| ABOUT US | OUR ANIMALS | OUR STORIES | WHAT WE READ | IDEAS UNLIMITED |
I am an Australian, a descendant of the Brabralung people of the Kurnai group in East Gippsland. Most of my family still lives in the lands around Bairnsdale. My grandmother told me that being Aboriginal was something to be proud of and that I should never hide our heritage. She taught me all my craft skills when I was very young, although she chooses to paint landscapes and still life rather than what we know today as Aboriginal art. I started painting for a living back in 1995 when I saw a newspaper ad for Aboriginal artists and thought “hey, I can paint and I am Aboriginal” so I applied. I still believe I only got the job because I could hold a paintbrush and I was Aboriginal. The strange thing is that when I started training I found I didn't need to learn anything after all. Everything my grandmother taught me came out through my paintbrush and I found I already knew how to do it. My style draws elements from traditional styles and more contemporary themes. As I don’t paint traditional pictures for tribal use, I’m not limited in the styles I choose to use. My art is to live with and look at and enjoy everyday. Today, Aboriginal art provides my family with a good life. By sharing what I have learned, Aboriginal art is helping my people to establish viable businesses. As a bonus, my larger pieces which manifest my dream of real reconciliation between Australians are winning recognition here in Australia as well as finding homes for themselves all around the world. I’m very glad that I answered that newspaper ad, so many years ago, because “hey, I can paint and I am Aboriginal”.
My name is Sue Bagust. My snake is named Naddred and is a diamond python. The Celtic serpent keeps many secrets, one of which is the secret of renewal through the right use of life energy.
I am an Australian, the descendant of immigrants. My father’s people were English, Scottish and Irish and my mother was the seventh child in a family of German farmers. As a child of mixed German/English parentage I was naturally always very interested in the old Celtic ways, as this genetic link was shared by both my parents. I was born in Sydney, grew up in Brisbane, and lived in Melbourne for most of my life working as an advertising copywriter. I came to North Queensland reluctantly in 1991 to help care for my father who had developed Alzheimer’s and here in the tropics I found what I was looking for all my life. Living in Queensland is the closest thing to paradise that any creature can probably experience. Life is very, very sweet. Today I walk the Celtic path and my belief system includes respecting and working with animals to gain knowledge: I believe that we can obtain honest guidance from animals if we can only learn to stop talking at them long enough to hear their wisdom. |
About us |
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On the surface all we share is an Australian heritage, but when we first met in 1996 we noticed chance events and similarities that were too many to be ignored. When you find synchronicities happening at such a great rate we both believe it is a sign to sit down, to talk, and to find out why that person is of such importance and what task you are supposed to undertake together. Some of the similarities we discovered include:
By this time we realised we had a lot in common, but when we discovered that we both work with snake energy within our own belief systems, we realised that we were connected on a very deep level. In both the Aboriginal and the Celtic cultures, snakes are very powerful creatures. They are not easy to work with and are very challenging because this creature encourages us to look at what needs to be healed on a deep level and to look for a change and a movement to a new life. So we put our differences aside and similarities together to tell the stories of our land and the creatures that share our land with us, Linda with her paints and Sue with her words. We share our stories with you in the hope they will help you, as they have helped us to grow and to heal.
The Circles of Life Oracle is currently looking for a reputable publisher, if you can help please contact Ideas unlimited. Readings are available from:
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