Nooooo.........

I somehow managed to find my way into the back end of this year's Sydney Design site yesterday and had a good old rummage around to see what was on offer.

Got a bit perplexed when Krispin K wasn't listed under "tours" or "education".

Got worried when searches for both "Krispin K" and "Nigel Sutton" brought up nothing.

Last night I sent a slightly panicked email to Nigel. And woke up today to find this in my in box:

"I decided not to do Krispin this year. I think it was time for him to hang up his Calvin Kleins and retire him back to his fabulous walk in closet"

No Kripsin K? Why weren't we warned? How will I survive?

I don't know if I even want to go to Sydney Design now... *whimper*

(I'd wear all black today in mourning but no one would notice as I usually wear all black. Maybe I should wear all colour to mark the news?)

Two days in pictures

Friday:

Either she's desperate and papered every wharf in town or she lives in South Mosman:Big matches outside the Art Gallery of New South Walesand Biennale black and white art inside:Centrepoint sparkles in the sun as I wander past on the way to The Powerhouse Museum...where I drool over the Seidler office recreation in the Modern Times exhibition:Saturday:

Hey hey it's Krispin K!Whose trend forecast radar tells us yellow is the next big thing:He gave us a fab tour, as usual and taught us lots in a very short timealthough it was a little odd as half the exhibits we usually visit weren't there this year. For example, it was most disconcerting to find a completely empty turbine hall and another couple of the galleries dark, empty and closed off...

Then again, since our tour ran double the length it should have, this may well have been a good thing!

Princess B and I made our own way down to the Student Fashion exhibitionAnd, on a completely unrelated note, I thought this (spotted at the entertainment centre carpark) was brilliant. No yellow bucket needed here!

Cultuvorians unite!

This afternoon J, S and I decided to mark the Australia Day holiday with a cultural round up.

First stop was The National Museum of Australia (where we bumped into Nigel Sutton as we came in which was very weird - he was saying stuff and all I was hearing was "burble burble burble DORA burble" as I was in shock at the weirdness of entering the museum at the exact same moment he was leaving. I'm sure he thought I was a loon...).

Oh yeah - where was I? National Museum. Papunya Paintings. A fitting way to spend the Australia Day holiday I thought, and a nice way to follow up from this documentary. Then there was coffee (for S) and icecreams (for J and I) and more Australianisation as we checked out Behind the Lines 2007: The Year's Best Cartoons. Luckily I had J on had to translate some of them ("Who's the woman with the pointy nose and the orange hair? Who's the chap wrapped up? Why is there humble pie?")

Then we headed across the lake to The National Archives and the Max Dupain exhibition. Where there were some odd resonances. Like seeing the exact same design CSR sugar bag we'd seen used in a video back at the Pupanya exhibition rolling off the assembly line in a photo taken by Max Dupain. And seeing vintage pictures of skiing on Kosciuszko, just up the road from where I was last weekend...There were some odd sugar marketing pictures (sorry about the light reflections). Would you trust this man to sell you sugar (or any other white powdered substance)?How about this family shot with a table laden with sugary goodness? ("Here darling. Have a coronary and leave us in peace")Once all the serious stuff got all too much for us we played a giant sized vintage parlour game called Courtship and Marriage: a fascinating game for 2,3 or 4 players (yeah we found that last bit a bit odd too...)
(ahh... that's why I've never gotten married. I stopped playing croquet when I was a kid!)

After such a lot of excitement (and education) we ended the day at Tilleys with cider and ginger beer.Followed by a fine Thai meal. A good mix of cultures which is pretty typical of Australia.

Rats!

Oh I started off well this morning. The sewing machine was humming, completed bags were flying out left, right and centre. I was feeling very smug.

Then I tried loading them onto Made It, which has a new "improved" image upload system with an obnoxious thumbnail editor which kept asking me which bit of my picture I'd like on my listing. Err.... all of it would be preferable, thanks.


So after a frustrating time I had to admit defeat for now. I'll try again on Friday but in the meantime here's the new knitting bag design:available in both Mama and Papa sizes. (If you happen to be desperate to own it before Friday drop me an email and we'll talk.)

After such a frustrating morning there was only one thing to do: head on down to National Museum for some cheering up courtesy of the wonderful Nigel Sutton Robbie the Rat. The storytelling was rollicking good fun.

