the Joy of blogging

More Mini Mall Gems....

2010-10-14T23:09:00.000-05:00

Little Miss Sarah Sunshine.....

2010-08-16T23:49:00.000-05:00

Soooo for my best friend's birthday, I geeked out a little bit making presents. In keeping with the "cheerfully domestic" theme, I sewed a bright floral apron. Then I thought "How can I make this as obnoxiously sunny-happy-go-lucky as possible?" Bright flowers, of course! But I didn't want them to wilt and die.....so, I created a mini garden out of melted crayons.

My mind works in tangents.....anyway, pictures are below.

The birthday girl

Atlanta, TX......

2010-08-05T02:39:00.002-05:00

Pictures from the road trip Sarah and I took to visit her ma-maw and pa-paw (I'm pretty sure I spelled both of those endearments incorrectly). A relaxing weekend with no cell phone service, but plenty of domino games (of which I lost all) and hiking at Atlanta State Park. All pictures were taken with my Diana+ camera.

Hot Fun in the Summertime.....

2010-08-05T02:08:00.003-05:00

Soooo 6 months after my last post, and over a month after the actual trip, I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from my June visit to New York. I don't know if I'm really cut out for this blogging thing....but I digress.

The pics below are some highlights of the trip. I took far fewer pictures than when I visited in October/November, mainly because I wanted to experience more. Plus, my SD card was corrupted, which was awesome to find out post-trip. Default filter I suppose. ✄

My thanks go out again to Lauren and Matt for being such great hosts. Thanks to Anastasia as well for the post-picnic overnight crash. Hope you enjoy.... ♥

2nd floor view from Lauren's Brooklyn studio

Brunch at Bondi Road with the Quik crew....Aussies make the best Bloody Marys

Alvin Ailey performance of "Revelations" at BAM

Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum

Guggenheim

Anastasia lounging outside Acme Bar

Fennel and Citrus salad at L'asso Pizza (best pizza I've had in NY)

Michelle and Anastasia at Prospect Park

Chicago-style hot dogs at the Prospect Park picnic. Matt's friend

Adam baked the poppyseed buns--delicious!

Me and Anastasia at Prospect Park

Lipppzzzz tote for Anastasia's birthday

Warhol exhibit at Brooklyn Museum

Schiaparelli jewelry at Brooklyn Museum

Aztec apron for Lauren's birthday

Lauren and Matt's map/card/ticket door

Until next time NY!

Mini Mall....

2010-02-05T19:43:00.001-06:00

"Wonders of the mini mall,

Have I time to name them all?"

Lame rhyming aside, the Denton Mini Mall is one of my favorite places in North Texas. Overflowing with equal parts rare finds and useless knick-knacks, one could wander around the place for hours. Copious amounts of records, old cameras, clothing, accordions, costume jewelry....the list goes on and on. I myself hope to one day inhabit the mini mall, skulking around at all hours of the night, Phantom-of-the-Opera style. But I digress....

Today's visit was particularly interesting because of my extended conversation with the cashier. Anyone who knows me well knows that I don't generally strike up conversations (or engage in prolonged eye contact) with random strangers. I tend to attract the crazies, especially older crazies (this gentleman was definitely in his 50s)....Anyway, as I approached the counter to pay for my records (one a compilation of 70's love ballads, the other Cuban music as orchestrated by Percy Faith), I inadvertently overheard the tail-end of his phone conversation:

"Well, if she ever talked to me like that, I'd get behind her and push her down some stairs."

Hmm. Already off to a good start. I guessed, by the smell of cheap vodka emanating from his pores, that his advice was probably just the alcohol talking. I hoped anyway. As I edged closer to the counter (slower and with added caution, not wanting to make any sudden movements) the cashier excused himself from his rant session. If I hadn't just heard the guy threaten someone's life, and he didn't smell like a dirty martini, I would have thought him to be a completely different person. All smiles, he asked if I'd found what I was looking for. I tentatively mumbled a "Yes, thank you" as I started to pull out my wallet. After looking over my choices, he told me I should visit his friend next door (at Mini Mall II--yes, there are two of them!!) to look through his collection of rare 70s and 80s rock and soul records. Then he explained the reason the vendor I bought my records from owned a ridiculous amount of records (he was amazingly lucid for consuming what I'm pretty sure was a profuse amount of alcohol at 10:45 am). Apparently, the person that owes the vendor money is paying her in records--10,000 records over time, to be exact. Interesting. I knew the section grew larger every time I browsed through it, but the story is classic mini mall.

I can't wait to visit you again mini mall.... ♥

Fashion....

2010-01-24T19:30:00.003-06:00

Is it odd that I find Tanya Gold's recent article in The Guardian (Why I Hate Fashion) both hilarious and familiar in sentiment? As a designer, my immediate instinct upon seeing the article title is to chalk Gold's title up to ignorance or maybe even bitterness. But after reading the whole article, which does occasionally steer towards the dramatic, I found that the message was one that so many women I know can relate to: exclusion. Even those deeply involved in the industry often feel that they have to become someone else in order to fit in....

