Whales, Rats and Bali

I am STOKED as we speak seven of my t-shirt designs are being produced, two of which are going onto hoodies :D

For much of my life I've been crippled with that dibilitating disease of thinking my art work is shit.

In my eyes there were always someone doing it better, doing it with more style and so it made me into a bit of an art hermit hoarding my work away.

 Then Antonio (my beloved boyfriend) came onto the scene as a fully fledged (qualified) artist who coaxed me out of this self induced art coma. I've always drawn and painted throughout my life and in the process have had a lot of fun doing it. Ant nurtured my creativity and made me realise if I'm loving what I'm doing then I am an artist regardless of whether I've gone to art school or not.

Here's a sneak peak at some of my designs. As a preliminary I'm going to be selling these at the WomenZone Surf festival happening in The Gower, Wales.

In the near future however I'll be selling these on Ebay & Etsy so watch this space...

P.s. The t-shirts will be organic and ethically made of course!

This is a fusion of my two loves. Buddhism and Surfing. The 3 in the Buddha's head is inspired by the om symbol but actually represents me and my sisters - 3 girls!

I love whales, they are huge and nomadic a bit like my hips! Move your fins is a motivational phrase to get surfer girls paddling.

These are rough designs of course but I think you get the idea.

I'm also loving this week...

<3 Pictures of beloved pets I used to have.

 This is Fagin the rescue pet rat I had, who lived with me throughout my university years. I know it sounds odd (especially to people who only associate rats as being vermin) but I loved him to bits and he was a celebrity in his own right.

He was a symbol of my indepedence (the first pet I got without my parents permission).

He also helped me do countless essays by sleeping on my lap and when he could be arsed to do anything, by entertaining me with his tea drinking habits (no mug was safe).

<3 Fair trade dresses that use African textiles.

I've got a few weddings coming up so am going to invest in something like this and style it up with chunky wooden jewellery and high tribal heels,(I can do dressy when I want to)!

Fashion-conscience.com is my new label lust.

<3 Seeing surf videos of Indonesia (Bali)

(made by my friend Jonny)

Bali is my next trip destination and what I'll be furiously saving up for with my three jobs!

*

Until next time water babies and land lubbers (!) 

I Love everyday dialogues, the seemingly mundane exchanges between acquaintances that can lead on to all manner of intrigues. 

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Today I learned that my benefit officer Cheryl, is six years into an Open University degree in English literature and plans to do a masters. I always expected she'd be a sparkler (a person who has something about them but under the surface), largely based on the fact she wears really lovely clothes and rocks a pixie cut which is ace especially as she is an older woman! 
I'm almost sad that I'll be starting all my new jobs and not getting to see her every two weeks (but infinitely glad to be off benefits)!

I also love how animals completely humble you. 

Take for instance the scenario of a hipster walking a dog. 

No matter how snazzily dressed or cool one might look the moment that dog squats its game over...

No one can look cool with a dog bag 

(and even less cool if you don't pick it up...Tsk!) 

Anyway enough of me talking sh!t.

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ZINE #2

So I have finished my second ever zine entitled 

'Orange Lips and Houmous Breath'  

A little ole Zine about me and my man fellow. 

To be honest its been finished for quite some time I've just stalled about putting up on the blog. Despite the face I regularly disclose far too much information about myself here, I suddenly feel shy about discussing my relationship, it feels too sacred. I also don't like how the beauty of the watercolors and the hand written words don't translate so well after scanning. 
For that matter I've just included a few pages. 

If you would like a copy of the zine I may consider emailing out for special requests.   

 

Woman I Want To Go Surfing 

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9 days to go until surfing!!! The annual Woman Zone Surf camp held in The Gower Wales is happening 6th-8th July.

The slight, tiny, insignificant detail of needing to be a lesbian to attend has been largely ignored and I'm getting my hetero ass down there anyway!

  

STOKED!!!!

How's this for awesome I'm actually going to be able to write about surfing on my surfing blog. Weird. 