Carriage horses, not, as you may think, Kangaroos.An exciting chase scene!The ubiquitous groupie photo. Don't worry, I remembered I was vegetarian just in time...

But wait! There was more. After a spot of lunch I returned for the 1:30pm Gallery Tour.

Full ratty splendour!Pied Piper in reverse...

Shameless plug for fine free entertainment:

Robbie the Rat: Storytelling and performance

National Museum of Australia
Wednesday 3 – Sunday 7 October 2007 and
Wednesday 10 – Sunday 14 October 2007
Storytelling in the Hall 12.30–1pm
Gallery tour 1.30–2pm


Please go - and don't worry if you have no little people to drag along!


And finally, rats that I spotted a full set of 15 Muppet Show videos at Salvos for $50 and called my sponsor who talked me out of the purchase. Actually not so rats as it means I can eat for the next week...

My day in pictures (because I'm too stuffed to write screeds)

Today was:

1. An early start down at Pyrmont for the Good Living Growers' Market2. Followed by a wander around Darling Harbour while waiting for The Powerhouse Museum to open3. And the first Krispin K tour of the season (cue applause and cheering)Which, as self designated Head Nigel Sutton Groupie, I have to say was fabulous. (Luckily it's the truth!)4. This year we were extremely lucky to have not just the Krispin K tour, but also a Krispin K show in the afternoon
Which was just brilliant. He's promised it'll be up on the Powerhouse site sometime soon so I'll keep an eye out for it and add a link.

Decisions, decisions...

As I mentioned before, Sydney Design starts this coming Saturday. And as a good little Nigel Sutton groupie I've already organised to be there for the Krispin K tour and show.

But what to wear to such an important event? I was thinking of going all trendy and Henry Holland:
What do you think?

(The other choice was "You're cute as a button, Nigel Sutton" but I think that would freak him out way too much...)

I've decided to become a Nigel Sutton groupie

Nigel Sutton as Krispin K

I know I've mentioned Nigel Sutton before but I don't think I raved quite enough about how great I think his work is. The Krispin K Tours at The Powerhouse Museum (part of Sydney Design) in August each year are a highlight of my calendar and are always great fun. Plus you get to learn a lot more about the exhibits than what you usually would.

The reason I mention this now? The Dora Fay Davenport Show is on again at The National Museum and today S and went along. For our $5 we got some cross dressingsome emotion and drama what looked like an apron hold up (but wasn't) "Don't you dare take my photo!"

Plus lovely aprons and vintage kitchenware to admire.

And I even got my photo taken with the man himself!

(Listening to: Nathan Haines, Squire for hire)

Domestics, drama and dawdling

Today was my favorite sort of Sunday - it started off quiet and overcast. The sort of day where you feel that you have every right to throw any grandiose plans (ie: go to gym, attend 6:15 am launching of hot air balloons for Circus of the Air) out the window and spend it pottering instead.

In the morning I did some baking:They don't look much like I planned but they still taste damned good which is the important part. Ginger cakes with ginger icing (and if that wasn't enough in the ginger department) dark chocolate coated ginger delight on the top. Next time I'll make double quantity of the ginger icing to get that properly covered look.

Then, as MR was coming for lunch I did some more baking. And soup making:(home made tomato soup with feta, spinach and olive muffins. Yuuum!)

Then we headed off to the National Museum to see The Dora Fay Davenport Show: how to achieve domestic bliss ("This lifestyle show is set in a television studio in 1957, the year after television was introduced in Australia. The Dora Fay Davenport Show: How to Achieve Domestic Bliss is presented by Dora Fay Davenport, a fictitious celebrity") which has to have been the best $5 I have spent in a good long while.

And I was very happy to see Nigel Sutton involved as I've been a fan of his since I did my first Krispin K tour of the Powerhouse Museum during design week. Speaking of The Powerhouse - the show is heading that way next month so go see it if you get the chance.

WARNING: GRATUITOUS APRON SHOT COMING UP:

Afterwards I dragged poor MR off to experience K Space without telling her a thing about it. Luckily she had fun and is still talking to me...

Into town for last minute shoe hunting for MR then coffee. And on the way back to the car we passed an old friend who obviously has other admirers...

(Soundtrack: Bluespeak, Dark Blue)