Australia
Check it out!! / LittleHelen has gone to town on one of my images!!! / Let me just say this…..
Check it out!! / LittleHelen has gone to town on one of my images!!! / Let me just say this…. She is an incredible artist and I’m honoured that she took the time to reworked this piece… / Thanks so much LittleHelen, I LOVE it! / . /
LittleHelen and I have teamed up again and put out these little rippers!! / Peace and love t…
LittleHelen and I have teamed up again and put out these little rippers!! / Peace and love to all… and as Littlehelen says… / Remember kids…when you make a mess, clean up after yourselves :) / —-—-—-—-—-—-—-—- / Print / . / / & / T Shirt / . /
Caveat Lector
This is a portrait of redbubble member, Helen Gilbert AKA LittleHelen rendered with charcoal, acrylic and coloured pencil on Arches medium tooth paper. New original art listed every Sunday night in my eBay store /
Here is my interpretation of fellow redbubbler LittleHelen !! Special thanks goes out to Helen for exclusive use of her image…Thank you again my friend,Hope u like it ! / This was done Pastel and minor pencil work
Well, Brisbane finally took the plunge and we had our first meet where people actually attended!! The lovely Helen (LittleHelen...
Well, Brisbane finally took the plunge and we had our first meet where people actually attended!! The lovely Helen (LittleHelen) arrived at my house at 10am Sunday morning to me still in my pyjamas, so naturally I put her to work in my kitchen :p It rained most of the morning and we were a little disheartened as our meet was a picnic in the Brisbane Botanical Gardens! Luckily by the time we’d driven to Brisbane from the Gold Coast the skies were blue and it was hot and sunny! Helen and I put our balloons up and set up our table just as the first Brisbanite arrived! It was a fun, relaxed, enjoyable afternoon and it was wonderful to finally meet some Brisbane artists.Here’s a few pictures from the day! (Jack01 aka Collie also came with her husband Peter and brother Kev but they unfortunately had to leave before I broke my camera out) drec (Derek) says: always Coca Cola GabrielK listening intently to some profound and philosophical conversation no doubt. (and can I just say these photos don’t do him justice! Really beautiful guy! Romanian and something else if I remember correctly lol) Drec (Derek) tries to come to terms with Kathleen’s psychic powers Kathleen does her best “no really i’m sweet and innocent” face That infamous soccer game! GabrielK pretending he doesn’t know i’m taking (another) picture of him Scott Robinson charges his solar panel for the long walk home Food! Kathleen uses all her jedi mind powers to shrink an unsuspecting guy and his park bench Drec (Derek) has farted and is hoping nobody’s noticed Steven Lippis explains to everyone how his birth defect has impacted upon his life. Gabrielk isn’t interested as he’s perving on that blonde chick in the bikini Helen Every pic I took of Helen is blurry because everytime I went to take a pic of her she’d make me laugh! (And when I dropped her home she invited me in for coffee (wink wink nudge nudge :p) Cake Face! Steven Lippis and the birth defect
NSFW
What a great night this was! / In honour of LittleHelen , we met on Sunday and had a blast. ...
What a great night this was! / In honour of LittleHelen , we met on Sunday and had a blast. The bar itself is eclectic and cool. The people were even cooler. / I was in heaven, taking shots of carefree, quirky posers – what more could I ask for? I won’t label these, but there were so many I liked that I must apologise for the volume. Thanks to all those who attended for a wonderful evening, a lot of zany crazy fun – and for allowing me to play the tog. / / / / / / / 1 / / 2 / / 3 / / 4 / / 5 / / 6 / / 7 / / 8 / / 9 / / 10 / / 11 / / 12 / / 13 / / 14 / / 15 / / 16 / / 17 / / 18 / / 19 / / 20 / / 21 / / 22 / / 23 / / 24 / / 25 / / 26 / / 27
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playing with textures for something different :)
breathe girl….. COME ON!
