i have got to affogato
constant reminder: never have coffee after 4pm because bouncing off the walls until 4am.
facets
I'm really digging this. proof you can inspire yourself when you find yourself in a creative rut, which is exactly what happened to Justin Maller. after weeks of working on a project that didn't seem to be working out, he took a break and produced some quick, fun work that ended up becoming a project where he created an image a day for 365 days. the results, I think, are pretty cool.
when you challenge yourself, something bigger, better and inspirational could come out of it.
it lives!
the year couldn't have gotten off to a better start!
if a plant surviving after months of neglect is not a good sign, then I don't know what is.
I was gifted an orchid last year and while I tried to take care of it, it died. or so I thought. I threw it off to the side and said I'd clean it up later. a few months passed when only after a few days after the new year, I saw that the bulbs were still green. I was so surprised because it had been so long that they'd been thrown off, uncared for. so I replanted it and ever since, it's been growing FAST! even the day after replanting, it started to grow! I watch it get taller every. single. day. I'm so amazed!!! it's exciting because, aside from the cacti I have, which don't really need that much care, I've never had a plant that survived. I don't care that certain plants have a tendency to "die" and then bloom again. to me, this is monumental. there isn't anything as gravely symbolic as a plant sprouting (that is mine, that is my own) a day after repotting and many months of neglect. I saw this as a sign of renewal, or a rebirth, as my friend mariko, put it. but yea, some people may laugh at the silliness of my amazement, but I'm not taking this lightly. this has a deeper meaning to me than what I'm saying here.
these were taken only 16 days apart...
pot class. POTTERY class, I mean. pottery.
enrolled myself in a pottery class to get back to the things I enjoyed doing when I was young. I was about 13 or 14 when I took a ceramics class and remember wanting to create so many things. alas, I just wasn't motivated enough and a lot of unused clay went to waste. this time, though, I get to use the wheel, which for me, has been difficult. the only experience I had with clay was sculpting it, not throwing it on a wheel, centering, coning, pulling, trimming, etc. it looks so easy when you see someone else doing it. even the way you sit on the chair is important. and you need muscle. but really, though, it's a feeling, much like anything and everything else. I'm patiently waiting for that feeling to finally hit me and still figuring out which techniques are best as everyone wheel throws differently.
these are some things people have made in the studio and some small bowls I made that are ready to be fired! I keep wanting to make bigger bowls, but small bowls for now–better for portion control. hashtag wink emoji.
quickieee
about to head off to yoga, but before I do, I wanted to say that I've been meaning to write about some things I've been experiencing the past few months, mostly about a "spiritual awakening," for lack of a better term. or let's call it a "divine realization..." or a "humanist manifestation..." or all of the above, perhaps. all of those things sound dramatic and maybe even silly, I know, and I'm not even sure I'm getting across what I'm trying to say, but whatever for now.
all I can say is I'm very grateful! I send out hugs and love with all of me!
confession
i hope none of my friends read this because they're going to gasp at the revelation...
i don't like donuts.
there, i said it. i like seeing the display of colorful, freshly cooked donuts, but to eat them is like eating a spoonful of lard. as soon as i'm done eating one, i feel like i need a colon cleansing and a 10-mile run. unless, of course, we're talking about the Tiger Tail from the Donut Man. i don't know what it is about this donut, but it might be the only donut i don't feel gross from after eating.
hearting this
"Using animation, projections and her own moving shadow, Miwa Matreyek performs a gorgeous,
meditative piece about inner and outer discovery. Take a quiet 10 minutes and dive in. With music
from Anna Oxygen, Mirah, Caroline Lufkin and Mileece."
auditory teleportation
when I read this, I thought it was funny. if you know about Sun Ra and/or his music, I think you'd find it funny, too.
"...Perhaps most affecting is Ra’s solo keyboard track, “Advice to Medics,” titled after his history of playing for what his biographer John Szwed describes as a therapy-through-music group that “included catatonics and severe schizophrenics.” (The biographer reports that one patient, breaking a years-long silence, approached Ra to ask: “Do you call that music?”)"
but, this song, this sounds really good on vinyl, like with the volume on high!
:::::
going through my files, I found some projects from a few years back that never reached completion, for various reasons. it's fun to look back at projects because I always look for what I could have changed or done better. there's always room for improvement, right?
this logo was for a roadie who is coffee obsessed. he would bring his espresso machine with him on the road and before you know it, other roadies and even musicians he was working for, started asking for his coffee. he thought this was a good way to make some extra money, but wanted a logo to go with his side project. the word "cheetah" comes from his boss being unable to pronounce his name, so he stuck with it.
whenever I start on a project, I always do research and sketches before it goes on the computer. these are the stages at which i felt the logos were ready to be presented, though still rough. eventually, one is chosen and that is what we work off of. even though the chosen logo was close to being finalized, there's still a lot of work and clean-up that needed to be done.
warmth
this. so great. so, so great.
"Beauty and seduction is nature's tools for survival, because we protect what we fall in love with. It opens our hearts, and makes us realize we are a part of nature and we're not separate from it. When we see ourselves in nature, it also connects us to every one of us, because it's clear that it's all connected in one.
When people see my images, a lot of times they'll say, "Oh my God." Have you ever wondered what that meant? The "oh" means it caught your attention, makes you present, makes you mindful. The "my" means it connects with something deep inside your soul. It creates a gateway for your inner voice to rise up and be heard. And "God"? God is that personal journey we all want to be on, to be inspired, to feel like we're connected to a universe that celebrates life.
Did you know that 80 percent of the information we receive comes through our eyes? And if you compare light energy to musical scales, it would only be one octave that the naked eye could see, which is right in the middle? And aren't we grateful for our brains that can, you know, take this electrical impulse that comes from light energy to create images in order for us to explore our world? And aren't we grateful that we have hearts that can feel these vibrations in order for us to allow ourselves to feel the pleasure and the beauty of nature?
Nature's beauty is a gift that cultivates appreciation and gratitude..."
(here is the TedTalks version: gratitude.)