the moment, what to do on Sunday idea, but it turned out to have a lot of relevance to what's been on my mind lately.

I have been thinking a lot about publishing, children's publishing and illustration, and have been looking at people doing great things in this field. I've been visiting contemporary children's stores and trying to not make a complete bee line for the kid's book section at bookstores and libraries. It's exciting to see the books and zines I've been reading about on the web in person. To be able to flick through them and experience them - like a kid.

They're simple because they're well resolved, and I think it's a great skill to have the ability communicate quickly and concisely, in fewer words with a few images.

As a result I have been thinking about the illustrators and illustrations that I grew up with, including team Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake, an appreciation for Ernest Howard Shepard's Winnie the Pooh, and many largely through television, including Ludwig Bemelman's Madeline, and Spot by Eric Hill.

I wonder if these have shaped the illustrations that catch my attention today (immediacy, ink and rough colour), such as the sketches of Alan Fletcher and Bob Gill.

In the gift shop (my favourite!) I spotted two great books for kids (which I would be keen on buying for myself), The Colouring Book by Herve Tullet, and Drawing: For the Artistically Undiscovered by Quentin Blake, which led me to this video. I think the appeal of these black ink lines with spilling watercolour in between may also have to do with the watercolour books my Grandma used to give me (where you just use water on a paintbrush and the colour appears on the page bleeding from ink dots).
:)

Children and Cats

Settled into Hobart now, I finished Bruno Munari's book 'Design as Art' during my first week here. Within the helpful chapter on Children's Books he states;

'Knowing children is like knowing cats. Anyone who doesn't like cats will not like children or understand them. Every day you see some old woman approach a child with terrible grimaces and babble idiocies in a language full of booes and cooes and peekiweekies. 

Children generally regard such persons with the utmost severity, because they seem to have grown old in vain. Children do not understand what on earth they want, so they go back to their games, simple and serious games that absorb them completely.

To enter the world of a child (or cat) the least you must do is sit down on the ground without interrupting the child in whatever he is doing, and wait for him to notice you. It will then be the child who makes contact with you, and you (being older, and I hope not older in vain) with your higher intelligence will be able to understand his needs and his interests, which are by no means confined to the bottle and the potty. He is trying to understand the world he is living in, he is groping his way ahead from one experience to the next, always curious and wanting to know everything.'

I took this photo of our neighbours cat sitting in our garage/carport yesterday. I don't know his name yet but it's a nice cat who loves our yard, and house too. I waltzed in and interrupted him though, sorry!

I will look for vintage Munari children's books. 

Home life

We're twenty days in our place today, and five years together tomorrow.