LINES and FOCAL POINT

  

Last weekend we drove up to the top of Mt Coot-tha, six kilometres from the Brisbane Central Business District. The name of the  mountain comes from the Yaggara language word for honey. The mountain was a place where the traditional aboriginal people of the area gathered honey in the pre-settler times. 

The cafe terrace at the top of the mountain provides a spectacular view to the coast, the city (as you can see) and to the hinterland in the west.

We had lunch in the cafe and I could not miss the opportunity to photograph this Brush Turkey up close when I noticed it on the roof of one of the older buildings. 

On Wednesday we walked along the river to the Brisbane Powerhouse Performing Art Centre. 

Along the way we came across a tree with one of the strangest fruit I have ever seen, hanging on very long vine-like stems. It looked like a bizarre art installation.

However, a little Google searching led me to find that it is appropriately called a Sausage Tree, Kiegella africana. 

A visit to the Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens was interesting for some other quite exotic trees.

This Ponytail, Beaucarnea recurvata, is certainly the largest I have ever seen.

The next beautiful, exotic tree I came across turned out to be Adansonia grandidieri. I was attracted by the large base that tapered quickly toward the top and the interesting texture of the bark.

When I looked this tree up on Wikipedia I was surprised to discover that it is a Giant Boabab from Madagascar. The mature form has extremely tall trunks of 25 to 30 metres with branches only at the top. This one is clearly just getting started. However, when I looked at the tree on the north side I realised that the bark had the same bronze-like sheen as the photos of mature trees in Madagascar.

The Mount Coot-tha garden also has a very beautiful Japanese garden that clearly benefits from the high rainfall of the region.

Last week I showed these photos of our host's terrace garden which has a number of Crucifix orchid plants with pink, orange...

...and red flowers. I decided that I would really like to make an ikebana using them in one of his Imari-ware ceramics and was granted permission. Imari-ware is a favourite traditional Japanese ceramic style of mine.

 

The vase is a ginger jar with an overall floral design in cobalt blue underglaze and (iron?) red overglaze. The cartouche  visible on the 'front' of the jar contains a floral design of a vase of flowers. I thought the red orchid would go particularly well with the reds on the jar and have used it for the principal line and the mass at the front. I also noticed that the Mexican Shrimp Plant, Justica brandegeeana, in the garden had a touch of salmon red colouring and have used it at the back of the arrangement to give depth to the work.

As I made the ikebana I realised that with the line on the right I was 'making' the space beneath. The focal point is the off-centre placement of the vase and the way the line divides up the rectangle of the photo creates extra interest in the photograph. The day after I made the ikebana I was inspired to take the photo below. 

 

Laurie was unaware of me taking this photo as he stood against one of the Brisbane Art Gallery forecourt walls. This image is also broken up into large flat areas. Lines in the pavement surface and the wall, as well as a shadow, lead the eye back to the focal point of the waiting figure.

Greetings from Christopher

23rd July 2022