Art changes people, people change the world

Just a few more art journal pages, and many more to come. I like the thought of them being safe here on my little blog in case of fire or whatever because they realy are very special to me. Some of them are easier read by clicking on them              

Love this little water colour garden plan from when i lived with mum still that i never quite finished. The colours arent so hypo in real life, my scanner just made them look brighter than they are. For the record i only finished about half of that to do list before i moved house!

The character 'Summer' in this little story was me, except i never had the combi. One day perhaps. (Yep I hate showering, I can always think of things id rather be doing with those few minutes every day!)

Ah my benny babe, i wrote this soon after we met and im happy to say its all still true

Theres just something about this page, it takes me back to that day at the beach with my toes in the water. The toe ring was a present that my cousin lil got me at markets i do believe. I still have it somewhere.

Yesterday i had a great day. In the morning i went to Mums and we went opp shopping, and i got some great finds! We had snitzels at the pub for lunch and went for a little wonder on a nearby beach.

In the afternoon i went to see my good friend Krystel who i hadnt seen in a long time.

It was so much fun to catch up after so long and see how much our lives have changed (houses, partners, kids etc)

Yet how much we're still exactly the same people, and still get along and laugh just like we used to all those years ago!

I loved remembering old times we had together, and telling each other 'that is just so you' when we said something that sounded just like our younger selves from back in the day:)

Yes we definately need to get together again soon. I didnt take a single photo so here are some old photos of us instead...

this sais* Me and Krystel on our favourite swings at the park.

The swings are one of my favourite places in the world because you get closer to the clouds, your hair goes everywhere and its a place that all of my friends love so it reminds me of them, even miff when she hasnt been their in years!

This is the two of us at a pond around the corner from Krystels aunties old house. We had so much fun at this place, finding tadpoles and getting nice and muddy and wet regularly with all our friends.

 Krystel has two gorgeous sons, these are photos i took of her oldest when he was little, i cant believe hes 6 now! Her other son is a cute curly haired 4 year old. Theyve grown so much since i saw them last

Oh and i mentioned to Krystel the other day that Benny and I are getting photos done at the end of the year by an amazing photographer in who is in Bute. (she does on location shoots, were getting ours done at port hughes beach, yippe!!:)
Her name is Valeska Wehr and here are links to her website and blog, check her out!

my smile (*** before the blog)

today while looking for an old photo i came across this little scrappy book i made while i was in high school and thought it was about time it had a place on my blog   

this sais *moments of pure bliss, taking a breath and swimming until your lungs could explode, feeling adrenilin

some photos of my friends, cousin, sister and I at the time

thes pyjamas pants were my old bohemian pants, i wore them rolled up in summer to the beach, over warmer pants in the winter.

 They went every where i went and i still have whats left of them (super thin faded fabric whith frayed legs and a split in the crotch!)

 I love them so much, I look at them and feel the pure joy of the memories they hold.

There will be more photos of them in other before the blog posts im sure.

Their origins- my cousinds Madi and Lil bought them for my aunty Helena (their mum)

 and then they were Madis, and then they were lils,

 and then they were mine and lils shared pants.  

Me and lil (yes one of us was probably wearing the pants!)

In photography class we were allowed to go down the street to take photos 'for projects'. Im so glad we always took extra photos. This is me up a tree at the park blowing bubbles

this sais * Im absolutely and totaly in love!!!

 (with)...

the beach!

Its my absolute favourite place because its outdoors, theres water and sand to play and create with, you can be there with friends or alone, i never get bored because theirs always somewhere to explore, or a spot to watch the water sooth me into deep thoughts.

Another school photography class 'out take' (these photos meamn far more to me than the ones we were supposed to take!) 

When i was younger i remember regularly dropping my school bag on the park grass on the walk to school to do a few cartwheels before continuing my journey. Because i could and it made me feel happy  

summer (before the blog)

(various snippets of writing from my 'bubble' journal, 2004/2005/2006is. Some bits are my original words, others i heard or read, i honestly dont remember whats what anymore)

(words below from aug 06)

"my goal at the moment is to do something to enjoy appreciate each day. I want to live in the moment and live consciously, put in effort, exercise, eat well, be fun, still, vibrant."

twirl like no-ones watching

These photos are the real me, the me i know i am.
I twirl when nobodies watching. I have done for as long as i can remember.
I do cartwheels on sand and walk in water, even when its painfully cold (you will know what i mean by 'painfully cold' if you try it. Your feet get slightly numb instantly and you really need to keep moving to make them happy again)


My hair has never been this long before (because I've always been to impulsive to grow it. Every time it grows i need a little change and cut it off again)
Its good for twirling.
I love it and hope i don't get impulsive any time soon. But i mite, really i cant say one way or the other.

