Yeah, I was going merrily about my creative business when I fell down a rabbit hole. A Junk Journaling rabbit hole. This is a truly magical and exciting world to be sure.
I have stumbled momentarily in this direction before, but my project sat lonely and dusty on the shelf.
Oh but this time, anyone who will listen, I am well and truly performing the deep dive into this creative genre.
YouTube is my friend, Etsy is my new shopping mall, digi's are my new technology and all things vintage continues to be my passion. I now use my kitchen and oven for tea staining myriad papers, fabrics and lace and I have pile of vintage and second hand books others deem as well past their useful life. I am a proverbial pig in mud...
Another little fold out with a tuck spot and a tag
Tea stained paper and old lace
A big tag with a baby tag
A tiny hanging butterfly tag... soo cute
A hand made tea stained file folder held in with a cool Prima Marketing paper clip
Another "sweet" little tag
A page from a very old birthday book
For a wee little journal there is a lot of bits in it. These journals are so tactile and interactive. The feel and sound of the tea stained papers, the little pockets and tuck spots, little tags to write on or lift out and look at. Fabric, lace, dangly bits.
These little journals are a piece of interactive art. They feel amazing, the paper makes a great sound as you rifle through them, they look so great, and they have bits here and there to open and hidey holes where there are more treasures to be found or hidden. The best thing is the owner can then add to these books by writing in them, drawing in them, adding their own bit and pieces to them.
I've always loved books ever since I was a child so this perfect for me.
So yay for the squirrels, sometimes being distracted by something shiny that leads you down another path can be a wonderful thing.
Yep, it is my birthday today, and 26 days since my last post. What have I done since then?
David is also an August baby so we had a road trip to the South Island for his birthday.
It was a fabulous week and I did convince him to stop at a few secondhand and vintage stores. I came home with some lovely vintage treasures.
Dunedin was beautiful.
Sunrise from Larnach Castle Lodge
A few of my vintage goodies from the South Island.
I decided it was high time I visited my parents in Whangarei, so shortly after we returned from our trip I was back on the road again. It is a long way to their place so I stopped and visited with friends and family on the way there and back.
Before I left I completed a layout for Dad for his birthday of Mum on their wedding day. Sadly I forgot to photograph it so I only have this sneaky peek.
Apart from this layout I have been rather lost down a junk journal rabbit hole and really loving trying something new.
A sneak peek of a wee book I am making.
Junk journals are much trickier to share. I am thinking I am going to have to make use of my tripod and film a flip through. It seems to be the way. However I haven't actually completed one yet as they are very time intensive and lots of work.
When I returned home from my time away my garden had been transformed. One garden bed completely gone and the enormous pond also gone and filled in. It is going to look amazing when the mud dried out and the grass is planted. What a huge surprise.
We have down lights going in through out the house too so lots of work going on. Spring is nearly here and that means lots of gardening to get stuck into.
I have so many projects I want to get started and finished, it's good to be so busy.
I'd better get a junk journal finished so I can post it up here.
The Prima Marketing Inc design team call closes tomorrow. I have been watching closely on Instagram as all the entries roll in, literally thousands to them. SO many talented crafters and artists from all over the world. As you know I have been on a journey to be more courageous with my creative life and really life in general, so I have put myself forward for this design team also. In many ways I don't think I have the experience and presence on social media that many of the entrants have but it's a dream company to represent so it's always worth a shot.
With that in mind I decided I would try out a few new projects. A mixed media tag and an altered box.
I used some black gesso and waxes on the tag and i loved the mess and process of it. It was a lot of experimenting with new products I had purchased in Auckland at SENZ craft expo.
My mixed media tag
A close up
I also prepped a couple of boxes to alter. One black and one white. I completed the white one. I used so many different mediums and products on the box. I had a vintage kind of look in mind but really, I am not sure how I feel about the colour it turned out. Its quite hard to photograph.