Here’s LittleHelen showing she can stand the heat under studio lights on a 47degree day. Being an ex-chef and a resident of tropical Queensland, it was defintely easier for her than some lily-white skinned Melbournian such as myself! Go team Hels! Styling, hair, makeup and photography: Helen McLean / www.helenmclean.com.au Studio: Limelight Design Studios / www.limelightstudio.com.au
Quotes in my little red book this weekend included: Books shouldn’t bitchslap you – Adrian Carmody / Speaking of ferrets…. – me / ...
Quotes in my little red book this weekend included: Books shouldn’t bitchslap you – Adrian Carmody / Speaking of ferrets…. – me / It’s personality vomit – Luckyvegetable / Ah, the classic paddlepop seduction move – Chris White / I’d smash someone in this place for a sausage roll – Yasemin Sumner / He yelled at me so I picked up my box and I ran – Jo O’Brien / There will be cheese – me Please note: during the festivities described, none of us were yet aware of the extent of the bushfire disaster, so I hope no-one is offended by the lack of sombre attitude in this journal post. I don’t think there’s any Melburnian who hasn’t been affected or anyone who isn’t deeply distressed by this hellish week. Please don’t forget to visit The Phoenix Appeal to donate money or artwork to assist the victims. The February Melbourne writers’ meeting heralded the arrival of two interstate bubblers – the wondrous LittleHelen and the fabulous Holly Ringland. In honour of both these beautiful scribes, a celebration was held beforehand at bubble favourite Bar Nancy, where the honey martinis flowed and the food was sublime….black tiger prawns in pomegranate sauce followed by chocolate fondue that had more than a few fingers dipping. The guests of honour, Helen & Holly / Holly & I / The Red Bubble models preparing for a Mark German shoot / Luckyvegetable & Michael Alesich slow dancing….oh, so romantic :-) / Helen & I, and yet another honey martini…or three / The stunning Mizz Holly herself / Two days later we met at the Wesley Anne pub for cider and stories at the writers’ meeting, and the numbers swelled to the biggest session yet – twenty scribes sitting in the beer garden, reading out stories, ducking from cameras, and to quote Yasemin Sumner, being total word nerds. With Holly / Jo O’Brien, Paul Compton, Yasemin Sumner, Sheamus D & Fleece, all listening to a story / Shall you read, or will I? / Eventually the meeting rolled into Madame Brussels, where the rooftop garden provided a gorgeous city sunset for the interstate bubblers…Melbourne at its finest. Holly & Yasemin / Lucky pretending her cute little cupcake wasn’t PINK. / Moving on to everyone’s favourite part of the night…massage time (Lucky & Jess) / Sheamus D & Yaseminka / Sangria & sunshine with bubble wenches / And so we put our lovely wenches back on planes and out of Melbourne…...Helen, whose kickarse spirit and gentle humour are balm for the soul, and pretty damn good for the funny bone too. And babe, you absolutely CAN do cute, believe me! Can’t wait to strut through New York with you in June. And my girl of the Holly, who had the key to my house and all the cherry beer she could handle, who counted cats with me and reminded me of why I write, just when I needed it most. Love you two wonderful women, more than I can say. And some quotes to finish off the weekend…... / Pomegranate is the new black – Lucky / I like to be suckled – Adrian / God bless the selkies – me / I didn’t think you could be naked in a Tudor village – Lucky / Stay out of my orb – Jess / When men do that to me….my god….I’d almost tell them my real name! – me I said almost.
