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From arrival, 5 days

Almost 6 months ago Cedar and I headed off on a fantastic adventure... over 30 hours of travelling and then arrival in Hamburg, Germany. I haven't really blogged a great deal about the trip, nor have I gone through many of the photos (with the exception of the family photos I took). It's hard knowing how far away it is, and I've been holding on a little. Inside. Anyway. I have decided to begin with a 'photo a day' snapshot of our trip. A single highlight, moment, scene for each day we were away.

The day we arrived was New Years Eve, and after an afternoon sleep (for both Cedar and I), Sylvia, Jeff and Spencer took us over to Sylvia's parents home. Sylvia's Oma, Uncle and Aunt were also there, and we had a gorgeous meal. Afterwards we had Berliner buns made by Sylvia's uncle, who is a pastry chef, and warmed through on the radiator. At midnight the city was filled with fireworks, and a few of us braved the cold to stand in the snowy streets watching the sky...


A low-key, hanging out day with a walk through the local area of St Pauli.



A walk along the Elbe in the snow, with remnants of firecrackers all around, with Sylvia's parents as well and the little boys rugged up in their pram and stroller.


Two cute little boys playing on a blanket in the living room of Sylvia and Jeff's apartment, light streaming in through the window...


A walk to Lubeck for shopping, quite snowy and cold today, I loved seeing the snowflakes gently come down. Later they got a bit more serious and we hid away in a cafe eating lunch! It was gorgeous to see kids on a snow-covered slope using sleds and garbage bags to slide down the hill, all rugged up in their snow gear :)

Oh sweet

Oh I want this bike... just as much for photos as for riding, truth be told. The hills around here are not super friendly ;) Reminds me to pull out my retro red rollerskates a little more often though, perhaps this school holidays... They are made in Melbourne I believe, I got the link via the Design Files.

090604-lounge01

Speaking of design, interiors are quite a lot on my mind at the moment, I am rearranging the lounge a little and have bought paint for the internal doors in the house - two are to be a surprise (and I hope they will look as funky as I imagine) and the other two will be black chalkboard. Yes, we have just four internal doors. It is not a large house ;) We do have two external doors as well, though. I'm not planning on painting them right at the moment. Ben heaves a sigh of relief. Hehe.

090705-CedarsCorner02

I am also rearranging a little in our bedroom, which has the unfortunate task of housing all my art, sewing, scrapping, clothes too big and clothes too small, books, frames, crafts and Rock Band guitars. Cello, massive paper umbrella thingy, Cedar, his cot and cupboard. Oh, and us. You know, bed, cupboard, wardrobe. It's a challenge to keep under control. ANYHOW, I worked out that my desk is just a big dumping ground, so am going to paint it and put it in Sienna's room, replacing her Ikea kids table. It will give her room for the keyboard (piano lessons) as well as her art stuff. Best thing - it has 8 drawers to hide her stuff away. Little hoarder ;) We will both be happier. So that is another school holiday project!


Not much non-digital creativity has been going on lately, but here is a fabulous layout by the equally fabulous Louise Nelson, using one of the photos I took of her during our recent Curiouser photo shoot. The next Adelaide sessions are now booking up, September 20-28, and Curiouser visits Roxby Downs from the 14th to 16th August - a few sessions are still available there :) Curiouser's facebook page is a great spot to keep up with what's happening, like us here...

Make a wish

This is a really sweet moment with Sienna and her Nan from the other weekend when we were in S.A.

I can't decide which version I prefer - colour or black and white. What do you think? Do you have an overall preference for colour, vintage processing, black and white or other photo style? Or does it depend on the photo?

Laughter

I confess, the light is less than ideal indoors (well, if the reason you are indoors is because it is a rainy day that is!) but we can still have fun...

Post 601

How funny, yesterday was my 600th post and I didn't even notice until today :)


The shortest day of the year is over, Winter days will get longer now, bit by bit, until we reach Spring!

Plans are in motion for Curiouser sessions, if you or someone you know would be interested in any of these dates and places, please email me at danielle@curiouser.com.au with any questions or date preferences or contact Karen at Curiouser to arrange a booking.

Mid-August : Roxby Downs, South Australia (to be confirmed - minimum 6 bookings)
August 25 - 26: Christchurch and surrounds, New Zealand
September 21 - 28: Adelaide, South Australia
Mid-March 2011: Byron Bay, New South Wales

now we are small

Last December I mentioned that the girls and Ash did a photo shoot with Small magazine - well, I got a bit mixed up and thought they would be in Spring, but they were actually for the Summer issue which has been online for a few weeks now (northern hemisphere summer, of course!).

Lana looks leggy, gorgeous and scarily older than 6, check out the photo on the editor's note! Sienna looks like a little elfin thing, adorable. This is my fave pic of her from the mag (above) and there is also a gorgeous one of she and Ash playing in the waves. I totally adored this waif-like dress from Trelise Cooper Kids (Sienna wore size 4s for the shoot, which is interesting as now that she has past 6 1/2 years old she is mostly a size 5). Not to mention all the other beautiful editorials and ideas in the issue! I love Small magazine as I always get lots of ideas, now I will have to make some fabric wings (p. 131)...

