KathyW's Web Space

Sarracenia leucophylla

Sarracenias, otherwise commonly known as Pitcher Plants, are spectacular in flower. Many people are aware of their elegant and frequently strikingly patterned pitchers, perhaps not as many are aware that in spring they can produce large, brightly coloured flowers in various shades from white, through yellow to red and deep burgundy depending on the species. This year, my Sarracenia leucophylla hybrid produced this beautiful flower. Hopefully when it's new little Conservatory is built … [Read More...]

Utricularia

Utricularia, commonly known as "bladderworts", are a fascinating family of carnivorous plants. They are frequently so tiny and insignificant that they go virtually unnoticed until they flower. Utricularia supplement their nutrient uptake by catching microscopic animals in tiny bladder-like traps attached to their roots. Utricularia subulata This little gem went completely unnoticed until the first golder flower appeared on a fine stem high above the moss covered pot. The pot belonged to … [Read More...]

An Unusual Beauty – dracaena surculosa punctulata

Dracaena surculosa punctulata "Sierra Leone" is known in Malaysia as "Japanese Bamboo". It does bear a superficial resemblance to a thin ornamental bamboo and for decades I believed it to be one. Researching the flower recently I discovered it is not a bamboo at all, but a member of the Dracaena family, and possibly quite rare. The plant was given to me in the late 1980's, and for decades it simply sat on my kitchen bench doing little more than surviving. Then when we built our "grand … [Read More...]

Dyeing with Eucalyptus goniocalyx

Identification | Extracting Dye | Mordanting | Dyeing Wool, Silk and Cotton | Fresh vs Dry Leaves | Preparing Cotton Eucalyptus goniocalyx - Long-leaf Box Eucalyptus goniocalyx or Long-leaf Box is a locally occurring eucalyptus species. It has at least one close relative in E. nortonii - Mealy Bundy. Intermediates between the two species are very common. We have one very large Long-leaf Box tree on our property, surrounded by juvenile trees. The young trees appear to radiate out … [Read More...]

Molten Bronze Pour

On the first weekend in August 2011, Monash University along with a number of other Victorian Universities held an Open Day, where visitors were encouraged to tour the facilities and learn about the courses offered there. We were visiting the Caufield Campus of Monash University where we were privileged to observe a molten bronze pour in the Sculpture Department of the Visual Arts buildings. Our guide through the process, Alex, was one of the technical staff actually involved the … [Read More...]

A New Twist on Wool Dyeing

Last weekends dye session was surprising and interesting to say the least. The actual dyes for the most part were little different from the previous two sessions, only the pre-treatment techniques changed. This time the Merino roving was twisted, knotted, tied and clamped to see what the application of a few Shibori techniques would produce with acid dyes. As an aside, the Procion MX dyes that were made up two weeks ago to "age" were brought into play in a demonstration of using the … [Read More...]

Panoramas at 200mm

The Beechworth Celtic Festival last year was a painful reminder that carrying a heavy camera and lenses around all day was just not getting any easier! So this year I did what I'd been contemplating for some time and replaced my heavy and ageing Nikon D70 with a new micro-four-thirds camera - a Panasonic Lumix G10. To my delight and amazement not only was the camera half the weight of the D70 (even when fitted with a Belomo/Peleng Fisheye), it is twice the resolution, even though it has a … [Read More...]