tra la la

My first crayon doodle in months...I miss it.

blast from the past!

My mom's been going through a purging phase since she started re-decorating her room. One of the things she came across was a portfolio FULL of all my high school art projects. Normally I cringe just thinking about my past work, but there were a few gems in the pile that I ended up taking home with me. My mom kept some things to frame and put up, so I took pictures of everything to have for myself.

So without further ado, a journey through my high school art experience (this is the only time I'm sharing past work...my sketchbooks are definitely off-limits lol)!

Here are the ubiquitous five minute gesture drawings...



And of course a study in draping fabric...



I think the assignment was "metamorphosis" for this one...?



I got a lot of crap for this next one, and not without reason. I was going for magnolia seed pod and I ended up pulling a Georgia O'Keeffe. It was completely accidental! And embarrassing. So I'm sharing it.



This assignment required me to draw the same piece of driftwood nine different times, from different angles, on different surfaces, with different tools.



Okay, that's enough for drawing...Let's see the results of my first ever painting class! First, some lilies.



And of course a (sad) self portrait. That necklace I'm wearing in the picture was one of my favorite pieces of jewelry...It had a tiny purple rose and my name on a grain of rice. And then it broke.



Can I just say I prefer just about any other medium to painting? I need more control! Anyway, here is a massively random still life. This one was my second favorite piece from this class...



And finally, the only piece that will eventually make it onto one of my walls...I'm guessing the assignment was to paint a food item or something. At the time, I didn't think much about this painting, but now the more I look at it the more quirky and fun it seems. I give you The Three Ding Dongs.




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And as a special bonus, a blast from the distant past, I present a castle I drew in 5th grade for a class project...




As embarrassing as sharing past work can be, it IS fun to see how far I've come and how everything has evolved.

woosh

It was like instantaneous autumn! I left my apartment yesterday and the world was as it has been...and upon returning I find leaves covering half the parking lot and trees that had seemingly turned yellow and orange in a matter of hours! Maybe I just wasn't as observant as I thought when leaving...It just caught me off guard.

Another thing that caught me off guard? Seeing a bicyclist face-plant on the sidewalk in front of Wal-Mart on 86th street two days ago. He was right next to me as I was driving, and for no apparent reason his bike decided it was going to flip over and he ended up head-first on the pavement. It scared the bejeezus out of me. Thankfully, he got up and got back on his bike...so I'm inclined to believe he's okay. Ouch!

And speaking of "ouch", I was also witness to the making of roadkill. A squirrel ran out across the street as the car in front of me was approaching. It looked like the squirrel would make it, but I guess it forgot something on the other side of the road, because it turned around right in front of the car. What I saw next was something akin to a little rodent helicopter spinning out from the back tire then landing back on the road. Nothing gorey, just a little rodent helicopter. It was sad, but apparently I'm a sick individual because I couldn't help laughing. That's the first time I've ever seen anything run over in my life, and it turned out to be more comical than anything. I still felt bad for it!

"PGH"

As in "popular girl hair"...my term for hair that looks flawless and effortless and the kind of hair I've wanted since I was young. Obviously it doesn't come without effort, but I think this is the first haircut/style I've gotten where I've been completely happy with the outcome. Here's a little before and after...



We'll see if I can re-create this look on my own...I certainly hope so.


In other news, I'm becoming increasingly concerned about (and annoyed with) my upstairs neighbor. Not only do they seem to consistently pace around their apartment at the exact time I try to go to sleep (which varies from midnight to 1, sometimes later), but I've noticed an increase in what sounds like rough-housing in the past several nights. I'll hear and feel stampeding and massive thuds, as if somebody's fallen to the floor. When I have my door and window open, I'll hear muffled yelling every once in a while...at one point in time (at 2 in the morning last night), I heard glass shatter. I don't want to stick my nose into anybody else's business but it is a little concerning, especially considering around this time last year I was unfortunate enough to hear an altercation outside my last apartment that resulted in somebody shooting themself.

In other OTHER news, I broke down and bought the complete first season of Pushing Daisies, which has easily become my favorite scripted television show. I'm a sucker for anything quirky, artistic, fairy-tale, funny, and fast-paced. And this show has it all! This is the first show I've ever bought on DVD, and I've already watched all nine episodes...and I want to watch them again. Whatever holds me over until the first week of October!




And finally, even though I don't care about awards shows in general, I was fortunate enough to turn on the Emmy's in time to see the brilliance that is Josh Groban and TV theme show medleys...Enjoy!

three weddings

I attended my third and last wedding of the summer about a week ago. The first two being my cousin's, then a childhood friend's. This last one probably had the most impact for me because I grew up with Ashley and even though we haven't been as close in recent years, she's always been and will always be a big part of my life. She and Sarah are the people I think of when I hear the phrase "the older you get, the more you need people who knew you when you were young" (name that song!). Of course, I'm still young...but there's a nice sisterly bond there that's lasted for 22 years through ups and downs.



The wedding was simple and fun. Which is really how weddings should be, in my opinion. It was extra interesting because the groom (Francis) is from Nigeria, and his family had the most beautiful clothes. Gorgeous fabrics and bright colors. For the reception, Ashley and Francis changed into special outfits made from fabric imported from Nigeria (shown above). Beautiful!

I think it's amazing how different weddings can be. Granted, before this summer, the last wedding I'd been to was my cousin Allison's wedding almost ten years ago...so these past three are really the only ones that are fresh in my memory. But you'd think with something as common as marriage, everything would start to feel the same after a while. So far (luckily), that hasn't been my experience. Jared and Jen had been dating for ten years before they got married, so everybody seemed to know each other already...it was comfortable, fun, and tastefully elegant. Andy and Courtney's wedding was massively opulent...I didn't get to stay for the dancing, but it was great to see some friends from high school. It was a bit of sensory overload with the five foot sculpted ice vase, hundreds of red roses and strawberries everywhere, picture slideshow projected on one wall, lights and candles, and just about everything you'd expect to see in a celebrity wedding. Ashley and Francis kept things simple and to-the-point, just focusing on family and friends, music and fun.

I'm not saying any wedding was better than the others, it was just interesting to see how much variety there was...I've never thought about what I want my own wedding to be like, and honestly I still have a hard time picturing myself getting married at this point in my life. All I know is I want it to be fun!


Okay, girly wedding talk done.