I used Lindys Stamp Gang sprays which are very shimmery, but for some reason the flowers on the left look quite dark in the photos.
I think it will be something I go back to an play around with some more. With most of these techniques and products the only way to learn is to use them and experiment. There is really only so much you can learn from others on You Tube and then it's really up to you to throw caution to the wind and have a go.
Speaking of You Tube I have discovered two women who make books and Junk Journals and I imagine I will be posting some makes on here soon.
In the meantime it's off to Masterton tomorrow to Parent/teacher interviews and then to Palmerston North for the night.
After that it will be all about preparing to go to the South Island for a week for David's birthday. I have purchased some merino for the cold weather.
My plan is to stop at as many second hand stores as I can possibly get away with and see what vintage finds I discover and of course take loads of photographs.
Yep I did it, I decided to take my humble cards to the market and see if anyone would buy them. I spent a bit of time thinking about how I wanted my table set up to look and got some advice from my daughters. I also didn't want to spend a fortune on this venture as I was not sure how it was going to go. So this is how it ended up looking...
Happy with how it all looked I packed up all my cards and put a little logo on the back, and packed up my car for a bright early start in the morning.
Sunday morning dawned bright and very cold, so I wrapped up warmly and set out, feeling more than a little vulnerable and nervous.
I was given a wee spot a little out of the way of people traffic and sadly in the shade. I had a touch of sunshine for about 30 minutes first thing...
The sun rose and went behind the trees and I was in shade all morning
How did it go?? I think I had about 5 people come and look, with one lady who actually looked at the cards. Nobody purchased them. I was frozen to the core by 1pm and feeling a little deflated to say the least. I am pleased and proud that I got it together and went along. I realise people don't really buy and mail cards anymore but I keep making them anyway. It may be that it was the wrong kind of market and I am going to try a craft market that I have discovered is on once a month. If nobody buys them it won't stop me creating. I don't make them to sell, but I thought maybe I could make a bit of pocket money.
Meanwhile I have had another physio look at my busted knee and he believes I have torn a ligament which, if he's correct I will need surgery. Back to GP tomorrow to get a referral to a sports doctor who can order further investigations.
I hope this week I can create another project for the Prima Marketing Design Team call. I have seen many of the other applicants and they are so very talented, but again, I am trying to just believe in myself and give things a go without any pressure or expectations.
It's when you turn the bend, around the corner you go and the entire landscape changes. Look at that!, how wonderful is what you see now? If you look back you can't see where you have been travelling or passing through, because, you know, you've come around a bend. I mean it's still there, just because you can't physically see it doesn't mean it doesn't exist right? It's real, it all happened. What you see ahead is magnificent and meaningful. It is so, because of what you can no longer see, you can only now feel it. It is like my daughter Brylee wrote not long ago, that past me is damn proud of me now!!
I am coming up to a year since leaving my full time job of 13 years. Even now I find myself about to tell people that I quit my job as a midwife, but I check myself, and correctly instead say I resigned. Definitions;
When people resign, they're leaving something, like a job or political office. ...
Being resigned is another sense of this word — it's a type of acceptance.
to accept that something undesirable cannot be avoided.
Resigned feels more accurate. I resigned myself to the fact that midwifery is no longer the same vocation I was so passionate about 20 years ago, I resigned myself to the fact that I was unable to change the culture of my workplace, I resigned myself to the reality that my heart was no longer in it and that I was tired beyond belief. I resigned, I am resigned they are almost one and the same.. acceptance has come slowly, I think I may have rounded that particular bend. I can understand that it was part of what brought me directly and indirectly to where I am.
Midwifery has been so good to me and for me both directly and indirectly. As a vocation/career it has given to me and I have given much to it. I just feel like the relationship might have come to an end.
I believe this has been a watershed year for me. A year of space to gain some perspective, acceptance and a sense of who I am.
