This week coming!

To read all about the OPEN STUDIO WEEK just scroll down to posts written on July 8 and July 1st - I may not get to the computervery often in the next 8 days... but you can email if you are able to attend any events or wish to know more. You'll find a mobile number at the other posts! You can read more by clicking sophiemunns.blogspot.com - my other blog!

Biodiversity is the Variety of Life on Earth

at open studio week we will be talking about how it is that...

biodiversity is our life 

To pay 'homage to the seed' in the year 2010 asks multiple questions about our contemporary world... how did the seed as generator of life come to be so completely taken for granted - at aleast by those of us living where food seems abundant and money is not out of reach! Our attention is needed at this time. 

A great Blogger friend Egmont van Dyke sent me some links this afternoon and I found some interesting material to share here. I might add it is very worth a visit to the directory blog my friend set up...with its links to many creative people and organisations.

Taxonomy: from the UNEP

For the sake of brevity I omitted posting all the pages of this 30 page file... But you can find more brilliant material here at WWW.UNEP.ORG ... do go have a look.

Read about    

The 2010 BIP Indicators

Status and trends of biodiversity
Extent of forests Extent of assorted habitats Living Planet Index Wild Bird Index Coverage of Protected areas Protected Area Overlays with Biodiversity Management Effectiveness of Protected Areas Red List Index Ex situ crop collections Genetic Diversity of terrestrial domesticated animals
Sustainable Use
Area of forest under sustainable management: certification (or Forest certification) Area of forest under sustainable management: degradations and deforestation (or Forest degradation and deforestation) Area of agricultural ecosystems under sustainable management Proportion of fish stocks in safe biological limitsStatus of species in trade Wild Commodities Index Ecological Footprint
Threats to biodiversity
Nitrogen Deposition Trends in Invasive Alien Species
Ecosystem Integrity
Marine Trophic Index Water Quality Index for Biodiversity Forest fragmentation River Fragmentation and Flow Regulation Health and Well-being of Communities Nutritional Status of Biodiversity Biodiversity for Food and Medicine
Traditional Knowledge
Linguistic Diversity
Resource Transfers
Official Development Assistance in support of the CBD

July 12 to 18: Open Studio Week... Mt Coot-tha

Read "you've got mail" to see what's been happening with "postcards from the blogosphere" - the mail art show organised for the Homage to the Seed OPEN STUDIO WEEK.
so what is OPEN STUDIO WEEK?
Click here to get the background story and overview of  WHAT'S ON! NB Children feature on Saturdays program on that overview!...And scroll down below to get info on one-off events happening over the week. By clicking on each flyer it should open so you can better read the information. Don't hesitate to email or phone with enquiries.  The Gardens are a popular destination for recreational walks and picnics as well as those researching on an aspect of botanical life. From Monday July 12 - for 7 days - you can stop off at the Randall Studio and spend some time viewing the artworks and other collected items, learning more of what informs this project and making links to community and broader initiatives that are connected with the conservation of seeds and the future of Seeds.

wednesday afternoon: 

An ART WORKSHOP seeking a fresh take - In a format not unlike a bookclub in some respects ideas are to be explored here. You wont be asked about the latest novel you have read - or then you might... rather ... the prompting will dig down into the deeper layers that inform your Art Practice. This class will be an introduction session to a course that will run from August for 6 weeks.
It provides an opportunity to see if this approach has any resonance for you - so would therefore perhaps best suit those for whom the questions around the direction and development of one's work are quite vivid and and where a level of dialogue and external stimulation is sought. It combines visual exploration with engaged conversation that is designed to spark one's curiosity to delve a bit closer to the core interests and enthusiasms that speak loudest to you.
With the Visual Art's tendency for external mechanisms to pull one away from inner promptings this class asks simply..."what really matters and how does one find the way there?" a large question that is set against the audacious questions about being on the planet at this time and what listening to key global challenges asks of us! Age old challenges meeting with the fresh serving of current circumstances.
How do we move beyond cliche and formula. What is cliche and formula to us?  And finally.... what's an art practice really made of?

Thursday afternoon:

Its a great pleasure to be able to invite you along to this presentation by Jason Halford who has provided

continuing valuable dialogue around the Homage to the Seed project over the past 10 or so months - from the time I first joined volunteers at the Seed lab at M Coot-tha - which is part of a joint project with the Millennium Seed Bank Project. His talk will involve the telling of stories ... something he is quite known for ...and a great way to travel into the project's core purpose and goals!

Sunday afternoon:

This event will take place on the FINAL afternoon of this densely packed week. Two excellent speakers with question time and 10 minute spots from 4 important community projects are involved. You can email RSVP's if you want to reserve a place!

what is the biggest flower in the world?

Ok...its not about seeds...but I just found this at an interesting blog called Green Packs and thought... this is a curious question...




The biggest flower in the world is Rafflesia arnoldii a very rare flower that can be found in the rainforests of Indonesia. It has the world’s largest bloom, that can grow up to 3 feet across and may weigh up to 15 pounds, has no visible leaves, roots or stem.
Rafflesia arnoldii is actually a parasite that attaches to a host plant for water and nutrients and while in bloom emits an odor similar to rotten meat. This is how it attracts insects that pollinate the plant.

The dramatic Rafflesia flowers are the largest single flowers in the world; the leathery petals can reach over 90 centimetres across. The Rafflesia plant is itself not visible until the reproduction stage when flowers first bud through the woody vine and then open into the magnificent spectacle that is world-renowned today.
The flowers can take up to 10 months to develop from the first visible bud to the open bloom, which may last no more than a few days. Species of Rafflesia are known from peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, southern Thailand, Borneo and southern Philippines.
Read more: 

Interesting indeed!

July 12 to 18: Randall Studio, Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mt Coot-tha

You are warmly invited to come and spend some time at the "Open Studio Week" coming up very soon in mid-July. To read more click on the images to enlarge and if you have any queries at all please make contact
so we can fill you in on the workshops and other activities on over the week. Stay tuned.. some extra things look like they will be added... but you can be sure there will be plenty to do. On the Saturday when there will be a dedicated children's area we have a wonderful barista lined up to come and make organic, fair-trade coffee's for the day. Our supplier Kupenda donates part of their coffee income to a Kenyan Orphanage and Health Program. The rest of the week we will have their coffee and some teas and cookies (maybe cake!) available for you to purchase or of course pack a little picnic and take a pleasant walk in the Gardens after a sojourn in the studio.

Page 2: whats on

I came by these photos taken in the Seed Lab Lab by Denise Rivers when talking with Jason Halford this week. There's a lot happening at the moment - a collecting trip up north being planned and a University student currently working at the Lab and doing germination trials. Counting seeds into these containers can be very arduous when they are very, very tiny. These particular one's dont look too small - easy fro me to say - I wasn't there working on cleaning the seeds. To read about the Seed Lab and Jason Halford  click here.

Jason Halford outside the Seed Lab working in seeds from a particular palm - the name of which I don't have.

These pods were from Towoomba - given to me by the textile artists who travelled down to the gardens in May. A Brachychiton of which species I am not sure.

I have yet to identify this interesting pod a friend gave me.

These 2 works were photographed before the recent show I participated in at Percolator Gallery, Paddington. More works are waiting to be added to the studio archive blog.