test run

A test run of the succulent design block printed on a natural linen/cotton blend. Pics are in B&W but I did use black ink. I still have to work on removing some of those textural bits that pop up with lino printing although I kind of like what it adds here. When I see a whole lot of the succulent images together in black like this it reminds of how the Australian bush can look after a fire. Have to go rest now as still not feeling super great and it's very hot today. No fires though as far as I know.

succulent design in progress

The one good thing about having a 36 degree day is that you don't have to sit on your lino to warm it up and make it soft before cutting. In this heat is cuts like butter. I've been feeling a bit off colour but decided to start cutting this design today anyway. It's a pen and ink drawing based on some photos I've taken of succulent flowers. When I'm feeling up to it I plan on printing it onto some fabric. Somehow I don't think that's going to be tomorrow - it's forecast to be 37 degrees. A bit to warm for printing even when you're feeling 100%.

black & white

composition 1

composition 2

composition 3

composition 4

I need your help. I'm putting together a composition of my black & white photos to frame and place above our bed. I've made these 4 mock ups in photoshop (got to love photoshop for these little jobs :) to help me get an idea of what might work where. The idea is they'll be framed in frame-less glass frames. Our bedroom wall colour is approximately the colour of background pale green behind the photos. My question is do you have a preference for any particular composition? And if so why? Click on the image to see it much closer.

small is wonderful

Anyone who has ever lived in a super tiny space (think Japan or Hong Kong) will appreciate this ingenious architectural idea. Gary Chang designed and built a way to reconfigure his teeny tiny Hong Kong apartment into 24 different layouts by simply moving a series of sliding walls. The pic above shows my favourite room version. A hammock room is such a wonderful idea, don't you think? You can see more pics of Gary's apartment (there are 9 in total) here and read the full story here. Though very small, I'm pretty certain Gary's main floor plan is bigger than my apartment in Kyoto was (which measured 3 metres x 2 metres in total). What I would have done to have been able to convert it into all these fabulous living spaces! If you watched World's Greenest Homes on ABC last night you may have seen Gary's apartment. I have a love/hate relationship with this program because 90% of the houses they showcase are enormous with massive footprints - not green at all! So seeing Gary's little apartment on this show was like a breath of (green) fresh air.

a study in chillies

All picked from the garden this morning. There are plenty more to come from a couple of healthy looking chilli bushes we have happening. Crazy curly looking things, some of them.

The tomatoes are almost fully ripe. Amazingly one plant has 17 full size tomatoes on it! It's loaded down and has made it through the heat wave without too much damage.

We had a friend drop off some super sized plums from her tree last weekend and then another friend dropped by with apricots from her neighbours' tree. That same friend also gave us home made ice cream flavoured with cardamon and apricots from her garden. Delicious! It's a regular locally grown fruit bounty swapping session around here these days.

Ah summer...........

new thoughts, new intentions, new year

Hello twenty-ten!

I've been washing away the stresses of 2009 with delicious daily swims in the ocean and discovering the joys of pink (pink!) seaweed.

I think I'm ready for the year of the tiger. Are you?