lindseymyra

Sanctuary

2012-02-22T03:24:00.002Z

I have returned to my Sanctuary and there can be no doubt that that is indeed what this little patch is. I have spent the morning basking in Mum's garden; thinking that it truly has never been so beautiful and trying to imagine what my life will be like without this Heaven to retreat to. We will of course, have a new Sanctuary and not so far away; but it will be different and I don't think there is a member of my family who won't consider themselves honestly blessed to have been able to experience the beauty of this home.

I am also in a fog of Victorian Romantic literature as is probably showing in my own proper and verbose tone today. Hell, I even just used the word verbose! It has long been curious to me, how comfortable I am with rediculously pompous and lengthy phrasing. During my schooling, my ever succinct and practical Mother used to edit out massive swathes of writing in my essays and exclaim that she had never met anyone so capable of saying basic things with such a large volume of words! It seems I have slipped back into old habits ...

You can attribute all this wordiness to Possession, by A.S.Byatt and the fact that after my recent trip to the NGV International I went on a bit of an Ebay binge. I have this received The Works of Emily Dickenson and an anthology of English Romantic Poetry this week in the mail; it's so exciting getting parcels! Now, I have banged on about the brilliance of A.S.Byatt before, here. This novel, a very popular one in the early 90's - which I have only just come to - has created for me another fantastical web of imagery and words that seems to constantly echo in my real life. I thought, when reading The Children's Book that Byatt couldn't have combined more of my favorite topics and themes in one book. Yet it seems to have happened again, whereas before I was tangled up in the Edwardian arts and crafts movement, the renaissance of fairy tales and magical puppet shows and the eager adoption of Ruskinian ideals. This time I have been absorbed by romantic, metaphysical poetry of the Victorian era. Again fairy-tales and celtic story telling feature strongly; but this time with a Breton influence and thus the inclusion of French language - yay for me :-)

Now that is, by far, enough talking for today. I'm off to research traditional herb lore and read poetry...
I fear hitting the publish button on this one; I think I might look back on it and cringe. Oh well folks, you're laughing with me, not at me!

"Just keep following the heart-lines on your hand."

The obsession continues

2012-01-30T05:36:00.002Z

... with grass that is.I even got to put some in this weekend's bouquets - yay!I've been drooling over the Diggers catalogue and creating an amazing garden in my mind. I would dearly love to make it reality but feel constantly disillusioned by the other reality, that is I live in a rental property and could be thrown out at any point. I am also intimidated by the fact that these things cost money. "They don't have to cost much" you say or "A little, but the enjoyment you get out of it is worth so much more"... And I start to feel feeble. But truly, I don't have much to spare and nothing is going to grow here without a significant soil injection! Then again, I hear the voice of a very good friend echo in my mind "Lindsey, just fucking do it." Hmmm, so maybe the reality is, I could actually get over all that stuff; if I only had some more time. This seems to be a continuing theme in my current existential crisis. I continue to ask the Universe for guidance.In the mean time, I take solace in looking at the details...

For the love of Grass

2012-01-18T04:30:00.000Z

It was the obsession of our summer holiday; well for me anyway. Graceful, arcing, delicate and oh so intricate. I was absorbed by the plethora of different grasses that we came across on our treks through the High Country. It seemed that they each had their own little personalities. It made me want to draw again.

Summer trekking

2012-01-17T05:39:00.000Z

This year I took a real summer holiday, you know, the kind that everybody else has. Took 3 weeks off work, had a nicely relaxed Christmas with family and then hit the road. It was a simple affair and all the better for it! Just me, the man and the 4WD packed with all that we needed for two weeks of camping. The vague plan was to head north, slowly. So we did, travelling through the Victorian High Country, then down to the coast. We crossed over to NSW but after a few days in the bun fight that is the coast just after Christmas, we gave up on the beach and headed inland again. Then we made our way through the Kosciusko National Park before heading home again. We swam everyday except the last; either in sea or river and came back looking like a pair of bush babies! It was absolutely divine.

People got married

2011-12-19T06:50:00.002Z

A wedding that I actually went to as a guest; what a lovely change!
Check out the size of that gardenia. That's a proper tropics specimen, due to the fact that we were in the Byron Bay hinterland at the time. The bride's family just picked these from their own shrubs on the morning; heaven.
It was a weekend full of much, much love, great friends and excellent food. What more could you ask for? Beaches? Sunshine? Swimming before breakfast? Oh, well we had all that too :-)

We also had a birthday

2011-12-19T06:28:00.004Z

or two in the last month.

