quiet paws.

Sometimes I dream in tarot…what is & what was

tracey — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:30:13 +0000

I often find myself lost in thought, reflecting on what has already come to pass and what is still yet to be. What decisions have I made to bring me to precisely this particular moment in time? What choices will tomorrow bring so that once more I may guide my own path towards some unknown, yet hopefully magical destiny?
… What cards will next fall?

It all started with seeing a photograph of Australian model Miranda Kerr wearing this dress some months ago. Normally I find myself ‘relatively’ immune to the temptations of (1) designer clothing garments, and (2) clothes worn by models, but for some reason my obsession with this Tarot Minded Dress by Australian label Antipodium took on obsessive proportions. The beautiful fabric and cut of this dress got under my skin, scurried into my mind, before finally burrowing deep within my heart.

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be… (Douglas Adams)

The dress swirled its way through my dreams, passing to me in subliminal fashion its multi-coloured visions of how charming life could be with it by my side. Before I knew what happened, this dress HAD to be mine!!

I searched for many, many weeks online and in stores, with no luck to be found. But then on a most auspicious day, THE dress appeared in one of my most-visited online stores. My hands followed the path already laid out by my head and heart, clicking immediately to ‘add to cart’ – the beauty was finally mine!

As silly as this may seem, now this dress has come home with me, I’ve fallen even more head over heels in love! It swishes and flatters while I tumble and swoon… I even adore the label which was attached to the dress:

‘This cosmically blessed print was designed by the very sexy Tamara Littlewood exclusively for Antipodium. May compliments and eternal blessings rain down on her and you‘ …

… only I like to think that second sentence is referring to me and the dress.

No related posts.

Star-gazing and other pretty, pretty things…

tracey — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:45:06 +0000

Living in the city, I often feel like I spend many of my days looking down – at my desk, at the keyboard, and at the ground. For this reason, when the daylight closes its door on the day, I like to step outside into the darkness of night and spend some time looking up. At such times I am reminded of the constant beauty of starlight, and contemplate how insignificant I must be to one so ancient. I find this to be an incredibly comforting thought after all the stuff and nonsense of the day.

The words of Emily Bronte far more eloquently describe the delight of the stars:

‘All through the night, your glorious eyes
Were gazing down in mine,
And with a full heart’s thankful sighs
I blessed that watch divine!’

Perhaps this appreciation of things that shimmer and shine is what draws me to constantly seek out and collect so many jewelled wonders. This gorgeous necklace features high gloss black glass beads that catch the light (and the eye), and with its polished stainless steel construction, I feel like I carry around my neck a constant memory of the light and dark which shines within the world.

Now at least when I look down, I see this necklace and remember that inspiration and starlight can sometimes be found in the most unlikely of places.

I purchased this beautiful piece from Brisbane jewellery artist Ange McMullen, at her etsy store. She has many more lovely items which may just be the little piece of starshine that you’re looking to find in your life…

Time to Paws and Reflect

Sausage dogs are nothing to sneeze at…

tracey — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:56:46 +0000

In other grand adventures recently undertaken at the Brisbane Finders Keepers markets, I found this gorgeous little embroidered tissue cosy by Edward and Lilly (seriously how cute is this sausage dog?). It was really hard to choose which coloured print to go for (as there were many pretty combinations on offer), but for some reason this pinkish-apricot one was my favourite.

I do my best to use fabric handkerchiefs whenever I can, but during some seasons and on some occasions tissues are much more appropriate. Instead of throwing random tissues somewhere into my handbag, I’m now able to keep them very well organised in this lovely little pouch.

Ever since I visited my Aunt’s house as a child and fell in love with her adorable little sausage dog, I wanted one of my one. So in one of those strange quirky twists of fate, now I’ve finally been able to fulfill that childhood dream and carry my little dog with me everywhere. Happy days indeed!

If you’d like to pick yourself up one of these beauties, you could visit Edward and Lilly’s etsy store where you’ll hopefully find some still in stock (if not there are other sausage doggy treats to tempt you!).

