Klarity Blog

Turquoise waters in every shade, with bright white spray on top of the shore-drawn waves. Walking past valentine couples, surfers with red roses and football players on the sand…went to sell jewelry today in Byron Bay, got some leads, after a magical lunch with a new friend, Peter. Made chicken soup with garden-picked veggies tonight. Now to enjoy a long sleep before a big day of travel. Tomorrow is a bus to Brisbane and then onto Maleny and Crystal Waters. Sending Valentine Wishes to all my friends.

AMAZING PLACE…get it?…OK, I’m tired. It’s midnight….AMAZING PLACE; AMAZING GRACE. Never mind. AMAZINGLY GRACEFUL…BYRON BAY is so beautiful. I’m high on a green mountain with blue-gray, moody sea way out past the trees. Parrots fly in flocks. Frogs jump out from weeds. Sunsets are different. Light is brighter and softer. True. Vibrant orange cools to pink and magenta calms to lavendar and I have to stop weeding, sit on a tree stump and let it in. What a blessing. So often I stop and smile to myself; I’m in AUSTRALIA. I’ve wanted to be here since the day I left in 1988. For those who don’t know, I went to school at ASCHAM in Sydney in 1978, spent 2 weeks in Sydney & Melbourne 1987, and 2 glorious, decadent weeks at the grand opening of the MIRAGE resorts in Great Barrier Reef in 1988. I have always had a strong feeling I belonged here since I was 14. Today, I feel stronger than ever that this is my home, whether I live here or not. This is where I feel I belong. Everyone I’ve met is like an old friend. It is so easy to be here and to fit right in. People are warm, inviting, gracious, honest, open, kind, fun, sweet, creative, sensitive to the true values I embrace. True wealth of Spirit surrounds me, Arrived and immediately was treated to new world of dome building. So thrilling to share so much with “strangers.” Not a single strange thing about any one of them: they share my passion for healthy, safe, beautiful, sustainable, innovative homes, for housing everyone on the planet, and for a quality of life that includes connecting, sharing, playing, dancing, eating fresh salads from the garden, being of service, being creative, painting, children, and pets. Their son, 6, Benjara is a blond tasmanian devil, whirling around in the red earth, covering himself and his dog, Sparky with mud, mud, mud; front & back…now, if i could just figure out how to get the photos on this blog. The first one was easy. Every one since turns out too big and blacked out. Gotta clue? Got to sleep. big day at domeshell factories tomorrow. Saw Steiner school here today dropping Benjara off. That was a special place. Creek running through. Gorgeous buildings of wood and arch roof shape, plus heart-shaped chair backs for all the kids. Thanks for traveling with me. I’m happy. Hope you’re happy too.

NIMBIN RAIN~~~~Now it’s sunny with sprinkles on the ponds…humid and breezy. Birdsong and frogs always. I like Australia….because even the most intense rain has a softness to it, even the rain last night that woke me up. My bedside window is opened to let the warm night air in even when it is raining. I listened as the sound grew to a crescendo like it was no longer drops pitter-pattering so much as solid water pouring onto the roof and pond and fields beyond. Somehow, even at its most bold, the rain still seemed gentle. Hard to describe, but that’s how it struck me. Very soothing. And then it would suddenly grow quiet, just like there was a conductor. I’m not kidding. Simply elegant night music. MOVING ON from Nimbin today. Going to WWOOF & spend a while with Dome Shells builders in Billinudgel, & Byron Bay. This has been a great stay in Nimbin. I’m very satisfied with all I’ve learned about eco villages and living on the land in style. Plus, I learned a little Japanese from WWOOFers here and I got to give an Earth Art Workshop last night at Djanbung Gardens and shared my slideshow of many building projects and pics of the kids enjoying my Earth Art Classes too. I’ve updated my website thanks to wireless here. Enjoy new photos and links on the lynx page!! Big changes in the weather are prevailing around the world; Big change here personally too: I need to earn money now! All ideas welcome….I am looking for stores to sell KLARITY Stone Tapestry Jewelry to and hope to be teaching and working as an earth builder/ teacher to earn enough to get a flight home, as that part of my trip has also been recently un-promised (as was 4.5 months of the trip) 4 days before I left the U.S. Assistant freelance work also welcome. I put a little about that on my ARTIST BIO PAGE ON KLARITY.ORG under the acorn. Many great work & transportation offers continue to come in so I trust it is all working out according to “someone” else’s BIGGER PLAN! I could be working in Hawaii as soon as March 10th, or as soon as I earn enough to fly, or who knows. Luckily, I have a 6-month VISA, and so many skills and my art, so I have some time to work this out. PRAYERS WELCOME. Ah, ch-ch-changes. I ride the waves of bliss and these waves of heavy downpour that will no doubt float me on to a better life than I’ve known before. Already I feel changed for the best.