Wanderings of the lost blogger

2011-12-19T05:24:00.001Z

Aka: me.

Yikes! How did we get here already? Freaking crazy times have been had and clearly, I didn't think to sit down and document any of it here. So, as per usual, I will be playing catch up again.

There was a market: A Christmas Design Mini Market that is....

A gaggle of very clever friends set up a little market in the Kuwaii store in Brunswick the other week. There were flowers and plants, jewellery and accessories, clothing and footwear and baked goods too!

Cecilia Fox was there and Tara Shackell, Trotski & Ash and Anna Varendorff, a few more without linkies and some home made lemonade too. Yum.

I am always amazed and encouraged by the level of creative talent housed in this average sized suburb!

Winter whites and silverwear

2011-10-14T05:17:00.000+01:00

Here's some pics from a Cecila Fox job we did a while back. It was a Georgeous event.This lil guy was probably my favorite of the day. Heliabores hold such hope in their nodding heads; don't you think? They're a little bit shy and sheepish but they can't help but smile because Spring is on the way. I'm smiling just thinking about them!

Spectacular ceilings

2011-10-13T17:10:00.000+01:00

I'm a big fan of looking up ;-)

On of the things I love about my job is that I get to see inside buildings that I normally wouldn't even know existed. Some of them are quite pretty!

Theatrical settings

2011-10-13T05:02:00.002+01:00

Venue of the year?
More over at Mel's.

Filling in the gaps

2011-10-12T04:24:00.000+01:00

I get a couple of day's rest at the farm and what do I do? Spend most of it on the computer! I kind of like it though, it's catch up time. I've been filing away photos and things to tell you for weeks, mainly because I was too exhausted to actually sit down and do it. Thanks to the Never- Ending Cold. Seriously, I've had this baby for over 5 weeks now; grrr. All I can say is I'm getting pretty good at swigging these naturopathic herbs.

In between that, things have been slowly getting busier and busier. We're gearing up for Summer over at the Cecilia Fox studio. Which means my period of being voluntarily, predominately unemployed has come to an end. Exciting! The whole idea of taking time out was to try and improve my health (ha!) and to be able to work on some of the things I value; read yoga, art, weaving, making pretty things, spending time with friends and loved ones etc. The reality is, I hardly got any more of these things done than before and though I was a lot more relaxed; I realised that I love what I do and I love doing it.

So let's see how long I can maintain my zen while working pretty much full time ...

Gifts such as these absolutely stunning lemon ranunculi from Mel definitely enhance the Zen. I've been staring at them for about 10 days now and I never tire of their beauty.

PS: I'm at the farm today

2011-10-12T03:24:00.000+01:00

This azaelea is out

The bright yellow tree peonies are just popping

And this is out

And this

aaaahhhh sigh.

Bucket o succulents

2011-10-12T03:19:00.000+01:00

I've collected some succulent babies from Mum's garden, planning on propagating them at chez Fred street. All our others succumbed to the tiny but pernicious teeth of our pet rabbit, Mona. You wouldn't think they'd be that tasty, would you? But she loves them, will climb ladders and jump onto high ledges to get to them! This spirited little bunnikins is uncageable, a regular Houdini. As a result, she has been free-range for a good 5 months now; the neighbours all know her by name and we've all given up trying to catch her. Having said that, she rarely strays from our yard; she knows where home is. But there are plans afoot for a Mega-Pen, because I just can't live without a garden for much longer. And I mean, NO garden; she's eaten EVERYTHING! My vegie patch is actually a big patch of dirt ... in which Mona likes to sun herself.

Ah the joys :-)

Brushes and paint

2011-09-09T04:15:00.001+01:00

I got all artsy for a bit there and enjoyed myself immensely. After failing to find anything I liked to gift to my gorgeous sister to decorate her house with; I decided to have a go with some paint myself.

Now, just because one is a creative character, it does not necessarily follow that they're any good at drawing & painting. I'm a good example of this phenomenon. Put a blank piece of paper or a canvas in from of me and say "There you go, create something" and I freak out. Big time. So this little project has been quite a learning curve for me. I basically created my own paint by numbers. I took some motifs from antique Suzani fabrics and scribbled them on the canvas. Then lined up my paints and started mixing. Once I had a palette of about 10 colors, I numbered the canvas to correspond and voila, no more thinking or "creating" required. Phew, with the pressure off, all that was left was to do was meditatively paint in the shapes. Fun. What a revelation!

