Friday, July 23, 2010

Daymares

Sometimes, my mind wanders. And by the time I catch up, it's gone someplace awful. It's taken a stray thought and turned it into a full blown worst-case scenario. It's something mundane, and entirely possible, but totally sucky. And I can't unthink it, so I get all freaked out and paranoid. Plus, I often feel bad that the thought even occurred to me, because it often postulates someone I like doing something nasty to me and I don't like the idea that I subconsciously think actual bad things about my friends.
I dunno if this is something that happens to other people, but I've been having a lot of these recently. I'm not depressed or anything, just psyching myself out for no reason. It's mostly just interpersonal drama stuff that will never happen because my life isn't a tv show and normal people do not actual do or say the things that go on in these "dreams". They could, but only if they were crazy would they actually. I mean I suppose it's theoretically possible that the camping trip this weekend will turn into some weird "nobody likes me change who I am or lose my friends" ultimatum but I seriously doubt it. With the rational portion of my brain. The irrational portion is less convinced. Obviously, or why the hell else would my brain go there?
Imagination was less complicated when it played in fantasy worlds. If this happened in middle school, it would've been a giant fight with Batman and Wolverine beating the crap out of each other. Far less emotionally taxing.
On a substantially more positive note, I went to fire last night with some NY spinners. It was super fun, except for the enormous trek back and forth across Manhattan because we couldn't agree on where to spin. My feet were hurting by the end. This is the second Got Fire? I've been too, and I would now officially say- last time was not a fluke. I think I like these people. I think they might be convinced to like me too. Certainly, they seem appropriately strange, and didn't appear offended by my personality. Also, they're very chill despite being way better than I am... way way better. But I had a really good time anyway, and they were nice to me. Added bonus: they're pretty hilarious. Especially Andrew, who dances to his iphone while walking and found unworn white gogo boots in the trash. They fit Jasmine's tiny feet, so she has new boots!
Last weekend was still not dead yet day. Not the party I planned, but I had a good time going to MA with George, Foley, Amber and Ropke. Friday night we went to CT, played Tiki God, swam in the lake and stayed up more or less all night. This may not have been clever given that we got up at 9am to drive to Pittsfield where Amber and Ropke had lunch with her brother while George, Foley and I wandered. We found ice cream. Then we drove to Northampton for much needed naps and excellent burgers and the game of Life because we were too tired for anything more complicated. Sunday, George and I took a bus to Boston for his mom's birthday. Monday we went with his parents to the Adams National Historic Park. (Yes, a whole day of history and John Adams. No, they didn't drag us, I picked. My love for John Adams surpasses words. I was ecstatic. I know I'm a nerd.) All in all a very fun weekend, although perhaps a bit more sleep should have been scheduled. But really, why would I sleep in the car? I'd've missed the Dr. Horrible sing-along, which would have been sadface. On the other hand, I'd've also missed the half hour super repetitive humming song. That was painful. I think Ropke's brushing up on his torture techniques. Truly evil.
Other than that, it's been watching Buffy at an appalling rate and sending out a disgusting number of resumes with no responses. Very heartening.
This weekend is a camping trip. Telling myself that it'll be fun, not just sweaty and potentially drama-filled.
I've been making art all day but I don't feel like trying to do pictures now. Also, I figured someone might appreciate an actual update rather than just bad images of things I made. Also, I'm exhausted and trying for bed at a reasonable hour (that is, before the birds start). Also (third times the charm) I've done something painful to my back and my feet still hurt from my Manhattan hike, so I should rest before Saturday's real hike.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Get out of my head

Oh Elias, I see you there at work in the day time
Do you think you could answer all the questions in the world
In just one word - I think you could


if you die will I get word that you're gone
will I hear it in passing conversation
or will I stop short and fall to the ground
distance is short when your hand carries what your eye found
hold my hand just one more time
to see if you're really going to meet me
hold my hand just one more time
to see if you're really going to meet me

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Excuse me, but do you know what time it would be if we were on Mars?

5 in the morning!
I've seen quite a few of those over the last couple of weeks. And the next few look just as hectic. Life has been super busy, with the art show I'm interning for opening tomorrow and family stuff (my grandpa just got out of the hospital) and social stuff. Every weekend from here to August is already full. It's mostly good but exhausting. Good hectic, parties and weddings and swimming and such. Which means art happens at 4am. And I'm up all night. It's kinda great.
I've made art! (Bet you're shocked).... some of the pieces look way better in reality than in these photos.

