Visitors

Amidst preparations for my upcoming show at Stephen McLaughlan Gallery (more about that soon), Shane and I are still beavering away at the house and gradually making it our own. 

Despite a setback with the roof which has yet to be resolved, last weekend we enjoyed some first-time visits from old friends. On Saturday, our near neighbours Annie Drum and Carole Wilson came for lunch (unfortunately we neglected to take photos) and on Sunday afternoon the delightful Jazmina Cininas called in after her linocut workshop at the Art Gallery of Ballarat. Tea in the sunroom was followed an impromptu evening meal before Jazmina headed home to Melbourne.

Jazmina's visit coincided with Alice's afternoon walk time.

In what was a weekend of firsts, the large cactus in our front garden burst unexpectedly into bloom. The results were spectacular.

All three of our guests remarked that it looked like we’ve been living in the house for years, which warmed the cockles of our hearts.

PS

Just as I was about to publish this post, there was a knock at the door. It was Ballarat friends Christine and Gary Hickson, pictured below. This was also their first visit to the house. They came bearing a gift of Lindt chocolates. I love the packaging created by Christine (see final photo below), which is inscribed ‘Wishing you many wonderful times in your new house!’ Thanks to our lovely visitors, we’re off to a great start. 

December 11 celebrations

Settlement of my house in Bradshaw Street on December 11 (see previous post) coincided with a visit to Eureka Street from two Melbourne friends, Anne and Nathan Moshinsky. They are among several people we initially met through our mutual friend, Ross Campbell, with whom we share a love of film. (Leigh Hobbs is another - see the final photo below). Not surprisingly, Nathan and Anne were especially drawn to the cinema room on the first floor. We'd originally planned to go out for brunch. But no one wanted to leave, so we celebrated in our new home.

All artworks in the cinema room, including the trompe l'oeil painting of a figure in a doorway on the lefthand side, top, and the easel painting above, centre, are by Shane Jones.

Shane and Nathan (who is also a keen painter) were soon immersed in an in-depth discussion about art. Note Alice's attempts to distract them. When all else fails, she finds that clawking the sofa never fails to achieve the desired response.

Later that day, Shane and I drove to Melbourne for screenings of The Long Day Closes and The Neon Bible at Melbourne Cinematheque, both of which are part of the current Terrence Davies season. (Davies is one of our favourite directors). December 11 is also the birthday of my gorgeous sister-in-law, Patricia Gillard (pictured below, right) and we met her for a celebratory drink beforehand. We were briefly joined, via a series of happy coincidences, by our dear friend, Leigh Hobbs (second from right).

All in all, it was a memorable day.

Dream Home

I wonder if you are like me and find that most days fly by so quickly, it can sometimes take a few moments to recall what happened just few days ago. What was it we did last Sunday, for example? Ah, yes - we went to the market, had coffee and brunch in Kittelty’s café at the Art Gallery of Ballarat (a Sunday ritual) did a few chores - and oh, yes, we bought a house.

Shane Jones and I first visited the property in Eureka Street, Ballarat a couple of weeks ago, on one of the last days it was open for inspection. We thought it the most beautiful house we’d ever seen, heartbreakingly so, because we assumed that financially it would be way out of our reach.

We decided to attend the auction, however, mainly to take one last, wistful look inside our dream house. On the afternoon of the auction, however, we were attending to some of those aforementioned chores, and barely made it on time. 

To our amazement, not one person placed a bid and just as the property was about to be passed in, we tentatively raised our hands. The auctioneer continued his final spiel in a vain attempt to coax further buyers. To us, this seemed to go on forever, and I was convinced we’d be outbid at the last minute. I started to feel like Jane Eyre when her wedding to Rochester was thwarted at the altar. But no such tragedy befell us and, to our continuing disbelief, the house is ours.

The whole thing was so completely unplanned and unexpected that, needless to say, neither of us has had time to place our existing homes on the market. (Shane’s is in Melbourne and mine is in Ballarat). Fortunately, the agent has negotiated a particularly long settlement to give us time to prepare both properties for sale.

This is the first home Shane and I have owned together. As I mentioned to a friend, I’ll miss my current studio and the humble little house in which I’ve been so happy. But the new place will give us the additional space we so badly need to hang our artworks and, for the first time ever, to properly display and utilise other collections, in particular, books, music and films.  I must admit I’ve already watched the slideshow below countless times, especially on the evening after the auction, in an effort to convince myself that it wasn’t all a dream. I still haven't quite got there.

The house has five good sized-bedrooms, two of which will be requisitioned for studios. Best of all, on the first floor is a cinema. As lovers of Art Deco and lifelong cineastes, it feels like we’ve died and gone to heaven. 

To view the slide show of our future home, go HERE.