The SALA Festival (South Australian Living Artists) is underway currently until August 22nd. It is  Australia's largest visual arts festival held across 500 venues in the state with 3,000 artists participating over a month long period.

This is its 13th year, and each year continues to grow and be recognised for its important contribution to the Visual Arts. One of its important roles is to create pathways for Artists to a mass audience, and for its mass audience to learn about the importance, place and relevance of Art and Artists in our community.

The first exhibition I've attended at SALA this year is called "EARTHY DELIGHTS" in the picturesque hills town of Strathalbyn at "Toad Hall". It is an exhibition of paint, glass and clay by 5 South Australian Artists - Sheryl Glassmith (Glass), Pauline McPharlin (paint), Louise Ramsay (paint), Lenny Scott (ceramics) and Rod Scott (paint & sculpture).

This new Gallery (which is also Louise's studio) has set a new standard for small galleries. It is warm and inviting and has a polished feel with its wooden floors, white walls and great lighting. Refreshingly it hasn't gone down the path that many regional galleries do, with "country cottage and lace" decor and clutter.

The theme for the exhibition is "Earthy Delights" - and the works exhibited span the themes of Gardens, Seasons, Water, Birds, Trees and "Chooks". (If you are outside Australia you will probably have no idea what the Australian colloquialism "Chook" means -i.e. a Hen or Chicken)

All of the Artists exhibiting display a high level of skill and strong love of nature which is obvious in their work. As you walk in you are struck by the vibrance, joy and warmth of colours in their works.

The exquisite oil painting "SPRING" by Louise Ramsay summarises this combination of a common love of nature, and a technical proficiency, superbly well.

The exhibition is also fun. I love Rod Scott's statement about his Chooks and Art in the catalogue " I love my chooks to range freely....I hate to see them penned up...but life for a free ranging chook is hard. Crows eat the eggs and the young chicks. Rats steal the eggs. Snakes and mice frequent the hen house. The dog chases them. The fox eats them and the hawks prey on them. I steal their eggs.....My art records their daily struggles."

This exhibition is well worth a visit if you are in or visiting Adelaide or South Australia. Details at the end.

Rod Scott "Poultry World"

Rod Scott "Cluck Close"

Rod Scott "Battery Babies"

Pauline McPharlin "Woman watering new plant"

Louise Ramsay "Autumn"

Lenny Scott "Temptation Tree"

Lenny Scoot - "Blue & White Hen with Eggs"

Glass plates by Sheryl Glassmith

I've been going through a pile of old "House and Garden" (Australian) magazines and came across these kitchen photos which I scanned, all from a 1980 edition.  I chose photographs which matched what I recall as frequent colours and themes in kitchens from this era- but of course there were many more, and many variations on the themes.

Colour Scheme made from the above 2 shots.

I thought "how quickly things date" - but then I realised this was 30 years ago!.

Looking back there were several common themes in kitchen and interior design around this time:

1. Flooring - Common was Slate, Cork or Vinyl Tiles, often cork coloured or dark grey.
2. Door Handles - the ubiquitous "D-Pull" handle was just about everywhere, usually in chunky plastic.
3. Kitchen Benches were most often laminate, and faux hessian laminate was hugely popular - as was a "velvet" finish in pastel greys and beige.
4. Timber was still popular, but as the decade rolled on it became more used as a feature trim - not so often as cupboard doors. Alternatively bleached timber (Scandinavian style) became more popular as the decade rolled on as well. I remember having a whole kitchen wall clad in grey tinted pine.
5. Colours - a lot of earth tones, a lot of beige tones, and a lot of variations on green and grey. Charcoal grey was a very popular colour, as was variations on white.  
6. Indoor plants - especially palms were in a lot of rooms, including kitchens.
7. White goods were still white goods. Stainless steel was only for the sink!

