Pony Gold Magical Trip shirt; The 2 Bandits concho wing choker; Red Rabbit turquoise eagle ring;  Pony Gold Wonderseeker pin.

This is the summer sunshine warming your hands; the strongest whiskey raising your soul; a humid night under the stars; the bluebird in your heart; a pressed flower in a sketchbook; conversations in the dark over Pink Floyd and fire sounds; hypercolour hallucinations and cosmic storms in dreams; the buckles on your favourite boots; being saved by rock n’ roll; daisies stolen from the train station; unfamiliar beers in the European sun; a steady hand; and knowing you are never able to see enough, hear enough, know enough to ever cease.

So, why not? Enjoy this weird and magical trip. 

Volcom skirt and knit; vintage Harley Davidson boots and shirt. 

The last month of the Melbourne winter is a good time to visit the northern hemisphere. When your resources for dealing with freezing mornings and too-long nights are all but worn through, it's nice to go somewhere warm, humid and wild. Somewhere dense and lush with summer life; somewhere with sunlight so sharp you involuntarily shield your eyes; somewhere very far away from the memory of toes aching in your boots and ice sparkling on the train-station wheelie bins. 

So when I return from the northern hemisphere this weekend, I'm hoping that winter will be gone.  Hoping that Melbourne will be changing into more agreeable garb: something patched together out of daylight savings, weekend camping escapes, afternoon beers in the sun, and rambling walks with the dog. And I'll be hoping that it's time to put away the coats and jumpers and start cutting the sleeves off my shirts and the legs off my jeans... well, maybe in a couple of months. 

This afternoon I’m flying up to Sydney for a crazy couple of days of all-girl art madness… The above photos give a sneaky little peek into what I’ve been working on over the past few weeks in preparation for this weekend.

The Curvy Creative Conference opens at Ambush Gallery with an exhibition on Thursday evening, and we’re following it up with a panel/workshop/hang out at the Volcom School of Cool on Friday. I’ll be answering questions on the panel (scary!) alongside some hugely successful creatives from a whole bunch of different fields: typographer Gemma O’Brien, Volcom creative director Kimberley Reynolds, tattoo artist Lauren Winzer, Ainsley Hutchence from Sticks and Stones Agency, just to name a few… Then Gemma will be hosting a typography workshop, and I’ll be working on a denim jacket painting.

Unfortunately, I can’t hang around for day two of the Curvy conference (I’m heading to Japan!), but there’s amazingly talented creative geniuses speaking on both days, so it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re in the area.

More info here.