Two of my three works have been accepted to the Bayleys Arrowtown art gallery exhibition! It's a first for me and to be honest, it was stressful getting organised. Photo frames that didn't arrive in time made me go into town to purchase new ones which wouldn't have been my first choice. However they turned out well and I'm excited!
Down below are my two works that have been accepted.
Monoscope - Mavora on film + Monoscope - Dusky sound
How cool is this! I'm amazed and my head is not realising all the cool things that are happening at the moment. Need to take it all in and enjoy it. x
‘’My sister-in-law, Katelijne just got diagnosed with breast cancer and will start treatment in the next weeks. We'd like to gift her a photoshoot for her to have a beautiful memory of her body pre-cancer''. This is the message that I received in my inbox. ‘’Uff'' I thought, this is heavy and this photoshoot will be so meaningful. I called Katelijne and asked her what she loves ‘’Flowers, I love flowers and spring''. She sounds cheery, down to earth and we talk about the surreal feeling of feeling healthy but knowing the next year is going to be shit. And we discuss what Katelijne would like for her photos to be.
A week later I meet Katelijne and Rowdy, her partner.
I see two cheery people walking towards me, that must be Katelijne and Rowdy! Just an hour before I received beautiful flowers from the florist, they signify spring, a new beginning, new life. Feelings that Katelijne holds dear and we'll use these flowers to tell Katelijne's story.
The photo shoot is relaxed. We have drinks, play with flowers and inevitably chat about life. It's touching to be involved with Katelijne's story without having met her before. Knowing her life from now on will have scars and challenges.
Katelijne just had her 1st cancerversary, a year since she has been diagnosed. I read her blog to keep up with her journey. She's inspiring to say the least. A few snippets from her blog about her cancerversary:
‘’My down-to-earth personality and spontaneity always got me through it. Also the fact that the rest of my life was quite stable ensured that I could handle this setback reasonably well. But that doesn't make it any less drastic and shitty if your eggs suddenly have to be harvested, if your hair falls out due to chemotherapy, you suddenly look like a 'cancer patient', if you are hereditary, you always have a higher risk, if your breasts have to be removed, if you have to go into the artificial menopause at 28.''
‘’A year ago I went for a walk in the evening to let the bizarre news sink in. On the way back I randomly picked up a bunch of tulips at the supermarket to cheer myself up. This year I went to pick the tulips myself in a picking garden, so that I could think about it for a while.''
The first of the light hits the hills. It’s little before 7AM when I arrive in Kingston. Laura is up and cheery as ever, with three-week-old Isla safely in her arms.
The wind is playing with Laura’s hair and Isla snuggles up to her mum as we walk down to the lakefront. The birds are awake, and the light slowly becomes brighter. The beach is empty and no one in town seems to be awake.
We walk, chat, sit and take the morning in while I calmly take photos. Isla is wide awake and looks around with her fresh blue eyes.
As a farmer, Laura has raised many babies. ‘’Topsy and Rain, when they were baby deer, would be down my jersey and I’d take them to the pub’’ Laura says while she wraps her hands around her waist. ‘’Every single place I went, my baby deer had to go. I'd go to Queenstown to cafes or meet people and they'll just be there, and they make these similar noises to the ones Isla makes now’’
We slowly make our way home, time for breakfast. Laura’s husband is working from home and picks up Isla. She falls into a deep sleep after her puku is filled with milk.
‘’I look at Isla and I’m so proud to be her mum’’ Laura says while she’s poaching eggs and making coffee. ‘’It’s a total different thing, having a human baby. But there are similarities to being a fur-baby mum. You can't just drop what you're doing and go off somewhere and leave them. I'm a bit softer now.’’ Laura finishes. ‘’It's not easy, it's not hard, it just is''
