Artgirl Island*

Artistic Reinvention

2010-12-14T12:57:00.000-08:00

Gentle Readers, I find myself not blogging these days. I suspect you already noticed that! I could say it's a combination of being busy (holidays and general life) and not having a working camera, but mostly it boils down to me losing steam / interest / motivation.

I notice that I do that with projects...start off crazy gung-ho, whirl like a dervish for a bit and then want to do something different ("ooooh, look...something shiny over there!) I can't decide if that's all good or if there's a teensy, weensy lack of commitment on my part.

In the art arena I've always got more ideas than time (increasing my blog readership, getting my art published, making / selling art, submitting ideas to magazines, a long-dormant book idea, teaching classes, photography, taking classes / going to retreats, remodeling my art studio).

There is a fabulous richness to all of that. And I feel somewhat scattered.

I talked to my good friend, Julie Sotomura who's going through a similar inquiry. We decided to set aside some quiet time (oxymoron alert!) over the holidays and dive into this inquiry. Our goal is to create a clearing (mental and physical) for us to reinvent ourselves artistically. I think answering these questions are key:

1. Where do I really want to put my time?

2. What is really important to me?

3. What are my motivations, my commitments, my priorities? Am I doing xyz for money, recognition, sheer enjoyment, to make a difference for other people, to avoid doing other stuff?

4. What stops me even when I am committed to something?

I think delving into questions #2 and 3 will automatically answer #1. And getting a grip on #4 will keep #1 in action.

I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions, but there IS something about the end of a calendar year that prompts many of us to do this kind of decluttering / housekeeping in our lives.

So for now I'm focusing on getting my holiday cards and presents mailed (who am I kidding...BOUGHT and then mailed) and really enjoying social events with friends and loved ones (which means FOCUSING on what I'm doing rather than worrying about keeping the regular plates spinning in the air).

And then Julie and I will look behind Door Number One and behind the curtain and in the box Carol Merrill is pointing to and see what's in there. And I will let you know what I find.

Whose cooler than me?

2010-12-02T05:00:00.000-08:00

No one! At least not when Carla Sonheim draws me. As part of the class I just blogged about, she had us do quickie little watercolors of the person next to us. Here's me...Carla style:

I'm pretty sure it's worth about $100,000.

Cool.

Watercolor + Gesso = Carla Sonheim

2010-12-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

I was recently fortunate to be able to take a class from Carla Sonheim. She is the coolest, her class was the greatest and I love the funky animals I created out of mixing and messing gesso and watercolors.

Carla can see animals in ANYTHING...sidewalk cracks, blobs of paint. She told us to let the random shapes guide us. The trouble was, I couldn't decide if this was a bird or a fish...so I kind of made it a flying fish...or a swimming bird.

For this one she passed around silly stuffed animals and had us sketch at the speed of light. I was amazed that my painting actually looked like...a dog.

Here's another one that we created from a sidewalk crack. Unless my sidewalk was on another planet I'm not sure this creature really exists, but I like how it turned out.

I realized I am somewhat indecisive when it comes to reading the blobs. This was started out being the back of a rabbit..see the right ear sticking up and the little puffy tail?

The only problem is that the more I looked at it, the more it looked like a person doing yoga...arms forward, with one leg bent and the other stretched out somewhat painfully.

Remember that optical illusion...It's a beautiful woman in a hat! It's an old hag! It's a beautiful woman in a hat! It's an old hag!

Who cares? Either way, it's a WAY cool technique from a WAY cool artist. In a nutshell, take a class from Carla whenever you have the chance.

Dinking around with watercolors...

2010-11-29T22:23:00.000-08:00

I painted these two birds. I LOVE watercolors...they're so quick and easy to use...no big set-up and preparation required, no big clean-up. Taking a cue from my friend Carla Sonheim, I even created a little portable kit so I can paint on the go.

That's POSITIVELY MENTAL!

2010-11-26T11:05:00.000-08:00

I'm introducing a new feature here on Artgirl Island...

That's POSITIVELY MENTAL!

Do you remember the ridiculous Saturday Night Live character, Ed Grimley? He was supremely dorky, his belted pants pulled halfway up his chest, hair gelled into a little peak on his head, whose tagline was, "I think I'm going positively mental...I must say."

I love the word "mental". It's somehow less alarming than "crazy" and because of its association with Ed Grimley, much funnier. So now when I find myself (or others) being nutty, I can get my brain around it much easier by thinking, "That's positively mental".

Here's what I mean...

Weeks ago I bought a package of toilet paper...the eco-superior kind. You know, the kind that makes you feel virtuous for purchasing it. I remember thinking, "It isn't as soft and cushy as my usual brand, but it's "greener" so it will be worth it."

And Gentle Readers, I have been using it in my home, in both bathrooms, for several weeks now. And you know what, I flippin' hate every single square of that pathetic excuse for toilet paper. Is it possible to be LESS than 1-ply? Because if it is, this stuff qualifies.

It's so biodegradable that it disappears about 1 second into its use. It is completely ineffective for its intended purpose. To get any amount of measurable absorbancy, I have to wad up about 100 of the damn sheets and still...it instantly becomes a worthless mess.

And because it's .005 ply, the damn roll LASTS FOREVER.

So I've come to hate the stuff. And yet...the rolls never seem to end, and even when they do, I have more in my cabinet. Every time I head for the loo, I start cursing the pathetic nature of the toilet paper awaiting me.

So the MENTAL part? THE FACT THAT I KEEP USING IT EVEN THOUGH I HATE IT.

I realized that in the middle of the night last night. I woke up, thought about going to the bathroom and dreaded it because of the horrible toilet paper quietly hanging there, mocking me. I realized at that moment, how POSITIVELY MENTAL it was to not throw the damn stuff in the trash can.

I admit I paused a few seconds to see if a crafty use for the stupid stuff came to mind...but when nothing did...I tossed it. Then I stomped upstairs (didn't matter it was the middle of the night) and tossed the ones upstairs as well. Then I found an old roll, the soft, cushy, absorbent, luxurious kind...and installed it in the roller. Relief and memories of happier times flooded me as I used it.

So I'm airing my squalid little secret...I'd rather be dry then green.

Maybe I can buy some carbon credits to offset my impact on the environment.

But meanwhile, my life is decidedly less MENTAL.