For Bell, Holly, Lisa, Nicole, Paul V, Yas, Jess, Pops, Mark, Lucky, Michael, John, Jo, James and all of you who made my weekend in Melbourne so memorable once again. Thank you ;) xx Hair, Make Up, Styling, Photography / again the brilliant Helen Mclean :D
never underestimate a woman who can handle a big block. :D
Little Helen has been a RedBubbler since July 2007 and is the queen of the RB interview. Sh…
Little Helen has been a RedBubbler since July 2007 and is the queen of the RB interview. She’s uncannily good at charming her subjects into revealing all sorts of juicy details about themselves. Bellmusker is an “authoress” extraordinaire who joined RedBubble in April 2007. She has been involved in organising the Melbourne Writers’ Meets for the past 18 months and has made a wonderful contribution to the writing community on RedBubble. So pour yourself a refreshing beverage, sit back and enjoy as the sophisticated misfit interviews the one who’s afraid of crumpets. / / Little Helen: Bell … how much life has changed for you since you first joined RedBubble? / / Bellmusker: My two years on RB have brought so many changes – I can barely imagine my life without it! I’d never put my writing out into the world before posting my first piece, ‘Fire’, and I can see such a progression between that and my present writing. Having a close community of writers to workshop with has been invaluable for my craft and my confidence, and I became brave enough to actually send my work to publishers. Since I joined I’ve had nine stories accepted for publication, I’m now working on a novel, and I’ve been asked to speak at the Melbourne Emerging Writers’ Festival I’ll be discussing writers’ groups and their magic, so RB will definitely get mentioned! On a personal level it’s been invaluable – it’s brought several people into my life that I now consider my closest friends. I went through a particularly dark period of agoraphobia in my twenties and when I joined, I was still living in its shadow: I wasn’t the most social of creatures. Having the inspiration and support of these amazing artists has really helped me to step back into the world with my head held high. The Melbourne group in particular is extremely vibrant, and not a week goes by that I don’t catch up with someone for drinks and laughter. I’ve just returned from Canberra to visit the glorious Holly Ringland, and you and I are headed to the States in a few weeks to strut through the streets of New York with the divine MsTrace – cannot wait! Joining RB has opened my life up in ways I’d never envisioned when I clicked that first upload button. / / / LH: You began organising Writers’ Meets for Melbourne RedBubblers (and should be credited for that) a while ago now. How are they going and have they been successful for you? / / B: The meetings are wonderful! The Melbourne Writers’ Group meets on the first Sunday of each month at a pub in Northcote, and we all look forward to it. It’s open to all writers and we’ve even been host to several interstate visitors, your fine self included. It’s a fabulous opportunity to read your work aloud, ask for advice and critique, pass on recommendations of writers (both on RB and off) and generally swill an indulgent amount of mulled wine and laugh to the high heavens. / / I love these meetings and have been hosting them for 18 months now. Some are intimate little gatherings of half a dozen scribes; the largest was 21 writers gathered around a huge table in the beer garden with cameras flashing and notebooks filling. So much fun! If you’ve ever been tempted to come along, take a look at the Writers’ Forum in the Melbourne and Victoria group for details, and accounts of previous meetings. Feel free to mail me with any questions, and I’ll make sure that your glass is always full and everyone knows your name. What are you waiting for?! / / / LH: How did you feel meeting a RedBubbler for the first time and who was it? / / B: My first meeting was on the steps of Flinders Street Station almost two years ago. I lingered at Fed Square, watching the red balloons held by Jo O’Brien and trying to decide if I would cross over. I did, and the rest is history. So I actually think Jo was my first ever bubbler, which is fitting considering how much she’s helped lured me out of my shell. I also recall Paul Louis Villani’s beaming grin (and I just realised that was also his first RB meeting). That day introduced me to two of my best friends: Jessica Tremp, who spoke German with me and leapt in the air for photos, and LisaG, who lingered up the back and hid from the cameras with me. In the early days I scowled at everyone who pointed a lens my way, but have since loosened up considerably and even done some RB modelling – amazing for me. / / / LH: Where does Bell’s heart dwell? / / B: With one foot firmly planted on the cobblestones of Brussels, and the other on the bank of the Yarra in Melbourne. I’ve always been torn