oh these days grow long

Wow things have been so busy! School has gotten into full swing and I have been working between 25- 30hrs a week. Its amazing how quickly summer disappears into the September grind. I have been really loving life in Vancouver, but I do miss my friends and family quite alot. Even my friends who live in Van seem so far away! At least I'm enjoying school. Speaking of which, I have another blog which I had to make for an assignment in my Digital and Interactive Arts class. We only are required to blog about our projects for that class, however I am going to do my best to update it with all of my current and ongoing projects for school. I will probably also add things that I have made in the past that I am a little bit proud of. Here is the link if anyone is interested in my curricular endeavors!

http://kd1x0n.wordpress.com/

im good, im gone

GOOD NEWS! l.o. and I officially have a place to live! Moving day is Sunday which means a flurry of packing/getting rid of things that I don't need. Somehow 40 some odd pairs of shoes now seems less convenient than it did when i was buying those.. 40 some odd pairs of shoes. I scored some free furniture (thank you residents of my neighborhood for kindly getting rid of your dresser and shelving unit) which I sanded and painted today in the crazy heat that has suddenly hit Abbotsford. I also have generous family members who are happy to give me their old kitchen items and even a couch! Everything is coming together, I just have to be very careful with my closet planning. A.k.a. attempting to fit all of my clothes... into a closet. Yikes.

I'm very excited to paint and reupholster a kitchen table and chairs set that my mom donated to the k.d. and l.o. fund, which I will have to do tomorrow morning before work. I am thinking of sticking with the off-white-almost-cream color that I painted the other furniture, and using either black and white printed fabric or charcoal and white. I'll have to take a trip down to the fabric store and see whats on sale. The shelving unit that I acquired is extremely cute and has a scalloped detail above the top shelf. If I don't use it as a bookshelf I think I will put my heels on the shelves. Impractical, maybe... but a little bit adorable. I will post pictures when the paint has all dried. The basement suite that we are moving into is painted a pretty lilac color, so I figured neutrals would be a safe bet.

The biggest problem that I am facing is trying to decide on what needs to be taken vs. what it is that I want to take. I technically don't need to bring my sewing stuff, store items (which is still under construction and hopefully going to be turned into an Etsy store credit card pending), painting supplies (no fun studio courses this semester :( ) and other art things like my old book collection and collage stuff. The thing is... I want it all in case I end up needing something! Its nice moving from my parent's house because they are letting me keep whatever I would like at the house still, but that almost makes it harder to decide what to take. Good thing we are starting the move a month before school starts. This is gunna take a while...

curious and curiouser

I said I would post my finished photography collage project, so here it is! I may do a bit more work on it to age it but this is pretty much the final version.

they have benefit concert

This weekend has been absolutely crazy! We had the concert last night which was phenomenal. So many people came out to support us and we had an amazing time playing, it was so much fun. D.k. did an awesome job as our opener and all of my friends, family, and friends' family who helped out completely made the event possible. I am so thankful to have such great people in my life! I'm relieved that it is over and went so well, but sad that its done at the same time. Hopefully we can have another concert before the end of summer when everyone splits for school. Here are some pictures taken by my friend c.n. (unfortunately there weren't any good pictures of our drummer c.d. or lead guitarist a.b.)

d.b. on the left and myself, both on guitar

l.o. and k.y. on percussion and bass

l.o.'s beyonce gams

me!

i was wearing a cream thrifted lace tank, black dress from

H&M and a beige kimchi and blue belt from urban outfitters.

it's so many miles but it won't be long

Ok so this is me keeping things up to date here. The current chaos of my life includes: cycling to Seattle in the Ride to Cure Cancer in just over a week, playing/organizing a benefit concert which is happening this weekend, currently in a condensed summer class for digital photography, and attempting to move to Vancouver for school this summer. Yikes. Tonight we had a dress rehearsal out of the shop where we practice and it went really well! Despite some minor disasters we ran into this week, it seems like things are finally all in place. Tomorrow we get the keys to the hall and can start setting up for our first legit concert. So exciting. It is looking like we will raise more than $1,500 for the Ride in this one event too which is spectacular. I am so grateful for everyone's help and glad that a lot of people want to come out and support us.

I took pictures yesterday of myself and Lydia for my next photography project which I am very excited about. It will involve many teacups, old books, and us ladies projecting out of picture frames on the wall. It is nice to have an excuse to play around in photoshop all day free of guilt. Going along with my love for everything vintage, we dressed accordingly. Here are some pictures we took outside in our outfits (k.y. makes a guest appearance when he came early to practice a song with me). I will post the finished photo soon!

p.s. this is my new hair color! looks super violet in this pic but is not so bright in real life. inspired by these beautiful ladies...

Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine

Eleanor Jackson of La Roux

Scarlett Johannson

Neko Case

upcoming etsy!

This is just a sneak preview of my upcoming store that will be on Etsy.com. Stay posted for updates!

you've got me standing in an awkward position

This was my first print project in my first semester of University done back in 2007. The theme was conflict and I was (obviously :P) thinking of the conflict between your head and your heart. I didnt realize until recently though the ties that this piece has to recent themes that Ive been exploring. My interest in children's storybook illustrations and the compromise of innocence for experience had been recently developed, i had thought. Apparently not. Its interesting how things begin to link and come full circle. eerie.

they have play

This is my band! I made a collage of pictures and traced us out with my tablet. I tried to find a picture of us all doing something with our hands haha. Quite fun :)

i should be sleeping like a log

Finally nearing the end of the semester which means the onslaught of projects and papers begins. I had reserved tonight for getting started on my 12 page art history paper, which turned into me playing guitar and dicking around in photoshop. Productive.

Guilt of not working on homework has prevented me from taking any pictures recently, I can't wait for these next few weeks to be over. Im super stoked for my photography course that starts in May and since its the only class im taking I will actually be able to enjoy it. Yay! But for now, I will have to be satisfied with posting some older things.

I figured that I should probably post some of my own art, so here it is! This was my final project of my last semester's print class. It is a combination of photo, etching, and digital editing. This is one of my favorite print projects that I have done, I had the most fun working on it.

brush your grey wings on my head

I seem to have been posting a lot of artists recently which can be blamed on the current classes I am taking haha. But it's enjoyed, i promise! Anyways, during my painting class we had to do presentations on artists that inspired us and our work. One of them was on Kelly Smith, who is an illustrator hailing from Australia. She graduated with a BFA (what I am currently in the works of attaining) and now does freelance portrait and fashion illustrations. Her drawings are so beautiful! The detail that she captures in such a light and seemingly effortless way is complimented wonderfully by the graphic depiction of garments worn by her figures, and the subtle washes of ink that are present in her work. Basically, I love it.

moving pictures, silent films

My best friend and I had been waiting to watch the movie Precious pretty much since we first heard about it (basically what seemed like forever haha). Sadly we missed it in theatres, but tonight we headed to the video store to rent it for this evening. We got there and BAM clearing out sale!! Best night ever? I think so. I bought all of these movies for 67 bucks! scoooore.

Halfway through the movie I received a letter from Emily Carr University of Art and Design... and I'm accepted! Did I say best night ever...?

i'll just keep it to myself in the sun

A few weeks ago I got out of class early and went for coffee with my best friend Lydia and my friend Adam who was visiting. It was as nice of a surprise as the beautiful sunshine we had that day!

tears and ink

I stumbled across Julie Morstad while doing a project for school. She has a great combination of paint, drawing and collage that really compliments her drawing style. Her quirky pictures are the perfect amount of odd and interesting. You may know her from the album artwork of Fox Confessor Brings the Flood by Neko Case.

take this sinking boat and point it home

So I finally watched the film Once and it was amazing. I love the minimalist approach they took to it (you are never even told the names of the two main characters) and the storyline is simple, but keeps you enthralled throughout the entire thing. I felt so inspired by the music in the movie; Marketa Irglova's voice is so hauntingly beautiful and goes incredibly well with Glen Hansard's rawness. Basically it is guy/girl harmony at it's finest (and I say this keeping Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan in mind). Falling Slowly (which won an Oscar for best original song in a movie) and Lies are my two personal favorites.

Rebel Yell

thanks to my shiny new Canon Rebel, i can actually keep this lovely space updated! i am very excited to have a place to keep the things that i often lose in my bookmarks folder. i am currently in my third year of my BFA, so you will see lots of arty things that i enjoy, but also style and fashion inspirations as well. basically, a tidy little narrative of my mind :P

this week i went into vancouver on a field trip for one of my classes. we went to the v.a.g. and visited the exhibits and library there, and also got to meet the head librarian. after hitting up a few smaller galleries, we had the amazing opportunity to meet an emerging artist who just completed her MFA. we visited her studio which was very inspiring and helpful because she is only a few years ahead of most of the students in my class.

i totally fell in love with wangechi mutu's pieces at the v.a.g. that day. her layered aesthetic combined with the use of book pages is similar to the way in which i enjoy working. her use of collage is brilliant and makes the pieces very interesting.

Cancer of the Uterus. Wangechi Mutu, 2005.

Complete Prolapsus of the Uterus. Wangechi Mutu, 2004.

Ovarian Cysts. Wangechi Mutu, 2005.