This is one of Sarah's images from her website.

Art & Healing

Sarah Zoutewell has a blog about her journey to use art for healing purposes.

Photographic Portrait Prize 2007

closing date 27 July 2007 sponsored by the National Portrait Gallery London. More info here.

Last night just after midnight we set off across the woods to visit the standing stones. It was raining (in fact its been raining for three days and shows no sign of stopping). We scrambled up an embankment with sticks cracking and small leaves squishing from the beech trees. A small diversion as we got lost, no streetlights, sadly no sighting of badgers and we were there. Huge slabs of stone surrounded by pine trees. Orginally highly polished with fires going inbetween each stone with the mica glittering. One lying with two posts at each end - a frame to see the moon rise. Amazing. I did take photots with the holga on a fast film but no idea of any of them will come out. Now back home coffee on stove to try and get the chill out of my bones.

Scottish Megaracks - megalithic anoracks

Off on an adventure. I'm going up north to a Midsummer Celebration. A friend of a friend has bought a house with its own prehistoric stone circle.

Of course its tipping it down so it may be a slightly sodden celebration. But its so exciting to be leaving the city this weekend.

Newcastle Station

It feels weird to be back - plunged into work and the trip seems a distant dream. Punting in Cambridge, sitting by the Thames, ambling around Liberty's.

Holga Feb 2007 family on Newcastle station for Helena

Off on a train journey to London - back soon.

What do I thirst for?

Connection

Home

Authenticity

Realness

Control

???

Yes I admit it - I'm a control freak! I've started back at a job I do annually. Its high pressure I admit. But normally I ease myself back into it a bit like a frog being dropped into water with its temperature rising slowly so I don't notice. But it was boiling today and yesterday. And I'm dependent on other people doing things and so I feel 'out of control'. But now I've admitted my control issues I do feel a bit better.

breathe

breathe

breathe

!!

I can go back to the fray and just do the next thing in front of me. I find that helps a lot. And Lists.

Guerilla gardening reported in Toronto...

Can you help?

Can you keep an eye out for David, he is very charming and a great worry he's missing and also if you could email any Edinburgh friends, particularly those in the Leith area, that would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks
Susan

Begin forwarded message:
Hi everybody
I am sending out this e-mail to everybody I have an e-mail address for, in the hope that somebody might be able to help.

My dearest friend David Hopps is missing. I last spoke to him on Thursday 31th May, and nobody has heard from him since Fiday 1st June.

Many of you will already know David, and will not need to see a picture of this very disctinctive man. For those of you who do not know David, please take the time to look at his picture, and let me know if you have seen him since last Thursday. He is very distninctive, very English. He is a real gentleman, and stands out in a crowd. This gives me hope that even if you do not know David, if you have seen him in the last week, you might recall him. David lives in Leith, but is often around town. One of has favourite past-times is sketching, and can often be seen sketching historic buildings. Please let me know if you see David. I know this sounds very cheeky, but it would be so fantastic if you could forward this e-mail to your friends and aquaintences who are in the Edinburgh area, in the hope that it may jog somebodys memory. I am beside myself with worry, as are his other friends, and so very much appreciate your time

Thanks so much for your time. You can call me on my mobile any time, 07748 858892, or my home number 0131 622 0042..

With very best wishes,

Sue Thompson

Great interview with Keri Smith here.

lush?

Non lush week - a massive financial problem I've been wrestling with. Someone I've done work for doesn't want to pay me. Much much emailing and toing and froing. In between I gather myself up and try to get back to my life and not let this depress me. Gosh this is hard work. I saw a small boy on the bus this morning counting toffies in his tiney wee hands. A friend struggling to get into her flat with bags of shopping, another friend around for coffee, finding an unused stamp to write to a far away friend. Tiny lushious moments snatched from the wreckage of a week. Wish me luck I'm about to enter the fray again.

Magnum slideshow of last 60 years of photos.

randomish snippets

Bookslut is running a series of interviews with writers.

Philp Glass was speaking on Front Row tonight about being surprised about his success 'I had a day job until I was 40'. Carol Lloyds book 'Creating a life worth living' is great for getting artists to think about things like 'day jobs' and the support structures people need to create for their creative work.

post braai

(Braai= South African for barbecue)

Diego cat has gone to the great Cat Basket in the Sky. I'd meant and meant to have a birthday party for him and his sister so with his untimely demise I eventually got myself into gear and sent out invites about a week ago via email and even via mail mail. Shopped yesterday (thank you C for your kind help in lugging back the booty and for the Pimms).

Then I got up this morning made a birthday cake for the remaining feline, cleaned, made salads, moved furniture. Directed the lodger to get more charcoal. And then wished I hadn't started the whole shebang. About 1.30 if nobody turned up (apart from being overwhelmed by a feeling that nobody loves/cares for me) I would have been relieved. Then by mid afternoon the garden was packed, small children were dashing around the house. Frida cat had escaped to the furthest furthest branch of the wild cherry tree to escape, my friend Katty had thank god briskly taken over the task of burning sausages. By late afternoon the rain had started (the dodgy weather we have had this week can squarely be blamed on me for outrageously wanting to have a braai at all in Scotland ) We huddled under the tree with umbrellas eventually giving up an hour later and fleeing to the kitchen. Wee Joe had decided that noisy cat toys are fab and he went off clutching two examples. The last guest left at 7.30. Glasses are waiting to be washed up. But I'm so glad that I made the effort even with that sinking pre event feeling - its so worth riding through it to the good stuff. People reconnecting, having passionate conversations, parents just having a break, emails being exchanged, making connections. We are connected people but we have to work at it give our selves places to be connected. It was good I hope to do it before the end of the year. And I hope I don't influence the weather so disastrously next time.

Alice Ayers via 52projects -great photographs