woo-hoo.. me on bumble bee!

constant craving

aaahh fresh air, cold face, warm feet, hot coffee, smokey clothes, salty hair, sandy toes.
one night there was even a bandicoot.

days gone by

today, my first day off in 15 days. i slept until midday.
the last few weeks have held many sleepless nights, wearing the same clothes, not going home for days, non brushed teeth, sore sore muscles, seeing the sun rise, talking nonsense, being totally oblivious to whats going on outside and being completely and utterly over it.

today, i am trying to do all those things which have been left aside... washing, sweeping, shopping, sleeping, sitting down, watching saturday tv, returning phone calls....
emma: yes please can we sit on the beach very soon..
pops: yes yes to a swim and maybe even a spa?
fe: hi :) i will read your blog next..

soon, matty will be here to drink coffee on the porch..
soon, fabi will have a son..
soon, stevo will be home so i can take him out to celebrate him finishing uni..
soon, i want to see you all.. i miss you

my porch is always open for endless pots of tea...

i have been thrown into the guts of fulltime work. 9-5 .. with half an hour for lunch. most days i sit out on the grass with a takeaway cup of soup and a bit of yummy toasted turkish bread. there are magpies out on the grass, one who pretends to be all the other birds in the neighbourhood. she sings and sings, just to me, to show me how clever she is to be able to sound like a kookaburra or a mudlark. i am so impressed that i give her some of my bread. for those moments my head is still, content.. what more could i ask for?
but when its not lunch time, my head is full, overflowing with bits and pieces... so much that i hardly even see the people that walk through the door to look at the art. it's good, i am learning so much about how a gallery works, what makes it tick. maybe even some secrets.
i don't know why people work full time though. it consumes your life. when i try to sleep, i am thinking of tomorrow. when i am driving i am thinking of all the things i have forgotten. and now, on the weekend when its sunny and theres time for the beach i am thinking of monday and who i need to call.

so, i will go to the markets and stock up for the week ahead and look forward to seeing my magpie friend.

thats all.. for now....

farewell speedy

it is the beginning of a new strange era. an era without speedy. i finally decided that speedy deserved a lot more love and attention and mechanical knowledge and rust removal knowledge than i could offer. so i put an ad in the quokka and recieved so many calls that i almost had second thoughts. but it was all over so quick that before i realised what was happening speedy had driven a round the corner by its new owner.... who is gonna turn her into a racing car!! what she always wanted to be.
so now it an era of blu bottle the sky wagon. so far a pretty good replacement.



this is my new range of cups that i will be launching :) at "unwrapped, the design market" on april 1st..



and this is a not finished yet painting that will be in me and emmas exhibition that opens on april 15th ..



on the bottom of the computer screen it tells me that it is 39 now, tomorrow will be 41 and the next 40, then two days of 34 and then back to 36.

hmmmmm. maybe i will have to test out the air con in the sky wagon...

hmmm...
sorry about the last few posts - i got confused.

i have just come home from a hard days manual labour.. my arms and feet are tired. today i was stapling big heavy sheets of fluffy stuff to the roof to sound proof the corridor that leads to a video room.. up and down the ladder. but it was quite fun - like building a dark quiet cubby. it sounded like i was underwater. i got through it without stapling my fingers. thats pretty good considering i couldnt see anything up there.

now i need to cook some nutritious food to keep me going for tomorrow. but i can't be bothered.

the exhibition should be good - it opens next thursday at john curtin gallery. its about antarctica and has penguins in it (poppy).

come check out my sound proofing.

eastwards

hmmm....a week ago i wrote some things about my holiday and some things about returning home. and some pictures!
but alas...

where are they??? it even says that i last published a post on 20/01/07... so where is it?
does anybody know?


anyway here are some pics of some places and times that i loved...

overeast

i live in a beautiful country. over the last few weeks i think i have seen some of the most beautiful places that i have ever been to. where the trees are big and the grass is green and the hills are high and twisty and the rainforests are ancient and full of secrecy and the buildings are old and the rivers are clear and cold and the ocean is warm and full of dolphins and the sun rise is reflected in the sea.
for me, living in a van is easy. stopping wherever i want, pulling out the chairs and the gas bottle and making a cup of tea. sleeping under koala trees. sleeping ontop of a cliff. sleeping in the heart of a rainforest. having everything that i need right there with me - bathers, towel, sunnies, thongs. self sufficient.
i didnt wash my hair for weeks, or have a shower... instead i swam in the salt or lay in the never never river. my body loved it. and my heart.
i dont think i was ready to come back home. i could have easily kept on driving.
to the next beautiful place.

