This was sitting in my drafts. Day one at the new studio, I’m now more than half way through my residency here at the wonderful creative community School House Studios in Coburg in Melbourne’s trendy ‘Northside’… soon I take flight for some rest and exploration in Indonesia and then collaboration in Malaysia… on I go… and “so it goes” KVJ
Lately, it’s almost as though every song on the radio is like a stiletto to the jugular.
It had been a week of devastating loss and then another friend dead… so much heartbreak.
I was in the supermarket when a favourite song of his wife played on the radio like a Michael ‘the mullet’ Bolton weapon discharged… I found myself out in the car park gripping my chest and gasping for air, the tragedy of it all amplified my own current loss. That’s happening less in public now, 6 weeks later. They say great work comes from despair… they are not wrong, but it comes from joy as well. Great work comes from a life lived well, from folly, curiosity and chance.
6 weeks ago I walked into this unexpected welcome, thank you Melbourne Indie Voices
The irony wasn’t lost on me… but, we do survive, we do carry on.
“Survived by…”
There’s a strange dichotomy in celebrating life during a time of loss. Perhaps it is the time to celebrate. Gratitude for what was and what will be… and for these vulnerable, raw times so very alive with all nerve endings exposed; joy in new spaces, new sounds, new toys… lucky to have found myself in a city of old friends when I need them most and the ability to roam soon to new places to explore.
My advice to self and others is always #keepgoing
Tonight is tango night at the studio… I’m not quite ready to put on my dancing shoes just yet, but I look forward to the sounds and sights while I print purposefully dodgy prints… under the watchful eye of the chicken.