2009 - A Year in Review

On January 1, 2009, I declared that this year would be "The Year of Awesome" and it really has been amazing and unbelievable. I believe sometime in the spring I renamed 2009 to be "The Year of the Flight" since I was fortunate enough to go on various flights and roadtrips. I've been to Washington D.C., Kansas City, Flint, New Orleans, and Richmond. I've traveled more this year than any other year of my life and I've loved every mile. Of course, it was exhausting and my husband was relieved to hear that I don't want to go anywhere for awhile (packing for another roadtrip as I type, hah). This next short roadtrip will be a nice ending to my year of the flight.

Also in 2009, I was fortunate enough to: spend lots of time with relatives in other states, catch up with old friends on various social networking sites, watch my daughter grow and learn and experience life, attend school (finished my first year, huzzah!), celebrate the 5th year of marriage with my husband, make art and take some great photographs, learn more about myself, see a few great concerts (Ryan Adams and the Cardinals*, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Hope Sandoval, to name a few), paint two sets for plays, paint plenty of windows, get a dog, have my art published, dance dance dance the night away several times, spread myself too thin and be responsible enough to recognize it and finally say "no", etc. etc. etc.

In 2009, I do believe I have become closer to being the person I've always wanted to be. The person who wants to learn about everything, who says "yes" and "no", who makes time for themselves, who makes time for family and friends, who makes things happen, who takes chances and accepts challenges, and also accepts that there are some things that one cannot change. I have lots of work to do before I'm exactly who I need/want to become, but that's the beauty of life, right? To always strive to be the best person you think/want to be. Yes.

I have currently dubbed 2010 to be "The Year of the Art" because, face it, I need to make more art and I need to work on my skills. I've got more details on that coming later. Keep your eyes peeled.

Everyone have a beautiful and safe New Years.

* Just tonight I found out about the death of Chris Feinstein, the bassist for Ryan Adams and the Cardinals. I'm very saddened by the news. I remember spotting him hanging outside of the Fox Theatre after the last RA and the Cardinals show in Atlanta. I didn't stop to say hi because I was too much of a wuss. I'm not one to have regrets about anything but this I do regret. It's always the things you wish you could've done, right?

Yesterday's Gone

It's December! Where has the year gone?!? I can't believe it's almost 2010. I remember long, long ago thinking about the year 2000 and how it was going to be like and now it's 2010! Goodness.
I've been busy with school, family (how was your Thanksgiving? Mine was low-key and great.), friends (Amber came for a weekend & brought her pup.), commissioned projects, work, and other things. I've got sorta big news I want to share but I don't want to jinx it just yet. We'll see how this weekend goes.
I got a new laptop so that means I'll be able to blog, blog, blog like a mad woman from the comfort of my dining room table, my couch, my studio, you name it! Right now I'm listening to the Tom Petty channel of Pandora and updating my Google bookmarks. I'd like to share some recent artwork once I get the photos on this computer...

Oh hey, are you on DailyBooth? Add me! I'm here: http://www.dailybooth.com/Fawne

A Weekend Away - Richmond Adventures

This weekend I had the very nice pleasure of visiting my BFF Amber in Richmond, Virginia. I found myself documenting various moments with the camera on my Blackberry and I'll share them with you.
Almost immediately after Amber picks me up we're off for sushi. My husband doesn't like Japanese or Chinese food so I hardly ever get to enjoy it. Also, there's no sushi in this town! On the right side of the photo you can see a New York Strip roll: New York Strip on top of a shrimp roll and paired with a delicious sauce that we thought was a mixture of teriyaki and wasabi. DELICIOUS!
After sushi, we hung out at a nearby biker bar during karaoke night. I was informed that dancing is illegal in venues that serve alcohol and my mind was blown! Amber and I karaoke-d very badly to Sublime's "What I Got" and hightailed it out of there!