No related posts.

Lovely round morsels of magnets & macaroons

tracey — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:15:48 +0000

There’s something quite appealing about the curve of a line that travels smoothly from start to finish in unbroken fashion, turning away until it meets itself once more. The symmetry of the circle has long captivated human thought, has inspired the contemplation of true perfection, and has served as a fundamental of geometrical studies for countless generations of maths students. I can’t imagine what life was like before I understood the meaning of radius, diameter, circumference and that little number we like to call Pi. And perhaps more importantly, just where would I be if I didn’t know how to cut a round cake into the optimal number of pieces?

At the recent Brisbane Finders-Keepers Markets I picked up all sorts of lovely goodies (which I’ll gradually get around to featuring on the site), amongst which can be found these gorgeous little ceramic-topped magnets from Australian boutique stationery label Little Jane Street. Such an adorable richness of roundish goodness which came packaged in this lovely hand-stitched cotton bag.

Apart from the application of roundness to practical items like magnets, happily the circle also finds its place amongst the best sweet treats of the world.

The range of colours and contrasting textures of macaroons have made these light and chewy goodies a long-standing favourite of mine. So pretty, and just oh so tasty… it’s nice to know that circles are looking after our taste-buds as well. These beautiful macaroons came from Twist n Roll – a local French style catering business based in Brisbane. Yum!

So the next time all the straight lines and hard edges of the world get you down, think of the humble circle and remember that a start will always curve towards its finish regardless of where you begin…

Sausage dogs are nothing to sneeze at…

Why hello there Mr Dempsey…

tracey — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:11:15 +0000

So in the past few months I feel that perhaps I’ve been a little luckier than usual. I’ve entered a few competitions, and have actually been fortunate enough to win! One such competition was for this Paul Dempsey prize pack (thanks to theinsound.com – for which I wrote a short and sweet poem (well more short than sweet as poetry is not exactly my forte). I was as surprised as anyone when I was chosen as one of two winners to receive a signed 2 CD limited edition of ‘Everything Is True’, including the four song disc ‘Counterfeits and Forgeries’; an exclusive t-shirt featuring album artwork, and a letterpress print of Paul Dempsey’s handwritten lyrics to ‘Ramona Was A Waitress’.

There has always been a ‘certain something’ about Paul Dempsey’s voice that I find completely irresistible, even though for many years I’ve strangely resisted the music of Something for Kate (the band he is lead singer of).

With the release of his debut solo album however, I feel I can finally shake off past resistances and melt into his music. If you’d like to melt along with me, perhaps you should visit Paul’s site and investigate his music (and his amazingly emotive and enticingly masculine voice) all for yourself.

The joys of op shopping…

tracey — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:45:43 +0000

There are so many benefits to shopping at charity opportunity shops. Firstly, of course is being able to contribute direct monetary assistance to the charities and humanitarian organisations that these shops support. Secondly, these stores are the ultimate in fashionable and practicable recycling. All too often we seem to throw away perfectly good items in the rubbish – I think it is much better to pass them on to another potential user – whether that person be someone in need, or someone like me who would happily pay for your unwanted goods at a charity store. Lastly, there are some amazing bargains to be found – you can be lucky enough to pick up something very special, or at the very least pick up something with a bit of character.

I picked up this great pair of black Melissa Stilettos designed by the Campana Brothers with an original retail price of $110 for the bargain price of $15. I know some of you may think, ’secondhand shoes…gross!’ But being plastic designer shoes I figure they wouldn’t have had too much chance to absorb any grossness, and in any case these look just like new. They have turned out to be one of my MOST comfortable pairs of heels.

I always feel badly for orphaned or neglected books, particularly when those books are of a pretty good quality. I sifted my way through the bargain book table and came away with this interesting mix of books (some of which I’ve read before, some of which I’m yet to read). Honestly how could anyone say no to 3 books for $1?

