One of those things to remember

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

spring is an open road

Parno Graszt, Paszab, May 2002

Kalyi Jag – Luma Maj

Bregovic – Bubamara

Happy

spring light

mellifluous – what a perfect word

the last of blues

Some accidental stains on paper,
a fence painted blue, whereby
I found a bundle of wire, just like it still is here:
It became the first brooch I ever made.

"This is the first time I've done this, by the way"

The Zimmers: My Generation

weekend work

The normal routine, not unlike a few council setups I've seen on roadsides – three supervise, one thinks about starting work … and then there are the scheduled tea breaks at regular intervals.

PS.
This is what an other jeweller in Wisconsin does with her bird.

Ashley's world at night

I know someone who used to live here until only recently.
August 2009

elsewhere

PS.

Spotted on Collier Crescent:

A service van of some type, probably plumbing, with a company name
ALCATRAZ.

Their motto? You guessed it:
"Nobody Will Escape Our Quality Service"

! I, for one, will be a-lockin' my doors tonight.

Also, for the wonder of words, these and even better ones from www.anagramsite.com:

The Morse Code = Here Come Dots
Mother-in-law = Woman Hitler
The Titanic disaster = Death, it starts in ice
Clint Eastwood = Old West Action
A Domesticated Animal = Docile, as a Man Tamed it
The Meaning of Life = The fine game of nil

a global stream of yellow

four seasons in one day

Such a Melbourne anthem that.

Dads and clouds

Unlike in Australia, Fathers' Day in Finland falls onto the second Sunday of November, six months after Mothers' Day. (You don't want to party all the time, now do you, is the Finnish way of thinking. And while you're at it, please refrain from wearing bright colours at any time; singing is only allowed in minor keys at a slow tempo, and no laughing aloud, please, before the blood alcohol hits a certain level.)

But to commemorate this day anyway, here is how my Dad takes in the world. He steers his nearest and dearest up the highest mountain available : ) These are photos dad took a couple of days ago, at an alpine meadow on Chagerrug, Switzerland, close by where they nowadays live. There is my whole, much missed far away clan, high up a mountain, among the passing clouds, sitting on the edge of the world. Cheers xx.




Mum, Michele, Kaisli, Kukka-Maria, Pauli
photo: K. Kiuru, August 2009

Conversations between Latin American and European artists and jewellery makers

Interesting news from klimto2, an open blog where artists will work and discuss in teams, leading up to a contemporary jewellery symposium in Mexico City, April 2010. It is only just beginning, but there are already some interestingn photos there, and also makers' thoughts about belonging, one's "place", home, travelling and creating. Below is a message and introduction by Valeria Vallarta Siemelink, and the whole blog can be explored at http://www.grayareasymposium.org/blog

Welcome to Walking the Gray Area

"This is a blog where 40 artists and jewellery makers from Latin American and Europe carry out a dialogue about global mobility and contemporary jewellery. The dialogue will result in an exhibition to be presented in Mexico City, April 2010.

To know more on this project, read the introductory essay Take a Walk on the Gray Area. To see the project in action, click on the couple’s names at the right column of the blog to visit the couple’s individual dialogues. Visitors are fee to comment or make questions to the artists and moderator. All topics are open to respectful and responsible discussions.

Being this a global project, we are glad to see that this blog is being widely spread through the world. Please, let others know about us. And do not forget to click on our growing Cluster Map, at the bottom of the couples’ column on the right side of this page. You will be able to see where our visitors come from!

Enjoy!"

One way ticket

Saturday afternoon, kitchen, wet parrot.
Damage? Avian naughtiness? No … Just a way of saying that
apparently she, too, wants to visit the Gulf of Carpenteria.

More about air: Link to clouds there

And here, a fine article from the Cloud Appreciation Society

Taina

Taina
by Semmarit (Seminaarimäen Mieslaulajat)

Recurring elements in dreams 1: Air

trying to work at home

Trying to work at home.
Strange morning light.
The realisation that I am my own worst enemy (when the sun shines),
getting caught in light and shadow, wishing for some distant seas.

Later, I just lay there and plum blossoms fell on me, like tender snow,
and there was nothing I could think of.
Yet all the while I knew I should be
trying to work at home.

last day of winter, first day of spring

charred wallpaper, Ashley's house, Brunswick West
31 August 2009

Brunswick gold 3: Bob

Bob lost his leg in the war, but gained a wife when he married the beautiful cook at his post. They were married for fifty years, had two children, and two grandchildren, all grown up now. Since his wife passed away, Bob has been living in a hostel close to us. We sometimes chat when he's having a smoko on the street; Bob used to work in the printing industry too, as a newspaper typesetter. I've never known anyone who can memorise as many jokes and tell them in such fast succession – completely poker-faced!

compositions with human hands and tired birds

Diego the parrot likes to fall asleep like this,
especially on cooler nights.

constructions

shelter (sleep)

This is the work of my best friend and a beautiful artist, Amanda Verschuren.

She is "… interested in using the visual language of architecture to examine the nature of housing and accommodation. Construction materials and processes and their metaphorical meanings in relation to the themes of permanence and transience are key concerns."
(A.V. 2009)

More Amanda's sculpture/objects can be seen at
http://www.amandaverschuren.blogspot.com