The next morning I tabled at the Richmond Zine Fest. I've been looking forward to it for so long and it was really amazing! I was surrounded by like-minded folks who loved to write and create. Ah! I got to meet some zine super-stars such as Alex Wrekk from Stolen Sharpie Revolution, Nicole from Click Clack Distro, and Taylor from Parcell Press.

And I'm sure I dropped $40 on zines. Pretty sure.

The next day we ate lunch and the fanciest Arby's I've ever been too. Classical music was playing and there were black peppercorn and sea salt grinders at every table. FANCY! Then we visited the Edgar Allen Poe museum and enjoyed a guided tour. I was convinced a guy in our group was casing the joint since he kept asking about the value of some items and if the broken glass wall was good security. He was super suspicious!

My flight left at 6 a.m. on Monday and I got to enjoy the most beautiful sunset! I had a great, interesting weekend and I'm going to have a great, interesting Thanksgiving because Amber's coming down to hang out for the holidays! Can't wait!

On a different note, today has been bananas. It's been non-stop raining thanks to Tropical Storm/System Ida and my dang dog chewed up my BRAND NEW boots and pooed in the house (too wimpy to go out in the rain!). Just...ugh.

Things I Love Thursday

• Catching up on my journal. Reading a lot. Writing down ideas.
• Dita Von Teese on Twitter. She just seems like a super-nice person.
  
• Taking time out for me and saying "no" when I need to. Also, not feeling bad when I say it.
• Making lists for travel. Looking forward to seeing my best friend soon.
• Regretsy. So good and so wrong. Hah!
• Hula-hooping and working up a sweat.
• Finding out that my cousin will be stationed 5 hours from me. I fully expect some crazy times over the next 4 years.
  
• Very much needed down time. I actually have nothing to do sometimes and it feels mighty nice.
• Recently attending: Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions (would've loved a photo or two but the NO PHOTOS signs were everywhere) and David Cross (too bad Atlanta treated him like crap).
• Gala Darling's Podcast: Love & Sequins
• Coffee, coffee, coffee!
• & last but not least: The Sun Magazine. I love it so much and every issue has at least one story that brings a tear to my eye.

Finally! New Prints!

I've added two new prints to my Etsy shop this week. They're small little prints but they're great! There's 10 of the seahorse and 8 of the angelfish. Get them before they're gone!

http://www.momentofstars.etsy.com

I'm working on a new print right now and hopefully will be listed in the shop next week!

Sneak Peaks

Today I took a much needed ME day and focused only on my own personal projects. In the above pictures you can see the carving of a new lino block in progress. I worked for hours on that thing and it messed up my back and my drawing hand! I've got to find a better way to carve these blocks! During lunch I read an article about Shepard Fairy from a past issue of Juxtapoz magazine. He's a major inspiration to me! I've also put a lot of thought into artist's statements and bios and what-not. I'm trying my best to get my art career back on track, or at least ON a track.

So, yes, it was a good quiet morning and early afternoon. Then the kiddo came home from school and ran circles around the house with the dog right behind her. She would laugh and laugh at something Dexter did and my little heart just beamed. I'm so glad she has this puppy. Awwww.

Things I Love Thursday

This fish makes me laugh everytime! I took this video while visiting the Audobon Aquarium of the Americas in NOLA. My cousin and I laughed at it for hours, especially at 4 a.m.

More things I love: New Orleans & believing whole-heartedly that the spirit of the city watched over me and my family while we were there, making goals and setting out to make them happen, ZOMBIELAND! (& my big fat crush on Woody Harrelson), planning planning planning and making lists, Evan B. Harris (the artist I discovered from a girl's very large back tattoo), feeling relaxed, getting a haircut, saying no (this is so hard for me!), this weekend's plans: Hope Sandoval, David Cross, and Where the Wild Things Are, Matt Cipov & Circa Ceramics working together, listening to Journey all week!, rainy days and staying in my pajamas, getting more hours at work this month, reading in bed with the hubs, my BFF and going to see her soon, more adventures ahead. & this quote:

“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, & demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long & its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people & grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food & for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one & no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools & robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep & pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song & die like a hero going home.” — Tecumseh

From Gala Darling's very own TiLT.

