Moustache Must Dash

AKA a whiskery mystery.

It was a normal day at first.

A Thursday.

I woke up, went through my regular waking routine, having coffee, getting ready for work, and then, just as I was about to groom my moustache with my little Slim Jim comb and hair gel...

I realized it wasn't there!

My moustache was gone!

My lip was naked!

I never could get the hang of Thursdays.

But what could have happened?

Did I shave it off and forget about it?
Nah –that's weird and unlikely.

Did Krista shave me while I slept?
Nah, she wouldn't do that –that's even weirder and less likely.

Did I develop some strange follicular/dermal condition?
Well, there was no evidence of moustache hairs on my pillow (or anywhere else in the house), and my lip felt fine, despite its nudity, so that's not it, either.

Then what was it?

What happened?

What...in the name...of all that's decent...?

Happier times.

I'd worn a handlebar-style moustache since the summer of 2006, inspired by my uncle Alekso in Ohio who's had a similar moustache for as long as I can remember. I grew mine as a sort of joke just before we went to visit my family down there, but then I started to like it, and it's been with me since.

Until just recently, that is.

Patchy tufts of lameness.

Leaving aside the bizarre mystery for the moment, I tried to regrow the moustache, but a few months and several attempts later, all I could grow were weird, irregular patches; tufts of fur that could never become the full, robust moustache I previously sported.

I became sad.

I lost sleep.

And, Samson-like, even my painting skills suffered a bit.

But, short of wearing a fake moustache, I realized I'd just have to get used to being whisker-free indefinitely...maybe even for the rest of my life!

So I just kept my lip shaved clean.

Naked.

Bereft.

Sad.

And then...

And then I got an email from a strange address. Figuring it was just more spam, I dragged it to my "junk" folder, but something caught my eye as I did so. I had a second, closer look at the email's attachment and realized something even stranger was happening in my life.

I still can't explain (because I don't understand) what's going on, but see for yourself:

Then, a short while later, another email came through:

Then more...and more...

A Space to Create - Resident Artist Georga Ryan

Today we bid farewell to Georga Ryan, our most recent resident artist, who came to us from Melbourne, Australia. Georga has spent the last five weeks here, and it’s been nothing short of wonderful watching her interact with our space at Small Pond Arts.

Her first projects here were a series of wind-powered drawing machines. Each had a pencil or piece of charcoal attached to a string... left outdoors for a period of time, the wind did the drawing!

Georga set up a couple of installations in our Big Field, like this dreamy bedroom scene, which included a solar-powered reading lamp:

Her next project involved constructing a series of three wooden triangles woven with coloured thread, which she hung in the barn and lit with overhead projectors, to dramatic effect:

Detail

Two of these triangles can now be viewed as an installation on our Artists’ Trail. The third one she is taking with her to Burning Man in August... as she transformed it into this:

I can't wait to see pictures of this piece as she and her cohorts transform it into an installation! 

Georga says of her work: People's artistic practice and process of making is largely reflective of their environment. My spatial surroundings changed from city to countryside living and this is reflective in my recent works. I was drawn to work with different materials and received an altered connection with objects that I was familiar working with.

Georga also helped out with some collaborative projects, such as our yarn-bombing project on the Artists’ Trail…

… painting moss graffiti in the silo…

… and helping me build pieces of Cardboardia, an installation I’ll be doing at Skeleton Park Music Festival later this month.

She also got to celebrate with us as we held our fourth annual Banner-Raising Party!

When Georga booked her residency several months back, I warned her that the normally peaceful Small Pond would become a bit of a madhouse over the May long weekend, as my sister Meagan was getting married at the farm. Ever one to roll with the punches, Georga pitched in as our bartender!

We wish Georga well on her continuing adventures!

If you’d like to find out more about our artist residency program, check out our website.