Finally…some new work

Does it count that I made all three of these today and they’re all tiny-tiny? Like 2-inches-square tiny?

Yes, I think it does. It’s been so long since I’ve pulled out the old cart-o-paint and did something with it.

I like the first two better than the third one, but I might still do some work on it. I’ve been spending a lot of time on Etsy recently, looking for good Christmas gift ideas, and I ended up being more inspired than I expected!

…I just realized this might come back to bite me if I decide to give these away for Christmas, but…so it goes.

 

I made a new friend!

I got him at the Plaza Art Fair this weekend. He is hanging from the light fixture in my living room, looking terrifying/terrified/exultant. Y’know, depending on what mood I’m in ;-p

The fair was a lot of fun, even though I didn’t have as much time as I would have liked to look around.  I was very very tempted by a painting of a flaming flying robot and even more tempted by the lovely work of Jodi Perry, who much to my dismay has no website.  Here’s one of the few pieces I could find a picture of on the interwebs:

Those of you who know me will immediately see why I like this work.  Oh, if I only had $300 bucks to spend at the drop of a hat supporting art I love!

If she’s at the one next year, I’m buying a painting.  There, I said it.  On this blog.  That makes it official.

I still find these fairs inspiring, even if I lack the space/motivation to do much about said inspiration.  I have a stack of 2×2 canvases that I think I need to start working on…that’s about the size of my ambition right now.

 

Contextual Music

Funny how certain songs, once heard in a certain context, can never be listened to independently of that context again.  Elliot Smith’s “Needle in the Hay” just came up on a co-worker’s Pandora, and I realized I’ll never be able to hear that song without thinking about the scene from “The Royal Tenenbaums” when Luke Wilson tries to kill himself.  Some songs are more personally linked to times in my life; Outkast’s “Hey Ya” will always and forever bring back freshman year of college for me, and my time in Florence has a soundtrack all to itself.  Scientists say that our sense of smell has a direct link to our memory…apparently music does for me as well.

 

Semi-annual review

Enough has happened in the past few months that I feel this blog deserves an update.  Kind of a semi-annual review, if you will.  This year has been a time of great personal development; I’ve gotten closer to figuring out what I really value in life, as well as the best way to get there.  Here are a few things I’m talking about:

Professional development.  I’ve been at my current job (and a resident of Missouri, incidentally) for just over a year.  I still feel like I’m learning a lot and making a valuable contribution to the department.  I know that this isn’t where I want to spend the rest of my professional life, but I’m content to get what I can out of it for now… at least until I figure out something I want to do more!

Personal finance and fiscal responsibility.  These are areas where I’ve managed to maintain my good habits and start developing new ones.  Thus despite buying some big-ticket items like a new couch, table and chairs, and a piano keyboard, I’m consistently saving 25% of my income…which has allowed me to retire one of my student loans! (The small one, of course.)  Future goals involve me being more aggressive with my savings in terms of investing, retirement funds, etc.  One of the best personal finance books I’ve read so far is Your Money or Your Life…the author has a very simple budgeting system that seems like it was made for me.  I also follow several PF blogs online that have helped to steer me in the right direction.  Now all I have to do is figure out how I’m going to retire by 40

Personal relationships.  I value the few friends and family members I have nearby so much!  I’m lucky enough to have a couple of very close friends around, but I know I need to branch out and make new ones.  I hate making new friends, incidentally.  I did it once in high school and once in college…can’t I be done for life?  I also had a brief, awkward flirtation (ha! ha!) with online dating this summer.  I went on quite a few dates with quite a few guys before I could could admit to myself how completely wrong that way of meeting people is for me.  I’m optimistic and serene right now about it, realizing that I can make my own circumstances more conducive to finding someone, but that ultimately trying to force it makes me stressed and tense and definitely NOT romantic.  So in my quest to engage in other activities…

I’m auditioning for the Johnson County Choir next week!  I’m really excited about this–I really miss singing in an ensemble, but don’t really feel like going the church-choir or super-hardcore-choir route, which seemed to be my only two options.  This is a mixed choir of all ages and they only practice one night a week–exactly the commitment level I was going for.  I don’t know what the audition will be like, but I really hope I make it in!