My most expensive recent charity purchase was this privacy screen (an item I’ve been wanting for a very long time) for $75. Most of the three panel screens I’ve seen for retail sale are quite expensive and are of questionable quality. This one has a really interesting design (which you unfortunately can’t see in this photo) and has the added bonus of being four panels. With a change of fabric and a coat of paint I think it will be just perfect.

I can’t wait to see what treasures I’ll uncover at my next visit!

Bookshelf of Inspiration

The things I’ve thought and will now do

tracey — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:44:10 +0000

During my recent, longer-than-expected absence from the virtual world I’ve been keeping busy in an idle kind of way. For those who are curious, my time can be briefly summarised as being spent enjoying a mix of wandering and pondering, thinking and drinking, scheming and dreaming.

One thought that has occupied some of my attention is the way I interact with people online and how that differs from my real-life communications. I feel very, very fortunate to have met or spoken to the wonderful people that I’ve stumbled across or who have found me through this blog or through Twitter (and I’ve missed you all in recent weeks).

I know that online communications often encourage superficial, casual interactions and certainly the random, spontaneous engagements I’ve had with all manner of people I would not normally encounter has often been interesting, and sometimes more than just a little inspirational. However, if I’m to be true to myself (and that’s probably a very good thing to be), I have to admit that developing casual relationships with an ever-growing number of acquaintances is not really my style. That is a philosophy which holds true to both my real life and on line self, but perhaps a philosophy that I have not been applying all that consistently.

I would much prefer to have a meaningful conversation with three people with whom I share common interests or a common footing, rather than a meaningless or frustrating conversation with two hundred people who I share little or nothing in common with. The rule of quality over quantity definitely applies, and perhaps becomes even more relevant as each year passes by.

I thoroughly enjoy the thoughts, laughter, feelings and words that I’ve shared over the years with readers of this blog both here and in your own virtual home – and this is something that I will continue to cherish in the years to come as something very special.

Twitter has also been a really fun and fascinating environment which has allowed me to meet another bunch of truly wonderful people. However, somewhere along the way a nagging thought has been slowly and steadily growing, a feeling that as I follow more and more people, and have more and more people follow me that I’m losing my ability to talk in a meaningful way with those people with whom I share a real connection. I feel that I’ve gradually been diluting myself and my attention – spreading myself too thin, until reaching a point where all my communications felt like they may have become meaningless. This is not who I am, and certainly not who I want to seem to be online.

So I’ve come to a Jerry Maguire moment (a film which for some reason resonates strongly and gives me much to reflect on). While the words of Jerry’s mission statement relate directly to the business of sports management, I have always felt there is a much wider relevance, particularly in light of my recent reflections… ‘The answer is fewer clients. Less dancing. More truth. We must crack open the tightly clenched fist of commerce and give a little back for the greater good. Eventually revenues will be the same, and that goodness will be infectious. We will have taken our number oneness and turned it into something greater. And eventually smaller will become bigger, in every way, and especially in our hearts.

Let us be honest with ourselves.

Let us be honest with them.

Forget the dance. Focus’…

It would probably be much easier to just insert the entire mission statement here and have those words much more eloquently communicate exactly what it is that I am struggling to express. I suppose what I am really trying to say is that I want something more than just to collect more and more followers, friends or acquaintances. I want to have something deeper than simply having a huge number of people to virtually interact with or to feel validated about the person that I am by ‘talking at’ or being ‘listened’ to by a huge number of people. The reality of the situation is that the vast majority of these people are probably not listening to me and will probably never be interested in engaging with me in any personal way. I’m not wishing this to sound like a complaint or a whinge, simply to say that people develop online relationships in different ways and with different purposes. What works for one person will not necessarily work for me.

I also don’t want this to sound all serious, doom-and-gloom, and over-analytical. It’s not as if I want every conversation to be deep and meaningful, all I hope for is that the interactions I have with people online are able to be more personal than impersonal. Recently I’ve felt that I’ve muddied the waters of my followers with people that I follow simply for the sake of following rather than with the intent of pursuing interesting or meaningful conversation. This has meant that I’ve no doubt missed out on many opportunities to better engage with those people that I want to know more of or share more with. My Twitter feed had become too voluminous and too unmanageable, so I found that rather than catching up with what people were up to and what they were thinking I was having to just scroll over the surface and give their words nothing more than a cursory glance. And that brings me to the subject of another thought that I’ve been reflecting on – the expectation, or rather, the pressure to be predictable and one-dimensional in an online world.

