a rat in the duck pen ....

 now to figure out how to get it out! 

#anyexcuse Drive to nearby Burnie Tasmania

 sometimes i am a passenger in my own car so as to give V a go at driving the Diva.  a few images on the road to Burnie using slow exposure.

birthday #getaway #anyexcuse to drive the Diva

I am late to post but here it is.  my birthday #getaway this year was a train ride after the road trip to Queenstown. #anyexcuse to drive the Diva.

We had to leave very early to make the 9.30am deadline arriving in Queenstown on time, enough to grab a coffee. The road to Queenstown is extremely winding which, needless to say, the Diva handled beautifully and V was quite happy to be driven (notwithstanding he takes calls all the time - running his car hire business on the move).  He did drive a portion of the road to give me a break over the 3.5 hours it takes.

We had fun and some nice food, sparkling orange juice and Tassie chocolates.  The weather was (Tasmania) damp, chilly, not uncomfortable with random sunshine.

The train trip, of 34 kilometres, on The Wilderness West Coast Railway Tasmania is very well setup taking us through 'rugged terrain and breathtaking scenery' whilst telling of its history and that of the area. 

love that little TOOT at the end

We had a stop at Lynchford where they have snacks and toilets and a  museum space with displays and artefacts. You can try your luck in the outdoor gold panning exhibition which is a nice connection to gold mining activities which took place in the early days.

We did Queenstown to Rinadeena where the train is unable to turn around so they switched the engine to the back attaching it to the last carriage which then became the first!  Great to watch all the chuff chuffing of the engine as it moved from front to back. 

We were in the front carriage which on the trip back became the last carriage. And everyone swapped sides to get a different perspective on the way back. 

heading back out of Queenstown

check out the art gallery

Two new prints - unique, one-of-a-kind, available, float mounted (edges are shown) ready to take to your framer.  #workingeveryday 

hellebore1

Updating online art gallery with new monoprints and small collages for sale (with free postage anywhere in the world - small collage series only).  I created a bundle of collages as part of a #freebie #giveaway to my subscribers of the art gallery. and kept creating them.

hellebore2

I have also updated the look of the site so that artworks can be seen as a whole across the screen with a quick, easy look at the detail. ... let me know what you think

living with cats

These two are funny ... Millie is his baby - and the only female of 4 cats. 

We have two black and whites and two gingers.  check out the building of their outdoor facility where they go each day, if the weather is not foul.  the playlist of videos for the cat run are here.  

some of my favourites :

Archie escaping the pen which caused us to put up electric wiring - needless to say he tried to escape again, only once.  

Millie was the first to come down the ramp leading out of the house and to go into the big tunnel (under the road) to get to the pen - her first time.

our youtube channel is regularly updated with experiences in the studio,#countryliving, #tasmania, artworks including artist books and more including #Snowcone - a dariy cow in retirement that lives with us.

she has her own playlist that she shares with our turbo chooks

and #George - the old cat

i would love to hear about the animals you may live with

a little house sparrow a narrow escape

This tiny bird was caught up in the 'v' of the bird stand - you can see i have plugged it with a little vase at the moment.  the bird was stuck in the bottom of the V shape with each wing splayed around two legs.  fortunately it did not struggle while i lifted it out by its two little wings. 

it was extreme luck i was passing having just walked up to the house to get a cup of coffee.

.  

with eyes closed and shock kicking in i put it into a shoe box with the lid askew in the studio for an hour.  checking a couple of times its little body was breathing heavily while it recovered.

and thankfully, recover it did!  it was bright eyed and alert when i put the box outside without the lid.  with other bird sounds around, the little mite chirped loudly and i saw an adult come over to the box.  the little one soon flew off with the adult.  so good.

is it a house sparrow ? i googled but i cannot see any images with the yellow marks on either side of its beak.

new season Turbo Chooks - babies being looked after by the extended family

Early Spring our couple of Turbo Chooks that live on the block outside the studio had 6 chicks; they managed to raise 4 to young teenage status and 3 days ago the whole family of 4 teens and 2 adults marched 6 new little chicks out across the lawn.  so lovely to see how they all pitch in. (images below and you tube video below images)

WELCOME TO SUMMER & the occasional newsletter

Occasionally i send out a newsletter to my subscribers and have posted here the latest sent out this week.  There is a free gift promised that will be sent out after Christmas.  See the newsletter here.

Subscribe to my list here. (in the left hand column)

AND A CHRISTMAS haiku written today

Christmas ideas - support a local artist

Blackfisharts Gallery is a new place where i have been placing artworks made available and selling now.  It is being regularly updated as i find, record and load artworks. 

A few artworks are up on blackfisharts tasmania site -  there are paintings across media such as acrylic, oil, pastel featuring abstracts, pears and landscape.

and prints, most being one of a kind monoprints or digital. 

Textiles are new to the site - years of slow stitching at night culminate in wall hangings such as these. 

The section Collage includes the textiles due to the way they are worked - a few analogue collages are loaded on the site.

Out and About Spring happening

Baby turbo chooks happening all over the place .. these live outside the studio - they started with 6 and unfortunately lost 2 to goshawks.  These 4 have been doing okay - the image was taken 2 weeks ago.  We have kept fallen trees along the edge of the creek which is providing shelter and hiding spots for them.  so good. so cute.

Did you know we have a youtube channel that has a playlist for monthly diary walk arounds and living with fauna (among others). - here's one.  October diary walk 2025 

and this one (September creek after rains)

 

#anyexcuse to take The Diva for a drive

Happy Birthday to V - i took him on a mystery tour encompassing 1.5 hours drive one way, that he guessed just 15 minutes from leaving home.