I think that the entrance to your home whether it be a gate, doorway, garage door or just a pathway often says a lot about the house and its residents.  These are shots of some of my favourtie gates, entrances and doorways in my area. Some are old, some very new - but each one unique. Wrought iron and timber seem to be the materials of choice. Several of the iron gates would be over 60 years old at least.
My favouite is the "Iron Butterfly" and it really suits and house and garden that it belongs to. 
I have included the google map location of the area so you can see more streetscapes if you would like.

I am fortunate enough to live in an area which has a large number of architecturally designed and well built houses from the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's - many of which have been renovated sympathetically or were built so well in their time that they are still in prime condition with minimal maintenance.

The area is just 8km from the CBD in the foothills of Adelaide, making it a hilly and verdant area with areas of beautiful remnant native vegetation, the colours and texture of which really compliment the modernist style. The views over the city from many houses are stunning day and night.

I love walking in the area as there is always something I haven't seen before, and renovations happening all the time. Fortunately unlike many inner suburbs where houses are knocked down, and the land subdivided for bland poorly designed bulk housing, here houses are kept and renovated sympathetically.

It may have something to do with the steepness of all the blocks turning builders off the idea due to the cost of building on steep slopes. It may also say something for the Architecture of this period - that the houses were so well built, that renovation is a better option and builds on the value.

Here are a few shots I took this morning on a walk:

I recently returned from holidays on Queensland's Gold Coast, Australia.

The Gold coast is a region which extends for over 100km from south of Brisbane to Coolangatta in New South Wales. Because of its sub-tropical climate it is popular year round, and its long white beaches and large bodies of water are some of its biggest attractions.

Most of it has been built in the past 50 years, previous to which it was a fishing port, and river delta with a lot of mangrove areas - most of which has now been made into housing estates with water frontages.

It is a very popular holiday destination for Australians and Overseas visitors mainly from Asia. There are several large theme parks, numerous outdoor adventures, tourist entertainment etc.

Near the coastal strip is high density, high rise living - but the suburban sprawl extends inland quite away, and has a large and continually growing resident population of about 0.5 Million.






































To a visitor like me who lives in a quieter, older city built mainly in the 19th Century, the Gold Coast has no identifiable style - except for either apartment living and some interesting estates where money is no object (which doesn't always result in good architecture or good design!)

However there are some real gems to be found, like the gated estate where my friend Kevin has a holiday apartment. This is a great example of when housing estates work and everything falls into place and the housing project works on all levels - from the Architecture, to the Gardens, to the overall colour scheme, and a consistent building quality and style.

This estate is called "Adelphi Springs" which was built in the late 1990's. It is about a 30 minute walk from the beach in a quiet residential area.  The estate has a large number of flexible living styles from 2 bedroom townhouses, to large single storey 3 bedroom homes. In total there are about 200 residences.

The architecture has obvious Greek influences with its use of bright white, and some of the dome shapes and simple columns used as a design feature. White shutters are another great feature which also suits the climate (the very high humidity in summer easily results in mould on some fabrics)

































































The use of clipped hedges (which is one of the frequent themes found on the Gold Coast) and the use of water and fountains are another pleasing feature which adds to the ambiance and "Resort" feel of the place.





















The garden themes are quite simple with a limited selection and palette of plants, planted on mass and to great effect.














































All the residences have views of their own gardens, blending into the estate gardens. The residences have been thoughtfully designed so as not to look out over other houses - but from every window a view of a garden or water.

I'm a great fan of ETSY, a site primarily for handmade, handcrafted objects. A few months ago I purchased some lovely handpainted beaker cups. Etsy's mission to quote from their main page, is to:  "Enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers. Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice, Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade"

The Etsy community spans the globe with buyers and sellers coming from more than 150 countries.
Here are a few of the items I have come across recently that stand out as excellent designs, well crafted and conceived, as well as being individual and stylish. Just click on the links to go to the sellers' stores.


Scandinavian Patterned Cushion Covers

Men's Silk Ties
















Japanese Baby Shoes















Leather Journal






















Japanese Masking Tape