One more thing I’m super-happy/proud about: my personal health is off the charts! Well, off my chart, anyway. I have a couple of good friends who started cycling this summer, and I kind of got sucked into it (in a good way, though).  For once in my life, I love exercising!  Even when my legs are sore because I did 18 miles yesterday, I can’t wait to get back on and go.  It was helpful to have a friend who was such an enthusiastic convert–he did tons of research when buying his bike, and then I just mooched off his brains ;-p I got a new bike for my birthday this year, and I did 143 miles this August!  Not only am I in better shape than usual physically, I’m getting more in tune with other areas of my health (sleep patterns, mood, etc) and getting closer to finding that sweet spot of emotional and physical wellbeing.  Hopefully it doesn’t all go downhill this winter, when the cold and dark makes me fat and grumpy ;-p

If this post seems a little perky and exclamation-point-ridden, I’m still surfing on my morning-bike-commute endorphins and my first cup of coffee.  I hope you’ve managed to read this far without getting too irritated.  Before I sign off…to all my not-near-but-still-dear friends: as you might be able to tell, I’ve had a busy summer, which hasn’t given me as much time as I would like to be able to catch up with all of you.  I hope you know that even though we maybe haven’t talked in while, I still think about you guys every day and I’m so grateful that you’re in my life. </sappiness>

I hope you have a wonderful day!  Now I have to go deinstall a fountain.

 

Chicago!

It’s been a while.  Summer is here, in case you haven’t noticed.  I just got back from a wonderful trip to Chicago to visit my dearly-missed IWU friends, as well as checking out the new AIC wing and the MCA.  It was a full, hectic 5 days.  Here’s a quick rundown:

Wednesday

Met Damaris by UIC with her fiance, Dennis!  We went out to dinner at a super-cute Italian small-plates place, Quartino’s.  I spent the night with Damaris and we had a chance to catch up.

 

Thursday

Damaris dropped me off at Monica’s so I could drop my stuff off.  I took the train downtown with Monica to her work by Millennium Park, and spent the morning checking out the shows at the Cultural Center and walking around the park.  It was a lovely day! 

One of my favorite moments was when I was sitting at one of the picnic tables across from the Annish Kappor Bean (aka the “Cloud Gate”) and two women came up to a policeman in front of me, and asked, with their backs to the Bean, where the Bean was.  The policeman wordlessly pointed behind them.   I met Monica, Kathryn, and Kathryn’s boyfriend Bach at Cosi for a tasty sandwich and we walked over to the Field Museum.  I was excited to find out that I could get everyone in for free with my Nelson ID!  They were having a pirate exhibition, so there were incongruous swashbucklers everywhere.

Charlie met up with us while we were there, and we basically spent an hour wandering amidst the taxidermied animals and catching up.  He is going to Ghana next week, and if he is reading this, he should feel free to start his own blog!  Mel and Matt got into the city around 4 and Charlie drove us over in his new grown-up Honda Civic (I miss the Jeep!) to Union Station to pick them up.  Much telephony ensued, with the upshot being that I got everyone to Peace Pizza in a timely fashion for dinner.  It was delicious (I’d never had mashed potatoes on a pizza before!) and washed down with a pitcher or two of their homebrewed Baron von Awesome beer.  We’d heard the news about Michael Jackson on the way to the restaurant, and by the time we left, someone had made this little shrine outside.

Outdoor patio space being in short supply, we procured some beverages and enjoyed the rest of the evening on Monica’s back porch.

Friday

I went with Kathryn and Bach to meet Matt and Mel for breakfast at Orange, my favorite brunch place.  The foursome wanted to see the MCA shows (I was waiting for Monica to be free so she could take me through it and share installation stories), so I split off to do a little shopping.  I hit Ragstock and a few other places, but didn’t find much.  I did spend quite a bit of time in Chicago Comics, but left when I had to pee and they couldn’t or wouldn’t let me use their bathroom.  Eventually, I ended up in the Loop and made the obligatory H&M stop (when will we get one of our own, KC?) and had a little more luck there.  Charlie met me at the Dick Blick store (hooray for 2-in-square  canvases!) and we walked over to the AIC.  Charlie has a pretty new (to him) medium-format camera!  We met Matt & Mel and toured the new modern wing.  The architecture actually reminds me a lot of the Bloch Building here in KC; there’s a lot of natural light and glass and white expanses of wall. 

There’s also a lovely little courtyard on the top floor with a great view of the ampitheater.

M&M had to leave after a couple of hours, and Charlie and I met up with Damaris and Dennis.  We got a bite to eat, Charlie took off,  and D&D tried to look around the new wing with me–not easy, because I had to leave the gallery every couple of minutes to answer my cell phone.  Gotta love the meal-planning!  We eventually decided on a tapas place and, after Monica got off work, made our way over there.  I met up with Dena and Sollie, but unfortunately we didn’t get to catch up much.  The food was good, but the place was LOUD.  Monica had to leave after dinner to finish a paper, and I headed out with her.  Kathryn and Bach met us at her house, and then Mike Wolf showed up!  I haven’t seen him in forever!  So more catching up and fun and getting to bed too late.

Saturday

Mike and I got up at a leisurely pace and we met Monica on our way to get some breakfast coffee. 

