More Favorite Things

I love Etsy's articles in Quit Your Day Job! It's inspiring to read about other artists who have dedicated themselves to their art to the point where they were able to take the plunge and quit their day job. Not that I want to quit my day job... I like the people I work with, and I have my very own desk for once, but there's something about reading what their average day is like. Oh, the freedom to come and go, and create all day! Or most of the day. There's that business-y type stuff that has to be done. Overall, Etsy is a great site.

Another great site is Craftzine' blog. I've been getting into the habit of checking out the site every other day, but if I'm at work, then everyday. It is filled with everything from art techniques, recipes, artists, shows, growing houseplants, mending sweaters, EVERYTHING! Just look to the right for a very long list of categories.

Writing

I love Miranda July. Ever have a weird, off-the-wall thought and wonder "what the hell"? Then you quickly throw it out of your head and try to think about something normal like buying coffee or doing laundry. Well, Miranda July takes those weird thoughts and turns them into stories. I just finished No One Belongs Here More Than You, and I must say, I am encouraged to hold on to my weird thoughts. They're not that bad...

Contradiction?

So this is odd: A new shop I like is called Necromance and it's a taxidermy-type shop. (I saw it on L.A. Ink.) Yes, I'm a vegetarian, but I would never buy the baby chick or duck in a box, or a piglet in a jar, but I would buy the seahorse. I need the seahorse. I also need the Phrenology head. I know phrenology is a dead science, but the head is just so cool. It would be great to model off the hats Dante or I make.

I love odd things.

Favorite Things

I love to get lost in other artists' blogs and through mazes of links in search of great art and things that make me happy just by looking at them. I came across a great shop, Egg Mercantile, and it has become a new favorite. I'd like one of everything from there, but to the left is my first choice. It's a tray that can be used or hung on the wall. But it's too beautiful to put food on top of! And at 98,00 euros (plus shipping), I don't think anything should touch it.

And then there's the artist, Lyndie Dourthe (right). I always feel happy when I look at her website. I wonder how I'd feel if I owned one of her pieces?!

Next up is Something's Hiding in Here, a husband and wife team who make things I think I need. And I do need them. Who doesn't need a wooden mustache on a stick? I also need their loft. It's one of the most amazing live/work lofts I've seen. What makes it beautiful is it's open, clean, and everywhere you look, there is something interesting, something beautiful.
~Linda

Dedication

I haven't been dedicated to this blog for quite some time, but I will change!! Really I will.
I won't gab about what has been happening, but I will gab about what will be happening. I decided to be a good person and think about events in advance and prepare for them. My favorite event is Dia de los Muertos, held annually since 2005 and run by a wonderful group of artists. Dante will be in charge of the graveyard next year and so I plan to build a mausoleum. Yes! A mausoleum!
But since it's a huge project, I will build a miniature mausoleum first. I started an online search for small things like picture frames, chandeliers, lit sconces, and wallpaper. I came across the artist Diane Almeyda who I think is insane in a good way. See this?
Wouldn't it look nice in a mausoleum? It's sterling silver and glass, and is also a little over 1 and a half inches in diameter!!! See? Insane. I don't know how much this lamp costs, but her other miniature lamps run $1000 to $2800. I assure you I have the right number of zeros.
So since I can't afford the luxury of a 1 inch high lamp, I may have to make a bootleg version. And while I was getting lost looking at miniatures online, I can't help but feel that I may just make a lot of the pieces instead of buying them. Will I have time to make the life-size mausoleum? Will I even want to make a life-size mausoleum? Well, I have a year.

-Linda

I Was Discriminated Against!

It was at J. Crew, and it was class-discrimination! Yup. Apparently I look poor.

So my friend, Shezza, and I walk into a J. Crew at the God-forsaken Crocker Park in Westlake. (Why were we there, you ask? We saw online some dresses that would make great wedding dresses for the beach, that's why.) We walk all over the place to get the dress we saw in the outside window. No "hello" from the sales people, no offers for help. (I really don't care about that. I prefer to be left alone when I shop. Less pressure, you know?) We find the dress, pick a couple sizes and head off to the fitting room. There was no attendant, so we walk in and find an empty room. There's a couple of tops in it, but I'm thinking it's like all the other stores: people leave them in there. Well, no. We find out later that the sales people pick up stuff that customers are carrying to "start a dressing room". Then when the customer is ready, they get a little bottle of water, put it in the dressing room, then get the customer. What service!
So I walked into a dressing room that was already started for another customer. I was oblivious to all of this, but Shezza saw it all. The saleswoman brings in the customer and says "I'll show you to your dressing room." While I'm down the hall looking at myself in the 180 mirror, Shezza is looking back as the woman goes up to the dressing room where my stuff is in. She sees my clothes piled on the plush seat. She didn't seem too happy. She takes the customer's clothes out and apologizes to the customer that someone took her dressing room. The customer replied that it was ok, "It's not your fault".
And Shezza took a catalog from an empty dressing room. The sales lady didn't like that either...
So anyway, the dress fit perfectly, I'm unaware of what just happened, and Shezza said the place was creepy. I asked if it was because she heard that little girl answer a cell phone in the next dressing room.
So I go to the checkout. The woman asks me who helped me. I said, "noone" and she paused uncomfortably. Then the transaction went on as normal. I even got $20 off the dress! And I don't know why. It wasn't listed as on sale. This place may not be so bad after all. But then she put my receipt in a tiny hunter green envelope with J. Crew on it and handed it to me. I think the receipt doesn't want to touch the other receipts...
So we walk out and Shezza tells me everything that happened. I'll send a complaint to J. Crew. Maybe they'll send me a gift card. Maybe my dignity is worth $20 off.

-Linda

A Dream I Had

Last night I dreamt I moved into a house. There was the thought that my brother and a bunch of other guys were renting it out before Dante and I bought it. The place was very dirty. As if it's been exposed to the out side. There was dirt, twigs, pebbles. Cobwebs everywhere with those little "wishy" dandelion fuzzy things stuck in them. But the house was very interesting. Balconies inside, large windows. Green carpeting. There was an immense fireplace in the living room. It was white marble with stairs leading into it. There was a white marble Guan Yin statue seated in the middle of it.
I decided to get started on cleaning the place. I new it would look great once it was cleaned. I though it had huge potential. I sat on a sofa across from the fireplace. Then I heard an angry, deep, demonic voice say "Out!". I looked at the fireplace and wondered if it came from there, and whether I was making things up. I realized I wasn't. The voice repeated, "Out!" Then a wind started to come from the fireplace. I stood up and the wind increased. I faced the fireplace and said, "No, because God is here." As I said this, my breath was being taken away and it was hard to speak.
I woke up in my bed unable to move. My heart pounding.

So what was that supposed to mean?!

-Linda