“On voit la paille dans l’oeil de son voisin, mais pas la poutre dans le sien.”

image by Petrina Tinslay, from the f8 photo library

Which means? This:
“One sees the straw in the eye of its neighbour but not the beam in his own.”

Think long and hard about this. Loooooong and haaaard. (I hope you are getting my humour in my writing – it sometimes gets mistaken as offensive but that doesn’t seem to stop me).

I know I was going to try to do a pronunucation version for you so you could show off your French at the next dinner party, but this proverb is long and if you are anything like me, you’d be lucky to remember it let alone pronounce it correctly. But I do realise not everyone has the memory of a goldfish comme moi, so you Frenchies out there (yes that is you Mary-Laure), if you felt like adding a phonetical version of this proverb we would all be very appreciative!

And to copy-cat Bob Sherman, I’m adding one he sent to me in his Daily Dose yesterday, this one’s from Marky Mark (Twain, not the Funky Bunch)…

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”

This quote I should have tattooed on my forehead so that every time I look in the mirror I can kick myself for forgetting it, then perhaps I’d finally abide by it. Enough metaphors and innuendos, onto our interior fix for the day!

task at hand (part 2), by the extraordinarily talented Samantha Lamb, a great source of inspiration for My Heart Wanders.

While out in Amsterdam today it seemed every time I glanced down at my walking feet I saw a heart shaped splotch on the pavement. With all this heart talk, are my eyes now pin holed like Alyson’s photo technique, or do these hearts really exist? This reminds me of What the Bleep do We Know– the idea that we are not seeing everything that actually exists, are the hearts a part of it? It also reminds me of the last episode of my all-time favourite TV series Northern Exposure when Fleischman goes into the forest and is told that reality exists in between glances, that if you move your head quickly you may catch it. Well, that’s what I remember of that episode, I did watch it over 10 years ago and have no doubt forgotten the detail, but the essence of it I carry with me. Our wandering hearts project reminds me of all these wonderful ideas about life.

I’ve been perusing your flickr images, blogs and websites and am so inspired by your talent. I am beyond excited by the prospects of what we can actually create here. Something that has never been seen before, that is for sure.

I just mentioned Alyson’s heart shape technique over at unruly-things that she found, check it out, it’s very inspiring!

For those of you who have already found the heart shape you want to display, or have already made it or in the process of, keep in mind where you will display it for the final submission. I am getting the impression that some people think this will just be a collection of ‘found hearts’, but think about it more like an interiors book. Remember I gave references to “Where’s Wally?” (if you don’t know that book let me know and I will explain it further). So imagine your heart as Wally – your heart needs to be displayed in a setting, this is very important. I’ve also had a chance to have a sneak peak at some of your homes via your blogs, and I see some very beautiful spaces amongst you. Every home is beautiful in some way, even if you do not see that it resembles the latest magazine spread, it doesn’t have to, and most of you already have a natural eye for shooting a special corner of your home, or little vignette.

So the next step is, have a look at some of your favourite magazine spreads and interior books, and take a look at your inspiration boards too. Have a think about your favourite spaces in your home, however big or small the space is, and start thinking about where your wandering heart might fit in that space.

P.S. I have 2 stunning homes to reveal to you tomorrow, so be sure to stop by to get your interior fix! These will knock your socks off!

I love music. I love making it, listening to it, thinking about it and talking about it.

bonang from khairul’s flickr collection.

Mental Floss has an awesome post on 5 peculiar instruments from around the world which include two of my favourite instruments from ‘my own lands’: the bonang from Java, Indonesia and the Didgeridoo from Down Under. To listen, click here, it is truly inspiring.

Xavier Rudd from megremlin’s photostream

When I have my little soirée on Friday night to celebrate (or mourn) the last day of my roaring 20’s, I will be subjecting my guests to an all-Australian playlist, including music from the young fellow above. I’m a sucker for a bit of didge in a song and Xavier knows how to play that thing like I’ve never seen before.