This is something that I’ve particularly found true of myself on Twitter and to a lesser extent on my blog. I do not have a singular focus or interest in my life. In other words I am not particularly obsessed or focussed on any one aspect or any one thing, but I’ve felt a pressure to represent myself as a person who is always one way or another – never a combination of many things. Perhaps being a generalist rather than a specialist is not a good way to be, but it certainly is a reality for me. I used to worry about my lack of a consistent theme or subject on my blog, as everyone will tell you that it is important for readers to be able to ‘expect the expected’. Perhaps my absences from the blog from time to time can be blamed to some degree on this concern that my words are too random and the things I write about are too unrelated to any central idea. I have slowly come to realise though that I do have a theme on QuietPaws – a theme of whatever interests me at any given time. Sometimes I want to reflect on my place in the world, sometimes I want to talk about movies or books that I’ve enjoyed, other times it feels like enough to just share a photograph. I aim for consistency in my inconsistency.

However this tendency towards broad interests has caused me some regret. For instance, I met some fantastically talented writers and artists on Twitter who I really enjoyed talking to, but pretty soon I think they discovered that I do not (and cannot) just tweet beautiful words about the world around me. I indulge in all other kinds of other conversations with myself and with others about all manner of fripperies, trivialities and passing distractions. And so for this reason or perhaps for a whole host of reasons they chose to unfollow me. I was sad to lose these people as followers and subsequently became a little self-conscious about what I was tweeting about. I’ve since come to the realisation that much as I would like to be a certain kind of person with a certain kind of narrow focus, the reality is that I am not. There is too much in this world that holds my interest to limit my verbal and written communications to a select one or two topics of conversation.

Perhaps you’d like further examples, perhaps not. For those that are interested in what I mean or who I am, here is a brief introduction to my multi-dimensional self:

I like to write. I like to read. I like animals of all kinds. I don’t eat meat. I like shopping for pretty things. I like buying books. I like wearing dresses. I like the fashion of the 1920s, 1950s and 1960s. I like The Beatles. My favourite Beatles member alternates between John Lennon and George Harrison. I would like to know what the world would be like with John Lennon still in it. I like new music and old music. I like the charm of Robbie Williams. I like to have a clean home, but accept that my home may not always be tidy. I like plants. I like shoes. I’d like to own more pairs of high heels but worry that I can’t walk all that well in them. I like the sound that typewriters make, especially if each key requires a bit of pressure to reach the paper. I have started to buy less CDs and more digital music. I like rabbits and woodland creatures. I seem to be building a collection of white animals statues. I find wolves appealing in some way. I love the way that art challenges me, moves me, and connects with me. I would love to have a well-worn French accent by the time I’m fifty. The thought of getting older terrifies me. I’d like to be less materialistic and more minimalistic, but seem to be losing the battle at present. Medical problems related to the nose and teeth tend to freak me out. I cry when I laugh, which can be embarrassing and frustrating (especially if I’m wearing makeup). I don’t wear makeup all that often, but would like to wear it more often. I think that Anjelica Huston is incredibly beautiful. The first book I read cover-to-cover in one sitting was Pinquo by Colin Thiele (and I cried, a lot). I like to wave hello to horses. I would love someone to sponsor me to travel the world and be inspired. I like secondhand furniture with character. I can’t stand to see people litter or be cruel to other living things in any way. I have recycled for many years. I think if I was to be an alien, I would most likely be an empath. I struggle to contain my emotion if I can see someone else is upset – if they cry, I’ll probably cry too. I often feel that maybe I’m too emotional or too soft. Other times I feel I should share my emotions more. I like the sound of rain falling on corrugated rooves. I like being fit and love to run. I used to love getting home from school to a freshly baked chocolate cake. I like to change my hairstyles quite often. I never feel like I get enough sleep. I think Emma Thompson is amazingly talented. I like some tattoos, but not others. I would like to make a difference in the world. I think my husband is amazing but may not tell him that often enough. I love the writing of Paul Auster, Truman Capote, Joan Didion and the words of Carson McCullers in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. I can obsess over something for ages, and then when that particular opportunity presents itself I can lose interest. I find Nicolas Cage’s new teeth incredibly distracting. I haven’t quite made up my mind about how I feel about writer’s festivals. Sometimes I get really angry. I like the way that grass feels underfoot. If I don’t care about what I’m doing, I disengage completely. I would like to live somewhere cold, particularly if I could escape the 9 to 5 day job. I like to read philosophy, but feel like I need to dedicate more time to it to really think and understand it. When I was young I thought I might grow up to be either a ballerina or a veterinarian…and so on.

