Bunuru edition #10
It’s Bunuru season, according to the local Noongar people. That’s February and March – the hottest time of the year. Hope you’re all staying cool. I’m spending less time in the sun and more time ‘preparing the ground’ for the rest of the year.
I can’t help it, I see patterns wherever I go – from the fat hearts of my elephant ear plant in the pond, to the candy stripes in my beetroot.
Recently I created a festival poster for a client. Their brief was: ‘Can you please make it look bright and inviting?’
Yes, I can. My starting point is to extract shapes from the logo, to create an abstract pattern. The shapes might sit neatly alongside each other, or be scattered playfully around – it all depends on the mood of the brief. That’s the fun bit – playing around with shapes and pattern. I take the same approach to designing a wallpaper, or even a face mask!
This poster was designed as part of the Fringe Festival here in Perth. If you spotted one around Freo, I hope it made you smile.
Over the summer break I stumbled upon the art of shashiko. It’s a Japanese form of embroidery that translates to ‘little stabs’ – perfect for mending the many socks that have been piling up in my ‘procrastistitch’ pile.
I found shashiko quite meditative, and I recommend it if you have clothes with small holes or tears in it. I promise you it won’t hurt. You’ll need a fabric patch, embroidery thread, pins and a needle. One of the many online tutorials is your best bet.
It never occurred to me that not everyone knows how carrots are born until my friend Mazz asked me, ‘So where do carrots come from? Er… like the seed bit?’
Unlike beans, say, whose seeds are inside, carrots produce flowers which are filled with lots of super tiny seed pods. They’re quite fiddly to handle, but like most things that take a bit of effort, usually worth it – especially if you’ve grown a gorgeous variety of carrots and you can’t wait to taste them again next season.
Carrot flowers only show up every two years, so you need to be patient (or ask neighbours and friends if they have some). Also, they take up to three weeks to germinate, so stick them in a seed tray and don’t rush them.
No carrots? Think about saving some other seeds from the summer garden. Basil is a prime candidate – mine’s seeding like crazy in this Bunuru heat wave.