Return of the 52-Week Illustration Challenge, Week 7

Week 7: Farm

Sheeps in the field. Fingerprint art on corrugated cardboard with acrylic paint, crayon, Signo pigment ink and various Sharpie markers.

Update:

Fringed paper chickens with black "Stained" Sharpie and white pigment Signo details, collaged to a black background.

Week 7: Farm II

Lazy days photo catch-up

This has been a bumper year for gardenias, even if they don't last too long
in the intense heat. 17 January 2010.


It's re-alphabetising day for my DVD collection. 18 January 2010.


Ceramic "Looney Tunes" Marvin the Martian collectibles - the little one is a pepper and salt shaker set,
the large one a mug. 19 January 2010.


I'm still not sure if this is an actual sheep fleece, fallen from a truck near my house,
or simply the remnants of an insulation batt. 20 January 2010.

Timmy's tea time

A face I couldn't resist. This Timmy the lamb toy was discounted "Toys R Us" and I ended up poing him on a chair at the "Star Trek" Meetup at the coffee shop tonight...

"Timmy Time" is a stop-motion animation spin-off of "Shaun the Sheep", which in turn derives from a "Wallace and Grommit" animation.

Simultaneous sheep

"Pete the Sheep"

The annual National Simultaneous Storytime happened today at 11am: "Pete the Sheep" by Jackie French & Bruce Whatley, as a PowerPoint presentation on my school's new interactive whiteboard! Thanks ALIA for a fun event!

Getting fleeced

Here are some sheep thrills!


Jack's screen test for the upcoming motion picture,
"Babe the Sheep-Pig III: Frozen Moments".
Photo taken at Wentworth Falls Garden Pottery.


Shaun the party sheep Esky,
Every home should have one... near their baaaaaaaaaa!


Then we heard a herd of cows.

Merino on the move

Ian looking skinny at the Big Merino in 1986!


Goulburn's Big Merino tourist attraction was moved yesterday! It made the TV news last night and all the Sunday papers.

One of Australia's most famous "Big Things", built in 1985, this icon - and the kitschy souvenir shop within its cavernous interior - had fallen right out of tourists' agendas after a by-pass diverted traffic away from Goulburn's main drag about fifteen years ago. So last year, it was decided by a couple of Goulburn locals to make an offer on buying and relocating the giant sheep to a service station where it could be more readily seen by users of the new motorway.

I first saw the Big Merino in person in 1986. I excitedly sent a postcard of it to my penpal, Olivia, who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the US, who was almost appalled that, with so many wonderful natural Aussie landmarks, flora and fauna, I'd send her an image of a giant concrete sheep. She promptly returned the favour with a giant rubber tyre (or, indeed, "tire") from nearby Detroit.

The Big Merino is said to be one of an estimated 146 "Big Thing" tourist icons throughout Australia. Others include the Big Banana at Coffs Harbour (currently being renovated), the eerie Big Prawn at Ballina, and at least two Big Pineapples in Queensland (but I think one closed down due to lack of interest).

A year ago, when again passing through Goulburn, the restaurant next door had been long abandoned, and the souvenirs had been drastically scaled back, so moving the ram certainly seems like a great solution. As The Seekers used to sing, "You know I'll never find another ewe."