This town I am in now, Nimbin is part of the rainbow region, and is one of the premiere hot zones for permaculture on the planet, and although there is that old standard red-eyed, spaced out, halter-clad hippie culture—a real feast for the eyes in all their rainbow tie dye, hemp & dreadlocks, etc— a total flashback to the 60’s throughout the main town street, I have just landed in a home that is a prime example of how permaculture can look with proper funding and deep intelligence and vision. I like the vibe of the town even if it could use a coat of fresh paint on all the murals! All the shops & cafes are solar-powered, and very clean, with organic foods of every flavor and level of feasting. Apparently, the locals are clean living sorts, and the drug culture is more transient here. Today I arrived at what I consider the cream of permaculture; a home even my mom would love with her desire for comfort, light, space, elegance and cozy-home-beauty in every direction. It is an artistic and very upscale home with a fish pond inside the entryway, a big open kitchen, leather couches, stone fireplace, bamboo accents, rich wood finishing and floors, ponds and arbors of grapes, gardens of fresh veggies outside, one chook (chook=chicken) and cool from the passive solar design which is so refreshing right now when it is boiling hot outside. We can see a neighbors cows beyond the gardens. It is hot here much like Daytona, FLA—very humid so the heat doesn’t feel so bad, but it is still nice to be inside in a home that is really cool and pleasant with no energy being used due to the thermal mass of the mudbrick walls. I have just been taken on a tour of the Rivendell Village eco-development project developing in Nimbin here by my host Nigel Reid. see www.rivendellvillage.com This is truly it for me; clean, green an wired! Meaning earth- and human-friendly and wired for technological comfort of internet, etc. He has a website of his work and has shown me top secret new technology that fits perfectly with my views that blending indigenous wisdom with our modern technologies’ potential is unlimited in its power for creating peace on earth when we blend all this wisdom with the harmony of nature’s infinite blessings. I will be able to use his new technology in my movie once it is patented which will be soon….a solution to urban retrofitting food production, passive solar and closing the loop on waste as well! This trip is truly an open door to a world that is emerging and one which I feel inspired to share through songs and story and the Earth Opera film I’ve felt brewing in me for over ten years. All the pieces of peace on earth are becoming clear. And you know I love clarity! So many dear friends have been there supporting me, cheering me on and helping me get ready for this huge adventure. I want you to know that I think of each of you while I am working here; cutting bamboo, weeding, weaving grape vines in the arbor, feeding the chooks, and walking in the bush….so much love flows at the thought of my sweet friends… Thank you for making this step on my journey possible by your support and kindness It means a lot to me. I never feel alone. I trust I am supported in following my path knowing my gifts are evolving and are always being expressed at the perfect time.

In my travels, I’ve been blessed to meet these fine visionary Spirits: I’ve been thoroughly impressed and enlightened by: Permaculture Teacher/Innovator, Singer/Songwriter, Robyn Frances, Creator of Djanbung Gardens, in Nimbin, NSW (“Djanbung” = “platypus” in local aboriginal dialect) My one week stay at Djanbung included a lush & luscious fully mature example of the kind of permaculture setting I’d wished to experience; veggies and fruits growing freely, ripe for the shared exotic meals under the stars & for a snack while swimming in the pond, amidst lavendar & pink lotus blossums and lilypads, frogs, and a heap of ducks, chickens, geese, turkeys, and extraordinary wildlife. Cool people too! Roosters, in a chorus, call out the sunrise at 5am…ready or not! Hot sunny days are followed by cool breezy nights and creatures all around making their music, with a magnificent light show last night (2/2/05) of bold, strobe-effect lightning and thunder right overhead sending echoes throughout the countryside. Tonight is a Reggae Jam session & cafe in the garden until 1am. We expect 30-100 folks from all over. I better go have a nap if I plan to be dancing all night! Last week’s delights: A lifechanging tea with… Mudbrick Builder Brian Woodward & Sally Middleton of EARTHWAYS, in Wollombi, NSW; & a dear friend, Jenny, from my schooldays in Sydney at Ascham in 9th grade. She was kind enough to drive me way out in the bush after showing me her gorgeous towns of Erina & Terrigal, NSW. Enjoyed the cool and comforting beauty of Mudbrick building method originated & manifested with Brian & Sally’s beautiful 2-story mudbrick home on 300 acres, a 25-year ever-evolving labor of love.  A home as a work of art, just like I like! Architect Gareth Cole: Founder of Ecologie, Ecological Architects Assn., Australia We discussed permaculture insights, ecovillage development, Sacred Geometry, & Earth Art & Architecture & California’s many connections for Gareth’s U.S. permaculture and architectural design work.