girl with cat

 

Girl with Cat, acrylic on paper

O my stars

 I made some water colours for my cover of Michael Hurley's O My Stars.

Josephine's keys

Nurse

Words

Josephine's key

we are all animals

I was raining. I played my ebony baritone ukulele and sang this song by Kimya Dawson. Laurie added harmonies over. I made the drawings in a cold room that smelled of disinfectant. When I looked in the mirror later, I saw an eyelash on my face.

There's Someone Outside My Door

I got inspired to write this song after reading a short story about an old lady who kept hearing voices outside her flat, often to find out that there was no one there. This started to happen after the death of her husband. One day, however, there WAS someone outside her door....

There's Someone Outside My Door by Sia Joo Hiang, 2015 

There' someone outside my door 

There's someone outside my door 

Always at night, since my baby's gone. 

I can hear his heavy footfalls 

I can hear his heavy footfalls 

There's someone outside my door. 

My neighbours, they like to whisper 

My neighbours like to whisper 

They say: There's no one outside her door. 

The police boy gave me a look 

The police boy gave me a look 

It said: It must be DEMENTIA. 

My children, they all think that I am mad 

My children all think that I am mad 

They say: It's time to call the doctor! 

I may be old, but I am not mad. 

All my teeth have fallen out, but I am not mad. 

I am telling you, there's someone outside my door! 

There's someone outside my door 

There's someone outside my door 

Right now, outside my door! 

I played concert ukulele and sang, and made the illustrations using ink with brush, and pen.

maggie and milly and molly and may

I was thinking about partings and loss today. While reading, I came across this poem by E. E Cummings. It describes what I feel about loss and partings. I put it to music and made the drawings. i used a plastic uke to make that beat. 

here is the poem: 

maggie and milly and molly and may 

went down to the beach(to play one day) 

and maggie discovered a shell that sang 

so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,

and milly befriended a stranded star 

whose rays five languid fingers were; 

and molly was chased by a horrible thing 

which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:

and may came home with a smooth round stone 

as small as a world and as large as alone. 

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me) 

it's always ourselves we find in the sea.