Lives lost, houses destroyed it has been a week of extreme temperatures and catastrophic fires in Australia. Driving through smoke in Nowra, our car covered in sooty ash, we escaped the bushfires in southern NSW. We were lucky but thousands were not. There is no escape from climate change.
What an amazing transformation year. Travel, exhibitions, learning to trust in myself and take daring steps. These are the hallmarks of a year that has changed my life and given me a clear vision for 2020.
So this is (nearly) Christmas)and everywhere we look there is chaos and disaster. How to hang onto hope in the these tumultuous times? Make art like there’s no tomorrow.
My grandmother said think of all the things you’ve achieved, not what you lack. It’s a great sentiment to kickoff my decade review. What has happened in the past 10 years - a new identity for one thing…
Do we need to put water and trees in an art gallery to appreciate them? Maybe we do so we can value our precious, fast disappearing resources and protect them.
How do you turn your dreams into reality? Imagination! When you imagine something and then action it, you manifest your dreams. Imagination is the language of the soul, according to Albert Einstein. When I come up with crazy wild ideas, it’s usually because I have read some story in a book which has fired up my imagination. Like my play If There Be Dragons from 1998.
It’s a real statement to wear red. I’ve never bought or owned a red dress until this week when I wanted to celebrate launching my online course Creative Calendars. It defies the unspoken but strongly held belief that ‘good girls’ don’t wear red.
There is no escaping climate change. It is affecting us all, evident this week in Australia where we are burning up from bushfires in unprecedented numbers and ferocity. Making artwork about climate change has become my passion.
Time has slipped me by and I find its time already to start thinking about next year and the calendars I have turned into a traditional Christmas present. I think about how I spent time this year, and what art I made. Then I make one calendar for myself then have multiple copies to give away. When thinking about time, its a real time saver for me.
Travel broadens the mind and helps you grow personally and artistically. Why travel - why not?
When you are in the right place at the right time, the universe opens its arms. I was jumping with excitement when I saw the Northern Lights outside the Nes artist studio - a culmination of a fantastic month being inspired by Iceland.
Sometimes you have to dare to be courageous. That’s what happened this weekwhen I flew from Iceland to Zurich for a motivational business conference with my Icelandic coach, Sigrun who is on a mission to empower women to become business entrepreneurs.
Blessed by the prophetess of Skagaströnd, this week I joined with thousands of others to wish for peace at the annual lighting of the Imagine Peace Tower.
What happens when a group of artists arrive in a small Icelandic town every month. New ideas, community projects and an influx of creative spirits converge to nourish and grow at NES, this remote artist residency in Skagastönd.
How to tackle fear. It’s a big one which we need to do especially as artists. This week I confronted fear of falling on my first ever glacier walk. It brought up this fear and others as I tackled a new environment in Iceland.
Getting support, inspiration and encouragement is vital for artists. We rely on our friends and mentors to help us achieve our goals. This week I was reminded of the importance for those friendships.
I often think that papermakers are part of one big family and that together we constitute the United Nations of Paper. Here at the Paper Art Event I contemplate climate change and that perhaps paper can contribute to raising awareness of this climate crisis that affects us all as global citizens.
Great art moves us. The simplicity of powerful hand gestures is common in both the works of Rembrandt and street artist Banksy.
How do you interpret your life through art? I use collage as a way to bring the often chaotic parts of my life together to create stories of where I stand and what I stand for.
Hanging out with a group of women who want to be inspired and uplifted is a real joy. This week I got to do just that at Carol’s Place in Murwillumbah.