Ahhh.

Quite the improvement, I must say...

A Rusty Safari

2010-11-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

On the way to Mt. Rainier a few weekends ago with the far-flung artgirls, we passed the home of Dan Klennert. Why is that important, you ask? Because his property is filled with his amazing, ENORMOUS, rusty sculpture, all made from mundane metal and wooden bits.

And we are not talking ORDINARY...no sirree. We're talking pig-cycles, horseshoe seahorses (say THAT 3 times fast), driftwood deer, hungry dinosaurs and skeletal ghostriders. Don't believe me? See for yourself!

BIZARRELY, the metal giraffe I previously blogged about (on Vashon Island in front of the fair trade shop by the same name) was NOT made by Dan Klennert, but rather by a Vashon Island artist. What are the chances there would be multiple sculptors who fashion huge metal giraffes in the same small area. Dunno...maybe it's all the rusty bits laying about in the rain...

Great Book: The Homemade Home

2010-11-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

The Homemade Home - 50 thrifty and chic handmade projects

There is something so gentle about this book. The projects are simple, subtle and very visually appealing. None of them are overly complicated or require obscure, exotic materials. A few old bottles, some washi paper, twine and buttons...and you can create an entire shelf of unique, colorful vases. A few scraps of old fabric transform a pillow or sweater.

Great Book: Little Birds

2010-11-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Ooooh, when I saw the title I knew I couldn't resist it...and I was right. "Little Birds...26 Handmade Projects to Sew, Stitch, Quilt & Love" was as fun as I hoped it would be. Who doesn't love a good bird project???!!!!

Jamibenn Linknarf is goin' to PLAY!

2010-11-10T15:35:00.000-08:00

Having returned from Teesha Moore's Journalfest on CLOUD 9, I immediately decided I would go to her smaller, less structured retreat in January called PLAY.

You just can't send a note to Teesha in an ordinary envelope (somehow it seems like it's against the laws of nature or something) so I ripped a page out of an old encyclopedia and turned it into a funky-lope. I have no idea why I felt the need to anagram Benjamin Franklin's name, but I did...and he's goin' to PLAY!

Here's the front of the funky-lope:

Here's the back of the funky-lope. I copied this crazy fun doodle from my friend Nancy Bonnema, using my trust white Signo gel pen.

The VERY best thing about the weekend...

2010-11-08T17:38:00.000-08:00

This weekend I drove with 6 friends to Ashford Washington, a small town near Mt. Rainier Park. Supposedly the point of the trip was to attend a wine tasting to celebrate a new winery that a friend of a friend was launching. In fact, it was a perfect opportunity for a reunion of artgirls who had gone to Guatemala together, followed by 2 years of Sacred Dirt Tours in the desert southwest.

One dear friend came from Salt Lake City, two others from Minneapolis and the rest of us hailed from around Seattle. We converged in Seattle and then made our way down south toward the mountain.

Yeah, the scenery was beautiful; sure, the wine tasting was fun; of course there were hours and hours of talking, laughing, eating and sharing...even a hula hoop demonstration.

But the very, very best part of the whole weekend was a quiet moment that might have gone unnoticed. It involved J who had had a very tough couple of years, wrestling with the end of a trying marriage and the death of a close friend.

J is fairly quiet and somewhat self-effacing despite being one of the most amazing women I know. She's someone who gives of herself so generously that sometimes she finds herself depleted. J was telling us about a new relationship she's in, her first since she married her ex-husband 30 years ago. She explained her theory that in every relationship there is a FLOWER and a GARDENER. Her former husband (aka the "wasband") was pretty much an 18 foot tall sunflower and J was the ever-steady gardener who made sure it flourished.

Describing her new guy, J shared how much they have in common and how attentive he is to her. Her shy smile turned into a radiant outpouring of joy as she threw her hands up in the air declaring, "This time I'M the flower!"

We've known that all along and I was so glad her new partner saw that, too.

Crazy But True Fortune Cookies

2010-11-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

This has got to be one of the oddest fortunes ever hidden inside a cookie...and yet, it's very true. Fighting for freedom no doubt does a number on one's wardrobe. This is one of a series of oddball collages I made for guests at a friend's 40th birthday party a while back.

The audacity of "not yet"

2010-11-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is my ACTUAL report card from kindergarten. I love, love, love the little graphics and the grading scale...Yes, Sometimes, Not Yet.

"Not Yet" is so optimistic...as in "Even though monstrous little Timmy cannot sit still for 2 seconds without tormenting and bullying his neighbors, I'm sure he's going to get along with them any second now, just 'not yet'."

Notice how adept I was at taking part in singing and rhythmic activities as a 6-year-old? I wonder what happened...

A Zillion and One Logos

2010-11-05T05:21:00.000-07:00

Some time ago a wonderful artist friend, Marilee Fosbre, told me about this cool site that automatically and randomly generates logos. It's called TypoGenerator and here's an example of what it created when I typed in "Artgirl Island". Try it...you'll like it! It's fast, it's free and it's low-carb!
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Here are a few logos I got when I typed in "nest"...

Follow the Bouncing Buoy!

2010-11-05T05:17:00.000-07:00

Surely I cannot be the only person who remembers this public service commercial ditty from the 1960's:

"There is fun in the water
But there's danger too,
And you gotta swim well
So nothing happens to you!
Learn how to swim
At the YMCA.

Learn how to swim
But never swim alone,
There's safety in numbers
Don't strike out on your own!
And never dive
Unless you know,
The water's not too shallow
And it's clear beloooow!!

There is fun in the water
But there's danger too,
And you gotta swim well
So nothing happens to you!
Learn how to swim
At the YMCA..."

It's kind of like "The Song That Never Ends" because this one keeps spiraling around in my head with no hope of a finish. But as obsessions go, it's a fairly happy, harmless one...AND I can promise you that I will never, ever swim alone...even on Artgirl Island.

A few years ago I used "the google" to see if this song came up anywhere else, and one of the few references I found was in a blog by a guy who was a former Jeopardy champion. At least that's what he claimed. And really, it makes sense that only someone who had an amazing knack for memorizing facts and trivia would recall this obscure commercial. In all honesty I do NOT have any kind of knack for memorizing facts and trivia but I do tend to remember oddball lyrics of catchy tunes. Those who know me, or who have traveled on a road trip with me, would not be shocked to hear this revelation.

