I have a mind map on the wall with a BIG “Mahi To DO” in the middle and a whole lot of things around the outside to complete before I leave. Well not all before I leave but most before I leave. But I’m looking at it and thinking, that’s a lot of things around [...]
To be in awe like a child, satisfied with the simplest of things… Oh to be a child again, to remember freedom with no boundaries or limitations. To understand life in all it’s beauty and wonder… Excited in the present, no knowledge of past or future, just present… How to return to that place of [...]
Ahi Kaa – the hot embers glowing remind me of my ancestors crouched around a fire watching… sharing a story or two… Ahi Kaa – keeping the fires burning at home. Keeping the fire alive for whānau to come home to. Maintaining your intrinsic connection to the land and the environment and remembering that this [...]
Tuia i runga Tuia i raro Tuia i roto Tuia i waho Tui tui tuia I remember this waiata from ages ago at school! And like most Māori waiata we learnt in mainstream school (which was very few), I really didn’t know what any of them meant. So now when I recite these words, they [...]
I cast my mind back to Jan 1st 2011. FEAR. Fear was fully there and I remember sitting at my computer thinking, shall I push the button or shouldn’t I? I sat there for at least two hours. I remember it was late. All sorts of things going through my mind – people are not [...]
I love this rock but I didn’t really enjoy painting it to begin with because I was quite agitated. It’s another revived rock that I found in the garden, a rock I had started months, maybe years ago but never finished. So another green spiral underneath, another rock to be healed from another time and [...]
This is a pretty fired up rock! It contains all sorts of things – fed up, had enough, drive, passion, annoyed, over it, move on, get off your ass and do something, so you can’t be bothered, head down butt up, stop being lazy, get your a into g and do something about it, grow [...]
I was out in the back yard choosing my rock today and much to my delight, I found lots of little surprises! Well actually they’d been there all along, I just didn’t stop for long enough to notice them and really see what was there! I didn’t realise how many found treasures I had gathered [...]
I find a rock to paint, choose my paints from an old adidas shoe box, (damn you adidas and my adidas shoes I love so much!) I gather brushes, tray and water…a warm spot somewhere beckons and I paint… Paint my way over the rock, I feel the lines… when I first look at the [...]
Every day before school I would look forward to opening my lunchbox to see what was inside. There would always be a surprise in there, a delicious chocolate of some sorts (that was actually no surprise!) and kit kats were my favourite! I would savour the taste, eat around the edges first, then bite into [...]
I came to the end of another book today. The book is called “Seasick” by Alanna Mitchell – the hidden ecological crisis of the global ocean. It was a very real wake up call – if there is no ocean, life as we know it on planet earth will cease to exist. Water – wai [...]
Not often do I speak directly about the rock that I have painted, the photos that I have taken and my interpretation of them. Most times I allow them to speak for themselves. But today was different. I did my usual adventure outside to find a rock to paint and I went straight to the [...]
I got home today and sat thinking hmmmm what am I gonna do? Not like I haven’t got lots of things to do because I’ve got heaps to do and then Todd chimes in and says, “you can do whatever you want to!” And I thought, too right I can – I am in control, [...]
Colours of passion and fire and action and balance. I photographed this rock outside in between rains although the rain was ready to fall again as I took this – you can see by the drops… So what to talk about today… A longing to be home again, sometimes…memories of childhood eating chocolate everyday. Everyday [...]
Now and then, I ask myself, how do I do this? It’s nearly Sept and somedays I feel I don’t have anything to say and I’m doing stuff and then time to paint the rock…it’s part of my day now but when I look back over just the past week, I still can’t believe it [...]
I’ve been thinking heaps about what is happening in our world today – actually it’s probably no surprise to any of you who know me or to those of you who follow the rocks…not a day goes by where I am not thinking about what I can do to help heal our planet and people. [...]
Today I stumbled on lessons – more lessons and answers to questions… And then I found myself listening to more questions and words like imitation – imitating others, superficial, conforming, constraints, limitation inhibiting freedom to be self… So my notes to myself today again ask: who am I? What are the borders I am placing [...]
I’m sending a message today from my dear friend Ilka who is collecting 1001 Cranes for Japan. In her blog post on April 16th, she talks about creating paper cranes and sending them as a gesture of peace, prayer and heartfelt love for the people of Japan. I believe in collective consciousness to bring about [...]
I was given these two stones to paint while in Australia a couple of months ago and they’ve been sitting next to my rose quartz since I brought them home and today I was ready to paint them. The smaller stone is the smallest I’ve painted this year! It’s about 1.5cm. These stones are quite [...]
I am totally (totally!) convinced now that you can bring forth whatever you want in your life just through pure intention and trust. I’ve experienced intention in action over the past year in the most amazing ways, it has been a strong validation for me that anything is possible! Like a domino effect, one thing [...]
In my tiredness, I’m writing a post about my carbon footprint. I’m totally conscious of it, but how can I “give back” to the environment what I am taking from it as I fly to the other side of the world next month? There are little things that I’m doing already; the normal things that [...]
Does anyone else read the newspaper from right to left, from back to front? As I painted today’s rock (from right to left) I was reminded of my apparent dsylexia, getting words and things around the wrong way… It could perhaps have to do with the fact that I am left-handed why I paint from [...]
I sat to paint my rock today and I had all these thoughts in my mind about what it was going to be (actually I started with four rocks and called it four stones lol) and then all of that went out the window! And then once I had finished “one” rock, I thought oh [...]
Today’s rock and the three rocks before have all been very small rocks! I enjoy painting the small rocks, despite them sometimes being harder to paint! There is something about these tiny gems that is appealing… Perhaps it is because they can fall easily into a pocket to be kept cosy and warm or held [...]
Do not hold on to past grudges…unless you want them to hang on like leeches sucking the life out of you… They do not serve you in the present nor will they serve you into the future. Life is for living, enjoying every moment, let go of what is limiting and allow yourself to welcome [...]
Ross Bennett reminded me of an experience we had while I was living in Taranaki a few years back. I was working on a project with him and one day while delivering the final product to his house in Oakura, I ran out of petrol – big lol So I ended up on the side [...]
E iti noa ana na te aroha. Even though my gift is small, it is given with love. I went to the mailbox today and there tucked inside was a yellow parcel, addressed to me, from John Broomfield. I was excited to open it and I knew what it was – a book written by [...]
A smooth blue sheet behind a painted textured rock… Texture is bumpy and rough. It adds colour, excitement and a sense of satisfaction like you’ve worked hard all your life. I like smooth but there is something about a rough texture that makes you want to touch it and see what is there and where [...]
Our tamariki these days are so lucky. Many still have their grandparents on both sides and some even have great grandparents and great great grandparents! I only knew one of my grandparents and she passed away on my ninth birthday. But I have vivid memories of her that I will never forget. She used to [...]
We have a white picket fence at the front of our house. Wikipedia defines a picket fence as: a variety of fence that has been used mostly for domestic boundaries. Symbolically: a picket fence, ideally white, is seen by some as a symbol of the ideal middle-class suburban life… Hmmm… funny how a fence can [...]
Just before I wrote this I was having a look back through all the rocks I had painted, the photos I had taken and the stories I had written so far. It is Day 213 today, so I’ve looked back over the past 212 days and wow! I was pretty stunned by what I had [...]