Happy Halloween!

I carved this same face last October, but this year's came out much nicer:





He's not your traditional Jack-o-lantern, but Dwight Schrute can be very intimidating and scary.

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

An Early Halloween Treat!

I'm not the biggest fan of hard candy, but I do love the way it looks! Check out the candy makers at NYC's papabubble in the video below. Who knew candy making could be so artistic?

Let the wild rumpus start!

(Image from Hunt Famous)

When I was a kid, Where the Wild Things Are was my favorite book. According to my mom, I brought it home from the library several times before she finally broke down and bought me a copy. Unfortunately, she did not enjoy Maurice Sendak's classic as much as I did. She found the illustrations scary, and couldn't understand why her five-year-old daughter loved a book filled with such "creepy" monsters. Whenever I wanted WTWTA read to me, she'd suggest I ask my dad, who fortunately found reading it to be a fun experience.

Time eventually changed Mom and Dad's perspective of the book. Mom eventually sat down to really read it, and now loves it. Dad has completely forgotten he ever read WTWTA to me, and cannot remember a single thing about the book (to be fair, the last time he cracked it's cover was close to 20 years ago). Which is why I saw the movie with my mom while dad was at work.

(Image from Movie Crunch)

Here's my short review:
The Where the Wild Things Are movie is a beautiful adaption of a classic children's book, though it is definitely not for kids. There's no language or sex, and minimal violence, but the themes of loneliness and feeling life is beyond your control will likely be lost on younger viewers. Which is funny, because these concepts are exactly the sort of thing kids need to be reassured about. What child hasn't felt lonely at some point growing up, even when surrounded by people who love them? What kid doesn't act out at a situation beyond their control? WTWTA speaks to those kids, though they may not realize it until they're a bit older.

The Art of Elysium

A couple weeks ago I added a Social Vibe widget to my blog, and have gotten 38 clicks so far. These widgets are popping up all over Google hosted blogs, and help raise money for worthy causes. So when you see one, please click it!

I chose to support The Art of Elysium, a non-profit that provides creative workshops for children battling serious medical conditions. These kids are given instruction by professionals in the fields of the visual arts, acting, music, and creative writing during the most difficult time of their lives. Programs like these distract children from the anxieties caused by illness, and provide them with a creative outlet for expressing their hopes and fears.

Please check out The Art of Elysium website, and make a donation if you can. You can even send art or beauty supplies, books, costumes, or musical instruments. If you're in the Los Angeles area, you can also volunteer your time (as little as four hours a month).

Everything Must Go!

About twice a year something happens that triggers a massive cleaning of our house. This time it was my sister providing the family with her Birthday/Christmas list for the year. As I started penning my own Christmas list, I looked around the living room and suddenly noticed all the stuff that's accumulated: books we didn't enjoy, shoes that were hardly worn, trinkets that no longer fit the decor. An urge to rid the house of clutter took over, and I immediately signed onto my eBay and Amazon accounts. Now I just need to wait and see if things sell. If they don't, it's straight to Freecycle or AmVets, just in time for us to replace everything with new stuff at Christmas time.

Blog Action Day 2009: Climate Change

Today is Blog Action Day, "an annual event that unites the world's bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day" to raise awareness and create global discussion. This year's topic is Climate Change, a subject that I am deeply interested in.

Artists can impact climate change in big ways, from choosing environmentally-friendly supplies to creating work that sparks meaningful discussion of how we treat our planet:




My current work reflects on climate change and responsible use of Earth's resources. I've been experimenting with recycled materials, specifically magazine pages:



I love making art from magazines that would likely end up in a landfill or consume energy during the recycling process. They are also one-of-a-kind creations, since I can never recreate the exact same combination of pages.



And just because I love it:



This Current pod is one of my favorites. Visiting other countries really makes one stop and think about how most Americans live their lives. If we all lived on a little less, we could make a big impact on climate change.

Tear, Fold, Glue

This week I spent a few hours turning this...


... into this...



It's like hot glue magic!

Is there anybody out there?

I finally added a counter to the bottom of my blog last week. To my surprise, I have so far gotten over 200 visits, almost 190 of them unique hits.

There are so many questions running though my mind at the moment: Who are you people? Why don't you leave comments? What do I have to do to get you to follow this little blog?

Honestly, I don't really care how many visitors I get. I started this blog as a diary of sorts, a way for my family and friends to keep up with what I'm doing, and a way to keep myself accountable for starting (and finishing) projects. The counter was added out of morbid curiosity, and has been quite entertaining thus far.

So "Thank You" to those of you who are reading this, even if it's only once! Please explore my past posts, and comment on anything you like/dislike.

Goodbye, Irving Penn

(Photo from Yahoo! News)

Photographer Irving Penn died today at the age of 92.

I was introduced to Penn's work just a few short weeks ago after attending the Small Trades show at The Getty. Penn has since become one of my favorite artists. I've spent countless hours viewing his lovely black and white photos, which range from high fashion couture to everyday laborers.

I've also been inspired by Penn's amazing work ethic. He worked right up until his death, and was constantly in pursuit of the perfect print. Whenever I feel too tired to work on a project, I remind myself that Penn was 92 and still working hard. Certainly a healthy 25-year-old can do the same.

To honor Penn's memory I'm putting his book A Notebook at Random on my "To Read" list (I use the verb "read" a bit loosely here; the book is more visual than textual), and am planning another Getty trip before his show ends in January.


Autumn Distraction #1: The Getty (9/14/09)

Autumn Distraction #2: Library Books

The first book I borrowed from the San Diego Public Library system. So far, it's been an excellent pick!

Books have always been my biggest love. When I saw Beauty and the Beast as a kid, my most vivid memory of the movie was the Beast's library. I wanted those books. I was jealous of Belle for having unlimited access to that library. The fact that the entire scenario was a cartoon and fictional was irrelevant. (Actually, I'm still a bit jealous of her. How awesome would it be to own dishes that can wash themselves?)

Ever since then I've been assembling my own library. I've bought fiction, non-fiction, instructional books, coffee table books, textbooks... Everything from Harry Potter and biographies of Mark Twain, to writing style manuals and illustrated Renaissance art volumes. (My interests are varied, to say the least.)

Due to guilt and dwindling bank accounts, I've cut way back on my book buying habit. The guilt comes from my environmental streak (Printing new books uses a lot of resources), and the fact that I own books that I've never read. While I've been making a valiant effort at reading books I've already purchased, sometimes I'm in the mood for something different.

How to remedy this? Easy: get a library card. In less than 30 minutes I printed an application from the internet, filled it out, drove to my local branch, and received my first San Diego Public Libraries card. I've since mastered their online catalog, and figured out how to put books on hold. I'm even loving their three week due dates: Long, vaguely defined deadlines cause me to procrastinate. Tell me I have less than a month to read something, and I'll have it done in two weeks flat.

So thus far, my experience with San Diego's libraries has been a positive one. But we'll see how I feel the first time I pay an overdue fine.