Birthday beauty

Hey Audrey!

One of my favourite things about birthdays is creating the birthday invites.
Here are two images I created for birthday invites. One was a collage for a picnic in a beautiful park with a fish sculpture in a pond, the next one was for a traditional German coffee afternoon that my German mom made all the cakes and the cutest cheese hut for.

Hey Audrey business cards

Audrey in the 1963 film 'Charade', dressed by Hubert De Givenchy.

With co-star Cary Grant.

Hey Audrey

I just wanted to show you the business cards I designed for my design business called (surprise!) 'Hey Audrey'. I made some sketches based on some of your most famous movie moments, and on the reverse side used some of your famous lines, like the witty one from Charade (written by Peter Stone). I used 1 colour printing (my favourite red) on a recycled paper stock. I never grow tired of them, and I hope neither do you!

My cat as a computer

I love working on/in my bed: with my Macbook Pro and my beloved cat, Venus.

Hey Audrey!

One night, I was working on my laptop in bed and feel asleep. (I was working hard and it was late). My new laptop slipped off the bed, and when I woke up in the morning, I found it lying on the floor with a small but noticeable dent in it. Ugh, how frustrating! That's when I started wishing that my laptop were more like my cat, who I can roll off my bed and land on all fours. And when I roll onto her she just wriggles herself free an sleeps further. Now why can't a laptop be more like that. So I dreamt up this inflatable laptop. One can spill on it, jump on it, throw it across the room in a rage and it will be fine. I also submitted the design as a project for my Masters in Digital Art at the Wits School of Arts. One day Apple will think of this too!

Hey Audrey!

A friend recently told me about archetypes, especially as defined by Carolyn Myss. We can choose the archetypes that are most significant in very aspect of our life, and learn to understand ourselves better, but also to shift and to grow. I found it interesting that we all have the saboteur, the victim, the child and the prostitute as part of our personality make-up. So this is an etching, (combined with colour pencil and watercolour), I made for someone special, symbolizing his warrior archetype, after a story he told me about a very tenacious moth that featured at a big moment in his life.

Artistically Audrey

by Gavin Rain

Hey Audrey!

I found a portrait of you by South African artist Gavin Rain. Who would have thought you look this good in circles!

This is what I learnt in India

Community: In the Northern city of Amritsar, the beautiful Golden Temple of the Sikhs is to be found. The Temple is open to a constant stream of pilgrims, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sikhs from all over the world volunteer at the temple at least once in their lives, doing day-to-day tasks such as washing the mounds of dishes, cleaning, peeling onions or serving the pilgrims in the dining hall. A filling meal consisting of freshly baked rotis, dhal and chai is available at any time of the day and night. The sight of such a mass of people, gathered for the same purpose, peacefully eating and chatting together, made me understand what community should be.

Craft: These are the textile items I bought in India. The patterns were created using the ancient tradition of blockprinting, using intricately carved wooden blocks such as the one on the left. This craft is mainly centered in and around the city of Jaipur. I loved it that upmarket city chain stores such as Fabindia and Anokhi supported rural crafters, not only by buying hand-crafted merchandize from them, but also in helping them to set up and run small businesses. Fashion designers collaborate with the crafters to create items that would appeal to a modern market. The use of a Craftmark ensures true appreciation for and loyalty to local craft and crafters.

Calm: These 11 simple items are the worldly remains of Mahatma Gandhi. They are exhibited at the Gandhi Smriti in New Delhi, the residence where he was assassinated in 1948. This home is now a museum commemorating Gandhis life and final hours. The idea that the man who changed a country and the lives of so many people, could do this with such few material possessions, instilled in me a sense of calm. I realized that I don’t have to frenetically acquire things in order to live a worthy life.

This floral pattern is carved in relief on the marble dado level at the Taj Mahal in Agra, known as the most beautiful building in the world. The Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built it in honour of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. About 20 000 workers laboured for 22 years to complete this exquisitely detailed garden tomb. The emperor kept on spending time and effort on the complex, so much so, that his son locked him up in a palace to stop him. This is where he died, in a room with a view on the Taj Mahal from across the river.

Compromise: I used auto-rickshaws (referred to as ‘autos’) to get to and from work every day. The autos cruise the streets, congregate at markets, and are equipped with meters. I was advised to be firm with the auto drivers; to insist on them using the meter and to drive safely in traffic. Therefore my first trips were accompanied by heated English/Hindi arguments which I always seemed to lose. To avoid insanity, I decided to compromise; to sit back and shut my eyes, and to not expect any form of consistency. I realized that every trip seemed to reflect the personality of the drive.

Hey Audrey!

I recently exhibited a series of posters describing five important things I learnt in India. I fell in love with the typeface I used; Cochin. I especially love the italic version.

Closet conversion

Hey Audrey!

I can't possibly fit all my beloved clothes into my wardrobes, so half of them live in old suitcases under my bed. Twice a year with the changing of the seasons, Venus and I change the clothes around as well, summer into cupboard, winter into suitcases and vice versa. We have lots of fun doing it, rediscovering all the lovely pieces we had forgotten about.