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.

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.

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. 

...And sometimes, you fly

Yesterday, I was going to do a "Spontaneity is humbleness in the face of the Awesomeness of the Universe" page, but I got distracted first by looking for pics of the Riddler that weren't too cartoony so I could start thinking about character sketches for the comic Steve wrote, which I offered to draw for him, because the sketches I started on the train into the city are terrible.
Riddle me this: Why does my Riddler look like anime Snape?

Because I have no feeling for the Riddler, and the realism skills of a 3rd grader.
and then that morphed into a plan for a page on the previously mentioned 3rd option. Given that my plan was to do a page about spontaneity, it seemed silly to not be spontaneous.
Based off this page from Fables & Reflections

I have created this version (Pitt Pens and gesso and watercolor)

Which I'm actually very pleased with. Rarely do I finish a page and think, "hmm, that's actually good. If this were a real painting and not a page in my journal, someone might buy this" but I have that feeling about this page. Dunno how much it really counts, since it's not all that original, being largely ripped from the actual Sandman illustration, but I like it. Perhaps one day, when I get my act together, I'll turn it into a real piece in a format I could actually sell.

Last week I was enjoying the glory of spring and did a mixed-media (pitt pens, watercolor pencils, stamps, ink, acrylic, collage paper, real flowers and gesso) piece based on that. Some parts I'm really happy with, others not so much.

In Other News: There was CAKE. It was glorious. Chocolate Strawberry Moouse Cake FTW

God, that looks like the whole top of the cake is on fire... George must be really old. But no, it's only a dozen candles. They're just really bright. 

(The cake is delicious, but it might have benefited from not needing to be transported from New Ro to Brooklyn, as it got slightly squished and melty in transit)

Recipe:
Cake (adopted from the internet):
1c coffee
1c milk
8oz pureed Strawberries
4 egg whites
2c flour
2t vanilla
2c sugar
3/4c baking cocoa
2t baking soda
1t baking powder
1/4t salt

Combine coffee, milk, strawberries, vanilla and egg whites. Mix well.
Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to wet mix.
Beat 2 min until well blended.
Bake at 350 in two 9-in rounds (buttered and floured) for 30-35 min

Moouse (my family's chocolate moouse recipe):
4 eggs, separated
8oz bittersweet chocolate
vanilla, grand mariner, or coffee to perfume
2c heavy cream

Whip egg whites
Whip cream and perfume
Melt chocolate
Temper chocolate with egg yolks, then combine and mix well.
Fold chocolate mix into egg whites and cream. Fold, do not mix, or you'll lose the fluffyness.
Refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight to set. Can be frozen.

Chocolate Ganache (flat out stolen from the internet):
8oz semisweet chocolate
1c heavy cream
1t rum (I used grand mariner)

Chop chocolate into bits
Bring cream to a boil then immediately pour over chocolate.Whisk until chocolate is melted. Add rum.

Assembly:
Take 1 cooled cake round, spread a layer of moouse. Top with layer of sliced strawberries, then another of moouse. Place second cake round on top. Pour warm ganache over top of cake, dip aprox 6 strawberries (leafy bits removed) in ganache and use them to decorate the top. Return to fridge.
I had enough Strawberries (I bought a 2lb container) and ganache left to make about a dozen chocolate dipped strawberries. Also delicious.

I had a very good weekend. George and I wandered Prospect Park, watched Ponyo and Amelie, both of which were excellent, made meatballs for dinner and crepes for breakfast. Delicious and happy. Sunday, lots of people came over for his birthday and we played about 10+ hours of boardgames before pizza and cake.
I'm so happy, it's freaky. Really, it worries me a lot.

Real art! (ish)

So since last post, I have been bizarrely productive. I have about 5 spreads to show you and I've done huge amounts of cleaning, yard work, and other things. Also, tonight Mike came over and toweled so I got to do some fire, which was glorious. I haven't spun since September, and I missed it dreadfully. Basically, everything in my life is either rapidly moving towards complete awesomeness or settled comfortably enough. I am stupidly happy. It's kinda freaking me out.

