Meditation in Graphite

Some spontaneous Springtime weather snuck up on me this afternoon.  It inspired me to walk the mile to Freddy's and grab some salad makings.  I walked back home, threw together an AMAZING salad and then showed it who's boss.  (ME.  I am boss.)

A bit of inspiration started creeping in last night and today I was able to capitalize on it after dinner.  I got fantastically sucked into this drawing and had the wherewithal to photograph the process.  So, for funsies:

 

 

Portrait 4.15.13

Graphite on Paper

18" x 24"

I rather like this drawing.

Oh, and have I mentioned I love nostrils?  It's my new thing.

XOXO

Don't Let Furniture [di]Stress You Out

I am notorious for starting projects and not finishing them.  Or, wanting to start projects and never starting them.  The fact that I not only began but COMPLETED a project I've been thinking about for years is a tremendous feat all its own.  The resulting fantastically awesome piece of furniture is just a bonus.

I forgot to take a picture of the dresser before I removed all the drawers and I didn't feel like putting them back in just for a photo.  So here are the "before" photos, getting prepped to paint:

 

 

I bought it several years ago at Hawthorne Vintage while I was still living in The Hut.  I liked the way the bold blue color looked on the black and white checkered floors.  But once I got it in my room here at The Brain, it just didn't hold together very well with the décor.  I've been wanting to distress a piece of furniture for a long time, so it seemed like the perfect time.

 

 

Nelle also had a piece she wanted to distress so we brought the dressers to her house and over a few sporadic sessions not without many, many beers and bonfires, I distressed the crap out this already pretty damn awesome piece of furniture.

 

 



Here are the steps to distressing from a total amateur who has never done this before:

1. Paint everything white (or whatever color you want the piece to be).  I did two coats for evenness.
2. Let it dry so it's fully set.  I left it for several days.
3. Start with a coarse sandpaper and sand the places where you want the wear.  It helps to be delicate with the coarse sandpaper -- too much pressure and it'll take off the color underneath.
4. Go over everything with a medium-grit sandpaper to refine the worn areas.
5. Finish with a very fine sandpaper to smooth out rough edges and snags.  Wipe everything down with a cloth.
6. I topped it off with vintage-inspired knobs from Hippo Hardware (which, by the way, is the best place ever on earth, EVER. http://www.hippohardware.com/index.htm?lmd=40605.680382).  For variety I used five of the clear glass fluted knobs, two clean-lined metallic grey knobs, and *one* clear glass amethyst colored knob and mixed them up.  Finished with the badass gilded mirror I bought the same day I bought the couch.

I love it!  It's perfect in my bedroom.  Once I make the room not a total $#!t hole anymore, I'll post a pic.

Holy $#!t It's Been a While

So.

It's been six months.

I know I kind of fell off the face of the earth for a while... But I hope you trust I have been productive and buzzing with creativity in addition to making some major life changes.  And I have not forgotten the beloved Teapot.

First off: the Boy and I broke up and he moved out.  I won't go into detail but it's important to note we are still wonderful friends.  I've been living alone in The Brain (what I have now dubbed the place that houses my Mess and me) since early January.  I am totally loving it.  It's been a while since I've lived alone, truly alone, and there is no other way to describe the feeling than it being overwhelmingly the most perfect thing for me right now.

Secondly, my levels of inspiration and creativity have spiked drastically.  I'm painting like a fiend, writing up a storm, and drawing like a madwoman.  I made it my Official 2013 Goal to paint two paintings per month.  So far I'm almost on track -- two in January, one in February, two in March.  If I do three in April I'll be good to go but I'm feeling really great about the progress nonetheless.  I have been posting the pictures on Facebook but I'll put them here too.  To say I am excited about the recent paintings is a stupidly massive understatement.

Thirdly, I've been doing more reading, thinking and pondering.  I have thus far categorically rejected the concept of Time (it simply does not exist), reinforced the power and magnitude of soul connections, and embraced my deep, unrealized love for the perfume "Fame" by Lady Gaga.  (I know, go figure...)  There is more, a lot more, to say about topics falling into the "existential" realm but I will discuss those at a later time. 

Lastly, I bought myself a computer.  A new computer.  A little 15.6-inch HP laptop with Windows 8.  I would like to note how monumental this is.  This is not only the first computer I have ever bought, ever, but the only computer I've ever used that is mine and only mine, not shared, nor used for other things like work or school.  The feeling of purchasing my own computer with my own money for my own purposes is a fantastic feeling.  Powerful, big, "grown up."  Still not sure what being an "adult" means, but I'm getting closer to understanding, I think... maybe......

(Do we ever feel like "adults?")

I hope to do some more regular writing and posting on the wee Teapot, the poor neglected thing... The good thing about her is she doesn't judge me, and has waited quietly and patiently for my return. 

More to follow.

xoxo

Couch Recon: Complete

I bought a couch.

It was the ugliest colored one in the store.

It was love at first sight, and now it's MINE.

Operation: Couch Reconnaissance began harmlessly doing just that -- checking out what my options are, getting a sense of what I want, etc etc.  We went to Consigned Home Furnishings (I HIGHLY recommend this store if you're looking for furniture -- every piece is unique and really cool, some stuff is new, some used, and because it's consignment if they don't sell stuff in a certain amount of time they start marking it down a LOT).  Brother went with me and we weren't fifty feet into the store when he sat on this one and said "Hey what about this one?"  I, uh, well, it's -- It's .... Kind of awesome.....?

I sat on it, and it was all over.

Nobody in their right mind ever plans to buy a GOLD couch, but what was I to do?

Love is love.

Okaaay, it actually was NOT the ugliest colored couch in the store.  The Ugly Winner by far is a two chair and couch set made of --- waaaaait for it -- BABY PINK MOHAIR.  

Did you just throw up in your mouth a little?  I did.

Apple Festival 2012

Saturday October 20, 2012

I said it before and I'll say it again: I freaking LOVE the Apple Festival.

And Autumn.  I freaking.  LOVE.  AUTUMN.

<3

Heh.

Breathtaking!

This is why I live here.

I Write Letters to People, Though I Rarely Intend to Send Them

September 29, 2012

Dear Jamie,

We're having Santa Cruz weather and it conjures so quickly those feelings I used to have when I'd start my mornings on foot and soak up the beach air along the riverbed.  The exact same feelings!  Distinct and specific, marking a time so distinct to my memory it almost makes me well up with that combination of sad-happy (sappy?); marking the transition into something big and important, that I would not know until much later how big and important it truly was: art school, making art constantly, forging friendships with some of the most influential people in my life, including you, and making art together.  Doesn't it feel weird?  That times are so distant?

The clouds are low and warm grey.  It feels like the beach could be right around the corner.

In my dreams, right?

Love,
P

A Blessed Unrest

Another one from J.

Another one that speaks to my soul.

"There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.  If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium.  It will be lost.  The world will not have it.  It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable it is, nor how it compares with other expressions.  It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.
You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work.  You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motive you.  Keep the channel open.  There is no satisfaction whatever at any time.  There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive."

-Martha Graham to Agnes de Mille