Sunday's Kitchen

Last Sunday Em and I went to the launch of Sunday's Kitchen by Lesley Harding and Kendrah Morgan. In Sunday Reed's garden at Heide (at the Museum of Modern Art), in the blazing sun, this gorgeous book got its start in the world.

Part cookbook, part social history, Sunday's Kitchen is all about the domestic and artistic lives of a group of artists (Sidney Nolan, Albert Tucker, Arthur Boyd, Joy Hester, John Perceval, Charles Blackman and countless others) who met regularly at Heide to share in the lives of Sunday and John Reed.

Sunday and John were living sustainably long before it became popular. They grew their own vegies, milked their own cows, made butter, bread, preserves and used their way of life to cultivate and support an artistic circle of visual artists, poets and writers right up until their deaths in 1981. John died of cancer in December and Sunday died just ten days later. Every day at 4pm, Sunday would have 'Arvo Tea' which, ''signalled not only the end of a day's work, but also a forum for intelligent conversation and debate''.

Today the original house, now a gallery, still stands. My favourite room is the library/lounge. This is where the Reeds would sit after dinner, smoking, drinking and talking. It's not a big room but the walls are lined with books and somehow it feels like the heart of the house.

Here are some photos from Sunday's Kitchen.