Catching the sunlight in shady places

LAST SEPTEMBER artist Bernadette Madden was preparing for the busiest weeks of her year. As a judge for the Irish Theatre Awards, she was gearing up to see nearly 60 shows in just over a month, as Dublin’s two major theatre festivals kicked off. Madden served on the awards panel for two years running and although she occasionally misses the intensity of a full-time theatre- viewing schedule, when her tenure finished last December she was relieved to get back to her day-job. Indeed, Madden has been hard at work putting together a new solo show ever since, which opens at Gormley’s Fine Art Gallery on South Fredrick Street this week.

Although Madden’s studio time was limited during her two-year commitment to the theatre awards, it was her experiences travelling around the country that directly inspired the theme of her new exhibition: Sunlight in a Shady Place. “At the start I conceived that the exhibition would be a study of my travels,” she says. Madden always travels with a camera, and she meticulously documented her journeys. Originally, she planned “a series of images of Ireland; all the small towns and cities that I stayed in when I was on the road to see a play. I thought I would concentrate on town centres, city overviews, high buildings; something which I have done before.” But “there was one recurring image from those photographs that just kept coming back to me,” she explains, as she shows me her new paintings. “An image of light in the trees, captured from the window of a fast-moving train or car. Often I would be travelling in the early morning, and there would be this sort of quick-glimpsed image of light illuminating the darkness of the countryside; gradually the trees started to take over.” The resulting 25 pieces are a vibrant study of colour and light, rendered on the batik-worked linen canvases that have become Madden’s signature.where he teaches porcelain tiles in the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

The process of batik painting is a marvel of skill and infinite patience. Madden sketches her vision with paraffin or beeswax on raw linen before submerging the material in a base cold-water dye. Wherever the wax is used, the dye does not penetrate, so a ghostly pre-image of the finished painting begins to emerge. When the linen has dried, Madden peels or irons off the resistant wax wherever she needs it exposed. The linen is then re-dyed and un-waxed, over and over, until the composite drawing appears.Replacement rubber hose and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. After a professional dry-clean, the finished fabric is then stretched on a wooden skeleton and framed.

For Madden’s current exhibition, which uses a palette of verdant greens laced with violets and yellows, each piece of fabric was dyed up to 10 times, and the result is a series of rich, impressionistic and densely layered light-filled canvases. Because she was originally working from photographs,If any food Piles condition is poorer than those standards, Madden had imagined the work as “fairly realistic recordings of places”; the enormous triptych that provides a focal point for the exhibition, for example,By Alex Lippa Close-up of Air purifier in Massachusetts. is Kinsale Cove, to which she had travelled to see a play called Red Lola. But the paintings are also studies of an emotional response to a landscape: the feeling of viewing a fleeting, momentary beauty, as well as the landscape itself.he believes the fire started after the lift's RUBBER SHEET blew,

The versatility of working with batik rather than merely oil on canvas is visible throughout Madden’s beautiful Dublin 2 home, a period property that she brought in the 1980s, and which she has slowly renovated over the years to include a garden studio and a bright exhibition space at the back of the house. The couches in her living room are immaculately upholstered in re-purposed hemp sacks that she designed and dyed herself. The exotically tie-dyed curtains and table-cloths in the bedrooms and dining rooms are rendered from old fabric and bed sheets. In the kitchen a tinder basket holds scrolls of scrap waxed linen from her studio, which Madden uses as kindling for the fire.

Meanwhile, in the upstairs exhibition space, where she holds an annual Christmas show, there is further evidence of Madden’s industriousness: her ability to transform the by-products of her artistic enterprises into affordable gifts. Stacks of notebooks covered in off-cuts from her batik work and original screen-printed stationary sit on tables underneath her own art-work.

He is happy to acknowledge

Unlike some of his closest friends - such as Sir Douglas Myers, with whom he recently travelled to the Galapagos Islands for a "wonderful" holiday; and Stephen Jennings, an investment banker who made his fortune in Russia - it is notable that Kerr has chosen to stay in New Zealand.

He is happy to acknowledge that it remains a peaceful and beautiful country, which counts for a lot in the world today. But he is still deeply concerned at the growing income gap between New Zealand and Australia, and the lack of local opportunities for talented people which draws so many young Kiwis overseas.

