Funky Doll

A month or so ago I interviewed doll artist Pearl Red Moon whose friends describe as a free-spirited bohemian.

Her artwork reflects her spirit and she lives by the philosophy of beauty, joy and happiness. Pearl Moon is interested in the traditional crafts and feels these are being lost somewhat. She describes herself as a mixed media and decorative artist, which is art having limitless sources.

Pearl Red Moon’s creations are very intricate and colourful and she cites Frida Kahlo and Gustav Klimt as her heros. All of her work is very feminine and she strives to create something that inspires awe. Pearl Moon uses fabrics and materials from her travels in India and Asia.

I think her dolls are very funky.

If you are in the Newcastle are you can see her work at the School of Arts Gallery Tighes Hill.

This story was published in the current (April 2009) Australian Dolls Bears and Collectables Magazine.

You can see more of Pearl’s work and read her story here.

Another Cool Doll

Betty Boop

Earlier this year, I interviewed Angie Flemming who had inherited her mothers extensive salt and pepper collection. Together with her sister Sandy they told me the story of their mum Linda who passed away from cancer about two years ago.

Linda loved to collect not only salt and pepper shakers but also dolls. She sounded like a real character and hopefully I captured this in the article “From Toucans To Telephones,” published in Australian Dolls Bears and Collectables in February 2009.

You can read it here

Two Chefs

Lighthouse Models

Last year I interviewed Bruce Pringle who has the largest lighthouse memorabilia collection in Australia.

Bruce is passionate about lighthouses and their history. He annually takes a trip to an Australian historical lighthouse and has visited many overseas. He also is a very good artist and his home is adorned with his work. He also makes models of lighthouses that he sells, like the ones pictures above.

I asked him why lighthouses…..?  and he told me it was the stories of the lighthouse keepers that he is captured by. These men worked all year, in sometimes very isolated and demanding conditions. Bruce is keeping the history of Australian lighouse keepers alive and says that one day he will donate his collection to a museum, so future generations can too enjoy this history.

It was a very interesting interview and this piece was published in Australian Dolls Bears and Collectables last year.

You can read it here.

Bright Sparks

When I was a teacher, I spent time working with young people who had an intelligence that far out weighed their age. Unfortunately these young people and their parents are more often than not, stereotyped as egotistical and overbearing. In fact children that are gifted-(that is, have had tests to say that they are), are really not catered for in mainstream schooling-unless they are at a school that sees a need to cater for them. More often than not, these parents spend a great deal of time trying to figure out what is ‘wrong,’ with their child, when in fact there is nothing wrong with them, they just possess a higher intelligence.

In Australia, for some reason intelligence is looked down upon-(the Tall Poppy Syndrome anyone?), and these young people, are the least catered for in mainstream schooling.

All the stories I have read over the years, have only reinforced the ‘pushy parent,’ stereotype and citing giftedness as a myth almost. I wanted to write a story that broke down those stereotypes and to give the parents of these children a voice.

Interviewing was difficult in some respects because some of my talent had done media before only to be disappointed with the stereotypical outcomes. It took a long time to research, however it is the story I am most proud of.

The story “Bright Sparks,-Too Clever By Half,” was the cover story in the Educational Supplement from The Age Newspaper 16 June 2008.

This story was nominated for a Queensland Media Award in 2008, was highly commended at the 2008 Ossie Awards and it won the Best Feature Story at the QUT Journalism Awards, which was sponsored by the Queensland Country Press Association.

You can read this story here

Puppets

I went to Germany again 18 months ago and whilst in the beautiful town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber I stumbled across this amazing puppet, doll and toy museum in a small cobbled stoned street.

I met Katharina Engels who has spent 50 years collecting dolls, toys and puppets. She houses the largest private collection in Germany and surrounding Europe. Katharina and I could not really communicate with each other-I had no German and her no English, but there was a lovely lady there that translated for us. My friend Doris Haddock, who I was travelling with took photos and Katharina gave me some souvenirs.

I arranged to email Katharina questions in German, which were translated back and forth by my friend Carmen Anders. This is how I conducted the interview.

Katharina’s story of growing up during World War Two and her escape from Allied bombs gives an insight into why she started to collect dolls-it’s an amazing story.

I pitched this idea to Australian Dolls Bears and Collectables Magazine and it was published last year.

You can download this story and read about Katharina here.

Have a look inside the museum at www.spielzeugmuseum.rotherburg.de

I love Germany-wonderful, friendly, country!

