Joining in Cathy’s self-portrait challenge for Blogtoberfest. Not a huge fan of having my photo taken (especially by me) but this one is quite fun – took it in Cape Cod a couple of weeks back, having caught the sun out on a long bike ride.
How do you feel about taking your own photo? Do you get self-conscious? Do you see it as a way of getting a photo you actually like?
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For more self-portrait bravery from Blogtoberfesters see here.
There was a lot of laughter on this trip. In my last post about Squam I just wanted to share some of the (many) lighter moments.
Travelling to the retreat in style…
You can imagine our faces when Leroy and his mobile home rocked up to pick Louise and me up from the bus station. Not quite the shuttle we had been expecting, but we were delighted to find it filled with tea and biscuits and friendly new faces.
Wondering how apt it was that my cabin should be down this road…
Feeling lucky to share a cosy cabin with such wonderful ladies (Nina, Sylvia, Jayne, Kirsten, Brittany + Steph who is not in the picture.)
Getting lost in the forest in the middle of a torrential downpour late at night with six girls laughing madly (our cabin was called ‘Wayonda’ for a very good reason). It looked something like this…
Admiring the work of fellow artists Andrea and Jess at the Visions of Squam exhibition at Mocha Rising in the cute nearby town of Centre Sandwich.
Thank you Squam Lake for having us, and thank you Elizabeth for bringing us together.
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!
Thank you friends, for opening your hearts and sharing your laughter
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.
On days like this I feel very lucky to work from home – Sunshine, freshly baked gingernut biscuits cooling in the kitchen and a pot of tea by my side. What better way to get in the right frame of mind for working on exciting business plans?
There is a cute water feature surrounded by white stones which remind me of island hopping in Greece, although we don’t actually turn it on very often as it seems like such a waste of water. The neighbour’s cat tends to get more use of it, as a mirror in which to preen himself…
And there is a wall of black bamboo which reminds me of where I used to live in Kyoto, surrounded by rice fields and bamboo forest.
But my favourite bit of the garden is this sunken table, which has benches on each side and played host to a party of 15 with room to spare last weekend. We had the clematis cut back a bit, got rid of the bindweed and tidied up the deck so it is now a lovely shady place to gossip, play cards or relax with a chilled glass of wine… It looks magical at night, all lit up with small spotlights in the steps, and little candles on the table. Now all we need is a barbecue…
Having lived in flats with no outdoor space for years, this is a very special place indeed.
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For more peeks around our new house see here.
Sometimes great things seem to drop from the sky just when you need them. This is one of those times.
With huge good fortune I have been chosen as one of around 15 young female entrepreneurs to be part of a groundbreaking business mentoring programme run by a leading national glossy magazine here in the UK. This awesome opportunity partners us with some of the country’s most inspiring and successful businesswomen.
I have been gifted the most amazing mentor – Kanya King, founder of the MOBO Awards, the largest urban music awards in Europe with a television audience of 250 million. Kanya is a creative entrepreneur of quite astonishing energy, talent and courage. She founded the awards 15 years ago, remortgaging her house to pay for it. Since then Kanya has won over the music industry, negotiating major TV and sponsorship deals along the way, to turn MOBO into one of the high points of the annual music calendar. Not only has it been a huge commercial success, but it has also become a shining light for social responsibility within the industry.
I am so excited that we will be working together on branding and expansion of my creative business – and there are some seriously cool things in the pipeline which I will share with you here soon. I will also use this space to share the many things I know I am going to learn from Kanya, so stay tuned, and get yourself some mentoring by proxy!
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This year’s MOBO Awards will be held in the music mecca of Liverpool on October 20.
Having recently been overwhelmed by kindness I have many thank yous to say right now. There are many ways to say thank you, but I like the hand made way…
Here are some of the cards I have been making in my new studio this week, using gorgeous ribbons from East of India, Tim Holtz’s Distress Inks and hand made paper from Southern India, recycled from cotton rag.
How do you like to say thank you?
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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.