Marli Blanche
Tell us a little bit about yourself
I’m a 25 year old who will definitely recommend a movie/tv show/podcast in any conversation we will have. I grew up on the Gold Coast and I’m so lucky to have had a pretty picturesque childhood. When I look back it’s a sunny montage of beaches, camping trips, overseas travels, a lot of dancing, singing, painting and music. When I was the ripe old age of 18 I moved to Brisbane to study Fine Arts, which I changed to Journalism, then to Creative Writing, then to Entertainment Industries, then to Film and Screen, then to Music and came out with a Creative Industries degree. As you can see I’m all over the place! But I have come to terms with the fact that that is just who I am! Ever since I graduated I’ve been back and forth and am now back on the Gold Coast lapping the beach up as much as I can.
What are your favourite things to do for yourself?
I love creating. Sitting down and getting immersed into a project to the point where I look up and it’s midnight and I have no idea where the day went. I have recently found a love for excising and the feeling I get afterwards (definitely NOT in the middle when I’m sweating and yelling at the motivational online instructor who is trying to convince me that this pain is my gain). I also really love to cook myself healthy, wholesome meals full of colour and fun things. It’s like a big nourishing hug from the inside out.
What inspires you most when creating?
Nature and all it’s wonders. Other amazing creatives out there making art just for the sake of it. MUSIC. The feeling of diving into the ocean after being away from it for a little while. And most of all, people’s beautiful messages; people can be so kind and it just drives me to keep making things so I can have those beautiful little connections.
What is your favourite travelling/friend story?
I was on a trip gallivanting around Europe with a friend from Uni which I drunkingly booked tickets for after a shocking break-up. We were about 3/4 of our way through a 2ish month trip and we were just exhausted. We had been getting an average of 3-4 hours of sleep and forcing ourselves to do as much exploring in the day as we could; just the normal travelling in your 20’s, burning the candle at both ends things.
We were on our way to Riomaggiore, the first little town of the Cinque Terre, and a song came on my Spotify by an artist that used to be my ex and I’s “song” and I just cried. I was sitting on this train packed with tourists and very expressive Italians, crying behind my sunnies. When we got to the town, it was the most beautiful seaside town I’d ever seen in my life, complete with little Nonas selling fruit on the side of the cobblestone streets. We got to the AirBnb and I just threw my bags down, changed into my swimmers and sprinted to the rocks. As soon as I dived in the crystal blue waters, it all just washed away. It was my first “I’m going to be okay” moment in the whole thing and I just felt so light after that. The colourful little town of Riomaggiore will always have a piece of my heart.
What is something challenging that you have had to overcome and how did you do it?
Last year, my boyfriend and I had quit our jobs, gathered our funds and decided to go where the wind took us. We were 2 weeks into the trip of a lifetime in Brighton and Nick was feeling really ill. We thought it was just bad gastro but as it got dark, we were watching a TV show in bed and Nick had a Grand Mal seizure in bed next to me. I had to resuscitate him with only the knowledge of The Office and run down the halls of our hotel for help in only my undies and a Spice Girls tee.
Once we were at the hospital Nick was whisked away for a whirl of scans, tests and various pokes and prods and towards the morning a beautiful Scottish nurse was telling us that Nick had a brain tumour in his left frontal lobe. The next year was a blur of sleepless nights, ICU and hospital visits, making sure Nick was having all the right pills, physio and doctors appointments, crying, laughing and LOTS of therapy sessions. Even though it was a shit pile of a year, it made me realise just how much I had missed creating things with my hands. And that’s where sunni studio came from; this dark serious place that I channelled into making beautiful, bright, starry creations.
What are your 3 favourite songs and what memories do they bring back for you?
Aah! This is so tough! Okay okay here we go.
♡ Holocene - Bon Iver
Not so much a memory, but a feeling of utter calm and a reminder that no matter what happens I’m going to have the strength to get through it. I also listened to this a lot when I was driving around the south island of New Zealand and it always conjures up the beauty and magic of that place for me.
♡ Make Way For Love - Marlon Williams
UGH, I love this man and his silky voice. I saw him live winter time in 2018 and was swept up in every note that fell from his mouth. This song is melancholic, beautiful, simple and just reminds me to always make way for love.
♡ These Foolish Things - Billie Holiday (the version from her album Solitude)
The quintessential break up song. The lyrics are so heartbreakingly beautiful. I got to sing this song at one of my jazz school recitals; I came off stage feeling like I’d never sung better and I love that it was with this song.
What are you grateful for?
The beautiful place I live and all the beautiful places I’ve seen. How supportive Nick is. The sunshine. That glitter exists. Music and the journey you go on just listening to it. How I can finally look at my healthy body as something amazing that’s carrying me through this life. My rock of a family unit. My friends hilarity. That I have the space and time to create every day.