between these two incredible cities, and I think I’ll always be going back and forth between them, as I’ve done for years. That said, next year I’m moving to Berlin for a stretch, as she has her hooks well and truly in me. And I loooooove the German language. / / / LH: Memories … we all hold them close. What is one of your happiest? / / BM: Every time I step onto the Grote Markt, the stunning medieval market square in Brussels that’s my favourite place in the world, my eyes well with joyful tears. However, I’d have to say that first email from an editor telling me that amongst one thousand submissions, they’d accepted my work for publication in “Going Down Swinging”, will never fade from my memory. There was clutching, there was squealing, and there might have even been a happy dance! Having my writing validated by professional editors is not something I’ll forget; it was the first time I thought hell, maybe I can actually do this. / / / LH: Name two things you could not live without? / / B: The glorious sunlight at dusk, when it falls golden on the bricks and makes my red hair look as though it’s caught fire. When I feel low, I take a walk at this time of night and feel suddenly able to breathe again. Never fails. Second, I’m going to have to say a pen in my bag, behind my ear, between my fingers: I’m always writing, scribbling down overheard conversations and titles for stories. And then there’s the quotes – you’ve seen my little red book of quotes come out at bubble meetings!! I always need a red moleskin and pen nearby, and can’t leave the house without them. Because no matter how much I say “I’m sure I’ll remember that later”, I rarely do without pinning it down in ink. / / / LH: A song that will forever be ‘your song’? / / B: Oh lord, that’s a big ask. I want to speak of the amazing Lunachicks, Supersuckers or Mahalia Jackson, but I’m a blues woman at heart and I have to say that I listen to “Crawling King Snake” by Etta James at least once a day. It’s an intense, dark, and immensely seductive song that holds rich memories for me. / / / LH: What are your plans for the future, professionally and personally? / / B: Professionally, I want to make my name as a writer. I first told my parents at seven that I was going to be “an authoress” when I grew up, hehe, and I’ve been a devoted ink spiller since then. I got my start writing for punk zines, and now with a degree in Linguistics behind me and a novel in progress, as long as I can weave words between my fingertips I’m happy. / / Personally? Well, that’s a little harder to say. I have an illness that I struggle with and though I thought I had it under control, it flared up this year and knocked me back underground for a while. I tend to write of snakes quite often and for me they symbolise both my illness and the potential for regeneration, so when I write of my snakes hissing it’s a general indication that I’m not doing well. My relapse has taught me I can never get cocky about it, so keeping my demons down is a constant aim for me. Also, the resolution was given to me to make this ‘the year of the duck’, namely, let things roll off my back a bit more; I tend to fire up easily. I’m not quite sure how I’m going with that! And I absolutely intend to move to Berlin next year, if only for six months, to get my dose of that beautiful language and sit in Bebelplatz with gingerbread and coffee and pour words out. / Bellmusker, Little Helen and a number of martinis … If you’d like to read more of Little Helen’s interviews, her RedBubble Hottest 100 series isn’t a bad place to start. If you’d like to find out more about the Melbourne Writers’ Meet, visit the Melbourne and Victoria group’s Writers’ Forum for more info.
“Be quiet now for Daddy – my medicine is just starting to kick in.” / Overheard in Disneyland !http://images-3.redbubble.net/img/art/...
“Be quiet now for Daddy – my medicine is just starting to kick in.” / Overheard in Disneyland During one late night phone call to LittleHelen, one of us casually mentioned “wouldn’t it be wonderful to fly over to the US and visit MsTrace?” And so we found ourselves on a 14 hour flight to the land of Reece’s peanut butter cups, cowboy hats and cheese in a can. It didn’t begin well. What you really don’t want to hear is ‘we’re sorry to inform you that Melbourne Airport is now closed due to fog.” And so I missed my flight to LA, as did Helen due to Brisbane fog, throwing us sideways to an airport hotel in Sydney, where the rain was relentless, the bar was closed, and my bags were missing. All we wanted was that moment when the flight attendant hands you the peanuts, and you know you’re on your way. A day late, the stretch limo purred to a halt in Los Angeles and we threw our arms open for Trace, a beautifully vibrant and generous soul who’s opened her house to us, right down to ‘B’ and ‘H’ personalised towels. Despite it being 8am, we cracked open the champagne as the limo slid