Things I love

Ok, so in my last post I mentioned the importance of the small pleasures of life and then I went and illustrated it with fabulous photo's of Mt.Fuji (known as Fuji san in Japan - Mr Fuji), which is quite a big, fantastic pleasure really. So I decided to contemplate the things that make me smile in my daily life.

I love blossom against a blue sky, wild flowers, silhouettes and shadows of trees, Helens chocolate cake with a nice cup of Earl grey, bluebells and forget-me-nots, cats (especially ginger ones!), good manners, dancing in wild abandon round my living room, live music, playing my guitar and getting the flow of a piece just right, Daves giggle, good quality heavy watercolour paper-especially with handmade crinkly edges, watching a good movie, being given a good hug by a friend, smiling at people for no reason and having them smile back, kindness, sitting on a hill in solitude, warm air on my skin, vibrant colour, delicate hues.....

The list is just endless really and so I think I'll be doing more posts on things I love:D

The beauty of life

Thomas Moore wrote that "ritual maintains the world's holiness. As in a dream a small object may assume significance, so in a life that is animated by ritual there are no insignificant things."

I am coming to realise that art and music are the rituals of my daily life that keep me sane(ish) and that give depth to my life. It can be very difficult to live a creative life in a climate that doesn't seem to appreciate it but what the hell, I appreciate it! I appreciate that I'm able and willing to create a life for myself that is creative and beautiful and rich and that I can enjoy the small things in life which can be the most beautiful. 

The difficulties are part of that, if I had no difficulties how would I ever relate to anyone, we'd have nothing in common and I'd probably be insufferable.

I'm beginning to see the extent to which we do create our lives basically, and I want to create something good:D

I shall leave you with some photo's of the stunning flowers below Mt. Fuji (shibazakura) and one of the poppy field in kurihama where I used to live.

xxx

Japan I miss you!!

My time in Japan was a really wonderful experience. That's not to say it was always easy, sometimes it was a struggle being away from my family and friends and all the things I love about home. On the whole though, I have absolutely no regrets about my decision to go away for a year and I couldn't have chosen a better place. Everyone is so friendly and warm, there is virtually no street crime or intimidation and therefore as a girl travelling on her own it's a wonderful feeling to not have to worry about all that crap.

Of course it's also very beautiful and has managed to keep hold of many of it's traditions whilst fully embracing the future. I'm sure there are problems when you delve deeper, nowhere is Utopia (yet!) but I sure had a fabulous time and was blown away by the generosity and warmth I found there. I wholeheartedly recommend a year in Japan to anyone genuinely interested.

My next few posts are just going to be lot's of my photos I think, of friends made and missed and everything I found beautiful:D

xxx

I'm home!

Hello everyone, greetings from England:D

I 've been back a week now and I'm still adjusting, Japan to England is far more of a culture shock than England to Japan. To be fair the grey and rather wet weather hasn't helped matters much but still, the wonderfully warm welcome I've recieved from my friends has more than made up for it!

So far I've been catching up with people and getting as many hugs as I can:D

I've also been checking out galleries in Manchester as I'm determined to get an exhibition together inspired by my recent travels and adventures. There's a few galleries I've got my eye on but first I need to gather all my art stuff (currently scattered at various peoples houses) and work up some of the sketches I did whilst I was away.

There's a lot to do and I have so many photographs to share which I will upload on here over time.

Anyway, for now here are a few pics and a video of the wonderful Mose FanFan from my first weekend back in Manchester and Glossop xxx

Bangkok Pics

Bangkok can be wonderful and it can be very irritating, especially when it's hot and tuk-tuk drivers keep trying to rip you off. Anyway, it's last day in Bangkok today, back to Japan tomorrow, yay:) I'm really looking forward to being somwhere colder.

Anyway, here are some pics from the wonderful side of Bangkok.

xxx