Coco Chanel

January is close to being over.  I confess to all you amazingly productive creative peeps, I haven't spent any time on any creative projects, but immersed myself in summer pursuits instead.  Lots of swimming at the beach and in the pool at our villa in Bali (yes we had a luxurious week in Seminyak) - so soul renewing it was fabulous.  I indulged in massages, manis and pedis, sundowner drinks by the ocean or pool, great food, snoozing, day spa-ing, some shopping, some tailor-made cowboy boot shopping, people watching. Absolutely divine.  I feel like a thouroughly pampered pooch! I would head back to Bali any time.  I now understand why people love it and go there over and over again.  It was hot, really, really humid hot, with lots of drenching downpours that simply soothed away the heat with their noise and smell.

The heat back here in Perth has been absolutely stiffling, without the relief of rain, so lots of flopping watch movies over the weekends has happened!  I'm sure I've watched more in this last month than I have in the entire past 2 years.  Evenings at Somerville, the outdoor movie theatre that shows foreign films from December to April.  A different one every week.  It's a highlight of summer in Perth, sitting in deck chairs under the stars and rustling pines, soaking up foreign films, preceded by a picnic if you choose.  DVD's etc on the couch at home

I became engrossed in a TV series called "True Blood" about mainstreaming vampires living in Louisiana.  It is hilarious.  Not usually my style at all.  It's great watching an entire series at your leisure, without ads and episode after episode so it really flows.  I don't watch commercial television, apart from cricket and tennis occasionally.

Anyway the real reason I was inspired to post was the movie  "Coco Chanel" with Shirley Maclaine and Barbara Bobulova.  I saw it for the first time on the weekend and loved it.  Watching her creative journey was really heart-warming and if you haven't seen it and if you're a fashion history fan, I thoroughly recommend the movie.  There are scenes where she is working on hats and then putting herself on the line, right out there with her creations and believing in herself.  In another scene she is asked "why hats".....I can hear people thinking out loud when they see my bags..."? why bags" ...who knows why we're drawn to specific mediums, we just are us creative peeps.  And we can jump from one to another to keep exploring and learning and buzzing!

I love hearing, watching other people's creative journeys as I just so get it.  Fame follows some like Coco, however, fame didn't drive her, her creative passion did.  Fame and fortune don't drive any creative people I know, their passion does.  And I love that at that base level we're all the same.