Last Sunday walking on the beach early in the morning, I was engrossed in the moment at the high tide mark, where the beach now has a sticky brown foamy sludge. I suspect it could be from an oil spill a few hundred kilometers up north, it didn't appear to be the same as the brown foamy sludge we sometimes get from the reef at this time of the year….. this was sticking to my feet and when I picked up a bit of blue rope, my hand remained sticky and very oily, I thought of the birds and little creatures as I rubbed my hands on the sand trying to remove it. As I put a piece of blue plastic rope in my black string bag. I noticed a woman at the shoreline watching me then slowly walking towards me. She hesitated then said, "are you gathering rubbish?"

Turns out she is a x-school teacher and is writing a children's book called The Rubbish Gatherer, when she saw me she thought I was the perfect image for her book….. I said, "yes I am gathering rubbish but not what you think for, I am gathering treasures for some artworks I am working on for an exhibition." Joanna then asked me to tell her more about this.

" As the founding member of the Noosa Regional Gallery, which is having its 25th Anniversary this year. I thought I would like to have an exhibition called - this being, that becomes."

I had just been thinking as I walked along the beach, that the gallery has grown and changed and evolved and the gallery itself didn't have a great impact on what I now am doing, yet it had everything to do with what I am now doing. I had been thinking as I walked along the beach, that I used to be inspired by the beauty of this very beach so many years ago and would race home to paint my emotions gathered as I walked this very beach. Now I am gathering rubbish from a foamy brown sludge. Times change, things happen like an oil spill, it occurred to me that, even from this plastic rope and this piece of wood I can make something very beautiful….. this being that becomes, a bit like the influence the gallery (or one person) had on my life journey I didn't continue as an artist as such but I have evolved into something else a Granma who is simply keeping a promise and now Gathering Promises. We sat and chatted and found we had so much in common, we then walk together for awhile, I pick up treasures, she picks up rubbish, as we parted, her for a swim, me off home, now as friends Joanna said "Thank you Kerry, I feel so inspired, I am going to sketch you when I get home"

I smile, continued on thinking, The Rubbish Gatherer, I can live with that! but I am more of an Emotion Gatherer, that has never changed in all the years I have walked on this beautiful beach.

Speaking of emotions, I have added two new promises one from Dana Australia, who is being a great help with organising things in Sydney for The wailingon the 8th March and one from a grandfather from Brazil. Francisco Gomes de Matos

Have a great week, I will putting the treasures a bit down wind, my mum says they smell!:-)
love and hug
Kerry

Kerry Bowden