Leaving a long term occupation which undeniably provided a huge part of my sense of identity sure left me with an interesting path to forge. Dealing with identity is a huge theme for many women entering the new phase of mid life and losing that part of who I was certainly added an extra dimension to this ongoing journey.
A large part of what this year of space has allowed me to do is rekindle my love for art, crafts and making. There has been no particular structure or order to the way I have set about this. I had started this blog in April 2018, and I set about rekindling it and it has been haphazard and unprofessional, I really do not have a plan for it and it is by no means widely read or publicized but it is a work in progress which I would like to continue.
Setting up Kate's Space
in the spare room separate to the house has been exciting and, again, a work in progress. At first I spent very little time down there, preferring to be with others in the house rather than on my own, but gradually I have grown to cherish my time in my studio. Rather than spending the time moving furniture around and wishing it looked like this or that I have begun to actually spend time creating, reading, writing or planning. One of the ideas for Kate's Space was to make a place where women met and did art or craft together and connected and supported one another creating life time friendships as well as art. I called it "Make Do" and one of my daughters helped me with a flyer. I was full of disappointment at one point that it did not turn out as I had planned with women meeting each week and sharing their ideas and art, but then unexpectedly I met someone through Make Do and I have accepted that that might be all it was meant to achieve. It also set in concrete for me that I would craft on Thursday's either with others or if not on my own.
I set up a facebook page also called Kate's Space. I wanted a space to share the creative things I did, made or attended. I lack confidence to post on my personal page so started Kate's Space so FB friends could choose.
Basically I have allowed myself permission to take advantage of this time to pursue my creative interests, all the things that I am often lovingly teased about by my family and friends. I think in the past I have let this prevent me from just getting on and doing what I love to do, that, coupled with my own lack of self confidence. So, I now spend lots of time scrapbooking, documenting everyday life with photos, and journalling and more recently creating mixed media art.
I have learned that not all art needs to be commercially viable, or even widely appreciated. In a world of FB and Instagram likes and followers there is plenty of room for those of us who are intrinsically drawn to be creative because it makes us happy and feel good. I have given myself permission to call my space, "my studio" and not feel embarrassed to do so. Who says there are certain things you need to do and be to call yourself an artist or to create? It is certainly time to get over that little hurdle or excuse and do what makes me happy, call it what you will. Hell, I'm even about to put some of my "art" on the wall in my "studio" for the first time and that will be a big deal for me.
I'm counting on the knitting, sewing, writing, reading, photography, scrapbooking, crafting, art, gardening, yoga and baking, along with the red wine will keep me fit and healthy for a long time to come.
Speaking of A year of Space, I picked up an old book literally years ago called just that, A Year of Space, with a view to make an altered book kind of mini album type thing. I started a very long time ago, again not sure about where I was heading with it at all, by removing a lot of the signatures and machine sewing the remaining ones together to create pages. I then put a light coat of white paint on them, stencilled with white acrylic paint on the front cover and there it stopped. At that stage I had not begun my foray into the wonderful world of mixed media. Then recently, I googled vintage altered book covers and found so much inspiration, and I decided to have another go. My main inspo for this project was Nadya Drozdova https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnQRVJDRhWs&t=12s
I used gesso on the cover and then crackle medium to give that very cool old cracked look, it's not a look I like to see on myself, but on a vintage book it's amazing. I used some old doily which I with mixture of distress inks by Tim Holtz and water colour paints. I stamped with embossing ink and used gold embossing powder and then I arranged my elements. I absolutely love how it has turned out .
I've been working on this layout for a few days now. I had some Prima Marketing patterned papers and flowers I picked up at the Brisbane Scrapbooking and Paper Craft Expo and although they were not from the same line, I figured I could make them work.
The paper I used is Lavender Frost. It's so pretty, but also a good quality paper that can handle the mixed media products I used. Clear gesso, modelling paste, embossing ink and powder, watercolour paint and matte and gloss gel for adhering art stones and flowers.