Now I'm thinking I might do an even bigger one for our house ...

Poppies

2011-09-09T03:11:00.000+01:00

They are my favorite.*
And they look lovely winding their way out of this Nouveau vase; even if it did take 6 bunches to fill it!
Every time I see the sun cascading in on them it warms my lil heart.

* subject to seasonal variation

The things you don't see

2011-07-23T20:33:00.002+01:00

At every door there stands
A weeping sentinel.
At most, they are not seen
At some, their tears don't shine
But there stands, at every door
A weeping sentinel.

Mostly happy to hide,
retreating
into shade and shadows
amongst the leaves of exotic
trees, which despite
their roots, have travelled
lands and homes, have seen
that every door there stands
A weeping sentinel.

There are sights the Weeping
Sentinel sees, details -
Glimpses often missed by
those who pass their frontiers
For fleeting moments that exist
Solely on the thresholds
Of the Weeping sentinel.

Looking forward to going back

2011-07-23T08:24:00.000+01:00

... to work and being a florist, that is.

Notes on sleeplessness

2011-07-22T20:14:00.000+01:00

Tonight I watched the pools
of Heliotrope bleed
down
my cheeks, as the hours
dragged
Wells,
spreading, seeping
downwards, outwards
from blurring eyes.

More Parisian jewels

2011-07-22T08:11:00.001+01:00

Still living on the memories!

Thinking

2011-07-21T05:41:00.003+01:00

Thinking, I do lots of it. I'm sure you do too.

I've been thinking lately; how much is too much thinking? There are different types of thinking; how many can you think of, etc. etc.

Actually, I have been pondering, that is thinking, without being particularly attached to those thoughts. Mostly I ponder possibilities: what if ..? and maybe one day ..? or what about if tomorrow I ...? etc. etc.

In my current state of in-between-ness, I have plenty of time for such musings. And I am starting to get that exciting, tingling feeling that soon the pondering will be over and things are actually going to start happening ...

In the meantime, I'm just being, trying to ponder rather than think. I'm visiting friends and playing with paint, just because I can. I start writing things but don't finish them because I'm not in that spot right now. I'm taking in information and letting it slowly catalogue itself.

A dear friend of mine sent me this program to the 2011 Stroud Textile Festival's "Textile Trail" and I have been drooling with jealousy over the images of hand-weavers set up in their cute little Costwald studios; weaving away.

Patience, Lindsey, patience ... hmmm, ponder ...

The beauty of synchronicity

2011-07-21T02:00:00.000+01:00

The most fantastic web of wonderful imagery was created for me while I was overseas. I'm trying to keep it going now that I am home but really, all I have left is memories and photos; inspiration wanes already!

The unifying factor was this most divine book, entitled "The Children's Book". I think it totally appropriate - in this instance - to judge a book by it's cover. The cover illustration is mesmerizing and the tale even more so. Set in England during the Edwardian era, the tale evokes the spirit of the Arts and Crafts movement and of Ruskinian ideals. There are sumptuous descriptions of artworks and clothing. There is insight into the very first days of the Victoria and Albert Museum and a detailed illustration of the Parisian Exposition Universelle. There are fairytales and theatrics; really, what more could one ask of a book?

With this web of imagery and tales already installed in my little mind, I travelled. Everything I saw, matching up like pieces of a fantastical puzzle. I journeyed through picturesque Cornwall, took long train rides, went to the V&A, saw "The Cult of Beauty" exhibition, went to Paris, visited the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, saw Le Petit Palais and Le Grand Palais, which were built for L'Exposition Universelle mentioned above. Everything twined together like Morris' very own "Honeysuckle".

Makes me want to be a textile designer, again!

Palais Garnier

2011-06-18T10:09:00.002+01:00

If you only visit one "site" in Paris; it should be this one.

Fountain lust

2011-06-17T22:04:00.000+01:00

Basking hollyhocks

2011-06-17T09:52:00.000+01:00

Roofs and flowers in sunshiney Paris

2011-06-16T21:48:00.000+01:00

Oh so french ...

2011-06-16T09:40:00.000+01:00

Guess where I went?

