the things i saw today

Having been cooped up indoors for far too long, a simple walk becomes a sensory explosion— the heavy, dull smell of burning coal, the soft scent of snow in the clouds, the brine of the sea... My childhood comes flooding back into the forefront of my brain as these scents and that green, green of the Bosphorus melt into a blur of synaesthesia.

Life has carried on in my absence— always a bit shocking but never disappointing; the yellow house is now tragically white, and the blue barrels are now on the right-hand side of the road. Boats with different names bob silently in the green waves. I feel like I've been reunited with a long-lost love— forgotten contours and fuzzy details now clear.

As I feel the comfort of cold cobblestone beneath my thin sole, I can't help but spread a wide grin across my winter-stung face.

It feels so good.

longing

My dear friends, I apologise for my long absence— I've been stuck indoors with my postgraduate work and teaching that I've had absolutely no time to explore my dear city or travel. The weather has been dismal and cold enough to be uncomfortable, and this restricted feeling has been getting me down. I long for coffee shops and meandering walks, I long for birdsong and most of all, I long for the freedom of travel. My studies are almost over, and I can hardly wait. I have two possible trips loosely planned in my head for April, which has been the light at the end of this very grey tunnel I've been stuck in. I have a break next week which I am looking forward to, and if the weather permits, I plan on sketching outdoors and getting to know my Istanbul again.

the queen of hearts

This is my entry for Moleskine Exchange 55, the Alice in Wonderland exchange.
I decided to give the Queen of Hearts a little makeover. What do you think?

Click on the images if you'd like to see them larger.

getting back into it

After Moleskine Exchanges 64, 24 and 29 fell apart and one of my books disappeared somewhere between Australia and Mexico, I must admit I had become a little disenchanted with the whole exchange experience. I've been participating in Moleskine exchanges for three years, and I think I just got a little tired— and life eventually got in the way.

Lately I've felt something was missing in my life and the little black books piled on my desk with blank pages waiting for me, reminded me of how much I had loved participating in these exchanges. I had befriended so many artists from around the world and we had shared our artwork— a truly magical experience. I realised I needed to get back into it and hopefully, inspire some of the other disenchanted artists to do the same. So much beautiful artwork has been produced in three years, and it would be such a pity to let it all just fall apart.

Well dear Rose, here is your book. I am terribly sorry for keeping it empty for so long— I do hope you will like it.



Above is the entry in my missing book... Where in the world could it be?

boys and girl

On the theme "Boys and Girls," part of The Sketchbook Project.

cosy on a silver plate

No trip to Kadıköy is complete without a visit to the amazing Çiya. You know that feeling when you've been outside in the cold, your cheeks burning, your nose red— and you come inside to the sensation of tingly, cosy warmth spreading from your toes up to that red, red nose? Is there a word for that? The yoghurt, chickpea, spinach and lamb soup tasted precisely like that feeling. Absolutely delicious. Absolutely cosy.

thirty-two

Well, I've done it.
I've turned thirty-two!

the cat and the hammer

My two entries in Emma's book for Moleskine Exchange 48, part of Moly-X, the International Moleskine Exchange. I took way too long to complete these two little drawings.

Guess who inspired me?

cabin fever

My apologies dear friends for posting so sporadically, I've been busy with migraines and my postgraduate course. I hope to get out a little this week and get some sketching or photo snapping done— I've got cabin fever!

foggy windows

As the snow turned into rain, the sighs of disappointed school children fogged up the windows.

tempting ropes of colour

At the grandest of bazaars.

çay, anyone?

With nearly every business transaction at the bazaar comes the tinkling of tiny teaspoons in tulip-shaped glasses, glittering sugarcubes perched on red and white saucers— hot çay to warm you from the toes up. Empty glasses tell stories of waiting, bargaining and contentment— happy customer, happy vendor. They are as much a part of the Grand Bazaar as its famous arches.

dark afternoons

frida

Oh be still my thunderous heart— Frida, in Istanbul! This is the very first time that the work of either Frida Kahlo or her husband, Diego Rivera, has ever been shown in Turkey. Over forty pieces from the artists are currently on display at the lovely Pera Museum until March 20th. Do not miss it!

pink

above the fog

The similarities between San Francisco and Istanbul this morning end with the melancholic, melodic azan being sung somewhere beneath the fog. The past three weeks have melted into some kind of blurry dream, and as I sit here by the window, it hardly seems possible that they ever took place. In many ways I wish they hadn't; I would still have my grandad, but such wishes are pointless as this is precisely life. It comes and goes, much faster than we would like— which is why we must always do whatever we can to make what we have as beautiful and as true for ourselves as possible. Life has suffering and tremendous beauty— no matter how painful or ugly things can get, we must always remember great joys and wonderful things lie just on the other side, and are carried with us in our hearts through the hardship. There is always poetry, there is always love.

two of my favourite things

1. The Gilded Lily at the Alembic on Haight
2. Imperial Jade Noodles with Coconut Lemongrass Marmalade Shrimp at Citrus Club on Haight

My, oh my.