Little Things
Prima Flowers
I also got some paper clay and molds in Brisbane and have loved using them for dimension on my projects. I used some tulle to link with the tulle skirt in the photo, I used Prima Marketing Stamps on the background.
All in all I'm delighted with how this turned out.
I may have mentioned that already that I have been watching some art/mixed media/scrapbooking tutorials on You Tube.
I am learning a lot and enjoying the, shall we say, "company" they provide when I am in my studio pottering around on my own.
I particularly like a woman called Marta, a polish woman, who does her tutorials in real time, by which I mean, she chats along as she creates and it is like being there with her.
As she puts something together she will explain what she is doing and why of course but one of my favourite things about her is the way she will exclaim, "oh I love this" as she places her elements, or paints or completes a project. It has reminded me to be excited and happy about what I make and to love what I do and who I am. I love her exuberance and joy at creating and how she makes me smile when I am watching her tutorials.
You can find Marta here https://maremismallart.com/ and her instagram https://www.instagram.com/maremis_small_art/ Check her out, she creates beautiful things.
Another woman I like to watch and learn from is Tiffany Solorio https://www.instagram.com/tiffany_solorio_creates/ and it from her I got inspiration for one of my latest projects, which happens to be different from anything I have done before. And I LOVE IT!!!
A few months ago a picked up a piece of driftwood from our beach while on a walk. I don't know why that particular piece but it spoke to me so I brought it home. It's not uncommon for me to bring small treasures and mementos home from a walk or a tramp.
I didn't know what I was going to do with it until I saw one of Tiffany's tutorials https://www.instagram.com/p/BybTjgzgvGu/ and it gave me inspiration to make this..
My driftwood salvaged from our beach
It took me a long time to put together, and it sat unfinished for a few weeks, but in the end I completed it and I really am happy with it. Who knows where this piece of wood started off, where it has been or how old it may be, I love that thought, and I have put other beach finds on this project also. Cats eyes I collected from a beach in Ohope, shells from the beach where my daughter lives. I have used gesso, modelling paste and stencils, crackle medium, ink spray and water colour paint. It has so much texture and detail, which can't really be seen in a picture, it's not perfect, but I LOVE IT! I have so much to learn about positioning elements, balance and focal point, not to mention how to use most of these mediums but I have already learnt so much and it is so much fun practising. Here is a close up,
A close up of the driftwood project
It's not on the wall of my studio yet but it soon will be. If anyone reading this has watched the Australian film The Castle, they will understand when I say I am having a "pool room" moment right now. So thank you to Marta and Tiffany and all the other artists out there sharing your talents so I can learn. Learn to be a better artist and learn to be a better person also. Love, Kate
I have submitted this layout to the Kaiser Craft Sketch Challenge. I haven't entered a challenge/competition for scrapbooking in years.
I belong to the KaiserCraft facebook group and everybody is so friendly I thought it would be good to enter. This layout is another attempt at a bit of mixed media. The challenge was to use a sketch or a page map as they are sometimes called that a member of the design team placed up on the KC blog.
There are some really beautiful takes on the sketch and this is my attempt.
I used Kaisercraft Antiques essentials and Whisper papers. I love these pictures of my daughter and my granddaughter, they are two very beautiful souls who both have their own physical challenges but they adore each other. They both have an innate love of dance which also makes them very close. Two kindred spirits.
There are those who are expert solo travellers, those intrepid backpackers or seekers of luxury resorts, who think nothing of, indeed prefer, boarding a plane and travelling to far flung places with only themselves for company.
I am not one of these people. I am more of a Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, "it's friendlier with two" kind of a gal. It is said however that you should not something until you have tried it so this year was the year I travelled alone. It came about only partly by choice, but mainly because one cannot in good conscience drag a male partner to a Scrapbooking and Paper Craft Expo.
