Ironfest began as a glorified art exhibition held in a number of shops in the East End Main Street of Lithgow. The first Ironfest celebrated the birth of steel in Lithgow, steel that was used to build our railways, and involved around 30 artists and performers. It also attracted around 400 people.
By 2017 Ironfest involved over 2,900 participants and attracting close in excess of 17,000 visitors.
The festival also provides an opportunity for families to have fun together and have fun celebrating Australian History. This year Ironfest is celebrating its 20th year.
As the Ironfest website states:
In the twentieth year of the reign of the Kingdom, all creatures great and small, all clans, civilised and wild, are heralded to gather to create the magical story of "Ironfest - Once Upon a Time"
Once Upon a Time means stories to many of us and the Pierce family are brilliant at Cosplay; a portmanteau of the words costume play. Cosplay is a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character.
Over the past weeks Bea has been making 'Catbus'. Bea Pierce is a multimedia artist and designer, proven design thinker, innovative conceptual ideas creator and stimulator of imaginings, who has been creating and surrounding fortunate others with her inherent aptitude for communicating the glorious for over 20 years.
Through her Jellybeaps alter ego, this artist, photographer and storyteller shares photo essays, stories for children, stories for adults and photographic images you can just fall into - one of our favourites is "Tree Corset" - created during Shona Wilson‘s “Collaborations with Nature” ephemeral land art workshop at Eramboo, Terrey Hills, in 2014.
Readers may recall the 'Doorhenge' interactive art installation Bea created for the Wild Temple of Yam Festival in 2016.
Catbus!
The Catbus (Nekobasu) (referred to in the film as Neko no basu) is a character in the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro, directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is a large creature, depicted as a grinning, twelve legged cat with a hollow body that serves as a bus, complete with windows and seats coated with fur, and a large, bushy tail. The character's popularity has led to its use in a spinoff film, toys for children, an art car, and being featured in the Ghibli Museum, among other products and influences.
Often used to transport Totoros, in the film it makes an exception to help O-Totoro, the main Totoro, who is also the biggest. O-Totoro calls the Catbus and asks it to help Satsuki find her lost sister Mei. As Satsuki boards it, its destination sign changes to "Mei." After the sisters are reunited, the Catbus volunteers to whisk Mei and Satsuki over the countryside to see their hospitalised mother. After Satsuki and Mei return home, the Catbus finally leaves them, its body fading into the evening shadows.
Why Catbus we asked Bea?
Bea Pierce: Because the theme this year is Once Upon a Time, we’re with NSW Furs (Steam Punk) and we’re all big Studio Ghibli fans.
Steam Punk is a genre of science fiction that has a historical setting and typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advanced technology and also a style of design and fashion that combines historical elements with anachronistic technological features inspired by science fiction.
Which all goes to prove further that exploring History through Family fun quadruples the fun!
The blast furnace, pictured c. 1900-27, by William Broadhurst; (Source:SLNSW).
Catbus!
Pittwater Online News is Published Every Sunday Morning: 8 a.m.
