Monday, January 29, 2007
Golden Rules
I am LOVING art classes; I had my first life drawing class tonight. Pictured above is the set up for my still life for Marker Rendering, but it's also my favorite new workspace. My sewing machine is sitting on the other side of this corner table.
What is your favorite work space/situation?
On a completely unrelated note, speaking with my friend Laura who is doing the Vagina Monologues again this year makes me miss all those Sunday mornings of check-ins. In my perfect world, all my friends would sit in a circle on late Sunday mornings and check in with each other. We all need a context, community, of people. I know the only thing that has gotten me through these past very difficult months were my incredible friends who have shared precious, embarrassing pieces of themselves to help me understand and accept myself in all my ugly moments.Labels: arts+crafts, growing up, photolog
Sunday, January 28, 2007
All Happy Couples Are Alike, It's the Unhappy Ones Who Create The Stories
This past week has been pretty insane. All I know is that more changes are bound to be afoot very very soon.
I started art classes at Otis this weekend. The Marker Rendering Class turned out even better than I had hoped. I've been wanting to take a perspective class even though Otis doesn't offer one, but the instructor for this class is not only teaches marker rendering techniques, he teaches and emphasizes perspective! I'm so excited to become a better drawer in these next few months. Tomorrow I start Life Drawing at night, and the best part will be Ryan taking the class with me!
I've also watched Charade & An American In Paris this weekend, which are both really good (despite the extremely drawn out dance sequences in the latter). I'm almost done with Feast of Love by Charles Baxter, FINALLY. It's rich with beautiful passages, but also skillfully nuanced in how well Baxter captures the individual voice of each character. The novel shifts first person POVs between the few main characters in the book who are only loosely related to each other, and does it so well. I highly recommend it. I plan on digging into The Alchemist, The History of Love and Jane Eyre next, I really need to step up my reading goals for this year.
Thursday was our one year anniversary and I handmade a reconstructed sketchbook for Ryan. I don't think I want to say much else about it all except that I revel every day in how incredibly lucky I am.
I'll leave you with this short excerpt from Feast of Love:
People don't go to psychiatrists and pay good money to talk at length about how happy they are. Talking can spoil it. As a rule you don't settle down at the end of the day with a beer and tell your friend the particulars of how you lucked out and how well the day and the week and the year went, unless you're the gloating type. You just don't do that. It's provocation. You find some other neutral ground. If you're smart, you keep happiness to yourself.Labels: arts+crafts, books, films, photolog, quotes
Sunday, January 21, 2007
The Rememberlings and Things.
I'm becoming so obsessed with my new Pro Flickr account. Which definitely means good things for my photo year resolution.
Today I finally got to eat at Real Food Daily, which was so good. We went to the one in West Hollywood, so of course our waiter was adorably gay. It's a good Sunday for me when it starts with a vegan brunch and a pretty gay boy. It was our goal to go to Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School today, but we missed it because I forgot how addicting Paper Source can be! I bought many beautiful papers for a top secret project I'm working on, along with finding some presents for Lacey with Ryan.
To make up for missing our dose of art for the day, we stopped by the ThinkSpace gallery to see Lola's new show, The Rememberlings. Not only is the work charming, the titles are especially clever.
Now that I'm flexing my photography skills, I've just got to up the ante on my writing practice. For now, I'm nervous about starting my new job tomorrow and the 6 million hours of commuting that will come with it. But as the wise little owl on the chalkboard in my kitchen says, "Que Sera, Sera."
Wish me luck.Labels: arts+crafts, losangeles, photolog
Photography for the New Year
Last night I made grilled cheese. Not the glorious grilled cheese pictured above, which my friend Lisa made me at 2am sometime last Sunday night, but a more humble version sans avocado. I'm telling you this for no other reason except to excitedly announce that I have finally caved and upgraded my Flickr account to Pro so that I can keep up with my New Year's Resolution of taking more pictures this year. Gotta put this photography degree to use!Labels: foodie call, photolog
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Time on my mind
Last night was as A-list as promised, and overall one of the most interesting events I've been to. A few of the celebrities I met/encountered/brushed shoulders with last night: Edward Norton, Katherine Heigl, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, James Franco, David Krumholtz, Ted Danson...the list goes on and on. And today it snowed. Living in LA sure is an adventure.
I'm really nervous about starting my new job next week, and the commute that comes with it. It took me two hours to drive 12 miles yesterday, from Santa Monica to Hollywood, during afternoon rush hour. Sometimes LA isn't the kind of adventure I'd like to be on. Isn't it always about the love/hate relationship with big cities?
