JourneyEdition #1

lady medusa Cherie Strong Zoe Rayne eden l’amour Miss mookie lilla rosten Lauren horwood mahalia deehan Federica Campochiaro

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Hello!

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Welcome to the very first edition of ACE OF SPADES magazine. It’s amazing, you know, I truly believe that when you name something it becomes that very thing. So naming the very first

edition of this magazine “JOURNEY” has definitely prov-en this more than true for me!

Originally I was inspired by the many women around me that were all on a journey of sorts. Although one could say, we are all on a journey, what I spe-cifically saw was an increasing group

of people in my life in a state of flux in regards to their careers, chosen bases and creativity. Quite a few peo-ple I knew were travelling abroad, embarking on great change and basically taking the plunge in their chosen fields. That’s always inspiring to me, so after a light bulb moment, I had a theme for the first edition. Now that’s how the story starts, but let me tell you, the journey only really began when I announced all this. Deciding to work on my own magazine has been a huge learn-ing curve, but a challenge I am all to happy to rise to. I’m passionate about promoting, collaborat-ing and inspiring fellow creatives, especially other awesome chicks and my own publication is a fantastic way to foster such creative and inspirational talent. I hope you find what lies between these pages and future editions, inspiring in some way. I hope that the words shared here offer you a different perspective and motivate you to do whatever it is that makes your heart sing. Mookie xo

Cover Photograph of Clancee Erin by Miss Mookie

Copyright © 2014All design and layout and photographs by Miss

Mookie (unless otherwise stated)

www.missmookie.comabn: 61925619369

po box 85, Randwick 2031, NSW.Editor/Creative director: Miss Mookie

info@missmookie.com

Contributors: Meagan Patroni, Gemma Fox, Eve Jary, Federica Campochiaro, Lauren Horwood,

Cherie Strong, Daisy Jaw, Lila Rosten, Lady Medusa, Clancee Erin, Zoe Rayne, Eden L’Amour, Rita Worth,

Mahalia Deehan, Kristi-Anna Brydon.

The opinions and views expressed in this edition of ACE OF SPADES magazine are those of the individual authors

and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the magazine and/or editor.

Submissions:

submissions@aceofspadesmagazine.com

get social:

@aceofspadesmagazine

facebook.com/aceofspadesmagazine

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Through the Looking Glass

Journey of the Self

Greetings from California Love, Light and lots of Waves

DAISY JAW

flora odyssey

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Five Quick Questions: Cherie Strong

Journey of the Body, Mind and SpiritEASY RIDER

Set Your Dreams Free

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Federica grew up in a small town in Southern Italy, before mov-ing to Rome to study interior and industrial design. Having always been a drawer, but whilst studying found photography and be-came involved in a 365 self-portrait project. It changed her deeply and ever since experiments in film have been apart of how she ex-presses herself. Her images show fragility and the beauty in the ev-anescence qualities of film and the aging photo. Mirrors are a tool she often plays with and this further emphasises the self-expressive nature of her images as well as the deep connection.

Tip! Tip!

Nam inum alia adicia Am ipsapid mi, eici Tem

faccum vendaeped.

Nam inum alia adicia Am ipsapid mi, eici Tem

faccum vendaeped.

and consumed. Nowadays we have internet access, so photography (and everything else) is really close to everyone, but I don’t feel that this influences me, because I was born in that. Do you feel confined in anyway artistically with self-portraiture?No, I don’t. I’ve always tried to keep the things very open, and being interested in many different way of being a photographer.

And on the flipside, do you feel a certain freedom us-ing yourself as the model rather than involving some-one else in your creative process?Being the “model” of my works is very easy, at the same time it could block your creativity, because you can only see yourself involved in the process. You need to stop for a while, and do something else, shoot some-one - or something else.

Do you believe the art of self-portraiture is regarded in a different light for women and men?No, absolutely not. Every person has its own sensibility, whether they are a man or woman.

