In three days the installation of Bookish begins!  It's been a slow, steady and fairly relaxed journey so far, sprinkled with many adventures and distractions along the way.  Three days left to polish, potter, ponder and pack everything up, and five days to set the scene before the opening.
If you are able to make your way to Dubbo over the next three months, you are warmly invited to pop by the Western Plains Cultural Centre and check out the exhibitions.

​Mind maps are my go-to ritual for developing ideas.  A quick visual starting point for getting thoughts on paper and connecting dots.  I do one at the beginning and end of the year, each month, for planning adventures and for exploring creative themes and projects.
They help me to gain perspective, align and connect my thoughts and determine which direction I want to follow, as well as for summarising experiences.  I love the visual pathways they create and how they become art themselves. 

Mind maps are playful tools that you can experiment with. 
A few keywords can tell a story, make a pattern and connect ideas. 
The possibilities are endless!
​These examples explore themes, outline yearly and monthly goals, track challenges and summarise a road trip.  I have been mind mapping for so long that it is second nature!  If you fancy trying it out, get creative, colour code, try digital versions or even word clouds...there are a multitude of resources and inspiration out there to find.

On a different kind of mapping adventure, I clocked up some impressive numbers this week...how epic is that!

It's hard to pinpoint the moment when routines and habits become lost in the ether. A year has gone by, a year of presence in places and spaces, brimming with movement and activity which I have documented here and here. So I've managed to be present and absent simultaneously, guided by creative urges, my constant wander/wonder lust and varying degrees of desire with connectivity...well, at least the online kind. 
Roaming these amazing landscapes, being physically and mindfully present in the moment is always inspiring, despite any challenges along the way.
If I can use one word to sum up how I've been feeling recently, it is gratitude.
I am regularly flooded with the sensation of overwhelming gratefulness, an amazing sense of freedom and love of life. 
How incredible is that!
My road trip, camping and hiking adventures are filled with wide open skies, curious clouds and spectacular light shows, all of which feed my creative soul.  I always take a creative kit with me, sometimes minimal for ultra light ease, often overkill when car camping. I'm still learning that it's better to take certain things and perhaps not use them, than not take them and wish I had!
Plein air creating is a peaceful and pleasurable extension of the many photos taken and I've started using 365 days of creativity by Lorna Scobie, full of prompts and ideas that are helpful for experimenting with materials and techniques that I'm less familiar with.  Stitching and bookbinding are surprisingly portable forms of art that only require a few basic supplies to make simple projects.

Since January, I've made two interstate trips, explored around 10 national parks, walked many kilometres and did my first solo multi day hike, swam in picturesque rivers, waterholes and the sea, seen beautiful sunrises and sunsets, visited galleries and exhibitions, participated in fun workshops and met wonderful people, listening to audio books and playlists as the odometer approaches 600,000 kms!
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Like slow stitching, my pace is slow and steady.  I can move quickly when needed but I'd rather take my time, be safe and soak it all in...what a truly enriching and empowering experience and so much more to come!

In 2022, I was a recipient of a CASP grant through Orana Arts and Create NSW, which enabled me to embark on a community arts adventure and create a vessel for the community of Wellington in NSW.
Much like it's sister project, vessels of creative connection, the focus is on encouraging public participation and contribution, however, this vessel remains in one place and collects stories, in any shape or form, from the residents, all about their personal connection to place.

During regular visits, I explored Wellington and surrounds, mapping out my own personal journey and connection to place through the natural environment, research and by meeting and talking to locals. It was certainly a wonderful way to discover the town and gave me plenty of time to consider and reflect upon what place means to us individually and communally.

As the vessel slowly gathers stories, I can only hope and imagine the rich connections that will grow and piece together, a bit like a patchwork quilt!


Wherever you are in the world, what is your connection to place?
 
How would you describe where you live?

Let your senses guide you: looks like, smells like, tastes like, sounds like, feels like?
 
What are your favourite places?
 
What is the colourscape?
 
What natural elements stand out…native flora and fauna, symbols, totems?

How does it make you feel?
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What emotions does place evoke for you?
 
How did you arrive there?
 
If you gave a visitor a guided tour, what would it consist of?
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​​Singing the song of your soul...

The invitation this week is to think about how you can express the song of your soul. What wants to be created through you? What light, love and magic are you weaving, or wanting to weave into this world?

#the100dayproject #minibooks #100petitscarnets #metissagesdecoeur

42 days have already passed since the 100 day project began.
The last time I joined in was 2019 and I got about half way before slowing down...
I am using up my scraps and stash, making mini books for mini shelves and receptacles.
I’m finding it is a great way to use my resources too, perusing the pages of bookbinding books, testing projects, trying new bindings and experimenting.
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What project would you challenge yourself to do for 100 days?

Inundating...


Sometimes we feel overburdened, like we are drowning in work, activity, demands and expectations, so we are familiar with that sense of inundation.
However, not all of us have lived through the devastation of natural disaster. Incredibly, over the years, in different places, I have experienced a serious earthquake, lost a home and all of my possessions in a fire and dealt with the clean up after rising river floods.
Nature certainly reminds us that we are not the controllers of this world. It is a harsh reality, leading to introspection...

When have you felt inundated, literally or figuratively?
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WABI SABI...
There is something enticing about imperfection and though perfect symmetry exists in nature, it is ephemeral, transient.
I am drawn in by the traces of time,
the rustic passages of life,
the signs and stories,
the patterns of use and love,
we leave behind,
in our actions,
our makings,
our bodies
 
Looking around you from all angles,
find the magnificence in the flaws and
hidden poetry in the beautiful imperfections of your life.
Document it and share it with us.

​SLOW MOTION...
 