through the streets of LA, and we were welcomed in fine style. It’s been a riot of vintage clothes shopping and tequila, high heels and chocolate, all in glorious Californian sunshine and deliriously high spirits. One of my first stops was an American supermarket, where I spent far too much time squealing at the food. Then there was Disneyland. Yes, I went to Disneyland, which will surprise many of you. Luckyvegetable has set me three challenges, the first being to get my photo taken with a Disney character. So I found myself lining up with shrieking children, and when Tigger caught sight of me, in suede mini skirt and tattoos, my fiery plaits topped by Tigger ears, he knelt at my feet and bowed down to me. It’s quite a skill entrancing grown men in animal costumes, but I use my power wisely. The rollercoaster delighted Helen and Trace, but I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to do it all again, or throw up. And if you think Bell in Disneyland is incongruous enough, prepare yourself for what follows. I refuse to discuss it. We drove through the Hollywood Hills for a good view of the sign, and found our favourite stars on Sunset Boulevard. I bought a killer corset at Frederick’s of Hollywood, and we sauntered through a flea market at Long Beach. Trace took us to a baseball game, where I threw myself into the spirit of things and devoured Coors with a mustard hot dog, and shared a bag of peanuts with the man next to me, throwing the shells on the ground and yelling at the LA Dodgers. We bought beautiful jewellery at Venice Beach and sang to the Beach Boys as we drove down Pacific Coast Highway, and drank peanut butter shakes as we watched a surfing competition at Huntington Beach. Trace’s lovely friends threw us a welcome bbq in a gorgeous 1920’s villa, sipping margaritas next to the jacuzzi as honkytonk music played and the delicious Mexican carne asada was grilled to perfection., It’s my birthday on Wednesday, so we jet off to New York tomorrow. As a pre-bday gift Trace treated me to lobster, truffles and champagne…I may never come home. And of course, there’s been plenty of vodka under the stars in Trace’s back yard, singing to Guns and Roses and taking the kind of silly snaps that tell a hundred stories, and will make me smile for some time. Helen and Trace send their love, and will post their stories soon. Until then, thanks for all the bubblemails, and I’ll speak to you from New York! And I mean it: I refuse to discuss the pink bridal Disney hat. Did you notice my buxom eyelashes? Helen / You speak really good English. What language do they speak in Australia? my pedicurist_ / It was poking me in places I shouldn’t be poked Helen / Did I hiss at someone in the bar last night? me / If I come to Australia, am I gonna be able to funk out? drunk guy in pub
Hey darlin’, I’ve walked all over New York looking for you. It’s true – just ask my feet! / Guy in Times Square !http://images-1.redb…
Hey darlin’, I’ve walked all over New York looking for you. It’s true – just ask my feet! / Guy in Times Square I could live here. Just letting you know that from the beginning, so you understand the total exuberant joy that will be threaded through this journal. MsTrace, LittleHelen and I jetted in after a week of beaches and sunshine in Los Angeles, to the jarring and utterly addictive noise that is New York City. It never stops, and I mean that literally; the yellow cabs honk all night, you can buy divine thick pretzels from a street vendor at any hour, and the flashing neon of Times Square doesn’t dull for a moment. We know this, because thanks to some wrangling from Trace, our hotel room looked directly down onto this seminal part of New York, right in ‘the shit show’ as it was charmingly called. And we absolutely loved it. / View from our hotel I’ve been to NY twice before, and both times fell head over kitten heels in love with it. It’s brash and exhausting and utterly spellbinding, and I find myself in no time striding through crowds (“coming through, step aside”) and scowling at people on the subway, to the point where I got mistaken for a native New Yorker more than once. This time, it delighted me to lead my girls to places I remembered, from shops in SoHo to restaurants in the East Village, beginning with the best coffee in the US: Cafe Angelique on Bleecker Street. Absolute bliss. We walked to the Brooklyn Bridge, admired squirrels in Central Park, took the Staten Island ferry past the Statue of Liberty and sat people watching for hours in parks. I’ll leave it to Helen and Trace to do it photographic justice, but here are some I took. / Washington Square Park, where Dylan used to busk, with the Empire State Building in the background / View from the reservoir in Central Park What would my journal be if I didn’t revolve it around food and drink? I munched on hot pretzels so salty my mouth ached, and bagels crammed with lox and cream cheese. I bought a hot