Yay For Elephants

Tody went on an adventure today to find elephants and he succeeded! 

I have this cream dispenser. 

And I need this mug!

They make me happy. 

My Hero

today is my best friend Cody Rate Stewart! He rescued my pictures from my cracked, battered and lifeless Ipod. I guess its heaven is thinking it is a camera... since that's what his computer read it as. But it gave back my pictures. Guess we really can't take anything with us to heaven. That's good.
So here are some great pics of us he recovered!

I am so grateful! So periodically I can show you guys what I was up to while I was on hiatus from the internet.

Birdy

So incase you guys were wondering about Birdy, she is good. To my knowledge... I dropped her off at the wildlife rescue center on Bainbridge Saturday morning and she was doing great. So I hope they have taken better care of her than I and hopefully her wing will be healed in no time.
I was pretty stoked on the fact that I was feeding a hummingbird with my fingers. Not many people can say they have done that. I can see why people like birds, I just can't stand the cacophony that inevitably ensues with most domestic birds. But I think I'm going to get a hummingbird feeder and put it under the Mexi's balcony in front of my living room window. I'm sure Dime would be stoked on that. And I would be able to think about Birdy every time I was on my computer in front of the window and I happen to see a hummingbird.

A Day Unexpected

So yesterday was one of those days that by the end of it, I had no idea how I had gotten there from where I started. Only one of my original plans for the day worked out, and that was because it was fool proof once I put it in the crock pot.

 Not that I am complaining, I spent my day with my favorite people, and my favorite new people.

I was going to take Dime to the nature preserve between where I live and my job, but instead we took him to the creek so he could play in the water. And he freaked out. I don't know if it was the fact that it's been a week or so since I've taken him anywhere where he can really run or just the nice weather mixed with the fact that both of his favorite people were taking him to his favorite place to play, but he went ape shit as soon as I let him off the leash. He didn't even let us work our way down the side of the ravine, he brought me a stick to throw as soon as he physically could. It was like he had to fit in every millisecond of playing in that he possibly could before we snapped the leash back on and took him back to his cell.

It wasn't as warm as I would have liked, but it was sunny. Which I was thankful for, because on the way to our spot I slipped in the creek and got my whole right shoe soaking wet. It's been worse, I've tripped and pitched the Flip into the water before and I've dropped my phone a few times too. You would be surprised what can withstand being dunked as long as you take it all apart and let it air dry immediately after. Not that I am advocating throwing your electronics in the sink, it's just not necessarily the end all - be all if you have a water related accident.

On the way back to the car Dime made a most unexpected discovery on the trail. He found a baby bird. He wanted to keep it and play with it in his mouth for a bit, but we rescued the baby from Dime's oversized playfulness just in time. Being the animal lovers that we are we were a little dumbstruck as to what to do, and after some deliberating phone calls to Moms we took it home with us. I made it a little bed and feed it sugar water every hour or so. I'm pretty much positive now it's an adult hummingbird with a broken wing. It's made it through the night and even left me a few presents showing it's not too sick to poop. Which should be a good sign. But I need to take it somewhere where they know what they are doing.

But for now I have a pet hummingbird named Birdy. I know I shouldn't name it... deeper connections... harder to let go.. yada yada yada... It's just who I am. I have to call it something.

Back In White Country

Has anyone else noticed the spring flowers? I can't wait for next month! The May flowers will be wonderful! After all we are having plenty of April showers. Today was a perfect example of that. But it was still too irresistible to pass up a chance to pick some of the first Spring flowers.




My shoes soaked through... it was after all an impromptu tromp through the wilderness. But it was worth it. I never knew how many different types of moss there are here, and I am planning on spending a day in the sun documenting every type I come across. But today was not that day.




I ended up leaving most of my flowers for Bigfoot. I found his tracks and felt bad he was so lonely out there wandering life on the run. So I left my flowers for him in the trees by the trail.




I think a few more random, inspirational, spontaneous journeys are in order to cure my artist block.  I know my creativity it still flowing strong, my mind is constantly racing with ideas and stories and plans and thoughts. It's harnessing all those random and sometimes useless tangents and centering my thoughts on art again that is proving difficult.   