So where has all this thought taken me? Firstly, it has brought me back to the blog with a renewed level of commitment and enthusiasm. Secondly, it has made me aware that I need to change the way that I’ve been using Twitter and other online networks. Both of these directions forward leave me feeling liberated and refreshed. All that remains is for me to thank you dear reader, for indulging me as I’ve worked my way through this overly convoluted thought process. Hopefully I haven’t succeeded in boring you senseless, and if that’s the case I hope you shall return for another visit soon so that we can discuss something extremely important or something which may seem very insignificant in a meaningful way.

I know that online communications often encourage superficial, casual interactions and certainly the random, spontaneous engagements I’ve had with all manner of people I would not normally encounter has often been interesting, and sometimes more than just a little inspirational. However, if I’m to be true to myself (and that’s probably a very good thing to be), I have to admit that developing casual relationships with an ever-growing number of acquaintances is not really my style. That is a philosophy which holds true to both my real life and online self, but perhaps a philosophy that I have not been applying all that consistently.

I would much prefer to have a meaningful conversation with three people with whom I share common interests or a common standing, rather than a meaningless or frustrating conversation with two hundred people who I share little or nothing in common with. The rule of quality over quantity definitely applies, and perhaps becomes even more relevant to me as each year passes by.

I thoroughly enjoy the thoughts, laughter, feelings and words that I’ve shared over the years with readers of this blog both here and in your own virtual homes – and this is something that I will continue to cherish in the years to come as something very special.

Twitter has also been a really fun and fascinating environment which has allowed me to meet another bunch of truly wonderful people. However, somewhere along the way a nagging thought has been slowly and steadily growing, a feeling that as I follow more and more people, and have more and more people follow me that I’m losing my ability to talk in a meaningful way with those people with whom I share a real connection. I feel that I’ve been gradually diluting myself and my attention – spreading myself too thin, until I reached a point where all my communications felt like they may have become meaningless. This is not who I am, and certainly not who I want to seem to be online.

‘The answer is fewer clients. Less dancing. More truth. We must crack open the tightly clenched fist of commerce and give a little back for the greater good. Eventually revenues will be the same, and that goodness will be infectious. We will have taken our number oneness and turned it into something greater. And eventually smaller will become bigger, in every way, and especially in our hearts.

Let us be honest with ourselves.

Let us be honest with them.

Forget the dance. Focus…’

It would probably be much easier to just insert the entire mission statement here and have those words much more eloquently communicate exactly what it is that I am struggling to express. I suppose what I am really trying to say is that I want something more than just to collect more and more followers, friends or acquaintances. I want to have something deeper than simply having a huge number of people to virtually interact with or to feel validated about the person that I am by ‘talking at’ or being ‘listened’ to by a huge number of people. The reality of the situation is that the vast majority of these people are probably not listening to me and will probably never be interested in engaging with me in any personal way. I’m not wishing this to sound like a complaint or a plea for attention, simply to say that people develop online relationships in different ways and with different purposes. What works for one person will not necessarily work for me.

