The Alleyway

'Rosemary' by Peter Hardie

We live in the inner city of Brisbane, in a very creatively vibrant, urban eclectic ‘Hood’. Our funny cottage which also houses our gallery is a very ‘old lady’ indeed, one of the original houses built in the 1930s by Italian immigrants who first settled in this area of Brisbane. We call the house a crooked old lady as our back lounge-room floor is literally at a slant! But ‘she’ has character that’s for sure! Underneath serves as Banx’s studio and on one of the concrete stumps under the house are the height measurements of every growing child who has once lived in the house, measurements from the 60s and 70s. The house backs onto an old alleyway. In days gone by, the outside loo man would bring his truck down the alleyway and change the sawdust etc (!) in all of the outside ‘dunnies’. Today when I stand on our back landing overlooking the alleyway I have witnessed the most extraordinary sights over the past four years we have lived here… you name it, we’ve seen it happening in that alleyway. It’s like a parallel universe that alleyway! This morning was no exception… bizarre but hilarious.. yes, three large garden gnomes, strategically placed overnight on the side garden beds on the alleyway. I LOVE the mysterious underground movement that is ‘Gnomes’! I loved them in the film Amelie… and several years ago, when my niece and her partner went to live in London, they snuck my Mother’s (her Grandmother’s) gnome off her front steps into their suitcases without her knowing and took him overseas with them. He sent ‘Nana’ postcards and pics from all over the world of his travels.. he even had his own email address! I just know when we wake up tomorrow those gnomes won’t be there anymore…. Mystery, and magic and the eccentric bizarre – the world needs more of it! This gorgeous photo of a Gnome is by my fab photographer brother Peter Hardie, check out his website sometime!

Tour of Duty

Today we toured a massive building site that is about one to two months away from completion. Once the project is completed, in various stages, artworks, installations, glass art, you name it, will be required inside the building. We were invited to take a tour for photos and measurements in order to put our proposal together, what I hadn’t bet on was having to change into a hard hat (that kept slipping off my head!); huge work boots, about four sizes too big (I resembled a cross between an eccentric bag lady and Minnie Mouse!) and a very (!) fashionable fluro vest.. wow did I look a sight. Banx took these sneaky pics when I wasn’t looking! To say I am not accustomed to noisy dirty dusty building sites would be an understatement! If someone had given me a dustpan and broom at that point I would have started sweeping up that dusty mess straight away and that’s really saying something as I’m not a Domestic Goddess by any stretch of the imagination… so stay tuned for the “after” pics in a few month’s time….

A Good Cause

Last night Banx and a lot of other Qld artists participated in the Cerebral Palsy yearly art auction. It is an extremely worthwhile cause for such a debilitating disease. The target this year was $45,000 – which is the money needed to support one child with cerebral palsy for one year. Artists are invited to donate and exhibit an artwork. The fund raisers at Cerebral Palsy work tirelessly all year making sure the evening is a success; the auctioneer donates his time and expertise; everyone pulls together behind the scenes.

The theme was ‘Colours of Queensland’ and there were stunning works all available for sale. Deputy Lord Mayor David Hinchliffe’s; Elisabeth Lawrence’s; and Cooper Wilson’s originals were just a few of my favourites. Previous year’s creative themes have included ‘The Doors’ (artists painted on old doors)… “Window of Opportunity” (old windows installed and painted on – see pic above); and “River City”, the fond nickname for Brissie The money raised helps go towards much needed equipment for sufferers. It is always difficult choosing which charities to support, there are so many deserving ones desperately needing funds or efforts.

When Banx and I visited Sri Lanka in 2003, where he was born and raised, I particularly wanted to visit Nuwara Eliya SOS Children’s Village. We went there and I met “Durga”, just a little bub standing up in her cot at the time. She and her two sisters had been left abandoned in a community hall by the parents who couldn’t afford to feed or look after them anymore, and now they live in the wonderful SOS Children’s Village, attend school and are growing up with a beautiful house mother. Each year I receive a photograph, it’s lovely watching her grow up.

Art is Good for Your Health!

Yesterday we hung art at a very long-standing client’s premises… a hospital! They have been renting contemporary abstract art from us for a few years now and every three months, we change it over for them, for a whole fresh new look. It’s always fun for those in the medical suites choosing the new art as everyone has a different viewpoint, a real conversation starter and distraction from their everyday working lives, but it made me realise just how good looking at great art is for your health. There are lots of studies on the internet backing this up. Apparently looking at art lowers your blood pressure and stress levels, and one particular study in the UK found that participants’ saliva cortisol levels (the best indicator of stress) reduced by 32% after they spent their lunch hour viewing art. Cortisol is a very important hormone in our bodies but excess amounts can be very detrimental. And let’s face it, everyone these days seems to suffer from some form of stress in their working lives. We actually live in our gallery, surrounded by many, many pieces of amazing gorgeous constantly changing artworks, all originals, painted by around thirty extremely talented creative individuals, so we really have no excuse for high stress levels in our household!!