Free Class: Eco-Friendly, Hipster-Trendy Gifts

2010-11-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

Here's my latest FREE class:

Eco-Friendly & Hipster-Trendy
Holiday Gifts

On a budget? Like to recycle? Need a holiday gift for the coffee drinker or book reader or lunch toter in your life?

If the answer is "Yes, yes, and yes!" then spend the evening with us. You'll create a handful of easy-to-make presents out of ordinary materials, cast-off treasures and colorful junk.

Like all my classes, the only requirement is a willingness to have fun. Be there or be square!

Kirkland Library on

Thursday, December 9 from

6:30 to 8:30

To register, click here.

Spooky!

2010-10-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

Last Burst of Summer Color

2010-10-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

I loved the contrast of natural and artificial reds in this scene:

And these perfect little red and white petals:

And this eye-catching burst of glowing pastels:

And these demure little droplets:

Perfect Pair: Best Buds

2010-10-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

Max, rescued cat, now 5 years old

Isabelle, rescued cat, now 5 years old

Perfect contrast...

2010-10-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

Of hard and soft,

light and dark,

forged and organic...

Vashon Wheels

2010-10-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

Ya gotta love someone who embellishes her car thusly:

Perfect Pairs: Multiplication

2010-10-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Window of wine shop near Kirkland Marina

Building materials in Kirkland

Tall, dark and handsome!

2010-10-25T05:00:00.001-07:00

I couldn't resist taking some photos of the mascot of this funky shop on Vashon Island.

I had to put my camera inside the giraffe to capture his heart:

The perfect man cave?

2010-10-24T05:00:00.001-07:00

This is some kinda crazy shop in Fremont. A glimpse through the alley windows revealed this inexplicable mix of motorcycles, pinball machines and indoor graffitti. And the kooky decal on the window...is she waterskiing???

Little urban mysteries like this get my imagination going...

Misbegotten Romance

2010-10-23T05:00:00.002-07:00

Once I started looking for quirky art in public places I started seeing it everywhere. I keep my little camera tucked in my backpack so I can capture stuff like this...

Someone painstakingly attached these little plastic letters to a fence in Fremont. I couldn't tell what the entire quote was, but I did make out "romance" and "misbegotten".

How much is that doggie?

2010-10-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

I love this guerilla art...a bold yellow dog painted on newspaper and taped to an elecrical box in Greenwood. The Flintstone-style bones are a fun touch!

Perfect Pairs: Catching Rays

2010-10-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

Flowering tree in Kirkland

Housing construction site in Kirkland

Perfect Pairs: One Piece Missing

2010-10-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Broken CD in Georgetown

Sidewalk drain in Kirkland

Perfect Pairs: Negative & Positive Space

2010-10-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Broken wall in Kirkland

Glass bottle shard in Kirkland

Perfect Pairs: Blue Orbs

2010-10-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

Repurposed suncatcher in the Tacoma Museum of Glass

Ubiquitous sign around Seattle

Perfect Pairs: Black Flames

2010-10-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

Wax-laden candlestick on Georgetown Garden Tour

Steel door in Georgetown

Perfect Pairs: Sore Feet

2010-10-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Top of shoe near railroad tracks in Georgetown

Bottom of shoe near railroad tracks in Georgetown

Perfect Pairs: Gnarled

2010-10-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

Curly willow tree

Exposed retaining wall supports

Perfect Pairs: Brown & White

2010-10-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

Birdhouse in Kirkland

Rusted rebar in Kirkland

Perfect Pairs: Curlicues

2010-10-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Wrought iron near abandoned house in West Seattle

Metal shavings near dumpster in Fremont

Perfect Pairs: Misguided Signs

2010-10-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

Abandoned lot on Vashon Island

Stencilled plank in Georgetown

Free Class: Día de los Muertos

2010-10-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

Moi: Join me at the Kirkland Library on Sunday, October 17 from 2-4pm for a free art class.

Gentle (Doubting) Reader: Do you say "free"?

Moi: Yes, I did. Free...as in "no money required".

Gentle (Skeptical) Reader: That's unheard of! How can that be? Ce n'est pas possible! What kind of trickery is this??!!

Moi:  No trickery whatsoever. It's a gift to you from the Friends of the (Kirkland) Library.

Gentle (Intrigued) Reader: What will we do in class?

Moi:  You'll learn about the rich traditions of the Day of the Dead holiday and draw elaborate skulls.

Gentle (Worried) Reader: Dead? Skulls? That sounds scary.

Moi: Not at all! It's a time to celebrate, not mourn...and the skulls are fantastical creations, full of flowers and vines and little paisley shapes and dots.

Gentle (Self-Doubting) Reader: But I can't draw.

Moi: Pssst...neither can I. But that's the beauty of this class...you don't have to know how to draw. And by the way, EVERYONE is an artist, whether they realize it or not.

Gentle (Inspired) Reader:  How do I sign up?

Moi:  Register on-line or by calling the Kirkland Library.

Gentle (Helpful) Reader: Do I need to bring anything?

Moi: Just your bad self.

Perfect Pairs: Birds Looking West

2010-10-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

Actual bird near Manzanita, Oregon

Mosaic birds on Vashon Island

A Case of the Mondays, #5

2010-10-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

I made a surprising discovery while looking at this page in the Office Cheesy Vendor Calendar. When I was trying to match the greenish-brown background I was quite surprised to find the matching color on this particular strip. I love the darker green, but not particularly the lighter, more yellow-y version.

Bonus assignment: What is a hue that you like when it is dark, but not so much as its lighter version (or vice versa)?

Perfect Pairs: Broken & Bound

2010-10-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

Glass shop in Fremont

Marina in Fremont

Perfect Pairs: Monsters in Black & White

2010-10-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

Happy robot dream poster in Greenwood

Crazy Mexican restaurant sign in Greenwood

PS: I remember the X-Files episodes about chupacabras...it NEVER occurred to me to name a restaurant thusly

Perfect Pairs: Curious Carmine

2010-10-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

The official car of Luna Park Cafe

Graffitti-embellished window

Perfect Pairs: Red & Green

2010-10-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

150 year old Yaba Ding Ding from Statia

Christmas-y building in Phinney Ridge

Orange You Gonna Play With Me?

