Greece Archives | Carla Coulson

January 30, 2019

Creativity Isn’t An Exclusive Club

Carla Coulson, Claire Lloyd, Matthew Usmar Walkswithdogs, carla coulson retreat, greece, lesvos, creative retreat, living creatively, joy retreat, carla coulson workshops

Dear Creators,

I was talking to the beautiful Domenica More Gordon the other day about creativity.

I love this woman, she is across all creative fields including making felt dogs, directing short films, and illustrating and writing children’s books.

We were talking about the process of creativity and the labels that are often associated with creativity that makes it appear that it is an exclusive club that not everyone has the member’s badge to enter.

Domenica is passionate, and so am I, that creativity is for everyone. We came into this world creative with the ability to create whatever we want but one of the things that we are rarely told in life, is that we are creators. We may hear that we are creative but rarely that we are creators and our lives are a form of art and the best way to create them is with passion.

Carla Coulson, Claire Lloyd, Matthew Usmar Walkswithdogs, carla coulson retreat, greece, lesvos, creative retreat, living creatively, joy retreat, carla coulson workshops

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So what makes someone creative or not? In my humble opinion, it’s TIME and CONNECTION.

It’s the choice or not to give something time, to try something you think you might be interested in, to poke around in the dark, scratch the surface like a chicken looking for a grub and when you find something you like, stick with it.

Yes, folks, that is my definition of creativity. It’s crossing the comfort zone of fear and saying I will pick up a paintbrush, an embroidery needle, a camera, an excel file, a pair of knitting needles or a guitar.

Music is in all of us, we just need to remember the rhythm. Art is in all of us, we just need to let go. Seeing is in all of us, if we slow down and take the time to see.

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Creativity for me is allowing myself to try something with no outcome and doing the kilometres (my Aussie way of saying doing it over and over again).

If I hadn’t left my life at 35, I may have died a closet creative!!!

Instead, like a chicken scratching around I found a grub, I found photography. I turned that grub over and over and kept looking for more grubs, scratched a little deeper till after a lot of scratching around in the dark, I realised I am creative.

For this very reason along with my dear friends Claire Lloyd and Matthew Usmar Walkswithdogs and hubby Francesco we have created JOY, a Living Creatively Retreat so you can create the next part of your life with intention. We will help you let the closet creative out, define your life’s desires, encourage you to start consciously creating the next part of your life, re-think your well-being, and bring more Joy into your daily life. The idea is you walk away with passion and clarity for the next part of your life.

During our daily focus sessions, we will invite you to think differently and allow you to connect to what your heart has always desired. Oh, and there will be long table lunches, boat trips, swims, daily art lessons and dancing.

If you would like to nurture a seed inside of you and let it sprout, take a step into your creative self you can check out the details HERE.

Registration closes on February 28th.

“Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift”. – Albert Einstein

Sending love,

Carla

December 10, 2018

in Greece, Workshops

by Carla

0 Comments

Why Joy is like Spiritual Crack

Carla Coulson, Claire Lloyd, Matthew Usmar Walkswithdogs, carla coulson retreat, greece, lesvos, creative retreat, living creatively, joy retreat, carla coulson workshops

Dear Creative Folk,

What is the definition of Joy?

The kind folks at Merriam-Webster define Joy as: the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.

What’s the big deal about Joy anyway? Joy is like spiritual crack!!!

It’s the thing that takes you straight to who you are; it allows you to be playful, lighthearted, and free. Carla Coulson, Claire Lloyd, Matthew Usmar Walkswithdogs, carla coulson retreat, greece, lesvos, creative retreat, living creatively, joy retreat, carla coulson workshops

Carla Coulson, Claire Lloyd, Matthew Usmar Walkswithdogs, carla coulson retreat, greece, lesvos, creative retreat, living creatively, joy retreat, carla coulson workshops

But how many of us allow ourselves to do what we truly desire in life? Often we are so disconnected from our desires that if someone asked us what we want for the next part of our life, we are kind of stumped, we just don’t have the answer.