2011-06-15T21:32:00.005+01:00

The fairies live here

2011-06-06T18:02:00.002+01:00

Clematis

2011-06-04T17:59:00.000+01:00

The brushes are out

2011-06-03T17:44:00.000+01:00

Well, I did get the paintbrushes out but I still haven't got very far; nor bothered taking pictures. So here's a half done something that I left at home. I wish I was one of those people who gets whole heartedly consummed by creativity and doesn't leave their room until a masterpiece is complete. I am not however, I tend more towards the "doing a hundred things at once and while being constantly distracted by more possibilities" type. Oooh, what's that over there? ...

In a glen somewhere

2011-06-02T17:43:00.000+01:00

Wiggly wonders

2011-05-30T21:36:00.001+01:00

Flowering Shows

2011-05-29T10:28:00.004+01:00

It just goes to show, I am a weaver at heart. Anytime I see multiples of anything, I start seeing patterns and potential. That would explain why I still have brimming boxes labelled "Dried Magnolia Stamens; 2009" and "Banksia leaves; 2010" stashed away in my Mum's garage (please don't tell her)! This was a pile of leftover passes from the Melbourne International Flower Show. I couldn't help myself with the wacky, Pop art paper weaving. This one also goes up in honor of the fact that I've thoroughly enjoyed all the coverage from the Chelsea Flower show this year. Go BBC specials every night of the week, for the duration! I am so inspired, now I just need to find a garden and a wealth of funds so that all I have to do for the rest of my life is create the most magical garden the world has ever seen. Hmmm

I'm working up to it

2011-05-29T10:28:00.000+01:00

I thought if I put some pictures up of me getting crafty last month, it might spur me on to get my paints out again over here. Hmmm, we'll see.

Putting on a show: behind the scenes

2011-05-25T14:38:00.000+01:00

Some pictures from behind the scenes of Faye's wedding. Look at "my" workshed, complete with two big benches, which the Christians organised for me for the week. And check out all my helpers, at the peak I think there was about 15 of us on the job! It was such great fun to have everybody getting involved; shared work = shared laughs in my book.

Blank canvas

2011-05-25T14:27:00.001+01:00

A big reason for my visit to the Island this time round, has been the wedding of a good childhood friend. When I was last here Faye begged me to come back and do the flowers for her wedding; so I did. How could I say no? She was marrying in this tiny 800 year old church (above). I have many fond memories of attending Harvest Festival services with my Nana at old St Runius; perched on the skinny pews, surrounded by candles and watching the organist get up a swing as he pumped the pedals. There's no electricity, you know.

Solomon's Seal

2011-05-16T17:27:00.003+01:00

"Set me as a seal upon thy heart"
(The Song of Songs which is Solomon's, 8:6)

I have always loved the graceful arc of Solomon's Seal, with it's delicate little white pendulums tinkling from the stem; it's quite special. I recently learnt from my Nana that one should never let a Soloman's Seal plant die because it's dreadfully bad luck. After her mother's passing, many years ago, Nana transplanted a plant from her mother's garden to her own in order to keep it alive and cared for. How precious is that?

More from Red Hill

2011-05-16T05:23:00.003+01:00

Event by Georgeous at the Port Phillip Estate. Flowers by Cecilia Fox.

Pretty pastels in Red Hill

2011-05-15T19:00:00.002+01:00

A couple of weeks back Isadora drove me and a van-load of flowers down the Peninsula to do this Georgeous wedding for Mel; what a pleasure! I've never spent time down that part of the state and was just mesmerised by the crisp beauty of the vistas, captured so wonderfully by this venue. It was a nice note to finish on before I came away, that's for sure.

That's life

2011-05-15T15:27:00.003+01:00

Once upon a time the was a girl who had a strange creature as her friend. This creature was a bloggywog, a shy little being who liked, generally, to come out at night. She was one of those "introverted extroverts" this little bloggywog and for all her coyness she rather liked the limelight; liked to show off now and then. You know the type.

This little bloggywog lived on the pictures, words and pretties that the girl fed her. The two lived together happily for many months before, bit by bit, the little bloggywog saw less and less of her mistress. She wasted away as her mistress continued to forget to feed her. She pined for the times they used to spend together, she became quieter and quieter. When others prodded her, she refused to dance for them as she once had; she was starved and lonely.

The bloggywog knew her mistress loved her, really, but she could not live on all the apologies her mistress kept tossing her as she ran about her seemingly busy life.Until one day the girl turned to her little bloggywog and said "Come on little one, I'm going on holiday and you're going to come with me." The little bloggywog was so happy, her mistress was going to take her on a holiday. They would get to spend so much time together, ooh, how lovely! The little bloggywog did a bloggywobbly dance of happiness.

