Swiss Alps: Soaring through landscapes

I was lucky enough to be asked to meet Jim Furness in Switzerland earlier this month for a two-day adventure into the high-altitude glorious vistas of the alps! This was my first visit to Switzerland, and I have to say, the country is just utterly beautiful. I really hope to go back sometime. You'll be able to see from the images how idyllic it really is. I couldn't believe how fresh and vivid everything looked.

(First, I have to mention that I had a bit of a 'life affirming' moment on the way to the airport for this trip, when I forgot that I couldn't pay for a bus ticket to Heathrow by card after noon and didn't have enough cash. Before I even had time to panic, a helpful member of staff at the park and ride (Pedro from Portugal) simply GAVE me £20. I couldn't believe it. I asked him how I could pay him back, wondering if I could do a bank transfer there and then using my phone, but he just shrugged and said 'take it'. Of course, when I arrived back from Switzerland and saw him there again, I was able to pay him back in Scottish money, which he was fascinated by. For those of you who might be thinking 'I bet he likes to help out all the pretty girls...' or something along those lines: firstly, he wasn't flirting whatsoever, though we had a good conversation about his life (he was a successful artist working with metal, keen to find his way back into that field now that he lives in the UK), and secondly, he told me that he frequently gives money to passengers in a rush who realise they can't pay by card. I asked him, 'don't you go broke just giving your money away so often?' and he said he often finds stray notes around the car park. I thought he was brilliant.)

We stayed in Jim's friend's cabin, enjoyed fondue and Rösti, and spent the days riding up cable cars (which ranged from the commercial and modern to the more... well... 'wooden box' variety, being little more than a crate used by locals to transport milk!) and walking around the mountains for the best views. We got the best of both worlds in terms of weather - it was warm and sunny, with snow-topped peaks! I also got to practise my German a bit, despite initially thinking it would be a French speaking part of the country (duh!). As Jim had described to me beforehand, the sound of cowbells is almost omnipresent, as the four-legged wander around the hills.

Here are my favourites:

...You can see a full screen slide show with music: click here

I've also got some 'behind-the-scenes' shots, courtesy of Wendy, Jim's friend and host....

....as well as my own photos, taken while snap-happy-journeying into the sky or while Jim set up his own shots (just a few here, but if you wanted to see more, I've got a 'Nice People, Places and Things' album on facebook which makes me very very happy to look back through):

(It's OK, if the wooden box falls apart halfway up the mountain, simply press this red button...')

(Wendy and I)

Last but not least, one idea Jim had prior to the shoot was the idea of possibly doing some video while out in Switzerland. I was a bit unsure. Having done nude video before I wasn't new to it, but also feel strongly that it's something that can easily become a little too 'erotic' for my tastes. Often video becomes all about the model, which can be very indulgent, and when nudity is added to the mix it can be difficult to control the mood of the output... Stills, on the other hand, while hopefully portraying plenty of narrative, are miniscule captures of fleeting moments; videos are so much more substantial (literally). There is a lot more responsibility as a model and perhaps a lot more scope for misinterpretation. Then again, I knew that Jim saw things exactly the same way, and wanted a result that was in line with what I would be happy to do, and I'm so glad we decided to just go for it. As such, despite the deliberation beforehand, the video below was completely spontaneous.

Having listened to the music, we did it in just two full-length takes (the one below is the first, and our favourite), and just moments before the camera started rolling I was saying 'I have no idea what on earth I'm going to do, by the way.' Jim is completely new to video work, so we are extra grateful that this came out so well! I think we succeeded in making a piece that is not necessarily about 'me', but about the glory and beauty of nature, and the innocence of a nude woman within that.

Jim's portable 'JamBox' blasted out the dream-like sounds of Hildegarde von Bingen's 'Veni spiritus eternorum alme' (lyrics beneath the video). The only plan I had was to begin by walking on set, but following the music felt easy, with soft, flowing movements that expressed the splendour of the incredible view and the gravity and beauty of the lyrics.

Here are the words:

Come, kind spirit of the ages,

visit the hearts of your people, casting out ill conduct;
fill with supernal grace
each earth-born heart.

You who are the gift of the most high God, perpetual fount,
balm for the spirit,

promised gift of the almighty, you merit our faith.
Upon the holy apostles
you poured forth fiery tongues.

Give light to hearts, strengthening the wretched
with abiding courage.
Impart true love
and the manifold gifts of charity.

