The Community

Tonight I attend the International Conference on Reconstruction of Japan (ICRJ) as an ‘expert on cultural waste’. ICRJ has come to PICA (during the Alternating Currents exhibition) for a series of small ‘dinner party’ style conferences to discuss matters, hopes and ideas for reconstruction after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters that devastated northern Japan in March this year.

Dining together, with Japanese activist Sakiko Sugawa (hanare x social kitchen) and collaborators Sam Fox (Perth) and Keith Pasco (USA) will be George Blasevic, Jule Japhet Chiari, Tomas Ford, Trevor Bly, Perdita Phillips, and myself. As the opener for hydra poesis’ new collaborative project WASTE we will be literally talking rubbish and the cultural significance.

Watch the live stream on the ICRJ website

A free event at PICA will be open to the public on Tues Nov 22 to discuss ‘Japanese Society, Australian Society’

Since there’s been no immediate need to book-bind (see earlier news), I have been doing anything but.

However, my alliances hope to launch a new Crafternoon series in the coming months; where bookbinding will be key. This will be based on working with sustainably sourced and cost effective materials to handcraft envious & durable journals.

Stay tuned for that.

In other news I’m preparing an application to run a 1 day FINGER KNITTING workshop. No unsightly needles, you just need a few fingers and a ball of string. Knitting can be very social & is best enjoyed whilst strolling or at the pub.

My most recent visit to Esperance was spent doing just that:  It’s frightfully addictive, Artists’ Anon.