5 Comments Posted on Gallery, Menu, Settling in Darwin

I am full

A few weeks ago, my husband and I went on a discovery day trip to find a camping spot outside of National Park, so that we can take our boxer with us. The Northern Territory is immense and the possibilities of excursions endless. With the end of the wet season, the roads and tracks start to dry out, open for adventure. We found this 4WD track that lead to an amazing spot near a crocodile-free creek…Heaven!

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So we went back for a camping trip and spent three days by ourselves in this little paradise…
The waters had gone down drastically since our last visit but was still magnificent…

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We walked in the river bed, where the water was once flowing fast and high…

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We sat and listened…

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the colors, the shapes, the birds…what a bliss for the soul…

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Maya Angelou

So many inspiring quotes from Maya Angelou, that it’s hard to pick! She was and will remain an inspiration…

Love this one for its energy and colours around it!!

 

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style”
― Maya Angelou

Yes to that!!

2 Comments Posted on Creative expression, Learning, Menu

be a rebell

From the latest edition of Mindfood magazine http://www.mindfood.com/

Nancy Andreasen, psychiatrist and researcher, wanted to know what were the personality traits of creative personality. Here is what she identified:

– Being open to experiences with tolerance for ambiguity and unanswered questions
– A willingness to have adventures and explore
– A sense of rebelliousness (disregard for order, rules and social convention)
– A strong sense of individualism
– Sensitivity (to what they are experiencing as well as what others are experiencing)
– A sense of playfulness
– Persistence – this is necessary because of the repeated knock-backs “creatives” inevitably encounter, thanks to pushing limits and seeing things in new ways
– Curiosity
– A singleness of vision and dedication

So, if you have those traits, be grateful and create more. If you don’t, loosen up, let go, be flexible and give it ago… it’s fun!!! and not only that you’ll gain everything, but the world will too…

and from Austin Kleon fun book ‘Steal Like an Artist’

via Pinterest

1 Comment Posted on Learning, Menu

filling the cracks

It’s only since last September that I started to seriously experiment with art, create, play and lose myself in the magical sphere of creative expression. I dedicated a room, proudly calling it my studio. I bought decent acrylic paints… heaps of it. I started with a tiny easel, portable and light, which became too little. My husband then made me a strong easel and an art table. I created that space, knowing very deep that I was going to dive into it…

it?

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ART! ART! ART!

Creating, painting, drawing, trying things, learning, copying, stealing ideas, experimenting, mixing things, getting frustrated but persevering, trying new things, getting more frustrated, despairing, finding hope, feeling joyful, and learning new skills of course in the process… but also learning to go deeper, to get closer to the cracks, to just be near them without being overwhelmed.

We were reflecting on what this did to my soul… What art does to us…

We all have some cracks in our heart, in our soul. Some hidden pain, some weird shapes, stain of darkness, that remain there…despite the years and the healing work. Childhood wounding, trauma, or simple process of growing up within a family! I know my cracks; and really thought that I would stay ‘this way’ for my entire life.

Creating art fills the cracks…

it’s like going deep into your heart, checking those cracks, taming them and then working with the blank space, as the negative space in art, by using it as a real tool to make your drawing or painting stronger; with highlights and shades and black! After a while, it seems that the cracks, still present, are filled… the empty spaces that you were aware in the past aren’t empty anymore. The things you so wanted to comprehend are at peace somehow!

This image below came to my mind while writing this. Filling the cracks with gold. One of those things that art does.

image via Pinterest

Happy Sunday Lovely People!

2 Comments Posted on Menu

Rambling

Being reflecting on the significance of our birth name, its potency, its value, what it means for us, human beings.. well for me anyway!

When we got married, my husband asked me if I was going to change my name, to take his. I said I would think about it… I had done this in the past; I was unsure about doing it again…

I kept my name. I still hold my birth name. It was a conscious choice. I reflected about the meaning of it and it became clear that I couldn’t change my name. Being in my 40s probably influenced my reflection and decision.. But more to that, it would have been a bit like changing my DNA. When I say my name at loud, when I introduce myself, it resonates within. I am this name. This is who I am. I come from this place, from those parents, within this family, with this history and those stories…I am my name. 

I asked my husband if he wanted to take mine. He declined;)

Did you change yours? was it a difficult decision? or an easy one? did you think about it?

Not sure why this is important for me…but it’s here!