Across the Universe - the official photoshoot

Over the last week I have worked really hard to get the last of the quilting done on my second quilt for the Canberra Quilters' Exhibition.



By Tuesday night very late I was done, and then I spent the next couple of nights binding, adding a sleeve and a label.



And I'm pleased to say that it's all done! Both quilts were handed in early this afternoon and I'm really looking forward to seeing them exhibited at the show in two weeks along with the quilts of my friends.

Before we handed our quilts in today, my trusty photographic assistant Bron came with me to Mt Stromlo Observatory to take photos of both my Across the Universe quilt (which I had never photographed before! Probably because I wasn't blogging when I finished it), and my second exhibition quilt.



If you don't know Mt Stromlo, it's an astronomy and astrophysics research facility in Canberra's west. It was pretty much destroyed during the 2003 Canberra Bushfires, but the Australian National University is slowly building it back up (although without research telescopes), and they've also kept some of the ruins there. This telescope was built almost 100 years ago. It's just a shell now, and it's incredibly sad to be reminded of the devastation of that terrible day. However it also reminds you that some amazing skies have been seen through the telescope over the years, and also that from destruction can come new life.



Photographing "Across the Universe" with it's zooming planets inside the old telescope was kind of perfect.

Bron performed incredible Pilates moves to hold up this quilt. At only 151cm in length, it is far shorter than both Bron and hairbun and we also seem to have acquired an aversion to shoes showing at the bottom of our quilts since we started to do our on-location quilt fashion photography! Talk about best photographic assistant ever.



(Don't worry - the other quilt we photographed required her to stretch her arms up way over her head and battle the stiff wind while holding a heavy quilt. Photos soon...)

In the last week

In the last week:



There were a few early evening bus rides home as I miss my usual lift thanks to the crazy volume of work in my day job. Thank heavens the walk home is lovely and calming.



There was a bit of bag making.


There was an afternoon of get-me-the-hell-out-of-here-and-take-me-to-the-quilt-store shopping.



There was a magnificent under-the-pear-tree afternoon of cheesecaking, known in these parts as cheesecakeapalooza.



There was a fair bit of hand quilting done on the wonky quilt.



There were a lot of beans.

Love is stronger than fear. Kindness is stronger than greed.

In October 2001, in international waters off Indonesia, a small fishing vessel sank and killed 353 of its 400 passengers. The passengers were asylum seekers trying to gain entry into Australia. Of the 353 who died, 146 were children. The boat is known as "SIEV X" by the Australian Government and the press, and this stands for "Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel".

This afternoon we went for a drive, and found ourselves at the SIEV X Memorial on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin. It was erected in 2006 by communities and churches around Australia who wanted to commemorate an awful day in Australian history. Each person who died is symbolised by a white pole decorated with artwork. The tall poles represent the adults and the short poles represent the children.



Some have names, but others are just described as "Unknown".



It doesn't matter what your politics are, or whether you believe that asylum seekers or even immigrants belong in Australia. In fact, I really don't care what your politics are, just as I'm sure you don't care about mine.

But the Siev X memorial is something, in my opinion, every person should pay a visit to if they get the chance. I'll be honest - I was moved to the point of sobbing. The loss of life is so enormous and pointless, but yet represented so visually and beautifully.



It reminds us of the fragility of life, and of the strength of the human spirit. It reminds us of our weaknesses and our strengths, and most importantly it may help us resolve to be kinder to one another.



And that's the perfect Easter message, don't you think?

Enlightened

When Canberra has a birthday, she celebrates over a few weeks and with a festival or three thrown in. At the moment, we are being entertained up by the Enlighten Festival, which runs over 10 days and finishes this weekend. There are a variety of music concerts and events, but the main attraction for me are the fact that some of my favourite buildings have been painted in lightand i can see them from free.

Like this.



This is the National Library of Australia, a stunning building at the best of times, always looking so imposing by the lake. But tonight it was bathed in some very beautiful images.





I could have stayed here and watched all night, but I moved on to the National Gallery of Australia. Space to set up my tripod was at a premium as a photography class turned up at the same time as I did. That was kind of fun, and made me extra excited about the photography class I'm starting in a few weeks. If I get the time, I'd like to go back and take some of the shots at the gallery on a different angle.









Finally, the lights on Old Parliament House, or the Museum of Australian Democracy as it is better known these days.



These photos took a long time to get right. When I first set up my tripod, I was too far away, even for my zoom lens and tripod and the shots were over exposed and blurry. Eventually I walked right up to the pond, across from the Tent Embassy, and set up there. Much better.







There were a few of us photographers standing by the pond, all taking slow shutter speed photos. It was quite peaceful, just the sound of our timers beeping and the occasional utterance of "cool" and "nice shot". I like photographers.







A lady turned up as part of a group, and started using her camera with a flash. Which was kinda silly when we were standing 100 metres from the building, but also annoying because we were all taking slow shutter shots about 8 to 10 seconds long, and we were getting un-stunning flashy bits in our shots. Luckily she decided to turn her flash off before any of us could turn into Wanker Photographers and growl at her.



But oh - isn't the old lady beautiful?