We can lose the connection to our deep desires over a lifetime of pleasing others, doing what we think we should do instead of what makes us happy and what brings us joy.

When you are connected to your desires you feel passionate, when you have more passion in your life you feel joy. When you have more joy in your life the world is your oyster!!

Carla Coulson, Claire Lloyd, Matthew Usmar Walkswithdogs, carla coulson retreat, greece, lesvos, creative retreat, living creatively, joy retreat, carla coulson workshops

If you combine joy with consciously creating, you are unstoppable!!

And sweet folks this is exactly what we want to bring to your life in our Joy – Living Creatively Greek Island Retreat.

We have designed this retreat to help you harness your deepest desires, ignite your passion and consciously create the next part of your life in a heavenly atmosphere with focus sessions, swims, lunches, discussions and art as the vehicle.

TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL RETREAT, READ THE FULL DETAILS HERE

Carla Coulson, Carla Coulson Photography , Carla Coulson blog, Kefi, Greece

May 7, 2018

in Great Reads, Greece, Inspiring Lives, Lovely LInks

by Carla

1 Comment

Why We All Need More Greek Kefi

Dear Folks,

Whether you are a photographer, creative or lover of life todays post is about joy.

One of my favourite things to do in life is to get on a plane to Greece because no matter how busy my year has been I know in my heart that I will put back what has been taken out of my creative well this year when I touch down on Greek soil.

For me the magic starts at the Athens airport and Greek folk if you are reading this I am sure you will know what I mean.

The nervous system seems to know its home!

It rolls over, it purrs, it knows it’s going to lie on a beach and become so hypnotized with good food, soft breezes, gentle joy and Kefi it kicks in immediately.

Kefi, like so many words in different languages never translates as the Greeks know it. It’s about joy, passion, living in the moment, togetherness, music and dance and more.

The above photos were taking of my husband on the last day of one of many of our Greek holidays.

I wanted a photo and had tried to make it happen the day before which ended in a rare fight. I found this amazing motorbike and the guy wouldn’t rent it to us. We drove out to this beautiful simple place on a ugly alternative and then hubs dug his heels in and refused. My sweet Italian wasn’t feeling it. We were leaving the island in a couple of days and I knew this window was closing but my philosophy has NEVER TO DO ANYTHING FOR A for a photo so I let it go.

Then later the next day he said ‘come on let’s go take some photos’. We rented the not so attractive bike, headed out to the beautiful spot and I started taking pics of him riding. Then he jumped off the bike and started humming the music to the sirtaki and just like that, on a dirt road, as the sun was setting with him and I dancing and humming we found our Kefi.

Sometimes I think Kefi is the secret to happiness!

There is a wonderful interview here unfortunately only in French or Greek that describes Kefi

Or you can catch a little bit of it here in this scene with Anthony Quinn in Zorba the Greek. I adore those words you would love any man to utter to another ‘will you teach me to dance’?

Here’s how I take Kefi home into my daily life:

Live in the moment – I try and stop living for tomorrow and live in the moment if whatever I am doing is enjoyable and not rush off to the next thing. Just sit, kick back and enjoy. Tomorrow will come but right here and now is amazing.

Relax – I find I get more done and am more creative when I take time out, have weekends and days away from the computer and meditate or relax during the day. Yes, when the sun is shining I take a long lunch break and even lie down during my work day and don’t feel slightly guilty about it because I know when I get up everything will be clearer.

Music – I make music a part of my life, it changes my mood takes me from lethargic to excited, feeling down to happy and helps me bring what I desire into my life. Yes folks I manifest to music!!

Dance – Even if it’s only for my husband I try and dance every day! Dance is the thing that connects us to joy and the forgotten wild women inside.

Share – There are so many ways to share our lives with others. Make a habit of sharing a meal with someone, share a ride home, an after walk or something that works for you. Actively share.

