The Shiny Squirrel

Friday Art

What a glorious Friday it is and I am soooo happy the weekend is here especially since I have no real impending plans and it leaves everything wide open!! Since starting this job I have really begun to appreciate what the weekend is and what this day can really feel like. I have also begun to learn what sunday night can feel like (very different feeling) and tried to appreciate it. This weekend I am planning on crafting, mailing, shopping, and hopefully spreading cheer to as many people as possible. This could be achieved by making Olive Tapenade for a party I am set to attend saturday night. I have never attempted it before, but I don't think it should be that difficult.

This was my breakfast this morning...mmmmm, crusty ancient grain bread from Whole Foods..doesn't that sound delightful. I dipped it in my moms' amazing homemade tomato sauce. Delicious! I topped it off with Starbucks once I got into the city...however it doesn't feel as natural as baked bread and sauce. I am not a huge fan of Italian food, but I plan on indulging when I go to Florence in October.

I haven't eaten pasta in ages because I went on a big diet last year and lost 22 pounds so that was one of the foods I cut out. Overall I didn't really miss it and I feel better for having nixed it. When you start a diet and begin observing what you eat, one gets amazed at the amount of food you actually consume and the t ype of food as well. It was a rude awakening for me and I feel better for having become aware.

Other News: 

For Art Friday I have decided to focus on Joseph Cornell whose work I admire very much. Since I started really focusing on shadowboxes and collages I find myself looking for inspiration from artists' like Cornell. His boxes are intricate, odd, and beautiful...they are like something you find in a dusty attic or laying in an abandoned house. They are filled with meaning and purpose and yet if you knew nothing about art you would love them for their beauty and composition.

I always found it quite shocking  that so many of the artists' (if you want to even call them that) in my classes at college hated the art history classes and seemed to always be falling asleep. How can you be a good artist if you don't study the art/artists from the past? Nothing is ever ground breaking, things are mutanted, transformed, combined to create something new, but nothing is ever one of kind. The idea must come from somewhere thus through my study of works' like that of Cornell I am able to perfect my own art and be happy with what I am doing.

Here is one of the many things that make me happy: Moogie

Headache

It could be Allergies, Applebees, or just lack of sleep, but I woke up with a killer headache that is lurking somewhere right now waiting to read it's ugly head. My breakfast calmed it a little, but as lunch approaches it is coming out to play. I fell into a heavy sleep on the way to work today and woke up groggy and disoriented. However it made the bus ride go pretty quickly and before I knew I was in Port Authority.

Mav over at Port2Port has presented a lot of interesting questions this week about why people blog and what people are actually gaining from this whole experience. It is funny I have started putting this pressure on myself to post everyday, to say something important that is worth reading. I ask myself if I don't create as much as others will people want to read it?? Are these valid questions, I have no idea. This whole world has allowed me to re-evaluate to some degree what I really want out of life. Of course I can't begin to describe it right now, but I have been mulling over a few things that need further contemplation.

In other News:

I received my confirmation for 8 minute dating last night and although I have significant reservations about it, part of me is excited. I am always willing to try new things even if they scare the shit of me. My friend Tina persuaded me to try it and so I signed up, but coming to the realization that I now paid and have to go....well I am nervous. I hate the idea of having to explain myself, give the bare facts about who I am. Will these other people be desperate or in the same mind set as me? I guess I will give further details once the whole shindig goes down next  Tuesday.

Look at these shoes from Anthropologie. They are lovely and on sale on the website.  I am searching for an ankle boot and I am very tempted by these darlings.

This weekend I have so many things to mail out as part of my swaps. It is a tad bit overwhelming, tonight I am going to go over the packages and make sure I am on the right track

Blank Paper

I started to make cards last night, I wanted to make my friend a set for her birthday, but I drew a blank as the empty perfectly cut paper stared back at me. I didn't want to mare the crisp white sheet with my clumsy drawings or splotches of india ink. It was a dilemma so I put it down and vowed to continue today. I have decided it is better to come at it with a game plan. Sketch out some ideas throughout the course of the day and continue from there. I always have to remind myself it is okay to mess up, for things not to go right, and to throw it away. You can always do it over.

Squirrel love via Crowded Teeth. This company also has very cute t-shirts with mopeds, bunny rabbits, and teeth of course!!!

These pouches are so adorable. I love the little tassels and animal motifs.

