I am about to learn a new language. Ngaanyatjarra is the language of the Gibson Desert, the central east of Western Australia near the Northern Territory and South Australian borders. Some Ngaanyatjarra is spoken in Laverton, Kalgoorlie and the Eastern Goldfields area of Western Australia.
I am using the Ngaanyatjarra, a learner's guide book and the CD that arrived with it.
I have not attempted to learn a new language since high school a long time ago.  During this past two years I have been learning some of the finer points of English grammar which has made me cut back on my previous excessive use of commas.  I have also shortened my sentences.
I will share some of my learning the language of the Australian Gibson Desert people here in my blog and even strive to write and illustrate some stories using some of the Australian Aboriginal languages These stories will be aimed at all cultures and will hopefully bring a greater understanding of Australia and the Aboriginal people and the traditional culture to all a wider group of people.

Many Ngaanyatjarra people lived for some time at the Warburton ond children who grew up there between the 1930's to 1060's have learned to speak in Ngaanyatjarra or Pitjantjatjara. Now small communities are moving away from the large settlements and establishing thier own settlement closer to their original home country and they are working to retain their original Ngaanyatjarra language and culture and striving to become self sufficient though their beautiful and talented art forms.  One of the mail purposes of the art is to preserve the stories and culture of the Ngaanyatjarra.

By learning the language myself and utilizing this with my writing and art skill I hope to extent respect for the Aboriginal culture in Australia to a wider group of people. I will of course not attempt to paint in the traditional Ngaanyatjarra method but would be promoting the work of the original Ngaanyatjarra artists, see the above book, Ngaanyatjarra art of the lands.

I just ordered two books though Fishpond, that should reach me within a week. One on the Ngaanyatjarra language of the Central Desert people of Australia and the other on their fight for survival. Sometimes you just cannot wait for confirmation before acting if you want to be prepared. I have applied for work in the area and if I get this position I need to leave within two weeks and want to be preparing while on the journey. 

Heading back to preparing the summer retreat for a long absence. I'm three days in to the pack down even though we don't know what direction north we are heading as yet. I hope my job dreams are fulfilled it feels so right to me to make art, the Aboriginal art movement and the inland of Australia my life from now in.

I want to buy this book too.

Ngaanyatjarra: Art of the Lands is a glorious illustrated book documenting the six art centres (Warakurna, Papulankutja, Tjarlirli, Kayili, Maruku and Tjanpi) that make up the Western Desert Mob group. This book combines the aesthetics of an art catalogue with the rigour of an academic art history, and contains both essays and stories of Aboriginal people's perspectives on their own artistic heritage.

The Ngaanyatjarra Lands has a unique place in the art history and art story of remote Australia and yet art histories of the Western Desert are dominated by the story of the genesis of desert painting at Papunya and its progression through Papunya Tula Artists. However, within the last decade there has been a major realignment of artistic practice, with greater diversity and stunning developments in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands.

This book presents new histories of creative and artistic practice and expands audience understandings of the complexity, richness and interconnectedness of people and art in the Western Desert.

“When my story begins the birds in my dreaming time were white. Then as my training for manhood began, my dream birds changed to black. My cousins told me about the beautiful white egrets who had waded in the billabong since dreaming began.  I learned about men and woman who love and how sometimes they hate. In my country that hatred became powerful and ignited a flaming wall that divided the mountain from the pasture and split my family in half. 

Some say the Australian black ravens in my dreams were the white birds rising from the fires of rage their feathers charred by the flame. Kanga the elder taught me that the black birds in my dreaming symbolised hope, not hatred. Kanga said they were my totem and they would lead me to find a way to end payback. 

I believe if we all listen and learn from the nature spirits we would know that while the white bird symbolised peace in many cultures, it is the charred spirits who can survive the flames and soar into the sky, that show us there is hope and that we can all live together in peace.”
                                                       The words of Jarrah   Woggan-Wandong country

_My Novel Dreaming Billabong is back from the proof readers and is ready for submission to a literary agent or publisher and it is time to make the new twelve month goals which will see either the sequel written or a stand alone novel.

Now I am about to launch an ART SALE

Kathy Shell Artist/Author 12 Months and beyond, action plan.

FEB:, I list art for sale free shipping in Australia and internationally at cost.
Also Pitching my novel to publishers and agents - ongoing until success.

MARCH: I continue to sell any remaining unsold items but no new listings.

APRIL:Easter: Wind up - Sales CLOSED - Planning new Novel & Travels

MAY till January 2013 Write new Novel

FEB 2013 - Possible Second chance offer art sale -IF, I do another.

I had a great morning in the painting studio with the rep from Pack and Send who will be getting costings to me fairly soon of the shipping of my large Moorcroft Vase, Art Easel Kits, Metal detector, Framed ad unframed original Oils and watercolour paintings, Wholesale quantities of scrapbooking papers and prints.

I will be focusing the next fortnight equally dividing my time between pitching my novel and getting these 'out there' where people can see them on line.

_Have you been to any Seminars?
You can apply all this information for writers to Painters and Sculptors, we all have the same time restraint issues of a labour intensive job and the need to allocate time for public relations work as well.

While I still have not put pen to paper and created any more cartoons since I went to the Cartoon Writing Seminar last Wednesday I have applied all the business skills for Authors training I received in the latter part of the Seminar and 'that's OK,' because I already could do cartoon sketches it was best to focus on those areas I could improve on first.

The move I have made towards doing the actual cartooning is to allocate 4 hours a day by 5 days a week to my blogging, short story, essay length, cartooning and author promotion skills. Or 20 hours per week.  I will be focusing on the A priorities fist, and that is those skills I need to improve and the most urgent ones.

So I have allocated the time to do the cartooning, as it moves up the priority ladder it will be done, within that 4 hours, Monday to Friday.  I am allocating  2 x 4 hour work sessions from 8 until 12  at each end of the day.

One will be treasured and maintained 7 days a week or 28 hours a week just for my novel writing with a bonus additional 2 x 4 hours cribbed off the days I take a break from the small writing work.  That equals 36 hours Novel writing time per week and I'm sure I will crib a little extra time and make that a 40 hour week as I am serious about my novel writing. If I was painting this would be time allocated to my major work of art.  I set this full time working week for it as non negotiable.

I need to work on this further to allocate enough exercise time and have a balanced lifestyle. Yes, good time management is a valid seminar topic for writers and i have attended and even given a few of those throughout my creative career. Get the time management right and you can create well and stay reasonably healthy.

Summery:
* I work a part time 20 hour week at smaller PR size and income generating creative work.
* I work a full time 40 hour week at my major creative work this is currently my novel.
* I allocate 10 hours minimum to the study and improvement of my creative work. For a writer this is reading a novel for at least one hour a day and brushing up on grammar,
* Fitness activity, healthy meals planning and sleep. - Yes this is why I need to plan or something gets left out. All my social activity needs to be fitted in around training =, fitness or meals. I do turn the TV off unless it is educational and facebook for me is an educational and promotional medium it is not for wasting time playing games, when I play games it is with real life to my face friends and family members.

Set your goals, plan the actions to achieve them then plan your time so you can achieve what you want to do,



My next Seminar is Feb 11 on submitting my novel to an agent or publisher.

Why Writer's Conferences are Important.