Rainy Day

Rainy Nights
by Irene Thompson

I like the town on rainy nights
When everything is wet -
When all the town has magic lights
And streets of shining jet!

When all the rain about the town
Is like a looking-glass,
And all the lights are upside-down
Below me as I pass.

In all the pools are velvet skies,
And down the dazzling street
A fairy city gleams and lies
In beauty at my feet.

It's A Sign of the Times

I just love these signs down by the river in my neighbourhood,they make me giggle each morning as I walk by

Funny Face

Besides being one of my favourite Audrey Hepburn films, I actually saw the funniest face this morning on my morning walk… a Boston Terrier! How cute are they… it reminded me of the funny dogs we met on our travels through Brittany over a year ago, here are a few funny French faces, finishing with two of my favourite Aussie dogs, Rocky (otherwise known as Rock Star!) and artist Banx’s creation: Lady McBark, isn’t she a right regal hound!

A Big Bowl of Happiness!

It really made me smile last Sunday (Mother’s Day!) when I read in the Brisbane Sunday Mail that Queenslanders are officially the “happiest” residents in Australia – all that great sunshine; fantastic beaches close by; enviable standard of living and relaxed lifestyle etc. It was interesting to read how they rated Aussies, and what questions they asked everyone to ascertain this statistic, things like: percentage of people who laugh every day; percentage who give or receive hugs; percentage who watch sunrises and sunsets; percentage who send thank you notes and emails (definitely a lost art!); percentage who swam in the ocean each week….. BUT this one was my favourite:
Percentage of homes in Australia who have ice-cream in the fridge!!! Tehee, and Queenslanders won hands down, or should I say, spoons down!
Gotta dash now, off to buy some chocolate ice-cream – apparently it’s very good for my psychological state of mind!
The best quote I heard recently was when a husband sat down and asked his wife ‘When are you happiest?’ and she replied ‘When my mind and my body are in the same room’… loved that! Being present in the moment and finding joy in the moment..

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day weekend to all the beautiful Mums out there - especially my own!
(Photo courtesy of Peter Hardie).

Pearls of Wisdom

I went and heard my beautiful inspirational friend Moira Andrew talk today, and she suggested we can actually turn little ‘irritations’ that we come across in our lives daily, into ‘pearls’ – that’s in fact how pearls start out, as gritty irritations. My favourite pearls are those worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s!

Happiness

"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be".
(Abraham Lincoln)

Jump for Joy

It’s the start of the working week after a long weekend, yippee! Australia is known as being the Land of Long Weekends – but we should embrace the working week ahead too. This joyful original painting by my artist sis Anne McLeay reminds me of one of my fave ads on TV at the mo is the ‘Un-worry’ series, cooking on the Barbie 5 nights a week instead of two… and all those other suggestions someone once sent around in an email eons ago, like using your best chinaware and crystal glasses every day not just on special occasions.. wearing your best silk lingerie and French perfume under your business attire to that meeting.. maybe that way we’ll embrace Monday’s and Tuesday’s like Saturday’s and Sunday’s, anyway here’s that email, an oldie but a goodie worth repeating:

"Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion.

Now I read more and clean less.

I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.

I spend more time with my family, and less at work.

I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through. I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses every day... I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it…

I don't save my special perfume for special occasions; I use it whenever I want to. The words "Someday..." and "One Day..." are fading away from my dictionary. If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now.

Now, I try not to delay, postpone or keep anything that could bring laughter and joy into our lives… And, on each morning, I say to myself that this could be a special day…

Each day, each hour, each minute, is special.

Ponderings

How can I know what I think till I see what I say? EM Forster

(photograph: Peter Hardie)

A Grain of Sand

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

This beautiful poem by William Blake epitomises the two days my partner, artist Banx, and my best friend and I just experienced at sensational Kingscliff, just over the Queensland/NSW border on the NSW coast. How ironic, that this weekend is our ‘Labour Day’ long weekend, and yet we all completely chilled, and relaxed, and I even purchased a pair of shoes from the I Love Billy range called Laziness!