Anyway, the link for the article, and my favorite snippet from the piece, are below.

Why I hate fashion

"The goods lay unwrapped on my ordinary bed. They looked odd there. They didn't fit. The marketing doesn't follow you home."

Retro?

2010-01-23T15:20:00.000-06:00

Ummm....is it still okay for people to wear leather pants?

How about a leather pant suit? With ruffles. To an online college graduation ceremony.

Just wondering.

He Say/She Say....

2010-01-18T02:57:00.009-06:00

This is the animation I created for my final project in my Computer in Arts class; it inspired the He Say/She Say jacket (posted with my portfolio pictures below). The song is "Anything" by Martina-Topley Bird.

Download the link and open in your web browser to view (if you have Adobe Illustrator, the program might try to open the download; just shut down the program and drag the link into a new web browser).

He Say/She Say

MFA Portfolio....

2010-01-14T18:23:00.006-06:00

Sooooo......after a brief, self-imposed seclusion, I have finally submitted my application and portfolio for my Master's in Fibers. The past 2 1/2 months have been the most physically and mentally exhausting I've endured since my fashion ungrad program; they've also been the most prolific.

But enough about that--the 20 pieces I submitted with my application are displayed below; they can be enlarged with a single click. Photography by the talented Andy White; check out photobucket.com/awphotosamples for more samples of Andy's work. Special thanks go out to Ranz for letting us transform his living room for the photo shoot, models Shem and Jade, and shoot stylist Sarah.

American Graffiti, 2009

Babble, 2009

Bonnie & Clyde, 2010

Flavor of the Month, 2009

Floraison, 2010

He Say/She Say, 2005

Isis, 2007

Just Suppose I Juxtapose, 2010

Let Loose What Binds You, 2004

Lineage, 2009

Love Letters, 2009

Nouveau in Nude, 2010

Richter in Chroma, 2010

Shrine, 2010

Spaces, 2009

St. Dita, 2008

Things Fall Apart, 2010

Untitled, 2010

Yawn, 2009

You, Corporate Robot, 2005

More NY Pics....

2009-12-04T18:14:00.000-06:00

Finally, almost a month after my return, I've developed the rest of the pictures from my Halloween trip to NY. All of these pictures were taken with my Lomo Colorsplash camera. Let me know your thoughts.....

NY 2009 Colorsplash

Drawings.....

2009-12-04T11:48:00.001-06:00

Blurry images of some of my Master's portfolio work. It's been a very inspirational week....

Pictures.....

2009-11-17T22:38:00.001-06:00

So I've finally gotten (somewhat) organized and uploaded some of my NY pictures to the internets. The links below are for the pre-Halloween party I attended with my hosts Matt and Lauren, and the random polaroids I took during the length of my trip. More pictures to come; I still have to develop the 35mm film from my Colorsplash camera......

'Roids.....

Pre-Halloween Party.....

Ummmm....

2009-11-17T13:48:00.001-06:00

Random tumbleweed, bouncing down my mom's street. Good times.

So long NY....

2009-11-08T16:56:00.001-06:00

It figures that I would spend 30 minutes trying to hail a yellow cab while 50 towncars pass by, each of them honking and flashing their lights to get my attention.....oh New York.

But it was a great week! Got to catch up with friends and laugh and sing and so on and so forth....

Lots of pictures to develop....they'll be posted soon.

Ummm.....

2009-11-05T18:12:00.001-06:00

Just spotted Courtney Love exiting a cab....very frightening....

Photos....

2009-11-04T02:42:00.001-06:00

Will be posted upon my return to Texas. Even disregarding that my hosts are currently "sans internets", I've found that I'm favoring film rather than digital format. Updates to come soon....

Arrival....

2009-10-30T20:12:00.001-05:00

So, after an hour delay in Atlanta, I finally made it to NY. After a short cab ride, I'm hanging out with Matt and Lauren (my gracious host and hostess) in their Astoria digs. Zoe, their pudgy cat, is napping by the window. A quick bite to eat, and then off to a pre-Halloween party...this really is the city that never sleeps.

Monster Mash.....

2009-10-28T22:19:00.001-05:00

In celebration of the fact that my kiwi friend Anastasia will also be visiting NY for Halloween, I created this poster. The layout is in homage to the Bootie NYC monthly mash-up party fliers. If you've never been to the live party, you should definitely check out the Best of Bootie mixtapes; I suggest 2008. Good times....the link is below.

Best of Bootie 2008 CD

Rolling....

2009-10-27T11:52:00.002-05:00

Part of my costume.

This promises to be the most painful Halloween ever......worth it.

NY Trip.....

2009-10-27T01:25:00.001-05:00

So in preparation for my trip to NY, I've decided to start a blog. Generally, I wouldn't do something like this; I feel that anything I need to say of importance can be said over the phone, or via email. However, since I'll be taking ridiculous amounts of pictures during my visit (and don't want to lose them all through some inevitable Facebook crash), this seems like a good idea.

Will this blog extend beyond the trip? Who knows? Let's just take it one day at a time....