L E O N I E . W I S E

(1) jen gray, squam (2) me and jen lee (photo by darlene). (3) hope street, london, sw11

JEN GRAY is the kinda gal i would move into a tree house with at the drop of a hat. she is gorgeous, hilarious and has the biggest heart. to be near her is like having someone hand you a scoop of your favourite ice-cream on a hot summer day. it’s just THAT good. she is one of the amazing team that put together the squam art journal and who makes squam art workshops the incredible success that it is. i adore her for the beauty she brings to, and sees, in the world.

JEN LEE has a voice i could listen to all day. don’t take my word for it, head over to her website and listen to one of her podcasts. i had the pleasure to attend one of her writing workshops at squam and it changed me. it changed the conversations i have with myself about writing. her poem “Don’t Write” is a regular read for me, as well as her wee book “fortunes” which lives on the shelf next to my computer. the first poem in there called “You Write to the Fence” is one i read over and over. she teaches at squam, writes books, runs retreats, has her own limited edition t-shirt line and tells stories on stage. awesome.

JEN LEMEN reminds me to always look for hope. i have followed her story for a number of years now. the one that is tightly woven with that of Odette and her daughters. it is her courage and determination and the hope project that constantly remind me to dream bigger and ask for what i need. because i might just get it. she spoke about how photography can make a difference at the Evo ’10 Conference.

i invite you to wander off and check these 3 ladies out if you haven’t been introduced to them before: see what  you make of them for yourself.

then come back and tell me true… who is inspiring you today?

saf restaurant, shoreditch. website | twitter | iphone app with tasty recipes

inspired by the Lines & Shapes Connect Us publication Sundays Are For Lovers ¹, i am accepting the invitation – located inside the front cover – to answer the set of questions that all the featured artists answered.

i invite you to play along too.
leave a link to (or write) your answers in the comments…

questions are in bold.  here we go…

My home-base is currently London, England, though i still consider New Zealand my home

Day to day I work as much as i can on learning more about myself and the world

If I didn’t do this I would probably already be dead

Next year I will travel to some more countries that I’ve not visited yet

To me Sunday means sleeping in with Nic

And I like to eat something that someone else has made, preferably somewhere we’ve not been before

And I will get out of bed if the sun is shining and there are places to go

And get dressed around the time I am ready to leave the house

And I will smile about everything that is good and right in my life

And I just may daydream about a home by the sea

And when Monday comes i will tīmata anō (begin again)

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1. footnotes

1. thanks to Jeanine for putting me on to this publication
2. features Brian Ferry of the blue hour, who i have only just found out about (i know!)
3. the book is available in London from Albam or online from Lines & Shapes
4. limited edition of only 1000 copies, so hurry if you want one of your own