Arts News
Music Workshop
GSG Music students were busy recruiting and integrating different cognitive resources on Monday during rehearsals.
Emma Luxton | Director of Music
Red Moort Camp
We had a fantastic time last week at the Red Moort Camp. Year Twelve Geography attended along with Year Eleven Literature and Visual Arts.
We started early Wednesday morning, heading to meet Aunty Carol Pettersen at Twin Creeks Reserve, Porongurups to see the fascinating sculpture there that gives a really clear depiction of world history and development. It shows that the honey possum has been here for a very long time!
We then drove to the Red Moort Reserve in Boxwood Hill. This is a conservation site managed by Bush Heritage. We walked out to the Red Moort woodland where there is a cluster of eighty year old moort trees. It is quite a magical place. Staying here allows students to stop and immerse themselves in the landscape.
Geography students started their site visits while Arts students began discussing the Menang Six Seasons with Aunty Carol. This led to Art students spending the afternoon drawing designs while Literature students spent time writing and closely observing the reserve.
Menang artist, Shandell Cummings mentored Art students on Thursday as they painted their designs onto canvas. It was a luxury for the students to be able to absorb themselves in the painting process for the whole day and to have such incredible knowledge being shared by Shandell and Aunty Carol including a story about how the Red Moort flower got it’s colour.
These designs will form part of a project to create banners for the school driveway.
Ms Rachel Mordy | Head of the Arts
Early Djeran at Red Moort
by Dr Giles Watson
Along the banks of the Mara River - it is said -
Djidi-Djidi and Robin Redbreast fought a battle -
disputing which Country belonged to which.
Djidi-Djidi was the more belligerent - soon had Robin
all in stitches - and spilled his blood.
It spattered over the Moort trees' twigs -
the bleeding blossomed into bright red stamens -
the tall thin Moort trees laden with blossoms.
We have arrived here on the trembling cusp
of that yearly moment when the spilling happens.
Down on lower ground - the Yellow Moort
is still in flower - up on the ridge overlooking the mountains
the Red Moorts are heavy with unopened flowers.
Overnight - the research station lights
draw in Rain Moths - freshly emerged
from under ochres. We lift them from the floors
and hang them from shrubs - silver inlaid
living tassels - bringing with them the longed-for rain
that's been hiding all the summer in their Names.
A tiger-snake newly hatched warms up by the water-tank -
the ground wet but warming beneath its belly.
It is also said that Djidi-Djidi and Robin Redbreast never occupy
the same space ever since that battle. Up on the scree
the Yellow Moort fades - the Red Moort blossoms bursting.
(The story of the Djidi-Djidi and the Robin is as told by Shandell Cummings.)