2010-10-06T05:00:00.001-07:00

While perusing one of my favorite blogs, I noticed there is a game afoot to post photos by autumn color this week. Today is ORANGE so I rounded up these pictures from my collection:

This, ladies and gents, is a RESTROOM in a park in Seattle.

See the door in the heel? Yup, these are some CRAZY big boots.

Summer flowers

Notice they accept collect calls? Very well-mannered.

Crazy garden art (aka "GART")

I have not one single clue what this means but it had some orange in it:

Perfect Pairs: Swirling Yellows

2010-10-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Circling fish in Volunteer Park

Spiraling glass at the the Sandpoint P-Patch

A Case of the Mondays, #4

2010-10-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

For this Monday, the October illustration in my Cavallini calendar didn't need any embellishing, but I was intrigued to study the color palate closely:

Bonus assignment: Take a close look at these colors. Where do they exist together in nature, either in pairs or as a group? Are they hues you choose to work with? If so, what draws you to them? If not, why not?

Perfect Pairs: Passed

2010-10-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

A broken terra cotta wing in a parking lot

Dog and bike treadmarks on a dusty path

Perfect Pairs: Looking West

2010-10-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

Sculpture from artist studio in Georgetown

Garden art from Georgetown Garden Tour

Turquoise Vignettes

2010-10-01T05:00:00.001-07:00

I get ridiculously happy looking at and making little vignettes...like the ones in the French General books. So I tried my hand at creating something similar and I'm pretty happy with how they turned out:

Perfect Pairs: Red, Yellow, Green

2010-09-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

Bamboo and weeds growing through utility valves

Tulips in a garden

Unlikely Art

2010-09-29T05:00:00.001-07:00

Check out the beautiful colors and textures in this piece of public art. I love the way the blues and greens flow into each other and contrast against the rugged rust background.

It IS public art, isn't it?

Wait for it...

Proof that there's beauty in the UNLIKELIEST places.

Righteous Girl...shhhhhh!!!

2010-09-28T05:00:00.002-07:00

Boy, can I hold a grudge. We're not just talking garden variety or even super-sized ones; oh no...these are King-Kong big, the kind that need a convoy of Sherpas to carry them.

That would be the work of "Righteous Girl".

Righteous Girl LOVES to make people, things and situations wrong. She zealously charges into battle to "protect" me. Many a time the world has heard her proclaim, "He/she is dead to me!" as she gathers up our toys to stomp home when she determines we have been wronged/insulted/ignored.

Righteous Girl is really, really good at her job. And how could it be any other way? She came into existence PRECISELY to be...well, righteous.

And you know what? When Righteous Girl takes care of business, I feel really, really good...for about 30 minutes. And then I'm really sad and angry and hurting. I look around and Righteous Girl is nowhere to be seen. She's done her job and she's off duty, probably taking a nap.

What I saw is that the bigger the fit Righteous Girl throws, the worse I feel. Because basically Righteous Girl is screaming at the top of her lungs, "THIS SHOULDN'T BE THIS WAY!"

But you know what? It IS what it IS, and it ISN'T what it ISN'T. It's actually just that simple.

It is HARD work to resist what's so. It can be downright exhausting...like that poor schmoe from Greek mythology who had to keep pushing that rock up the hill. And since I get to choose whether I want to keep doing that, it's kind of mental to keep doing it.

So now when Righteous Girl clamors to be heard, I thank her for being on the lookout to protect us. I thank her for being so willing to do her job. And then I sit her down at a virtual table with drawing paper and crayons and a glass of chocolate milk and tell her, "Thanks, I've got this one. You can just hang out here."

And more times than not, she listens to me.

That's one of the things I got from Landmark Education.

A Case of the Mondays, #3

2010-09-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

For this week's Monday inspiration, I stepped outside and gathered up some fall leaves to embellish these 2 pages from the lovely Cavallini nature calendar I have up in my office:

I just used a little double sided tape...and presto! chango!

Bonus Assignment: What natural elements can you spot that would embellish your office space?

Rowdy Reds!

2010-09-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Chippy Chipmunk

2010-09-25T05:00:00.001-07:00

Who doesn't love a chipmunk? This little guy ran back and forth about 50 times in front of me this past weekend when I was hiking with some friends in the lava fields near Bend, Oregon. Alright, alright! I'll take your picture, you big ham.

Is THIS my better side?

Or is THIS?

Perhaps you prefer me during a quiet, contemplative moment?

Or perhaps my whimsical side?

Ooops...gotta go!

Gratuitous Cute Animal Shots

2010-09-24T05:00:00.001-07:00

OK, I admit it...there's no point to this post except that it contains pictures of my ridiculously cute cat, Indy (aka "Mr. Peebody" due to his occasional naughty spraying habit).

Here he is lounging in front of his favorite pillow, handmade especially for him (or so he thinks) by fellow cat lover, Lisa:

Tired of being stalked by paparazzi, Indy lets down his guard:

Perfect Pairs: Quick Books!

2010-09-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

Closeup of a sculpture at the Kirkland Library

Enscribed brick at Kirkland Library

Surprise! It's Yelling Girl

2010-09-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a multi-media journal page thingy I made a long time ago that I just uncovered while cleaning my studio. Yay for fun surprises! I love this zany little girl...and the combination of orange and pink...and using staples instead of glue...and fake rhinestones...and butterflies...and ephemera...and hand stamped paper.

A Case of the Mondays, #2

2010-09-20T05:00:00.001-07:00

Continuing our scavenger hunt to find creative inspiration in our work places...even on a Monday:

Another month from the Cheesy Vendor Calendar (CVC) turned into a color study, along with the Pantone Color Guide in all its peacock-like glory:

Bonus assignment: How many sparks of color can you see from where you're sitting right now?

Thank you, Christine!

2010-09-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

All the way from Europe, Christine Clemmensen sent me these delightful postcards:

Even the envelope was fancy:

And there were even two tiny prizes inside. I LOVE prizes!

Perfect Pairs: Petals!