Let Go – If there is one thing that is tough to master it is letting go. Letting go of all the millions of things we think we should do and surrendering to them or delegating them to someone else. Once a day I let go of something. I allow things to be imperfect even if it’s a small thing and I am the only person that knows it, I just kiss goodbye to perfection and mentally let go.

So dearest folks, I hope you have enjoyed this little reflection on joy and life and hope you try and bring a little Kefi to your daily routine.

Sending love

Carla x

A Greek Island Dream House

Claire Lloyd and rescue dog Mavrula copyright Carla Coulson

Any of you who have been following along for a while know that I am nuts about the Mediterranean in particular Greece and Italy. Well, this summer I travelled to beautiful Lesvos and stayed in a very special Greek Island guesthouse owned by the fabulous designer Claire Lloyd and partner artist Matthew Usmar Lauder.

Felix passes the Iron bed made with antique linen copyright Carla Coulson

I knew I was going to love this place as I know Claire has a beautiful eye from all those years working as an art director in London and I adore her beautiful book My Greek Island Island Home. Throw into the mix Matthew’s divine art and his knack for creating individual pieces of furniture and objects from found and recycled products and it was sure to ignite something big inside of me.

Loungeroom from the front door copyright Carla Coulson

But as a photographer, I have learnt that the photos never do something really beautiful its true justice. It’s all those other dimensions that bring on the love rush, like the scent of jasmine, the exquisite view to the sea, the textures of floorboards under your bare feet, the sound of a homemade wind chime tinkling in the breeze.

A corner of the lounge room copyright Carla Coulson

You all know since the day I left Italy a piece of my heart has been hankering to go back to a simpler, slower way of living with a little vege garden out the back and to belong to a community. To belong to a community has been my lifelong ambition! I feel very fortunate to belong to a cyber community of wonderful people scattered around the world and for this, I will be forever grateful.

Beautiful bed linen and Matthew Lauders. Copyright Carla Coulson

So here in this exquisite house not only did Francesco and I have a chance to relax and enjoy the fabulous scented candles, the fridge stocked with Greek Yoghurt, local fruit and delicious local wine but we had the chance to taste what it would be like if we left our lives and went to live on a Greek Island.

Loungeroom copyright Carla Coulson

There was nothing touristy about this experience. We were in a small hill village about 4kms from the sea in a part of Lesvos that has no tourist shops or noisy bars just the local tavernas and a rich daily life.

Matthew’s art, a found table and vintage Turkish runner copyright Carla Coulson

I loved heading down to the Platia which is in the centre of the village, a wonderful tavern sits under a 100 year old tree (they just had the party to celebrates its birthday) which is akin to the village outdoor lounge room. Everything happens here, you can drink coffee, play cards for the entire day if your desire, eat lunch or dinner, check your Instagram, or wile away the hours swapping stories with the locals.

Detail Loungeroom Copyright Carla Coulson

And right next door was the vege garden of my dreams. I adored watching the man tending it dressed in white collecting the biggest zucchini flowers I had ever seen.

Corridor Downstairs Copyright Carla Coulson

And going on long walks with Claire and the dogs and dropping into’s Matthews heavenly studio (blog post coming soon) to see what he was up to.

Traditional Wooden box to display treasured icons Copyright Carla Coulson

I have long been in love with Greece, Francesco and I have spent the past 6 years trying to find the most out of the way Islands, to get as faraway as possible from our busy lives in Paris to recharge with long days swimming and resting.

Kitchen Copyright Carla Coulson

But this was the first time I felt like I actually was living there, when I dared to ask myself ‘what if..?”

Beautiful ceramic plates in the kitchen copyright Carla Coulson

What if we had the courage to walk away from the security? What if we could live a simpler life like the one like we had all those years ago in Florence? What would we do and how would we do it?

Francesco’s Hat on the kitchen chair and local woven rug Copyright Carla Coulson

What if we could give our cat a better life?? LOL!

