Long time no see!

Its been a long time since I posted here. 

This morning I had a visit from Photographer Margie Bender who took this Studio panorama shot which I do rather like. Often when people visit the studio and its been a busy time I feel like I have to clean up first. Neither the studio nor myself were particularly well groomed but I like how it worked out... and looks a hell of a lot more organised than it feels.

Friday November 13th 2015 ... 

I started this blog in winter 2009 ... and I didn't really have a studio when I started, had been very ill & was  just getting things going again. So its great to be in a whole different phase where much has taken shape... although it must be said in 2009 it was easier to sell paintings, the economy in Australia hadn't fallen over from the GFC, global ecological disasters and Climate Change were less dominant in the general public's psyche even though many knew then that ignoring it was at our great peril. 

I spend more time on the Homage to the Seed page at Facebook and Instagram these days. So if you wonder what I am up to find me there... Homage to the Seed is alive and well.

Winter in the Studio !

The sun streams in and the studio is bathed in light!!

Summer is quite another matter ... if its extremely hot I decamp to the State Library or somewhere sure to be cool and catch up online, writing or researching. Late afternoon and night-time then become the crucial time to be busy in the studio which catches the breezes quite well.

Today studio photographs taken by wonderful Elizabeth Santillan were posted at her site: Walking among the Homes which profiles interiors in Brisbane, the city where I live!

These are the images she has posted although I am thrilled to say she will be dropping off a CD full of photos.  Given that artwork is never easy to capture, especially the sensuality and texture of materials used I am very happy with the way she has managed to shoot some of the paintings. Great angles and viewpoints refresh my jaded viewing given I am here most days and its easy not to notice the familiar.

Seed collections are dotted around the studio.

Small paintings from 2002 - 2003

This photo of an early 2014 painting above was what impressed me about Elizabeths images. The paint is a dusty subdued palette in a chalky acrylic which in real life can appeal to someone interested in this more raw aesthetic. My photos have not delivered the subtle colour or feel of this work so I was early certainly pleased with this result.

The fabric below the artwork is an old fabric that I must have bought 10 years ago... interestingly Ive been returning to those blues and browns a lot over the last couple of years. 

I've gone through so many colour phases in my work over the years. When living in Melbourne I often painting in a bright palette as if missing the north where I grew up and have since returned to.

Red oxide has crept in since 2010, blue frequently and various browns and blue blacks.

The Biodiversity Plate series really ran with blue, blue black and browns.

Then there are the works which play with colours reflective of the dark shaded Wet Tropics Rainforests of the north ... like this seed capsule cross-section motif of the Cheery Beech. 

In the midst of the dark greens of shadowy dense forests there is always the sudden burst of colour from berries, fruits and seed vessels scattered amongst the lively growth.

Texture and collaged fabric on these works have features often not noticed unless one looks closely.  the cropping is interesting... perhaps makes one more curious to see the work.

Tucked into the photos was one of the artist at work. Usually I present the artwork or spaces I'm working in but remain camera shy... at 56 the 'selfie' phenomenon looks fun but I can live without it.

I've been doing OPEN STUDIOS again lately on Thursdays...  Friday this week as I was out yesterday. Since launching Seed.Art.Lab last November I opened each Thursday til Xmas and had a many visitors which was fantastic after the months of house hunting for a place with an ideal studio.

When I returned from my May Residency at Plantbank in NSW I decided to hold OPEN STUDIO afternoons once a week again as requests to visit come in and its such a lovely tradition.

Midday to 5 or by appointment works well as I can keep working and that way I am not concerned it some weeks are really busy and some quiet. I'm inspired to do a simple clean up and that NEVER hurts. When there's a special Studio event I will advertise more widely whereas I currently use my Homage to the Seed Facebook Page and  Instagram site at the moment as the interaction and frequency of posts is very lively.

Ive been painting quite flat out since late May so have many images to download. I'm really missing time spent blogging but painting calls and bookings to teach and be involved in other projects  makes it sometimes necessary to streamline online interactions even though I do have misgivings considering the fine exchanges Ive had here over recent years.

Best wishes to all!

Sophie

April - May - June

Friday 13th, full moon... interesting timing to write a post here... especially since I've not been here since April! But since I couldn't sleep tonight I decided to put on the light and tap away on my computer and why not visit this sadly neglected blog.