I also don’t want this to sound all serious, doom-and-gloom, and overly-analytical. It’s not as if I want every conversation to be deep and meaningful, all I hope for is that the interactions I have with people online are able to be more personal than impersonal. Recently I’ve felt that I’ve muddied the waters of my followers with people that I follow simply for the sake of following rather than with the intent of pursuing interesting or meaningful conversation. This has meant that I’ve no doubt missed out on many opportunities to better engage with those people that I want to know more of or share more with. My Twitter feed had become too voluminous and too unmanageable, so I found that rather than catching up with what people were up to and what they were thinking I was having to just scroll over the surface and give their words nothing more than a cursory glance. And that brings me to the subject of another thought that I’ve been reflecting on – the expectation, or rather, the pressure to be predictable and one-dimensional in an online world.

I used to worry about my lack of a consistent theme or subject on my blog, as many people will tell you that it is important for readers to be able to ‘expect the expected’. Perhaps my absences from the blog from time to time can be blamed to some degree on this concern that my words are too random and the things I write about are too unrelated to any one central idea. I have slowly come to realise that I do in fact have a theme on QuietPaws – a theme of whatever interests me at any given time. Sometimes I want to reflect on my place in the world, sometimes I want to talk about movies or books that I’ve enjoyed, other times it feels like enough to just share a photograph. I aim for consistency in my inconsistency.

However this tendency towards broad interests has caused me some regret. For instance, I met some fantastically talented writers and artists on Twitter who I really enjoyed talking to, but pretty soon I think they discovered that I do not (and cannot) just tweet beautiful words about the world around me. I indulge in all other kinds of conversations with myself and with others about all manner of fripperies, trivialities and passing distractions. And so for this reason or perhaps for a whole host of reasons they chose to unfollow me. I was sad to lose these people as followers and subsequently became a little self-conscious about what I was tweeting about. I’ve since come to the realisation that much as I would like to be a certain kind of person with a certain kind of narrow focus, the reality is that I am not. There is too much in this world that holds my interest to limit my verbal and written communications to a select one or two topics of conversation.

Perhaps you’d like further examples, perhaps not. For those that are interested in what I mean or who I am, here is a brief introduction to my multi-dimensional self:

I like to write. I like to read. I like animals of all kinds. I don’t eat meat. I like shopping for pretty things. I like buying books. I like wearing dresses. I like the fashion of the 1920s, 1950s and 1960s. I like The Beatles. My favourite Beatles member alternates between John Lennon and George Harrison. I would like to know what the world would be like with John Lennon still in it. I like new music and old music. I like the charm of Robbie Williams. I like to have a clean home, but accept that my home may not always be tidy. I like plants. I like shoes. I’d like to own more pairs of high heels but worry that I can’t walk all that well in them. I like the sound that typewriters make, especially if each key requires a bit of pressure to reach the paper. I have started to buy fewer CDs and more digital music. I like rabbits and woodland creatures. I seem to be building a collection of small white animal statues. I find wolves appealing in some way (not in a tacky, mystical way). I love the way that art challenges me, moves me, and connects with me. I would love to have a well-worn French accent by the time I’m fifty. The thought of getting older terrifies me. I’d like to be less materialistic and more minimalistic, but seem to be losing the battle at present. Medical problems related to the nose and teeth tend to freak me out. I cry when I laugh, which can be embarrassing and frustrating (especially if I’m wearing makeup). I don’t wear makeup all that often, but would like to wear it more often. I think that Anjelica Huston is incredibly beautiful. The first book I read cover-to-cover in one sitting was Pinquo by Colin Thiele (and I cried, a lot). I like to wave hello to horses. I would love someone to sponsor me to travel the world and be inspired. I like secondhand furniture with character. I can’t stand to see people litter or be cruel to other living things in any way. I have recycled for many years. I think if I was to be an alien, I would most likely be an empath. I struggle to contain my emotion if I see someone else is upset – if they cry, I’ll probably cry too. I often feel that maybe I’m too emotional or too soft. Other times I feel I should share my emotions more. I like the sound of rain falling on a corrugated iron roof. I like being fit and love to run, but I really should run more often. I used to love getting home from school to a freshly baked chocolate cake. I like to change my hairstyles quite often. I never feel like I get enough sleep. I think Emma Thompson is amazingly talented. I like some tattoos, but not others. I would like to make a difference in the world. I think my husband is amazing but may not tell him that often enough. I love the writing of Paul Auster, Truman Capote, Joan Didion and the words of Carson McCullers in The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. I can obsess over something for ages, and then when that particular opportunity presents itself I can lose interest. I find Nicolas Cage’s new teeth incredibly distracting. I haven’t quite made up my mind about how I feel about writer’s festivals. Sometimes I get really angry. I like the way that grass feels underfoot. If I don’t care about what I’m doing, I disengage completely. I would like to live somewhere cold, particularly if I could escape the 9 to 5 day job. I like to read philosophy, but feel like I need to dedicate more time to it to really think and understand it. When I was young I thought I might grow up to be either a ballerina or a veterinarian…and so on.