The fantastic photography is by Grant Cornett of New York

Family sneak peek (group shots)

I did this extended family session for some good friends last week - Paula's mum and dad were celebrating their 40th anniversary, so Paula and her family together with her sister and brother-in-law joined the happily married couple for this family celebration! We also separated for some family and couple shots, but I'm working through in theme, so here are the sneaks for the whole group shots. I quite like the 'girls' and 'boys' shots :)

Random just because

This is so cute, and small. I can just imagine Sienna tapping away carefully, a little girly, a little laptop and a big desk by the window ;)

No picture, but check out Lorna Freytag's completely imaginative photographic art, her work with children is super inspiring!

Paper Boat Press - I adore Kylie Johnson's poetry and work, these ceramic plates especially...

The Curiouser wall art I create for customers... this one was 20"x30" (nice and big!) of Tatum Woodroffe's adorable little people. On Tatum's request I am pulling together plans for a trip to Roxby Downs for photo sessions - I am quite excited by the idea, as I've not been 'outback' with all the red sand and open skies that it entails. Photographically, I am intrigued... Roxby peeps, don't forget to email adelaide@curiouser.com.au with your name if you would be interested so that I can plan how much time will be needed and get around to choosing dates!


Kell is making cool things, including these funky crochet headbands (which she will make to order too)! Mine is going to have a vine of leaves along it...

I am strangely drawn to this cardi from Friends of Couture... at first I thought grey would be perfect but I am quite intrigued by this colour too...

This kind of weekend...

Paddocks, gardens, one serious bonfire, a bbq, goldfish, wine, cheese, drawing, photos, walks, fun and tissues...

Too Bijoux and other creations

The latest issue of Scrapbook Creations is out - issue 79. This layout (above) is my colour team page for the combination of blue, black and white. A couple of photos that I completely love of Sylvia and Cedar, taken in a gorgeous little cafe in Hamburg. I have a new project for my holiday photos, will get on to it and share more soon.

In any case, I also have a feature in this issue called 'Too Bijoux' about scrapbooking in miniature. I love small things! My favourite is the necklace...
First I put the photo in a digital frame from Kitschy Digitals using Photoshop. I transferred the photo (having printed it on Canon t-shirt transfer paper) to some lovely thick soft fabric, a thrifted pillowcase. The other pieces are jewellery findings from my collection of crafty bits and an old necklace that was broken.

The other pieces from the article are this family tree block puzzle (below), a quote book, a keyring and a mini canvas. Am sending the mini canvas to someone so will share that and the keyring another time.


The Envelope Project

Sounds like fun! I hope I remember to do it (can't do it right now, Cedar is asleep in the room where all my stuff is! That is, my bedroom - a.k.a. dumping ground). Will you do it too?

Somewhere in the grass and garden

A just-for-arts-sake wall art piece (16"x20") that I did this week while making Curiouser wall art. The line is from some writing I did years ago, about 9 years? So I was twenty or around that age. I did a lot of writing at the time, often on the bus on the way to work at Collins Booksellers, as it took the long way to Knox via the Ferntree Gully back streets. Kind of wordy and over-thought, but interesting in a funny kind of way... I was quite obsessed with definitions, identity and understanding at the time.

"I sometimes feel like I’m in one of the games I used to play as a child. There is a particular direction to my actions, but despite this (or as a result of) there is a certain status quo. It never occurred to us that a direction was needed. The action of the imagining seemed enough in itself. At times the creation became the real game for that was where the intrigue lay.

When I think about it now, remembering school buildings and concrete steps of various heights, haunted by those of various social group denominations, we often made a game of creating traps and limitations for ourselves, seeing how far we could stretch our imaginations within the constraints of an established pretence.

Perhaps this is what I am doing now – creating my own enclosure, the trapping of my role, my definition and place, to entice my imagination out from these memories, to prove to myself, perhaps to the world, that I am not contained by definitions. But have I proven anything? Perhaps to none but myself. In beginning the establishment of my identity, I don’t, in actuality, reveal myself to anyone.

I do not wish pretension - in fact I wish to treat this adventure into identification of the self as a game. A game that I, a child, play for no reason other than to explore my imagination, a universal dimension of the world, Another level from which we live and look and perhaps even comprehend. Conflict only over impossibilities, that they not restrain us.

Somewhere in this game where I can be myself, in the guise of being some invented character, that I need not feel the need to explore my self and who it is to those around me. It is being, simply that. Why let go of the child inside of me? Is it important to be older? Sometimes I think out brains must shrink as we get older, pushed inside by the judgements of others, the consternation that meets the thoughts of dreamers.

Imagination, it is an art. To teach it is to attempt a reversal of “societal” aging, the development of an “adult” mind where it is not knowledge that confines us, but so called standards, norms, assimilation and that perfect word I can never remember when I need to.

Perhaps it is as we forget exactly who was who in those games we played, forget where they came from, whose invention they were. As we lose years, and those aspects of our young personality that faded as society shaped us, as we forget we become less. Less of ourselves, or less comfortable with it, less the seeking, exploring mind which creates growth and art and freedom. We lose the urge for our imagination to surpass our limitations. Somehow it doesn’t seem important anymore.

But it is there that I am hiding, I am sure. If I forget, now, that I am lost, and return to the freedom of my memories, perhaps I will prove it after all. My imagination, self and being, is beyond it all."