Fill in the Blanks

Well this picture was actually taken quite some time ago, but I am taking my time on this one (these two) & really haven't done much else!

Music Monday: Sigur Rós

Do I even need to explain?

Abraham Cruzvillegas

So a while back I took a visit to MOCA with a friend of mine& of course saw some really wonderful things. One of the wonderful things was a big wall piece by Abraham Cruzvillegas, much like the red one in this video, but different. Anyway, of course aesthetically I thought it was really interesting & made a mental note to look this guy up later. While every piece of his doesn't do it for me, I really love the thought behind them. I love this idea of identity & creating it and mulling over how and why and what even makes it. The paper thing ended up being even more interesting than it looked. After hearing him talk about what the papers actually were and how the information was covered, I thought a lot about how to any one besides the person who created these records (oh hey, library school talk, I see you've gotten in again), the information on them probably might as well be covered, it doesn't really mean anything. I thought about movie tickets, plane tickets, receipts that I've saved and how they don't mean much, but in a way they are part of who I am. Or a part of the self I have created through action. At any rate, it would probably be nice to have a conversation with this artist.

A Little Trip

Guess where I was on Saturday???

Oh goodness, the sunshine is not good for my powers of concentration, I can never focus in the spring and summer months. So yes, I went to Disneyland again! I feel I've been going more often in the past couple of years than I ever did as a kid! This time I went with two of my friends who I'd never gone to a theme park with before. They proved to be great, mouse-ear wearing, cheerful, laid-back companions, exactly the kind that makes a Disneyland visit perfect! I got to revisit my very favorite rides: Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, & Haunted Mansion (no Teacups this time, blast!). But what was really special about this visit was that it was my first time going to the California Adventure park right next door! Holy smokes, who would've thought that themed California could be so cute & fun?

I have been to Walt Disney World once (upon a time) so I was thrilled to get to ride the Tower of Terror again! I tend to get really giddy about rides, but this one was more giddy to the max. The anticipation of knowing you are about to drop (I am also afraid of heights) makes my stomach go all fluttery, my love for "The Twilight Zone" makes me super happy, & the sudden pull as the drops begin makes me literally float off my seat! Exciting! Fun! Favorite ride of the day by far. The Soarin' Over California ride impressed me a lot! They let out scents to match the scenery you are viewing & they got that weird plant smell that I always smell while bike riding back home! It was so precise, my eyes were watering with nostalgia (& also because I think I am a little bit allergic to that plant because that always happens but whatever).

Anyway, I'm so glad I got to go again! I think the only time I stopped smiling the whole day was when we discovered that the pizza from Pizza Port is nowhere near delicious!

So it Begins

So I was all, "Hmmm maybe I will make this a painting" & since I had caught a cold earlier which left me unable to fabric shop, I found myself unable to further sew, but definitely able to paint. Or draw again. But bigger! I intentionally made the hand quite larger than the balloons because I wanted to imaginary see this through to how I would hang it if I were to ever do so (which 99% most likely, I won't). I decided I would like them to be far away from one another. Of course the hand would be what you see up close since balloons are much lighter, not attached to a body, and will place great distance between themselves & the ground pretty quickly.

But I guess I feel more free seeing an open hand than to see balloons making an escape. Balloons are just doing what they do because of physics & nature. The person behind the hand made a decision to release and to let go.

 

Music Monday: Owen Pallett

Another great solo musician, perhaps I should talk about bands sometime, but I am always impressed by people who can do so much on their own! I always wonder what it must be like to have such full music in your head.

Anyway, Owen Pallett who used to perform as Final Fantasy, is a very talented musician with such a sweet voice. I really adore him.

My Notebook

Some doodles while I was passing time & filling up on coffee before seeing Yann Tiersen last month. I really like drawing hands even though I think they're hard to draw while keeping them normal(ish) looking. I'm thinking of doing these on canvas, it's been a while since I painted anything.

Music Monday: Yann Tiersen

I think I have sung the praises of Yann Tiersenn at least a million times! He is easily one of my favorite musicians ever. I have seen him live twice, & I hope to see him many more times. I even managed to include him in one of my grad school applications. I love his repetition of themes & motifs that never get dull & always seem to be full of beautiful movement. He is so wonderful, my brain can hardly process it.

Film

I got a roll of film developed recently & then struggled to understand the setup of scanners in the library. Here are some snapshots that came out looking okay (see: after I figured out how to save them as anything but .pdf & before one of hairs decided to get in the way of everything)!

Look Mom, No Roots!

For some reason, every time I decide to "just color my hair back to natural, it's soooo much easier", I get really distracted & decide to try something else entirely. This time I am trying an auburn color out, not a huge change, it's like the mature version of the obnoxious red hair I had earlier. I was going to say, "in my early twenties", but I am still in my early twenties (hooray)! But I think I was 19 or 20 when I had the bright color and it just seems like such a long time ago.

Anyway, I've got a bit of a question. While I am coping with the fact that yes, my vision is bad and have gotten pretty used to being a full time glasses wearer, I am thinking of getting contacts for the summer at least. Nothing is more annoying to me than the sweatiness under your eyes & nose that happens when it's hot & you are outside with specs on. You know what I mean? It's icky!

So if any of you guys are contacts wearers, how is it? Do you use a particular brand that you like? I am pretty low maintenance & would like my seeing aids to be that way as well! Also, how hard was it to get used to putting foreign objects in your eye? My eye doctor gets so annoyed with me every time because of my tendency to dodge the air machine & eye drops at the last second. Is it easier being the one in control at least?

Music Monday: Mountain Goats

Hi!

I don't know how good I'll be at keeping this up, but I'm going to try & implement some type of weekly post! I decided to go for Music Monday because I love alliteration & music quite a bit. I can't guarantee that my taste is the best, why I like the things I do, that you'll discover something new, or that you'll even enjoy this.

I am rubbish at talking about music, but I love to meet people who like the same things I do. I love singing along with my friends, I love gushing over favorite tracks, comparing one album to another, etc. etc.

So for my first Music Monday, I want to gush about Mountain Goats, a one man wonder! I can't remember when I first heard him, but I know it was around the time that I started really getting into music. Do you like him too?

Coming Together

My favorite part! When you are sewing something & it starts to take shape. A really ill fitting shape that needs lots of work, but hey, a dress-like shape nonetheless!

This is nothing like what I had in mind, but the lightness of this fabric felt so wonderful & pushed my brain to daydreaming of the possibilities of summer. So I need to buy some fabric to line this sheer thing as well as notions. Then I must continue sewing away until it actually looks presentable/wearable! Now that my bank cards are back in order, I'll definitely be spending my next day off in a fabric store.