Hidden galleries,
wine in my glass,
laughter in the air
When was the last time you walked barefoot in the sand?
Other posts from my recent US adventures:
New York part 1 (NYC people)
New York part 2 (My kind of city)
Squam Lake
An old friend of mine, renowned wildlife photographer Koichi Fujiwara, is busy preparing for a big exhibition of his photos which opens later this month in Japan. The images he captures are a mixture of stunning, cute, and thought-provoking but they all have one thing in common – they tell the story of the environmental crisis our world is currently facing.
In ‘The Earth is calling us – listen to Nature’s voice’, a special exhibition to coincide with the COP10 Biodiversity Conference in Nagoya, Ko shares a stark snapshot of the state of the planet. Through beautiful photos he shows how our actions are completely shaking up the world’s ecosystems, and the impact that is happening on some of our most treasured animals.
As a perpetual traveller and the only person to have photographed every species of penguin in the world, he is taking the planet’s pulse first hand. From Komodo Dragons in Indonesia and Giant Spiny Chameleons in Madagascar, to Orang-utans in Borneo and seals in Antarctica, Ko has brought back a suitcase full of visual treasures from his travels, but with a frightening message about what we might find (or not) if we travel to those same places next year, next decade, next century.
If you happen to be in Nagoya, do check it out. If not, you can always see some of Ko’s photos on his website Nature’s Planet or peruse one of the many books he has written. (The site is in Japanese but is easy to hop about and find photos.)
He got me thinking about the importance of photography not just to capture beauty, stash away memories and catalogue history as it happens, but also to influence the future. The seemingly inevitable doesn’t necessarily have to become history, if the images are powerful enough to make us change how we live in the present.
What powerful images of our time have you seen lately? Do share with a link!
A visit to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park does wonders for the soul. 500 acres of stunning parkland, with internationally renowned sculptors’ work dotted here and there. You can picnic by a Henry Moore, hide behind a Barbara Hepworth or get lost in the forest near the David Nash stairway. You can even take an outdoor class in bronze casting. And it is free to get in!
My man and I had a lovely couple of hours strolling through the land, making up stories about what each piece really meant, and sheltering from the rain in the cosy shadow of the big trees.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.
by John Masefield
I used this poem as the inspiration for this work-in-progress for Louise’s ‘Creative Color Challenge’. Check out all the other contributions here…
Have you ever been on a tall ship? It is a magical experience. I once raced in the Cutty Sark Tall Ships’ Race across the Bay of Biscay, wind in my hair and dolphins at the bow. I love this poem as it captures that feeling so beautifully – the sense of freedom, and wandering wonder.
I’m back from my little African adventure.
Energised.
Refreshed.
Inspired.
I went alone but travelled in good company
with people I found along the way.
I visited a prison,
played with a lion,
hung out with new friends and old.
And I soaked up the energy of the world’s football fans
dancing on African soil.
New places, new faces.
New perspectives.
New memories.
Nothing like a little travel to shake it all up.
What little adventures have you lived recently?
Today I am 32. Tomorrow I will be 33. Pretty old, pretty young, depending on your perspective. Or maybe just right, for me, right now.
It has been quite a year.
1. I quit my job
Some say change is stressful, I say it is energising, important, refreshing. Quitting my job was hard. It wasn’t a boring, draining, rat-race type office job. It was an uplifting, challenging experience that taught me so much and I loved it. I had five amazing years at UNICEF, the world’s biggest organisation working for children and children’s rights.It took me to the edges of humanity, introducing me to amazing people shining brightly in the darkest of situations. I travelled the world, venturing far beyond the urban jungle out into the places where life happens for so many.
