I Want To Do This

Natures Art

This image has popped up too many times to count during my recent internet rampages.

"In a tiny corner of western Poland a forest of about 400 pine trees grow with a 90 degree bend at the base of their trunks - all bent northward. Surrounded by a larger forest of straight growing pine trees this collection of curved trees, or "Crooked Forest," is a mystery.

Planted around 1930, the trees managed to grow for seven to 10 years before getting held down, in what is understood to have been human mechanical intervention. Though why exactly the original tree farmers wanted so many crooked trees is unknown"
- Discovery News 

  Other myths tell of  a heavy snowstorm which buried the saplings for some time before growing straight again.

Whichever the case, 

this forest is definitely now on my "I want to go there" list. 

3D art

I have found myself in a situation involving a cast and crutches.

So what else to do with a broken ankle than watch heaps of movies, surf the internet, read my books, watch the entire series of Go Girls....

and it's only day 5.

Point is, during my internet surfing I came across some amazing images of 3D street art..

and I thought it was worth sharing.

Performance Poetry

I love wasting time on TED.

I feel like it's not wasting time when I'm learning.

This is about the third time I've listened to this particular talk from Sarah Kay.

It's inspiring.

So I'm sharing it with you.

and this one too...

Lady Bird

In my current read, and major inspiration, the author has a poetic and wonderful description of a ladybug. (in only a single paragraph, yet it inspired me)

"How well our little earth-ball of red life hid its ability to fly! It escapes from its sphere as from a hole. Perhaps up in the blue sky it, too, experiences sudden awareness that it is itself... And we find it hard to stop dreaming before the spectacle of this little shell that suddenly starts to fly."

(Poetics of Space, Gaston Bachelard)

I havn't seen a ladybug in a very long tme, but I do have young memories of getting such wonderful joy from a single, tiny, beautiful insect. The joy comes from that moment when it reveals its wings and flys off into the distance, after a large adventure over the curvy terrain of your hands wrinkles.

They are a symbol of protection and love due to their vibrant red colour and their protective nature and care for your gardens. Also a symbol of good luck. If found, it is said they will bring you good fortune.

All this from a tiny little shelled critter.

Most probably my favourite insect in this world.



Film and I

"When the image is new the world is new."

Gaston Bachelard

These are a select few photos from my first holga experience.

I love this new hobbie. And I can't wait to experiment more with the camera and its effects.

I would like to start a project where I would pick an object and find these things around the city, or wherever I happen to be, and take a photo of them on my holga.

Only problem is, I cant come up with an object.

- Umbrellas (would include those large deck umbrellas outside of cafes etc.)

- The colour red.

- Bottles. (Although this could look like trash. But then, could trash look beautiful)

So as you can tell, I dont have too many ideas. I would love your imput.

Please help.

Party Bags

At work tonight I found this...

 ...And I started to remember the good old days,

where birthday parties were full of fun and games such as pin the tail on the donkey, pass the parcel, treasure hunt, party bags, freeze, musical cushions, fairy bread, and oh so much more.

What fun it must have been as a parent to host such a joy filled day.

Every now and again the odd pass the parcel will still grace us with its presence,

but I can't help but wonder,

When did we become too old for party bags?

I cannot remember the age where these wonderful, colourful bags of sweets, balloons, bubbles, and other fantastic goodies, all placed in a tiny bag with your name on it, stopped appearing.

What a beautiful way to say the simple phrase,

"thank you for coming to my party".

In August,

if I decide to celebrate my birthday again,

I may consider including some of these.

And then I can watch the different childhood expressions of happiness fall on the faces of all my guests.

What Joy.

Holiday

I've written about the rain and its effects on me before.

But this end of year/start of year holiday that I have arrived home from has forced me to have a new appreciation for umbrellas.

Not only do they keep you partly dry,

but they look incredible in photos.

I fell in love with the whole idea of being flooded in.

I just had to share:

I loved the trip.

It was great to relax and hang out.

And despite the rain,

we did still get some sunshine...

See you next time, Whangamata!