Yesterday was a day of reorganising the space that we have here in the 3-storey tall narrow house. Gert and I ended up working right through the day, simply because I had decided to create a space of no distractions ... a place to finish this book I've begun.
I have two novel manuscripts started too, and another of interviews with New Zealand climbers. That one went through two very positive publishing meetings before being rejected. Back then, the public wasn't so interested in the crazy beautiful lives of climbers and mountaineers. Other publishers were suggested, those who might take the risk of low sales, but then my mum began dying, I had finally started university, and somehow the manuscript has become another thing that I carry.
There are poems too. A new one that came on the train that took me across Belgium a few days ago. A poem that I like, and I am my toughest critic.
But anyway, photography took over as my dedicated form of expression. You can slip everything into an image. Sometimes it's like a poem, other times it's a novel and tells a story but mostly there is the pleasure is not being sure of what you have captured until you are done.
So I have a writing space now. A huge IKEA table that serves as a desk, and enough shells and stones to break my current desk collection in two while maintaining a beautiful pile of beach treasure on both desks. Facebook, phones and non- related books are all banned from the new space.
However, in moving my writing stuff, in taking my favourite images up there, in moving all of my books on Genova... I created what seemed like a huge space down here in the 'everyday' office place. But even that was fun, moving that bookcase there, those images here, that scarf-hanger too.
We had Paola and Simon over for dinner last night and they were curious to see these changes, the ones I had earlier mentioned being in the midst of over on facebook. Well ... here in the everyday office space, I realised, when looking through their eyes, that these huge changes weren't really so obvious despite the fact that they had felt like a major upheaval. My new writing space was approved of though.
So that's how we spent our Saturday. Dinner was delightful ... aperitivo by Paola and Simon, an Italian rib and sausage casserole by Gert, followed by one of his delicious cherry Clafoutis. Excellent conversations, good people ... a really excellent Saturday.
I'll leave you with one of those photographs that surprised me. I saw this tap dripping in Istanbul, in one of the many ancient places there. I photographed it, ignoring the hustle and bustle of people around me, in that city of 14 million people. Today, I have it here next to me, in a 30x45cm format ... I have to rehang it later but just having it here, so close, made me really see it again. I really love it but couldn't have imagined this capture at the time of taking because it was so beautiful and how do you capture beauty ...
At the weekend, and thanks to the kindness of Stefano and Miriam, I finally met one of my favourite bloggers, ceramic artists and B&B owners ... the lovely Diana Baur.