Is your art an active form of feminism at all? Does it automatically become this because you are female or is it necessary to make a point of this by the use of dif-ferent symbolism or themes within your work?That’s difficult to explain. On a side I would like to rep-resent - even for a little part of it - something that be-longs to the female world. On the other hand, I don’t know if I would like that at all in a long time, because I think everything specific is limitating. I would like to be a part of a much bigger thing involving female power.

How did you first become interested in self-portraits?Well, it was quite easy actually. I was (am) very shy, so I didn’t like to ask people to pose for me, so, taking self portraits, at the beginning, was the most easy way to express my aesthetic. Then, it became something very personal, I found a way to push my feelings through the lens.

Did you have artists you admired growing up that were instrumental in you being drawn to self-portraiture.Of course I did; overall, I loved Cindy Sherman’s self portraits. Being flexible and able to switch myself and the image I have of myself, was challenging to me at that time - even now it still is. Another great photographer that has been very inspiring to me is Lee Friedlander. I also admire Duane Michals, so much. A lot of my work also comes from movies, I find them very inspiring.

With the rapid advancements in digital technol-ogy and internet access, now more than ever, individuals can represent themselves in which-ever way they chose. Do you think this gives or takes away from the art of self-portraiture?I don’t think it’s a matter of contemporary times. It has always been like that: every artists in the past, had all the best technologies - of that period - to represent themselves in anyway they liked. It was just different the way art was spread

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Federica Campochiaro

facebook.com/Tenebradomina

flickr.com/photos/nientezuccheronelcaffe/

cargocollective.com/Taenebraefactaesunt

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MORE onFederica Campochiaro

Model: Lila ROSTENPhotographer: LAUREN HORWOOD

As a young girl I loved flowers and dolls. The scent, heart and loveliness, has always drawn out a longing for these things in my fond-ness for figurative work Holding a great affec-tion for glimmering fluorescence. The brooding sunless; the macabre, controversial, malformed nature, often paired with the aforementioned, play equal charm to my fancy. My art is some-

thing of a homage to my reality, but also my de-parture from it. Dreaming for a past world. Clas-sical film stars of noir type cinema, recreate as partners to my stories; undressed and absorbed in the ghosts of emotions.

Art and words: Amarie DaisyJaw

Daisy Jaw

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“Five days onan island withfive womenI’ve never met”

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The Arrival

It’ s been a long flight, baby legs kicking me into shape, softening me like a pillow, the man be-hind doing the same. My bum is in recovery, five hours balancing on one cheek. But we made it, blood shot eyes and delirium, 5am, no sleep. I got dropped off at the ferry in Cleveland, a little rainy and grey. Said not so teary goodbyes to my two guys. A little flutter in the belly. Wait-ing for the ferry. Flutter. On the ferry. Ready to hold the vomit for 20 minutes or so, not that long. I’ve suffered worse. I mistook Sarsaparilla for Ginger Beer once on a rocky two hour boat ride to Green Island and the greenest island was me. Flutter. Flutter.

Five days without the boys, the longest so far. Not sentimental yet. Breathing in the freshness of freedom and battered fish. Never as good as it seems, the fish not the freedom. Five days on an island with five women I’ve never met, waking early for morning yoga and surf les-sons, super foods and relaxation. Of course, I’m nervous! A little cautious of the unknown, the sharks in the water, circling the depths of my mind, comparing myself to other writers, other women who can stand up, touch their toes. It always happens in a room with new people, the Grey Nurse bares her teeth to the Tiger, low-ers her eyes to the Bull. The ferry is full of locals who know where they’re going, eating nuts and carving stars into bits of wood. Kids and prams take up the aisles. I’d miss my baby if it wasn’t for this bumpy ride. Eyes to the horizon, I can’t see anything.

North Stradbroke is an island dream. I took a taxi, plane, car, ferry and bus to get here, to get to the Luv Shack, a blue beach house near Point Lookout, with fresh baby coconuts and frangipani scented towels on arrival. A warm welcome dinner and sharing circle with Raine our surf guru and the four other friendly ladies slowly let’s down my guard.