The celebration of Labour Day has its origins in the 8 hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest (thank you Wikipedia!) – and this weekend we figured we’d better ‘celebrate’ the rest and recreation part! Once again ‘merci’ and gratitude come to mind – only the weekend before we had attended the very moving ANZAC Day dawn service at the Eternal Flame memorial in Brisbane; saying the biggest thank you’s of our lives to those who helped make Australia a free and wonderful county to live in - to cherish every day of our lives. This weekend it’s thank you to our hard-working forefathers, who fought so valiantly for our worker’s rights, all those workplace "given's" we now take for granted that make our lives more tolerable and balanced.. but also, this weekend it is ‘merci’ for wonderful friends, grains of sand that stick between my toes as I walk along Kingscliff Beach, funny dogs on the beach chasing shadows, the beautiful sunset beach wedding I witnessed early evening under a hot pink sky (who could ask for a better start to married life!), and eggs sunny side up this morning at Salt Village as the crashing crescendo of the ocean echoed in the background… ah! Sheer bliss…eternity in an hour..
PS The stunning black and white surfer image is another by my talented Brissie photographer brother Peter Hardie, check out his website for more great surfing images Down Under!
http://www.pbase.com/pshardie/sun_n_surf
The other two we photographed at Fingal Head not far from Kingscliff, well worth a visit!

Beauty and the Beasts

Last night we watched a fascinating documentary on SBS all about the amazing, beautiful, talented Brigitte Bardot (I love the way the French pronounce her name ‘Bree-geet’). What a strong-minded, passionate woman. Hailed as a sex siren in the 50s and 60s and hounded by the paparazzi, which ultimately caused her demise, she retired from the entertainment industry in 1973 to establish herself as an animal welfare activist. Her animal refuge in Normandy now looks after horses once destined for the abattoir because their body parts are used as aphrodisiacs in Asia, stray cats, and at 75 with two walking sticks BB still travels to Canada to push her campaign against baby harp seal slaughter, and to Romania to prevent the torture of dancing bears. Her life and her experiences, her loves and losses are now etched on her face but her true beauty remains steadfast on the inside. My favourite story on last night’s doco was her ex-husband buying back his whopping diamond engagement ring at one of her auctions to establish her animal foundation. His bid set up the foundation - now that is true love and respect. Thank goodness for people like ‘BB” as she was once known. It makes me think of new pop sensation BB lookalike, Duffy’s song, ‘Mercy’. Mercy on those animals, and ‘merci’ Brigitte for your wonderful animal-saving deeds! For more information on the Brigitte Bardot Foundation see http://www.fondationbrigittebardot.fr (the site is in 36 languages!)

Bonjour, Autumn!

The 1st of May, and it’s now officially the last month of Autumn! I love the crisp Autumn mornings in Brissie, 25 degrees and sunny, how lucky are we - I remember when I lived in London for nearly 7 years and some of our summers over there never even reached these temperatures. There is just something about the change of seasons I adore, nature taking its course, reminding us that life begins and ends and begins again, not to mention being able to ‘rug’ up with hats and coats and boots and scarves…This beautiful Autumnal leaf photograph was taken by my very good friend Craig Holloway whom I knew when we lived in Russell, Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Craig now lives back in his hometown of Ballarat, Victoria and runs his photography business ArtFocus from there – his stunning photography can be seen on his website: www.artfocus.net.au or on his own blog: click66.blogspot.com

I take a morning river walk every morning around our local ‘Hood’, (the black and white pic above was taken by Banx over Easter in Abbott Street, New Farm just down the road from us here, one of our favourite streets in the neighbourhood), and each morning my reward is a cappuccino at a different café. One of my favourite cafes is ‘Bonjour Patisserie’ at 876 Brunswick Street run by Francis and Elvira. Francis is one of the most passionate people I have ever met. He starts works at midnight each evening, baking his delicious works of art fresh each day. We know, because we wake up to the delicious smells wafting through our window, talk about subliminal advertising! Ha!

Francis is a fully trained, experienced French pastry chef hailing from Paris and his artistic mouth-watering temptations are nearly all gluten free. His tiramisu dessert cake and his petit-fours are to die for, and would definitely be on my “last meal” wish list 

Julia Cameron, one of my favourite authors on creativity, says in her book ‘The Sound of Paper’ there are three things we must try to do every day to get those creative juices flowing: one is morning walks; another is journal (or blog!) writing; and another is taking ourselves out on dates/ romancing ourselves… I figure I do this most mornings!  Enjoy Autumn! Mmmm which café tomorrow morning..?