Home again! (And What I Learned From Travelling)

Well I've been home in Brisbane for a little over two weeks now and this photo shows one of the best things about being here. Little Mia seemed to enjoy her holiday at the "Cottages" but there's no place like home.

It's taken a while for the fact that I'm back home to really sink in and I haven't actually re-established a routine yet. This has been intentional because I can easily feel quite pressured by routines, and I really noticed the difference while I was away.

This trip was long enough and varied enough that it allowed me to see more clearly some of the things that work for me, and some that aren't so helpful. I don't just mean in regard to travelling. Of course, I had a great time while I was away, but for us, its not just about being on holiday or having a break from work/the routine. It's a bit more complex than that and in some ways, it's amazing we can manage travel at all, let alone find ways that work better for us than in our everyday.

I've been thinking that there must be some lessons I can take from these trips and apply to how my days are organised back here in Brisbane.

Some of the differences that seemed positive:

• very few commitments set for particular days: this allowed me to do what felt most inspiring on the day. Also, I was much more aware of choosing what fitted with the energy I had, rather than feeling as if I had to do something and pushing on, regardless of how I was feeling.

• getting out of the house almost every day of the week: I guess it's obvious why this is good for me, but here at home I can go days without leaving the house. I become so fixated on getting some artwork done that I always choose the option of staying in.

• more social contact: yes! even in a country where I barely speak the language or know a soul. The question of social contact is a tricky one for me, on a few levels. Firstly, I do like quite a lot of solitude, but I also really need enough social contact. When I've done those personality tests, I always sit exactly 50/50 introvert/extrovert. Since being sick I've especially found that socializing can be very tiring, but nevertheless, I really need it.

• surroundings that I found incredibly inspiring: I really noticed the difference when it came to reviewing my photographs. I always enjoy taking photographs, but the end results never feel as satisfying to me as when I've made some other sort of artwork. For the first time on this trip, I felt a number of my photographs (especially with my new camera) were quite exciting and expressive, and I'm planning on taking them further.

• limiting my activity to about 3 hours each day: This really relates to the question of pacing and is something that is really key with ME (as it's now officially known in Australia, not CFS). For some time I've known that 3 hours of "active" activity* is my limit, if I don't want to overdo things and find myself unable to do much of anything at all for a day or two after. It's not a bad length of time, but it is very easy to stay longer. While I was away, because I was very motivated to be well for as many days as possible so I could do and see as much as possible, I became pretty disciplined about sticking to this. I think it was also made easier by the fact that I wasn't trying to match the energy of healthy friends, or not to let anybody down by leaving early. 

And over all I was able to be much more active, and I saw and did so much! 

My studio looking towards the window

So now I'm back home and I am champing at the bit to get into the studio and have some creative fun with all the great inspiration I've absorbed, BUT I don't want to isolate myself too much. Somehow I want to find a balance between doing enough creative work to feel satisfied, achieving some goals, and still getting enough of all those other good things that I discovered make me happy. It's going to be tricky, but the good thing is that I do have the freedom to make adjustments as I see fit. I just need to stay aware enough to see what is needed. Wish me luck!

Studio: looking back the other way

*By active activity, I mean something that I have to engage with - intellectually and emotionally (not physically of course) in contrast to passive activity - like watching TV or surfing (the internet, that is!)

Amanda's Amblings #5

listen to ‘Amanda's Amblings #5: Early tunnel books’ on Audioboo

 In the podcast today I talk about some early tunnel books I saw but I wasn't able to take any photos. Luckily I have been able to find some links to sites with photos and some with further information, in case you are interested in finding out more.

You can see The Thames Tunnel and Crystal Palace Peepshow, both of which I saw, at The Allegro Movable Book Collection (amazingly located in Australia!!) Just scroll down the page a little and you will see them.

There was an exhibition of children's pop-up books earlier this year at the University of Washington and they have some pictures of early German tunnel books by Martin Engelbrecht on their site. Again you need to scroll down, this time about half way down the page.

Over at the Smithsonian website, there is a post about the restoration of another Engelbrecht tunnel book and finally, if you're very keen, this link will take you to Historical Highlight in Paper Engineering, which briefly explains how tunnel books fit into the development of books, printing etc.

And to finish off, while I'm on the subject of miniature worlds, I saw this tiny etching press in the window of a workshop up the street.

You can see it does work, there are some tiny plates and actual prints.

And here is the inking table.

The workshop seemed to be for metal fabrication, so I'm a little unsure why the press is wooden. The tiny musical instruments seem to be more in keeping, but anyway perhaps they would be a good source of aluminium off-cuts for any local etchers.

Amanda's Amblings #4: Beyond the Marais

All the photos in this post were taken with my iPhone as I haven't felt like carrying my larger camera with me. As a result they're a bit fuzzy at times! Naturally I blame all shortcomings on the equipment!! Actually I'm looking into getting a new camera...but more about that if it happens.

