Sunday, March 16, 2008

Tall trees, sulphur lakes, boiling mud ...

But could I find a eucalyptus tree ... no. Still we had fun relaxing in hot pools, and making stinky fart jokes as one does in Rotorua. I managed to find a couple of dozen rusted bolts along the train tracks in obscure places and people slowed down to check me out, I think they thought I may be suicidal. I found a big bag of cotton selvedge (I mean big, as big as me anyway) for $3 in Levin, which I am merrily rolling into giant fabric balls. I went op-shopping, we collected acorns, walnuts, chestnuts and a few other weird seed pod things. The boys skateboarded, I did some stitching on one of my new look linen shirts, I pounded some flowers for prints onto fabric and paper, I walked and felt touristy (which was unpleasant being a Maori in a distinctly Maori town), we bought some homegrown music CD's - Kora, KATCHAFIRE, and Whirimako Black - (bass/dub/reggae/Maori mixes), and we mingled with my husband's work colleagues. It was a work function after all. My husband collected water from Lake Taupo for me and then helped me fill a bag with pumice, driftwood, volcanic stones and giant feathers. You know your husband loves you when he carries all that stuff and stops a million times to check out trees, railway tracks, op shops, etc and never once complains or makes out like he's bored or had enough. He's priceless. I am too tired to post photos which for some reason will not download quickly tonight. It was worth the effort, although it was a long journey (9 hours) for the kids. I have withdrawn my withdrawal from my drawing class tomorrow, so need to get some sleep, because that is my toughest subject. I will try and drop some photos tomorrow night. The pain in my shoulder and arm seems to have subsided somewhat, probably because I wasn't sitting at the computer. Have a great week, I plan to!

2 comments:

ArtPropelled said...

The giant bag of cotton selvedge sounds like a treat! Glad you had a relaxing day with plenty of foraging and gathering.... as usual. Makes life interesting doesn't it? Sweet dreams. That shoulder needs all the rest it can get.

india flint said...

hey rachelle, i'm thinking that water from Lake Taupo, being slightly acidic, will make a great base for some of those brewed mordants we were talking about at Kapiti. I'd be putting some in a glass jar with a few old copper coins (or plumbing fittings) cos I'm guessing that (with the sulphur content of the water) you'll be able to 'ferment' a brilliant mordant for green dyes...
hugs
india