Hi. I’m Amanda. I’m mumma to 2-year old Joshua (we call him Joshie), wife to Gareth and cat mumma to Poppy. We live in Papakura, New Zealand. It’s almost as far South in Auckland as you can get and still call it Auckland. We’re surrounded by native bush, kereru (wood pigeons) and tuis. I’m writingContinue reading “My experience returning to work after maternity leave”
Category Archives: Reflections
Gardening space
Gardening is one of a few things where I completely lose track of time. There’s something about being outside, pottering from one task to another, getting my hands dirty, and the satisfaction of weeding, pruning, planting. There is also something so continual, impermanent and exciting about gardening. I can weed one area but, without furtherContinue reading “Gardening space”
Art, death, bodies
I don’t understand art. I tend to read the little placards next to paintings, or find the descriptions written somewhere on the walls near installations. I take note of the details, and then glance at the art to confirm that what those words have told me is true in what I see. Checking that off,Continue reading “Art, death, bodies”
The School of Athens
For as many years as I’ve owned a laptop I’ve had this image as my screensaver. It’s a fresco by the Italian Renaissance artist Raphael in the Stanze di Raffaello within the Vatican. It is one in a series of four images representing branches of knowledge. The School of Athens, as it’s called, is describedContinue reading “The School of Athens”
The write way
How do you write in an academic context, while challenging the academic constraints, as well as connecting beyond the walls of academia with an audience that can incite change? Much of what I’m researching for my PhD is emotive and political. It makes me angry, sad, frustrated as I traverse between the polar oppositeContinue reading “The write way”
