In Residence

Well, here I am.  In residence in an amazing one bedroom apartment in Carss Park, Hurstville, NSW.   The studio is an amazing space.  This was before I unpacked!

And here’s the view

I unpacked and set up my work space.

I spent the afternoon playing with paint, stencils and the gel plate.  I also watched some of the videos from Jane Faase’s course ‘Next Level’ Laser Image Transfer - however my image transfers didn’t work, so back to the drawing board.  

I’m pleased with the results from trying out the stencils and using cling film to create a background.

I have spent so much time in the last 2-3 years on textiles and neglected the mixed media side of things.  It’s great to get back to being messy.  I’m looking forward to seeing how this develops.  I particularly want to experiment on taking what I’ve learned from Jane Faase and developing my own style.

I wrote this poem 12 months ago.  I’m glad to say that I had the opportunity last night to chat with this particular friend on a video call before I went to bed.  I had a much better night’s sleep than I predicted in the poem.  Mind you, we had a torrential rainstorm and I suspect the creatures that would have produced the rustlings were sensibly holed up somewhere.

In Residence 2026        

My dearest friend, how I appreciate
your prayers. In the night’s almost silence
they comfort me. Unknown rustlings
in the shrubs and trees surround me. 
I’m alone in this apartment, alone in the park.
Only the twinkling lights across the river mouth
assure me that human life continues.
Sleep comes slowly. Reading past midnight,
in the hope that sleep will overcome
the apprehension of living companionless, 
in an unfamiliar apartment,
in an unknown city, in a foreign land.
Daybreak. And messages from home.
Early morning risers jog past my balcony.
The café next door is open for breakfast.
The anxiety of the nighttime has passed.
The curtains opened to another day
of unexplored creativity.

And so onwards with my experimentation and play.  More creativity and hopefully more ideas.

See you on Saturday for my next update.

Thanks for joining me today

Bernice