Being the Bowerbird she is, she will swoop upon and seize the smallest scrap of plastic waste. She will leap from a moving car for a bottle lid. Run bravely through lanes of traffic to secure a broken plastic toy. The eyes light up when they see the small stash of plastic I may have gleaned for her. For she is not only a bowerbird, but an artiste. One with the assemblage skills of a reconstructive surgeon, I might add.
So it was with enormous delight that, in the first leg of the Sculpture by the sea walk, that her beautiful wreath installation swung into view, lit by the sun on a grassy slope overlooking the sea. It was an absolute festival of children, who were examining each wreath with the wonderment and interest that they usually reserve for that chocolate display right next to the cash register in the supermarket: the one with the seductive sparkly rainbow colours.
Each wreath, using discarded waste materials, commemorates all the public gardens which no longer exist in sydney, due to the drought, to water restrictions, to global warming. And not only that, she has given workshops to little children AND provided a catalogue of all the pieces....which are so funny...she should write copy!
All this, and can surf too.
On her very pretty surfboard, which, I believe, matches her swimming costume, so she is quite the visual spectacle in real life too.
Bravo, Miss Jane!
Visit her via the link: This Bower My prison, at right.
(its late, and I cant find my linking code)
16 comments:
awesome simply awesome.what a talent she has.I love it.I to save things that can be used to make treasures.my daughters think I am nuts or at best a packrat.but I have my revenge my grandkids do what I do they look for uses for things.aint grandkids great?they save us grannys from looking odd just cause we see value in things.
((((((((((((((HUGS))))))))))))))
WOW. Those wreaths are magical!
Your friend Jane sounds like a wondrous woman.
What a beautiful idea, a fantastic way to entrance kids into engaging with a serious concept.
far out!!!!...that must have taken some skill & patience.
looks great.
I'm not sure running through busy traffic to pick up discarded objects is THAT good of an idea, no matter the motivation of the heart!
That one picture of all those wreaths on that hill side reminded me a bit of that 1971 commercial where all those young, idealistic "Flower Power" hippies gather on that hillside outside of Rome to sing, "I'd Like to Teach the World To Sing" for a Coca-Cola commercial.
No, I know that wasn't the intent of the picture!
Thank you for highlighting my babies. As usual, your words only add to their colour and make them appear even more interesting than I could have hoped.
What a great idea!
I'm sure the kids are enchanted with your friend Jane!
When you say that the public gardens no longer exist - do you mean that they have been utilized for another purpose or that they are no longer a 'green colored' public garden?
Wow, what a lot of work! And how lovely.
Wonderful!
How great to teach children not to waste, & to make something beautiful from something discarded!
Gorgeous! Thank you for sharing a little part of your world...
hi fifi filiaria (tee hee),
I just wanted to let you know that if you ever felt like e-mailing, you could e-mail me on this address - jellyheadrambles@yahoo.com.au
Although my dream was very silly (and indeed your 'name' does sound suspiciously medical - your 'quote' had me actually laughing out loud!), I really would love to meet you one day. I have family and friends in your city, so I get there about once a year. Maybe one day we could drink some caffeine together!
Hope you had a good Tuesday fifi
XO Jelly
they are completely wonderful! (i think leeds could do with a few, too, it's very grey around here at the moment.)
Where are you?? I was looking for some commentary on your election -- to say nothing of a few more pictures from your trip! Oh, yes, I also was wondering what your thoughts were on my architectural critique of the Australian embassy building here in D.C. (I posted a picture of the building a few entries back that I took on a walk last Saturday evening.)
hi fifi, i guess you've got better things to do than blogging right now, but i'm tagging you for an 'earliest memory' meme. it's just writing about your earliest memory, basically. i'd be interested to hear what yours is... details at my blog.
i really like this art. I find a lot of bits and pieces on sidewalks and in parking lots. tiny toys. Once I found a GI Joe arm--just the arm, but I knew it was from him because the hand had the kung fu grip.
i noticed you are part bird part fish--that sounds really tasty to me.
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