So began my first solo adventure to far flung Brisbane, Australia earlier this month. All joking aside, it was an adventure for me and I was equal parts over the moon excited and, well, not exactly terrified but for sure, apprehensive.
Flights were booked, accommodation booked, the expo tickets purchased and classes booked, and plans made to travel from Brisbane after attending the expo to stay a few days with my daughter in the Gold Coast. What follows is a mix of things I learnt about myself, travelling alone, and what I did.
I much prefer to be early and wait in airports than to feel rushed. For every flight, I allowed much more time than I needed. This allowed me time to read, eat, watch people and wander.
I love/hate google maps. Apparently paper maps are pretty much obsolete so Google maps or some other app is where it is at. That being so, it is still very possible and in fact very likely that I will get lost using this system of navigation. So, enjoy the getting lost, because it is merely a way laying rather than in fact being truly lost. I thought that arriving after dark into Brisbane South I would prefer to take an Uber to my accomodation, but knowing in was so close I chose to walk. Yep, I took the long way, heading up streets and then back again a few times, but it was also the first step I realised in finding my bearings in a place where I knew no landmarks or familiar things.I believe I owe it to my time in Italy with David that I did not stress but just stayed in the moment. #Still think paper maps are better.
Read the full description of your Air BnB accommodation before booking. Turns out my lovely cottage room did not have its own bathroom, but a shared bathroom in the main house. I have decided I have lived long enough and I am posh enough to deserve my own bathroom. It is partly my own fault that it turned out this way. I put in a search for a room with it's own bathroom and this room came up, looked great and was a good price. I should have known apparently that based on the price it did not in fact have its own bathroom but a shared one. It did have a toilet with a cold water only basin but yeah I felt a little cheated. Other than that my room was pretty good and the location was superb.
Walk heaps and talk to as many strangers as possible without being weird. Early morning walk along the riverI decided I would get up early the first day and find the river and walk along it. I kind of knew the direction, and of course I had my trusty Google maps but I did find myself doubting I was taking the most direct route. Luckily a wee dog decided he just had to be patted by me and I was able to talk to his owner and he pointed me in the direction of a quicker way to get to the river. Talking to and connection with people is so much better than Google maps. I loved my walk and went a long way until my knee, which thinks it is 70 years old not 50, decided to complain to me and the need for coffee drove me back into the West End in search of a hole in the Wall coffee place I had read about in an Explore Brisbane type magazine. Turns out the barista was from NZ and used All Press coffee also from NZ. My walk turned out very long after finding my way home but it was a stunning morning and I loved every minute of it.
My classes and whole experience at the Expo was amazing and I will do another post about that side of my trip with pics of my projects and what I learned. Suffice to say here, I loved it and would love to go again next year.
Have a book with you at all times!
I am not au fait with eating alone at restaurants. Many years ago when I was single I would take a book to my local, have a glass of wine or a coffee and read. I am no longer practiced at this as I was. So when I found myself at an excellent Italian Pizzeria, staffed by Italians, to utter delight, I had a bit of a panic when ordering food. Initially all was well. I ordered a lovely entree and a glass of red. After a while I started to feel a little conspicuous on my own so in my discomfort I then ordered a pizza. Firstly, I didn't need to order a main, a dessert would have made more sense, secondly, why on earth would I order a pizza? If I felt uncomfortable before the pizza arrived I felt even more so when it arrived at my table. I think if I had had a book I would have felt more relaxed and ordered in a less rushed manner. I carried the left over pizza half way home, I chose to walk again, then I admit, I binned it, knowing I would't eat it. Next morning I found a great little book shop, Avid Reader, and bought a brilliant book by a Brisbane author, Boy Swallows Universe. I highly recommend it. The Italian Pizzeria I ate at. A very popular and delicious restaurant. Allow 24 to 36 hours to relax into your surroundings.
