Category Archives: creativity

Flowers NOT Flags

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Flowers not flags!

We (some of us) respond to flowers with awe, wonder, appreciation, and love.

Our response to flags is mixed and full of preconceived ideas and misguided ideologies. Flags indoctrinate us with feelings of pride, hate, and unresolved tension.

Flowers ask for nothing.

Flags are human designed combinations of graphics and colours forged to represent national belonging and pride. But, also serves to alienate and divide us when we are not part of that team.

Flowers are natural and evolve from life forces that humanity fails to understand. Their textures, colours, shapes, and constant changes are infinite in their variety and beauty. We pick them, paint pictures of them, take photos of them, and put them in a vase, and still they continue to fill us with awe.

My Instagram feed is full of flags and hate and military postering. And then I see a photo of beautiful flowers and it takes me away from the constant flow of hatred.

One IG video is of the military postering parade in China. Men needing power with lots of metal and bombs and soldiers in perfect obeyance.

My next video is of a bunch of colourful flowers held by a woman in France, offerings from her garden.

This contrast sits heavily on my psyche. What does this precious Earth need now? More bombs, or more flowers?

I know that “flower power” cannot save us. It failed in the 1960’s; lost in a haze of mind-destroying drugs.

My attention though is a valuable thing, and I ask myself who do I wish to give my attention to?

Perhaps these: @sharonsantoni, @foxandwhimsyflowerfarm, @the_ark_garden, @rachelle_kearns, @thornbernie, @isa.paige, and others.

Don’t even think about putting a flower on your flag, because I won’t follow it!

As I write this these are the flowers in my house, and Spring has arrived here on the Mornington Peninsula and the fragrant native freesias have sprouted.

Pre-CAD Designer Me

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Lately I have been in my happy place: designing a home.

This has always been my favourite thing to do. As a child I would make house plans using the piles of grass on our lawn after my father had mown, then walk through the ‘rooms’ saying where things would be placed. Surely an early clue for my parents to foster and encourage this trait, but sadly this did not occur.

Graphic Communication at Secondary School fed this design urge. But instead of continuing down the path to become an Architect, I was detoured into qualifying as an Industrial Designer.

Back in the late 70’s and 80’s I was excited by the developments being made into sustainable and passive solar housing design. My thesis at tertiary level was on the topic of energy systems. Back then in 1980, the forecast was that coal and oil would be depleted by 2010.

During these tertiary studies I undertook an elective subject of computer programming as I could clearly see how the Graphic User Interface would open up a new world for designers. But this was way too early for the Computer Aided Design we see commonly used now. I was born too soon.

In later years as a mother with young children and working in another line of work altogether, I enrolled in a Building Construction course. I was the only female in a room full of young male tradies. I passed well enough and learned a lot, but CAD was still not being taught at this level. This was the early 1990’s. (Back in the 1980’s, when I had my children, women had to resign from their job when they became pregnant. There was no such thing as maternity leave or government assisted child-care. Maybe in some fields of work this was emerging, but not the male-dominated field of housing design and development.)

Despite this education, I have successfully designed four houses in partnership with Mick for our own family.

Swans Way 1989

Highfield Road 2002

Norfolk Place 2010

Sherwood Road 2015

These were always designed and built within our very limited budget and financial means at the time. Consequently, they were always modest and simple. We incorporated the things we wanted and needed at the time, and eventually after years enjoying these spaces as a growing family determines, we sold them and moved on. We were not ‘flipping’ houses. We are not developers or wannabe developers. We are not faux interior designers, stylists or desperate ‘influencers’.

My interest in sustainable living remains and over the years I have admired the development of “Earth Ships”. This method was initiated by a US architect Michael Reynolds back in the 1970’s. It is great to see the practical efforts and applications by Australian Architect Martin Freney continue to develop and build earthships here in Australia.

But personally, we have always lived in suburbia and are bound by the bureaucracies that bind us. Currently we have solar panels on our roof and a tank to gather rainwater for toilet flushing, and we will install these systems again in the new house.

So, we have a new project underway. We had been looking. I created a list of ideas for what we wanted – a vision board. And the very next day we had ‘manifested’ the property in the area we sought. Our wishlist formed the brief to the designer.

We have been looking at display homes, looking at materials, visiting showrooms, seeing what is being promoted online. It amuses us how curves, arches, and ribbed panels are back in style. This is an echo of the 1950’s, and not a look we like. Some interior designers seem to think they are cutting edge, but we see this style as very daggy and not new or unique at all. All things come around in cycles it seems.

So, while I used a drafting board and pens back when I was employed as a Designer, now using my graph paper, a pencil, ruler, and eraser, I have been plotting out designs for this block of land. This is what I love to do, and I envy the young designers who have their expert hands on CAD tools. The clients brief has some complexities that include a two-car garage as well as a parking spot for Mick’s small boat, while not sacrificing a nice street-facing façade of the building. The block is not big but fortunately flat (unlike our last project at Sherwood Road).