All that remains is for me to thank you dear reader, for indulging me as I’ve worked my way through this overly convoluted thought process. Hopefully I haven’t succeeded in boring you senseless, and if that’s the case I hope you shall return for another visit soon so that we can discuss something extremely important or something which may seem very insignificant in a meaningful way.

Good blooms come to those who wait.

tracey — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:30:21 +0000

First came the lovely green buds.

Second came the beautiful white tulips.

Here now finally is my proudest achievement as a gardener to date…the stunning purple blooms have arrived!

As glorious as they appear to be here, I have to admit they are even lovelier in person…

A poem! A poem! My kingdom for a poem!

tracey — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 00:05:45 +0000

There are so many beautiful things in this world to appreciate. High on this list are the extraordinarily talented people creating absolutely wonderful things with their hands, hearts and heads.

Poetry is something I adore. I love the different ways in which poems can speak to us – some remind us of our own experiences, others challenge our narrow view of the world, and still more again can simply astound with their pleasant pattern and rhythm of words.

Kylie Johnson is a Brisbane creative who applies her varied poetic and artistic talents to beautiful ceramics (including ornaments, jewellery, tags and labels), art prints, pencils and many written words. A common theme which runs through many of her pieces is a respect for the beauty of words, which could otherwise be described as poetry.

I recently indulged my love of both poetry and art by purchasing two limited edition Kylie Johnson prints which feature her beautiful words. The print above is entitled ‘Layers’. I also picked up a print of ‘Our Home‘ which is just as lovely. Even though the print above is currently looking a little Laura Palmer (ie. still wrapped in plastic), I hope you are still able to enjoy…

Bill Callahan … a musical soulmate

tracey — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:30:16 +0000

Some people you just love forever and ever.

For me one of those people is Bill Callahan – an amazing artist of the musical variety. While I’ve never met the man himself, I have loved his musical creations since the very first moment I heard his wonderful voice. I remember that moment clearly… It was a crazy hot summer day, I had just arrived at my destination after a seriously long drive in a non-airconditioned car. Just as I was about to exit the vehicle, a song came onto the radio which persuaded me to linger a little longer despite the heat of the car. I was transfixed – that song was Our Anniversary.

Bill Callahan (who has also performed as Smog) released a new album a few months back (Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle), and my recent music buying laziness has meant that I’ve only just this week purchased a copy.

Not that you’re supposed to judge a book (or an album) by its cover or anything so shallow – but just look at this one (the slight overexposure of the picture, the horses, the font … it’s just all so lovely, lovely). Just as I had hoped and expected this album doesn’t disappoint. In some ways this album is a more sophisticated and layered album than earlier efforts, but it still manages to share this ‘bigger’ sound in a very simplistic way.

I have a feeling that to really appreciate Callahan’s musical appeal you may have to be a little older, a little wiser, or perhaps simply to have ‘lived some life’. There is such intimate beauty to be found in the imperfection of his voice, and much emotional significance to savour within and between his poetic words. Perhaps you will fall in love too?