By Friday morning, I knew my way to and from the Brisbane Expo Centre, where the river was, where my accomodation was, some landmarks. I found a book store and a great cafe. I had made the mistake of not eating at all that first day until dinner, so Friday I had a good healthy breakfast, wrote in my Bullet journal and read my book. Finally getting the hang of this.I wandered down to the expo and stopped and helped someone find their way to where they needed to go, I tell you, I was practically a local. In the afternoon, I walked home first before heading out to check out a Lantern parade/festival but I got distracted by Victoria Bridge and the lights, (what?, who me? ) and followed the people into the business/shopping district of Brisbane. Crossing Victoria BridgeIt was good to have a plan for the evening, and even better to stray from it. Down the main shopping mall there were several bands playing, loads of people and it was vibrant and busy. I wandered through the shops, stopped for a burger and beer, stopped for a gelato which I ate on the way home.
Saturday I checked out and got an uber to the expo centre where I stored my luggage and did some shopping, hmmm, more shopping, of art supplies. I then headed to the train station just behind the conference centre and got myself on a train to the Gold Coast to see my daughter and her partner. Drinks for Mikayla's birthdayLong sunrise beach walks while the young folk sleepI can now say I understand some of the appeal of travelling alone, it will never be my first choice, but I would always choose it over not going anywhere at all.
Love
I turned 50 between the time I created this blog and now. I quit my job of 13 years and in doing so walked away from my career of 20 years. I bought a home with my partner, I travelled to Europe. I have obsessed about my changing body shape, vacillating between despair and acceptance, I have spent my summer working in a kitchen at a local winery with a view of the vines and the sea. I have set goals and met them, I have set goals and not anywhere near met them. I have begun scrapbooking and creating again and created a space in which to do this.
When I post my scrapbooking pages etc up on this blog, I can see flaws and imperfections in them and I consider why I do it. In fact even as I write this I am aware that nobody reads it and that could be considered a failing in and of itself. I am not perfect, what I create is not perfect, but I don't in fact make things for extrinsic reward. I have an intrinsic drive to be creative in some way. Yes I do post on social media, but getting no likes does not deter or dismay me enough to discontinue doing what I love to do. My family lovingly tease me about my hobbies, but again, knowing they do not value the same things I do does not stop me. I know why I do what I do, I know why I write this blog and that is enough.
Today I joined a gym. It is something I have done in the past and failed at. There is just something about walking into a gym that can send me into a mild panic attack. I know I am not alone in this. Is it the smell? The machinery which I just can't get my head around? I have in the past joined, been given a program, turned up the next day or a couple of days later, and had no idea what I was supposed to do, on which machine and with how much weight and how many times. It just makes me feel like a dick.
This time I am investing in myself a little more and having two sessions a week with a personal trainer, accountability and also a friend at the gym to ease me into the culture.
I have had injuries with my knees in the last year or so and want to build up some strength and resilience to avoid this in the future.
I am also entered into a 1/2 marathon but I am unsure if I will be able to complete it because of my bung knee. Ahhh the joy of ageing.
I am not perfect, but I am learning as I get older the things that do make me happy and the things that do not.
I've been scrapbooking off and on for 15 years now. I was introduced to this hobby of memory keeping by a dear friend when my youngest daughter was a baby.
I've had long periods over this time where I have not picked up scissors and glue and I know in those years I always felt like there was something missing from my life. So recently I have decided it is time to rekindle my creative side in any way I feel inspired to and of course that includes paper crafts.
Most recently I am exploring the mixed media style of scrapbooking, using inks, stamping, paint mediums, water colour and all things texture. It is so much fun and very messy. Thank goodness for YouTube and all the talented people who share their skills so I can learn.
