Working as a digital producer, I have a strange fascination with retro. For craftwork Friday I am going to make a pin hole camera, who knows how it will turn out. Will post the results on Saturday, the anticipation of how the photo will develop is something that is missing from digital photography.
If you want to try it out too, Corbis has more funky templates that you can download here, I’ve picked Pablo 
Three bags to St Vinnies later and the annual clear out of clothes, shoes and bags has finished. Have to admit I was slightly appalled at the amount I haven’t really worn/used or just bought on impulse.
But what about window shopping?
I’d like to only buy what I truly need this year and embrace the hidden frugalista in me. For virtual window shopping it will be Bluefly and French Sole (but will be resoling those ballet flats and probably ebaying or freecycling anything I haven’t worn last year).
Won’t it be boring?
For inspiration on styling my existing wardrobe, it will be Polyvore, an oddly names fashion site which enables you to play at being a stylist and create looks based on themes, seasons etc. without having to buy anything necessary. This was the very site used to style my work Christmas party outfit in a Mad Hatter goes vintage look.
Being a frugalista means quality not quantity, silk or cotton tops, leather shoes and bags, nothing man made or polyester. Seeing as I’m a Pisces, I should start my birthday wish-list to accommodate….well I didn’t say I was refusing gifts…….
Visited the Masterpieces from Paris exhibition in Canberra this week. Was well worth the three hour drive in 34 degree heat, ahh the sacrifices we make for a glimpse of a Van Gogh.
It was significant for me as I was lucky enough to visit Arles earlier this year and walk alongside the Rhone, the same riverside that inspired his painting entitled ‘Starry Night’.
My other favourites were the rooms of paintings by The Symbolists (The Nabis) Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Gustave Moreau and Odilon Redon.
‘Nabis’ meaning ‘Prophet’ in Arabic and Hebrew. Their back story as a group of avant garde artists was almost more intriguing than their art.
They were the precursors to the Surrealists (Dali and the like) and created paintings, posters, illustrations and theatre so were probably the fathers of ‘cross media’, perhaps if they were alive now they would be busy creating visual narratives on their mobiles, animating in 3D and playing with outdoor screens .
“La Guerre’ a painting by Henri Rousseau also caught my eye and for some reason I instantly thought of Picasso’s ‘La Guernica’, both illustrate the horror of war and I wonder whether one was inspired by the other. History repeats itself.
…learn the difference, start deleting and start spending time with those that matter.
Here’s the rest of the list of ‘things’ I learned during 2009, a crazy, funny, adventurous year ending the decade.
1. You are never to old to play on the swings, a seesaw or a slide, highly recommended when you have a lot of time on your hands and need to do something other than obsessively look for jobs!
2. Let go of what you think you want, and what you need will boomerang back at you.
3. Original thought is often found in books.
4. Think about your audience and what their style of communication is, pen and paper versus Powerpoint presentation versus a Word doc.
5. There is zen in sweeping leaves in the back garden.
6. Focusing on finding the ridiculous and the beautiful in every day no matter how mundane.
7. Realizing that I have been a regular blogger this year has given me a huge sense of achievement.
8. There is no such thing as ‘just the one cigarette‘.
9. It is possible to spend 2 weeks traveling the South of France without a car.
10. With hope you can survive anything.
11. You don’t need a Rooster for a Chicken to lay eggs.
Every word starts life free, floating about and bumping into one another pre-formed before becoming a slave to an author
Seth Godin has compiled a free ebook of ideas and inspiration from some brilliant thinkers including writer, Elizabeth Gilbert (her book Eat, Pray, Love guided me through the tail end of a miserable 2008!) as well as publisher, Tim O’Reilly and others.
Download the free ebook and pass on, free the words!
