Utterly dreamy

I just discovered this blog thanks to so much to tell you. Sophies photographic posts make me feel so excited. I just got a lense for my Nikon D80 and am ready to get snappy!

My Mum, an early mother's day

I know I'm a little early for mother's day but behold the vision above! my mother! this is one of my favourite photos of her, the milk maid shirt, that teeny tiny waist, that perm and those adorable dimples ...

I'm ashamed to admit that as a naive child and arrogant adolescent, I perceived my mother to be reserved, somewhat enigmatic, as delicate as the carnation she holds in this photo and tended to treat her as such. but now, older, a little wiser, and closer to my mother than ever before, I see through what I mistook to be aloofness and have come to know the woman who was there all along, a woman of strength, courage, passion, unwavering love and support. a woman who worked ceaselessly to singlehandedly raise, protect and nuture her three children through incredibly difficult times. a woman who isn't afraid to be who she is and is unapologetic for it.

I am incredibly proud of my mum and love her more than words could say.

Inspiration

Creative friendships : Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith

Neil Young's Vampire Blues

Moving houses and a temporary new space

My impending departure to Japan

The painted hairstylings of Winnie Truong

Kewpie mayonnaise, nom nom

Clogs in any way, shape or form

Joanna Newsoms triple record 'Have one on me'

Sylvia Plath

Religious paraphernalia

and recipes from this website

Pyramid Scheme

chocolate and ginger

Traversing the globe doesn't have many down sides but one big con for me is being so far away from these two adorable aspiring photographers, my nephews Seth and Vinnie.

I left over a year ago now and in such a short period of time it's been mind boggling to witness via regular photo updates, thanks to mumma Linskill, and the occasional skype appearance, how much they've grown.

These recent shots also begged me to question the nature of 'accidents', neither Seth or Vinnie's mums would deny they were surprises, but I find it hard to imagine that two such bright, loving, kind natured boys who have bought so much love, laughter and light into our family could ever have been pure accident.

Fascination

My boyfriends brother Adrian is obssesed with balloons. He will Google them. He will YouTube them. He will talk about them. He will seek to find them in every medium available. One afternoon  we sat watching YouTube balloon videos on the computer. There were endless videos of woman rubbing balloons suggestively, popping them with their heels or squatting over them until they popped. Obviously there is a fascination and it seems to drive some viewers over the edge. Adrian's interest is pure at heart, there is no underlying sexual desire for said balloon. He is, in fact, terrified of them and can't stand being around a real blown up balloon for all consuming fear it will loudly pop and give him a fright. To help him conquer his fear he has a shopping bag filled to the brim with unblown balloons. He touches them, he hands some to me, we examine the colours and marvel in all the different types of balloons. Sometimes I suggest that perhaps I should blow one up but he shakes his head furiously and looks at me with eyes that are deeply worried like I have just offered to set the house on fire.

Adrian has Williams Syndrome and his fascination probably stems from this fact. Upon meeting him he was incredibly friendly, loving and what became evident very quickly was that he has a heart of gold. Now that we know each other a bit better I have learned a little bit about the way his mind works, but so much remains a mystery. I think this will always be the case. The way balloons capitvate Adrian, through both fear and fascination is utterly lost on me. I have almost forgotten what it feels like to get really excited about things and have uninhibited enthusiam. Perhaps I am getting old. All I do know is that I need to get this back.

What fascinates you?

Lately

There has been:

Toy sailing for twenty cents, home made giant rocky roads at small town fairs, tree climbing to dizzying heights, trying to catch the last slivers of sunshine as winter approaches, dining out at saloon style Indian restaurants (most confusing), and wearing ridiculously high heels while drinking cheap wine.

A technicolour world

I just stumbled across James Blagden, creator of a technicolour hyper real universe with gay gangsters, grills and an amazing back collection of art work. You can check his stuff out here.

My weekend in pictures

.. watching ..

.. reading ..
with much, much, much thanks to Gemma who sent me the worlds most glorious goodies bag!

.. listening ..
(click on the picture)