This past fortnight has seen me doing a lot of preparation for a trip to India. I leave in just over two weeks on a Rotary Friendship exchange and as team leader it has taken some patience to get plans in place with our Indian counterparts. Emails have been "lost in translation"...No blame is being laid, but when communicating with another culture, what one writes can often be misunderstood and misinterpreted from both sides. Anyway, it's finally all coming together, thank goodness.

This is another bird painting completed to take with me as a gift for our Indian hosts. Check out a previous post for the Magpie and Parrot. I've also painted a Koala, Lorikeet and Galah, but I'm not yet happy with the results so I'm not posting them at this stage.

The Albury Wodonga Artist's Society are currently exhibiting at MAMA (Murray Arts Museum Albury). I attended the opening on 3rd July and would have to say I was disappointed with the way the show was curated, and I wasn't the only one. That said, there are some great works in the exhibition so if you're in Albury call in as the show runs until September 10th so there's still time to check it out. I have the following piece in the exhibition. It is a three dimensional artwork of a series of small boxes made entirely from fused plastic bags.

Last week I hosted another De Nova Artists get together. It's always inspiring to see what others in the group are doing in their art practices. Each month we set a small art task and this month our task was to produce a brooch. Most of the group crafted their brooches using the medium they are working in. Here's one I made from plastic bags and recycled electrical wiring. It's certainly not a masterpiece, but it was fun.

Just a promotion for a friend who is about to open an exhibition in Sydney at Bondi Pavilion Gallery. Queen Elizabeth Drive, Bondi Beach. Opening Wednesday 23rd August 6-8pm

Meg Sprouster and Barb Strand "Listen to the land" opens 22nd August to 3rd September 10-5pm

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