Getting Restless

I'm in a creating rut again. I don't know what throws me into these, but it seems like I get them semi frequently. I smash out like ten pieces and I feel so full of ideas and progress, then its like I just can't keep my eyes ahead of me and I slam right into this Berlin Wall of creation block. Maybe it was giving all my finished stuff to Like A Boss Lady. I don't have anything to stare at while I'm thinking of new things. I gather a lot of inspiration from stuff I have already done. When I look for art or artists I love looking for patterns in pieces. I love diptych and triptych sets and I am always searching for little similarities and repeated imagery in everything. So I tend to do lots of little mini sets and "collections" if you will, in my own art.

I thought of something to draw yesterday, Tody and I talked about my looming wall and he helped me think of some interesting ideas. I'm just not motivated, and I'm not sure why. I feel like I'm falling farther and farther behind but I'm letting it get out of control. All this stress hasn't been good for my tummy or lower back and feeling sick and uncomfortable a lot also drags me down. I need to get focused again and ignore all these distractions around me that in the long run will probably end up just holding me back more. My life is here in my art, in my home, and in these relationships I've made. I feel like my head is on a kite stuck in a storm cloud; being beat at every side by tear drops and cold shoulders and the occasional, confusing electrifying touch.

I slept a lot last night off and on, and I had nightmare after nightmare that I can't remember. But it made me realize I hadn't had a bad dream in months. I've been more relaxed this year than ever. I don't want to revert back to my stressed out dramatic ways. I barely make anything on a consistent basis when I'm unhappy, and the things I do finish are just not a good representation of me. I guess one could argue that it is a testament to who I was at that given moment, but I don't like that either. If I don't like how I am feeling than the art I put out there shows that distaste.

Maybe its all just a vicious cycle, because the more I make the better I feel, yet it is near impossible sometimes for me to get happy enough to just start one piece.

Hopefully venting helped.

Are You Happy?

I hope you are. Where ever you are sitting reading this I hope you are comfortable and warm and loved. Everyone should feel those things every day! I do, even if it's not the majority of my day, at some point in my day I always feel comfortable, warm and loved. I am lucky though, I live with two great boys that love me very much and other than the occasional paw to the stomach when being stepped over, both of them try they're best to make me happy and comfortable.

Even those who live alone should find things that make them feel good at home. I believe as humans we are constantly searching for comfort and stability in something else. It shows us how attainable it is for ourselves. Probably why we need domesticated animals around so much. We need to feel loved and powerful and needed and cared for all at once. The respect is always nice too.

I'm kind of rambling on about nothing really. But I just feel thoughtful today. Current Roomie is no longer Current Roomie. I guess I'll need a new name for her. We'll just call her The Solitary Woman for her love of being alone in her room. She moved out yesterday, and I'm not going to lie. I almost cried. It was a mixture of the shock of seeing her room completely empty and the pure realization that I will probably never see her in person again that made me so incredibly sad. From the little I have gathered over the past 7 months with her is that she was a very kind person. She had great taste in music, and a good political head on her shoulders. She did a great job that not many people get the privilege to do and she had a cute little (spastic) nephew that got along great with my love. Even if he never once called him by the right name. But nevertheless Diamond Dime will still miss him.

I'll post more about my recent vacancy in the apartment later after I take some more pictures. But for now I am just enjoying the amazing bipolar WA weather and my Tody's company. We have art on the mind today. 

Oh The Agony

I might be a tad dramatic. But it is the second day in a row I have woken up with intense lower back pain. For those of you who know me well, you know that is not uncommon to say the least. I've battled this back pain in one way or another pretty much since I hit puberty. So I've learned to cope with it with pillows and stretches and workouts and ice, but this past week has been off the charts pain wise. Nothing I normally do to alleviate the pressure has been working. I'm completely used to waking up to pain, and I can almost always fall back asleep after some cushion adjusting. But not lately. I've had to resort to medication, which I hate. IceyHot smells gross, and it's stuck to your body.. so it's you that smells. You can't walk away from it. Over the counter pills don't even begin to touch my back pain because I usually have ten other things that moderately ache, and I'm not one for anything stronger than that if I have to get it anywhere other than my doctor.