Self-portrait Tuesday

My muffin is amazing this morning. The ratio between chocolate chip and buttery cake is well...delicious! I usually throw away the bottom because frankly I am more i nterested in the chocolate chips and crumbly top than the actual cake part. That is just mainly filler to me. So instead  I make a big latte with fat free milk and mostly espresso and I drink and eat at the same time. My tongue has a field day and seems very happy with me by the end! It also gets my brain going in the morning especially on days like this when I am not   feeling this whole work thing I have gotten myself into.

       My mom got these tea roses at a gala she went to for her job. They are one amongst many  bouquets that are now living in my  home  Although not a huge rose fan I think these are very beautiful and the picture does not do them justice. They are refined and delicate yet wild in their arrangement and color.

Check out these T-shirt designs. I might have to break down this weekend and get one. I love robots, I have a collection of metal ones and I just love the emotion coming out of this tiny sad robot.

                                                                            

I was meandering through the internet several weeks ago and stumbled on this great artist Evah Fan who has the cutest work and t-shirts.  Her stuff is sold at Giant Robot. I love her use of negative space and she just comes up with some really great ideas.

Self-portrait Tuesday:

Monday morning

I have been scouring the internet this morning for amazing things. I believe I have stumbled on some goodies. I love these buttons and the company that they belong too. When I find interesting things like these I just want to whip out my credit card and buy it without thinking. I have to restrain myself.

Here is another great site with great pins, clothes, and bags. I am sucker for a good purse I guess that is why I have like 20 and don't plan on stopping anytime  soon. I love envelope clutches although they aren't the most practical there is something very old Hollywood starlet that I can't seem to get enough of.

My bus ride to work today was cold, rainy, and crowded. I fell into a dead sleep on the bus ride and woke up in Port Authority groggy.I hope the day turns out better than my morning and we get a little bit of sun over here.

Is it normal?

Let me ask you; is it normal to watch 7 episodes of Grey's Anatomy in a row with no intention of getting up except the nagging sensation that you have to go to work the next day. If you haven't figured it out, that is how I spent my evening. My eyes and ears never wavering from the TV screen as I absorbed the first 7 episodes and wished I had time to watch the last three.

I did nothing today besides spend a little money at Target, drink coffee, and eat a mean hamburger made by yours truly. The mayo mixed so well with the ketchup and the meat had that scorched outer, raw inner quality that I oh so love. I can thank my ex-boyfriend for really introducing me to the art of the good burger since that is all we ate our entire relationship. I am not trying to appear pretentious, but I consider myself to have a pretty advance palette, but the combination of meat, bun, and condiment can really be an art unto itself.

I worked at a coffee shop for two and half years. The place is small, cute, and has regular client base. It is like a privately owned Starbucks on the corner of a major street with shops, restaurants, and tons of people. The job was amazing at first (while I was still in college) I meet some of my best friends there, but as things go it got complicated. I eventually quit on a pretty sour note, but have since gone back and visited my friends who are still trapped there.
Well anyway that is not really the point of my story, the point is today I went back and saw a customer that for forever I have had the biggest crush on. I can't help the butterflies, the smile, the way my voice turns into something it isn't.
He is a few years older than me and from the small conversation I have had he is really intelligent, funny, and has that shy,dorky quality that I like. We stumble around each other like kids and I made an effort to speak to him today that revolved around really pointless chit chat. Everyone at the coffee shop knows about him and watches me like a hawk when we talk. I use to be self-conscious about it, when your younger you don't want that person to know you like them. However now I could really care less, he needs to ask me out. I have decided for him.
BUT what if it's just a fantasy, what if he really isn't anything good, and he will stop being "LAPTOP" guy and just turn into another big disappointed. It is a definite risk, but I feel like we have been running in circles around each other for two years now. If something is meant to happen, somewhere along the way our paths will cross towards each other not away.

On a different note I bought ink this weekend at Pearl Paint and have every intention of making cards this week. It has been forever since I used India ink and tips, we shall see how I fair.

Tracey Emin-a blogger at heart

So I was going to stick to just showcasing good art on friday, but why should it just be one day?! While in London I was fortunate enough to visit the Saatchi Collection, which if you live near NY or are interested in the art world at all, you have probably heard about the huge protest/stink that surrounded the Sensation exhibition at the Brooklyn museum a few years back. This collection of British art, with heavy weights like Damian Hirst and Sarah Lucas (another favorite), caused a huge stir in the supposedly liberal city of New York.
There were several controversial artists with Chris Ofili's The Holy Virgin Mary at the forefront of the conflict. Well I sadly never made it to the show, BUT was able to see and purchase a book from the museum while in London, which brings us to my present blog.