Drive away the envious foe,
grant the joy of heavenly peace.
Thus lead, going before us,
that we may have the strength to climb up

to the vault of heaven.

Translation: Susan Hellauer

So once again, a big thank you to Jim for this opportunity to visit Switzerland, the images and great conversations, and the chance to push boundaries!

PS. This is the book I mentioned a couple of posts back, for those of you who've been asking. I'd recommend it! 

Tribal Blues

Hi everyone! It's been such a busy few weeks for me, as always. Pretty much every minute is accounted for (in theory) and various and diverse goals are getting closed in on, with lots of fun being had along the way as these goals are things are all about what I want and love. I'm such a disciplined hermit, at the moment, and love it! My sociable time is currently carefully rationed out into Tues, Weds and Thursdays (friends and dance classes/rehearsals) mostly... And it feels good!

I've also had some hugely exciting family news recently (I'm going to be an auntie!!!!!!), while recent small pleasures have included dairy milk fruit & nut, and smugness at having a car with an anti-hijack mode, since after getting in my car to drive home at 4am after a night out on Sat, a drunkard decided he definitely, 100% without a doubt was going to have a lift from me 'just a few blocks' and promptly started pulling at my car doors (passenger side) in an aggressive craze. I had hesitated, until then, trying to assess if he was a threat or just a man in need... But yeah... My hand slammed down on the central locking button so fast as he lurched towards the car door, he just couldn't understand why the doors weren't opening. I'm not totally sure who won that race anyway, so I just thank the fact that my car only opens my driver door when I enter it unless I press the button twice. Ha!

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Interlude: Here's some classic Erykah Badu:

And here's a beautiful, sultry song by India Arie (singer of the more recent 'I am not my hair'), whose first album 'Acoustic Soul' I listened to roughly 5000 times about 10 years ago, especially this song, 'Brown Skin'. The whole album is stunningly beautiful.

And to finish off my little trio of smooth-jazz interruption, this killer love poem by Jill Scott was an old favourite, track numero 3 on the album. (And she was brilliant live!):

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(I'm sorry, I don't know what's happening here... This is not a music blog. I get distracted...)

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(The stars mean something new is about to happen.)

.................OK, here are two new photos of me, taken by the very creative Rayment Kirby in Sussex, where I'll be again at the end of May. I really love this first one.

I have so many more new images to show as always, but I'm being minimal and just putting two out there today.

In other news, I'm thinking of going to Borneo!

Maya, and Stupidity

As everyone probably knows, via the deluge of related facebook updates online if not by simply looking out the window, it's snowy here in the UK. I ended up having to cancel my weekend plans to visit Cambridge and lost out on quite a bit of earnings PLUS a cancelled hotel booking (and subsequently had to cancel my Plan B of having a girly lunch here in Oxford due to a second round of snowfall this morning). BUT, I have already managed to rearrange my Cambridge trip to 9th/10th March, and managed to bag myself a photoshoot outside in the snow while I was at it, courtesy of a photographer with a landrover! Hopefully more on that in a future post, but suffice it to say, we had fun out there in the winter wonderland near my house!

Today has involved such things as German lessons with the Vati, piano practise and other such Edwardian-style pursuits, plus a dash of catching up on Take Me Out, which I think is more of a comedy than a dating show, but brilliant nevertheless. (When asked to describe herself in astronomical terms, it emerged that one girl didn't know what a constellation was.... AND THEN HE PICKED HER! Excellent. As a person who is academically quite intelligent but life-wise extremely 'ditzy' (not to mention impractical) myself, I can relate to her brain collapse, if I squint a lot, and will refrain from making the observation that there definitely exists a certain type of men who seem to pick stupid women simply to make themselves feel more clever. Fair play to them.)

Taking out my bitch teeth (arguably), I have been revisiting my (younger) youth recently via a stint of teenage-self albums, via the humble minidisc (which I am prone to defending on any invitation, so I won't let myself start on about how ridiculous it is that they didn't catch on, when CDs scratch so easily and fall over and die after three plays, whereas minidiscs keep their chip protected by tough plastic and last pretty much forever, or about how I worked for £3 p/hr at a bakery, aged 15, to buy my flashing-light CD/minidisc player which I still use and love). The problem is, I don't have all my favourite albums from my (younger) youth* on actual CD and therefore digitally/on my phone/iPod if I ever buy one, which is a sad state of affairs. (I buy CDs most weeks now, and have done for years, but am ashamed to say that a lot of my early music collection came from ignorance/indifference regarding the illegal download phenomenon). Nevertheless, on my £3 p/hr CD/minidisc player, I've just been playing Destiny's Child for half an hour and am now girl power in human form. 