That quote is how I want to live my life everyday. Also this comic from A Softer World.

Love Love Love. More art soon!

Currently Working On

Oh thank goodness, I've had some time to get down in the studio and paint! Between work, school, and taking care of the babies (the kiddo and the doggy), and trying to hang out with my husband, I have barely any time to myself. So sleep has to be sacrificed. Not too much though, just enough to finish a painting in time for a fundraiser at the end of the month. I will get a better photo when it dries.

Also, I know two ladies that are having a crafty give-away! They're lovely Georgia crafters and make cute little crochet items and jewelry. Visit the details here on heatherxdawn.blogspot.com.

Where Have You Been, What Have You Seen?

My brother knee-deep in the Gulf of Mexico.
Last weekend my brother and I went on a roadtrip and I've been trying to recover from ever since. We made our first stop in Biloxi to pick up our cousin, then made our way to New Orleans. At first, my brother thought we should stay in Biloxi but I figure, hey, it's only an hour drive, why not?! And since so much happened in 48 hours, I can only write in list form:

Driving though the deep south, deciding to stop and eat then not finding a restaurant for 50 miles, 10 mile long bridges, the best Arby's sandwich but too excited to eat, finding the meeting place only to be seriously heartbroken, moping around on the beach for an hour, but I'm on a beach!, finally finding our cousin, talking the whole way to NOLA, getting lost right away but finding the hotel, the very very nice hotel and valet parking, getting ready to go out almost immediately, very bad pizza on Bourbon Street, 3 for 1 beers, a shot of Crown (disgusting), watching the boys dance, finding a new bar with an AMAZING cover band that play classic rock and 90's alternative, first time for everything, wanting to crash early (9 p.m.), and getting lost on the way back to the hotel.


Waking up at 4 a.m. to an argument, the boys fussing about who lost who, calming them down & trying not to get kicked out of hotel, finally crashing, early morning for me & I refuse to stay in and "just watch t.v.", walking down Canal, the river, the French Market, THE BEST CREOLE OMELETTE EVER, reading in a cafe, visiting art galleries, hippie shops, and voodoo shops, the boys sleeping in, going to the Aquarium alone, seahorses & jellyfish (my favorite underwater creatures), strange graffiti near the hotel, talking to street musicians, discovering a new artist thanks to a huge tattoo on a girl's back.


The boys finally up, walking around for food, wonderful po-boys, beers to-go, scoping out Bourbon St. thinking we're going to bar-hop til we drop, "classing it up!", back on the town, back to 3 for 1 beer, then back to AWESOME cover band where we jam out for 4 hours, walk brother back to the hotel where he crashes for the night, cousin and I back to rock to the cover band for 3 more hours, laughing, jumping, fist pumping in the air, not caring who's watching, a guy hits on me & cousin tells him to go away, yawning & deciding to call it a night, heart-to-hearts walking down the street, sleeping in until check-out time.

Ears ringing, "WHAT?", the boys telling me that this was the best decision, stopping at Waffle House for lunch/breakfast, good cuppa coffee, a quiet ride back to Biloxi, quick hugs and trying not to cry, stopping in Mobile and determined not to stop until we get home. & we didn't. Home to tacos and happy hubby and kiddo. Watching Showtime and winding down.

It was an amazing weekend with my boys. It cost a lot of money but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Since getting back I've been swamped with housework, schoolwork, and work-work. Hello Sunday morning and finally feeling somewhat caught up.