Its two months since my previous post and why so long?

Simply busy. Non-stop busy!

Two months have been jam-packed with new experiences and projects,  deadlines and must-do lists, travel and residency experiences. Routine things like sleep and daily life get thrown and one can easily start to feel like focus on only the essentials is a good idea. And even then time is limited.

Ive posted consistently on my Facebook page HOMAGE TO THE SEED which resembles a very abbreviated daily diary...

Facebook images from the Plantbank Residency

and also on Instagram which, although I started about a year ago I really on learnt to use it in about March. Its a basic form of visual documentation that has grown on me.

Instagram images from the plant bank Residency!

I like that one can start a conversation so spontaneously and exchange just a few details and (quite easily) choose to continue the conversation in this light manner bit by bit.

Blogs by comparison are rather like the slow food of the online sites... Instagram at the other end of the spectrum... fast and constant... in your face... but curiously not as soulless as it first seemed to me... because of the particular people I find myself connecting with some of the time.


So that is where I have kept up to date online!

At my blog Visual Eclectica I did recently post reflections of the Plantbank Residency, a simple account of my time there. Once home from that brilliant few weeks down south I immediately stepped into an incredibly fast pace of work commitments... some of which were more involved than previously imagined.

At Homage to the Seed blog I posted on Plantbank earlier on.

So much to photograph at Plantbank.

Despite being flat out these two months there has been some slow time and certainly times Ive pondered what I discovered on residency and conversations that have been important.

I will return with more on this very soon.

Good night!
Sophie

From the cool of the mountains to the summer heat of home!

Really missing the vistas of Springbrook Mountains and the National Park since arriving home on Wednesday... New Years Day. Its uniqueness, this region known as;

 The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia (formerly known as the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves) include the most extensive areas of subtropical rainforest in the world, large areas of warm temperate rainforest and nearly all of the Antarctic beech cool temperate rainforest. Few places on earth contain so many plants and animals which remain relatively unchanged from their ancestors in the fossil record.

The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1986 (extended in 1994).

The Gondwana Rainforests of Australia were one of 15 World Heritage places included in the National Heritage List on 21 May 2007.

Having time to muse on this recent trip and the work being done by the Springbrook Rescue Project
that we took part in whilst staying at Koonjewarre has been very useful. Not rushing about during the present heat means thinking and reading time... always productive for  disparate ideas to get a chance to weave together a bit! As I tap away on the keyboard my feet are soaking in cold water and an overhead fan and small floor fan are chugging away.

The pond at the entrance to where I stayed on the mountain retreat had this beautiful moss-covered tree that was stunning and absolutely had to be photographed. The location is utterly unique 

One of the highlights of the week was meeting Aila Keto whom you can read about here at Jane Elix's blog or below here:

Dr Aila Keto, Australia

03 July 2012 | News story

Australian born Aila Keto is the founder and President of the Australian Rainforest Conservation Society (ARCS), an NGO Member of IUCN. She has made a sustained and major contribution to conservation science, policy and practical programmes over several decades, and is widely acknowledged for her leadership, influence, knowledge and experience. Continue reading here.

The work of Aila Keto, husband Keith Scott and supporters of the Australian Rainforest Conservation Society have played a massive part in building recognition and awareness of this region's global  uniqueness as a biodiversity hotspot.

About ARCS Founded in 1982, the Australian Rainforest Conservation Society (ARCS) is a national, non-government, not-for-profit organisation with headquarters in Brisbane. Its goals are to protect, repair and restore the rainforests of Australia through research, lobbying, public education and grass-roots support. ARCS has succeeded in achieving protection for large areas of Australia’s rainforests and continues to play a leading role in the ongoing work required to conserve this rainforest heritage. image found here

Through 2013 I kept coming across whispers, news articles and reports from this region about Springbrook National Park's future. The work of the Rescue Project and in particular Aila Keto was being challenged in the media and my concern over the politics of this state, change of Govt plans and more led me to spend time in Springbrook at Xmas to find out for myself what was at stake. The possibility of a longer residency was discussed and when there is something to report I will of course post on it.