Day OneOur first morning lesson. Overcast, cold and grey. Another 5am start. My covers are comfort-ing, but this feels like living. I stood up!

Well only slightly, teetering on the tops of toes before smashing into the sea bottom. The board hit me in the head, hip and jaw. The

waves

smashed, crashed and thrashed me about. My arms are buggered and I could probably sleep for 13 hours but I had so much fun!

Exhilarating. Though I don’t like the word, more the feeling, tummy tickles and childish giggles, peaceful still calm.

Sweet pig-tailed girls sell passion-fruit, limes and baby pears by the side of the road. The winds picked up, the sea is gunmetal grey. The after-noon brought double rainbows and dolphins two metres away. There was a bushfire on the island recently, 70 per cent of the bush in flames, but from where I’m sitting there’s noth-ing but sea. Time’s stretched out and all is quiet.

Day TwoI rode my first wave, it fizzled before I fell, it was a slow and clumsy stand up but I’m taking it as a win. So much butting heads it’s time I won a battle. I realise one wave doesn’t make me a surfer, not nearly close, the next nose dive reassured me of that. But it’s all learning. And this old dog’s still got some in her. It’s addictive!

Love,Light and

lots of Waves

words and images by gemma fox

The peace and freedom out in the ocean, the early mornings, fills you up with huge amounts of saltwater and light. Why didn’t I try this before?

By the end of our session this morning my arms were moving but I was going nowhere in the water, it’s even hard to write this. My muscles haven’t worked that hard since... forever. I kept going trying to catch “just one more”.

We have long breaks in the day between our morning and afternoon sessions. I’ve been tak-ing long languid sleeps, reading, eating whole-some food and exploring. I’ve been retreating into myself and enjoying the sound of kookabur-ras and Curlews. We cook communal dinners, vegetarian fare that fills the belly and fuels warm conversation.

Day ThreeGet’s a little hard. I’m missing my boys. The alarm interrupted some crazy dreams, always the case on other people’s pillows, glad to not be in them but not too thrilled to be awake. I trudged down with the group to a Mountain top yoga ses-sion. Oh yeah, the sun, you’re beautiful and all but maybe come back later. Raine our leader beaming joy and light, always joy and light, too bright for my eyes at that early hour but after a slow meditation and some stiff stretches the sleep fog cleared from my eyes.

Still missing my boys. It’s the longest I’ve been away from them and I’m already plotting their arrival on the island, seeing their faces in strang-ers sunbathing on the beach. Daydreaming. But in the water it’s another state of mind, all focus is on the waves, the ebb and flow, white peaks and slow release. We laugh at our failed at-tempts, rising from the sudsy foam like Himalayan cats thrown in with the washing. But we keep go-ing, and say to ourselves “just one more”. I can feel myself improving, one foot closer to riding them all to shore.

After our morning surf I took a solo trek down to the gorge walk. The day brings sunbursts and patches of rain. I can’t tell if I’m hot or cold, wet or dry. A family of kangaroos remind me of mine and a pod of 20 dolphins at the point remind me to be playful. I’ve never been on a retreat before, such luxurious time on my own to be my own. A wise female truck driver once told me, “Be here, until you’re not.”

Day FourBy day four we were all standing, hooting and howling at each chick giving it a go. Laughing in the lulls and paddling like maniacs when the sets rolled in. Everyone is so supportive of each other without greed or jealousy of others success. It’s been a soul enriching experience sharing the water and the fire with a group of such different women.In our break we went to the Brown Lake, a large fresh waterhole, on the other side of the island. The tannins from the bark of surrounding Mela-leuca and Tea-trees stain the water leaving you swimming in a giant cup of Nanna’s Ceylon tea.