With all these new changes and big events coming about, I'm craving time to whittle away as I please. Time to read Domino, Real Simple, and Bust, to make a dent in the 22 books I'm reading this year, to write, to follow the course in Drawing On The Right Side of the Brain, to think and design projects for loved ones, to watch all the films on my Netflix queue. Remind me of this the next time I'm feeling like I'm in a rut because I have a daily routine, k? Thanks, friend.
Today a third grade girl at 826LA asked if she could read to me. I was more than happy to oblige, eager to hear the story of a bunny and beaver detectives. After she read each page, she would pause for a few moments to look at the illustrations. She did this the whole way through the book. I'm going to start adapting her way of looking at things; sometimes the question really becomes who is the role model for who.
Don't forget to de*lurk (brought to my attention by Lisa at Birdinthehand). Please click on comments and say hello, and tell me a little about yourself. I'm curious about who you are, what you like, what you dislike, what your favorite food is, how you keep warm in the snow and other things of that nature.Labels: losangeles, twentysomething
Monday, January 15, 2007
Happy Birthday, Dr. King.
I've had an amazing weekend! I got to see my family for a barbecue yesterday (where I picked up a few things including a little coffeemaker and a new dress my mom bought me) when we made a pitstop on our way down to San Diego yesterday.
During the 20 hours I was in America's Finest City, Ryan and I made our separate ways and I indulged in some girl time. I went shopping like old times with Whitney and Kira, ate at one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants, had coffee with Susie and then met her adorable baby pug Oscar, and then spent the rest of the evening huddled up with Trinh and Lisa at Lisa's lovely, quaint house, watching a bad Spanish musical and staying up til 4 AM having girltalk. I needed some girlfriends around lately, and I love every moment I get to spend with these brilliant, stylish, funny, compassionate, creative spirits.
It was quite the magical trip highlighted by many unexpected moments, even while waiting for Susie at Twigg's. As I was waiting in the desolate coffee shop, trying unsuccessfully to hide my two bags as not to look like a vagrant, one Mr. Jason Mraz was darting back and forth between the Green Room and the cafe. It was quite the SparkNotes version of my San Diego life in those 20 hours, and I was so happy.
There are quite a few pictures I need to upload, but I want to enjoy the last few hours of my potentially last few three day weekends available (possibly by playing X-Men Legends 2 with Ryan before he goes back to school tomorrow), so they will be up in a few days. I want to make good on my promise of taking a picture everyday -- and will be getting a pro Flickr account so you can keep up.
Tomorrow is going to be crazy hectic, with my last few days of work being "surprisingly" jam-packed and this rather enormous, A-list 826LA fundraiser in Hollywood afterwards, I have no idea when I will be home. I'm really dreading the drive from Santa Monica to Holly wood at 4:30pm. Only in LA will it take you an hour and a half to drive 20 miles. I'll be sure to fill you in on details tomorrow of who I saw eating what. These next few weeks look quite chaotic -- with my brother's birthday and a one year anniversary, starting art classes and a new job, while desperately needing a haircut -- and though my life sure seems manic at times/all the time, I love every moment of the experience. Because the remedy is the experience.Labels: san diego, twentysomething
Friday, January 12, 2007
Don't Stay Still.
Stay was a really bad movie. So bad that I had to put on Season 6 of Gilmore Girls to get the ache out of my brain from the bad.
I feel all over the map the last few days, but I'm slowing down and circling the idea of what I really want. It's funny that there are a million things you dream about happening in the course of your life, but when you're taking the path day by day it's never what you imagined. Hopefully, it's better.
I'm so happy for this three day weekend, two of which days I'll be seeing my family and my wonderful friends in a far-away land called San Diego, and overall enjoying burrowing in bed working on all my New Year's Resolutions.
Just for my own sake, I'm reiterating all my New Year's Resolutions in one list:
1) Learn to sew; collect vintage fabrics and make own clothes!
2) Lose 10 lbs.
3) Continue yoga practice.
4) Eat healthier; learn more recipes; cook more.
5) Finish a draft of my novel.
6) Draw every single day.
7) Find a new job.
8) Manage stress better.
9) Maintain good correspondence and relationships with friends far and near.
10) Read 22 books.
11) Create an online photography/art portfolio.
12) Discover LA, and make it my home.
13) Learn Photoshop and Illustrator.
14) Become a contributing writer.
15) Make 15 pieces of art.
16) Take a photograph every single day; document it on Flickr.Labels: films, lists
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
The Sweet Escape
I wanted to write a nice long update, and perhaps add some photographs, but the new BUST came with Gwen Stefani on the cover, and then Ryan and I had to scout out this ramen restaurant mirage (we never did find it), and then I had to catch up on all of my friends' blogs and ljs...and now I'm too tired.
