The Journey

Well, I did it. I signed up to join the Big Hearted Business virtual conference, because I want to learn what they teach: how to make money doing what I love, through my creativity, and to make a positive difference to others at the same time. Does that sound like something you want to do, too? When I opened up the welcome material, this poem by Mary Oliver was front and centre as a kind of manifesto. I read it and I wanted to yell “Yes!” and “Huzzah!” Let’s all discover and celebrate that new voice inside ourselves.

The Journey Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began, though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice- though the whole house began to tremble and you felt the old tug at your ankles. “Mend my life!” each voice cried. But you didn’t stop. You knew what you had to do, though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations, though their melancholy was terrible. It was already late enough, and a wild night, and the road full of fallen branches and stones. But little by little, as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds, and there was a new voice which you slowly recognized as your own, that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world, determined to do the only thing you could do- determined to save the only life that you could save

Art in space

Creative friends: if you wanted to gain the greatest possible exposure for your art, where would you put it? On a billboard in Times Square in New York? That is so 2013. At night in April 2014, look up. An art-loving, sparkly gold cat with laser eyes will (hopefully) project art ONTO THE MOON. And your work could be part of it, as long as you submit it before the end of this month.

"Laser Cat" is a giant art installation in the Bass Museum of Art, Miami, that will be part of the ADC 93rd Annual Awards and Festival of Art and Craft in Advertising and Design. It uses high-powered projectors to beam the personal art projects of anyone and everyone onto distant objects (walls, buildings, and even the moon).

Here's what Laser Cat himself has to say (on this website):

"Behind every creative director (art director, copywriter, illustrator, photographer, filmmaker, designer… you get the picture) is a hidden passion fueling his or her inner artist. Most of you creative types got into this business because of your love of art, and many of you creative types still indulge the urge after-hours, before-hours and between-hours..

"So, what to do with that painting, or sculpture, or cat photography project that no one has ever seen? Feed it to me. The more art I get, the stronger I grow.

"If 100 of you feed me your art, I will project it onto a wall (with my laserbeam eyes, no less). 1,000 of you? I’ll project your art onto a building. Yes, pretty cool. But 1,000,000 of you? I’ll project your art onto the moon. Have you ever seen art projected on the moon? No? Then you better start feeding me. You only have until November 30."

Laser Cat from Hungry Castle on Vimeo.

I know a lot of you are amazingly creative photographers, painters, illustrators, sculptors, crafters and designers... why not take a photograph of your work and "feed" Laser Cat? How amazing to be part of a global art community sending all our creativity into space and displaying it for the world to see! What a gift that would be for everyone.

(ps. Entries are free, though there are some limitations to what will be selected to make sure it's suitable for a broad Earth audience. More info here.)

Heads you win

Once upon a time my grandfather, fresh off the boat from England, was walking along a street in Sydney when an old coin caught his eye. He bent and picked it up: the coin was chipped and dented and completely covered in black grime, but with his fingers he could trace the a profile on one side and it made him wonder... My grandfather took the coin to a numismatist (I had to look that word up, isn't it fantastic?) who confirmed that yes, indeed, it was very old. Roman, in fact.

For an instant, my grandfather saw his future mapped out in fabulous riches. But then the numismatist continued on to explain that in fact these coins were actually extremely common. My grandfather's great find was worth, in today's terms, about $20. On a good day.

So that was that. Later he gave the coin to my father, and my father gave it to me. As a child I LOVED that coin. I couldn't have cared less about its worth. I loved holding it in my hand and imagining where this coin had been and what it had witnessed, what it had purchased, and the more than a thousand years worth of hands that had held it (thank goodness I wasn't a hygiene-obsessed child!).

I still love that coin, for the same reasons. Which Caesar is on it? I don't know because it is still covered in black grime. One day I will have it cleaned professionally, and then I'll find a way to wear my $20 Roman coin as a necklace.

In the meantime, I have fallen rather hard for the wonderful, made-up stories on coins in this art/photography project by German-based designer Andre Levy. Andre sees coins as "massively-reproduced little sculptures." I'd never thought of them that way, but he's absolutely right, just as stamps are mass-produced little works of art!

Andre transforms the faces on the back of coins into vibrant and often funny pop-culture icons. And then he poses the question on his Facebook page: "Are we able to like one cent more than others, just by injecting new stories into it?"

Umm, YES.

(All photographs used here with Andre's kind permission)

Monday mornings

A new morning. A new week. I know most of us dread Monday mornings but sometimes, when you've had one of those weekends, it feels quite good to start out fresh. There's something to be said for new beginnings, even if they do come with the beginning of the working week.

To help ease you into this particular Monday morning, I give you a glorious celebration of the resilience of New York and New Yorkers by the New York City Ballet, filmed at sunrise on the 57th floor of the new 4 World Trade Center (4WTC) building.

Have sketchbook, will travel

I’ve mentioned before about the road-trip I took across the USA before I moved from New York to Australia. I was blown away by the diversity - of culture, of geography, of architecture, of food - that revealed how little I'd known about the American story. Turns out the story of the USA is way bigger than the life I knew in New York or what you see of Middle America on TV. Who knew?

A couple of months ago I came across Drawn the Road Again, a blog by artist Chandler O'Leary, and, more than anything else, it made me incredibly nostalgic for that perspective-challenging journey.

Chandler shares little snippets of her adventures and discoveries on the road, through thoughtful words and stunning illustrations.

I reckon I could spend years browsing through her travel journals. They are the roadside scrapbooks of my dreams.

