Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Gladys and Imelda

These ladies will be in the store as soon as I get my act together.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Sunday Sunday

Yesterday I went with my parents and little brother to clean out my grandparents' house because they are both in a nursing home now and can't keep all of their things. The circumstances were kind of crummy, but I do love going to their house for several reasons:

1. It is in the middle of nowhere, amidst a veritable sea of corn. My dad still plays this game with my brother and me where we pretend that the billiards bridge is a branding iron and he chases us screaming around the front yard so he can "brand" us. If he did this in the city, I'm pretty sure he would get arrested for disturbing the peace and/or abuse.

2. People who live in the country have burning barrels for their garbage. This is wonderful if you love fire as much as I do. I spent a good portion of the day watching styrofoam cornucopias and old photographs of my uncle's evil ex-wife shrivel and blacken in the flames as I breathed in large amounts of toxic fumes which later made me puke.

3. The house is filled with awesome stuff. My Grandpa kept a ridiculous hat collection which I wore while I took several facebook-worthy self portraits. My mom would not let me have his GIANT coyote tundra hat(because she thought I would wear it in public and make a fool out of myself, pfft), but I was allowed to take a tiny crockpot, almost twenty sets of circular and double pointed knitting needles, a large piece of faux fur, and an awesomely kooky handsewn quilt that my great-grandma had made. Now if only I can get my hands on that Vespa! Hi-O!

Oh Snap!

So, this morning at work, instead of going through catalog records and correcting faulty xml, I was catching up on my favorite blogses. Kime from the Moldy Doily (one of my favoritest favorites) had done a fun survey, and just as I was thinking that I love surveys and want to do one but no one ever tags me and I would feel like a dork if I did one without being tagged, I scrolled to the bottom and I totally got tagged, YAY! Here it is...

1) Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention; add a question of your own.

2) Tag eight other un-tagged people.

*If I could transform one of my rooms I'd like to have the one above
*What is your current obsession? headdresses and woodcut prints and red hats
*What do you see outside your window? I have no windows here at work :(
*If you could have any super power what would it be? invisibility
*What is your favorite color? turquoise
*Who was the last person you hugged? my mom
*What is your hidden talent? I can blow bubbles off my tongue, hehe
*What’s for dinner? I have no idea. Something with carbs, I'm sure.
*What was the last thing you bought? gladiator sandals and a gallon of milk
*What are you listening to right now? Bret and Bryan talking about xslt
*What is your favourite weather? sunny and warm
*What’s on your beside table? books, sewing machine, computer, trash probably
*Say something to the person/s who tagged you. "Thanks so much! You made my day!"
*If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be? the Yellow Mountains in China - party at my jia!
*What is your favorite children's book? The Lorax
*(A) book(s) you're currently reading? King Leopold's Ghost and Yoshitoshi: The Splendid Decadent
*What would you like to have in your hands right now? a furry animal
*What is your favorite tea flavor? China White
*What is your favorite article of clothing? my navy halter dress with the big white buttons
*What would you like to get rid of? everything I don't need
*If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Tokyo
*What did you want to become as a child? an artist
*What posters/pictures do you have on your bedroom wall? some of my drawings/screenprints, postcards, a magazine illustration by Mel Kadel, band posters, photographs of my brothers and me and Alice
*What is your plan for tomorrow? Well, I was going to ride my newly-repaired bike, but apparently it's going to snow. Wtf?
* Who is your least favorite celebrity? Tom Cruise, maybe.
I tag:
+ whoever happens to see this

Friday, March 27, 2009

So Little Time

- Last night I attended Wiki's weekly crochet circle. It's so nice to just sit and chat and work on projects with some very fun people.

- My friend, Winnie, is expecting a tiny baby boy any day now (in fact he might already be here!), so I am working like a crazy person to finish a granny-square blanket for him. I'll show you some pictures when it's finished.

- He-Man is teaching me to play the violin! "Must...practice.... Must...stay...motivated...."

- Look at this!

Yoshitoshi is probably my favorite artist. I love everything about his work and could talk about it forever and ever (but I won't). This is the year that I'm finally going to get focused, make art that is show-worthy, and get a show. I'm working on a series of portraits loosely based on Yoshitoshi's "Women" series and hopefully I'll end up with some good pieces.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Le Chapo Rouge, or "Don't you dare/Tell me what to wear"

I almost prefaced this post with a huge, crazy rant about how as a child (and still now, sometimes) I was deprived of the ability to freely express myself through fashion, and I have nearly let it RUIN MY LIFE. Then I read it and realized that it made me sound like I am mentally ill.
Soooooooo, instead of said rant, I will simply say that I like to wear what I like. I like suspenders and saddle shoes and monochromatic outfits and lumberjack outfits and gypsy outfits and cut-offs and turbans and wild hair and novelty socks and t-shirts with pictures of monkeys riding on vespas and neon tights and red stocking caps.

Red stocking caps make me think of gnomes and happy Scandinavian people and toadstools.

I will make one.
And wear it.
While sailing my pink boat.
In the middle of July.

Hel Looks
The Life AquaticSigur Ros

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Phar Mor

This was Bettie. My father's mother.

I am very much a hybrid of my two grandmothers. From my mother's mother, Ardith, I inherited my knowledge and love of baking and crafting, making and growing. But I have this quirky, random, free-spiritedness that I know came from Bettie.

Last month, on a long car ride, my Dad and I were talking about all of the things she did with her life, some of which I had never heard before. She sang in a band. She made paintings and pots and jewelry. She rode horses and flew planes. She had a mail-order degree in graphology. Bettie believed in ESP and supernatural forces. Her house was filled with dusty china figurines and freaky dolls and German Shepherds. She wore turquoise jewelry and dyed her long hair black because she loved to be mistaken for a Native American. I remember the day she died, my mom wrote, "Goodbye, Bettie" on the calendar, and I inherited her felt tip markers and books on Chinese watercolor painting.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Hello Pony Pals

I've been gone for a while.
Sorry.

My camera is dead and I have no fun photos to post, but I will let you know what is going on in my life.

This Saturday, March 7, is the Benson High craft fair in Omaha, NE. The lovely JoJo and I are sharing a table. Most of these high school sponsored schindigs are geared towards middle aged+ ladies, but a little birdie told me a few years ago that the Benson fair always falls on the same weekend as several sports tournaments, which means packs of bored teenagers will be roaming the halls. Hopefully they will flock to my cheap, neon tchotchkes and I'll come away with enough pocket change to put a small dent in the bill for this:

A Suzuki Q Chord: instrument of choice amongst nuns, invalids, and the musically retarded. I won it on ebay for about 50% retail, and UPS says it will be in my hot little hands by tomorrow night. Ever since acquiring the magical melodica, I'm nigh obsessed with cultivating the ultimate collection of obscure, easy-to-play music machines.

Next on my to-do list is: 1) write a slew of awesome songs, 2) become America's techno-indie darling, 3) marry a: Justin Vernon, b: Jim James, and/or c: Robin Pecknold. Easy as pie!