living the simple life
A week down south during the Margaret River Region Open Studios was great for seeing a huge range of artworks, but also interesting in other ways. Mostly, the artisans work from studios within or attached to their houses. So as well as hearing about their philosophies, motivations and work habits, you learn, in many cases, what makes their lives fulfilling and satisfying.
Image Upsplash
The artists we visited live in suburbia, on hilltops with nothing between the beach below and Antarctica, on small bush blocks and on working farms. Heavy winter rain means the southwest is lush and green with masses of arum lilies and many wild flowers beginning to bloom. This is a very beautiful area. ( The arum lilies are considered a weed and used to be sprayed every year but apparently not this year!)
The people I spoke to often referred to seeking simpler lives. My immediate image of the idealised simpler life is living on enough land to support chickens, a horse, a cow for milking and a large area for growing vegetables. This is not necessarily what everyone was seeking. Being without the constraints of traditional work hours, living in ‘off the grid’ houses, as often the usual services are not available, and reusing existing housing styled to suit their needs were common discussions.
Image Unsplash
Tending to vegetables and animals would eat into their working time, there’s amazing wild flowers in the bush, so why grow your own flowers, working digitally at times that suit their other interests provides sufficient income and there’s still small rural schools or school buses for their children if they’ve chosen to live out of town. These were people who had chosen to live simple lives by their own standards.
Many of the artists are tech savvy and you just swipe your card on a tiny machine to pay and a receipt pops up on your phone. Many of these people have taken what they really want to build simple, harmonious lives for themselves. They have created time to follow their artistic passions. Sometimes that’s creating amazing food, beautiful pieces of art, glorious gardens but only after they’ve had a surf !
This area is extremely diverse. There’s traditional farming, vineyards, breweries and distilleries, every imaginable type of accommodation, plus deer farming, olive oil production, patisseries and lavender products. There’s all sorts of little shops selling lovely things, views that stop you in your tracks and some of the most amazing houses. Plus lots of people living simple lives and achieving their artistic goals.
rubics cubes
Do you like this Rubics Cube birthday invitation?. The 3D puzzle cube was invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Emö Rubic. He intended it to teach his students about three dimensional squares. Clever invitation, clever puzzle.
traveling
In a previous covid free time we liked to travel. My husband’s work meant he was frequently overseas, so our son and I would travel to spent time with him during every school break. I must have sewn and embroidered this drawstring bag for stowing slippers very early on as I soon adopted far less grand ways of packing. Not so pretty but very efficient.
Laughed photographing these slippers as we are currently sleeping under a zebra print rug and I have a leopard print dressing gown.
These boubouche, bought in Paris nearly 20 years ago have been worn and worn but despite looking a bit misshapen, still fit well.
I actually ended up with quite a few pairs of slippers. It was often customary to remove our outdoor shoes and wear socks or slippers indoors. I wore slippers until about four years ago when I left work and wanted footwear to suit every situation, indoors or outdoors, including long walks. I began wearing Skechers most days and my collection of slippers live unworn on a shelf. Not in a pretty drawstring bag!
We spent last week in Margaret River and I briefly contemplated the embroidered drawstring slipper bag, just like I considered a tailored, wool coat. The slipper bag stayed home as did the wool coat. The puffer jacket which came with us is light, warm and doesn’t need dry cleaning. Unfortunately it makes me feel like the Michelin man, a warm Michelin man but a very well padded one, too.
The zebra
When we’re not using the zebra print rug, Louis, our groodle likes to claim it as his own. He likes to spent hours asleep partially under it, only rousing himself if anyone comes to the door or he can smell things cooking. Any food aromas require instant investigation.
Seeing a very cute zebra toy in the pet section I bought it for Louis. He tolerated it being on the rug with him but them ignored it. He is very fond of soft toys and his reaction was a bit puzzling. Zebra has been totally ignored since he and Louis were introduced. I think it’s because zebra doesn’t squeak! I watched him chew zebra’s body, legs and head and getting no reaction, ignored him.
Body doesn’t squeak, legs don’t squeak, lost interest.
Did you watch the royal funeral?
A magnificent display of pomp and ceremony and an appropriate farewell to a remarkable person..
What a fascinating post. I love the sound of the community of artists you visited that sounds like my kind of place. They are living the life I would love to.
I had a Rubik’s cube as a child, I had no idea of its history so thank you for sharing that with us, I enjoyed reading.
Your boubouche look just like the shoes that were for sale all over Morocco when I travelled there in the mid 90s, I was transported back there when I saw your photo.
Hello!
Lovely to hear from you!
So thought provoking listening to other people explaining why they’ve intentionally chosen to live where and how they are living. The south west of Western Australia is very beautiful with the ocean, small towns and a lot of bushland. Many of the artists we visited ( I’m still thinking about the hats the milliner had on display) also have part time jobs allowing time for creativity and a regular income.
Loved my Rubik’s cube, now I look forward to Wordle every morning!
Deborah