scape

my latest.

almost

today is nice...
i have just put the last tray of xmas biscuits in the oven.. the house smells warm and comforting.
soon i will have a cup of tea (earl grey i think) and sit down to test out the biscuits and plan some xmas card making.
its good that its a bit cloudy today, or else i would be tempted to go to the beach. sometimes its nice to just hang out at home all day.

part of me really likes christmas, even though i won't be spending it with any of my family. i like the energy in the air. i like how everyone is slowly winding down, thinking of spending time with their loved ones, half heartedly (or in some freako cases 'been planning it all year' whole heartedly) decorating their houses. i like seeing bits of tinsel on buses, or the postie wearing a santa hat, or the kids at aftercare beeing so excited that santa is coming to the centre on friday..
i like seeing people smiling when the know they have just bought/made someone they love something great.

then theres part of me that hates christmas. i hate seeing the pressure that people put themselves under to buy buy buy. i hate walking through the city when everyones doing their christmas shopping. it makes me feel sick and deeply sad. i hate thinking about parents who cant afford to buy their kids presents and the kids not understanding why. i hate thinking about the kids who are intensely spoiled and know everything that they are getting already.. or demand what they are getting. i hate thinking about old ladies who have just lost their husbands or old men who have no friends or family or families who hate each other
... the people who will be the most lonely.

so i am thankful.
thankyou to those who make me smile.
thankyou to those who inspire me.
thankyou to those who bring the best out in me.
thankyou to my family, as spread out and far away as we all may be.
thankyou to all the small things that bring me joy.


seeing people struggle makes me want to be a better person. but also seeing people happy and content does too.

maybe that will be my new years resolution - to be a better person.
or at least to try.
maybe it should be to write more here.

istupidprimus.

aahhhh its been so long
why?
coz my internet connection is a piece of shit!!!! everytime you click on something it resets the connection and the line drops out and has to redial and takes about 15 minutes to reload, then you click on something again and it all happens over again and again and again until i feel like smashing something!!!!!
aaaaahhh its the most annoying thing in the entire world!

so i rang up iprimus to ask them whats going on. this dickhead with a monotone voice answers. i say "hi, ive been having some major issues with my internet connection." silence. so i continue to explain the problems. silence. just a faint sound of typing..??? weird. "hello?" i say. he says "yeah?"
i ask if he can hear me. he says, "press start and go to control panels." i say "ahhh the computer is in the other room.." then he says "well how do you expect me to give you technical support if you aren't infront of the computer?"
so i try my hardest to get any sort of information out of him as to why my internet connection is being a spack and what i could possibly try to do once i am off the phone.
dickhead.
he tells me to try using a different number to dial up and then to call back when i am infront of the computer. i ask him how does he expect me to do that. he says (real patronising like) "well maybe you could move the computer to where the phone is, or use a mobile or a cordless."
dickhead!
like im gonna spent 20 minutes on hold on my mobile, or spend the whole day unplugging all the cables and wires and extension cords etc etc etc and move the computer into the living room for 5 minutes then move it all back again... and if i had a cordles don't you think i would be using it already!!!! dickhead.

anyway so i tried the new number and so far no reseting or redialling or hours to load a page.

he was still a dickhead.


so... look out
there will be way more blogggy bloggy soon

best

aaaaah.. camping was great....


i got to wear my warm gnome like beanie...



and play with fire....



and sleep in the forrest to the sound of rain falling onto vannie...




i even did some extreme sport...

finally

going camping tomorrow. to dwellingup.
gonna take some clay, and some paper and some drawing things and some tea and some bikes and some baked beans and books and some warm clothes and some treats.
gonna light a fire and cook jaffles. maybe some baked potatoes too.

and im gonna sleep really good.
and not shower for 3 days.
and probably be scared of the dark.
and have to wee in the middle of the night.


yep its gonna be good.

then and now

hmmm its been a while...

theres been:
the world cup
organising exhibition
hanging out with kids
feeling cold a lot
speedy breaking down
cooking some great soup
cooking some even better apple and pear crumbles
feeling guilty for not going to the gym as much as i thought i would
endless sunshine
giant waves
the desire for a new beanie
a few cool parties (yay disco!)
the biggest craving to go down south in a tent
lots of motivation to do more art


hanging out with the kids as been the most fun. we took em out into the hills and had devonshire tea and then went for a little stroll throught the bush to the infamous clay pit where we of course got covered in clay. freezing cold clay.
it was so much fun.
the walk back through the bush with cold numb feet and cold cold wet heavy clothes and hard hair wasnt so much fun. but putting on clean clothes after washing in a bucket of water was the best.
then i got sick.

