There’s more creativity when there’s less opportunity.

Jack White

Ambiguity

Have you ever been walking down the same street you’ve walked down dozens of times, yet suddenly feel like your eyes have been opened and are seeing everything through a new set of eyes? Everything is beautiful. Not new - because you’ve seen that same black back sitting in the closed, abandoned bar for the past four months - but curious. Ambiguity is such a funny thing - behind every closed door is a story. Some are lonely, some are full of strife, others are full of genuine happiness. The walls of each room could tell a story if they could speak - instead, they remain silent bystanders, full of a history that the future occupant of such a room will never understand. 

I have always been drawn to stories. I love getting lost for a few hours in another person’s life. It makes me feel relatable. The interpretation of a character - a complex, made-up human being, is an idea I’ve only begun to explore. What are their stories? I want to be a story-teller through pictures.

Glithero

First of all - flammable, screen-printed paint?! The printmaker and pyro in me just made love.

Second, I love the transience of this. The idea of the process being the main event, not the finished piece itself. A process that intrigues the viewer and makes them feel as though they are part of the process simply by watching the event take place. That the process has an expiration, so to speak.

Jackie Tileston

I am loving these recent paintings by Jackie Tileston. The use of raw canvas is quite appealing and adds to the juxtaposition between organic landscape imagery and bold pattern. She cites Chinese landscape motifs among her influences (also one of my favorite sources of inspiration), which I definitely relate, but the colors along with the detail of some of the shapes remind me of some sort of Willy Wonka-esque dream tour. 

[The arts] are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.

Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country

Whimsical, indeed.

I love the idea of serendipitously finding tiny little pieces of life and art on random street corners. It’s kind of how I feel life is supposed to go.

I am so into the creepy, fluffed up doll thing. Always have been I guess, part of my penchant for costumery.

I love this video - partially for the visual appeal, and also because I completely understand the sentiment. Growing up in a pseudo-southern/religious culture where it’s common for girls in their late teens and early twenties to “settle down” - because that’s what good girls do - it’s refreshing to be in an environment where that’s relatively uncommon. I’ve had several personal experiences with people I’ve known taking the former route, or at least “accepting” that it’s how they’re “supposed” to act, and it makes me wonder - where are all the strong women in this world? I don’t mean strong in the sense that everyone has to portray themselves as masculine (because that’s not the definition of strong), but women who own themselves and find what they’re passionate about and pursue it with zeal. That could mean something completely different for two different people, but women who only aspire to deem themselves worth something if they’re with someone: come on, girls.  You can do better than that. For yourself, not for anyone else. You’re young! Be selfish to a certain extent. Find out what you want first of all. The rest will fall in place as it’s supposed to, but don’t be afraid to fail. It’s scary, I know, but the learning experiences are worth it. And yes, it’ll be sloppy.

Feeling like more of a feminist today than my usual feminist self thanks to the delightfully loud Margaret Cho. Go girl, “rightfully lose [that] shit.”

It feels like being reunited with an old friend. One who knows you better than you know yourself. Knows your weaknesses, your strengths, and you seem to always learn something when you spend time together. About yourself, about the way things are. Never repetitive, but always contemplative. When you end your time together, it feels like you know that was where you were supposed to be at that time - the world stopped; nothing else mattered.

Drawing… it’s nice to see you again. I’ve been missing you a lot lately. Let’s do this all the time. And let’s keep it messy. Let’s invite painting next week. And, in a month or so, we’ll ask printmaking to come along too.

Time to get the party started. Time to get to work.

Touch of Evil: Cinematic Villainy From the Year's Best Performers
designersof: One from a series of type pieces I’m doing for work - all inspirational quotes about design. Love this one… helps me out every time I read it!!See more of my work here Can I get a HOLLAAA!

designersof:

One from a series of type pieces I’m doing for work - all inspirational quotes about design. Love this one… helps me out every time I read it!!

See more of my work here

Can I get a HOLLAAA!

Because life is a stage, why not wear a costume?