Seahorse World at Beauty Point - a lovely drive, new vistas to take in and  Aussie eats beginning to our trip - pie and sausage roll. stopped at Exeter Bakery enroute.

We keep getting the signage wrong in taking photos - happy birthday V

The Diva - #anyexcuse 

Spring joy is fast becoming the most stressful time of year

 

Normally we would not see the daily machinations of the native hens (turbo chooks) that live with us however, we have a pair of turbo chooks that have set up house on our front lawn - they have been there for 3 years and have not yet grown their babies to adulthood.  

Its fast becoming the most stressful time of the year for us.  This poor little bundle was picked up by a goshawk, turbo chook mum and i went hollering across the hill and the hawk dropped the chick. If it were not for the talons i wonder if the chick would have survived.  She is now buried under a shrub.  

This little one (above) was part of 6 day old chicks and as of today we are down to 4with one that is hopping having hurt a leg.  Today has been the most stressful as goshawks have come and gone and now a crow has noticed the little one that is not walking well. Mum has chased it away twice and it is just upsetting to think of the battle these little ones endure daily.

a short video here of the turbo babies a couple of days before.

In the chase for simiplicity it becomes complex - where to find me

 if you follow me you may know that i am in the studio every day and work across media including collage, painting, slow stitching, photomedia, printmaking and poetry.

The image above is from my exhibition held at the Wilderness Gallery Cradle Mountain a couple of years ago - acrylic & gesso on paper.  90x110cm framed in a simple genuine hardwood (eucalypt). Images of the works in the exhibition can be seen here.

With over 120 published works of poetry I have created and am slowly bringing the site up to date here. Writing is a big part of my arts practice and poetry is an extension of that writing.  I enjoy mostly short form such as haiku, haiga, haibun, tanka and some free verse. I was fortunate to be a part of a fabulous forum, in the day when there were forums, where some of the world's top poets in short form guided new poets like myself through the maze of information and bias of the various forms. This kind of support in writing and being published was key to the growth of new poets coming through.  I feel most fortunate.  

My site of artworks, blackfishartstasmania, hosts a gallery of works and workshops for sale as well as exhibitions my works have been in and artist statements.  The site is new, and i am tentative, so updating this site is taking time, but it is being done.

There is also my 'studio work' site which talks mainly about works in progress, #getaways, the works of other artists and general musings of this artist, working every day, living in (and loving) Tasmania.

last but not least, this site 'Regents Park' contains the aritst's lifestyle having moved recently to a country property in Tasmania where everything is new to me, new discoveries, learning to live with wildlife proper (turbo chooks, a resident eel, tiger snakes, bandicoots, platypus as well as dairy cow in retirement. #Snowcone.

 In the chase for simiplicity it becomes complex.

oh ... dont forget we have a youtube channel too

and my instagram

I appreciate you being here .... let me know where i can find you - let me know what you think - let me know you visit.    Gina

Sunday musing pre workshop

 Its a beautiful Spring day here - intermittent showers with sunny moments in between.  The Camellia which was planted before we came is in full flower again.  Unusually, i think, its turned two-tone - quite lovely.

The studio is lovely and clean - V & I mopped the floor a week ago - huge job (18x12 metres in and around tables and benches) and i swept it up this morning in readiness for our workshop.  A small group (as i like it) and a day of making this book and this one.

I dont have workshops often as i work a lot on my own projects but i do enjoy when i hold them. Usually they are held in winter or winter's end but i am open to any time of year if groups organise themselves - bring 1 or 2 friends with you and email me your dates if you wish to have a workshop. I have placed the book workshops here.

Updated my poetry site a little yesterday - big job - onward with regular updates to post in one place all my (mainly published) poetry but also some of my favourites.

SIGNS of Spring (again)

The birds, in mobs, are racing around, chasing, being chased, singing and heralding. The creek is high from recent rains, chinese cabbage and brocoli have bolted, the mini nectarine is already in full flower and if there was any doubt at all .....   the wattles are out.

and then there is #Snowcone ... such a sweet girl - our dairy cow in retirement 

find her on our youtube channel here ... and check out this hilarious one where she got out and i had not a clue what to do ! 

lovely Rainy Days this month - remembering the flood !

July and we have been experiencing many days and night of rain. we needed it as the paddocks had got very dry, turning wheat coloured over summer.  it only took a couple of days of rain to return to green again and we get these little visitors at night.    image below - link refers to info on the little brown tree frog.

and it was such a nice surprise to find, online, the sound it makes - surprise because i always assumed THIS sound was crickets but it is actually the little brown tree frog. 

It was October (i think) 2022 when the creek flooded - a once in 7 year flood (apparently) ... there is a playlist of flood videos that happened in 2022 on our you tube

hoping it is is indeed once in 7 years ... or longer - we will be fine as the house is up the hill but the studio got flooded and that took 6 weeks to clean up !

love this idea - recipe

recently moved to the country and more natural ways to clean and what is disposed of is top of mind ...we have water tanks and a septic tank which requires gentle cleaning products for it to work well.

a walk by the creek

on a recent walk discovered this lovely flowering - Fatsia Japonica - i wrote about it here.  a winter flowering.  look forward to seeing how big it gets - apparently quite large and wide.

i took photos of this particular part of the creek, from the bridge and came back at night to take shots of around the same area, from the bridge.  

still discovering things along our journey here -the creek has filled a little since we have been getting regular rains - the paddocks have greened over and the wallabies are gathering in large groups during the night to chomp on the grass.

check out this video on youtube of blackfish in the creek 

and i am doing monthly videos (just started this year) - we have been here 3 years and i began the monthly vids so i can notice the differences and changes each year.