Day FiveAll the other ladies have gone. One off to Fiji, one to the Quicksilver Pro (as a journo not a surfer, it was an amazing camp but we’re not quite ready to take it pro just yet). One back to study and the other back to driving trucks. We all came to this camp with the intention to write an article, sure we wanted to learn to surf but we didn’t quite realise how much we would be changed by it, how much the water soaks into your skin and effects the way you feel. Perhaps we were there to learn more than just how to surf. Learn how to be open to change, to let go, to not be afraid, to live in the moment. Is this sounding too much like the ending of Breakfast Club? I must be the basket-case! To cut a long outro short. To all you awesome chickies out there who’ve ever wanted to surf and have put it off for whatever reason, don’t delay! Go to Chix Surfin today!

Read more from Gemma at skulkingground.com

www.chixsurfin.com

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Breakfast of Champions

Surf Chix Chia seed Porridge

100ml of Coconut milk1 tablespoon of Chia SeedMixed BerriesNuts, seeds, coconut (optional)

Soak the chia in coconut milk for an hour or so, add fresh or thawed mixed berries and additional extras, then ENJOY!!

Flora OdysseyPhotography/cONCEPT/art direction: Miss MookieMODEL: ZOE RAYNE

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Five Quick QuestionsCHERIESTRONG

Five Quick Questions

1. Recently you have teamed up with fellow artists to collaborate on different works? Do you find this to be a refreshing part of your art making process?Being an artist can be quite solitary. You’re in your own head a lot and often working alone in your studio for long periods, so I really love to collaborate with other artists on artworks.

It’s a lot of fun! It’s also quite challenging and reward-ing to find a way to combine two artists different styles and vision as well as combining different mediums too.

Collaborating on artworks together has lead me to start an on-going partnership with U.K. Urban/Street artist, Jonny Arnold. We even have our own collab-orative name “Slightly Bruised Fruit”

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FiveQuick

QuestionsTip! Tip!

Nam inum alia adicia Am ipsapid mi, eici Tem faccum

2. Females dominate your choice in subject matter. Do think this is just because you are female or are you making a conscious to cel-ebrate femininity? I just really enjoy bringing the female form to life on paper, especially with ink or charcoal.There is a softness and beauty that I’m trying to cap-ture - the expression, the way she holds herself. That’s interesting to me. I love to capture the face, but I’m also just a little obsessed with legs too, especially if they are clad in stripy stock-ings.

3. Describe a typical day? Is there a typical day with an artist? I’m not sure. For me there are days when I am flat out replying to emails, sending bio’s and pics, updating various social media pages and not picking up a pencil or paintbrush once. Other days I can knock out work after work in a steady stream seemingly effortlessly and sometimes well into the night. Although oc-casionally I can’t bare to look at the studio and would rather do anything else but create. These days usually come when I actually have commissions to finish or work to send to a show funnily enough. I think it’s a matter of work when you can and take time off when you feel you need it. That’s the joy of working for your-self and also the challenge of self motivation.

4. How important is it to surround yourself with creative people?

I have come to realize it is vital to me.. I need to have like-minded people in my social circle. People who understand me and my erratic work needs - People who don’t judge, don’t care if i completely disappear off the radar in the lead up to a show, people who I can bounce ideas around with as well. People who ‘get me’ and people I am inspired by and push me when I need it. Somehow, even in an envi-ronment where i don’t know anyone, I always seem to gravitate towards the creative or weird

ones. It’s where i feel comfortable.

5. Can you tell us all about Free Art Fridays? Free Art Friday is a movement of sorts that I dis-covered on Facebook, originally via the posts of UK artist, My Dog Sighs, who left artworks on the streets for strangers to find on Fridays. Since then it has become something that a lot of artists have embraced and for me it was a way to leave art out on the streets in the hope that whoever found it would appreciate art. I always hope that someone awesome finds it, someone who needed a lift that day. It also is, for me, a good way to make something without the pressure to sell it, to give it away feels great.

You can follow the work of Cherie Strong via facebook and on instagram. Her handle is @cheriestrongart.