This week has been a big one: Monday and Thursday were spent at the bookbinding studio and I am progressing well with my first book and have the second underway.

On Tuesday I finally ventured over to the Left Bank (this refers to the southern side of the river Seine). I took my first bus trip in Paris rather than the Metro, and I am hooked. The reason? Well you can see things from the bus, which you can't underground on the Metro. This photo is looking down towards Saint Sulpice.

 I'm becoming addicted to photographing old walls.

Back on the Right Bank, I jumped off the bus here: Hotel de Ville (City Hall) and walked back home to the Marais. This is image is fairly heavily processed using the Iris app on my iPhone.

More of the above.

On Wednesday we celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary with a degustation menu at Le Bristol's 3 Michelin Hat restaurant. It wasn't really the sort of place where you could whip out the camera but by the last course the champers had done its work and I snuck the phone out to quickly snap this.

On Friday we headed to the Centre Pompidou, the National Museum for Modern Art, which is also in walking distance. They have 60,000+ of their works in their online catalogue. If you would like to take a look it's here.

View to the "you-know-what" taken from the top floor of the Centre Pompidou.

The restaurant at the Centre Pompidou.

I focussed on the display from the permanent collection, which was a chronological survey of modern art. This display rotates through works from their collection and I can't say I saw any of my long-standing favourites. Instead I was surprised to find that it was the room dedicated to work by Giacometti that caught my imagination. Above a sculpture, and below part of the wall from Giacometti's studio. Isn't it gorgeous?

It's a long week-end here now and the weather has hit the summery high-twenties. I've been taking it very quietly after the busy week, just enjoying the view from the bedroom window.


A bientot!

Amanda's Amblings #2

listen to ‘Amanda's Amblings Audio #2Sunday Street Parade’ on Audioboo

This post is all talk, vision and music.

 

Back soon with more.

Amanda's Amblings #1

 

listen to ‘Amanda's Amblings, Audio #1: A Spring Flea Market in the Marais’ on Audioboo

This is a view of one of the more eclectic stalls I saw today, and yes that does appear to be a life-size Egyptian sarcophagus of some sort (right in the centre of the photo).

This is the street in the Marais where we are staying. It's the same apartment we rented last year. The market today is just at the end of the street.

This is the staircase in our building. I love the worn stair treads, and near the front door there is another set of stairs leading down to a very creepy-looking (and musty smelling!) cellar. There is talk of these stairs being renovated, but I'm against it!

Here's a view inside our apartment. There's a separate bedroom and large windows that go almost to the floor. It was only renovated about 2 years ago, but the floorboards are original and beautiful (and extremely creaky, especially in the middle of the night).

This is the building across the road. Not sure if you can see, but it says "Public Hygeine Sociale". I'm not sure to what exactly that refers, but it sounds a bit unsavoury! Fortunately there's a gallery in there now and this sign:

which means of course, "The Love of Books", so I know I'm in the right place.

More soon.

Day 20: Speed

Well okay, the train from Sydney to Canberra doesn’t actually travel at this speed, but I wanted to emphasise the colours, which I think of as typical of that area of Australia.

Last one before the week-end, and then only two more days of photos to go! It’s been fun and interesting, and not as difficult to keep up as I thought.

Borthwnog Hall Photos

As promised in this post, a few photos of Borthwnog Hall and surrounds.

Mumbles

Once upon a time a girl from Australia ventured far from her homeland, to country known for its green valleys and its leeks. One clear, cool afternoon the girl went for a walk on her own, taking her camera. She had not gone 50 metres from her door when she spotted a beautiful wood, and the ground within the wood looked as if it was covered with snow.

As she drew closer, she could see that the “snow” was actually flowers. Entranced, she walked to the wood, pushed open the wooden gate and entered into a sublime wonderland.

The Australian girl had never seen such a thing, but she was curious about the strange smell in the wood. Savoury, earthy, not exactly pleasant, but not really unpleasant either. She could not identify the odour.

She followed the paths through the flowers, taking photos in every direction.

Then she spotted a path that climbed up the hill, and thinking she might find a place to take a better photo from there, she began to climb. Through the trees ahead she could see something…a dark, square-ish form. She couldn’t be sure what it was, but she had to investigate.

At the top of the climb, the path led away to the left and then curved out of sight. Her curiosity building, she began to walk quickly. And then it appeared….a castle.

Now this is a story with a moral. There was a freezing wind near the castle, so the girl took only a couple of photos and decided to return the next day, bringing her traveling companions. When she returned, she became engrossed in the view, and trying to take a good shot of Mumbles from the hill, the girl turned her ankle and fell over. She tore her brand new pants, bruised her left knee and sprained her right ankle. So the lesson from this story is…never mind the view….always look where you are going!

P.S. The strange smell came from the flowers which were garlic!