Tracey Emin is a member of this group who uses herself as a form of art through crafting techniques and home-made art. In her work you are able to see who she really is and get tidbits about her life. She writes it, sews it, if she could scream it to the world I think she would. At first glance you wouldn't shout about her work, but as you get to understand it you realize she is connecting with you because she is you, she is every person. I am fan of her work to say the least.

Art that inspires

  I have decided to devote Fridays to pictures that inspire me and keep me interested in art. Today I will be posting three artists, one contemporary and the other two are old favorites. Egon Schiele is one of my favorite artists and I recently had the good fortune of seeing his work up town as well as receiving the huge book from the show for the Holidays! Although he is recognized in the art world, I do not think his work is given as much credit as it should. The pain and desperation that he can express in one single line is both frightening and astounding.

The other old favorite is Aubrey Beardsley who I was first introduced to at the Tate Gallery when I visited London in High School. I love the prints he did for Oscar Wilde's Salome and he was the first person to really introduce to the art of prints, which I have become a huge fan of. His images are both breathtaking and comical, this can be a hard feat to master.

Lastly I was recently introduced to Loretta Lux via Nylon magazine and immediately had to have her book. Her photographs are extremely eerie and from the attached images they look like paintings. I imagine these children like little wind toys or on a darker note, Children of the Corn. My brother gave me her monograph for my birthday last August and I couldn't put it down.

On a different note the day is turning out to be busy though my appointment from Lord and Taylor canceled, thank God!! I am going to try and meet my friend Cindy in Bryant Park today to people watch and bask in the sun. I am planning on some heavy movie watching this weekend and potentially some crafty behavior. Carrie is having a Birthday celebration at her home on saturday night so I am going to Brooklyn with homemade cupcakes in hand for the tapas and drinking party!

I will also be making my weekly visit to the Post office to mail my swaps and a small package to Sabine that is long over due.

This is Tulip from my lovely garden. The colors are brillant.

Actual Creativity

I actually did something creative last night and started working on some drawings and cards. I think I am going to use them in a collage or turn the images into a notecard set. There is a beautiful store by my house called Parcel and I really want to get there to buy some nice paper for me and my swap buddies. Her store inspires me every time I go and deflates my wallet a little more each time.

I indulged in America's Next Top Model and watched the beginning of season 2 of Nothern Exposure. I ordered so many movies from the library and they suddenly all came in so you know where I will be this weekend. These are some of the features:

Rabbit Proof Fence, A woman is a woman, Head in the Clouds, Northfork, Grey's Anatomy (Season 1), Northern Exposure (Season 2)

I am wearing a cropped white linen blazer today with shoulder pads. I have decided to excuse the shoulder pads for today because I didn't have a chance to cut them out and overall it kind of works. I hope it is more summer than Miami Vice. It can be a very fine line. My sandals were screaming to be worn this morning so I broke down and wore them to work though the blisters on my toes from my new heels do not look very appetizing. Everyone in my office has spring fever, I am trying to hold down my enthusiasm and not look outside.

I love this T-shirt, that website has the best designs and you can't beat the prices either. Sometimes they run deals were every t-shirt is 10 dollars and the designs change weekly so you always have a new crop of goodies to look at.

I have really gotten into this whole picture thing and have decided to post some other photos of my two other favorite pets. Moogie (girl dog) and McGuffin (girl cat). I realize it is not fair to just show my other pets and not these guys who I love just as much. I don't want them to think I have favorites.

Tagged

I have been tagged, first time ever...so of course I must answer. By the lovely Shannon...

Five minutes to yourself: how would you spend them ideally??

Listening to my ipod while rummaging through racks and racks of clothes at the thrift store.

Five bucks to spend right now; how would you spend it??

a banana chocolate chip muffin and a dollar latte from this amazing little cuban place in Chelsea. If I had some pennies left over a monday New York Times Crossword puzzle.

Five Items in your house you could part with, right now, that you hadn't thought of already?

The multiple thrift store findings that I meant to take to the tailor, but never did. Old craft projects that never made it to completion. Papers from College. My teapot. My venetian Blinds.

Five Items you could absolutely, postively could never part with in your house?

My Cats and Dogs. My pillow. My art books. My new IMAC. My ipod.

Five Words you love?

Galvinize. Cha-Cha. Coconut. Independent. Carbonate.

Since I am new to everything I will let someone else do the tagging....