What I Wore Today Drawings

I've been a big fan of Wardrobe Remix ever since it started but never participated because, well, I'm not that much of a fashionista. I wear t-shirts and jeans most of the time and I'm pretty sure that I (still) dress like a teenager so that's not very interesting to photograph. But now my new favorite Flickr group is What I Wore Today (drawings only). Below are the first two drawings I added to the group:

Headed to Atlanta to see a friend's band play.


And the aftermath. It was a very, very late night and I had to get up super early. Why did I say I'd go to Atlanta when I knew I had an early morning? Well, I love my friends, I really do.

I hope to participate more. Maybe it'll inspire me to up my fashion game (I did order three new dresses today!). And, hey, more drawing never hurts, right?

Things I Love Thursday

This photo of my cousin's 1 year old. It's the only decent shot I got while I was up north over the summer. It was juried into a photography show at Arts Clayton. I'm excited!

And in no particular order: Sharpie Pens (especially blue!), bandanas on dogs, good mail days, listening to The Essential Micheal Jackson, the always amazing Ryan Adams, the opening to the MTV VMA's (the only part I watched), cute ukulele videos, the term, "Social Media Manager", the end of the quarter and two weeks away from school, roadtrip plans (going to Mississippi soon to see my cousin Johnnybaby), opportunities and taking chances, going to bed early, reading a new book, sleepy rainy days, new watercolor paintbrushes, friends moving in nearby, having a day to get caught up on life. & just L-I-V-I-N.

More An Artful Agenda

This time with my art on the cover! How good do these look? I'm very excited to be on the cover of An Artful Agenda! Well, it's my friend Morgan who's on the cover, I just made the art.

Get your copy here: An Artful Agenda on Etsy. And see my other post about the agendas here.

Goggie Paintings!

I was looking through a tattoo magazine when I spotted an old school tattoo design of a weenie dog. I thought it would be a great idea to draw up a tattoo in the same style but have it look like my new weenie, Dexter. I spent a good amount of time trying to get the feet to look right and even studied Dexter's sleepy paws while sketching.

Above is the final product. Dexter came down with the sickness last week and spent two days sleeping it off. I sat near his crate and painted all afternoon. I had to keep an eye on him and make sure he was going to be okay.

This week he's back to normal and making a mess out of everything. My heart is relieved.

My BFF Amber mentioned that I should do a painting for her little Lucy and I quickly whipped up this gem. Lucy is a mini-weenie so I made her image smaller and more compact. It's adorable, if I do say so myself. :)

Both with watercolors on 300 1b. watercolor paper.

Picnic at the Bluff

I've been enjoying my weekends of nothing to do. When I say, "nothing to do" I really mean nothing I have to do for any one else except for my family. This past Saturday found ourselves a bit bored so I suggested that we go on a picnic at the nearby state park. The husband was a bit hesitant. The last time he'd been there, it was a redneck drinking spot. I don't know how long ago that was but I knew it was clean and pretty and I wanted to go, by golly, so we went.

We had a very nice picnic, explored the area, skipped rocks, and dipped our toes in the river. It was hotter than we expected so we tired out quickly. But I'm sure we'll make our way back soon. Dexter loved sniffing everything in sight and actually got better at walking with us on a leash! Mazzy threw every single rock she could find into the river. It's the simple things that keeps us entertained!

I can't believe this beautiful spot is ten miles from my house. I love it so.

An Artful Agenda

I'm very fortunate to be able to have my artwork included in various projects and An Artful Agenda is no exception. The etsy shop of An Artful Agenda sells Daily Planners, August to August Planners, Diaries, Universal Planners, and Lesson Planners. 5% of all sales is donated to Arts Education in Public Schools.

Oh hey, there's my Bob Dylan print and on the bottom, several of my lino cut fishies!

More fishie prints and then monsters from my Monster Haiku zine. :)

I've gotten my mitts on the August to August planner and the Universal Planner and let me tell you, they're adorable!