I took the train into Naperville, where M&M met me.  We walked around the riverwalk, met Kathryn, and did hilarious things like paddleboating and gelato-eating.  The paddle-boating was much more fun than it had any right to be! 

We drove back to Mel’s parents’ house (I finally got to meet Gesso, her lab) and then Kathryn and I took off for the city.  With a minimum of screw-ups, we made it to our Thai restaurant.  Damaris, Monica, and Mike were there, along with a few of Mike’s friends from around town.  I’d definitely go back there–it was delicious!  We made plans to go out, but by the time we got back to Monica’s, Kathryn and I were pretty beat.  We ended up just hanging out, girls-slumber-party-style. 

Sunday

I went out to Boystown to meet Dena and Sollie for breakfast at Stella’s, and then we watched the first part of the Pride Parade. 

I think I had to leave before it got really crazy, but I saw some amazing outfits…

I met Monica, Charlie, Taaj, Jordan, Kathryn, and Monica’s boyfriend Travis at the MCA and we went through the shows.  The Eliasson show was both indescribable and amazing!  I highly recommend it to anyone who’s in the area.  The Buckminster Fuller show was interesting, but pretty text-heavy and dense.  It was hard to focus on it after the immediacy of the Eliasson works.  After the show, we decompressed with some gelato and beach time.  Another beautiful day, with some 20somethings digging a huge hole next to us and a lobster-red man in Christmas boxers tanning in various warrior-esque poses.  I had a chance to catch up with Taaj, who I also hadn’t seen in forever.  She and Charlie left after the beach, and Monica, Travis and I took a cab home and picked up some cookout food on the way.  Travis left around 9, and Monica and I were too tired to stay up much later. 

Monday

I got up early to go to work with Monica, so she could store my duffel.  I am never checking luggage again.  If it doesn’t fit on my back, I’m not taking it.  I hate wheeling suitcases through the city.  While Monica was working, I returned to the AIC to see some more art, walked down to the Museum of Contemporary Photography, had lunch at the Taste of Chicago (deep-dish pizza and frozen cheesecake-on-a-stick, baby!) and took a nap in Millennium Park.  Then it was time to pick up my bag, say goodbye, and take the Orange Line back to Midway!

What a lovely trip. Chicago always re-energizes me and makes me appreciate KC that much more.

Check out the rest of my pictures here!

 

Pretty walk this morning, before it got stupid and cold again.  83 last Sunday, snow this Saturday.  That’s the Midwest for you.

 

blech.

Sick today.  Came down with a nasty head cold sometime in the last 48 hours.  I was planning on taking St Patrick’s Day off anyway, but I hoped to spend it in a more festive manner than recuperating!

I put some branches in a vase on the window facing my sketching table.

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And then I did a pen sketch of them…

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I’m trying to get back in the habit of looking at things.

 

New Studio!

I bought a laptop cart last weekend and put it in my front room to take advantage of the light. I still have lots of supplies back in my kitchen-studio, but I moved the little rolling cart with all my water-soluble stuff up front as well. I’m hoping this location will be a more inspiring place to create!

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Some little water-soluble pencil sketches of beach detritus.

 

Sycamore Spines

Saturday morning sketchies!

 

Morning is the new summer vacation

I realized all of a sudden the other day that I’ve worked the longest stretch of full-time employment in my life, and it hit me that gone are the days of working 3 or 4 months broken up by at least a week off.  Built in!  Without me having to use vacation time!  It’s 40 hours a week from now into the forseeable future.  This felt a little overwhelming, but was mitigated by the rise of a new aspect of adulthood I had never thought to experience.  Let me explain…

For as long as I can remember, my mom always got up at 5:30 am.  I thought this was crazy.  I couldn’t conceive of giving up a minute more of precious sleep than absolutely necessary.  One of the things I was most grateful for when I moved closer to work was that extra half-hour in bed.  But one morning last week, I got up earlier because I thought I was going to walk to work.  As soon as I checked the weather, I knew I would have to drive, but by that time it wasn’t worth it to go back to sleep.  So…

I made breakfast AND lunch, sat down and had a leisurely cup of coffee with my cat, did some dishes left over from the night before, picked up a few odds and ends, and was still out the door  in a timely manner without skimping on my regular morning routine.  It was a total epiphany!  It made a difference to my whole day that I got to sit in my sunlit apartment with a cat next to me on the couch for ten minutes in the morning.  So as much as I love sleeping, I’m trying to wake up early enough to ensure that I get those 10-20 minutes of mini-vacation all to myself before I have to go try to be “all things to all men”.  So to speak.

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This is where I sit in the morning and drink coffee with Sophie (currently under the chair).