dog from a vendor in Times Square and as I lifted the mustard smothered ‘dawg’ to my mouth, a horrified passerby actually stopped and admonished me with ‘hon, you’re not actually gonna eat that thing, are ya?” I did indeed, then had to go lie down with a cold washcloth on my forehead in a darkened room for a spell. But the three of us will never forget the China Grill, a lavish hotspot where the coconut martinis won Helen’s heart, the crispy spinach tasted like incredible potato chips, and the duck in chocolate orange sauce left me feeing as though I’d just been seduced, and damn well. But I’m still a Melbourne girl at heart, and when I visited the restrooms and found a woman whose sole job it was to pour soap into my embarrassed hands, I couldn’t meet her eyes, nor mine in the mirror. The delectable food fuelled us for all the shopping we needed to do, and believe me, we shopped up a storm. But remember, on your birthday there is no budget, no diet, and absolutely no shame. Yes, my 37th birthday led us all out to the streets of the Lower East Side with trembling credit cards and high expectations, and the city didn’t disappoint. We visited the old CBGB’s haunt, punk mecca that it was, ate vegan delights at Angelika’s Kitchen (my favourite restaurant in NY) and then headed into the trendy Bowery Hotel, where the rich and famous stay. What is that? / I think it’s a jumpsuit. / And is she a midget? / I’m thinking yes. / What kind of place is this?! We got merry. It’s difficult to get too merry on $28 martinis, but we managed it, and the little red book of quotes got serious action. We weren’t allowed in the back bar, which we dealt with…..until we saw a man bring in a dog on a leash. For a start, no dogs are allowed in bars in Australia, but the thought that this whippet was deemed more suitable than our fine group outraged the two Aussie wenches, and amused Trace no end. You know what I don’t like about the martini? The glass. I mean, put it in a fucking schooner. Helen I’d like to include more quotes, but the handwriting got a tad messy after a few cocktails, so we headed back to the hotel room for a game of scenarios, which amused us no end and saw my birthday to a joyous, indulgent and mirthful close. / Look, Johnny Depp just walked in! (His utter beauty is one of the few things Helen and I disagree on). / What do you mean, the whippet’s classier than us? / Could you handle another tub of Ben and Jerry’s half cooked cookie dough ice cream? / What’s the next one? Don’t go to sleep yet! Let’s go for a swim in the hotel pool….are you girls awake? I’m having another espresso martini! And I will leave you with a story that will make me grin for some time. I bought myself a present of a trip to a day spa on the Upper East Side, and the moment I walked in I understood the ‘no refund’ policy completely. It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life, and I hope I can do it justice. The Iranian hairdresser took one look at my Medusa curls and handed me the brush with a curt ‘you get started’ as she walked into the back for a coffee. The Nepalese manicurist simply chopped my long nails off, and then swept the cuttings onto the floor before demanding to know why I had no wedding ring at my age. She then advised me not to marry an American because “I can’t stand them”. The masseuse, a brusque and rotund Russian woman called Tatiana, had sharp nails that literally left me bleeding after my massage, during which she demanded to know what I was writing and then give me curt advice on the direction my novel should be taking, literally talking over the top of me as she bruised my startled flesh. Why did I stay? Because it was so damn absurd that I wanted to see what could possibly come next. When they began discussing blonde foils for my fiery locks and I started seeing the face of Jesus in the cracked linoleum floor, I made my escape to Central Park and sat curled up on a rock, shaking my head and thinking…..damn, I love this city. Don’t talk about stilts while I’m drinking martinis. me I don’t want to watch your arse Helen / That’s really hurtful Trace You don’t like polar bears? Trace / Well I don’t know them that fucking well Helen Is that the AC/DC album where they did smack rap – is that a genre? Sammy, our hotel bartender You should always end a sentence with ‘whippets shouldn’t be allowed here’. me TV newsflash in the cab coming home: lavish jailhouse bar mitzvah not so kosher. To Helen and Trace, my companions over the last two weeks and provider of some incredible, unforgettable memories…..thank you girls so damn much. I miss you both already. X
It’s kind of hard to explain the profound need to remove my hearts as a singular and replace them with this. I can’t. :) The Singles A body you can change / A mind you can lose / A heart…you’re fucked without one really
Model: Kim / Photographer: Me / Eight Ball: Yours
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