2010-09-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

Single flower

Mass of flowers

Perfect Pairs: Growling Monsters

2010-09-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Abandoned truck in Georgetown

Spooky graffiti ghost in Georgetown

Tiddlywinks in Phoenix in August

2010-09-16T05:00:00.001-07:00

I swear I was trying to be good. I had gone for my morning walk and was rushing home to meet a landscape guy who was going to give me an estimate for work on my backyard "slope from hell"...when much to my wandering eyes should appear...an estate sale sign. I need more stuff like I need a hole in my head, but my car veered on its own, and what could I do but follow it?

Oh...my...goodness. The previous owner of this house had a LOT of stuff. I mean, a LOT of stuff. A lot of which were bags and bags and bags and more bags of colorful plastic beads. And that was just in the garage.

Now plastic beads are not my thing...but when I saw these crazy funky berry-shaped beads I had to snap them up.

Those and the weird ones that look like plastic discs that melted a little in the heat...kind of like a Tiddlywinks game that someone left in a car in Phoenix in August. Now I'm obsessed with figuring out how old someone has to be to know about Tiddlywinks. Do they still sell them? Does anyone still play with them? Did I actually play with them? And how on earth did they come to be called Tiddlywinks? (See frightening note below, but don't say I didn't warn you.)

There are a LOT of them. Hopefully I'll figure out what to use them for before someone buys them from MY estate sale.

Frightening note: There is actually a World Tiddlywinks Championship Society. Grown people flip little plastic disks. COMPETITIVELY. Wow. Sad news for fans of perennial favorites Sev & Ferd...they lost to Larry & Matt in a feverish battle for the crown. Next year, Sev & Ferd, next year! Meanwhile, let's pray no one puts an eye out by a scrunging cracker!

Even more frightening note: the following words are real, live tiddlewink terms (care of Wikipedia). Particularly disturbing is the "John Lennon Memorial Shot"...

Blitz: an attempt to pot all six winks of a player's colour early in the game

Bomb: to send a wink at a pile, usually from distance, in the hope of significantly disturbing it

Boondock: to free a squopped wink by sending it a long way away, leaving the squopping wink free in the battle area

Bristol: a shot which moves a pile of two or more winks as a single unit; the shot is played by holding the squidger at a right angle to its normal plane

Carnovsky (US)/Penhaligon (UK): potting a wink from the baseline (i.e., from 3 feet away)

Cracker: a simultaneous knock-off and squop, i.e. a shot which knocks one wink off the top of another while simultaneously squopping it

Crud: a forceful shot whose purpose is to destroy a pile completely

Good shot: named after John Good. The shot consists of playing a flat wink (one not involved in a pile) through a nearby pile with the intent of destroying the pile

Gromp: an attempt to jump a pile onto another wink (usually with the squidger held in a conventional rather than Bristol fashion)

John Lennon memorial shot: a simultaneous boondock and squop

Lunch: to pot a squopped wink (usually belonging to an opponent)

Scrunge (UK): to bounce out of the pot

Squidger: the disc used to shoot a wink

Squop: to play a wink so that it comes to rest above another wink

Sub: to play a wink so that it ends up (unintentionally) under another wink

Perfect Pairs: Tough Guys

2010-09-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

Banty rooster at Saturday market on Vashon Island

Stencilled plywood near railroad tracks in Georgetown

Vote for the Silliest Cindy...and win a prize!

2010-09-14T05:00:00.001-07:00

I came across this photo of me when I was not quite 2. Hi-larious! I have the feeling I still make this exact face sometimes.

Having WAY too much time on my hands I decided to play around with it and create a logo of sorts. Vote for your favorite. I'll randomly select one of the votees and you'll win a prize selected especially for you! OK, maybe not selected ESPECIALLY for you...but I promise it will be fun!

Silly Cindy #1

Silly Cindy #2

Silly Cindy #3

Voting will end a week from today. But why wait...it's fun, it's free, it's low-carb.

A Case of the Mondays, #1

2010-09-13T13:28:00.001-07:00

Welcome to a new feature here on Artgirl Island...A Case of the Mondays.

Have you seen the cult classic movie, Office Space? It is hi-larious. It's about 3 disgruntled computer geeks who work for the boss from hell at the company from hell. As they grumble into their soul-less cubicles on Monday morning the office chatterbox greets them with a revoltingly cheerful, "Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays!"

But here on Artgirl Island, Mondays are different. Mondays are just one more opportunity to be inspired and to create a little bit of art wherever we happen to find ourselves.

So each Monday I'll post something that I hope will jolt your creativity, with the catch being that I'll only use things that I find in or around my office. Once I started looking, I was surprised at the amount of creative fodder that I had been overlooking.

So without further ado, here's your first A Case of the Mondays...Artgirl Island style.

We all have those cheesy vendor calendars laying around, right? You know the ones I'm talking about; they either have predictable nature photos or dorky inspirational quotes or worse...both. I snagged one such calendar off the wall and borrowed the Engineering Department's Pantone Color Guide...and presto, chango...a cool color study in fabulous blues and brilliant yellows.

Bonus Assignment: Take a moment and look around YOUR work space...where is there a bit of color or texture or design that draws your eye, lights you up? Let me know what you find!

Perfect Pairs: Offerings

2010-09-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

Mural of a French restaurant in Kirkland

Status of St. Francis of Assisi in Kirkland

Gloria...a cautionary tale

2010-09-12T05:00:00.001-07:00

Perfect Pairs: Green Trifoils

2010-09-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

Urban Yaba Ding Ding found in Georgetown

Flowering vine found in Kirkland

Butterfly tape to the rescue

2010-09-10T05:00:00.002-07:00

My good friend Beth gave me an old ledger-type book that had belonged to her father. I wanted to make a thank you present so I turned the book into a journal for someone who had agreed to do a favor for me. She's not an artist (so she says, but actually I believe that EVERYONE is), so I took the liberty of embellishing some of the pages for her.

I love, love, love the butterfly tape! Do yourself a favor and order the combo pack (which comes with equally lovely flower tape). A little zip, a little strip goes a long way!

Gorilla Knitting? A Conversation

2010-09-09T05:00:00.002-07:00

Artgirl One: Look at that gorilla art! Who knew gorillas knew how to knit? Who knew there were gorillas in Greenwood? Who knew gorillas had such tasteful color palates?

Artgirl Two: Ummm, wait a minute. Maybe it's not GORILLA...

Artgirl Two: Maybe it's GUERILLA.

Artgirl One: As in GUERILLA ART? Ahhh, that makes sense.

