Mostly white...

What a challenge! I know how tricky it is to photograph weddings the contrast in black and white- getting the balance right is really tricky.
For today I thought hmmm the most white "space" in my apartment is the bathroom which is so tricky to photograph while still get the feeling of why  it is such a lovely space.
I've made an effort to maintain the whiteness of it by only using products sold in white containers or purple/blue containers.



Then having completed that photographic challenge I thought I'd look at other white "blends" in the apartment. You'll be thrilled to know I resisted trying to capture the "beauty" of the newly renovated foyer of the building...believe me when I say it is way too bright...don't they understand about white and lighting...we are in the theatre district, but...then there are the 50 shades of grey/white....
So I was armed with my camera and there she was/is...my Noh mask...she is the replacement mask...I bought my first one in 1995 and had her in our house in Footscray but she was stolen when our house was burgled the evening of the AVPS fete. I lost my Noh mask and the Venetian mask Maddy bought which was so similar in an Italian way...this Noh mask I bought in 2008 while visiting Michele in Tokyo.

She is indeed mostly white...

Draw

I do so love kids drawings and there is something about the freedom of their approach to the topics that they are given.

Given that it is due to snow later today for the first time this winter it is appropriate to have drawings of snowmen.

Yesterday in the school I was visiting there were some really dynamic self portraits by 2nd graders :).

And it wasn't difficult to see which artist inspired other portraits. 

Complementary

Today's prompt is addressing one of the challenges of composition and that is delineate use of colour in the photo's composition.

I was lucky enough to have the compeimentary colors of red and green presented to me on my walk to the train.

The bonus with this photo is that it is a weekly event that o have been wanting to capture about my life in NYC. Every week two window washers work early in the morning washing and squeegeeing the windows on this building. They have long flexible poles and walk toward the window with their squeegee poles wobbling slapping the end of them against the window. They then walk backwards as the wash or dry the Windows. They seem to be able to avoid walking into passers by and I have never been splashed. This morning one of them was in red and green :) 

Blue and orange are two the complementary colours on the colour wheel and the charter school in the building I was working in today have chosen these particularly jarring doors. 

Monochrome

In managing to document my life here in NYC today's prompt of monochrome drew a few ideas to mind. Then do I save the shot of my bench for the the black and white day later in the week?

So I removed the USVI tray from the frame and took the shot. This is in fact a colour shot that is monochrome. Choices I made in terms of items for my kitchen. My apartment   In Brooklyn had a kitchen that had a black and white theme so I purchased items that maintained the black and white theme including the silver canisters. It had now all blended into the renovated apartment that is 16P. I added to the back and white theme with the War Horse drink bottle used regularly as a rolling pin and the Joseph Joseph black draining board. 

A relationship

Trying to develop a stronger relationship between my working life and my creative self and time. Having decided on a number of creative challenges I've set up the crafting table and have things out and ready to do some work.
So much so that this morning I got up and went straight to the table to finish off a card that I had begun yesterday. It was a freer time doing the piece and one which worked for me.

The other relationship that has been going on for the last five months has been with the physiotherapists. Twice a week pretty much I have been using the arm bike and then having my arm twisted and manipulated to get back a fuller range of motion.

Where I stand

From where I stand in my living room I can look out over part of Midtown. The view out through to my favourite "stand" of water tanks so NYC skyline. 

Standing in this spot I can survey a snippet of my NYC life- the chaise lounge I bought in my first year here, the cushion from my part of Melbourne and the cushion from my part of NYC; the art work that the children and staff at AVPS gave me when I left the school; the photo of outback Australia that Anne-Marie gave me; the sign Cheryl gave me "It's wine o'clock"; my collection of fetishes. The reflection in the window not only shows one of the lamps but if you know where to look you can see my collection of snowdomes ever so fuzzily on the top of the kitchen cupboards :)

Good for me

Sometimes I get it sooo right and today I did on a couple of fronts ...

The day after the Epiphany... You know the Epiphany is when one should take one's Christmas tree down...a bit like the social rule that one should not wear white shoes after Labour Day...so I was telling Lynne that one would find that in NYC apartment buildings put out their tenants dead trees around the Epiphany and sure enough this morning I came across at least three different places where the apartment building staff had put the Christmas trees on the pavement ready for the NYC environmental tree shredders. :)))

A glass of wine and good company is so good for me on a day that we were to celebrate Sue's birthday gift- Chris Botti at the Blue Note. Instead Bernadette and I enjoyed the great music at the Blue Note and celebrated the great friend and talent that was Annie Stafford. Annie died on Monday January 4 Melbourne time and was being buried at the time we were listening to the great Chris Botti play Time to say goodbye...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N6j8Ir9HjQ Vale Annie.