And so the girl and her now very happy bloggywog got on a plane and flew to the otherside of the world. The girl hugged her little bloggywog and said "I'm sorry dear B.W. I promise I won't forget to feed you again. Here, would you like some cake?"

Fair Island of the Fey

2011-05-15T13:25:00.000+01:00

Here I am, back on my beloved Island once more. It is so novel to be here at this time of year, Spring. Everything is so lush and green, but then we are quite near that slightly better known Emerald Isle! In ages past the Irish held the Isle of Man to be a place of significant mystical importance. They knew what I know, that the Little People love this place.

Autumn in Melbourne; you make my little heart sing!

2011-05-03T04:55:00.002+01:00

They're on the way...

2011-04-13T02:58:00.000+01:00

Mama Jubbs has made her way to the hospital and we are all sending our deepest blesssings.
Much love my dears.

Blessing the Way

2011-04-11T06:28:00.000+01:00

It's been such a busy week, this little gathering seems like forever ago. I think it was last weekend (?) that we gathered some lovely ladies together in our "conservatory" to bless the way for a close friend and the little babe she's carrying. This week may see the arrival of the little "Jubb-nut", as he/she has become known!

Fruit in the gutters

2011-03-27T21:20:00.000+01:00

Vessel hunting

2011-03-27T09:20:00.000+01:00

Tori and I went on a scavenger hunt in Castlemaine this weekend; fun! Look at my new friend, I think I'll plant her full of bright pansies or some such.

Flowers in the dome

2011-03-21T07:13:00.001Z

J and I took care of this hanging floral display for a glorious Georgeous wedding on the weekend in the divine dome at 333 Collins Street while Miss Melanie was in charge down at the reception venue.

Look down

2011-03-21T04:35:00.001Z

A while back:

2011-03-21T03:24:00.000Z

Helped Mel on this one a month or so back and forgot to tell y'all.

The cards say it all

2011-03-10T03:43:00.001Z

Every now and then I pull out my cards; look what came up last week. Interestingly, a day later I had quit my job and indeed, I am now looking at a new phase in my life. Exciting isn't it?

Hello Northern Hemisphere

2011-02-26T22:00:00.000Z

Just wanted to a big hello and thank you Helen of Lilac and Lily. This lovely lady messaged me recently from the UK and then featured us on her delightful sight. Helen has amassed quite a collection of beautiful imagery over there and reading her "About" page, I feel sure we will be friends. Ditto on her whole "likes" list just swap the Sunday croissant for some organic spelt toast & I'm there. Thank you Helen.

We ran out of Vegemite; Marmite isn't as good.

2011-02-25T13:08:00.001Z

I also went to the op shop. Look what I found; and that's only half the stash! Somedays you just have that thrifting luck in your bones and it's best to roll with it.

Dreaming

2011-02-23T14:10:00.000Z

I'm currently experiencing a strong bout of the "Anywhere but here" syndrome. Living in the world can be hard. Most of the time you just keep your chin up & battle on but then one often receives a somewhat uncomfortable whiplash to the spirit and this inevitably throws one into an existential crisis ... or is it just me? And so I enter an active period of the aforementioned syndrome. For me this consists mainly of daydreaming of places I would rather be and inventing the most magical answers to the question: "If you had unlimited finances, time and good health; what would you want to do? What would your life be like?" Then if I really want to create an insomnia cocktail for myself, I follow that up with: "So what's stopping you?"

Images: The Isle of Man, my homeland (even if I was dragged up all ocha). I'm missing it.

images by Northline

Belated notations

2011-02-23T11:25:00.001Z

I have found that it is much easier to take photos of other people's work. When it's your job, you just don't have the time. So thank you to the pro-photographer on Pete and Arwen's wedding; truly beautiful shots.

Mass Industry

2011-02-23T10:50:00.000Z

It is truly delightful for to be surrounded by creating, making and doing beings on a sunshiney afternoon. Indeed, it makes one feel as if they too are achieving something! We were all busy as the proverbial stinging insects today, even the vegetables seemed to grow faster ... I think we will all sleep well tonight.

You know what day it is

2011-02-13T23:28:00.001Z

Zinnia, Zinnia, won't you be my zinnia?

