The Art of Christoph Neimann

I've been having fun creating art doodles on my Oppo phone photos recently. This morning my yoga teacher shared an image of our class and had edited the heads of the group with lotus flowers for those who didn't want to appear on facebook. I loved how she did that. Then later was delighted to discover the Art of Christoph Neimann. Christoph takes the art of doodling to a whole new level.

National Geographic and Tourism New Zealand sent artist and author Christoph Niemann to New Zealand, to bring his experiences and impressions of the country alive through art.

Visit Christoph on facebook... click here

Where joy hides and how to find it

Find out where joy resides and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss the joy, is to miss all. Robert Louis Stevenson

What creates joy for you?

Cherry blossoms and rainbows, bubbles and googly eyes: Why do some things seem to create such universal joy? In this captivating talk, Ingrid Fetell Lee reveals the surprisingly tangible roots of joy and shows how we all can find -- and create -- more of it in the world around us.

I discovered Ingrid's work today online, and did a search on her work after watching the TED talk above. I really enjoyed reading through some of her writing and listening to another podcast. Here is another snippet from Ingrid's writing...

Emotional tenor affects a lot of the things we do. If these aesthetics really bring more joy, we become more affectionate, more open, more collaborative, creative, willing. So, how can we use our environments to help us get the best out of ourselves? Or the best out of people who are coming to work each day, or going to school each day, or happen to be in the hospital, or moving through a crowded city? How can we actually shape the environment and insert things that are going to bring out our best selves, because our best selves are essentially context dependent?

I know when I visited the colour filled town of Burano in Venice, it was a joy to wander around seeing all the amazing homes. I wonder, what started the residents painting the houses, and how they all got involved?

So I googled it, as you do... And apparently.... "If someone wishes to paint their home, one must send a request to the government, who will respond by making notice of the certain colours permitted for that lot." Wikipedia / Burano

I've only just moved into a lovely area in Queensland, and heard the story of how one of the residents painted her home pink. Sadly the neighbours complained and it is now beige like many in the area. Mind you the chunk of rose quartz in the garden is a rather wonderful remainder, from her initial vision.

Colour is one of the things that gives me joy. Would I be game to paint my house a bright colour? Hmmm, maybe not, but I sure do admire those who do. What about you?