I am slow and steady by nature, so if I’ve been feeling like I’m in slow motion, then my default mode has shifted to snail pace! Even my creative interests have moved to slow stitching!  Though a part of me feels the pace needs shaking, there is something incredibly comfortable about this slow passing of time.
What is your default mode?  How many gears do you work on?  What do you think you would notice if you changed pace?

​ASEMIC WRITING...
 
It seems peculiar that we can create meaning through meaningless mark making and yet, that is what asemic writing does in fascinating ways.   Art is abundant in abstract meaning and often, the meaning is found in the action more so than the outcome. 
In my explorations of slow stitching, boro and calligraphy, I have discovered incredible examples of stitched and written asemic mark making.  In some respects, it reminds me of my childlike attempts to write like a grown up before I knew how… and now, we wish we could reproduce such free, uncontrolled work!
Grab some supplies, close your eyes and make some marks, imagine your own alphabet, make up a language or simply scribble with abandon… then translate it for us all to experience.
 

​“Ideally, a human life should be a constant pilgrimage of discovery. The most exciting discoveries happen at the frontiers. When you come to know something new, you come closer to yourself and the world. Discovery enlarges and refines your sensibility.”
— John O'Donohue
 
I’ve ruminated longer than usual on thoughts for the new year; however, one word has been persistent… pilgrimage.
There are things I need to do and though I’m not completely sure what they are, I know they are all forms of pilgrimage.
Be it creative, spiritual, mental, physical, or social, the above quote sums it up perfectly. 
So map out your journey, quest or personal legend…what does pilgrimage look like or mean for you?

P.s In April I'm doing a section of this walk...pilgrimage indeed!

Let's start another year of writing/creativity prompts with style...

Holidays are an extra excuse for piling up the books and I'm making the most of it!  Books provide me with an infinite supply of inspiration and learning! (also lots of distractions...)
Let us count the ways in which we can be bold!
Style, fashion, body adornment, choices, words, actions, being you...

I've always liked to mix things up and do things my own way.  Exploring and experimentation lead us to magical places...though it's not always easy.
Write about your boldness, you know you want to!

This is simple...make a list, write a piece, create a collage of things you love.  Browsing through this lovely coffee table book, reminded me of the simple pleasures of looking at things you love! 
Do you have a comfy nook filled with treasures?
Need inspiration?  Check out my Pinterest board below.

https://www.pinterest.com.au/amotisse/choses-que-jaime-bien/

I'm a huge fan of forest bathing and never do enough of it.  Fortunately, there are many ways to get a regular green fix without having to be in the middle of a forest.  Backyards are great, even windows with green views, and if you are desperate, just looking at pictures of trees and forests is soothing!

The Healing Power of Plants by Fran Bailey has inspired me to explore some indoor plant-scapes and this little marimo water garden dream plant caught my fancy! There are some lovely textured and mindful suggestions, with luck, suitable for a hopeful gardener like me!

What is your dream indoor plant-scape?  Perhaps there is already a jungle chez vous?


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Quite sometime ago, I was inspired to make quilts for my kids using their old favourite childhood t-shirts. It’s been an ongoing project that was finally delivered yesterday, as unique personalised Christmas gifts, that capture their youthful tastes.

The craft of patchwork has been around for a long time and emerged, I imagine, out of necessity before developing into an art of its own. There is much to be admired in patchwork; figuratively, metaphorically and aesthetically. I often feel like a patchwork...I keep adding more pieces to myself as time goes by.
What does/would your patchwork look like? Can you describe it or create it?

Artémis and Armand turn 19 next Sunday, so as I reflect on my own patchy self, I hope they will wrap themselves up in colourful childhood memories and begin to make new ones to add to their future selves.

You don’t have to be a linguist to appreciate the sound of a word, even if you don’t know it’s meaning. Some words have a certain feel in your mouth, the way they roll off the tongue, they just feel good.
My appreciation for words developed enormously while learning French and I enjoy discovering the origins and connections between languages.
I even have a Pinterest board dedicated to words https://pin.it/2zUJlmG
This lovely book has beautiful illustrations and interesting information about words and the world we live in.
What words are special to you? Do you know any untranslatable words?

Last night the rain rolled in and continues down pouring today.  After years of heat and drought it is wonderful…and weird, as water streams everywhere, puddles turning into ponds and creeks appear in unexpected places.  Will I be able to get through the road dip tomorrow?  Some roads are already closed.

Busy-ness is what best describes these blurry 3 months.
A 4-week lock-down moved right into 2 weeks of school holidays…which were filled with unexpected library shifts, online courses, creative activities, artistic collaborations, then back into term 4, which is now halfway through. It feels there has been barely space to breathe in between!

Around me, I notice I am not alone in feeling weary and fatigued.  Seasonal changes, weather, and the strain of pandemic anxiety over the last 18 months has worn us ragged around the edges, whether we realise it or not.  As December approaches, it’s almost eight months since I last saw family and friends on the coast.  The strange thing is that time is feeling slow and fast, and though things have been busy, I feel like I’m suspended in slow motion; doing, yet not doing, simultaneously…lets do the time warp again!

During this time, I have been…

• making book covers ready for binding, for the inSCRIBE project, a collaboration between Orana Arts and Writing NSW with five writers and artists, supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW.
• exploring sculptural embroidery with Meredith Woolnough and improving my draping skills
• There are now five Vessels of creative communication in the wilderness.  At last news they were floating around Coonabarabran, Dubbo, Canberra, Melbourne and Chicago.                        Follow their travels on Instagram ​www.instagram.com/vesselsofcreativeconnection/?hl=en and www.facebook.com/vesselsofcreativeconnection
• If you are looking for writing inspiration, I post monthly writing prompts on my blog and www.facebook.com/groups/Amotisse

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