I'm pretty much just complaining now. I am enjoying my 4 day weekend. It'll end on Tody's birthday, and we have a small celebration together planned. I have a huge work weekend art wise ahead. I want to make honest efforts to frame and finish everything I have painted for the gallery. And I need to make the rest of the bracelets and necklaces I have planned out. I have two blank canvasses gazing mockingly at me, so I need to fill them this weekend. I liked my ink octopuses I did for the gallery, so I think I might do some ink elephants. I've noticed that the art I'm selling is sorely lacking for my favorite animal. If there aren't elephants involved how can it possibly be a good representation of me?! Lol.

The sun is shining, everything is drying and sparkly this brisk morning. I should take Dime somewhere. Perhaps a trip to the Reserve is in order today.

Check back soon for more art updates.

Did You Know This Case Might Be Waterproof?

So Tody got a new camera case for his birthday. It has incredible amounts of potential, but we have yet to tap into that. It's an underwater case. And for those people who need things spelled out clearly for them it has waterproof printing on and in it like 57 times. Just in case you couldn't figure that one out. We found that a little redundant. The look of the case is interesting. I want to do a shoot of Tody shooting with his camera in that case. It just looks so exaggerated and funny. We couldn't figure out where to test it. Neither of us frequent any public pools in the area, and although Spring is showing her face the water in the Sound is still way too cold for a quick dip to test out the case. Short of lowering the camera on a rope with the intervalometer shooting continuously my big fish tank seemed like the only option right now. Jaws is a good model for me when I feel the urge to shoot something different.

 
 


Our biggest issue... the camera refused to sink. Tody had to hold it down so we couldn't leave it in there to shoot continuously. We tried a few things I have randomly strewn about my apartment to put in the bottom of the bag to weigh it down, but they were sad efforts. Nothing was heavy enough and if it was it definitely wasn't the right shape to fit in there and not scratch the camera. So back to brainstorming for new shoot ideas. Tody and I have come up with a few good ones for underwater, and just some great ideas that would lend well to having that protective layer. Tody is excited about making an underwater lightbox.

My mind is racing with interesting ideas for wet photography! Leave us a comment if you have an idea you want us to try.

Sketch

is how I have been feeling lately. Sketchy... not fully right. But I've managed to get quite a lot accomplished in the past week or so. I paid some bills, and got new supplies. Tody and I have been hard at work experimenting with shirt making. Some went well while more are interesting works in progress. He's been so patiently photographing everything I ask him to, even if the wait for getting the pictures online can get long. But we are finally current on all my finished pieces being documented. That includes my new ones I have yet to post. I've been playing with ink lately instead of painting. It's a lot more kid friendly, so the boys don't feel the need to make a mess everywhere with my expensive supplies. But I have discovered the joy of paint pens, so we'll see where that takes us.

I've also been hard at work on the blog for Our Sunflower Gallery! It's still a work in progress. I have a lot to do with it before I'm truly happy with is as a good website for our art. I'm also going to be manning our Twitter account and perhaps updating the Facebook too. Next month is creeping up quickly and everything seems to be falling together quite nicely. Forms are being filled out, insurance was gotten, venues are being booked, art should be getting framed... it's getting down to the hard stuff now.

So naturally I have been hard at work. I'm stressing a bit about my framing. I'm low on funds and resources but I have a growing collection of pieces that are not sellable if they aren't completely finished with a nice frame. But my output is still going strong. I'm gathering advise on how I should price, I was even going to post about pricing tips on the gallery blog. I feel it would be helpful. But I have a lot to do before I can start doing silly stuff like that.

I thought I would share some doodles I have been collecting over the years. I have just started photographing all my journals and drawings from before college and while I was going, because I'm curious about what I am still attracted to and interested in. I find these pictures are a good source of ideas for new projects or techniques. I am still drawing the same things even years later, I just have slightly different ideas.

No Pic

Just words today. I keep stopping myself from posting because I don't have any pictures to put up. But I have things on my mind that I need to release, so I guess I can only hope you guys will read on, knowing there's nothing eye catching to gaze at sitting below.

