On my last weekend in Tasmania my friends (including their one year old baby) and I went hiking and camping for two nights in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park. We were very lucky that the weather was beautiful and clear all weekend. It was such an amazing place to walk around and explore; like a world tucked up away from the rest of the world. 

I really noticed how quiet and still it was as we walked from Wild Dog Creek to Dixon's Kingdom. It is special to find somewhere so silent.

I had so many dreams sleeping in the Trappers Hut on the first night. I almost froze my toes off sleeping on an old wooden door that was exposed to the cool breeze that came through in the middle of the night.

The next evening I sat on a log outside Dixon's Kingdom Hut and watched the sun set over the mountains. The light moved over the landscape so quickly and I remember being surprised at how still my surroundings were; I found myself anticipating the sunset to make a sound.

On the Sunday morning my friend Matthew and I climbed up Solomon's Throne and looked out over the lakes and the mountains. I stayed up on the mountain for a while as he ran down to go climb up The Temple, the other mountain next door. I saw him down below running up the other side and quickly snapped a photo. He shouted out a "wait there!" so I started waving away while he snapped a photo. It's pretty cool to see a photo of yourself standing up on a mountain. It's something I would not have imagined myself doing but then suddenly there I was and it was so easy. I am going to miss the mountains a lot when I return to Melbourne.

House sitting in Hobart gave me a good chance to reflect and concentrate on working (as well as a change to poke around many book shops - I've collected about a box of books since being in Tasmania!) Most days I tried to put myself to work drawing at the house either working for a set amount of time or trying to make a set number of drawings.

My friends from Launceston came down the last weekend I was there to go to a gig and visit people. I was really happy to socialise and meet up with them again after two weeks. I was feeling very satisfied with the work I had been doing recently and I remember saying how I felt like I was getting somewhere with my work (as I got drunk at the Brisbane and also felt that I was getting somewhere with the dance floor...)

We all drove back to Launceston on the weekend and I began subletting a room in a house in Trevallyn for just over a week (having finally booked a ticket home for the 8th of April). I felt very lucky to land a room with a view and enjoyed sitting at my desk overlooking the Tamar and the mountains in the background. I've felt completely spoilt with views throughout my travels in Tasmania; I never realised how important it can be to have a view, so good for the soul.

It was good for me to round my trip off in Launceston with a bit of time to digest my travels and get my head ready to return to Melbourne. I decided to fly back so had to pack up all the things I wanted into a box and my friend's old pack. I reconfigured an old bike box to fit my folder of drawings (wrapped in a sleeping bag for protection) with some of my books, art materials and clothes slipped in along the side.

I was a bit worried about my art removal skills at first but I think it all managed to work out quite well.

I went to Mt Field National Park and drove up to Lake Dobson in the alpine area of the park. It had been pretty sunny in Hobart but up here I watched as mist quickly swept over the lake. It was so peaceful just listening to the wind and watching as a scene would disappear or reappear from a cloud of white. I walked around a little and tried to record some of the scenes with my camera.

This is a photo of most of my drawings from the past two months separated into piles. They are mainly divided up by the times that they were made though that sort of naturally makes them fall into categories of subject matter and variations of style. It doesn't look like a great deal of work to me though when I filter through the drawings closely I am reminded of so many thoughts that have crossed my mind in the last two months and things that I have done.

I feel like I have been all these different people in that time, collecting up different stories and experiences. The drawings all contribute to one story though and I am the main character. I don't put myself in my drawings as a way to stroke my own ego but as an acknowledgement of the fact that I can only ever know the people and stories that directly affect me or circle around my life. My drawings are rarely imagined scenarios; they are usually records of particular events or thoughts or perhaps a musing on a real happening. I want to track and record my story in great detail so as to build up a rich source of information which will perhaps relate to other people's experiences. I suppose travelling alone and having close access to the landscape has been an easy way for me to look closely at myself and my own life. I think it is good to be alone but you can't operate in a completely insular environment; it is important to be able to relate to other people and try and understand how they feel and live. I think a better understanding of myself, which is something I build up through drawing and writing, helps me relate to others.

Art vs. life. Hm...

The weather was cool and clear the other day so I went and had a little wander around part of Mt. Wellington. I walked along a track to Sphinx Rock and found myself sitting on the edge of a cliff by myself looking out to the city. I realised that something I like about Launceston and Hobart is how easy it is to escape from people and the city; within an hour you can be sitting up on a mountain looking all around.

I kept walking along a track but then decided to blaze my own trail and started climbing up some rocks in the direction of a road above. I got into a bit of a hairy spot of bush bashing and was beginning to think how lucky it was that they don't usually kill off the main character when I thankfully stumbled across another little track.

Mt. Wellington is an exciting place to explore with lots of little tracks sprinkled around. I've always felt strangely drawn to this mountain since I visited Hobart as a child. I suppose it's such a natural dominating feature over the city; I imagine it has a bit of a hold over a lot of people. 

I'm house sitting for two weeks in Hobart with a little black and white cat named Bunny. I've only had short visits to Hobart in the past so it's nice to have a bit of an extended stay to get a bit more of a feel for the city.

I went and met the head of honours at the art school earlier in the week and she showed me around the drawing and printmaking studios and introduced me to some of the teachers and students. The people I met seemed really happy and down to earth and the school itself, situated by the water, feels like a quiet and calm place to work. I'd like to apply for fine art honours in drawing or possibly printmaking next year; it would be great to pick up and practice some more printmaking skills as an extension of my drawing practice. The idea of moving to a new city is a bit daunting but also really exciting. I think Hobart could be the right place for me in the near future; it is a small community yet there is enough going on so that I shouldn't get bored. A sense of quiet and being close to nature (Mt. Wellington looming in the background) is something I really desire in a city; to be surrounded by life but be able to step away quite easily and have your own headspace.

Bunny hasn't been overly present in my stay so far but we shared a nice moment in the driveway the other evening looking down the hill to the houses beyond and also quietly eyeing off a neighbouring cat in the foreground. I could probably quite happily step into Hobart; I think Bunny agreed.