Starting from scratch - a rare privilege

Priority #1 - Create

The new indoor studio and office is under construction. The whole build has been in the pipeline for 2+ years with delays due to everything from pandemics, to supply, to just because good things often take time. The beauty and curse of planning the new studio from scratch - I can take all the credit for the design, and it's only on me if something isn't right!

Recessed, sliding doors will open to reveal and 5m x 5m space divided by look-through Kalax shelving into two distinct areas. The practical creative space - for sewing, stitching, piecing, quilting and all things Bernina will take up about 60% of the floor space, while the office component will be used for ongoing paid employment, study and creative pursuits of the digital kind.

Along the north facing wall (sheeted) I'm planning shelving with enclosed containers for my textiles and art plus a couple of lounge chairs to relax, read and be still.

Steve Parcell Builders included a gorgeous recess / alcove in front of the east-facing window. It will be filled with greenery - a special area for inspired, quiet reflection.

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Making progress Trees #2

The mess before the beauty

The excavator's words have stuck in my head, rent free. ' I have to make one hell of a mess before it can become beautiful. There is no beautiful end without the mess '. Or words to that effect. The retaining walls at the back of the house have to be finished before anything else can happen in the yard - and in between downpours, a few expletives and more rain, it has beena testing time for all involved in the construction. I thought about his words - and the effort of making a quilt from scratch. The planning, drawing, testing, dyeing, playing, creating, starting again, creating and the final 'ah ha'. There is so much 'mess' before a quilt is resolved becomes a thing of meaning and beautiful in its own way. Blessed are the excavators.

Mapping it out - initial thoughts

I find the process that resolves itself as a textile work challenging. In the beginning I am clueless. This is as much a strength as a source of mild anxiety. I have learnt persistence and turning up are as important as creative thinking. I'm mindful my first response is not going to be the best so I'm starting with a mind-dump. My focus is the Neville Bonner Pedestrian bridge connecting Queens Wharf to South Bank. Thoughts are scratched deep into journal pages. I'll find more connections over coming months. Right now I'm challenged and torn. What started as perfunctory research about Meanjin's (Brisbane's) newest bridge has developed into a sense of disappointment and WTFWTWPT (WTF-were-the-white-people-thinking)? I'm unpacking those thoughts in my journal - the architects and their inspiration, the consortium , what the bridge connects, where it leads, Yuggera and Turrbul people's connections to this part of the river, Mr Neville Bonner's own ...

Ali George Artist

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