The Museum

Dino The Man

This Sunday sees the return of The DeanMartiniHour on Brisbane’s 4ZZZ-FM- 102.1FM on the dial.

Mel and I will be spinning some old tunes from 8-9am.

If you would like to make a request make sure to call in on 3252 1555.

If you would like to become a sunscriber to 4ZZZ you can call the above number too.

Check out 4ZZZ FM’s website on www.4zzzfm.org.au

You can stream 4ZZZ too.

Become a subscriber call 32521555

Surfing the web early 2007, I came across the site of Meryl Pringle (Matryoshkas and More), a Russian Doll collector and seller from Brisbane. Thinking about the Russian Doll my grandmother had given me as a child, I remembered how it used to intrigue me for hours. I also thought about The Beatles one, I purchased for my brother whilst travelling in Estonia. I thought there could be a story here. So I went through my writers bible-The Australian Writer’s Marketplace, published by the University of Queensland Press and pitched my idea to the editor of Australian Dolls Bears and Collectables.

The thing about freelance, is that sometimes you can pitch an idea just at the right time, which is what happened. A writer  had pulled out and the editor needed a story-in two days about the history of the Russian Doll. I researched extensively and contacted collectors and sellers in the UK and the US-who I might add were all very obliging. They even supplied many of the photos you see in this piece.

Check out

Dream of Russia Gallery, London UK

Babooshka Gallery, Devon UK

The Russian Shop, Illinois USA

The history of the dolls parallel the diversity of Russian history, but did you know the Matryoshka has Japanese origins?

The story made deadline and since then I have written many pieces for this magazine, which is funny as I do not possess one craft bone in my body!

That’s the beauty of writing!

You can read this story here.

Towards the end of 2007 I interviewed Regan Cross and Chris Harding, members of Byron Bay rock band The Black Stars, for Melbourne magazine Aduki.

Aduki is online too.

The article “Tales From The Killing Floor,” discusses how Regan and Chris mix veganism and rock and roll. The article came out before they released their second E.P “Your Money Or Your Life.” I have heard they are writing their debut album, again with producer, Phil MacKeller.

Check out  The Black Stars music video “Alright Baby,” below.

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I taught for 11 years. In that time I worked in some pretty hard environments and when I tell stories of putting out a fires in classrooms, confiscating knives, breaking up fights between seven foot teenagers and dealing with the odd Ja’mie, eyes roll. I think Chris Lilley in his mockumentary, Summer Heights High, was pretty spot on. Although difficult, I wouldn’t trade those experiences. However, personally having my life revolve around marking 70 essays every weekend, just wasn’t doing it for me anymore, so I got out.

At the end of 2006, a lot of my teacher friends started to put down their red pens and move out of the classroom also. They had just had enough.In fact all around me teachers were marching out the door into other professions. They were making real life choices, not ones about money either. In fact all of the talent in this story were more than happy to take a pay cut and have less holidays, to achieve a life/work balance. I thought there is a story here. So I started to research, talk to teachers that no longer wanted anything to do with teaching and the story wrote itself. As you will read, I interviewed AEU President Mary Bluett, Victorian Minister Jacinta Allan, other politicians and academics. I also spoke with teachers who loved their profession and university students who were just about to enter it.

Statistics today show that the average age of teachers is about 47 and that graduates stay in the profession for about five years. Teacher retention continues to be  a major issue not only here but overseas and the article tries to discover why.

The feature “Classroom Burnout Triggers Teacher Opt-Out” was published in Melbourne’s The Age Newspaper in its Education Supplement on Monday February 26, 2007. It was released during a week when the issue of teacher retention was big news.

You may also download the pdf file of this article directly from my website.

The article has been used by the Doxa Youth Foundation in their submission to the Victorian Parliament’s Inquiry into Effective Strategies for Teacher Professional Learning.

It has also been used as a reference in the paper titled “Burnout Confirmed as a Viable Explanation for Beginning Teacher Attrition,” by the University of Southern Queensland.

Welcome

Welcome to belindahogan.com. I work as a journalist and also write freelance for magazines and newspapers. I can also be heard hosting the odd show on Brisbane’s 4ZZZ FM. I am trying to finish a Masters of Journalism at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) which I started over three years ago-yep its taking a long time. I write about all sorts of things but have a particular interest in education and youth issues. Having lived all over the place, I am currently living in Brisvegas-again! Please feel free to leave your comments.