First of all.. Japan. I'm so sorry! I can't believe what has happened. I know I should, after everything else in the world that has happened recently. But it is still so hard to imagine that happening. Whole towns are gone now due to this natural disaster. I've never been there, Tody has though. And to think somewhere you have been is in wreckage now, is so scary.  Tody and I talked for hours about it all the next day.

But on our home front, things are good. Shirt stencils are almost done and I have everything prepped for making new Kona & Tody shirts. I'll just need my assistant back sometime next week. The last few times him and I have gotten together not much has seemed to get accomplished. But who can blame us... we've had a lot going on. I'm feeling more secure now though. I found a solution to my roommate issues, and now there's no chance of moving anytime soon. My art space is getting intruded on, but I can adjust. Having friends here will make up for the new cozier quarters, the people moving in are probably going to help me create anyway. I'm getting another artist in house, how exciting. Tody and I have another person to torture with body paint experiments and stick behind our lens. And the boys are getting another dude to be manly with, yay for them. Although I am pretty sure all Dime wants is more attention in general. He will love the new comfy furnishing and friendly scratches.

I'm still waiting on getting my new work stuff figured out, but once I get my new paychecks I'm definitely going to Michael's. I am getting quite the collection of finished pieces now, but they all have one thing in common. They are all unframed. I need to figure something out. I need it to be a cheap idea, but at the same time unique to me and my taste... I need a trip to Mom's. I need to talk this all out with Erich.

I'll take a picture of my octopus tomorrow in the sunlight. I promise. Check back tomorrow. Gnight.

Better Pictures Soon

So I made shirts. I had a more epic plan at first, I wanted to make a stop motion video of the whole stencil making and bleaching process, but time got away from me. It was, however, a good trial run. I have good pointers now and a pretty good idea of what not to do. For one, do not take pictures with an Ipod. Two, wait till you have some kind of tape. And three, don't try to do it while your helper is completely mentally preoccupied. I should have known when he barely paid any attention to me when we were buying pizza supplies. LOL... I had temporarily lost Tody to his new electronic devise.

So that was my shirt bleaching trial run. I am not horrified with my outcome. I just need to keep practicing. But The Trunk definitely needs some representation. Keep an eye out for our shirts, stickers and tags everywhere coming here soon. Thursday or Friday Tody and I are planning a much needed trip to the city, for some good ol fashion brainstorming. Seattle is perhaps our greatest shared muse. A big reason why I love Tody. He just naturally understands and shares the love and devotion that I have to our city.

Also keep an eye out for some of the other projects I'm about to start. I'm not sure how much of it all Tody will be involved with; as much as he would like, I guess. But either way I have a few shoots lined up for certain friends. I have a pregnancy shoot, a couples shoot and hopefully another person on board with me for Tody's 70's shoot idea, all creeping up on me. Plus I have lot of pieces of art at different levels of completion. The next thing I post on my Kona wall will probably be either my inking of the octopus and Seattle or my charcoal of the fish in the seaweed. So those to look forward to! I'm finally on the back end of my illness so my productivity level is coming back up to normal. All of those big hard to swallow horse vitamins and Orange Vita C lozenges have done me a world of good!

So Relieved

I feel so much better today. Yesterday was great, and it helped me feel a thousand times better today. I ventured out of my house for the first time all weekend and soaked up some sun and fresh beach air. A little exercise and fine dining was all I really needed to jump start my recovery. I had been cooped up inside all day and too afraid to really make anything that good because I'm too sick to be handling food. So we went out.

 

I'm not sure why my pictures are so pixalated... I have a fairly nice camera. I am pretty sure it's something to do with the hack I have. I have been trying for the past week to figure out the ins and outs of this hack, but I'm about ready to give up. It makes me sad, because I feel like if I just understood technology better I would be able to use this and have amazing pictures to show you guys. But I have no idea what I'm doing with my camera half the time anymore, and when I upload the pictures I realize that they just looked great on my little screen because they were so small. I have nice composition but the photo itself is lacking now. 

Oh well, if I have to go back to using my camera the way it was intended I'll do it. I was just so hopeful I had a sneaky way to improve it on my hands. Lame... 

BTW... if you want to know what the cute boy in my pictures is up to you should check out his blog. He's kinda brilliant.