2011-02-10T11:30:00.003Z

Afternoon Tea

2011-02-08T10:40:00.003Z

Made this, mailed this:

2011-02-08T10:31:00.003Z

Inspired by Leslie's paper patchworks over at my new favorite blog: A Creative Mint.

Things I like doing

2011-01-21T10:24:00.001Z

Crocheting and reading Rumi; obviously not at the same time, that's a bit tricky.

I also did some painting

2011-01-19T21:00:00.000Z

Not that any of it was worth showing you proper, just some little watercolour doodles. Spot my new Staedtler fine liner set? I'm loving them.

I made these ...

2011-01-19T08:07:00.001Z

I made myself a new t-shirt because I can't find a good one in the op shop! I also made this skirt out of an old "mu-mu" dress that I cut up ages ago, in the same day I also fixed 2 tops and almost finished a new pair of culottes ... then discovered that I had made them about 4 inches too big; so they're not quite done yet!

My pitcher plant gives me happiness ...

2011-01-18T23:03:00.003Z

I just couldn't walk past him at Bunnings, I had to have him. Faye, this one is for you.

I did this ...

2011-01-18T21:03:00.000Z

Thank you to Arwen & Pete for providing me with such a lovely celebration to decorate.

Remember me?

2011-01-18T10:23:00.000Z

Yes I have been very lax with the blogging of late. I have been doing things though, so stay tuned for more stories.

Sumptuous Settings

2011-01-04T23:33:00.001Z

Jo and I had a lovely time on Sunday eve helping Mel create this. Fancy having a wedding in the Queen Vic Markets? These reception tables ran the length of the deli hall and they looked fantastic. To top it all off, we went out for Champers n nibbles after; now that's my kind of work! More over here.

2010-12-25T02:03:00.000Z

I made a wreathy table center

2010-12-24T01:55:00.002Z

Wrappings

2010-12-20T07:35:00.004Z

Fuse

2010-12-14T06:25:00.003Z

Some of the beautiful work seen at the Counihan's "Fuse" Exhibition; mentioned back here.

artwork: Carla Grbac, Sophie Lew, Sophie Canaway, Jess Kavunenko.

Where I've been

2010-12-12T03:05:00.001Z

You may have noticed the lack of posting of late, well that's because I have been keeping myself busy with other little projects. Here's a couple of them:

I helped Mel do this super lovely spring time wedding up in the hills near our farm. We made a lovely day out of it, worked in the morning, made some wholesome lunch, took ourselves into Woodend for coffee and cake, then watched dvds all evening as the torrential storms thundered down outside. Ahhh, blissful! More over here.

Then I also helped Mel on this:

more over here.
Both Georgeous Events.

Under the hammer ... and the pump

2010-12-09T11:18:00.001Z

This weekend saw the culmination of weeks of hard work for both my Mum and her garden assistant extroadinaire as our property went up for auction ...

Mum's friends gifted her with 2 BUCKETS of paeonies in anticipation of the big day. My job on the morning was to fill the house with flowers; Tori was put on raking ...I know who got the better deal!

Oh yes, and there was chocolate cake :-) Mum wisely invited friends around for little post-auction party, one of the neighbours, Bess, brought this jaffa iced cake with her; I've decided I quite like Bess.

Dinner Parties

2010-12-06T12:30:00.002Z

Went to Jo & Dave’s for dinner the other night, Penny came too and we feasted on wholesome salad-y-ness. The evening involved much admiration of other’s creative projects: Jo’s currently going terrarium crazy. Dave’s been origami possessed for some time now, judging by the house’s decor and Penny, well, she’s got new ink. I really respect a lady who has the balls to get her own awesome illustrations permanently tattooed to her body; so cool Pen! Oh and let us not forget the other triumph of the evening ... Dave’s sago pudding with mango puree: orgasmic.

Currently sorting through millions of photos from recent adventures. Stay posted for some long needed, errr, posts!