Chandler kindly gave me permission to share her illustrations with you on here. Take a look over on Drawn the Road Again for many more. They are incredible. You can also like Chandler on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

Long distance love

This little "Roshambo" mini-series from Free People reminds me of Mr B and me when we first met, and it has me feeling all nostalgic. Of course we were neither so good-looking nor glamorous nor well dressed as these two, but I know what it feels like to be living a Grand Adventure while your heart is elsewhere. Mr B and I met in New York. I had just moved there, he was visiting on a conference. It was a beautiful, brief romance, and that scene at the end of the first Roshambo video where the guy hops into a taxi... oh so heartbreaking and familiar!

Two days after our own 'taxi scene', I had an email from Mr B saying he wasn't going to let a little thing like thousands of kilometres get in the way of what could be something good. And so started a year-and-a-half of long-distance love.

I went to Peru, but I thought about him. He went to Dubai, but he thought about me. We met up for holidays together in Fiji, in London, in Australia, in New York.

And in between the travel and the longing we just had to get on with our own lives, his in Queensland and mine in New York. There comes a point, when you're in a long distance relationship, when you just have to let go and let yourself be in the moment wherever you are. If you constantly pine for the other person, you never open your eyes to the world in front of you. That's something in the second video that I really related to.

Anyway, this is a fun, romantic little mini-series if you're in the mood for some light entertainment. Plus, I have to give props to Free People for such a creative way to showcase their latest collection. And it's working, too. I want to wear ALL THE CLOTHES.

For all the Amelie fans

I am one. Are you? Amelie is my happy place. The sweet gal behind the blog Happiness Is, Shannon Eileen, just got hitched. And while I'm not normally a fan of the "our love story" type movies or slide-shows that some couples like to play at their weddings, this one was cute and quirky and entertaining, and a tribute to one of my favourite movies of all time. Take a look:

Did you make a creative movie for your wedding? What was yours like? I'd love to see it! (Shannon has converted me).

Favourite things - portraits

Smile folks, you're on camera (or on pencil). Happy Friday! Today it's all about portraits. 1. Custom family portraits

Thinking of getting one of these custom, hand-drawn portraits by Blanka Biernat Illustration done of our family for Christmas this year. Have you ever done anything similar? How did you like the result?

2. Portrait of a holiday

Love this stunning Sicilian holiday photo-shoot in Vogue Russia. Seen via Hannah Hayes (click to see more of these lovely photographs)

3. Self portrait

Want to know how to feel pretty when you look in the mirror? Smile, and greet yourself like a friend. Now you see what they see. From Cup of Jo

4. Portrait of a gardener

This inner monologue of a gardener, on Peonies and Polariods, made me laugh because it was so familiar. (Extremely nerdy photo is of me a few years ago, during a massive clean up of my Nanna's garden)

5. Mini portraits

How adorable is this idea to shrinky-dink your kids' into teeny, tiny presents? From Oh Happy Day

Do you see me?

Have you heard of the website See.Me? It's the old-fashioned artist/patron concept, reborn for the social media age so that creative folk can help each other. Artists and illustrators, photographers, fashion designers and stylists, musicians, furniture designers and any number of other creative types can profile their work to gain recognition and support. If you like what they do, you can support them with a donation!

{Seen via Swiss Miss}

Favourite things - back to nature

I'm hankering for some time spent in nature of late. Hearing the wind in the trees, splashing through puddles, growing things and eating them. All those cliches. Winter isn't exactly the best of times to decide to get back to nature, but it's still rather nice to dream, don't you think? 1. The Kombi tent

kombi tent

Kombi is the name we use in Australia for the classic VW buses that everyone wishes they have until they actually get one and then they realise they smell and overheat and break down all the time and the romance isn't the same once you're INSIDE the story.

Phew! Taking a breath now. I had a boyfriend who bought a Kombi once upon a time. I was really excited about the purchase, until I had to push the damn van along a freeway in 40 degree heat on one too many occasions.

But this tent? Be still my heart! It has the romance of the old Kombi, minus the breakdowns and petrol fumes and sticky vinyl seats. Just the wind in the trees beside you. Perhaps the babble of a creek not too far away (you'll take a dip later). The kettle singing on the campfire.

It sleeps four adults and, at 182 centimetres, is tall enough for most of us to stand up inside. Now, how can I justify the (rather steep) price and convince Mr B that we need to buy one of these for family camping trips in the summer?

2. The peony farm

peonies white

peonies pink

It was Madeleine's birthday last weekend. A year ago, peonies became "her flower" and this is why, but winter is the wrong season for these floral beauties and, sadly, I couldn't find any to decorate our home in time for her birthday.

But on the other side of the world, Madeleine's birthday falls in just the right time for peonies to bloom. So we may just need to take a birthday trip north one day and while we're at it, visit a peony farm like this one. (Or skip her birthday and visit a farm closer to home in the summer, I guess).

3. Nature girl

nature girl

Isn't she lovely? Aren't these photographs incredible?

4. Indoor picnic

picnic inside

This indoor picnic is a lovely idea for winter, or for the ever-unpredictable Melbourne weather. I love the use of checkered napkins and cardboard and simple wooden boards, as well as the patio lights strung above the 'picnic'. I'd probably go one step further and host the whole party on a rug on the floor. Have you ever had an indoor picnic?

5. The Kings of Summer

kings of summer

From its trailer, The Kings of Summer reminds me of Moonrise Kingdom. It has also been compared to Stand By Me. Have you seen it? Will you see it? I can't wait. It's a comedy about three teenaged boys who escape their overbearing parents and decide to spend the summer in the forest, building their own house and living off the land.

What do you think?