In the mean-time I am pouring over the images I took whilst up there and thinking my way around this very critical topic as I draw in the studio back at home again. I've also been revisiting the Flickr sites of a couple of keen photographers, especially by Black Diamond + here, who's extensive background in Australian Rainforest Fruits, seeds and such has long informed my own work at Homage to the Seed. Please note the COPYRIGHT NOTICE if you visit his professional flickr site. Images are not shared without permission and I've had excellent communications when I've written so I ask you respect this request.

Visit this page

Through the flickr page I found the link to the Rainforest Seed Project which was put up by the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney which is something I definitely wish to learn far more about.

This excerpt  comes from the link about to the Project.

Australian rainforests - diverse and vulnerable

Australian rainforests cover only 0.3 % of the land and yet contain more than 50 % of the plant biodiversity of our nation. Three significant World Heritage listed areas that occur on the east coast of Australia have large rainforest components. In NSW and southern Queensland, the so-called ‘Gondwana Rainforests’ occur as a ‘discontinuous chain of islands in a sea of fire prone eucalypt and agricultural lands’. They contain more than 200 species of rare and threatened plants and animals.

There is much to absorb and attempt to somehow bring to my own project. Drawing is good thinking time and last night I cleared space to get into drawing with Sepia ink.

The four images below are all inspired by images found at Black Diamond's Flickr site. Each is a species I wish to learn more about

This species is the Australian Native Peanut tree, Sterculia quadrifida, and the photo below was taken by Denise Rivers ... see post at Homage to the Seed here. I recently planted this species at my new home, in a pot as instructed, especially as I was unsure how large a tree it might grow to be.

 I was drawn to some images of the Native Wisteria or Callerya megasperma.

Scientific Name:Callerya megasperma (was Millettia megasperma)

• Pronunciation:call-ERR-ee-ah meg-ah-SPERM-ah
• Common Name:Native Wisteria
• Derivation:Callerya:
  
  megasperma: large Seed
• Type:Vine, tall woody Climber to the tops of trees, Climber,
• Family:Fabaceae
• Flowers:Purple, lilac, spring
• Fruit:Pods, long woody velvety with large brown seeds
• Vegetation Type:Sub-tropical Rainforest, Wet Eucalypt Forest

Here is  a very simplified version of this seed pod. It like to take time to really get to know a species and do many drawings, simple and complex in order to build some familiarity.

 Below is the same pod, drawn in ink and aquarelles.

Cross-referencing info online brings much more to the process of drawing. Often the documentation,  whether through blogging or other means,  leads to a far greater understanding of the species role in the eco-system.

Each time I visited a viewing point on the mountains  and gazed out to the coast (in this image below you can see high rise buildings through the haze ) I could help but wonder how many people have travelled to the Gold Coast to visit, or been enticed to stay without even stopping to ponder these ancient mountains, let alone visit and acknowledge their importance and value.

Image from here.

I spent New Years eve in the temporary Studio I set up at the mountain retreat. Only 4 of us were left onsite that night...and we shared a simple meal of Avocado on toast and various nibbles. And chocolate! We talked about the places we value and have travelled to. I then returned to the studio and did some drawings and pondered the year coming in.

My new years resolution was to make sure I identify the seeds

I photograph asap so I don't forget where they came from or 

what they are. These were found onsite up there yet I forgot to 

get the name and now have to track them down when I can.

Thos pods below are Mahogany and have been collected ages

ago and are a good drawing subject in workshops and classes.

May 2014 see more people on this planet awakening to the life-giving value of the environment beyond real estate prices and development possibilities. Every day and every conversation counts if we are going to succeed in keeping this planet sustainable for human life. Not caring and not acting on this is as much a problem as anything being done out-right to destroy the natural ecosystems that preserve our future.  I wish I could say otherwise!

Best to all,

Sophie

New direction for workshops and classes!

WATCH THIS SPACE:

Workshops and classes, mentoring and retreats are all on the cards this Summer and into 2014.

Details will be added here and you can email me about this or go on the list to be advised.

Looking forward to creating with others in the new studio ... sharing the space and resources with some wonderful people in the months ahead.

A new hand-painted work completed late last night...

Cheerio,

ps Much happening to be ready for this weekend's launch. All welcome!

7 days till the Studio: Seed.Art.Lab Launch

Recently I was part of a Artist-in-residence program that brought  5 artists together to work with the Jump-start Program at Kelvin Grove Secondary College in Brisbane.