Details from the etsy shop: An Artful Agenda is beautifully hand-lettered throughout and includes all major U.S. holidays as well as some Canadian, Jewish, other multicultural holidays. The pages are unlined, allowing you to sketch, plan, write or anything you choose. The planner is a handy 4.25" x 5.5" x 1/2" allowing you to take it everywhere.

This is a quality artisan product professionally printed on a beautiful, rich ivory 100% post-consumer recycled paper. The pearlescent cover stock has a beautiful sheen that picks up the light and causes the color to shift. It is also extremely durable and even somewhat water resistant.

In a Magazine & Currently Working On

I'm very honored to have a photo selected for the Childhood Issue of Light Leaks Magazine. I took this photo of my neice with a Diana+ . I'm so stoked to have been published again! Yay!


Here's a peek of a new project. Yes, I know, another project. Well, it seems as though I have missed making lino block prints and had to carve this beauty asap. I'll show a finished scan in a few days.

Painting the Annie, Jr. Set

First weekend: Priming and planning. These large "things" are on wheels and are 4 feet wide and 15 feet tall. They have three sides each. I painted mostly everything on my own, with the exception of the priming part. My hubs helped out on that.

Second Weekend: The easiest side almost complete! City Skyline. The chair is there for comparison.

Adding Details.

The Orphanage side done! My favorite!

The last weekend and I'm getting frantic. Planning the mansion side.

And finally! The completed mansion side, finished on the day before opening.

All together: 720 square feet!
This is my third performance set! Here's the Alice in Wonderland, Jr. set and the Nunsense set.

Newest Addition to the Family

What can I say? We did it. We talked about it for weeks and we did it. We got a puppy.

His official name is Dexter McNugget and his nicknames include: Dex, Dex-a-lex, Dexlexia, Rolodex, and the occasional Dirtbag. He's almost four months old and he's a fluffy, long haired Dachaund. He's almost completely crate trained and can follow a couple of commands.

We're considering it to be an early birthday present for Mazzy. She's quite fond of him but gets frustrated when he doesn't listen to her commands. He listens to me mostly since I spend almost all my extra time with him. I think Mazzy will be excited when Dex finally learns to fetch.

Being a new puppy owner is exhausting. I'm constantly watching him to make sure he doesn't have an accident in the house or snatch Maz's toys to tear up. While writing this post he's snatched a tshirt from the clothes hamper and a flipflop. It's nice to see him act like a puppy though, it's a change of pace from his moping around the first few days he was with us.

Having a puppy around make me miss the old family dog Nikki. She was a huge yellow Labrador and was the smartest damn dog I have ever been around. I only lived with her for about 4 years but wow, what a dog. I could ask her questions, "You hungry? You need to go out? How are you?" and she'd respond every time. She was a guard dog, the master of the house, and a great buddy to have around. When I hear Dexter's nails on the kitchen floor, I think of Nikki. Dexter dude, you've got some big paws to fill.

Good News, Everyone!

This morning I got an email from SlowExposures with a list of accepted entries and I'm so happy to say that yes, my name was in that list! Hurrah! Only 93 photos were selected from the 641 entered. Ahh! I'm excited! I got into SlowExposures two years ago & here's that post.

Now I have to figure out how to get a print of this image asap. The closest photography shop that'll work with 120 film is over 50 miles away. Oh boy!

Lately I've been in way over my head with a huge project and I hope to get back to regular blogging soon! I'll post pictures of the big project, too!

Things I Love Thursday

Buying and using an annual pass to a nearby attraction, spending lots of time around friends and family, also taking the time to take care of the house, getting ahead in schoolwork, procrastinating on schoolwork, getting caught up on emails, laying on the couch and reading for hours, So You Think You Can Dance?, MJ's Thriller, painting for hours and hours, having no idea and admitting to it, white shirts blue jeans bright lips, staying out until 4 a.m., iced coffee, Flintstones vitamins, playing with kittens, out-of-the-blue texts from my cousin in the Air Force, summer afternoon storms that last for a few minutes, my hobbies: learning the ukulele and hula-hooping, plans for a winter roadtrip and thoughts of a gulf coast visit in a few weeks.