With Mick’s input and ideas, we have come full circle with our design plans, and we are up to Sketch Design Number 8B. Let’s see what our young CAD Designer has to say.

Dogs can meditate

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So, I finally built up the courage to go along to a local group meditation class.

I have meditated in a group situation before at a Sangha in Port Fairy that was excellent. So, I am no stranger to the practice.

But new to this session and the people, I go in and sit quietly, respecting the space and the reverence as others arrive.

The male guru sits at the head of the room, eyes closed, smiling, in silence, and I take my cue from him to settle.

Some regulars straggle in late and the female guru welcomes them in and apologises to everyone for the late start.

Then I hear the familiar sound of small irregular taps of dog nails on the wooden floor and I think to myself, “WTF!”

The woman comes in with her dog on a lead. I look up. She isn’t blind and doesn’t declare she needs an assistance dog.

The dog is a young lean dark energetic Kelpie. Why would any person think this kind of young dog will sit quietly for a whole meditation session?

The female guru asks the “group” if everyone is okay for the dog to sit in with the session. All affirm and nod. Is that really a “yes”, or are they succumbing to a gentle group bullying tactic? Or is the guru too cowardly to assert herself and set the boundaries for her own session?

Let’s just say that I am a “cat person”. So, I put up my hand and say, “No. I am fearful of dogs.” They don’t believe my quiet response and ask, “Oh, do you have allergies?” I say louder now, “I am fearful of dogs. Like some people are scared of spiders or snakes. For me it is dogs.”

The woman says she’ll have to take the dog home and will come back.

This session is off to a bad start for me. I feel like the leper of the group. As a lifelong introvert I didn’t want to stand out. I wanted to sit quietly and MEDITATE! All my former thoughts of melding harmoniously with this group of strangers now evaporate into incensed air.

What I don’t comprehend is the selfish, inconsiderate, audacity of the woman bringing a lively DOG into the session at all! As a regular she surely knows how meditation works: to sit still in silence.

It seems I wrongly assumed a meditation class was one of the last havens for cynophobics. Oh, I could rant on … but I will leave it there. I’ve paid for four sessions, so I’ll see how things go in my next session. Hopefully I can muster that loving kindness.

What trip?

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As our recent trip to the far side of the Earth fades into memory, I take stock of the few months since we’ve been back at home. The trip of a lifetime seems like a dream now. Did we go at all?

So, what have I been doing with myself for the few months since then?

Exercise

I’ve been tracking my walking using Strava just so that I know how far I go and how many steps I have taken. While I walk, I listen to podcasts: Rich Roll of course, and Bronwyn, the true crime mystery, among others.

I continue with my yoga routine at home, and I play Mahjong and learn French with Duo on my iPad to exercise my brain.

Visits

Baden Croft is an artist whose work I admire, and he had a recent exhibition at the Studio and Co. in Moorooduc. I love his big bold paintings thick with colours and it was great to see these up close.

Original artwork by Baden Croft

Lunch with friends is a treat and I’ve caught up with a few recently at Kirk’s in Mornington and the Wildflower Café in McCrae.

Watching our granddaughters and the local primary school children perform Christmas songs was lovely and we felt very proud to witness Lily confidently present the “Welcome to Country”.

We went along to a gorgeous family wedding at Noojee beside the Latrobe River on a hot sunny day, and then to the fun and happy reception at a family home in Drouin. It is always precious to catch up with extended family, especially our 80-year-old aunt.

Sue and Mick beside the Latrobe River, Noojee

Watching

Too much screen time applies to Grandmas too and I am guilty as usual. I’ve been watching Homeland on catchup TV, Survivor 47, Yellowstone, and vlogs and podcasts on YouTube: Isabel Paige, Valerie Lin, Nick and Mathilde, and Alex Ferrari to name a few.

Reading

I haven’t read many books this year and won’t reach my Goodreads target of 50, having only finished 27 so far.

I recently read The Color of Everything by Cory Richards after listening to a conversation between him and Rich Roll. I gave it five stars on Goodreads and found it exceptionally insightful and well written.

I am rereading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M Pirsig for about the fourth time. It is one of my all-time favourites.

I am also reading Nexus by Yuval Noah Harari, which is about Artificial Intelligence, something we all need to learn about. In fact, in preparing this blog post I tested the Microsoft Copilot function which was a real eye-opener but totally generic and boring to say the least.

I have a lot of books reserved at the local library, but the queues are long and inevitably they will arrive together, which is of little use to me.

Thinking

My mind is always searching for new things, and I’ve been thinking about art, creativity, inspiration, learning, and house design. I enjoyed making a vlog this year but can’t see that expanding into anything. I will continue to watch, like, appreciate, and enjoy the efforts of others who are making this into a positive lifestyle.