 Peace + Love + Surfboards 


<3 

P.s. My mom nearly broke her neck today putting bins out at work, she's ok but has reminded me to make sure you live voraciously as you never know when your card might be dealt.

The art of blogging

I'm Sophia, I'm twenty three years old and I have blog envy.

I read amazing posts written by other bloggers and get distracted by the infinite number of followers they

have in comparison to mine.

Don't feel sorry for me I'm not fishing for compliments in fact I've deduced that I need to be doing a number of things to up my readership;

a) Post more pictures from my life

b) Get a mascot i.e. a dog

c) Blog more often

All these things are fairly easy to accomplish. However do you really need to see more pictures of me? Do I really need to write something everyday, (believe me I can be inane) and a mascot... OK the mascot I could love- you know how much I aspire to rescue a Dogue De Bordeaux!

I worry endlessly that my writing is artifice that I'm trying too hard or just not interesting enough and then I remember something surfer girl Sanoe Lake once wrote

'Let go of the ego, it robs you of all things.'

This blog brings me much solace and whether its read or not I will continue to write because it makes me feel good.

Live. Love. Surf.

So my bf suggested I write more about what I actually do (aside dreaming of ocean) as a very big part of my life is wrapped up in International Development, inspired largely by Africa. I'm working towards doing a Masters degree in the subject and wish to study the impacts of surf tourism in post conflict Liberia (this isn't as hashed together as it sounds, there's actually a very interesting livelihoods study there).

So below are some photographs from 
'On Yer Bike, cycling for change,'
a campaigning group me and my friend Craig have established to raise awareness on different global issues (we work primarily with the Millennium Development goals).
 Saturday was our maiden voyage and other than being a lot of fun we cycled six hours distributing information on the theme of water aid, from helping those who have shortages to conserving your own.

Every man has the right to decide his destiny
- Bob Marley

Starting in July I'll be a project coordinator for the youth program in the Birmingham Refugee Women's Association. I am so excited to get stuck in as it means I'll be able to really make a difference (hopefully) in my own community. I have lots of ideas and will certainly be using art as a way of helping Birmingham's refugee community express themselves. 
That and the Responding to Conflict Internship starts soon, which will expose me to work in a UK NGO context and how peace building and conflict resolution actually works.

STOKED!

Until next time, mermaids, water babies, and everyone else in between, live well!

Tea with Africa

So Monday I was sat with two Rwandan refugees drinking tea, laughing from my belly and trying not to drop biscuits after dunking. Believe it or not I was on a job interview with a tiny community project who are looking for someone to help organise a youth programme in Handsworth, Birmingham. Suzanne and Henry set up the project having escaped genocide themselves (over ten years ago) and now want to reach out to the refugee community in Birmingham. 

I think it highlights that if you give someone a helping hand they go on to not only help themselves but others also. Suzanne wishes to go back to Africa and set up an NGO.

The word is INSPIRATIONAL.

There is something about Africa that draws me back again and again, it gets under my skin and is a big driving force for me pursuing the career I am. Below are some photos I found from my time in the Gambia, to me they sum up a lot of what Africa is about and why I'll continue to have a love affair with the continent.

Places. People. Wildlife. <3

The funny thing is I may have two jobs but I will need a third to afford them both!

(My Dad thinks I'm stupid. I like to think I'm just hard working)

Job 1: Internship with Responding to Conflict (Unpaid)

Job 2: Working with refugee youths (wage may as well be unpaid)

Job 3: Anything that gives me money (soul destroying job)!

My life is starting to have a little direction but I think its important to emphasise the point of looking around you. We often stare so fixedly onto the future we forget to acknowledge the present.

Until next time loved ones, be merry and live well

X

Buddhism On The 140 Bus

The 140 bus from Blackheath to Dudley does not seem an obvious choice for profound contemplation but that fifteen minute journey has provided me with ample opportunities to meditate on life.

Today I saw school kids litter picking, yesterday I watched a street dancer rehearse a routine in the bus stop and today I sat next to a lady who told me about her daughter in Australia.