Often I miss having a buddy to scrapbook with but I am very happy that my creative processes are driven by me rather than someone else and that I am gaining confidence in my ability to create something that I find beautiful and satisfying. My first mixed media layoutI used Scrap Studio papers by Kaisercraft https://www.kaisercraft.com.au/ I used Atelier modelling paste and a stencil in the background. There is clear and white gesso and Tim Holtz mica sprays as well. I have to say I had a ball creating this layout and I have to thank Tiffany Solorio for the very helpful tutorials and beautiful mixed media projects she shares on her channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVGqe97Jlx5E2qxVpfjnCbghttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVGqe97Jlx5E2qxVpfjnCbg
So here's to learning new things, not just physical practical things but the more esoteric meaningful things, even at fifty.
“If you don't know where you are going any road can take you there”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
I don't much know where I am going much of the time. I used to be a great one for the 5 or 10 year plan, not so much any more. I don't recall many if any of my long term plans ever actually played out. Often I still wonder how I got to be where I am now, at this age. For one I still can barely believe I am 50, (yeah that happened), but also I don't really have a plan.
I left my career of 20 years as a midwife in August, a necessary move I believe, leaving me somewhat lost as far as what I am going to do next. Maybe if I don't know where the destination is then any road can take me there and now that is part of my adventure.
So, I have made a few more cards, photos are under #the100dayproject . I am behind on that now but really keen to catch up, just like my project life. It's good to have goals right?
I've also been watching a YouTube hop by Finnabair https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-aS-ivUyc8 I decided it was about time I at least learnt about the mixed media world of scrapbooking and craft. I really had no idea what gesso was, gel, texture paste, icing paste etc etc.
After watching all these YouTube videos I am much more educated and might even dabble a little in some mixed media.
Something very exciting that I am buzzing about is this... http://scrapbookexpo.com.au/ I am attending this expo in Brisbane next month, taking 4 classes and then catching a train to the Gold Coast to visit my daughter and her partner. I am terrified to go to this on my own but also thrilled. I am going to SENZ in Auckland in July but this expo will be on a much larger scale than anything I have attended before and I expect to learn so much. Actually that is why I have been doing some mixed media research so I don't look like a complete idiot when I don't know what any of the products or techniques are.
Until then I will be walking and trying to rehabilitate my stuffed knee, painting fences, gardening, creating and maybe just maybe while my partner is away hunting I might even do a bit of renovating in my space.
I'm thinking I will do a little video tour of Kates Space before and after. I had a practice this afternoon and will try and work out how to do it and put it up on here just for a bit of fun.
So there is still hope to make this blog come alive, I can start over, and I choose to do that today 20 April 2019.
I want to transcribe some notes I wrote on a train in Italy on 23 September last year on the way to Lucca, bear with me, all will become clear and hopefully relevant.
On the train to Lucca I was reminded of how womens' friendships are the same world over and a day out with a group of female friends looks and sounds the same no matter the language.
From Dubai, in the water park, where a group of young women in various states of traditional dress (suitable for swimming) talked and laughed and sang their way around the lazy river, while lounging in inflatable rings, to Italy, where on a train to Lucca, Tuscany, a group of Italian women elegantly dressed laughed and talked (over one another of course) all the way to our destination.
These two groups of women, worlds apart, have in common, deep friendships and connections with other women that bring joy and belonging and a history known only to themselves.
I am off to walk the streets of another ancient town where the women through out history have come together to work, talk laugh and support each other through the centuries. Everytime I have a spare minute I stop and absorb the mystery, stories and strength of the women who walked these streets before me. I want to hold the memories of this time in Italy somehow and honour and acknowledge the people who created, built and lived in these beautiful places.
So, what do those ruminations have to do with me now in New Zealand in Autumn you may ask.
When we moved to this home in Haumoana, I created a space in the downstairs room, aptly called Kates Space. It is my place to create and write and think and just be. My dream for this space was to create and curate, if you like, a space for other women to come and create, connect and complete art and or crafts together. A nod to another time where women would sit and sew or quilt and talk and support each other if need be.