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Journey of the Body,

Mind and Spirit

Words and Images by Meagan Patroni

Body

Words and Images by Meagan Patroni 33

In September 2012 I landed a great gig with Oman Tourism. The job came during a challenging period in my life - I was divorcing my partner of 12 years. The job made me happy. It was action packed, making good use of my skills and passions - it was fast paced, requiring me to travel all over Australia meeting with media, consumers and travel trade. I got to write, create and share my content in mainstream and social media and was fully trusted with big budgets. It kept me sane and I somehow even managed to maintain my part-time dance career.

Life truly is a journey, cliché as it may be. Here, I would like to share with you some of my journey. I am a travel writer and so I am used to sharing my journeys but this journey has surprised me. It has involved travelling into the deepest and darkest depths of my being.

Mind

Tip! Tip! Tip! Tip!

Come April 2013, I was in Oman - escort-ing a group of social media influencers to experience and share Oman. It was my first time to Oman and strangely, though I had visited 16 other countries prior to coming to Oman, I felt like I was home. I hadn’t even felt at home in my city of 7 years. For some reason I had always wanted to live in the Gulf. The man I divorced was a pilot and I thought that he and I would do well in the region. Suddenly, here I was - in the Gulf. Struck by the beauty of the landscape, the kindness of the people, I felt as though every part of my being was alive. Even my skin glowed in the warmth.

Wondering how I could possibly feel so at-tached, so inspired by a destination that I would want to move there, I followed my instincts and sent my CV to businesses in Oman.

I was offered an opportunity and so, advised my nearest and dearest and with their wishes I was farewelled, soon to be in Muscat, Oman with a new job and a new way of life.

With the Adhan (Fajr) waking me at 5.30am I was reminded that I moved to a Muslim coun-try. Naturally, as a new migrant, I started learn-ing as much as possible about the religion and how it affected daily life, culture and the think-ing of individuals and the community at large. I am not an anthropologist - but as a journal-ist I am an observer, keen for information and with my move I had become hungry to learn quickly as not to offend my hosts.

What I came to discover about Islam is like many religious practising, praying is meditative and beautiful - peaceful - far from the nega-tive images we see in the West. I discovered a beauty in Islam, like Christianity, Hinduism and even Paganism --- gratitude is essential and harmonious. When an Omani has a satisfying meal and their tummy is full, they will say ‘Al-hamdulillah’ هلل دمحلا‎ - ‘thanks to God.‘ When they prey they everything exits their mind and they thank God. How beautiful to do this five times a day - to truly understand that we are merely fragile beings - the daily actions of a job, our comings and goings can wait to take 10 minutes to prey or meditate - to give thanks.

SpiritI am still on a steep learning curve, discov-ering new roads and alleys, where to go to get what I need, how to speak Arabic and communicate effectively (just speak softly and slowly and eventually I am un-derstood) in this community but my spirit is stronger than ever. I am independent - relying only on myself to get things done, teaching myself how to speak Arabic, even finding the Friday car market and haggling for a vehicle. It’s ironic that my moving to a supposedly male dominated society that is strictly religious when I am not, would allow me to find my peace, my power and my unshakable confidence. I have learned patience and tolerance - when all of my expectations for how busi-ness should operate have been disap-pointed (such as when I sent brochures to be printed then went to collect them a week later and found they were not printed) I have found acceptance and ways to get things done despite the odds - achieve my goals.

With love, looking back from a life I adore but didn’t necessarily imagine.

Read more from Meagan at

thetravellinghulagirl.wordpress.com

Model: Kristi-AnnaPhotography and Styling: Mookie

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Words and photographs: EVE JARY

Have you ever had a friend that set off on an adventure, perhaps to explore the Amazon, to trek the Himalayas or to build houses in a Third World country? And did you ever wonder how they managed to do these things? The answer is simple; they took a chance and set their daydreams free.