They were simple snippets of everyday life which have opened my mind to appreciate compassion.

There is an old Hawaiian proverb (the complete opposite side of

the world from India where Buddhism began but...)

'There is life in the labouring,'

The saying really rings true and has been giving me great solace of late.

I know in comparison to other people's suffering my problems are minuscule but problems are all relative and that is why things sometimes get me down. I'm flat broke, not in a scary way (I'm not in debt), but I'm living very much hand to mouth. I hate it because it feels like I'm treading water (no pun intended) and at the end of the day the only person I can blame is myself.

Its hard overcoming your pride but this is a fundamental Buddhist principle over come the ego.

Reading Buddhist literature is helping me immensely to get over myself- ok so I can't rub two pennies together but hey I have flesh on my bones, love and above all potential. In suffering there is beauty, truth and enlightenment.

Samsara is Nirvana

(The Buddhist version of no pain, no gain)!

I went for an interview today, it was for a support worker role at a care home for older Caribbean people. The minute I walked in I felt at home. Everybody smiled and said hello, reggae music played in the background and I literally didn't stop laughing with the two ladies who interviewed me. I could really imagine myself there while I do my internship and save up for a masters. The only trouble is my internship is 3 days and the job would be 4 i.e. no days off...

Samsara is Nirvana, Samsara is Nirvana!

I have another interview on Monday which is for a youth worker role with African refugee kids. I cannot articulate how much I would like this job, obviously I've yet to get a real feel for the place but should the 'vibes' be good I'll be crossing every finger and toe to get that job!! A fundamental part of Buddhism is about dedicating yourself to the service of others, you don't necessarily need a job to serve others but I think right work sets up a rigt lifestyle and that breeds compassion. 

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Its hard not to be defined by your job, gosh I've spent the biggest part of a surfing blog talking about everything but surfing. This sucks. However the big picture is this, if I get a job I have money and if I have money that means more trips to the coast to hone my skills. Its been over a year since I surfed and my craving for the ocean has gone past just being a desire, its palpable like being thirsty (bad Buddhist having desires is not good karma)!

How can I call myself a surfer girl when I can't technically surf and don't get to the ocean often?

...I am a surfer becausethe passion is there, because more than anything this is what I want to do, to surf, to do it well and to be by the ocean.

“The wave does not need to die to become water. She is already water.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh, Heart of Buddha's Teaching

 

Until next time water babies, live well

 

X

The Fine Art Of Juggling

There was a recent article in a British women's magazine that elaborated on the increasing number of women picking their career over their relationships. The general gist was that women should prioritise ambition over personal relationships on the basis that careers don't have the potential to cheat, lie or hurt you.

Say what?!

Why is it either/or for women. Anybody who prioritises career over relationships or vice versa is, in my opinion, living a half life. Women let's start championing the notion that;

 We CAN have the best of both worlds.

 Remember when you were four and you just had to be a vet, then you got to high school and realised you couldn't hack it, that and the sight of blood made you faint. You see the thing is dreams change just as much as people do, what you think you want to do is often quite different to the reality. So by all means aim for something but don't fall in love with the illusion. Look around you, relish every step of the journey towards the career you think you want and above all don't pass on someone, simply because they've popped up at the wrong time in your life plan.

Sometimes a little spontaneity is in order.

The Fine Art Of Juggling.

Having had a month of inertia (a poetic way of saying, unemployed) I've suddenly had a glut of activity all demanding my attention at once. I've managed to get the internship of my dreams working for Responding to Conflict, an NGO that helps peace building in some of the world's most war torn developing countries. On top of that I'm attending a business course to help me understand the nitty gritty of the t-shirt business (the t-shirt designs I'll be selling HERE) and I'm also in the process of establishing 'On Yer Bike' a cycling for change event that raises awareness of international development issues. Then there's family, friends and my dear loved one who mustn't be neglected.

Phew!

Life doesn't work in straight lines so I'm going to enjoy the curves(!) Here's hoping you do too.

