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Remember day 240 with the random head out of the window at the art gallery? Well the last photo is exactly where that head was and what it was looking at - it was pretty high up! I didn't take many photos that day but I do like the ones I took.
Camera: Canon EOS 750
Film: Agfa Vista 200
Location: Birmingham, England
These first 4 photos were taken at the Mestrovic Gallery in Split, a gallery dedicated to the Croatian artist Ivan Mestrovic. I love art galleries and museums, we went to to as many as we could in Paris and we did the same in Croatia.
I hadn't heard of Mestrovic before we got to Split but we saw a lot of his work and I am officially converted to a Mestrovic fan. Although these works above are fairly serene, the rest of his work is so emotive, so delicate and precise, yet free flowing with such beautiful forms. The way he captured human expression through the entire body, not just the face, captured something in me and drew it to the front of my whole being and wouldn't let go.
The grief, the calm, the flow, in each sculpture, I felt it all. I am often moved by art - I cried when I finally saw The Weeping Woman by Picasso in person - but it wasn't just my emotions that stirred, it was my entirety, my soul, my identity, my awareness, whatever you want to call it... the fact that his work was new to me, the rawness of my emotions after such a long year - it all clicked together to provide one of the best gallery experiences I've had.
As part of the gallery ticket, you also got entry into the Ivan Mestovic Kastelet-Crikvine church just 200m down the road from the gallery... However, we completely missed it on the day we visited the gallery and walked straight passed it. I don't often feel like things happen for a reason, but I completely and utterly believe that if we'd have visited that church on that day, I wouldn't have seen it the same way that I did the next day.
I didn't take any photos inside the church, partly out of respect but also because I was so busy looking around, but I kind of wish I'd taken at least one, just to cling to that moment some more. I did get photos of the courtyard and see views though.
Inside and along every single wall of the church there are the most beautiful wood panels showing the story of the life of Jesus. Growing up in a predominantly Christian country, I of course knew the story, however what I'd never seen before, was the whole story told to me simply without words which didn't focus on one particular aspect or lesson.
Since returning to the UK, I've thought about that church a lot, not the religious aspect of it but the delicacy of the carvings, the expressions on the faces, the shine of the wood in the lovely light, the simplicity of the story and what I saw - the impact of one man's life on others, of how he inspired emotions and action within people (in any form) and more importantly, I saw what that story inspired within Ivan Mestrovic himself - love.
Cameras: Olympus OM-10 with Agfa Vista 200 Film
and Refurb LC-A with LOmo Xpro Chrome
Location: Split, Croatia
Last month, my blog friend Caitlin (who I first blogged about here featuring her amazing art) from Hue and Hum posted about accepting portrait orders and I jumped at the chance to have one of me with one of my cameras...
And here is the result. I just adore it. I love the yellow camera, all the stripes, the cute shoes and my usual outfit of a cardigan and jeans, woohoo!!
See more of Caitlin's portraits here, she is one seriously talented lady!!!
p.s. you might notice the original portrait that Caitlin has that I have an earring, I edited it out as I don't have my ears pierced... sorry Caitlin :)
When I was little, I was too cool for real friends and not cool enough for imaginary ones.
If books had counted as friends though, I would have been the most popular girl at school. I’m embarrassed to say that I used to spend weekends organizing my bookcase.
Yep, I was that nerdy.
My favorite books included: Sabriel by Garth Nix, The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey, Imogene’s Antlers by David Small, and The Princess Bride by William Goldman.
All those years of book friending and bookcase organizing must have rubbed off on me because I’ve just written my very own book!
How to Outsmart Tea Pirates (and other useful sailing tips)
contains a collection of my quirky pen and ink illustrations and my quirkier short stories. It’s the book I wish had been on my bookshelf when I was little, but better late than never!
My fellow English majors always thought I was the weird one to write about such things as wallpaper that eats end tables, pirates with sugar tongs for hands, and the Barracollossus (the fish that eats bad boys and girls – tricycles and all). But I love stuff like that and I know you do too! I believe that this book can rekindle your wonder and spark your imagination. It will have you laughing every story and wondering what would happen if the tales were real. Would you set sail with the tea pirates and subject prisoners to high tea with pinkies up before they walk the plank? Or would you sit in on the Court of the Gulls and help settle food disputes? If you’re young at heart or if you’d like to add another special book to your shelf, I know you’ll enjoy my very first book!
If you’d like to see a sneak peek chapter or hear an audio recording of a story,
you can find them HERE!
I’m having a very special pre-order until June 20th. I love when an author signs a book so I’m signing every pre-order copy. Plus, to make the book even more special, I’m including one extra, handwritten sailing tip! (Just in case you’re at sea with the book.)
I’d love to know what your favorite childhood books were!
All photos are mine unless stated otherwise. Please do not use any of my photos without asking for my permission.
I love getting comments and replying to them especially. If you leave a comment, check back in a few days and hopefully I should have replied.