And there is an incredible and extensive Didgeridoo gallery here in Amsterdam that sells the most beautiful didges, and if you ask nicely the gallery manager will serenade you with a sampling (click here for proof!) I will be heading in there this week to get my fix of didge as part of my celebration week. And I hope I am lucky enough to be greeted by the incredible Lies Beijerinck, Dutch Didge chick extraordinaire, her perfomance is mesmerizing.

So get your jivin’ shoes on and let’s rock this blogosphere!

Photograph by Warick Orme.

It has always been the most special of gifts to share my birthday week with you. Thanks for being a wonderful mother, friend, mentor and listener. Thousands of miles apart and still I feel you are right by my side. Happy Birthday Mum.

Allow me to set a scene for you: You are on a tight deadline and you are driving like a mad-woman picking up props from shops all over the city (one word: stress). You need to source things like moss, twigs, and branches and you are 3 hours away from the closest forest. Strange props? I’ve had stranger. You find yourself in the residential back streets of one of the plushest suburbs of Sydney as you are told there is a rather unique floral studio somewhere close by. You spot the name on a humble corner dwelling and screeching to a halt you park, lock and run in within your 5 second time frame. You open the door and as you close it behind you, your whole world changes. Yes, think Narnia: magic lingers in this very room.

Ducking and weaving in between exquisite spotted moss branches dangling from the ceiling like natural forest-found chandeliers, you don’t know where to look – up, down, around, behind… it is as though a forest grew right up out of the studio floor, you half expect to hear a fluttering fantail pop out and sing you a song. Each piece of flora in this studio has been handpicked by one incredible artist – Tracey Deep…

Images from Warick Orme Photography

Tracey is an aptly famed floral sculptor from Sydney, Australia. Her company, Floral Sculptures is based in Woollhara and her clients range from crazy people like me, to stars like Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe. She makes magnificent sculptures from seemingly ordinary pieces of twigs, branches, trunks, grass, moss… if you come across a tossed bit of dead bark chances are Tracey has made something you never dreamed from such a piece. When I first spotted her work it was at a joint exhibition with photographer Anson Smart, and just recently she launched another exhibition with Warick Orme . The exhibtion, entitled TRIBE was opened by the very talented Kylie Kwong.

In this exhibition, Tracey transforms industrial raw materials into harmonious works and in affect, transcends all boundaries. Her interwoven pieces reflect nature’s own beauty, turning harsh weathered objects into flowing translucent forms. As the press release perfectly describes, the pieces weave and flow like the patterns in nature -always changing.

Inspired by the fragile innocence of a seed, Tracey appreciates its raw beauty, using this fresh form to create a rare vision.

“My works reflect a poetic play of light and shade, luscious textures and sensual forms, inspired by the essence of nature.” – Tracey Deep

It is Tracey who inspired and in essence taught me to look at nature with a more imaginative eye, to be bolder with my floral choices when I style, and now this has become one of my trademarks – it is not unusual for my clients to see me drag an unusual branch from out of their very own backyard and place it inside their home. My boldest moment was when I carefully wrapped a 2 metre piece of exquisite lichen and moss covered fallen branch from my friend’s farm property in Eastern France and dragged it on the 4 hour train journey back to Paris for a home I was in the midst of styling. In the back of my mind I did wonder if Tracey might be just a little proud of me.

For more information on Tracey’s work or to place an order email her at floralsculptures@bigpond.com

P.S. in the voice of those commercials ‘don’t try this at home’, all branches I collect are strictly on my own or friend’s private properties which I have had permission to collect from, it is not advised to go rummaging through any national parks or wildlife sanctuaries as it disrupts the natural flooring, not to mention it is illegal. But by all means have a look on the grounds of your own backyard, you’ll be pleasantly surprised what beauty lurks there!

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Tracey’s studio can now be found at Studio GO1/59 Great Buckingham St, Redfern.2016