I really like these more figurative figures. They kinda look representative and universally iconic, or maybe it's just me. (So much beeswax and maybe too much crayon? The wax is thicker and more opaque then I'd intended.)


Art is the way of showing the outside world what our inside looks like (PS I <3 Work of Art)


Hat Shaped Hat (In walked a man in the shape of a man holding a hat shaped hat and he held up 2 fingers and said how many fingers and I said peace man that's where it's at)


No clue what's going on with this page... affirmations on the left in the background, oddly sad? girl on the right.


Last page! Just experimenting with drawing with the crayons then melting just them rather than powdering them into the beeswax flecks to melt over the page. I don't like it.


I've finished this volume of art journal. I have a new one to start, but I can't unwrap until I give this one a cover. So I've done some stuff in other places:

These faces in the watercolor journal are less visible than I'd like. An experiment in technique (the pastel woman in the background, H20 pencils on aged book pages, how I draw hair).


I had no plan for this page in the Book of Dreams. I just really wanted to do a gesso transfer with the tree in the right so I shaped the page around it. I'm not so happy with the left, but the right makes me super happy. The transfer came out really well I think, worth the pain in the butt of rubbing all the paper off. Maybe with some journaling it'd be better.





Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Update

Bleh. I'm sure I've done lots of things since I last posted. It's certainly felt very busy.

Hmm... what have I done?

Well, these are from when Kate was here.

Yes, Tim Burton is creepy. I am shitty gifts. Overly cheerful, never given, shitty gift background card thingies.

This is the gessoed magazine woman, for those of you who got to enjoy my ranting about it.

I also added to my Shadow Aspects/ Embrace the Light page. I really like this gold. It's just shitty craft pain, but it really moves and catches the light.


I made the June page. Dunno why it's so depressed. I was feeling greys and black and white and red. Apparently.

After Kate left, my friends and I went to Playland. I dunno what's up with this piece. Other than that it's washed out and oddly red and slightly out of focus in this picture.

And this week I've done this scribbly piece. It may end up a background with something over it or it may stay like this. For now, I'm happy with it. And haha there's writing under all those layers, and you'd never even notice. It tells a really hilarious story that you will never read. And I won't tell you.

And this pair of moth/flame sketches (maybe for a painting?) And they're also super red and weird. FML.

Oh! Those were in honor of Pyrophelia, a Blood Dumpster art collective show about fire by some of George's friends. We went and hung out with Foley and had an excellent time. I got to spin fire! Yay! But I forgot how much I hate audiences. Especially when I have nothing planned and no music and am totally out of practice.

And all week I've been working on this piece. The background was so pretty I just looked at it for a few days, scared becasue anything I could think of to do to it would ruin it but I didn't quite want to leave it as it was.
This is how the piece came into being (dramatization):
me: I'm gonna do something realistic!
george: can you do realistic art?
me: of course. i just don't because I don't like it.
george: then why... ok. make realistic art.
*several weeks later (in which i have attempted almost no realistic art. what i have done has rapidly morphed into sillyland.*
me: i hate realism. it's boring. and it takes me forever. and it's never quite right.
george: then stop doing it.
me: but... ok. I'm going to make something totally abstract! I rebel against your realities, realism. fuck you and your looking like things. i'll do a jackson pollack! take that!
george: ok. make something abstract.
*layer 1 complete*
me: it's so pretty. if i touch it, I'll ruin it. maybe i'll send you pics and you can tell me what you think.
george: ok.
*several days of blithering and quite a few rejected plans later*

Close-up!

Today I worked on this page, I am well-adjusted/ Everything I say is profound. Thank you Elias and Danielle.

And I think that's about all from me. I hear wildfire was awesome, and I'm sorry I missed it. I was with you in spirit, rocking out with my fire poi at Pyrophilia.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Holy blog updates Batman! A real post!

