Street. Find. Colour

This beautiful palette was found in a back street of Limassol, Cyprus.

The tiles were adorning an old store front, which had clearly been closed up, shut, for a long time.
A sad sight in general, but the wall tiles glowed, radiating a positivity which pulled me across the road.
There are colour conversations all around us, it is just there for us to see, hear, feel, and learn from.
Colour is a key part of our lives. It signals danger or a find. It triggers emotion and reaction. It is the stuff of life. 

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A beginning...

“Let every dawn of morning be to you as the beginning of life, and every setting sun be to you as its close.”

 John Ruskin, The Two Paths

There is something about early morning light that delights every time one is in it. That time of the day is still, and empty, but at the same time full of possibilities.

Early morning walk in Spring. Redfern Oval, Redfern, Sydney, Australia.

ChalkTalk = Play

Chalktalk: is the evidence of play. 
And play equates to inventiveness, idea generation, amusing oneself, being involved, enjoyment, creativity, solution creation, messing around, enjoying oneself.

Basically all things positive.
Go buy some chalk and draw something that does not make sense to anyone but yourself. 

JoyDay_The essentials we pack into our lives

A friend of mine, now gone to heaven, once said to me “you pack your issues in your suitcase”. I guess that is why they call it “baggage”. 

Our baggage can be filled with issues of a negative tilt, but it can also be full of the things that bring us joy.
The things that have define us from a positive aspect: the love, and comfort, and connection and memories that we have accumulated over our time travelling
through life on this moral coil.

A word association I played with for this article went like this.
SUITCASE: bag, travel, clothes, heavy, leather, wheels, lock, airport, school books, travel tag, full, movement, set, combination, open up, ownership, stuff (personal),
needed, required, useful, all I need, caring, pulling, holding, keep close, essentials.

CHERISHED: toys, pets, soft, old, comfort, attached, kisses, hugs, needed, all I need, keep close,
full of love, full, holding, carrying, essentials.

So it seems to me that the key word is 'essential'. 

Reflect on what is essential to you and you will find that its the things that bring you JOY.
JoyDay, every 25th November, every year...

A colour of harmony

A ubiquitous colour in interior design and home wares of the 1960s, orange is a colour that

divides the world, ironically as it is the symbolic colour of unity and harmony.

You can find all things orange at your local op shop or market.

Invite orange into your every day. You will be happier for it.

Dark light

There is something about a chandelier hanging above one’s head, filling the space or a room with a statement of “I am here.” 

Usually crystal, they were first designed to maximise the candle light that flicker and brighten the extraordinary rooms and spaces of the privileged. 

They still posses that notion of ‘de lux’, which is interesting as the word ‘lux’ is Latin for light.

There in a darkened room full of chandeliers that glowed green, they did not emit any light or golden glow. 

It was the UV light engaged that generated this strange, otherworldly effect. 

The feeling was that they almost sucked what little light there was into themselves.

There was and is something challenging and beautiful about this moment.

Bees are vanishing

Bees are vanishing.

These industrious creatures that bring us almost one out of every three bites of our food are collapsing in a rain of toxic pesticides.

We need bees for the stability of our food supply.

Bees are responsible for pollinating 70 out of the world’s top 100 food crops.

The EU has already banned neonicotinoids because of their danger to bees. 

In high doses neonicotinoids cause swift death by paralysis.

But multiple peer-reviewed studies show that exposure to a low dose can harm bees’ critical navigation, memory and motor functions.

The EPA of Australia and America must act wisely and suspend these dangerous chemicals being used entirely.

Don’t just wring your hands, shake your head and say “There is nothing I can do about this.”

There is something...write to the EPA.

Tell them how worried you are about this terrible situation. How insanely short-sighted the drug companies are being in developing these toxic sprays.

Use your voice and express your concerns. Exercise your right to make a statement about this.

The only way for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing. Do something because it is the eleventh hour for our dear bees.

The Colours of Athens: No.3 Wine and Basil

A staircase leading down into a swirl of sounds and smells is too intriguing to walk past.
The sweet and unmistakable scent of basil is the first of many aromas to wash over the diner as they enter into a world almost completely gone from the streets and neighbourhoods of Athens.
The basement space is filled with very old large wooden wine barrels full of white wine (lefko), tables, chairs, diners, plates of honest, old school Greek food,
and metal karafes which are placed on small disks of ice to help the wine cool down.

The colours of terracotta and green, are popping out of this whitewashed space which only sees a suggestion of direct sunlight. It is a blissful situation.

Wallism_Athenian Phoenix

Beautiful homes and buildings in inner city Athens are crumbling due to neglect and hard times. But this sad situation is the bringer of an opportunity by giving young artists a strong visual presence.  

These buildings are being reinvented and turned into canvases upon which wonderful, playful imagery is placed. 

A statement of renaissance and defiance driven by the artists of Athens which ensures this eternal city maintains contemporary relevance.

Nicks and Nacks @ NookVintage

Another outing in Melbourne brought yet more discoveries for shiftazine.

This time it was the warehouse of Nook Vintage in North Fitzroy.

A great owner, with a smile, a laugh and a great eye.

The following copy was found on the Nook Vintage website. They can tell you about themselves better than we can.

"A vintage store named Nook Vintage opened at 258 Johnston St Fitzroy in January 2010,
right opposite Dimmneys. 
It has a vast range of delights from vintage clothing to industrial homewares and accessories.
Always call if you have any queries on a stock item as they are happy to hold if the store is closed.

The owner’s mobile is 0417187196. The Warehouse at the rear 304-308 Queens Pde, 

now open weekends 11-4 or by advanced appointment only. 
Enter laneway on Michael St North Fitzroy.

Follow Nook Vintage on Facebook and Instagram.

They BUY SELL and HIRE."

Phone: 0417 187 196 Opening Hours: Monday – Tuesday: 12 – 5pm Wednesday – Saturday: 11 – 6pm Sunday: 12 – 5pm

Nook Blogspot   nook.vintage@gmail.com

Rome : PMS 1355, 197, 1365, 199, 158, 157, 137, 142, 143, 128, 130.

The golden and eternal city. The beautiful metropolis.

An extensive colour audit of the ancient town of Roma resulted in the selection of  pantone colours, and they are:

1355, 197, 1365, 199, 158, 157, 137, 142, 143, 128, 130. 

Roma: The movement of the continuous life and energy
blurs the edges of everything.

One time bleeds into another.

One space or and shape blends
lends support, foundation for the next.

Sun, terracotta and blue skies.Layered in
time and aperture;

for which thing;
season;
space is

definitive of Roma.

Jacqueline Hill

Street Chairs from the Fern: No. 19: A Couch

There is something about an abandoned chair or couch, placed randomly on a suburban footpath, that one simply cannot ignore.

Their presence often makes us reflect on many things.

 “The most luxurious thing to me is having an hour of my day, which rarely happens, to listen to my iPod and sit on my couch.
That's how I unwind.”
Grant Achatz