soon i will go down south.
soon i am starting a ceramics class - im gonna make some teapots and little tea cups.
soon im gonna get some new shoes.
soon im gonna start organising the next exhibition.
soon im gonna start my new range of jewelry.
soon im gonna sleep in and watch movies all day.

soon...

chicken bones

whenever i am working at the gallery it seems to be stormy and gloomy outside. i like it. i can see the big trees bending over and the dark sky getting darker. and then 1000 people come in all cold and wet trying to escape the day. i have to take all their coats and bags and umbrellas and cameras and run after them coz they are touching the artwork.
then all of a sudden they are gone and its all quiet again.
apart from the wind.

and then the coolest kid in the world comes in with his cool mum and dad. he is on his dads shoulders and has a blonde mohawk. then suddenly he is behind me asking me my name. his name is Seven and he is 4. he asks me if he could please come behind the counter to see the big helicopter. so we had a little chat about helicopters and the time he flew one. meanwhile he eats his hot chips. then he gets distracted by the giant pile of chicken bones. he wanders off very important like through the gallery. he knows not to touch anything with his chippy hands.
so i dont have to chase after him. coz he already knows.

then 2 friends come in. they entertain me for a while. i laugh. then they go and its all quiet again.

so i wait for my tea break, when i can go outside and feel the stormy day.

bare feet

hmmm so much sun, so many dolphins.
i like seeing dolphins. i always seem to look right at them just as they pop up. i think maybe there was a baby one too.
i like saturdays.
it was cool hanging out with emma today. she was excited about the dolphins. and the sun.
it was cool to talk about art and the projects that we are going to start. very soon.
and the coffee was so delicious.

dolphins, sun, coffee, art talk... it sounds all a bit cliched really.
but i wish all the saturdays could be like this. they make everything ok.

i won't get a dolphin tattood on my ankle though.

fit ball

this photo is me on top of the duomo in milan...
and the other one is looking at the duomo from down the street.. nothing to do witht hte rest of the post :)















i am now a gym junkie. yep a 3 month membership. and so far (2 weeks) i have been almost everyday. i even got a fitness appraisal. and they designed a workout especially for me.
now all i need is the outfit. everyone else has outfits. and good shoes.
the best so far is doing water aerobics. its hard. im not a big fan of the wieghts yet. my arms are sore.
then the next best thing is the steam room (apart from the skank factor).
yep, soon i will be hot!

moody

i woke up this morning to the sounds of thunder. i lay in bed all warm and comfortable and tried to hear the sounds of steve getting ready for work. but my ears were full of thunder. so i got up to watch the storm and drink tea. and eat crumpets. yep one of those days.

yesterday we took vannie for a drive down the coast. we took the gas cooker and a billy. we took a blanket and some olives. we went to woodmans point where the seaweed is white. so we took a basket and slowly, calmly, quietly collected all the most beautiful bits of seaweed. the water was silver and see through. and there were fish. i felt very content.
now i have a studio full of amazingly coloured seaweed drying out ready to be made into some sort of creation. i think the whole process is the art work.

so now i am at home on this rainy day with all these ideas and all this time.
i love it.

milano pics

hee hee rock star poses and a cool chair.

more pictures

tuk tuk

bangkok craziness




white sands beach on koh chang and one of our huts (the one on the left.. if you look closely you can see me)

fashion central

milano...
it seems ages ago now.
now that i am at home with a suitcase full of washing to do and a belly full of thailand sickness.
but being home also means looking back and reliving.
so here are some things that i thought about/saw/felt while in milan..
everyone is dolce and gabanna OBSESSED.
or prada obsessed.
or/and denim obsessed.
suprisingly the most strikingly dressed were not the women but the men. they had style.
'prego' can mean whatever you want it to mean.
'grazie' is actually quite hard to say.
the best hot chocolate is the kind that doesnt come out when you turn your cup upside down.
the best train station in the world is Centrale Stazione.
it really sucks dragging suitcases through the subway.
the extremes between rich and poor are in your face everyday.
it was hard to eat healthy food.
it is actually possible to get sick of coffee and chocolate croissants for breakfast.
dogs have the same rights as humans. (they go everywhere with their owner)
it was really cool having a conversation in italian.
pizza is best served cut up with scissors in little squares.
pizza is the best in italy.
they have the best vegie pizza options too.
italian is a very beautiful language.

my prediction for the next really fashionable thing to do is to match the colour of every possible accessory. but to be really cool make sure the colour is a rare or strange one... like a very particular purple. sunnies, hat, shoes, bag, belt, scarf, gloves, jewelry. but it has to be an exact match. then the rest of your clothes, simple. maybe denim.
yep. thats my prediction.
or if you cant be bothered doing that just wear denim on denim on denim.