So, while I have fallen off the earth somewhat since the plague, it is not because I have been lame and had nothing to report. On the contrary, since my last post, there has been all sorts of excitement.
I saw Matt, which was excellent. I went to the Steampunk World's Fair with George and Mike and a couple of their friends (also highly excellent and an excuse for a corset and the top hat- win!) Excellent photos on Facebook... mike spent much of the day stalking me like I was a wild animal in an attempt at gaining photos which were 1) not full of me giving the finger and 2) good. He was successful. Also, we discovered Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band, and let me tell you. There is so much happy to be had in a 2 am impromptu hotel parking lot dance party with 150 people in steampunk outfits raving like maniacs to a big band jazz cover of "sexyback". Best. Party. Ever.
Last week, I saw Ovo which was really good, even the clowns were funny (a minor circus miracle) and Stuffed and Unstrung, which turned out to be enjoyable despite the attendant drama. Met up with Kate Tracy and Christopher and Sophie on Saturday, expedition to bra shopping and lunch, then Kate came home with me, and Sunday we drove to Vassar to collect her stuff. Unfortunately, everything that could go wrong in car rental did go wrong, so we didn't get there until 4:30ish and didn't really get to see people. We did get furniture, and then we had a couple days of hanging out/ art party. Yesterday we collected Christopher and all went to MoMA for Marina Abromovic's "The Artist is Present". It was... interesting. Not the art I want to make, but it does make you think. If anything can be art, then maybe everything is art, and I don't know where I'm going with this. More thinking is required. But I don't want strangers to be allowed to use knives, whips, sugar cubes, etc on me with impunity. That sounded awful. I've never been nervous about a grape before. Great Wall of China walks as break up tools yes, carving the communist star into my tummy no.
I've also been making lots of art! Lots and Lots and LOTS. But I only have pictures of things from before this week, as my camera battery needs to charge, so anything I hadn't already photographed will have to wait. Still a huge art dump.
Book Of Dreams
April EnVision Collage

Have I mentioned that sometimes I hate my body?

Spontaneity! (I know it's misspelled, I figured going to look it up would be contrary to the point)







I used an Ovo ad, so it folds open. which is awesome. 
Sponteneity is Humility in face of the awe of the Univere's power. (David object that this is not accurate, and it should be "the capriciousness of the universe" or some such. He's a pain.)
And then it folds down, to fit more awesome. (The thing in the curve of the moon is a tiny tarot card- The Fool, for beginnings, possibilities and the unknown.)

May EnVision Collage

Page on Shadow and Light aspects of Self. 





In the subway passage at the Bryant Park F/V/7 there's a mosaic of roots and such that inspired this sketch ages ago... finally went over it with pen so it was visible. 
Yes, the leaves are eyes. All of them. It took ages.



Yeah... I may dislike my period. Just a little. 


How to Fight Lonliness


This was for the May art journal challenge. I'm not even showing the rest of the things becasue this is already a huge art dump and I don't like them that much. The prompt for this one was cut an interesting edge into a page (which I'd never done before and really liked). 


This is why I should remember to update regularly. I'm leaving things out, and still no one cares because it's way too long. I'm skipping over a painting and several more art journal pages that don't please me all that much. The painting I started today is looking really good so far, and my art journal pages came out nicely. So with any luck I'll post those soonish. 

And that's my story. And then I found $5, ate a bowl of cereal, fought batman, and we got naked. The end. 

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

How to Fight Lonliness

How to fight loneliness
Smile all the time
Shine your teeth to meaningless
And sharpen them with lies

And whatever is going down
Will you follow around
That's how you fight loneliness

You laugh at every joke
Drag your blanket blindly
Fill your heart with smoke

And the first thing that you want
Will be the last thing you'll ever need
That's how you fight it

Just smile all the time
Just smile all the time
Just smile all the time
Just smile all the time

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Take your clothes off! The circus is evil!

http://www.hollywoodlife.com/2010/04/27/olivia-munn-peta-circus-elephants/

Wow. As always, naked women are the way to go for convincing me of things. Especially if by things you mean earthquakes. However, taking your clothes off and telling people not to go to the circus seems dumb. How about keeping your clothes on, treating women like we have brains and not just breasts, and making a rational argument against mistreatment of animals rather than a wild attack on all circuses. Many circuses do not use animals at all, and some that do are very very clear about the fact that the animals are treated more than humanely. (Also, the humans at circuses often don't live much better than the animals from what I understand, but that's not a problem. I suppose it's their own fault for working in a circus.) As always seems to be the case, PETA is more concerned with making a statement than with accuracy, women's rights, or intelligence.
Also, today I saw a terrifying add for Folgers coffee. http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1320151605?bctid=60450628001 Warning: this commercial is creepy and sexist and makes my stomach turn.
Or that may just be the plague.