Would anyone come?, does it matter?, is the space big enough, cool enough?, on and on I went vacillating between yes! let's do it, to, no, who would want to be part of this. Finally I decided I would set one day and evening aside to do my own craft. I would open it up to as many women I knew who created and crafted and just see what would happen.
Make Do was launched, now that sounds impressive, which it really wasn't but I decided that didn't matter.
Make Do PosterMaybe, I will look back in the future and be thankful I began something that brought women together to strengthen friendships, learn new skills and connections.
I'm not going to lie, I have had between zero and 1 person attend each week, but I now set aside a day to create, to spend time doing the arts and crafts I love either on my own or with another person who loves making things as much as I do.
So, from a train in Lucca, Italy, to tiny little Kates Space in Haumoana, NZ I am determined to nurture connections with women face to face and to nurture my own creative soul in whatever way I can.
David asked me before we left, “are we going on a holiday or are we travelling”?
We had talked a lot about this trip and agreed that it would be sensible to base ourselves in one or two places and not race around crazily In an effort to see all and everything, coming home needing a holiday.
When we began planning this trip for real rather than just talking about it, we realised that between us we had many places we wanted to see and things we wanted to do. We tried so hard to limit the places we would visit but we were also aware of the distance and making the most of this time was so so important.
As we stepped off the train in Paris, into a gloriously sunny warm afternoon, it began to dawn on me that I would want to stay longer in every city and town we would be visiting.
Arriving at our AirBNB apartment was certainly going from one extreme to another. As big and extravagant as our hotel room in Dubai was, this was small. I learnt how misleading photos can be and although I knew it was going to be small I was still a little amazed.
ENTRANCE TO APARTMENT. OUR DOOR TO LEFT, GROUND FLOOR
In Paris, you can be walking down a street with nothing but the smell of the previous nights urine and turn the corner to see something so breathtakingly beautiful it’s almost unsettling.
Photos don’t do the city justice, particularly my poorly taken IPhone snaps, so in actual fact it seems to me that to stop taking photos and to actually be in the moment and not think ahead to where or what next is a better way to travel.
Are we travelling? Yes we are. Are we on holiday? Yes we are. The more important question is, whether I am stopping, looking, listening, and arriving in the moment of being in a place I have never been before. It is not my strength, I have a monkey brain that races into the next topic or train of thought too fast. I am trying to slow down.
I am writing this in our second floor apartment in Florence. It’s early evening and it’s 25 degrees C. The windows open directly over the street. I can hear Italian voices talking, laughter, and clinking of cutlery and plates in the restaurants across the road. I can hear an accordion playing as I sip on a cold beer mindfully.
It is bliss.
However, Florence is another story.
Mindfully yours,
My first impressions of Dubai were of austerity and quiet hostility. We arrived early in the morning of Monday 11 September and arrivals was silent with no public address system, the woman who viewed my passport did not greet me or even look at me which I found unnerving.
The men were in elaborate uniforms or traditional dress of a long white gown with a white veil held on by a rolled up black circle to hold it on, weirdly bride like.
To top it off our driver and in fact every male, addressed only David and not me unless completely necessary. It was an interesting experience to be invisible.
However, the hotel was extravagant and excessive, and the staff were friendly and helpful. Our ‘room’ all 160 sq/m of it was just incredible with a view of the city, and the pool. Everything appears massive and extravagant in Dubai, as if they are trying to prove themselves with the biggest, the tallest, the best in the world.
There was an aquarium in our hotel, and an aqua park adjoined which we had a ball in. The pool was fabulous with loungers and huge fluffy towels for our use. There were shopping avenues with exclusive designer stores, multiple restaurants and bars.
Temperatures were 40 to 42 degrees, weather in which to sit by the pool or mostly in the pool.
We went on a hop on hop off bus but the nature of Dubai with its widely spread out city really didn’t give a lot of time to get off for any length of time. Also the heat made walking outside for any length of time quite draining and very sweaty.
It was a great way to start our journey and we loved the luxury of it all.
