Not much going on here..or maybe there is a lot going on. I can't quite tell.
Only a four more painting class days left. It's gone by so quickly, it's hard to believe. I have had mixed feelings about the quality of education I am paying for. It made me realize the art program at the community college I went to in Casper, WY all those years ago was PHENOMINAL. I wish I would have been in a better mind-frame at the time, but that can't be changed now. My friend Carrie teaches at a community college and she often speaks about the total lack of interest, desire, dedication that most of her students show. It's extremely frustrating for her, and I can see that same frustration in my own teacher in dealing with most of the other students in my class. It's fascinating for me since I have been "one of those students". Needless to say, this time around I have not skipped one class, have completed all of my assignments on time and have done all of my homework. You have to want it, and that's all there is to it. I have decided to take the advance painting class being offered in the fall. I have even been kicking around the idea of finishing my degree! Oh my god..the world must be coming to an end! I am thinking that I would like to eventually transfer to Evergreen. I talked to a girl the other day named Onyx who had really hairy armpits that got a degree in Anthropological Movement (with a minor in Library Science) from Evergreen. "It's like a mix between Anthropology and Dance." Right.
My sloper pattern is ready, all I have to do is pick it up! I am going to start with some summer dresses since the rain has stopped and it's now 90 degrees. I really like this one. Actually McCalls has a lot of cute dress patterns. This one. This one. I need to keep my eyes peeled for a pattern sale at Joann's so I can stock up. I already have waaaay too many patterns I haven't even touched, I don't need anymore! The next issue is picking fabric. That, for me, is the HARDEST part. I am not a pastel person, I don't like pink or yellow or green. I am one of those girls who wears black. I do like blue, so I guess that's a start!
It must run in the family. When I went home to Wyoming recently my mom and I went through some old photos and I found some real gems. Left to Right:
My paternal grandmother and her sister. I LOVE LOVE LOVE these so much. My grandmother is the one in the first photo. I don't' know when or where in Wyoming these were taken, so I am guessing on the date. I love their cowboy hats.
My mom and her best friend and roommate. I LOVE these as well. My mom is the blond. These were taken (correct me if I am wrong, Mom) in San Diego when my Dad was in the Navy. I can't remember when she told me it was exactly, so I am again guessing on the date. Update: (Corrected date is 1966)
I found these when I was home and I almost started crying with joy because I thought I had lost them. Luckily, and with an amazing sense of foresight, I wrote the date on the back. This is my best friend in the whole world when we were about to become seniors in High School. You can't really tell in the photo but Carrie has the most amazingly beautiful curly red hair. I am the dorky one on the right. (as you are looking at the photo). This photo booth was at a mall in Casper, Wyoming. We would have to drive for two hours to get there and I can remember waiting anxiously outside the booth for the little strip of magic to come popping out and laughing like I have never laughed before, or since. Ah..those were the days.
I just recently noticed that a second hand store downtown is advertising that they have a photo booth...he he he...
I got home from class last week and stayed up late because I was feeling in the mood to draw. I don't utilize my sketchbook as much as I should. I am not one of those people who takes it with me everywhere I go. I don't know how people do that. I guess they go to more interesting places than the post office. And when I am in the post office the last thing I want to do is hang out. I usually try to get out of there as soon as possible.
I sketched what I thought were some pretty good faces of women. I turned them into mermaids, harpies, and sea witches of course, and felt extremely proud of myself. Fast forward a few days to me opening my sketchbook to revel in my glory and finding to my dismay, that my memory of my sketches was a lot better than the pencil scratches I was looking at. I felt defeated. As a creative person, I am logically aware that there will be ebbs and flows in the creative process, but when you are in an ebb, logic doesn't hold a candle to feeling. I put my sketchbook away and didn't touch it, think about it or looked at it - until yesterday.
"DON”T DO ONE DRAWING AND CALL IT FINISHED. You should draw entire pages of at least a dozen drawings on the page. Repetition is the KEY to successful drawing, can’t stress that enough. Come to my studio some time and I will show you the dozens upon dozens of pads filled front to back of studies. Good, Bad, Horrid, Eye Wrenching, etc. but done no less."
"But done no less."I realized that when I do a sketch that looks halfway decent I "call it finished" and stop. I expect a parade and confetti and a sky writer celebrating my genius. It reminded me of that Thomas Edison quote "Success is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration." and realized that I am NOT perspiring. I got my sketchbook and started drawing.
On to my favorite links this week. The June issue of Lucky magazine has a section on Paris and oooh la la, I loved it. I love Paris. I have been fortunate enough to visit that beautiful city twice, and I cannot wait until the day I get to go again. These spots are on my list:
Laduree for macaroons- I keep thinking that I am going to make these someday. I have a stock pile of recipes that are collecting dust. I need to take inspiration from Megan and her marshmallows and cupcakes. Deyrolle - This place seems to fantastically weird to be true. French Touche - This seems like a french version of the Blissen or Cut+Paste. There are SO many fantastic inspirational creations on this site. You will get sucked in.
Lastly, many of you have inquired about prints of my illos, specifically the Alice in Cafe land one. I need to do a little bit of market research and ask that if you would be interested, either comment or email me your top three favorites. I would appreciate it. A lot of you have asked about it and I have been pretty lame about not following through.
Oh! I almost forgot...how could I forget? The Felting Tutorial. It's a PDF. Let me know if there is anything you don't understand. Thanks to my mom and the very talented Shelly for being the guinea pigs.
Last weekend we went to our favorite little park we like to call "The Lagoon". I took some pictures of trees that I am going to experiment painting. I love the trees there...I took pictures of the ones that look like they would be homes to imaginary beings. They look like little gnome holes or something.
I am in love with the Moss Graphiti posted on Not Martha. It never fails to amaze me what people come up with.
This week's object of consumer lust #1: Garnet Hill's Travel Journal Sheets. Man, I wish money was stuffed in those little gnome holes.
This week's object of consumer lust #2: Shu Uemura Oils with art by Ai Yamaguchi. The bottles are so pretty!
I found a great artist in a magazine this weekend and I love the way she sells her art. It's such a great idea. Her name is Laura Zeck and she creates FABULOUS etchings that you can mix and match from her library of 300 (!) images to create a great piece of art. And she's up in Seattle! I love, love, love this idea.
Another art link inspiration, this time via Drawn!. Vintage Magic Posters. I love vintage posters and I was thrilled to find this site.
My painting class is almost over. I am so glad that I took it, I am learning a lot working with oils, even if they are water soluble. I really needed the support of a classroom environment to force me into something new. I have a long way to go to get to where I want to be, but I am actually EXCITED about practicing painting, which is a good thing. Here is my first painting that was due this past week. Sorry for the quality of the photo..it was so hard to take. You can't really see any detail in the guy's face, but that's okay because I am not really happy with him anyway.
Shelly-the tutorial is almost done, I have not forgotten!!