I love light beaming through trees and open windows. Lately I've been spring cleaning for the fun of it and feeling inspired to decorate our home so that it feels light and new and fresh.

I love where i am right now. Today was a good day, a really good one. Not because of anything in particular that happened, but because of the way i saw it. Full of joy.

I am most excited about an up and coming camping trip. I love having something to look forward to.

(a jounnal entry i wrote on 26.6.06)
''I go swimming in winter because it makes me feel alive, spontanious, crazy. It makes me feel like i am me. Because when im not full of life I couldnt bring myself to be that cold, i just want to be i my comfort zone.Being out of my comfort zone is rewarding. Some of the greatest things happen to me when im out of my comfort zone."

happiness on paper

I AM HAPPY NOW!

HAPPINESS IS IN BEING- NOT HAVING

This is part of a page of dreams that i started early 2005 and add to when i feel inspiration

the fabric tied to the edges is little strips of my old favourite pyjamas which lil gave to me because they spent most of their life being borrowed by me anyway (that i litteraly wore to death!) they made me so happy because every time i wore them i thought of summers at the beach with lil and madi over the years, and the time i dived into cool blue water at the wallaroo beach, opened my eyes under water and felt so happy i never wanted to run out of air and have to surface. thats what salty water does to me! mum sais im a mermaid

my journal writing began when i was about 12. i dont write necissarily regularly, just when i need to and want to. they have been so necisary for me, so good for me because i am a quiet person. i keep a lot in my mind and find it hard to talk about things that matter to me sometimes. over time they have evolved. the first ones started as blue pen on lined paper, now my favourite is blank pages filled with paint and fabric and stamped and stapled.

here are my two current journals, i have all my others also. every time i read through a journal i feel like i get to know myself a little better. when i pic up a journal i think of all the great times inclosed in it. i think of a cool breeze blowing through opp shoped sheet curtains, my old rooms walls (two different rooms i had, got painted with murals of trees, swirls and song lyrics. im lucky to have parents that are laid back and were happy to let me be creative in whatever crazy way i thought up)

my heart feels huge and wide as though it fills a room and can hug the whole world when my thoughts leave my mind. heaviness is lifted from my shoulders. it is the same when i tell someone whats on my mind, have a heart to heart, but this is a way that works for me most. its taught me that people dont always need your 2cents worth as much as they need you to just listen.

its nice when i feel like my world is full of beauty and colours to run and dance through, and even nicer to have it drawn on paper so i can look at it and feel the feeling always

one of the things that i find hard to talk about is wanting to have a baby. possibly because ive been longing to have a baby since i can remember. i dont know why ive always felt wierd admitting this to people, perhaps because ive felt that i might be judged. perhaps its sensitive to me because i dont want to hear people say 'babies are a lot of responsibility', your too younge, etc, etc (you know, those obvious facts that any person would know yet people feel the need to say)

anyway the other day i was asked who i thought would have kids first out of me and my sister and i said vaguely 'oh i dont know, probably me i suppose'.

well actualy were planning to live together for 6 months and then start trying for a baby and weve already been here a month. im very excited.

one day i found a little kombi t-shirt with 'little dude' on it (what my dad has always called me) i took it home and showed it to benny. i left the room and then came back to see it hanging on on the lounge room wall. every day i smile at it, dreaming of days to come and the little family we will one day be

scrap book pages

my man beautiful helping me do the gardening. he doesnt realy luv it, just tollerates it for me, which kind of makes it nicer. had the best time out in the sunshine with him planting seedlings

me in the garden loving it a whole lot more!
eating good food at willunga markets

during juno

while i was watching juno, this is what i made. hopefully you can read the writing. mum bought a little box and out of it came 4500 words to stick all over everything!! they are my favourite thing ever!!
me and dad fishing (the best things in life arent things) and me and anneke at the beach last weekend (beautiful beach)

my benny babe (things i love about you) and our feet (may our feet dance, explore, live, love and be happy together)

what lil means to me***(before the blog)

(written by my cousin lil in my journal on my17th birthday)2.6.05-

What Karen means to me...

everything!

(written by me)

what lil means to me... everything x100000

No matter what or how i feel in life, when im with lil she has a way of keeping me occupied all the time, distracting me from any worries or sadness and helping me feel happy, care free, bohemian. We have an awesome time together doing everything because we'll do anything for eachother so few ideas go rejected!

When im with her i feel happy, confident, content being myself and i value myself as much as i value lil! She makes me feel like where the most important, coolest, funnest people in the world, which together we are. I feel sorry for anyone who doesnt have a lil in their lives.

This is because i know i wouldnt want to be if i didnt have her to lift me up when i need it. I wish she was here right now.