Up the hallowed stairs and you enter the Temple of Artworks on Paper.
You smile and nod at the discreet staffer, tapping away behind the tiny desk and gaze at the artworks on the walls in a barely restrained frenzy. Mixed media, etchings, amazing folding screens made out of decorative papers, photography. Lusciousness. My favourites this visit were a long thin Japapanese print, delicate and simple and beautiful beyond belief. I was enjoying some shadowy watercolours that looked like they'd been done in Japan too, all sumi ink on washi paper when I realised with a start they were of Blackheath escarpment.
It's quiet and earth-toned and you kind of feel like you should move in slow motion, or maybe tai-chi your way through the rooms. While original art is a little out of my buget at the mo, most of the works were between the $300 and $1000 mark, and there was a bin of photographs from about $70. They have helpful info up about some of the techniques used and I could stay there for hours, just soaking in the beauty. read more