Artgirl Two: Trees sporting multi-color knitted sheaths make sense?

Artgirl One: Yup...in the world of guerilla art it makes total sense.

Artgirl Two: Wanna go hang out in my studio and make stuff?

Artgirl One: Sure.

Legacy of a life well lived

2010-09-08T05:00:00.001-07:00

Last weekend on Vashon Island there was an estate sale from a renowned fiber artist who had accumulated a 50 year stash. Her name was Gloria Crouse and her entire...and I do mean ENTIRE...home was filled with beautifully organized fiber, bead and fabric stashes.

This was the view directly inside the front door - luscious yarns in ice cream containers meticulously sorted by color:

Treasures were $5 a pound, so I happily rooted through container after container of jewelry findings, oddball treasures and old beads and came home with these...sorted by color of course:

Yes, that IS a clip-on earring; the glass bunch of grapes obviously did not convey enough "grapiness" and so it was affixed to a metal clasp with yet more grapage. Carmen Miranda would be proud.

Speaking of Carmen, check out these banana beads...can anyone really get enough of them? And don't you love the metal clicker toy which is cool and vaguely disturbing at the same time?

I love the combination of ice-blue plastic, glass and ceramic:

I'm pretty sure that's a blue diamond and these are worth about a million dollars:

So is this one:

And this one:

And of course these:

And these:

Didn't want to be greedy, so I also selected some broken bits to take home:

Isn't this the craziest collection of bits...a buffalo nickel, a giraffe, a game piece and an on/off switch THAT ACTUALLY SWITCHES, to name just a few. I can't wait to make earrings out of the swiss cheese blocks on the top left:

Aladdin's lamp, TEENY dice and even TEENIER bird, a cameo and buttons I'm saying are bakelite (work with me people, work with me). I have no clue what that vaguely fish-like metal thing is:

I also had not a single clue what this verdigried concoction was, but I had to have it nevertheless:

Cool (if clunky) charm bracelet. I think that's the Golden Gate Bridge and state of California on the right; I'm making up that's the capitol building on the left. Anyone know for sure?

Isn't this the coolest chain; it will be fun to de- and re-construct:

Here's what it came on:

There were little projects in process as well:

I like the thought of excited artgirls going through my stash some day when I no longer can use it. I'd be honored to know that my oddball little bits and bobs caught someone's eye and they sparked a little creative inspiration. It's a fulfilling way of passing on a legacy. Thank you Gloria, for sharing your treasures with us.

The Poodle Menace!

2010-09-07T05:00:00.002-07:00

My dear friend Judy, who is an avid supporter of the Vashon Island Pet Protectors (VIPP) recently purchased "Oodles of Poodles" at their annual fundraiser. Little did she know of the menace she was unleashing...

Here the poodle gang can be seen intimidating Judy's artgirl visitors (including moi). We recognized them from their mug shots:

Bijou, Gaston, Curly, Fifi, Jacques, Frankie, Mimi, Beowulf (broken nose), Napoleon, Cecile.

Thugs one and all...

As they inched closer to us, we felt their warm poodle breath and saw the sparkle of their ill-gotten rhinestone collars...

"Whaddya lookin' at? Ya never seen a busted nose before?" Beowulf growled. We quickly averted our eyes lest the next busted nose we saw was our own.

Young, impressionable pups are tragically indoctrinated into the poodle culture. We heard the taunting with our own ears. "Lift that nose, princess! You're a POODLE! You're better than EVERYONE! You think a collie or a yorkie could pull off that haircut?"

And thus the tragic cycle repeats itself...

Book Review: The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To

2010-09-06T05:00:00.001-07:00

by DC Pierson

Score: Hilarious, familiar, outrageous, creative - I give it 4 awkward blushes out of 5!

Synopsis: Nerdly, friendless 15yo Darren Bennett is obsessed with drawing cyborgs - Actranian berserkers, AltraTroops, the evil Dr. Praetoreus to name just a few. Fascinated, fellow outcast Eric Lederer befriends him and the dorky duo spend countless hours creating the ever-expanding fictional world of TimeBlaze…“a ten-part movie maxi-series with the mythos filled in by comic books and graphic novels, culminating in a series-rebooting singularity at the end of the tenth movie, following which, using some technology not yet invented, all existing copies of all previous movies will have their stories altered.” Not to mention the merchandising tie-ins.

Late one night Eric reveals his deepest secret to Darren…Eric has never, ever slept. Never. Not once. And they’ve both watched enough movies to know that if word gets out about Eric’s “thing”, it will be just a matter of time before shadowy men in black show up to take Eric away to figure out how to use his powers for evil.

So of course…word gets out and the boys end up on the run from a shadowy man in black. Surely he’s from the government. Or could it be far more complicated than the boys ever imagined?

Snippets of snappy dialogue:

Darren on the perils of drawing in public: “No matter how well you’re drawing it, there’s nothing good you can be drawing. You can’t win. If you’re drawing superheroes, that looks nerdy. If you’re drawing landscapes or things girls might actually like, like animals, that looks girly. If you’re drawing the female figure, you’re a pervert. If you’re drawing the male figure, you’re gay. If you’re drawing superheroes and you haven’t gotten around to drawing the masks or capes or whatever yet, you’re gay. Do yourself a favor: Don’t start with the muscles. Start with the rocketpack and work your way out. You’ll still be nerdy, but everybody knew that already. I mean, come on: you’re DRAWING.

Darren and Eric speculating about future careers: “We sort of hope we were born late enough in history that by the time we are in our forties and fifties “existence engineer” and “clone wrangler” will be viable career paths.”

Darren’s resignation about his bullying brother’s friends: “I guess a bunch of seniors dressed as ninjas swearing and kicking each other in the chest for an hour before peeling away in their cars could be scary to some people, but I’m used to it.”

Darren on the difference between honor students and himself: “Creative assignments usually send most honors students into a seizure, because there aren’t predefined rubrics for being creative, you’re encouraged to do exactly what you’re not supposed to do in any other assignment, which is MAKE IT UP, you’re not even asked to provide a bibliography, and before long you have to put a belt in soon-to-be-valedictorian Alicia Henry’s mouth to keep her from choking on her own tongue.”