Planning ahead

We have been actively looking at potential prospects for a new house design project which is exciting.

I will set my reading target for 2025 at 50 again on Goodreads.

I plan to join a local meditation group and a local art group.

My own reading, study, writing, and art will continue and if anything of interest emerges, I will mention it here. I did enjoy the Armchair Travel exercises that I plotted out prior to our actual travel this year.

As a committed SiLLé learner I love expanding my knowledge and enjoy delving into things that interest me and are available online.

We have no big trips planned for 2025 at this stage, but you never know.

Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful 2025.

Grandma Can Vlog

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Riza has a perfect face for vlogging. Through her YouTube videos, Life of Riza, she documents her life in her twenties. She aims for cinematic quality in her stories. These biographical vignettes look simple but when you analyse the sequences you realise how clever she is with her camera work, lighting, video-editing, and finished vlog. Kudos to her and thank you Riza for your efforts.

Is Casey Neistat the Master of the Art of Vlogging? Or have I missed an earlier influencer in this field? He published a vlog every day, and after 800 days got that out of his system. But he still offers informative, action-packed, and authentic vlogs about his life in New York city. I love the way he carelessly throws down his boosted skateboard when he comes into his workspace.

I discovered these vloggers this way:

Previously I have been intrigued with the Aussie caravan travelers, although there are so many that I favour just a couple. My current favourite is the delightful couple of Brad and Hayley of Our Australia Trip. Having travelled Australia in recent years it is nice to revisit (through their experiences) the many places we went and know. I appreciate the movie making work that goes into making the videos for YouTube.

I then discovered belatedly Nick and Mathilde of Next Meridien Expedition. Now these two young French travelers are REAL adventurers, having embarked on a worldwide trip with their Land Rover Albo. They were already two years into their adventure when I stumbled across their YouTube channel. Now in Australia I really admire their positive attitude despite repeated major setbacks, such as needing to install a new engine in Geraldton Western Australia. And they did much of this hard work themselves!

Some others I favour for their quiet simple peaceful videos are The Cottage Fairy and Valerie Lin. The Cottage Fairy lives a quiet rural life but has recently had a baby and is understandably taking a break from her vlogging. Valerie Lin is a young artist, and her paintings are exceptionally beautiful. Her careful videos show her lovely creative process and techniques. She sells her prints online and this helps to sustain this lifestyle.

So as someone with a creative urge that persists into my senior years, I decided to have a go at creating a vlog. And I learnt a lot from going through the process:

  • Firstly, there is the idea in the minds eye. So, do you story-board it like Riza, or just dive in like Casey?
  • Then the action to record the moment. This might take one or many shots. What gets in the way; unexpected movements; sounds of traffic, or birds, TVs, or people; weather, something else?
  • Then there is the expected quality of the image. Do you need formal photography lessons to understand this better? Or will you just wing it? I did take photography lessons before we travelled Australia, but I’m not sure much sank in.
  • Cameras! Which camera to use? Smart phone? Proper DSLR? Special video camera with extra lenses? GoPro? Underwater camera? Drone? This all gets daunting and expensive. Then there are the sticks, props, tripods, clamps, etc.
  • Once you have taken the shots you need, then you must save, store, transfer, consider, delete, name, organise, and manage these files. Well as someone with a Masters Degree in Information Management and a solid knowledge of digital preservation, this little exercise is the easy part for me. You’ll need some kind of hard drive and connection for storage and transfer of the files.
  • Then you load the video clips into the editing software. But which software? There are so many available. The editing process is complex and takes a lot of time. But I suppose the more you do it the faster you become.
  • You’ll need some music to give atmosphere to the vlogs. Will you need to pay for downloads, royalties, permission, subscriptions? Probably, but there are still some free databases out there. Remember to always cite the creator and source.

So, I plunged in. As it was an experiment, I was not going to spend money on anything. I used my iphone, handheld, didn’t use music tracks, and used iMovie on my iPad to edit it. I uploaded the video to YouTube and shared it with some friends and family.

Grandma’s Winter Vlog 2024

Then I wondered why I had done this. ‘Why?’ is probably the first thing you should consider. Afterall who wants to see some old bird going about her boring daily life? It’s not something I feel I can expand on, so the one vlog might be it.

It was good to go through the process and learn about how this is done. These young vloggers and digital natives make it look so easy.

Being retired from paid employment means I have a lot of time to spend doing these things. I am a strong believer in the Self-initiated Lifelong Learning experience, and being SiLLé, a concept I labelled back in 2015, and it is a remedy for aging well. I am in constant need of a new project to get my mind into. When I was working, I had no time to spare and making vlogs was far from my busy mind.

Anyway, I will continue to enjoy the vlogs of others, liking, sharing, and subscribing to help sustain them in their chosen lifestyles.