All last week I was away to San Francisco, where the husband partook in the Game Development Conference (that’s what my “nerd” tweets were all about ~ god save the nerds!).
During the day, I worked from the hotel and did the occasional wandering. Below are some shots I took with my iPhone. Cuz that’s really all I use as a camera anymore.
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Japanese influence… clockwise ~ I’m feeling a bit “lost in translation”; Yoppi kawaii “wall” yogurt experience; handcrafted sushi from Delicia; large fabric lamp statues in Hotel Nikko
Haight Street… creepy dead things at loved to death, taxidermy/curiosity shop; adorably ridiculous “guard dog” at a salon that everyone was taking photos of so I did too
Alcatraz… left to right ~ me breaking free from this tiny hole of an “apartment”; Mike being silly; Mike being silly again; the Cellhouse, with pretty gardens in front; other shots of Alcatraz island
It was also radsicles to visit with Cindy Ann Ganaden of Blu Penny Blog. She’s a charmer and she shared with me that she only has a few more days left until she takes the plunge into full-time entrepreneurship! Go, grrrrl!
Getting back into the groove of things again. Looking forward to creating creating creating after a refreshing California trip! I have a lot of things in the hopper so best get to movin’. :)
I love the collision of fantasy and tradition that Solongo Mellecker has made into her own unique style.
Born in Mongolia, Solongo Mellecker now lives in Atlanta. She attended Savannah College of Art and Design and has been striving to incorporate her love of Western pop culture with the traditional methods & styles she grew up with. I’d say she’s succeeded.
More about that, but first…
My “traditional” days
I had a stint of trying out a traditional medium in my college days, but put my own spin on it. (See the rather angsty image above. Ha.) I enjoyed using egg tempera, the usual method for making Russian Orthodox Icons ~ paintings that awed and amazed me my entire young life, while going to church with my father.
There was something mysterious and magical about them ~ they shined, had an ancient, cracked look about them, and seemed painstaking to make. The use of icons at church seemed even more precious. They were kissed, they were knelt in front of, they were adorned with incense and flowers.
Russians sometimes speak of an icon as having been “written”, because in the Russian language (like Greek, but unlike English) the same word (pisat’, писать in Russian) means both to paint and to write. Icons are considered to be the Gospel in paint, and therefore careful attention is paid to ensure that the Gospel is faithfully and accurately conveyed. ~ Wikipedia
I used egg tempera in my own fast & furious ways. I didn’t have much patience for slow-drying oil paint and egg tempera dried faster, gave a similar shiny look, AND was less toxic.
Strangely, though, I enjoyed the slow process of creating the paint ~ cracking the egg, removing the whites by passing the yolk from shell to shell, then hand to hand, wiping my hands clean and then pinching the yolk to let the golden loveliness ooze out, mixing in the pigment to craft my very own paint.
Every once in a while I stumble across my pigments and think to try the method out again. Solongo’s paintings give me more of a longing to try out that traditional medium again, but maybe incite more fun and less angst.
Aren’t these fantastical?
(All images taken from Solongo’s site.)
I’m not sure if I’m feeling the end-of-winter blues or what but the past few days have felt morbid to me.
I decided to work through it by designing what I’m feeling and where I’d like to be, emotionally. I wanted to keep it simple and get back to basics ~ pop-like florals to contrast with neutral stripes & rain “dots”.
I keep peeking back at the bouncy floral from time-to-time and most likely will make a desktop wallpaper out of it. It’s like wonderfully cheery FREE color therapy.
Thank gosh ~ only a few more days left to winter! And more travel next week <3
Here’s a neat thing.
Odosketch is an online drawing tool and it seems to be hard to make something ugly with the palette and brushes provided. The results are so soft and soothing and it will be ridiculously difficult to stop playing with. There’s also a whole gallery of sketches by
Odosketch users where you can peruse for hours, seeing each sketch happen over time.
You’ve been warned of the awesomeness.
I made this iPhone background to remind me where I’m at… In case I forget.
It’s only a sketch that I did with various apps on my iPhone. It needs more blue sky and color.
It’s only a sketch that I did with various apps on my iPhone. It needs more blue sky and color.
“last night a hoop saved my life”
Here’s my latest work on shirty shirts for hoop dancers.
I’m digging the disco vibe, actually. It’s retro and kitsch and glittery and, WELL, just fantastical fun. Without glitter in my life, I think I’d be next to death.
This statement is pretty true for me, although melodramatically true ~ hoop dance has saved my life, one way or another.
Hoop dance has given me a focus that I never knew I had. It’s given me a purpose ~ a creative outlet. I love designing for other hoop dancers! And I love designing with my sister. Bonus.
It’s given me a way to exercise, dance, show-off and connect with others in a way that doesn’t (necessarily) require booze and dirty dancehalls.
It raises my confidence, it forces me to be in the moment (great for a brain that wants to hold too much all the time) and it tells me it’s OK if I continually mess up & drop it. Just pick it back up and try again.
Hooping & dance give me the balance I need in my solitary, computer-driven, “mini-screened” life. I know life without dance would be sad indeed.
I’m kinda digging on the work of “Live Painter” Michael Pukac right now. These paintings have a gypsy, steampunk, maritime, fantastical way about them.
I also love his art business story. (In short, never give up! Find a way to get your work out there and try it all until something works.)
Pukac discovered live painting as a way to promote himself and he hasn’t looked back. Inspiring! I’ve been thinking about doing live painting. It’d be so much fun to interact and get the word out there.
POPULAR FANCY GIFTS