Photo: Francois d’Elbee
I met children with bare feet, guns, no parents, ambition, hope
I met world leaders, religious leaders, and gang leaders
I travelled with sports stars, famous actors and cabinet ministers
I dined with a prince, and a Nobel Peace Prize winner
I learnt how to shoot a camera,
how to shoot a handmade football,
how to shoot a bow and arrow,
how to shoot an AK47*
*obviously not at people or animals
Photo: Francois d’Elbee
We shared childhood games
We shared long bumpy car rides
We shared untold secrets
And we shared our stories
Photo: Francois d’Elbee
I saw pain, beauty, courage, love
I questioned and I listened
I changed and I grew
It will stay with me always
2. I started my own company
Shortly after my last birthday, I finally recognised that although I loved my job, it ate all my time and there were other things I wanted to do. I took the plunge to start my own company and set off in a new direction. It has been a fantastic roller coaster full of unknowns, challenges and new experiences. I love this delicious freedom.
3. I moved house
Enjoying a cup of tea in my new studio in (quite often rainy) Yorkshire
4. I learnt to surf… (well kind of)
(no chance you are getting a picture of that!!!)
5. I watched a moon rise in the Sahara Desert, and welcomed in the new year from the top of a giant sand dune with my man
Photo by me, dunes by some mysterious natural phenomena
6. I became an auntie for the third time, and experienced the magic of meeting her the day she was born.
Photo: Chris Nicholls
Photo: Chris Nicholls
7. I bumped into my old friend ‘me the artist’ at a mountain retreat in California, and we have been hanging out a lot together ever since.
With teachers Kelly Rae Roberts & Mati Rose McDonough and my An Artful Journey sisters
…and much more besides. I loved it all, and I have a feeling there is a big year ahead. Join me on the journey!
Photo: Francois d’Elbee
”When you are in your 30s you are old enough to know better,
but young enough to do it anyway” ~ Bridgette Bardot
A volcano erupted in Iceland sending a cloud of volcanic ash across Europe yesterday. You may have heard about it, seen the pictures, thought it bizarre.
Rangarvallasysla, Iceland Credit: Neil MacWilliams
As the cloud has filled the airspace, the airports have shut down one after the other and it has left an estimated 600,000 people stranded – including me! I was in Geneva, supposedly for a day. But my flight back was cancelled and the earliest I can get home to England is Monday evening on the Eurostar train. So what is a girl to do but head to Paris for an impromptu weekend of cafes, galleries, wandering and dreaming?? Oh life is hard.
It’s quite odd actually as I had been dreaming about going to Paris in the spring. Unusually for me I had no plans this weekend, and I accidentally bought an ‘anytime’ instead of fixed time return train ticket back from London so even that is still valid when I get back. I only had my handbag with me, so no laptop = no work, and no clothes = excuse to buy new ones. Funnily enough what I did have in my handbag were every girl’s true travelling essentials: credit card, camera, chocolate, sketchbook and mascara. What more do I need? And an old friend from the US just happens to have also got stranded and is heading here right now. What a wonderful piece of bad luck. Even ash clouds have a silver lining…
If you also happen to be in Paris or have any tips on must-visit ateliers, flea markets, cafes or stationery shops please do share!
A bientôt.
More Paris posts here:
Paris je t’adore
Shopping in Paris
Travelling Light
Random acts of generosity
Thought I’d share a piece from a series I am working on – ‘Bloom True’. The smells and colours of the emerging spring made me want to paint flowers.
Recently I was introduced to the incredibly talented Flora Bowley in a post by Lorrie Spotts, and instantly loved her work. I was intrigued to then discover she is teaching a workshop at Squam in the autumn, entitled… Bloom True! It felt like a sign so I have recklessly signed up for Squam and will be heading back to the US for more creative fun with lovely American gals later in the year. I have also signed up for a photography workshop with Susannah Conway and wabi-sabi paper with Judy Wise.
Anyone else going? It’s going to be so much fun.
But for now, I am living in the moment of gorgeous sunshine, long mountain bike rides and painting – bliss.
Happy weekend!
…trying to emerge from a long dark winter, seedlings wiggling up through the ground, trees preparing their new wardrobe, daffodils blooming courageously.
Snowdrops and Daffodils. Image credit: Dominic Alves
Is it just me, or do they look like they are whispering secrets?
“Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke
This feels like a good time to reflect, breathe in and look forward. A time for something new…