Missing old friends

2010-11-25T05:43:00.002Z

I have been missing my loom lately; wishing to be weaving and reminiscing of the days when that was all I could think about. My faithful 8 shaft is packed away at Mum's at the moment, mainly because I don't have any room for it here. But also because I got sick of looking at it, knowing that I didn't have the time or the energy to make something; it used to pull sad faces at me, you know, with big googley puppy-dog eyes. Anyway, I'm starting to feel that tug again, maybe it was because I discovered this lovely young lady in Chile:

Karen Barbe

images via flickr: karen barbe

In addition to the above, tonight I'm going to the RMIT Textiles Grad Show at the Counihan. I'm really looking forward to it, sure to see many a friendly and very familiar face. I really do cherish the 5.5 years I managed to stretch that course out for; it's such a great program. Having seen some teaser shots on Facebook, I think I am going to be super impressed by the quality of the work, it's amazing how each year the standard jumps up another notch! Tonight might provide a cure for my weaving desire but I think it more likely to fuel the little textiley tornado that is building inside me ...

p.s. I just discovered that one of my fellow RMIT weavers, Carla, also has a blog. Check it out if you don't get what I'm talking about :-)

One thing I did do this week was ...

2010-11-21T05:41:00.000Z

Mel came to visit for an afternoon at the farm, we took ourselves out for a lovely lunch with to The Village Larder in Woodend. They're the 'new guys in town' on the Woodend strip but are a long term prospect because, well, it was super yummy. I had the red quinoa salad with avocado, asparagus, walnut flatbread and fresh dates; it was delicious!

Katsumi Hayakawa

2010-11-21T04:12:00.001Z

Been laid down low this week by a nasty-pasty cold, so I don't feel I have much to say or show. I have however discovered many an interesting thing during my web travels ... such as this amazing artist: Katsumi Hayakawa. I'm rather partial to paper work and to art that is ridiculously repetitive and labour intensive in it's production, this has got it all! I feel your pain, sister, but let me tell you, it was worth it.

I found her via today and tomorrow, I love this blog for showing me some really innovative, contemporary art; a lot of it multimedia and installation stuff. Speaking of which, if you do jump over there, also check out the interactive installation One Hundred and Eight by Nils Volker. Mesmerising.

images Katsumi Hayakawa,

Talking about Anthropologie ...

2010-11-16T05:00:00.007Z

While I am loathe to be sucked into the world of commercial fashion production and all the evils it represents, blah, blah, blah; I can't help myself when it comes to Anthropologie! Their visual merchandising is quite simply, Art; as these images from their November catalogue prove.

image via hinydesign

Kitsch in the Kitchen

2010-11-15T21:00:00.001Z

My mum's best friend came to stay today, she brought this gorgeous tea towel with her for my Mum. It's Anthropologie, well no wonder it's beautiful! We're still deciding whether or not it's too good to use, considering turning it into a cushion cover.

This is penelope waits

2010-11-15T03:48:00.000Z

images by penelope waits

You know how sometimes you meet a person just briefly but know that if you sat down for a cuppa together you'd find you had heaps in common? Well here is one such lady: Esther of penelopewaits.com. I have been serving her in our shop for years, this week she told me about her blog. You must take a look, especially if you are crafty, this girl is stitch-crazy!

Hello

2010-11-13T22:00:00.000Z

We're at the farm today.

Opening up ...

2010-11-13T11:47:00.000Z

This week also saw the opening of the "Parting with Pisces" exhibition at SJS Gallery. My good friend Petra was the creator of this whimsical installation (above).

Dinner Dates

2010-11-13T11:21:00.000Z

I do seem to need an excuse to get the table cloth out. For dessert I tried something a bit different. I quite enjoyed the sweet tofu and fruit. In return for my simple hospitality I was rewarded with beautiful garden roses (above) and the delightful company of two pals; dining with friends is lovely!

Rediscovering Erykah

2010-11-12T10:14:00.000Z

Don't you love it when you find something you didn't know you'd lost? Totally diggin the awesome grooves of Erykah Badu once again; man dat lady got class!

ps. not my photos!

Wholesomeness

2010-11-11T09:53:00.000Z

Mmmm, I made a scrummy wholefood-y barley and veg salad last night.I'm looking forward to summer ... simultaneous multiple salad action! Anyway, sitting out at dusk, it reminded me of another tummy-satisfying vegan meal I had; this one with Claire in crazy Christiania.

Elana Herzog

2010-11-10T09:09:00.000Z

I found these images a while back via please sir and was (as their post title said) "speechless". Elana Herzog combines so many of my favorite elements in her work: texture, delicacy, subtle social commentary and site specific installation. She achieves these mesmerising works by stapling fabrics to a surface then tearing bits away, so simple yet so beautiful.

Bottles of Grass

2010-11-09T07:15:00.000Z

The Upfield bike path has been amazing me of late, look at this gorgeous collection of grasses from alongside the tracks.

