I Love Summer

I'm really happy because its the first day of Summer...!


Looking forward to long hot sunny days, beautiful blue skies, day trips, long walks on the beach, ice-cream, wearing shorts and floral dresses, getting a suntan, catching up on some reading, doing some sewing, learning how to use my new camera, and lazy afternoons...!





Sorry I've been quiet lately as I've been really busy finishing my studies. I won't be posting as regularly from now until January 2010. I'm going to be having a bit of a break from my blog. In two weeks time, I'll be packing my suitcase and going to Sydney and Byron Bay for hols, then it will be the Christmas season!



However, I will be posting another artist's feature soon, as well as the next installment of my Real Living Series - no I haven't forgotten about it, just been a bit slack! You can find the first installment here. My blog will also be undergoing a makeover.



Hope you are all well and having a happy and productive week! :)

(Click on images for source)

Beautiful Birds in Paradise

Sibia

Vivid Niltava

Hello everyone, Hope you're all well this week! I've been exploring flickr lately, and its a real treasure trove filled with the most amazing photos. A little while ago, I came across the work of flickr member Sushyue Liao, Mirror Lake, from Taiwan, who is a talented photographer and bird aficionado. I would like to share some of his photos with you all today.

Yellow Tit

Yuhina

Black Browed Barbet

Male Blue Flycatcher feeding chicks

Wildlife and nature offer so much beauty and inspiration. Sushyue's photos of these cute and colourful birds among the flowers in Taiwan are just gorgeous. I love the colours, details and compositions. As you can see, I'm a big fan of the pink blossoms and red berries too. There must be many hours spent waiting in order to capture these images and it must require so much patience. But the brilliant results make it all worthwhile. And judging by the number of comments received, and flickr awards won by Sushyue Liao, many others think the same too! Hope you enjoy these photos as much as I do. If you have time, please visit Sushyue's flickr photostream to see more beautiful images.


(Images used with kind permission. Click on image to visit source).

The Wheels of Change and finding Balance

Dear All, things have been quiet around here as I've been really busy. Last week, I finished up at work, as I decided that I wanted to move on and explore new challenges, as well as continue with some further study. It was hard to let go, but there is much to look forward to. The fishbowl course run by Marisa Haedike also ended last week, and I complete my current studies in graphic design at the end of November.

I'd like to write about the fishbowl course before it gets a bit too late to do so. I blogged about the course previously here.

I painted this mandala a little while ago, called "Balance & Unity". I love the mandala as a means of personal expression, and as a symbol to represent, and connect to, positive and meaningful qualities & emotions. In the last class, Marisa spoke about the importance of achieving balance in our lives. We need to manage our time in order to give ourselves the opportunity & energy to be creative and productive, so we should eat and sleep properly, exercise, and stay focused in order to achieve our goals. And we should try not to get too distracted! I think its a challenge to maintain balance in one's life. And there are so many demands on our time.

Japanese print

I feel sad that the fishbowl course has now ended. I really enjoyed the class and Marisa created a very safe and supportive space for us to learn and share. Marisa shared her wisdom, her own experiences and guidance, and I looked forward to the weekly podcasts. The inspiration, encouragement, and support from Marisa and the fellow fishies was invaluable. I feel that I have been given a foundation, and knowledge that I can draw from, as I start to work towards my future plans.

So now we've been let out of the fishbowl to make our own way onward in our lives. Thank you so much Marisa and fellow fishies. I've enjoyed sharing part of the journey with you all and I miss this class! However, the wheels of change are turning and its the start of new beginnings. Its been a long road, but at the moment I feel excited, hopeful and happy about moving forward and attempting to live an authentic, creative life.



My workplace gave a me a beautiful bunch of flowers when I left and I thought I'd share it with you all here. The flowers are a gorgeous combination of bright orange roses with deep purple irises. Unfortunately the photos don't do it justice as it wasn't sunny in the kitchen when I took the photos, and I used my old camera. (I haven't learned to use my new camera yet). The colours are much more vibrant in real life!

Wishing all my readers a happy, productive, creative & balanced week, whatever you may be doing :)