the best thing about the fashion in milan was that there wasnt just one trend that everyone follows (apart from being label obsessed). everyone seemed to have their own different style. i liked it. it made everyone seem confident. and no one really seemed to judge each other. they looked at each other but not in a judgemental way. (except if you didnt have a D&G belt of course).

as for the furniture fair (fiera).. it was massive. probably the most massive thing in the world i think. just walking from one end to the other (without stopping to look at anything) took about 45 mins. there were 8 warehouse type buildings. each one the size of the royal show. each one had 3 floors full of furniture exhibits. over the 6 days we onlyexplored 3 of the buildings. and then, throughout the city there are exhibitions everywhere. there is a whole book just to list the parties for each day. just like exhibition openings there were free drinks and craziness. at one we went to they were giving out martinis. and hot almost naked guys in white fluffy hats were handing out champagne. all class.
so much cool amazing stuff to see.
so much more to say about it.

but mashed potato awaits.

farewell koh chang

wednesday... or is it tuesday?? hmm anyway today is our last day on this tropical island.
today is a strange one - i have gotten into the slow calmness of this place. but i am ready to leave.
ready to leave this place where the dogs sit upright and motionless at the waters edge, quiet and staring out to sea. where the butterflies are as big as bats. where the pineapples are sweet. where old old ladies sit on the back of motorbikes, helmetless. where my skin is brown and healthy. where the geckos sing like birds. where there is a treehouse with hammocks and cushions and good food. where coconuts fall from their trees onto the beach. where there are deer that bark. where there are two little island girls who swim all the time and who are always angry with each other. where tourists run along the beach in lycra and joggers and bumbags. where riding around the island on the motorbike in bathers and thongs is the best thing. where fruit shakes are the best thing.where sleeping to the sound of the waves is the best thing.

but as i think about all the best things i cant help but be saddened because there are also many of the worst things here. this place, i think, is being destroyed by the tourist industry that keeps it alive.
we hired a kayak yesterday and paddled out to one of the nearby islands. from the beach it looked like paradise. as we paddled over we looked down and underneath us was a whole reef full of dead coral.completely dead and grey. then when we arrived to the island i wanted to cry. it was like a rubbish tip. everywhere was rubbish. you get used to it in bangkok but to see it on an uninhabited island was so disturbing. people here dont think twice before chucking there rubbish on the ground. i dont understand.

and now unfortunately the last few days have tarnished this tropical island.
we woke up yesterday to the sound of a girl crying. we went outside and got talking. this amazing girl had just ridden her bike, by herself for 7 months, through cambodia, laos, vietnam and thailand. she was stopping in koh chang for a holiday before heading home to norway. but her first night here was devestating. she had her drink spiked, lost her bag and ended up in hospital because someone found her passed out on the road. and then after a little while she broke down and told us she had been raped too. we looked after as much as we could but she wanted to leave the island.. she was so scared of being here.
it has made me see this place through different eyes. it has made me sick. it has made me sad. it has made me angry. i have enjoyed koh chang a lot but it is time to leave.
please be careful wherever you are. these things can happen to the best people. to the strongest. to the most travelled. and in the most beautiful places.

so, to bangkok we go.

koh chang

quick update..
this place is cool.
we are staying in a beach hut on stilts about 10 m away from the water. i have always dreamed of living somewhere with a bedroom like this. asaaahhhhh.
last night there was a huge storm so we sat on our balcony in the balmy air and watched the lightning over the horizon.
today we are going to hire a motorbike and go exploring. this place is a tropical island... jungle then beach. i think we might avoid the jungle though.. there are tigers in there. and elephants! and malaria.
and also today i am going to buy some thai pants.
we have 10 days here... lotys of lying around and swimming. the water is the same temperature as the air though.. hot.

next time i will tell you all about milano..
and the monkey school.

she said, he said crowd

hee hee i just went to a hairdresser to get my haircut..
she shampooed my hair twice - i think she was a bit shocked at the state of my hair (even though i had just washed it and brushed it myself)
she also gave my head a massage :) nice.
the weirdest thing about getting your hair cut at a hairdresser (as opposed to getting friends to do it) is how you have to face a mirror and watch yourself talk.
i was a bit hungover so i didnt look the best and i just didnt know how to talk gossipy hairdresser talk. i found myself being quite embarrassed. and then watching myself go a bit red in the face and being all akward was all a bit too weird.

but it feels good to have my hair cut.

and tomorrow we leave.
maybe i should start packing.