I wrote about it at the Homage to the Seed blog and he ought I'd post here something I wrote for the exhibition which started with the quoted above from Tom Waits from an interview with him in 2006.

This project really prompted me to think very deeply about the children inheriting this planet now and the silence of too many adults around the state of the planet. It must leave them asking a lot of questions quietly to themselves late at night if not elsewhere in their lives.

This is then what I wrote.

ITS GETTING HOT AROUND HERE : The Seeds and Bio-diversity story.

Artist Statement from Sophie Munns

In the 21st Century no longer can we take for granted continuation of life for thousands of plant species... including some of the 30,000 known edible species and countless other highly useful species we rely on. In fact we don't even know what remarkable seeds might be lost to us given that scientists are still discovering species, particularly in fragile Rainforest eco-systems. Certain plants have long been commodified for use as fuels, glues, plastics, fibres, textiles, papers, rubber, building materials, medications (traditional to bio-molecular), beverages... and the list goes on.
Chocolate and coffee lovers around the planet are waking up to the rude fact that their favourite of tropical crops does not like it getting hotter. This has demanded swift response from plant science, farmers and a growing sector of coffee and chocolate companies to shift focus from quick-growth profit margins to the crucial step of increasing sustainability in the way coffee and cacao crops are grown, delivered to market, and understood by the public... all in the effort to ensure these potentially endangered species are maintained for the long term. This story is repeated over and over with many other species we like to put on our tables.
Seed viability, the capacity of seeds to produce new life, is indeed a concern not always understood. Artist Residencies undertaken by Sophie Munns in Seed Bank Labs and Botanic Gardens since 2010 have led to ongoing exchanges with plant scientists, with access to an expanding field of scientific knowledge revealing precisely how changes in climate go on to impact the capacity of plants to survive in particular locations that for hundreds, even thousands of years, saw plants prosper in those very same regions.
All around the globe the up-scaling of research on complex impacts on plants and eco-systems is bringing out a plethora of profoundly significant material that rarely reaches a general public audience. Dispersing information to the broader public has become an increasingly important task for the Science community and all who recognise the difference quality education makes. This is without doubt a potent and invaluable role the Arts can play in aiding the communication of critical material to a wider audience.

Bringing ‘Seeds and Biodiversity’ to the Jump Start project the artist spent 4 sessions with a group of students examining key issues around Seeds and Biodiversity informed by current global research across Plant Science, Agriculture and related social, political and cultural issues. Students were given an overview of the role seeds have played across time, going back to the earliest known civilisations. We explored the cultural heritages of each individual in our group ... noting, wherever possible, links to family and ancestors from all over the globe and the unique relationship to plants and food growing they may have had or perhaps still have. We thought about how this shaped the cuisines and traditions we may have inherited or perhaps have some inkling of.
Also discussed was the extraordinary number of ways that humans work with seeds and plant material, use them for hobbies and leisure, or pursuits with artistic or cultural purpose. Crucially, we considered why seeds need our protection right now in order to ensure our own well-being into the future.
For inspiration the artist brought examples of her artwork, seed collections and items made from seed and plant material. Additionally we explored with work of two key artists ... Brisbane painter Robert McPherson’s series of bold graphic painted signage in large wall installations provided an ideal visual strategy and NY artist Keith Haring who rose to prominence in the 80’s for his strong grafitti style and extraordinary 'symbol + text' images.
The graphic work exhibited here may at first glance appear simple, even unsophisticated. Look further at the ideas and thoughts being expressed and a potent truth may be revealed. These year 7 students are emerging into a very different world than the one familiar to those currently in the driving seats of our communities, organisations and institutions. Thoughtful students can often see a different world to the one their elders see. They possess enthusiasm for wide-ranging questions given the opportunity, and its evident they may not think it’s smart leaving nature and the environment out of planning strategies and decision-making. A desire to discover more on the complex, often contradictory aspects of how our world is evolving is heightened wherever interest in ideas, research and sharing of thoughts is encouraged.
Given the young are inheriting a world slow to learn or act on changes already proven necessary its crucial they be able to explore and evaluate ideas and information. The case of Tobacco companies maintaining the fight to exist in the market-place despite conclusive medical science research and Govt public health campaigns demonstrate s clearly that where economics is concerned its up to each of us to question what the ads and headlines are telling us! Education has never been more vital if we want young people to be informed in taking on the challenge of climate change and the increasing call for sustainable practices that are effective, pragmatic and life-preserving.
The capacity to think creatively, to bring both passion and critical thinking to the finding of new solutions is championed in this program which recognises our future is here... that the thinkers and creators of the future are here in this room tonight!
Bravo to all the students taking part in JumpstART!
Sophie Munns wishes to thank the excellent JumpstART team for this unique and highly stimulating opportunity to engage with these young thinkers and creators before us. Their insights and efforts to navigate the changing conditions of this planet demand our encouragement, sustained interest and respect as we all learn what it means to tread more carefully around this home we all share. 

