Monday 19 October 2009

It's Cold

When I lived with my cousin in Melbourne, we would celebrate the beginning of each new season by listing the things we loved about that particular one on a chalkboard. (all seasons included cinnamon for reasons unexplained, and sex, for reasons that don't need explaining. Sometimes we couldn't think of enough season specific things to fill the chalkboard).

This is quite a common thing to do, I'm not claiming any kind of originality at all here. I see this on blogs all the time, in magazines, and just everywhere.

This is the kind of thing people really usually only do for autumn and winter though, have you noticed? -I get that. This is because that's when we need the most convincing. After living with real seasons* for the last few years, I've noticed that real seasons means that summer is everybody's friend. Everybody greets summer with open, pasty, (but finally bare) arms.

It's when it starts to cool off that I notice people start listing.

"Falling Leaves, Soup...Crusty bread...Woollen Socks...Mick Malthouse...Oh God please help me through to September/April**". I too am trying to be positive, but the truth is that all I can think about is how much I hate feeling cold, and this is only just the beginning.

While I was complaining once that a Melbourne summer was coming to an end, my friend Israel said, in a yeah-well-that's-life kind of tone, that summer and spring are for being inspired, and autumn is for being creative.

To me it seems like summer is for doing, and autumn is for thinking about it.

In Morocco one day, we were flustered and feeling out of control, we both missed our brushes/instruments and Salva put it down to feeling uncomfortable with a life solely lived, and not reflected on. We were missing our creative time, which I guess is, as Israel says, Autumn.

But in Morocco the days rolled by slowly, one at a time and a few weeks felt like months. Now somebody has gone and sped everything up.

Summer was a whirlwind of food, beaches, driving, selling, maps, and Morrocco. Now the vibe at home is pure business. Emails and photographs and event organising.

Here is the latest piece I did for MiradaSonoras.


There is another one of mine too that you can see on their blog.

I'm working on more, and an exhibition in mid-November. So I'm being autumnal, and talking myself into liking it.




*Real seasons, now, means a difference of at least 25ÂȘc between Summer and Winter. You win, Melbourne. You too, Bologna, London, and Valladolid. Northern NSW, and Southern California, you do not fit into this category.
**Depends on your hemisphere, obviously.

3 comments:

  1. I love lists. a tidy summing up.
    "summer is everybody's friend" this was a line I really liked:)
    Our seasons can differ by 50c! Yikes! Winter is a season to really prepare for..mentally and physically.

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  2. I love this piece Hayley....again, explain to me why you are not writing a memoir or something of the like?! You are so articulate and you always make me laugh. I HATE being cold too which is probably why...no matter how crowded it gets here, I will probably never leave California. It's a love affair of the sun. xxx

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  3. Oh, how I wish the Gold Coast gave us time to acquire pasty arms. But then, it might only serve to boost the roaring fake tan trade. Its a city of freaking Oompa Loompas here, darhlink.

    Enjoy being autumnal. Its becoming.

    Cait

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