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May 30, 2008

Day 8

I mean really, sometimes having a small child around is like having a doll. And this is what I do with dolls:

Make cute little dresses!

Posted by libbystokes at 11:50 PM | Comments (0)

May 28, 2008

Day 6

This morning I finished the spiderweb hooks. It was a beast to hang, but I finally figured out a way of drilling holes halfway into the wood from the back and then screwing in these metal hooks to line up over the holes....yeah, stupid and complicated...and you don't care (who cares what's on the back anyway?).

And see that green lovely above it? That's a work by Jamie. I like Jamie. I like her work. I love that I have her work and that it is finally up. Yay. Speaking of other people's work... I also hung a sweet little painting that Stacy gave me from her senior show. I love love love it. It's the white one with purple bits. And then there is the beautiful sculpture near the bottom. Rebecca made that. I bought it. I think it is so gorgeous. Thank you Becca.

Posted by libbystokes at 11:02 PM | Comments (2)

May 27, 2008

Homegrown delights

This afternoon I enjoyed a few delicious surprises. First the sun came out. Then I put together a little salad of radish and alfalfa sprouts (both homegrown), accompanied by veggie burger patty (I know, but really, Amy's Chicago style veggie burger is the best I have EVER had) topped with two year old aged vintage white Tillamook Cheddar. Yum. It was a surprisingly delicious meal enjoyed in surprisingly nice weather. Perfect.

Posted by libbystokes at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)

Day 5

It's nearly the end of day 5 and I am feeling good. Satisfied and fulfilled. It doesn't really matter what I am making, it just matters that I am making.

Today I continued working on this piece. I painted a layer of gloss gel medium for shine. Then I started painting the dots for the web design.

This is the completed web pattern. I couldn't get a good picture of the thing without a glare, so this is a super clumsy shot. Bah.

I will be adding two little metal coat hooks in the bottom left corner, then this thing is going by my door. Functional art, huzzah!

Posted by libbystokes at 10:14 PM | Comments (1)

May 23, 2008

10 day challenge

Really it's just the 30 day challenge abbreviated. Amy and I are challenging each other to create one thing each day for ten days. As she is the writer, her task is to write at least 150 words each day and then email them to me. I'm supposed to take a picture of what I make and email it to her. Unfortunately I ran out of batteries for my camera, so there's no picture today. But I did make things.

I rescued a wooden box from the cheese department today, but it was missing it's lid. Enter the second green frame Kate found for me (the first became a clock). I ripped out the old canvas board from the frame and cut it down to size, then slid it into the grooves in the box to make a lid. A simple fix, but it makes all the difference. With it's rope handle (and if you throw in my old-school mason jar Nalgene) it could almost be a vintage lunch box. Or just a box with a handle...your choice.

Of course after ripping out the canvas, I had an empty frame. I discovered that a hand-printed card I had fit perfectly into another wood frame I had been looking to fill. I mounted the two frames together, one inside the other, on my wall, next to the IKEA mirror I finally got around to finishing (so that makes three projects completed).

With three projects done in an afternoon, I can't imagine that the creativity will always flow so freely. Nonetheless, I will try. I suppose, as I learned while doing the "100 things" project, that the value of making a lot is sometimes in stumbling across the few precious accidents. Plus, mistakes only make successes that much more exciting.

On with the challenge then!

Posted by libbystokes at 09:45 PM | Comments (0)

May 21, 2008

Made

I was getting pretty sick of the cheap and hideous IKEA clock I had in my room. It didn't match anything I had and I was ready to throw it away. But then Kate suggested that I just take the clock apart and make a new one. She had picked up two green frames on the sidewalk and so I used one of them to make a new clock! Huzzah!

Also, I drew this. I really haven't done any sort of life drawing in a long time, so this felt good.

Posted by libbystokes at 12:51 PM | Comments (1)

May 01, 2008

Cut and Dry

I am so for right and wrong and justice and fairness. And it's really frustrating that not everyone is that way. It's hard to have expectations that are different than others'. Why is it that so many important people are running around saying things like, "this is how it is going to be," but they're not doing much to make it that way? It's hard to want what is right, but to feel like you are pushing pushing pushing against what is reality and not getting anywhere at all. Like you are the only one still wearing your "Hello, my name is ____" sticker.

How much of justice is mine? What responsibility to it do I have? When do I let up, sit back, do nothing, brush it off? My friend says to "just be yourself, don't let it frustrate you." But how can I do that when that is not me? It takes so much energy to care so much, and I am getting tired.

Posted by libbystokes at 11:48 PM | Comments (1)