I went to the Bahamas recently for a little fun in the sun and while I was there took some action shots of the sea life. I love taking photographs of fish swimming because you feel so lucky when you get a good shot. At the resort there was a beautiful mural on one of the ceilings.
My question to you is who is wiser than woo?
Wow, what a month it has been, and you've probably been wondering where I disappeared to. Well I've been madly working on a calendar for 2009. I've never been able to get one together, but this year it's going to happen...knock on wood of course. I plan to complete it for next week. Above is a part of one of the illustrations which I am really excited about. Hope everyone is feeling good about the world in general and I'll try not to be so scarce.
I'm a big fan of the artist Banksy, so I was delighted to find out about his/her newest installation in the West Village, the Village Petstore and Charcoal Grill. It is a pet store-eatery that appeared overnight. You don't understand? Well you kind of have to see it to believe it. Instead of fish floating in a tank, it has fish sticks swimming around in said tank (see-below). Instead of little chickies grazing, there are chicken nuggets pecking the ground. Want a bunny rabbit? Well they have one...primping in front of a vanity. Yes, it seems that this store is a commentary on our over-processed, technologic world. Did I make up a word in that phrase? Probably so, but you get me. There are also more large rats popping up in downtown New York. Like we need more rats...
My swap is over, and this is the last time I will post about it, but I had to show what I received from Suzanne of Phatsheep Textiles. She sent me a lovely bag filled with even more delightful summer "finds". I love polka dots for one, so I was ecstatic with just the sac, but it was filled with postcards, shells, yarn, and yummy soaps, and literature about where she lives. I definitely have the warms fuzzies. I love Suzanne's eye for color and her fabric and textile creations are not to be missed. Thank you for my gifts!
Recently I told a friend that I was really into vampire stories and that I was loving the new HBO series Trueblood. She replied that she was reading the BEST book called Twilight, and I should read it immediately. So that is what I've been doing for the last week. Reading the WHOLE series. Yes, I am the type of reader who gets obsessed and can't put the book down until I have read the whole thing, in this case the saga. Stephenie Meyer is my new favorite author. The above shoe has nothing to do with the post, but I would love to own it.
I went to a friends house for breakfast the other day and she has an infant, who in turn has many wonderful toys. The dad is French, so this little girl receives many French goodies. I was delighted by this soft book- recently I have been wanting to create some soft-books of my own, so I've been looking for examples- and of course the images are so French. Would you ever find these kind of pictures in an American children's book? Probably not, unless it was sex ed. It's great to see a book with no inhibitions.
So the send-off date and when I actually send it usually vary by about 3 days. Cheers all around because it is gone and hopefully will make somebody happy within the next couple of days (I sent it priority). Now my life is complete. And a little bit calmer. I just wanted to thank everyone again for participating in the swap. I hope you all had as fun as I did. My sac is made from a dress given to me by a friend when she was trying to clean out her apartment before a move. I had an idea of how I wanted it to look and freestyled it. I am really excited, because it actually turned out as I had imagined. I haven't really wanted to sew since my fashion school days, but my last two projects came out so successfully (in my eyes), that I might want to start a line of bags. But then, doesn't everyone? I know my line would have a lot of pockets. I love pockets, especially secret ones.
Well today is the send-off day for the swap. I know, I thought the day would never come either! Well it is here, and if you are like me, I've been so busy, that I haven't been able to get all my items together into the sac...just yet. Most likely by tomorrow. So swapper- it will be a day late. I think I can speak for us all when I say that if you are going to be a day late, even two, no big deal, but if it is more than that, please contact your swapper so that they don't harass the mail person without cause. If you have misplaced any of the information I sent you, just email me and I would be happy to give you the information. If you don't receive a package, or email, please email me, and I will email your swapper to find out what's up. I know that many packages have already been sent, and I am excited to see what people have received. Please post pix on the flickr group site. (I just peeked and saw SawbiiWabii's fabulous swap collection.) I hope that everyone has a wonderful experience with this swap.
San Francisco is quite the place to see good art exhibits right now. Most of the Chihuly work is currently at the De Young Museum, but a couple of the nicest pieces are at the Legion of Honor complementing the Women Impressionist's exhibit. I highly recommend both as well as the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the SFMOMA. The day I went to the Legion of Honor was so beautiful- no fog and in the eighties. The perfect condition to see this Chihuly wonder.
My favorite part of traveling outside of my realm, aka NYC, is experiencing the energy of other places. To me each city or place has a very distinct personality and I enjoy getting to know it. The energy is almost tangible- the feel of the air, the scents of the plants, and the reactions of people who you meet. Sometimes I like to daydream and think about what people in China are doing while I sit on a bench/subway in New York, or how it might be to be in Brazil at a certain moment (lying on the beach preferably), because I am one tiny individual living my life, and there are millions of other people living in their cities, towns, boondocks, experiencing a totally different reality. I think it is important to appreciate a sense of place, especially your own.
Every day I see my 3 year old becoming more and more like me, via doing and saying the things I do. I say "Oh my goodness", she says "Oh my goodness". I like to draw in my sketchbook, she likes to draw in her sketchbook (yes, she's had one since she was 1 and a half and it is pretty amazing). I like to take pictures of all things and now, yes, she likes to take pictures of all things. Recently she took her Barbie camera to the park and on the way, this is one picture that I think turned out quite nicely. It is somewhere in the low eighties on Amsterdam. The really funny ones were the random shots of parents and children that she took in the park.
It's been so long. Again. Here are some close-ups of the work I did at Crown Point Press. It was so great to immerse myself into my own work for a week, but I'm now back with two kiddies full time for the summer months, and it's next to impossible to do anything but focus on them.
Where have I been you ask...well I have been fully immersed in a Crown Point Press workshop in San Francisco. Learning to etch with copper plates has been on top of my to do list for a long time, and finally my wish has come true. All week I have acted as a sponge and have learned many different etching processes. See that middle seat up above? That is where I have been making some wonderful discoveries. Below are some of the first proofs of my plates. There is so much more to tell, but I am exhausted, so I will wait until next week.
Well, there isn't that much to update, but I thought I'd write a check up post. All the swapper emails have been sent out, so if you did not receive your information, PLEASE email me. There was one address that I had difficulties with, but other than that, I think that all emails were received. I hope that everyone is enjoying their summers and rejuvenating. I know I am, hence the lack of posts. I have been finding little things here and there for my swapper, but I still don't have a theme. I think that many of my items will be bits and pieces of my travels, but also artwork and random drawings that I have made. Another swapper, paintedfishstudio, suggested possibly having friends, who live in places where her swapper would love to travel to, send some trinkets. I thinks that is a great idea if your friends are motivated, or owe you a favor;) Does anyone have any other ideas that might be helpful? I am so curious to hear.
I love hydrangeas and thought you might too when you saw these delicious pictures that don't begin to do justice to the blue flowers...but one can always imagine. I love the flowers of summer and I love painting them even more. I wish there was a watercolor pigment that came close to the hydrangea blue.
This is a shot looking towards the Buda side of Budapest and I am so inspired by the rooftops, particularly the spires, domes, and...well I don't even know what they are called. What is the official name of a bubble tower? Regardless, they caught my attention all over Budapest.
I've been living the life of a Hungarian in the beautiful city of Budapest for the past ten days. Wow, I love the feel of a European city. New York is great, but it doesn't have the history found in Europe. Every building has something to look at, be it some sort of emblem, or a scene of Roman gladiators fighting- it's all there if you look for it. I'm still sleep deprived, but it was all worth it.