Textural Tokens

2010-11-05T07:46:00.000Z

Feeling very in love with fabrics today. Here are a few gems that I saw at The Danish Design Museum when I was in Copenhagen.

I wish I felt like this:

2010-11-04T07:21:00.003Z

I love this little figurine of my Mum's, she is just so joyful.

Oh you Jest

2010-11-04T06:39:00.000Z

Court Jester lunch, afternoon t and scribble time with the delightful Melissa and Nellie ...

The sour cherry and chocolate cake absolutely knocked our socks off and left us speechless, so rich but so yummy!

Afternoon Treats

2010-11-01T09:40:00.000Z

I went to Melanie's the other day, we hung out drinking tea, eating biscuits and talking flowers; pretty much what we always do. We also took some photos and now you can see them over on The Design Files Guest Blog, cos Mel's there this week. It was a glorious afternoon and I had a lovely time. To top it off, Mel gave me some flowers!
I'm rather a fan of the curious juxtoposition of gloriously white lilac languidly draping from a common ol' mayo jar, aren't you?

I might also mention, this was my first try of the special Macro organic brand bickies found in Safeway. I was really quite surprised to find such a good wheat-free, dairy-free replacement for my old friend the Arnott's Kingston!

More styling beauties

2010-10-30T11:24:00.000+01:00

Again from the wonderful Deb McLean.

Friends in Creative Places # 2

2010-10-30T11:11:00.000+01:00

It's the same friend, just wanted to post some more pics from Faye's.

... or just green:

2010-10-27T08:07:00.000+01:00

The images below are from Melbourne's own Dosewell & McLean for the amazingly awesome BLOOM magazine!!! Those of you who know of BLOOM will totally condone my use of superlatives. To those who haven't yet had the pleasure of experiencing the work of Li Edelkort: I hope that changes soon. Deb Mclean is a local stylist whose work I keep an eye on via her blog: Busy Being Fabulous.

Green and White

2010-10-27T06:32:00.000+01:00

At this time of year, my Dad used to make a habit of saying: "Spring has sprung, The grass is riz', I wonder where the birdies is?" Given that he wasn't a huge one for poetry, I suspect that this was actually a Monty Python quote. One that was suitable to be repeated in front of the children, that is. I thought he was so cultured!

V & A ... that's all I have to say .... ever.

2010-10-27T05:40:00.000+01:00

I will hold these memories close for years to come. Katherine, me and the most beautiful gallery in the world.

Friends in Creative Places #1

2010-10-27T04:18:00.000+01:00

During my recent trip to the Isle of Man I was very excited to see the new work in progress of an old family friend, Faye.

Faye is a super talented ceramicist or potter, if you like; which I do because she is quite potty! That must be why we get along so well together. She has in the last year, set up a little studio in one of the family's unused farm buildings and with one little kiln she's whipping up a storm.

It is so inspiring to see other people making a go of their craft, it warms my little cockles! And what's even better is Faye gifted me one of her tea mugs before I came home, so I can remember to be inspired every time I drink a cup of tea ... and well, that's quite often.

Dead flowers are just as pretty

2010-10-25T12:30:00.000+01:00

Coming home laden with brown paper bundles full of floral delights from my gorgeous friend Mel, I was forced to admit that the ranuncula had had their day. But, you know, there is such inherent beauty in a flower that they grant pleasure even in their final throes.

Huh, fancy that ...

2010-10-25T11:44:00.000+01:00

Look what happened to me today.
There I was nonchalantly filling jars with floral bits and pieces, when I knocked one of said jars off the bench. This is how it landed. It sploshed water all over the floor whilst in mid-flight but landed upside down, half full and sealed!

2010-10-23T11:11:00.000+01:00

What can I say? I went to the farm ... I get very excited by flowers ... I have a camera; this is the result!

Thoughts from the Garden

2010-10-23T10:38:00.000+01:00

It is the sensuous lure of Spring,

fickle in her pleasure taking,

that pushes the magnolia –

laden warm wafts of Summer

at you. Only to let them ebb

as the cooling stream of Winter’s

Favourite, violet, trickles over you.

a pulsating, yet languorous tease,

the spray of Summer’s surf

dousing the chill undercurrents

of Winter. Ebb and flow,

Waft and trickle, Summer’s

Pleasure, Winter’s sleep, promises

and memories hang

from Spring’s willowy tendrils.