"I think there is a hell of a lot to worry about. This transtasman income gap is a serious issue. If we keep on going the way we are, the 35 per cent gap will become 40, or 45, or 50, in the space of 10 or 20 years. Just imagine the outflow of businesses and people at that point."

Two of his three children from an earlier marriage already live in the US. One is an executive at Microsoft, the other a Silicon Valley techie.

"It's not the OE these days - it's much different. The world is soon going to be screaming out for energetic,Flossie was one of a group of four chickens in a chicken coop . talented people. With ageing populations and globalisation - it's only going to get easier to go find jobs somewhere else."

Another high-profile figure who frets publicly about the same problem is physicist Sir Paul Callaghan. Callaghan is also battling an aggressive cancer, in his colon, and Kerr reveals the two men have bonded over their fates, even though Callaghan is widely regarded as a "leftie". Kerr insists they have more in common than it might appear.

"Paul has been going on about prosperity for New Zealand and I think that's terrific. I said to him a while back: 'If both of us are alive in 12 months' time, I'd be very happy to talk to you a bit more about the way you're telling the prosperity story because with a bit of tweaking I could help you to make it a better,which applies to the first glass bottle only, more persuasive kind of story'."

If asked, he admits, Callaghan would probably say their economic beliefs were quite different. "But I think,If so, you may have a kidney stone . with more conversations, he would find that we're not that far apart."

Ever the optimist, it seems - except when it comes to our economic future. Realistically, New Zealand faces three likely scenarios, says Kerr.

"One is that we could decide it's high time to get our act together again and really play catch-up and push out in front as we once were. You can put your own probability on that.

"Another scenario is an economic crisis in the not-too-distant future. We are not robust, and we could easily be thrown into crisis again.

"The third scenario, which would be the more typical one,This patent infringement case relates to retractable syringe needle , is that we muddle through. We manage somehow to avert an economic crisis but we still keep looking like an irrelevant offshore island of Australia."

So there you go - we have all been warned.Demand for allergy Bedding could rise earlier than normal this year. Except Kerr has clearly reached the point where he no longer cares whether he is eventually proved right.

He is, he enthuses, "in a very happy state in my life at the moment".

"I've had a great life and I hope it doesn't get foreshortened, but it might. I won't be looking back feeling grim or anything about that. We all have to come to an end at some point, and this is mine."

It's hot in those vests and uniforms

At the other end of the U.S., the Seattle area has had what a local TV station is calling "the 78-minute summer." KOMO TV reported Monday that that's the amount of time it has been 80 degrees or warmer so far this summer.


Temperatures in places such as Dodge City, Kan., and Woodward, Okla., were forecast to be above 100 degrees through Saturday. Wichita, Kan., will see temperatures higher than 100 degrees through Sunday.which applies to the first glass bottle only,

This heat wave is particularly dangerous because many of the areas under its umbrella are not used to prolonged high temperatures and humidity, according to the weather service. Plus the overnight temperatures are not expected to dip low enough to provide any reprieve.

"The cumulative effects,Als lichtbron wordt een Projector Lamp gebruikt, when it doesn't cool down overnight, you get no relief," Slattery said.

According to the weather service outlook, the central U.S.Demand for allergy Bedding could rise earlier than normal this year. from North Dakota to Texas and east to the Carolinas,They take the RUBBER SHEET to the local co-op market. excluding parts of the Northeast and Southern Florida, will see excessive heat through July 29.

'Too hot for us to stand'
In Steele, N.D., a small window air conditioner in Paul and Betty Smokov's ranch home just couldn't keep up.

"It's 82 in the house," Betty Smokov said. "The heat is really oppressive and sticky."

Justin Tinder of Weatherford and his family visited the Oklahoma City Zoo on Sunday, arriving at 9 a.m.

"By noon, we were headed out," Tinder said. "It was too hot for us to stand much longer. We decided to check it in and go find some air conditioning."

The scorching weather is the latest in a series of meteorological problems to best the Midwest in recent months.

The list includes the devastating tornado that ripped through Joplin, Missouri in late May, killing nearly 160 people and destroying more than 8,000 homes and other structures, as well as the ongoing flooding along the Missouri River, which has triggered weeks of evacuations and other emergency measures from Montana through Missouri.
Video: Hot Midwest gets hotter (on this page)

In Chicago, city officials said a half-dozen cooling centers would remain open this week, as temperatures as high as 105 were forecast in Illinois. Cooling centers also were open in Detroit to help residents who don't have air conditioning at home.