I've returned over the years many times to working with children of all ages for one reason or another. Teaching posts and substitute teaching for one, then there have been classes given due to requests from parents for quality lessons not so easy to come by these days.

Recently I had two very alert students come for a 4.5 hr intensive in the holidays .... drawing and thinking about plant science. This is the direction I intend to keep on with... small groups sessions with people of all ages, focused on seeds and biodiversity and ways to think and interpret this material visually.

More on that soon. For  now I am delighted to share a small image of my new glass cabinet for seed collections taking pride of place in the new studio.

Its a beauty! Even the colour I love.

And a reminder that if in this part of the world you are welcome to come along to the launch next weekend... contact me if you need to find out more.

Busy times... back soon. Go well everyone!

getting there!

Its so good to report that I am getting closer to starting studio work again with the process of unpacking and sorting out what goes where coming together.

And its been happening in fits and starts since we moved here July 28th due to other demands on time. It's quite one thing to unpack all the books and materials of the studio... but despite the shelving and space itself being generous ... the task is to make things fit yet still have the space remain as uncluttered as possible. The studio for me is such a dynamic space with many functions and new things coming in all the time... it leaves one hankering for a huge studio to spread out at will.

However... this is not a small space and I am incredibly fortunate to be settling into what is in many ways an ideal space even if it will keep me on my toes making it do what I need it to do!

These shelves can't carry too much weight at the top so the bottom row has the heavy books. I'm so conscious of what happens as the studio becomes busier and how the practical aspects of working here become all important... hence Ive really tried to think about the work stations and zones for things to belong to... as in the reading, musing zone below which has the painting area to the left and a large piece of linoleum laid over the tiles for a more practical wet-zone.

I'm so happy to have a place for this 1920's armchair that came from the large old house where I had my first real studio back in 1990. Its getting awfully worn ... but after thinking I would get it recovered finally it seems just right as is... and sitting here on the kilim I brought back form Turkey in 1988 its feels so at home. This home studio is in house built in 2004... so the presence of the old and well worn really adds some soul to the place. 

Friends coming to dinner last night spurred me to keep unpacking those pesky boxes... so today I plan to puddle around with some paints and paint myself back into the studio rhythm ... bit by bit!

Cheers all

S

Late August ... and the first month at the new place!

Its exactly one month since the last post here and its been eventful to say the least. A new home and studio slowly being set up!

Unpacking took precedence for a fair part of this month ... setting up the domestic side of life first then moving onto the studio! A few boxes had remained unpacked since the 2008 move from Newcastle... so I was very excited to discover some pieces that I've collected over years... rocks and odd eclectic things that store a lot of memory and make me feel at home just looking at them!

This string bag which I was given by someone living in Papua New Guinea many, many years ago containing small shells ... traded by local people for something they required. Its more or less a totem to me... like many things Ive saved not valuable in money terms but imbued with meanings that have come to me quietly and instinctively... making up a collection of things that have enriched my sense of what is important in life...often against the tide of regular notions of value and trade!

This whole process of packing up one home... waiting 5 weeks in limbo between homes and then slowly, slowly unpacking in the new space has brought with it hours of reverie and processing everything all over again. And again it would seem! It begs not just the physical movement but a very deep reconciliation with change and movement...dealing with all that is stirred up along the way.

Ive spent days feeling cloaked in a thick fog where it was as if I was lost or trying to remember something. Even finding my way around the house was a challenge and I found myself asking more than a few times if anyone had "seen the thing?

I struggled to remember more than I cared to realise! Dislocation it was ... even in the name of a good cause it was disconcerting!


