Melbourne Street Art

I love Melbourne and I was lucky enough to head there for a weekend to take some shots around and about the place. I LOVED the graffiti in the alleyways even though it was a little hard to shoot in the pouring rain! Such an eclectic (and at times raunchy) mix of images…I hope you enjoy.

A Bus Ride With A Twist

A few weeks ago I went along with an amateur photography group I am a part of to take photos from the top deck of the city sightseeing bus- the double-decker red one, for those who live in Sydney and have seen it. It was an interesting day because the bus also had commentary on Sydney’s history- stuff I didn’t know, like the Coca-Cola sign at Kings Cross is heritage listed! It was incredibly tricky taking photos from the bus with all the movement and trying to get my camera through the safety bars, but it was really interesting to see the city from above pavement level.

I really love shapes, design and texture so really enjoyed taking shots of buildings with all their angles and glass and colour.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend ox

Starting the year with Clarissa Pinkola Estes

During 2009 I read Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ book ‘Women Who Run With The Wolves.’ I found her writing stunning, incredibly insightful and confronting. Her words and the stories she shared resonated deeply. I have just started reading it again. I often need to remind myself and relearn the lessons contained in her book, a book that holds such old wisdom.

I have been wanting to do some paper cut outs for awhile now so I gave it a shot last night. I did a cut out of a tree, a symbol of strength and renewal. While I lived in Canberra I witnessed the striking changes of the seasons, particularly the change from Autumn to Winter. It was the first time I realised that there was great beauty rather than sadness in a tree that now stood naked and stripped down to its bare branches.

I learnt a valuable lesson- what is inherent in nature is also inherent in life. Just as in nature, in life things will change and die off but they will also grow stronger during that period and will return in new and wonderful ways. The image of the naked tree is a reminder for me that life is about seasons and there is strength to be found in times that appear harsh and soul stripping.  

Today I decided to do something with the tree cut out and inspired by Clarissa Pinkola Estes I played around and this was my final piece;

The words around the tree are a quote from ‘Women Who Run With The Wolves’. It says

‘The wild nature has a vast integrity to it. The wild nature carries with it the bundles for healing; she carries everything a woman needs to be and know. She is both vehicle and destination.’

My Creative Space- 1 hour painting

I love Thursdays. Knowing Thursday is ‘posting’ day I often ask myself ‘what have I been doing this week that is creative?’ Because most of my creative endeavours are writing based and not very visually exciting for a blog, I often search for another example of creativity. This week other than expressing my creativity by getting my home cleaner and more in shape, and spending countless hours making photo gifts for Christmas, there was nothing else to report. So I set myself a challenge- a painting in an hour.

I set my egg timer for 5 mins to sketch a vase of flowers in my dining room and then sat on my balcony and painted it. It was really fun and I find a time limit works well for me because I have to shut off my inner critic. It also made me realise that if it only takes an hour to dabble in some paint and pencils, then I should really set my egg timer and do it more often.

Hope you have all had a great week, check out what others are up to on Kootoyoo. 

My Creative Space: Beauty

This week I have focused on trying to clean out what is not necessary in my home and finding ways to bring more joy and beauty into my space. I love flowers and love them scattered around my place, so today I bought a gorgeous big bouquet and broke it up into a few vases. I also had some dried natives from a few weeks ago that had seen better days so I revived them in one of my favourite vases which uses a spike to secure the stems of the flowers. It is a really easy and fun way to play around and arrange flowers. Seems flowers and nature have featured strongly in my last few blog entries- I must be getting excited about summer getting closer.

It has also occurred to me this week that there are a lot of simple pleasures in life that can be easily overlooked. After having a gorgeous communal dinner with some friends over the weekend and enjoying some lush dates, my love of dates was re-ignited. Since the weekend I have found myself enjoying a cup of tea and dates on my balcony as the sun goes down. Life could be a lot worse I suspect!

I have started a ‘doodling’ project which I pick up every now and then. I remember doing this in high school art class and I loved the end result and the ‘mindless’ place your brain goes into as you make patterns and use colour. So easy and so relaxing.     

I hope you have all had a lovely week- how quickly they fly by. Check out what other people have been up to this week at Kootoyoo.

My Creative Space

I spent the afternoon playing around with some Howlite beads I bought recently. I am not normally drawn to blue but I like the brown cracking look through it, it’s an interesting contrast. I made a bracelet and used magnetic clasps, which i haven’t used before. It certainly makes it easier to put on but I am not convinced it won’t fall off! It doesn’t seem strong enough but I will wait and see. I really want to make a necklace with the same beads and do a more tribal look that would be layered and taper in to fall in the middle of the chestbone, it shall be a work in progress. Check out other people’s creative spaces.  

 

 

 

My Creative Space

I have had some fun playing around with chains and some red suede strips this week. Not sure which design I liked the best…will keep playing…

Thinking back on summer…

A few years ago I went to a tattoo expo in Sydney and met a lady there who did henna tattooing. I loved her work, got one of her tattoo’s and vowed to give it a shot one day.

These are some of the designs I have come up with since I have been playing around.

The process of designing a henna tattoo and then actually doing it is really calming and centering. I find I do more henna during summer because it seems to fit the free and happy spirit of henna. I can't wait for summer to roll around again and we have only just into winter, not a good sign!