My Gingerbread Villages.
For the past couple of years at Christmas time, it has become a tradition that I make a Gingerbread House for my family to eat on Christmas Day. As a self taught, amateur baker, my houses started off looking more like gingerbread wreckages rather than houses! But as is the case always, with practice comes improvement, and last year my family gingerbread house-making turned into a small business almost, with me making small-scale houses for not just my family, but also friends’ families and work colleagues. This is an image of one of 3 small scale villages I made for my family, complete with fondant reindeer and iced garden pathways between each house. My 2 villages (8 houses and 4 reindeer in total) are probably the most creative things I have ever baked. I was so shocked at how well they turned out, as I really had no plan or idea and just took to my home-made foam-board bases with piping bags and royal icing one night after work.
A Great Piece of Architecture:
The Wonderworks Museum, Florida.
In terms of architecture I have experienced in my life, probably the biggest standout is the Wonderworks Museum in Orlando, Florida. My family and I ventured to the States in to escape the chaos that was the Sydney Olympic Games (and also the exchange rate was pretty good I hear), and of all the sights we saw, not much beat the Wonderworks Museum. As a 7 year old, my idea of architecture was limited to bricks and timber, and the thought of a building that had been completely upended but yet remained in one piece was absolutely astonishing! The ‘road’ upon which the building’s footings rested had created the roof overhang, and the planted palm trees even remained rooted and alive upside down. Unfortunately, we never got the chance to enter the museum as it was closed on the day we were there, however I still remember to this day how dumbfounded I was by the mere sight of the obtrusive structure along the main street in Orlando. To me, a great piece of architecture is one which challenges traditional conventions and leaves those who witness it with a greater appreciation for the built environment and the possibilities within it. Still to this day, with a greater knowledge of construction and building techniques, I find myself in awe of this building and would one day love to revisit it.
An Original Photograph of Something Beautiful:
Lincoln and Jill.
I took this photo of my second cousin, Lincoln, with his Grandmother, my aunt, at a family barbeque in 2010. He had found a roll of stickers and was walking around all day sticking them to whatever he could get his hands on, but eventually it became clear that Grandma provided the best canvas for his artwork. More than happy to oblige, my Aunt sat smiling down at her grandson as he stuck every single sticker from his roll on her arms and shirt. But in a spirit only Lincoln could have, once he was finished his supply, he then proceeded to remove those he’d previously placed around the backyard, and replace them ever so precisely on his living canvas. I love how this shot exemplifies the closeness and the depth of the relationship Lincoln has with his Grandmother, to me there is nothing more beautiful in the world than that.
Female; Immerse; Naked.
Noun; Verb; Adjective
Ai Weiwei:
Edifice; Contorted; Unforeseen.
Noun; Verb; Adjective
Stelarc:
Human; Embody; Bare.
Noun; Verb; Adjective