Darren’s reaction to finding out his new (and only) friend never sleeps: “”It’s like when you’re taking a standardized test with one of those bubble sheets and you’re humming along, filling in the circles and you go to fill in the answer for question 58 and you realize the empty circle is 59, you’ve been one number off for God knows how long…it might only be one number but now everything is wrong.”

Eric speculating about why the shadowy man in black is trying to catch him: “Maybe he’s a guy from the Vatican and I’m supposed to be the Christ child or something, meant to bring about the apocalypse.”

Darren’s counterproposal: “Maybe he’s from the government dispatched to bring you to Area 51 where they’ll run tests on you. There’s also a chance he’s just some guy from, like, an evil pharmaceutical giant and he’s bribed his way into the cops working for him.”

Darren describing their plan to manipulate his older brother into beating up the shadowy man in black: “We are tickling a very specific spot on my brother’s and his friends’ teenage lizard brains right now.”

Darren on training Eric to fight: “It’s basically Yoda teaching Luke how to use the Force if Yoda didn’t know anything about the Force and couldn’t use it himself.”

Perfect Pairs: Pink Punch

2010-09-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Flowering tree in Kirkland

Abandoned car in Georgetown

Vamoose! Empower! Black Walnut!

2010-09-04T05:00:00.001-07:00

A few months ago I signed up for the Canvas Project (offered by the same group that is sponsoring the Sketchbook Project). Each of the 417 participants received 3 small 4x4" canvasses along with 3 words that had been randomly assigned. The goal was to visually interpret those 3 words and return the canvasses by September 1. The canvasses will be on display at the Brooklyn Art Library on December 3 and will be published in the upcoming book, "Canvas Projects Encyclopedia Volume 2".

I was excited to find out my three words:

Empower
Vamoose
Black Walnut

I was not excited on August 28 to remember they were due on September 1. I hadn't done a single thing to the blank canvasses except stash them in a box where they'd be safe from my other art studio hijinx.

Red alert! Vite! Andale, andale! Chop, chop! Tick, tock! There's no time like the present! Godspeed, Cindy Pestka!

In a flurry of caffeine-fueled inspiration, here's what I came up with:

An unruly bird pulling along a banner:

A ruly bird in a power circle:

The chemical formulation for black walnut ink written with India Ink on black walnut ink stained tape:

The happy trio just before I stashed them in a box and ran to the Post Office:

The website says "due by August 31" but my letter also said "must be postmarked by September 1". I am SERIOUSLY hoping that includes the day of September 1 because that's when they went out.

Perfect Pairs: Purple Peaks

2010-09-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

Purple & green Yaba Ding Ding from the Caribbean

Purple & green flower from Washington State

Colors of Summer

2010-09-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Murals near the Kirkland marina:

This flower box...

and this mailbox definitely belongs on Artgirl Island!

Perfect Pairs: Curvy Pink

2010-09-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

Graffiti in Georgetown

Bleeding hearts in Capital Hill

Expressions of Peace

2010-09-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Public art in Kirkland

Still more cool trash!

2010-08-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

More colorful stuff for my Sketchbook Project:

Green junk!

Yellow junk!

Brown & blue junk!

Pink & red junk!

Every color junk!

I can't wait to start playing around with my treasures.

Really cool trash

2010-08-30T05:00:00.001-07:00

I'm excited to be part of the 2010 Sketchbook Project (see here for more details). There were tons of categories to sign up for; I chose "I'm a Scavenger" because, well, I'm a scavenger. I love finding oddball bits and bobs on the ground, on the beach, in my junk mail pile...

My sketchbook is due back at Sketchbook Headquarters at the end of the year, so my plan (and it's working perfectly) was to gather up a big bag of scavenged treasures during the summer and then work on my journal in the fall.

Curious about what I'd amassed so far, I emptied out my bag o' goodies and found I really had collected some cool stuff to work with. Given my obsession with sorting art supplies by color, here's a sampling of what I've collected so far:

A new obsession...SECURITY ENVELOPES! They are so cool inside. They almost make getting bills fun...almost.

Now I know the first question you're going to ask is, "Hmm, if you're supposed to put your payment into these envelopes and mail them, and you have so many unmailed envelopes, just how many unpaid bills do you have?" Never fear, Gentle Readers, one gets many more requests for payment than one actually owes (suspicious "charities", magazine renewals, "If you act now" credit card offers...) so one may accumulate a healthy pile of security envelopes without ruining one's credit score.

Here's an assortment of snippets of brochures, junk mail, catalogues, used label detritus, an old bookmark and burst balloons:

A disassembled greeting card and root beer carton along with a velvet watch band, fake credit card, gift tag and empty matchbook:

More security envelopes...isn't the variation in design amazing? My favorite is the 4th from the right that looks like little penguins.

Inserts from a pair of gloves, airtight aluminum seal from a big can of peanuts, cording from an old tote bag:

More cool stuff tomorrow...

Volunteer Park

2010-08-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

I recently breezed through the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park for the first time in a LONG time. I say "breezed" because it was 7 minutes until closing time and the place is NOT small. Here's a little sample of the outside of the building and its environs, including a lily pad pond.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the way these panels are printed to look like birds are casting shadows on them:

Okay, I'm making this up but this door must have been at least 30 feet tall, at least! At least!

I'd like to say that the blurriness in this photograph was part of an intentional artsy look, but I think I just moved my camera trying to capture the fish:

Proof of above theory...no fish = no blurriness

Blurry = fish

Perfect Pairs: Traveling

2010-08-27T05:00:00.002-07:00

A kiddie "car" at a playground

Converging railroad tracks in Kirkland

Perfect Pairs: Don't Belong

2010-08-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

The small balcony in my work building

A marina

Perfect Pairs: Yaba Ding Dings

2010-08-25T05:00:00.001-07:00

Remember this post about why pottery shards are called Yaba Ding Dings? Well, here's a perfect pair of them:

Yellow pottery shards found on Washington beaches

150-year-old transferware pottery shard found on St. Eustatius

Urban texture

2010-08-24T05:00:00.001-07:00

Perfect Pairs: Faux Monet

2010-08-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

Single flower in a park

View from a small bridge on a campus

Lisa + Cindy = McGyver

2010-08-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

My old, old garbage disposal began leaking like a sieve. I tried slapping plumber's epoxy over the hole, but when the diverted water started coming out by the electrical cord I realized it would be better to fork over money for a new one rather than, say...GET ELECTROCUTED.