So in short, a few announcements, revised resolutions, and things:
- I have resigned at my current job.
- I have accepted an offer for an online photo editor position with a new company and will be starting in two weeks.
- I like Gwen Stefani's new album The Sweet Escape (especially the title track) a LOT. I also really like The Weepies album Say I Am You that I got as part of my Christmas package from Gina a LOT.
- I need to send Gina her package that has been sitting on my floor since the weekend :(
- Resolution 13: Draw every single day, document some on the blog.
- Resolution 14: Learn Photoshop and Illustrator.
- Resolution 15: Become a contributing writer.
- Resolution 16: Make 15 pieces of art.
- Goals this week: Finish one book, send Gina's package, start making Lacey's package, call friends and catch up, send late holiday cards (sorry!), buy seeds to plant flowers and more herbs.
- I had ramen tonight in honor of Momofuku Ando.
- Pan's Labryinth = sad sad sad!Labels: growing up, lists, twentysomething
Thursday, January 04, 2007
The End of My Affair with Artichoke
I have had a fear of artichokes until about two years ago. Gazing upon one of these complex fibrous organisms of the Great Creator/Mother Earth/Random Galactical Dust Storm, I felt deep confusion and mild fascination that was easily worn off by my non-confrontational manner. The way that I would react if I, say, came upon a dying Predator in an alleyway - what is that and how do you get past all its armor? Ho hum, attempting to get inside it would be scarier than not. So I often chose not, with the artichoke of course, until many friends finally cajoled me into spinach artichoke dip. Now spinach artichoke dip was stressful for me at first, as I swiftly dodged all dip that wasn't spinach nor fatty fat fat, until one accidentally landed in my mouth one day, I'm sure.
My love affair with artichoke grew. The gloriously non-offensive texture! The slightly sauerkraut flavor! It grew so consuming that at one point in the summer, I casually tossed a Costco sized tub into my mom's shopping cart when I was visiting her, and made off with said tub to my apartment. Where I lived alone, in the dregs of summer, eating artichoke dip.
Ryan finally threw it away in the mass exodus of his apartment the weekend we moved up to LA. I was curled up in fetal position nursing the sores boring through my stomach walls (lovely visual, I'm sure), defenseless and clear-out-of-my-mind with pain. (It should be said that these two things were not correlative). It was probably for the better.
A few weeks ago, we made artichokes when I was feeling experimental during my newfound week off. They were oh so pretty in the pot, and their lemon butter sauce promised so much. But when it came down to the wire, and Ryan taught me how to eat a real artichoke down to the heart, I became quickly disillusioned with the whole thing and I called it off.
And that, my friends, was my love affair with artichoke. Dip, I'm still friendly with.Labels: foodie call
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
The Year of More
Happy New Year! I am more excited for the developments of this year than I have been for any other year before; maybe because the most liberating thing about being out of school is the possibility that anything can change in a second.
A few more things to wrap up here from last year, and I'll move into the New Year. Pictured above is the Tiramisu Baby Blanket I crocheted from Alicia's test pattern. I didn't weave a ribbon around the scalloped edge because it was for a one month old baby boy. The night before Ryan went up to San Francisco for Christmas, I madly dashed to finish the blanket while he was creating a frame for a painting he did for his new nephew.
I'm really pleased with the way it came out, it was my first crocheted blanket and first time following a pattern! Alright, slide into the senior center over.
Here are some of my New Year's Resolutions; I'll keep it brief because I didn't realize until now that people only made one or two? I usually make twelve. And instead of doing things "less" like common resolutions seem to be, this is going to be my year of MORE. My year of excess and decadence in being good to myself and those whom I love. MORE LAUGHING. MORE TALKING. MORE LETTERS. MORE 'I LOVE YOU's. MORE THANK YOUs. MORE LOVE. MORE VEGETABLES AND FRUITS. MORE YOGA. MORE TIME STARING AT THE SKY. MORE GUILTY PLEASURES. MORE CUPCAKES. MORE PHOTOGRAPHS. MORE GIVING. MORE KISSES. I want more more more of life. And these:
1) Learn to sew; collect vintage fabrics and make own clothes!
2) Lose 10 lbs.
3) Continue yoga practice.
4) Eat healthier; learn more recipes; cook more.
5) Finish a draft of my novel.
6) Be well onto an illustration track.
7) Find a new job.
8) Manage stress better.
9) Maintain good correspondence and relationships with friends far and near.
10) Read 22 books.
11) Create an online photography/art portfolio.
12) Discover LA, and make it my home.Labels: arts+crafts, lists
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