Bedroom with antique French Linen sheets Copyright Carla Coulson

Together we explored the island, had long lunches down at Kalo Limani and long dinners where there were just the four of us, a setting sun and simple Greek fare of grilled calamari, fresh fish and local veges.

Corner of the bedroom – Copyright Carla Coulson

Matthew and Claire’s generosity has no limits, they took us to their favourite beaches, we ate in their favourite restaurants all over the island and showed us the wonderful co-operatives where local ladies make traditional products.

Corner of the Bedroom Copyright Carla Coulson

I adored popping down the road to see them, like we had all lived their forever, swapping ideas and advice on all things creative and practical and talking about our hopes and dreams.

Bedside table detail Copyright Carla Coulson

Matthew’s studio in the centre of town is filled with his beautiful artwork and found treasures. It’s also filled with curious locals who can’t help sticking their heads in to see what was going on.

Bathroom Copyright Carla Coulson

Collection of local plates in the hallway Copyright Carla Coulson

Lesvos is so close to Turkey we even jumped on the ferry for the day and went to Avyalik on bazaar day. It was a frenzy of photos and shopping before we took the evening ferry back.

View from the terrace to the sea copyright Carla Coulson

I wanted My Greek Island Home experience to go on forever!

Felix and Fluffy Boy catching up on a little sleep Copyright Carla Coulson

Oh and for a cat lover missing her baby, not a problem there were a couple of stand-ins to help out..

Claire in the courtyard Copyright Carla Coulson

So to dearest Claire and Matthew the stay at your house was not only the loveliest experience yet to happen for us in Greece it was something bigger, it was a catalyst just like that Thai Takeway all those years ago in Darlinghurst that set me on a life of adventure and going after the things that really mattered to me in life.

Courtyard Copyright Carla Coulson

Even though I have left my life once before it was beautiful reminder of what I hold dear. Thank-you for allowing me to see that again and experience your beautiful island and lives through your eyes.

Front door Copyright Carla Coulson

The beautiful My Greek Island Home Guesthouse has its own lovely website and if you would like to rent the guesthouse you can get in touch with Claire and Matthew here

Claire Lloyd is the author and photographer of My Greek Island Home and Sensual Living and you can check out Matthew Usmar Lauder’s work here.

If you would like more Greek Island Inspiration please click here.

“True generosity is an offering; given freely and out of pure love. No strings attached. No expectations. Time and love are the most valuable possession you can share.” Suze Orman

Please share if you dream of another life or love beautiful homes!

If you want to know how you can live more wholeheartedly, reconnect to your joy, creativity and purpose, click on the image above to join the free training.

overhead view of beach sifnos greek islands by Carla Coulson one of the places I love to visit

September 27, 2013

in Greece, travel, Travel Photography

by Carla

12 Comments

Sifnos – Places I loved

Today I am very excited to share with you places to visit on the Greek Island of Sifnos!

When the oversized ferry dropped its giant door and let us off on another Greek Island the excitement was high, just the same as the first time I put my big toe on a Greek Island.

Love rush is an understatement for how I feel about Greece and the Cycladic Island of Sifnos is now one of my new favourites.

Cheronnisos Beach Copyright Carla Coulson

Sifnos is surrounded by crystal clear water and if you love swimming as much as I do this is a real TREAT! Old fashioned beaches that look like they belong in a 70’s postcard abound and I imagine if you go out of season they would almost be deserted.

Vathi Beach Copyright Carla Coulson

We were so excited about Vathi beach and it’s tavern we were literally the only ones on it at 9am and camped under the tables to be sure we wouldn’t miss out on a lunch spot. I LOVED this tavern where you sit under the tamarind trees with your toes in the sand. The food was amazing. I ate enough big beans to start sprouting!

Vathi Copyright Carla Coulson

This picture-postcard church is at Vathy and you get the double whammy with water from both sides.

