the day after leap day, morning sunlight filtering through the trees, making the undersides of the boughs shine golden. long-limbed shadows move quietly across the parched earth, not caring whether or not anyone notices. i notice. an extra day of breathing this year and what did i do with it? i paid attention. to the way the creative fuel collective sessions have shifted the way i perceive the world and respond to invitations to play with colour. i paid attention to what my body wants. this, not that. an herbal liver-loving tisane instead of caffeine. bubbly water. a glass of wine with my ..read more

These summer days, spent outdoors, blessed by sunlight and embracing outdoor pursuits. Weekends with chores swiftly accomplished, then adventures close to home. This time, a visit to stony batter reserve and the tunnels at fort stony batter. Our first visit to the tunnels in decades. We pay the entrance fee, grab the flashlights we’ve been handed, and follow our guide through double doors painted vibrantly red—a stark contrast with the grey concrete that anchors the tunnels into the hills. He is comedic, entertaining, clearly loves his job. These subterranean passages, chambers and stairwell ..read more

  every spring i’m excited for the return of the pīpīwharauroa // shining cuckoo. their distinctive melody is a harbinger for the Māori indicating that spring has come and it’s time to plant the kumara // sweet potato. i hear the call of these birds every year at our place, as they come and lay their eggs in the grey warbler nests, letting those tiny birds raise the chicks as their own. until this season, i’ve always heard them, but never seen one. this year, after wandering around the garden trying to work out where all the squeaky baby bird “feed me” noises were coming from, i spotted t ..read more

i’ve cycled the long way home today past a river of canada geese and cormorants drying their wings in the sun. i thought it was only right to stop for a while to lie in the cool grass, spreading cheese, apple, oatcakes on a red-checkered towel that lives in my bag. picnic for one a poem, written many years ago when we lived in london, uk. found in a journal i pulled off the shelf yesterday photo made with a polaroid sun 600 camera of the thames path near hammersmith. july 2013 ..read more

Notes from an Island1 — your invitation to receive stories and vignettes of my journey to Arnøya, Norway. Tromsø, Norway. [Photo by Thomas Claeys on Unsplash] Hi everyone. This is a loooong one, as I want to give you the backstory and some details about my upcoming trip to Arnøya, Norway. It includes some of the story so far and some of what lies ahead in the coming months. I would love you to come on the journey with me. (If you get my posts via email and clicked one of the links, you will have ended up here. I can’t explain why that happened. Please use the buttons further down this post an ..read more

[an abstract portrait of a newsletter, a cinnamon roll, a bicycle, tromso in norway and a hammock in the style of Martina Shapiro generated by Dall•e]an abstract portrait of the present newsletter revival // a friend of mine wrote recently to say she was consolidating and changing her newsletter. echoing my sentiments in a more verbose and elegant way. i feel like i have too many places where i could write and share and so have often just not written anything, anywhere. i intend to change that this year. so, if you would like to sign up for my somewhat occasional notes from an island, head ov ..read more

palm beach, waiheke island • earlier this morning i very rarely like photographs of myself—except when i’m underwater. i am certain that i have more photos of me in the watery realms than i do in any other environment swimming with a gopro means that i can very often get photos both above and below the waterline. these are some of my favourites, where i get a glimpse of both worlds in one view ..read more

these past few days, the tide at our place has been perfectly timed for swims at high tide before breakfast. so, off we go. today’s coda a still warm cinnamon roll from the palm beach store, where locals gather for coffee and a chat after their watery awakening ..read more

I’m thrilled to have been selected to attend a Singla Creative Group Residency on the arctic island of Arnøya in Norway in July 2024. (No, I hadn’t heard of this place until a few months ago. Yes, I had to look Arnøya up on a map too). Singla is an historic homestead on Arnøya that Hannah Viano and her partner Joe Talbert are re-imagining “as a base for the arts, research, education, and adventure”. It’s going to take me back to basics in their small 1850s farmhouse — shared accommodation, incinerating toilet, no showers or laundry facilities — just a sauna and a VERY COLD ocean to throw myse ..read more

Hello Wednesday. Hello friends. I’m thinking about clothing for slow days. Ones in which i can sit and meditate, or stare out the window into the garden. Ones that aren’t too tight, or feel like I’m wearing uncomfortable scaffolding. Ones that embrace me as i am praying for peace & understanding to leave a mark on this burning world. Like so many other people whose words I’ve read in the past few weeks, life feels complicated and sad and full of horror. But there is light and warmth and grace and pockets of undeniable beauty too, so I’m clinging on to those as a lifeline and wanting to cel ..read more