Aha! You are wondering about my new workspace? Not as cluttered and busy as my usual space. And your wondering about my choice of colours and furniture? So minimal you say! No... this cosy corner is in my favourite Brisbane building - the State Library in fact. It is full of alcoves and secret rooms and tucked away spaces. It was so humid last thursday I packed myself off to this Library for a good 7 hours - with lunch, water, pens and paper as I had a whole lot of planning and writing I wanted to do. Enough of the computer and wonky old fan... I opted for air conditioning in the best building I know! Caught up with the latest art magazines, found some great new books in the collection and did get my work done too... all so quietly and calmly. Even when I decided to decamp 3 floors down for a strong coffee I came back to find no-one in my room!
On my round table you might you may notice a large open book. The following images were from this I think newly published title: Herbarium by Robyn Stacey and Ashley Hay. The red images are sea-weeds. Below are pages on ferns.
the 2 images below are from a book on Philip Taaffe who has an excellent website listed on the sidebar of this blog close to the bottom. For me he is such a complex and rich artist with a unique take on art that is very much of his time but so not driven by externals. Interviews, books, written material I find always prompts reflection... and visually there is so much going on to spend time exploring.
As I introduced you to the State library I will share a photo I took of an amazing glass box jutting out as if over the river - its an excellent reading/computer room. Below is an image from when the building was nearing completion of that same room. And below that is a visual of the entire building designed by Brisbane architects Donovan Hill Peddle Thorpe. Read more here about this great building and its many functions and collections. In 2007 it was voted 'building of the year' in Australia by RAIA judges who described it as "culturally and climatically a Queenslander - partly grand library and part community hall with its interiors opening like the chapters of a good book" I'm totally smitten and given it is near the Qld Art Gallery and GoMA and the rest of the whole cultural precinct what's not to like!
16 comments:
awesome post Sophie! love that you took yourself to such a posh looking place with AIR CONDITIONING how delicious that sounds! I am in adorationof this book with the ferns, reminds me of an antique album that I have with fern images around the windows, so beautiful! thanks for taking me with you! xo
wow! what a beautiful place to spend time. especially when it's humid outside. love your cosy corner!
Thank you my friend from the north who is probably still trying to keep warm up there...not cool like us!
It was a delightful book...like the sound of your antique one though!
Come meet me for coffee next time hey?
Sophia x
What a great day! A day all to yourself in that library would be like a holiday! How relaxing.....
What a gorgeous building! That room over the river is magical. How nice to be able to have a retreat in a wonderful library, rather than seeking relief from heat in a movie theater...
Sophie, I like your style! I like how you turned an unpleasant situation into a positive experience. What a lovely place - huge place! The river room is stunning... Happy new week to you, and stay cool :^)
Hi Nathalie,
Thank you for visiting!
It was such a great find. I keep trying out different spaces and corners...but none have been this exclusive and pleasant!
In the afternoon I did have a meeting between 2 stockbrokers going on in the room near in which I could hear some of their discussion. Groan! But I had to laugh though when the obviously younger one was telling the older one about why he should be blogging and explaining the whole rationale to him!
S
Hi Sophie, hope you had a fabulous holiday.
This heat and humidity is killing me too! Its almost impossible to do a good days work without air-con. Glad you found somewhere great to hang out and escape it all!
Hi Susan,
It was extremely relaxing but focusing at the same time. Humidity seems to make you feel you cant think or do much. I do get things done...but this space made it so much easier ...and few distractions apart from too many books!
Thanks for popping by,
S
*just realised I have to run to an appointment...back later Altoon and Janis!
Sophie - no I'm jealous! Maybe we could arrange an occasional trade of my neighborhood for your library. What a great space. In a fantasy life I would find a really great library and spend the rest of my life there - would it be the NY Public, the VandA or your library????? Hmmmmmmm. Difficult choices.
Thanks for sharing that with us. I know what you mean about the humidity. One reason I was fairly philosophical when it came time to leave Hawaii again.
We look forward to what comes next in Sophie's world!
Altoon,
this is a brilliant building....I saw images of a small inner city home designed by these architects some years back and I thought then they were exceptionally clever.... I wanted to live in that house very badly...this from someone not terribly aquisitive! Later as i got to explore this building I realised they had given a monster of a building the intimacy of their domestic work...it is loved by so many who visit - everyone feels a sense of belonging and ease and welcome.
thanks for the great comment!
S
Hi janis,
its great knowing that a really miserable hot day may be spent here... time permitting of course! Knowing its there is half the relief!
Thanks for your great cheery message!
You have a good week too!
S x
Hi Karen (dragon fly!)
Great holiday thank you... even if I didn't make it to Vietnam as first hoped....
thanks for your great ideas on that future excursion I hope!
Keep cool... you feel so sluggish unless you get smart and plan well at this time of year.
No doubt you are dunking your self in the pool when you can... pity you cant sit there and work!
ciao,
S
Mlle Paradis,
The trade sounds excellent actually... I know what you mean about that fantasy. I love the quiet energy field that exists in such a place...all the brain activity and in some cases excitement and pleasure. Mind you I love walking through this same huge library and noticing all the students who've fallen asleep in their text books... completely gone. Cramming for Uni. Many asian students gather here - living away from home - so no doubt burning the candle at both ends and using the library to get on with it... if they can just stay awake. They're fine though...there's a sense that everyone belongs and all are family... strange to say that about a large public space ...but its a receptive zone like no other!
Sophie's world is a surprise to sophie sometimes too... what will come along next Mlle Paradis??? For you and for me?
S
ps love the haiwaian connection in stories and images to make up for the fact of wanting to visit . I spent 20 hrs there once at Waikiki beach...between planes. I was rather sorry when seeing the colours to not have allowed a few days to get out o the centre and go somewhere lovely and feast my eyes and swim!
nice room, love the planty piece with olivey greens
Thank Lorena,
That's one of Philip Taaffe's works...google him or find his weblink in my sidebar towards the end under WEBLINKS.
ciao,
S
After sweltering away in my studio (when I walk in the wall of heat hits me -it feels like a real oven set to low,...tin roofs!) I saw this post - wish I was there! Why don't I allow myself to get out and do that??? I think the martyr in me is alive, well and kicking
Oh dear Gabrielle,
that "wall of heat" - horrendous way to start a long painting session.
I find these coping mechanisms make all the difference to getting used to this climate...I am looking at summer more fondly having learned some key ways to survive the worst of it.
The city beach is another find, right on the river close to the cultural precinct and with real sand and lagoon pools. free and open till midnight...in fact its not fenced off so its like an oasis in the city!
However the library os far more civilised- and one gets work done,
Hope you have good fans!
best,
S
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