Zoodochos Pigi Copyright Carla Coulson

Now the Greeks know about building beautiful monasteries and they seem to like to build them in out of the way places, hanging off cliffs, perched on boulders or as in Sifnos’s case on its own private rocky Island.

Cheronnosis beach Copyright Carla Coulson

Loved this beach and the tavern that runs along the mini dock. Yep loved this tavern so much (not pictured) I was almost sleeping under the tables here too! Didn’t want to miss out on a seat at lunch.

Francesco and Friends at Faros Beach Copyright Carla Coulson

You will be forgiven for thinking we passed our entire time eating (well we almost did). We pledged to try as many taverns as possible and that came true! On the rocks at Faros was another fave.

The port from Saint Eliseus Copyright Carla Coulson

The Port from Saint Eliseus up on the hill. Looks like I was in a plane but just trying not to be blown off the cliff whilst taking this pic.

The transparent water always so difficult to leave Copyright Carla Coulson

Appollonia from Kato Petali Copyright Carla Coulson

I love walking the old paths that once connected the villages before the roads were built. This pic was taken on the path from Appollonia to Kato Petali.

Zoodochos Pigi Copyright Carla Coulson

Sifnos has 365 churches on the island and this is the big kahuna. In a spectacular setting..

Appollonia Copyright Carla Coulson

I was obsessed with this house and it’s simple entrance. I could imagine living here.

Artemonas Copyright Carla Coulson

And here. Now if that isn’t the best bouganvillea I have ever seen!! Love Artemonas a combo of village houses and big neoclassical homes with large gardens and lemon trees.. Divine. Definately would stay in this village next time.

Figs Kato Petali Copyright Carla Coulson

Gawd was having daydreams of living on this island and drying my own figs in the sun. Ate kilos from the trees along the roads

Ceramic Factory Vathi Beach Copyright Carla Coulson

This is one of the old ceramic factories in Sifnos up the end to the left of Vathi beach. I now drink my morning coffee out of the sweetest coffee cups this man and his son made.

Kittycat Copyright Carla Coulson

And the greatest thing about leaving your beloved cat at home is wherever you go in Greece you are reminded of him. Cats everywhere and I loved this little guy at the shop in Vathi.

Francesco Copyright Carla Coulson

There is a saying in Greece ‘una faccia una razza’ (which is actually Italian) which means ‘One Race One Face’. The Mediterranean has seen so many exchanges of culture through the centuries that it has become one place. When Francesco is in Greece they speak to him in Greek and he gets that inner glow of happiness to think the Greeks believe he belongs to their great country.

And of course just being in Greece makes you enjoy their love of life and teaches you about Kefi.

What to do in Sifnos:

Stay: In the fabulous village of Artemonas with it’s neoclassical homes and lovely gardens. Divine village

Swim: At Vathi behind the church, At Cheronnosis and the beach on the left before you arrive. Faros is lovely too

Eat: Gawd you can almost go anywhere on this island but don’t miss Manolis Tavern under the tamarind trees Vathi. Don’t miss the tavern at Cheronnosis that flanks the water. Fabulous.

Shop: Almond sweets! The island is famous for the beautiful sweets and Artemonas is the home to three great shops. The oldest one is after the square on the path coming from Appollonia. Ceramics.. Sifnos is famous for it’s beautiful ceramics and there are many shops in Kamares and Appollonia.

See: The villages on foot, take the path to Artemonas from Appollonia and also the villages of Kato Petali and Exambela. Beautiful.. Oh and as many of the 365 churches on the island.

If you would like some travel photography tips please click here or if you would like more Greek Island Inspiration please click here.

I hope you enjoyed these lovely places to visit on the Greek Island of Sifnos

“Happy is the man, I thought, who, before dying, has the good fortune to sail the Aegean sea.??? Nikos Kazantzakis, Zorba The Greek

Please share if you love travelling.

Creativity Isn’t An Exclusive Club

Why Joy is like Spiritual Crack

Why We All Need More Greek Kefi

A Greek Island Dream House

Sifnos – Places I loved

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