Namaste

:)

Flotsam & Jetsam

As promised please find my first ever zine below, its called

'Flotsam & Jetsam'

Now take a wild guess as to the subject matter, jacket potatoes, 80's music, robots?

No, dear blog reader. Nay I say!

Its a SURFING zine :)

I've left notes about each page as a little context never hurt anyone.

FRONT PAGE

I'd been reading a book called the Saltwater Buddha by Jaimal Yogis who made a correlation between surfing and Buddhism. Being a Buddhist who is trying to surf the book really resonated with me and resulted in this collage. According to the Oxford dictionary Flotsam & Jetsam refers to discarded things which made real sense to me being that it reflects my current status in life!

PAGE ONE

The photgraphs are recycled from surfer girl magazine naturally one of my favourite subscriptions. This is not purely because it centres around my favourite subject, but because it portrays women as strong, capable people with the right to dream.



PAGE TWO

There is a multitude of literature paying homage to the water and it was a big influence in the creation of this zine. I find the metaphors for water tend to help you make sense of life in a really simple but beautiful way.

PAGE THREE

Did you know when a starfish is stressed it can fill itself with gas and explode, push their stomachs out of their bodies to eat and according to my marine biologist sister they also have been called ballerinas of the sea, on account of their abiltiy to balance on point during substanntial orgasms?!

Whats not to love about starfish?!

I'm slightly obsessed with them at the moment because of their beautiful shape, their biology and the fact I really want a starfish neckalce/earrings, for this reason I decided to make a collage with them as the focus.

PAGE FOUR

Its always scary exposing your inner thoughts but I've always maintained that this blog is supposed to be a place of honesty. I don't think I've ever truly been depressed but I have felt sadness, that human condition that unites us all. If my story can make just a little bit of a difference to someone who is feeling low, then I'd feel like I'd really accomplished something.

PAGE FIVE

The above quote is a Sophia original, I really believe surfing is more than just a hobby or a tribe, it is a way of life which is precisely why surfers can come across as very Bodhi esq if you ask them anything.

PAGE SIX

I love the fusion of surfing and spirituality which is why I used a big Buddha picture in this collage. I also am fascinated by the evolution of surfing which is why I included vintage photogrpahs from the 1970s, the picture of the surfing baby and the woman ripping up a wave bottom right.

PAGE SEVEN & EIGHT

The zine was supposed to be a homily to all types of water which is why I included a section on British canals. As a Midland girl completely landlocked, canals were my ocean, they were moments of escapism when the British family seaside holiday didn't come around soon enough!

PAGE NINE

In respect to Antonio and your gag reflexes I try not to wax lyrical about my relationship too often, that being said its playing a big role in shaping me as a person and I guess you talk about things that make you happy.(Obviously as a Buddhist I see happiness as a fleeting thing that cannot be possessed...)

PAGE TEN

Its pretty. Its got flowers. Thats why I made this page.

PAGE ELEVEN

This is supposed to be my attempt at a joke. Obviously I don't look like this (my love handles will tell you that), but its certainly a body type to aspire to. Surfer girls are awesome because you can be pretty much any shape to surf, that being said surfers tend to have amazing strong arms and a rock hard core so for that reason I'm hitting the swimming pool pronto!

PAGE TWELVE

I tend to like uncool music. That being said I think this music list is actually pretty neat. Go on have a listen.

PAGE THIRTEEN

Fish are cool and I really hate that people think of them as unintelligent or somehow unfeeling. A fish is alive, it has a nervous system therefore it feels pain.

PAGE FOURTEEN

Just a shameless name plug really.

BACK PAGE

Having a Point Break poster as the back page is the only way to finish a zine, didn't they tell you?

Voila one finished zine.

Now should this ramshackle approach to a zine interest you please feel free to leave a comment I really appreciate your thoughts and opinions. I have this in a pdf should you want your own copy

email me at sophia.cant.surf@gmail.com to get your own :)

Aloha readers!