OK, I'll shut up now and show a recent favourite photo, taken by an Australian friend/model/photographer, Jayne Hartt, while cooling off between other shoots. I love it! :-)

*Destiny's Child, Nelly Furtado, Usher, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, The Sugababes... etc.... 

Funny story about The Sugababes actually... Due to my past illegal downloading/'sharing' of music (which I emphasise I truly am ashamed of and would NEVER do now) I have one Sugababes album, 'Three', which ends with the song 'Maya'. This is an absolutely stunning, beautiful, soul-warming track which I used to re-wind and play over and over again. It's sung by Heidi and, being the very last track, marks a change in direction for the group from RnB to something more timeless and universal... Or so I thought... It turns out (and I discovered this only yesterday!!!) that the 'Maya' I was listening to at the end of the Sugababes album was not in fact sung by the Sugababes (I now wonder why I so firmly believed it was a solo by Heidi - I think I thought I'd read it somewhere! I even remember thinking that she must have trained with some eastern/Asian singing tutors especially!) but in fact by Susheela Raman, a completely different singer of southern Indian (Tamil)/UK descent. When downloading the individual tracks by the Sugababes, I obviously mistook 'Maya' by the Sugababes (which is apparently a song dedicated to Mutya Buena's younger sister, who sadly passed away), for a southern indian love song. True story. And to do Susheela Raman's 'Maya' credit (it really is a stunning, captivating song; Heidi truly outdid herself...) here's the song, below, and I'll order the (physical) album on which the original (imposter) 'Maya' appears, Salt Rain -  because it's nice to know that this song isn't just a one off on the part of the Sugababes, and that there is more of this beautiful voice to listen to!

Thinkin' About Your Body

Although modelling is my 'full time income', as I usually put it, writing is my long-term dream, and my time is split into two professions, realistically (though the two work very well together). I always write on the days I'm not modelling. This morning, instead of banging out 1000 words of my current work in progress (which is actually going quite well at the moment!), I spent an hour accidentally banging out a poem instead. I have told myself that this can justify the static word count of my novel, since I haven't let myself do this in a very long time.

Probably needs some changes and polishing (some stanzas in particular definitely need some whipping), but I'm quite pleased with it as a first draft:

Mapping Renewal

2-3 weeks for the lungs.

About a year for the alveoli to regenerate.

Nothing on the surface; forever, deeper.

24 hours for the cornea. Which explains

why I can see you so clearly now.

20 years for the heart. Perhaps four times

in a lifetime. Three if repairs are slow. Scars

can't muscle. Intestines; 2 or 3 days. Fighting to rid;

stomach acid sears through. Gargle, spit:

taste buds; every ten days. I am not

so enthused by your wanderlust now.

6-8 weeks for an eyelash. Mine

are doe like, defined by black; don't bat for you.

3-6 years for hair and your indecision.

I bleached mine; I am getting it cut.

The skeleton takes ten years. Osteoclasts.

Osteoblasts. Break down. Build up. I am cast

as beauty. My closet is empty.

Fingernails twice as fast as toenails.

Keratin, circulation, tissue supply.

New skin every two weeks.

Less elastic. Still waterproof.

We won't touch again. The liver, flushing

away cruel toxins; just five months a round.

The brain ages alone, coughing notes in the dark

through dreams and organs; imagines its own future:

conjures decision; the belief that it can thrive.

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And because I thought Mosa (of OnePixArt) might appreciate this kind of thing, here are some images he took of me in LA. I have admired his artwork for a long time, and it was certainly interesting to be let in on his philosophies about women. I think the third is my favourite.

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And finally, a song about bodies I've been enjoying by Bobby McFerrin... Love this guy. I've finally joined the modern age and have all my music on my phone. Well, not all; do you have any idea how much music I own? It's quite shocking. But anyway, along with some questionable beauties (the most questionable being Take That's debut album, teach-yourself-spanish, and the Sister Act soundtrack - all choices I personally stand by, however) I treated my studio day attendees on Saturday to such gems as:

Off now for a round two of responding to emails before meeting up with new friends tonight. Excited to see lots of my 'old' friends in the next week or so too. You gotta love that about Christmas; everyone gathers. :-)