And more: local farmer's markets, surprise steak dinner, good good food, laughing with your BFF, drunk dancing and not caring at all, girlfriend love, all love, back-to-school shopping.

Hello Summer

I've been absent from blogging for awhile, as I'm sure you've noticed. I kinda felt the need to be quiet for a few days after returning from an exhausting and emotional six days in Michigan. Don't get me wrong, I had fun most of the time, but being away from home for so long took a toll on me and Mazzy, along with the rest of the crew. Once I got home, I crashed and slept for days.

Summer quarter has started again and my anxiety has gotten the best of me. Last week I was able to sleep 12 hour nights due to not getting any rest in Michigan. This week, I toss and turn until the wee hours of the morning, thinking about Financial Aid and buying used books and trying to sell old ones and who is going to watch Mazzy until her school starts etc. etc. etc. But I survived my first few classes and I don't expect this quarter to be too hard.

Along with school and work, a new obsession has popped up to keep me busy. I've got a major plan for a series of paintings and I'd love to be able to exhibit them near my family in Michigan. I'm usually not one to announce major goals (don't want to be jinxed!), but this is definitely something I need to do and share with my relatives. So off I go with planning the art, writing an artist's statement (hate writing them!), and updating my resume!

Happy Father's Day & Happy Birthday!

This week I'd like to wish my daddy a Happy Father's Day and a Happy Birthday. I've always loved this photobooth strip of him from way back when. Wasn't he a cutie!

Quarter Winding Down

June is just like any other month for me: busy busy, but now even more busy since the kiddo's out of school. I don't have much time to myself anymore. But I have slowed down on my projects, such as the tattoo paintings and started spending most of my time with Mazzy. She tags along with me while I run errands and she makes sure I watch plenty of cartoons.

Last weekend I was lucky enough to visit my BFF Amber in Kansas City. We spent two days acting like carefree teenagers in downtown KCMO. We visited many art galleries, watched street performers, giggled over cute guys, gambled at a casino (no beginner's luck for me!), and accidentally attended a Gay Pride Event where we just let go and had fun. It's always great to be with someone who knows you so well! Amber and I have been friends since I was in 8th grade.

My current projects include lots of homework and taking a photo with my Blackberry everyday and uploading it to Flickr. Here are a few of my favorites:

Currently

Current book: Atonement by Ian McEwan
Current album: Ryan Adams and the Cardinals - Cold Roses
Current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: Unfortunately, Google-ing old friends' names. This tends to get me in trouble.
Current color(s): White and navy blue.
Current link: http://www.twitter.com
Current fetish: Totally obsessed with hula-hooping!
Current drink: Chai tea.
Current favorite creep: Me. I'm a big ol' Creepy McCreeperson
Current wish-list: A big bottle of Patron!
Current favorite song(s): I've been digging on some ol' school Missy Elliot lately.
Current triumph(s): Find the time to read a lot! Yay
Current celebrity crush: Ryan Adams, for a long, long time.
Current indulgence: Giving in to feeling overwhelmed.
Current slang: "And I'm like, dude, okay?"
Current excitement: Going to Kansas City soon to see my BFF!
Current mood: Restless and curious.

Obsessive Much?

Needless to say, I've been obsessed with drawing and painting tattoo designs. I have nothing scheduled for this weekend so I expect to at least get 5 more paintings done. Well, I'm shooting for 5.

Currently Working On

Middle of March.

This afternoon.

There are still days I want to become a tattoo artist & every once in awhile I punch out a painting or two based on a tattoo design I've seen online. This one has been sitting on my desk for weeks and I finally sat down and finished it today. I think I'll start on some sort of tattoo art portfolio. & saving for a machine.

India ink, watercolor, acrylic paint.