We perform a seemingly end-less list of tasks, while grap-pling with ever changing technologies, and sit for a disturbing amount of time staring at glowing monitors, iPhones, iPads, handheld game consoles and television screens. We create infinite lists of things to do both at home and at work. And at some point we have rationalised that we need to do these things. However, in rare moments when our attention drifts away from the lights of our electronic devices and beyond the glass win-dows of our offices and cars windows, we be-gin to daydream. We ponder all sorts of things

and imagine ourselves in different places or per-haps doing different things. The glory of daydreams is that they don’t need to be rationalised and they don’t need to be practical. But there is some truth in daydreams. They contain something that you might want or need. That is why you are thinking about them. We are so used to stifling our natural instincts; hunger, thirst, the need for sunlight and fresh air, be-cause we are too busy or have commitments that we are bound to. So it has become natural to stifle the possibilities that our daydreams provide. But what if, just maybe we linger on that daydream and put it on our to-do list? What if we apply our prac-tical and problem-solving skills, those that we use each day for home and work, to our daydreams?

Recently, I decided to set some of my daydreams free. Knowing that my work contract would soon end, I decided I would actively organise a way in which I could indulge in my passion for art, design, photography and travel. Like so many other people I have met in casual drawing classes or meet up groups, I didn’t want to be someone who puts aside the things I love doing. Too often I have heard peo-ple giving up their creative interests due to work and family commitments. I already felt distanced from

those things. So I enrolled in an online graph-ic design course that was very flexible

and could be done anywhere in the world. And naturally to be

amongst more art, Europe was the perfect place to be and better still I decided to base myself in the magical, historic city of Vienna.

To make myself at home in the architecturally blessed

city, I rented an apartment and enrolled in a German lan-

guage course and also joined a wonderful meet-up group called Girls

Gone International. The meet-up group is English speaking and dedicated to women living in or travelling to Vienna who want to socialize and make friends with other like-minded people. I met some really lovely people in that group, including a gorgeous six foot two woman from Siberia

Eve Jary exploresdaydreaming your way to new horizons

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who told me her fascinating struggles of leaving the Siberian wastelands, where the only options were to stay in a industrial savaged city so polluted that you had to wash your hands multiple times from the filthy tap water or to go to the “clean” wilderness and wear extreme thermal suits to combat the -50C temperatures.

My adventures took me across many countries such as Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, France and Italy. I divided my time between travel-ling and studying, and opened myself up to new experiences, new people, and new cultures. Mean-while, all my additional free time allowed me to ponder the things that I previously had no time for. The ability to have time felt like a genuine luxury.

I had time to also explore, wander and reconnect with nature. To cycle along rivers meandering through mountains valleys, to walk through forests to find a lone cello player sere-nading the mountain air with classi-cal music, to have tense encoun-ters with wild boar, to cycle through the English Cotswolds and the hilly Bavarian countryside and the sunny Italian coast. I laughed with strangers, made new friends and met up with old ones. I experienced the rain and the sun, and the changing of seasons and a wonderful sense of living in the present.

Of course, the adventure had to eventually come to an end. However, the sense of achieve-ment, the joyful memories, and the colourful photos remain. I always urge others to set their daydreams free and to invite a little bit of magic into their lives. You never know how long those opportunities will wait for you, or how your health or circumstances may change. You only live once, so your path may as well be guided by your most wonderful imaginings.

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Photography/cONCEPT/art direction: Miss MookieMODEL: lady medusa

A celebration of the powerful spirit of women, empowerment, their beauty, their achievements and struggles. art, photography, music and musing. ACE OF SPADES wants to expose and promote fellow women and their talents and also inspire other women to follow their hearts and dreams and make amazing things happen in their lives.

Although photography and visual elements play an important role, ACE OF SPADES strives to delve deeper and showcase women, their achievemants, passions, their thoughts as well as their creative talents. Does this touch you in a way that makes you want to create something and be involved?

Get in touch if you are an artist, designer, writer, musician and would like your work showcased.

Email: submissions@aceofspadesmagazine.comwww.aceofspadesmagazine.com

NEXT EDITION:Celebration