An interesting undertaking has been collaborating in a brief artist residency project with 5 other artists on a school program at a special Art-Design Faculty in a Brisbane secondary school. This involved first up presenting on my homage to the seed project then going on to develop a simple but potent related visual exercise that could be developed into something suitable for exhibition at a special School event in October.

Signs and symbols around seeds and connected themes became the focus.

Individual works assembled together as a whole is something we are gong to expand on next week.

Its curious how these kinds of experiences push the consolidation of ideas and media to create something applicable to the context! ANd great to see how other artists are taking up the challenge!

loads of boxes in the new studio were slowly unpacked!

Walls were painted to tone down the mid yellow-green everywhere!

Lightening up the room was a must... and making use of 4 good windows for which I ordered off-white blinds to be delivered in a couple of weeks! Since this image was taken I seem to have made more mess again in more unpacking and trying to find room for everything! Still its a good process and their is a lot of motivation to have a fully functioning studio again!

Patience has been called on a lot... sticking at the time-consuming set up and tackling constant challenges in all this. I lost my wallet Sunday and after a huge weekend up the coast for a family weekend was feeling hazy about it. The police phoned to say they had it and today I rang the cafe on the highway who took it in to the Police to say thanks and ended up discussing the prospect of doing something about seeds for their new direction with roasting coffee beans.

Thats the funny thing about life at the moment... nothing is going in a straight line... but curiously some things are working out really well! Out of the blue, and quite mysteriously, some things seems to be lining up well... but just can't assume anything!

I'll be back as more takes shape... so see you then!

shifting everything around...

Two weeks ago my studio was looking like this... positively overflowing with work, books, materials and such.

ON March 21st I held a One-day-only Moving-Out-Sale that was such a joyful event. I actually found it very enervating to order the studio before finally dismantling everything. Various people came by, cups of tea was shared, someone brought lunch, some Art-pieces found wonderful new homes and this farewell gesture successfully wound up my experience of being in this excellent studio.

A few days before the Art Sale!

The day of the sale there was a very organised look about the place... all ready to pack.. or find a new owner. The great thing about moving is getting to decide what to keep, what to let go of.

It was a major thing moving from this Paddington Studio... I'd really settled in, which can seem disconcerting when it comes to getting everything out later. But it is the only way to work... throwing oneself into it in the first place!

Going through my collection of seeds and seed-pods last weekend I realised so many of them had disintegrated... some into dust, others not quite so dramatically. Here on the verandah above I put aside the baskets of pods that needed checking.

Much as I value this collection I had to be rash and put aside just the best things to keep. And that is what is great about moving. One casts a discerning eye over all and does something crucial in an art studio... says good bye to things that really do need to go. I could have been tougher... but... enough for now!

The studio on the last morning... floors washed

... only a few pieces of furniture left.

emptiness.. just how it was when I arrived last year!

wet floor!

the back verandah... the garden so lush after a summer of rain!!

One thing I packed off to a good friend this week was a heavy box of Oil Paints... collected slowly over 15 years but really only used during the years 2000 to 2002 when studying painting for a time under new teachers had led to a return to Oils that I'd so loved as a young student. 

When moving to a new home with an internal studio in 2002 I'd discovered after a time there painting in Oils inside the house was not a good idea for me... and I'd given over to acrylics instead. It feels good to make those kind of clear decisions. The whole process of packing, first slowly separating everything into categories then musing over each thing as I handled it,, decided where it should go... all this was a strong reminder of where I have been and whats been the focus over time.

Finding room at home for studio things has been interesting...

Most studio goods have gone to storage. With my home going on the market after Easter we are gradually packing away all the excess things and trying to work out what to give away or let go of at home too... so the paints I really like to use have been brought home incase there is time to settle into that soon... but for now it's busy just getting everything done in readiness for the changes coming.

Interesting to be back in this space... despite being small a lot of work has happened here these past 5 years. And on the desk-top computer... 5 years ago I was a complete novice... 4 years ago I started blogging and now ... quite familiar with the online world!

Decisions... lots to make in the next while!

At least it feels comfortable here at home. I don't mind having a little breather to think about the Artwork before I can get back to it down the track.  And there is the book project waiting to be started very soon.        

It seemed poignant to take these before and after photos... eras coming to an end. Its good to have the memories. Before to long the next chapter will emerge and the paint will be unpacked again!