Anyway, art time.

So last time I posted what was intended to be piece 1 of 3 (This is a Fire Door Never Leave Open).

(Our letters sound the same- full of all our changing that isn't change at all- All straight lines circle sometime)

Originally, I didn't realize or intend for them all to be Weakerthan's songs, or to be songs at all. But then the second one happened to be a Weakerthan's song too. So now I have finished all 3 and here they are.

Guy 2- Time's Arrow

(So you whisper your arrival walking backwards to the door wonder breifly what it is you're hesitating for)

And then, I wanted the third page to match up. So I needed to pick a Weakerthan's song for the remaining guy. My first inclination was The Reasons, but it's way too early to say I love you. Which is what that song means to me. So I ended up with My Favourite Chords, which I think is actually better.

(You are a radio. You are an open door. I am a faulty string of blue christmas lights. You swim through frequencies. You let that stranger in. As I'm blinking off and on and off again. We've got a lot of time- or maybe we don't. But I'd like to think so, so let me pretend.)

I've also bought Sheri Gaynor's book, Creative Awakenings and started working with that. So far I've decorated my cover- not according to the instructions. ;p

I've answered the starting questions

And done the first "EnVision Dreamtime" spread, which will continue to grow and change over the month. So I'll post it again at the end of the month.

And that's about all I'm up to.

More More Art Art

Life goes on as usual. My mom is in Jamaica this week, so I am queen of the house. Which should be more exciting than it is, as mostly, I've done the same things as if she were here (art, pretend to work on resumes, talk to George on Gchat all day).... I have actually made significant room cleaning progress, removing several metric tons of empty coke bottles/cans and locating huge swaths of floor as well as unpacking my spring/summer clothes. I am kinda freaked out by how clean my bathroom is at the moment.
Also, today is the last day of March... meaning today is the last day of the March Art Journal Challenge.

3/25- Words; 3/26- Photograph (Friedman refers to this as a myspace photo b/c I took it of myself)

3/27- Think; 3/28 "Ideas are like rabbits, you get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen."- John Steinbeck (Flavortext at the top says "Plot Bunnies"- there has been a large quantity of fanfic in my life this week. I blame George.)

3/29- Splatter; 3/30- Pencil & Gesso, Gesso & Pencil

3/31- One for the road; Bonus- not assigned, but I wanted to use both sides (OCD, me? Never) The End

Bonus Bonus- This Is A Fire Door Never Leave Open
(This is a terrible pic of a page that came out quite nicely. About/for one of the lovely gentlemen in my life (ha). If you can't guess who, you don't know me very well. Eventually, there will be 2 more of these... but as I am expecting Friedman in about 10 minutes, not today.)

Tomorrow I am going into the city to see George and attend a reading of Steve's play. Should be interesting. Then Friday, I'm off to the Met to see the Victorian Collage exhibit before it closes.

Art Dump

More shitty pics of my work for the march art journal daily prompts
I've done a terrible job keeping up with the "daily" bit - partially b/c some days I have no interest in the prompt, or because I get busy... or I'm absorbed into other art and forget to work on it and then I get behind and the days pile up.
Regardless, I eventually catch back up, so here it is:

3/15- Self Portrait (this page is totally not done); 3/16- Pretend

3/17- Corned Beef, Carrots, Potatos, Cabbage (can you tell this prompt didn't excite me?); 3/18- Black Ink

3/19- Layers (text says "Peel Back the Layers" "To Get To The Heart Of The Matter"); 3/20- Watch A Movie

3/21- Play; 3/22- Stiches

3/23- Profanity (speech bubble says "Fuck Off"); 3/24- Die Cuts (which I don't own)

Also, only one bonus piece this week, because I haven't figured out a way to scan the comics yet.

Also tonight is the last night of my ceramics class, so maybe there will eventually be pics of my ceramics work up.