Luckily for me, a coworker gave me a gently used replacement unit...so as long as I could take out the old one and put in the new one, this little adventure wouldn't cost me a dime.

Taking the old one out was easy-peasy. Putting the new one in THEORETICALLY would be easy (the fittings were the same) but trying to hoist the heavy little bugger up in the tight undersink space AND turn the fitting at the top proved too much for me to do alone.

Enter my dear friend Lisa Hilderbrand who came over today to help me plan my backyard garden, lovingly known as the "jungle slope from hell." For about an hour she walked around, making mental notes and saying things like, "We'll put 3 australopithicus northwesticus right there and how about a row of gianticus juniperiatium along here". When she was finished we came inside for a beverage and I showed her the gaping hole in my sink.

"If I had a little help," I started out hopefully, "I probably wouldn't have to hire a plumber."

Lisa gamely got down in front of the sink and surveyed the scene. I suggested a team approach. I would lay down in the cabinet with my head directly under the big gaping hole and push the big heavy disposal unit up against the retaining collar which she would quickly move into a locked position. My thinking was that I could bench press more weight straight up than I could at a weird angle.

And while that may be true in theory, in actuality it was a really bad idea. For one, I didn't exactly fit in the small cabinet. Second, the human body is not built to lay with the head and shoulders inside a cabinet and the remaining body 6 inches lower on the floor. And third, it occurred to me that more than one Darwin award had been posthumously given to someone who offed themselves by dropping something really heavy onto their face in a confined space.

After a few minutes of struggling, I extricated myself. Lisa said, "It's too heavy to hold, let's put in on this box for support." So we layered a wooden cutting board on top of a cardboard box...which helped but was still about 2 inches too low.

Then Lisa had the brilliant idea of using LEVERAGE rather than brute strength. "Give me a 2x4," she crisply ordered, much like a surgeon requesting a scalpel. Having at least one of EVERYTHING in my house, I was able to smartly grab a board that was about 8 feet long which she wedged between the cutting board and the disposal unit.

We pushed down on the long end and sure enough, the disposal unit moved up and it came SO CLOSE...but unlike horseshoes and hand grenades, merely close was not going to be good enough.

"How about the jack in my car?" I asked.

"Is it hydraulic?" Lisa wanted to know. Lisa is not afraid of big, noisy tools.

"Hydraulic?" I thought. "What else does that woman have in her trunk?" But I merely said, "Uh, no...it's...you know...one of those little crank-it-up-a-millimeter-at-a-time kinds."

"Well, let's try it."

So we did...

And we kept cranking, higher and higher, until it was wedged firmly against the metal collar.

And then we were able to twist the little retaining gizmo into place and voila...it worked! Look, ma...NO HANDS!

We were so damn McGyver we could hardly stand ourselves!

And then I did what I always do when I figure out a little challenge like this. I look for other "nails" to proudly hit with my new "hammer". "What else do you think we could use my car jack for?" I asked Lisa.

"Holding up a sofa or chair when a leg breaks," came immediately to Lisa's mind.

I glanced around my house; sadly, no hoisting opportunities presented themselves. All of my couch legs were intact...and everything else in the house seemed to be at the right height.

No worries, though...it can't be long before something else breaks and when it does I know my inner McGyver (and probably my friend Lisa) will save the day.

Funky Urban Greenery

2010-08-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Oddball graffiti, murals and signs around town:

On a railroad car:

On a bank:

In front of a business:

And what is the deal with this hooded cat-monster? I see it all over the place.

Wall near abandoned railroad tracks:

Perfect Pairs: Blue & White

2010-08-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

Planter on main street on Vashon Island

Statue on side of St. John's Catholic church

Eco Wrapping

2010-08-20T05:00:00.001-07:00

I made a pair of earrings for a friend recently and didn't have a small gift box for them. I did however have about 2 million corrugated cardboard coffee holders from my 2 million drive through trips through the Giant-Coffee-Franchise-That-Shall-Remain-Nameless-But-Is-Very-Well-Known-In-Seattle-Whose-Name-Has-Something-To-Do-With-Moby-Dick. I keep meaning to do something really, really clever and eco-heroic with them...meanwhile they made the perfect little cushy container for the earrings.

And any moment I'm going to be struck with inspiration on what to do with the other 1,999,999 of the little suckers.

Georgetown Earthtones

2010-08-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

Captured this king of the forest:

Captured this little golden purrbox who didn't want to be captured:

Wasn't hard to capture this raku pot:

...or this metal flower:

...or this cast cross planted in a section of terra cotta pipe:

...or this uncommonly dark little plant:

It WAS hard to capture the dewdrops on a spider's web:

Signs I can believe...

2010-08-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

Clearly someone did NOT slow down...

I have no trouble believing this one...

Perfect Pairs: Wet!

2010-08-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah, it rains a lot up here...but then things look like this...so here is a little refreshment for those of you suffering through the dog days of summer:

Truth in advertising

2010-08-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

Ya gotta love the keyboard someone painted around the entire perimeter of this piano shop:

Lincoln in a "toe" truck...get it? I know, I know, the creator of this sign should be "pun-ished".

Perfect Pairs: Portholes

2010-08-15T05:00:00.001-07:00

Through a plexiglass window in a playground

Through a port on the stern of a cruise ship

Skis and crutches! Crutches and skis!

2010-08-14T05:00:00.001-07:00

You gotta love this crazy light fixture over the entrance to a club in Fremont. If you look closely you'll see it's made out of SKIS and CRUTCHES...and then more CRUTCHES and SKIS. I'm thinking there's a darn good story behind this crazy concoction.

Excuse me...is that a bug on your nose?

2010-08-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

Isabelle has forgotten her manners and is staring at the caterpillar on the lion's nose.

Singing the blues

2010-08-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

From my collection, a small sampling of blue beach glass and other found objects...notice the little ceramic animal head?

A closeup of the mosaic on the Kirkland Public Library:

A woebegone skein of yarn near a Michael's craft store:

Natural blue beauty:

Unnatural blue beauty:

From a playground:

I love the diffuse, shimmery effect of the actual water over the word:

Bling s'il vous plait!

2010-08-11T05:00:00.001-07:00

Closeups of a necklace I made. I love the old French coin with the hole in the center.