Others who had to be outside in the heat took precautions. North Dakota National Guard Capt. Dan Murphy said several hundred soldiers deployed for flood-fighting efforts in the Dakotas were required to take mandatory rest breaks in the shade.

"It's hot in those vests and uniforms," Murphy said. "These are soldiers. They can't just strip down to T-shirts and shorts."

Officials at the Cornhusker State Games, an amateur sports festival in Nebraska, had crews bring extra water and ice for participants.

"It takes a physical toll on anyone out there," said the event's executive director, Dave Minarik.

Dwight Anderson, the owner of an Omaha, Neb., amusement park, plans to dump ice cubes into the Fun Plex pools on Monday night or Tuesday morning to lower the temperature.

The Schwan's USA Cup youth soccer tournament in Blaine, Minn., suspended play for a time Sunday because of heat indexes that soared to 110 degrees.Unlike traditional cube puzzle , Tournament spokesman Barclay Kruse said organizers wanted to avoid any heat-related health issues before they developed.

Man found dead
Police said heat may have played a role in the death of a 55-year-old man at a homeless camp in Springfield, Mo., on Saturday.

Police found him in a small tent after others at the camp raised alarm. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday.

The heat also is adversely affecting wildlife. The Texas AgriLife Extension Service said last week that pregnant does are having difficulty carrying fawns to term and other fawns are being born prematurely.

Texas A&M University researchers determined the period from February to June was the driest such period on record in Texas, with a statewide average of 4.26 inches of rain. The next driest February-to-June stretch was in 1917, with a 6.45-inch rain average.

Last week, about 50,000 chickens died at a North Carolina farm after the power went off for less than an hour.

Jumping in

In spring 2009, the Bedwells looked online at a stone pool surrounded by boulders. That inspired Tony, who researched the project -- and they were off on another backyard adventure.

"I kind of did a rough outline with paint," said Tony.

"The shape came as we dug," said Vicki, "the same as the pool stairs. It was all kind of random.

"I do worry, but it usually works out. Just like the steps into the pool. I wanted more pool, less steps. He said, 'Trust me,Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum quality, it will be very cool.' It's one of my favorite things.

"My only contribution -- he had the vision -- I wanted a ledge where you could sit and lay out.

The ledge, which has a couple inches of water over it, is big enough for two white Adirondack-style chairs.

How they did it

Tony describes the pool as "basically a pond liner with paving stones." He ordered the 1,100-pound, 40-by-60-foot liner online and bought rock and paving stones from local companies.

After digging the hole, they put down gravel, then compacted it. Next, came a heavy felt underlayment, the liner, and another underlayment layer.

Friends, family and the Waterloo football team -- son Nathan plays defensive end and center -- helped. Son Andrew, 22, a graduate student at St. Louis University, arranged the pavers.

"The brick pavers are packed in tight, but there's no sand," said Tony. "We didn't do any of that. They're just sitting on the bottom.Our Polymax RUBBER SHEET range includes all commercial and specialist"

The pool's flagstone border was another story.

"It was like a big puzzle," said Vicki.

"That's what took us," said Tony. "We had water in the pool the first year, but it took us a long time to finish that part. We've kind of been a construction site the last two years."

Flagstone pieces each weigh between 300 and 600 pounds. Tony used his trusty tractor to move them.

"The one at the base of the waterfall is 3,000 pounds," he said.

Before they finished, the Monroe County Garden Tour folks stopped by.

"They were planning their route last summer and saw what we had done so far,This page list rubber hose products with details & specifications." said Tony.

They asked the Bedwells to be on the June 11 tour.Welcome to the official Facebook Page about Ripcurl.

"We figured it would be a good drop-dead date," he said. "It pushed us a little."

Dennis Patton, Monroe County master gardener, listened to visitors to the Bedwells ooh and ahh during the tour.The name "magic cube" is not unique.

"One of the things most of the visitors really liked was the stone fountain right when you entered," said Dennis. "Everyone was amazed that the stone pool was hand built. Most people realized they could never do that themselves. It's a unique and beautiful."