Sketchbook Sketchbook

Working on faces and facial expressions. It's damn hard! (I apologize for the explicit language, but it was necessary.) But I really kind of love it.. once I get some more practice I think I'll be able to develop my style and do some killer work :) Let's hope.. haha (my sketchbook is a book by the way. sorry for the text :))

Am I a Feminist?

I'm not exactly positive of what the strict denotative definition of "feminism" is.. but I would say that I believe all people should be equal, and honestly that's not true in either regard in most situations in today's society. If anyone feels up to a deep, intellectual conversation discussing theories of life and identity, please hit me up, because I'm dying to have one.

Fashion

I don't know why it is but for some reason I haven't been able to stop myself from lurking fashion blogs all week. This is my favorite. ( http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/2009/10/on-streetvia-manin-milano.html )

Mmm art.

Barnett Newman.. some of his stuff is awesome, some I'm not such a fan of. I do love his Stations of the Cross though. He was raised Jewish, and lived around the time of the second world war, so he lost family in the Holocaust and it really affected him. He saw the Stations of the Cross as this kind of universal beacon of hope and was struggling with how to deal with the war and what it meant so this series was the result. He of course was a color field painter who was known for his "zips" (large paintings with a thin line, or "zip" of color). I wish I had more time to talk about this but I don't, so please enjoy a few of this series. (one and two)

I Thought This Was Awesome.

New York was found to be the least happy state in the nation (although while I was there, I was one happy New Yorker!), so this New York magazine wrote an article about 50 things to make you feel happier. Some of them made me chuckle,

(4. “Leave your mouth in that slightly upturned position it takes after saying ‘Cheez Whiz.’ It’s a relaxed, confident look that will convince other people you know what you’re doing.” —Debra Benton, Executive Coach)

so please check it out :) http://nymag.com/health/features/63043/

Platypus.

Someone brought up the platypus in one of my classes today and it dawned on me that I honestly know very little about these fantastic creatures. Therefore, I took it upon myself to become informed! And inform you!

-they only live in Eastern Australia
-they live on the edges of rivers and freshwater lakes

-males have a sharp, hollow, pointy spur inside both hind ankles which contains a very strong toxin that can be used against predators and is extremely harmful to humans

-can eat their own body weight in food in one night

-it is considered a mammal even though it lays eggs

And there you have it.

Fashion..

Yes, yes. Every once in awhile I can't help myself I must lurk some online fashion catalogues like Toast (which is my favorite because of their awesome photography). So let them inspire you like I let them inspire me? More here: http://www.toast.co.uk/catalogues/SS10/spring+summer+2010.htm

Oh, and of Course I Bought One :)

My very own I heart NY t-shirt !!

Road Trip to NYC

As many of you know, and many of you don't... this was the weekend of the Ultimate Road Trip IV for St. Francis :) It's a trip where a city is chosen out of a hat when we're on the bus, and we go there! (Hate to ruin the secret, but obviously they chose it a few days in advance to properly be able to plan out the trip). Anywho, the city chosen this year was NEW YORK CITY! So Friday night we drove up, spent Saturday there, and drove back Saturday night. New York is amazing. There were so many people and buildings and lights and noises I could barely take it all in! I wish we had been able to stay longer because there was more I wanted to do.. but I had a blast nevertheless! I almost got mugged in Chinatown, I ate authentic Italian pizza in Little Italy, I saw Ground Zero, I took a stroll through Central Park, I wandered Times Square, I window shopped on 5th Avenue, I rode the subway many a time, watched people ice skate in Rockefeller Plaza.. the list goes on! Long story short, great day. :)

Installations..

..are cool! Especially when they're done by Sandy Skoglund. Please check her out! http://www.sandyskoglund.com/

Jeanne-Claude and Christo.

These two fantastic artists.. one of which who died last fall :( .. have done some incredible installations throughout the world. Keep in mind these are huge, often stretching for miles. They mostly use fabric and they are completely self-funded. I would do an awful job at explaining them, so please check them out :) http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/ (pictured is an installation they did with giant umbrellas in Japan :] )

Armsrock

COOLEST GUY. Found him on Juxtapoz. Here's what they said about him:

"Armsrock (Denmark,1984-) works with drawing as a means of communication and exploration. He is a collector of fragmentary visual information and a maker of archives. Through interventions in urban space and large-scale indoor installations, he explores and challenges some of the grimmer aspects of the human condition" Yeah. In other words, he's super awesome.

My Type.

I am archer hairline. I know this isn't anything important, but I thoroughly enjoyed doing this. If you're interested in fonts and personalities, you will too. http://www.pentagram.com/what-type-are-you/

On A Lighter Note..

I love this room. My mom is a clean freak who hates clutter, but I like having my things around me. My mess is organized. Like.. hey, this is an aesthetically pleasing piece of chaos. I planned this mess. It will be great being able to organize my life the way I want, although for now I must abide by her rules. I really do like this room though. Calming. Found it on http://www.weheartit.com but just a warning it loads slow as crap.

Really Quickly..

I just have to let out some of my pet-peeves. Some days it just drives me nuts! Please don't be offended if you do any of these things, I probably love you, I just have to vent a little bit.

1. Repeating things. Repetition. Saying the same thing to me over and over. I can hear you, and I understand you, and I will remember. If I don't understand, I will ask you a question, so please note that I am a competent human being who pays attention when you speak. Repetition. And redundancy. Don't tell me something then explain the exact same thing two seconds later in different words. I GOT IT. Please.

2. Talking in a baby voice to me. I don't mind talking in weird voices sometimes or accents, because I do it too. But talking like a baby is for babies and dogs. Leave it at that, please. If I have to stomach much more of it in my daily life I just may explode.

3. Being way to close to me. Honestly, respect my space. Don't grab and squeeze me when you know I'm irritated just because it makes you laugh. It hurts and makes me pissed at you. If I look kind of growly, you may not want to assault me and shake the crap out of me. Or punch me in the arm super hard. Or try to tickle me. HANDS OFF. I have a bubble you know.

4. Not texting me back. Now understandable if you don't have your phone or you're busy or something, but if you have been consistently texting me relitavely promptly then all of a sudden all communication ceases and I have no explanation and you ignore me for three days, it makes me depressed and confused. I would much rather have you tell me that you're done talking and you'll text me when you're ready.

5. Last one for the day, insincerity. Being fake. There is nothing I hate more than to tell a story or have a conversation with a person and think that they were genuinely interested then later find out they told someone what a complete babbling bore I am. Be honest with me. I've been told that I'm harder to deal with because of my honesty, and I'm not rude like you may think, but if you ask me if your pants make your butt look big, and they do, I may suggest another pant. I would want you to do the same for me. Stop being fake to me and be a real human. I don't want to live with stepford robots.

Alright, time to put bitter Molly back in the closet. But forrealzies, please avoid doing these things around me and let me know ways that I can improve for you dearies :) Sorry this was soo long!

Thinking About Summer..

New series of blogs about summer. Amidst this freezing snow-stormy hellish nightmare weather (obviously I am not a winter person.), I have been dreaming of the warmth and freedom of summer. There is quite a bit to think about too! So every once in awhile I'll toss one in here or there :)

1. I want to have flowers.. everywhere. All over my room, all over my clothes. Everywhere. Floral.

2. For some reason I really really want a one piece swim suit like this one from Victoria Secret... don't judge me.

I've Lost My Marbles!

Not really. But I sure do love marble sculptures! They're all so smooth and gorgeous. I want to touch them all! ( I think technically one of these is porclein... oh well :] )

George Inness.

More lovely landscapes for your enjoyment :)