back at it!

Ch-ch-check it out, my Etsy site is back up and running! Some life changing events have been going on, and I'm not one to complain! My work life is re-arranging, and I've been happier than ever. I'm able to focus on so many positive things in life, and I thought I'd bring back my little shop. I took pictures and uploaded new photographs today, and I have ten new wine bags in the works. Back in the day, I began cutting ties for another five new purses, so I'm hoping to get them finished, too. I'll also be adding in a section for custom orders, like tie pillows, and my necktie Christmas tree skirts. I'm hoping to post more blog updates, too... especially since I created an entire quilt top without even posting an update... I know, how dare me! Cheers to all, more posts to come!

phl -> atl

Recently a good friend of mine departed the Philadelphia area to start life anew with his beautiful fiancé in Atlanta. As sad as I am when friends leave the area, it is always exciting knowing that they are literally embarking on a new phase of life. I always wanted the balls to pick up and move. I mean... I'm only an hour away from home home, but it's not like I moved to an area that's easier to get to by plane then by driving. How cool would it be one day to be like I'M SELLING EVERYTHING I HAVE AND MOVING TO A DAKOTA OR IDAHO BECAUSE WHY NOT.

Anywho, I wanted to give them a going away present. I failed miserably getting it to them on time. The thing was... I couldn't figure out what the f*** to do. He sent me some photos of things that they liked. Which I guess I pretty much ignored in the end. Sorry about that John.... just realized that.

I was like, if I were them, what would I want to remind me of home? That it's not too far away? So here's what I came up with: A painting that you could flip.

I started with blocks of color, which I haven't done in years. Truth is, my hands aren't as steady as they use to be, so some lines are wobbly. <--- that could be symbolic, like "just as these lines aren't straight, neither is the road in life... HA!

Then I decided to paint the skylines of Philadelphia and Atlanta. The area in between was a little harder. I originally wanted to put a couple walking hand-in-hand to both skylines, but there wasn't enough space. So I decided to paint a PHL-> and an ATL->. One day, if they're back in Philadelphia, they can always remember the home they made in a new city. I'm happy with the way it came out, and I'm hoping that it reminds my good friends that no matter how far, home isn't that far.

NOW I JUST HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET IT TO THEM.

blanket is fo'evs

Not many friends of mine still have their baby blanket. Yes, you could consider me some sort of odd-ball because YES, I still have mine. It's name is Blanket. I sleep with it every night. Maybe I shouldn't be making these statements over the internets.

Anywho, I went to the fabric store last Friday because my dear Blanket was in desperate need of help. I've washed it so many times over the past... oh... 29 years, that the fabric was literally shredding apart. Mind you, that Blanket has been recovered twice already. So the original blanket was enclosed in a blanket, which was within the outermost blanket. I picked a yard of yellow and a yard of white, paid for my purchase, and went home to work on Blanket. I didn't finish it in one night though. Which meant that:

I WAS WITHOUT MY BLANKET FOR ONE NIGHT.
THE HORROR.

The next day, I woke up depressed because of my non-Blanket night, but I was determined to finish it. I completed the blanket's envelope the night before, and all I had left to do was pin the blanket to the interior of the envelope, stitch it in place, and of course... add the signature "Jill's Blanket" to the corner. It let's everyone know to BACK OFF, because it's MY BLANKET.


I didn't choose the blanket life. The blanket life chose me.

It has been with me from my earliest, most surly days. See how upset I was? Why was everyone smiling? Clearly I was sad that I couldn't eat turkey yet. It was also with me the day I tried to eat my shoe. It traveled with me to my Audi's house. Lady dog loved my blanket. It was with me every Christmas: From the year that I got thee Domino Rally, to the one where I had brace-face and got my froggy slippers from Santa. It even traveled with me to Florida on our Griswold family vacation. So what if I was in my second year of college?

I may be a softy because I sleep with my Blanket, but I love it and see no reason why I should give it up. There are very few mementos that we hold onto while we transition from childhood into adulthood, other than pictures and Polaroids that we can look back on in our later years. But every time I curl up with my Blanket, it instantly transports me to every single night I've fallen asleep with it. There's not many things in life that can do that.

ERMAHGERD! BLAAAANKERRRRRT!

San Fran to Portland to Seattle.

I went on the most fantastic journey ever. One that I always dreamed of, and finally got to. Camping and driving from San Fransisco all the way up to Seattle! Of course, with a couple hotel stops along the way. Hey, you try camping in a major city. Everyone would think we were part of an occupy protest or something.

The entire trip was such a positive uplifting experience. It put so many things into perspective. Not only how small I really am in the grand scheme of things, but how important other things are, and how amazing things can be. I found almost everything absolutely inspirational, which was the main reason I started this blog in the first place. I wish I could detail every moment of my journey, but I would be typing forever.

So I figured I highlight some things and describe them as best as I could.
First, some pictures to butter you up.

The eerie contrast of seeing the advection fog rolling over San Fransisco and the bay from a distance, and actually being in the fog. We hiked along the Land End trail, and experienced complete California sunshine as we overlooked (what was) the Golden Gate bridge, even though it was hidden from our view by the heavy fog. We knew it was there, from the blaring fog horns. In contrast, while we were driving and hiking along Stinson Beach, the fog was so heavy that it literally clung to you, chilling you to the bone. You would never be able to tell the brightness of the colors that surrounded you, because the fog dilutes the sun so much that everything comes off as having a gray tint.

Seeing and hearing the ferocity of the Pacific Ocean slamming on the cliffs along the coast of California was unreal. It put the Atlantic Ocean to shame.

To hear absolutely nothing. You don't realize how silent nothing is, until you're standing deep in the woods, surrounded by towering Redwoods that absorb every sound of the outside world.

To hear a coyote barking its' way around the campsite you're staying at.

Seeing Mount St. Helens as a small hazy peak from 70 miles away, and then watching it grow before our eyes into the 8,300+ ft. behemoth of a volcano it actually is. As we climbed higher and higher and twisted through slide-repaired roads (99 was still closed because of snow!) the volcano would magically appear in front of us, larger each time. And every single time, I exclaimed "Hooooooollllyyyy shiiiiiiiiitt".

Being behind a waterfall in the middle of July, and being FREEZING cold. The sounds is deafening, and the feeling was unbelievable.

The experience of utter confusion, then wonder, then complete happiness as the boyfriend I love so much asked me to marry him. The range of emotions I felt was like nothing I ever felt. And I'm glad I got to experience it. I wasn't expecting him to ask me that, so I'm pretty sure I muttered a "are you serious" and a "FO REAL?" at some point. But of course I said yes. Well, actually I said SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURE! Then I said yes when he asked "is that a yes?" 

Best Vacation Ever.

anxiety painting

I've been quite the fan of splatter paintings lately. You might recall my last two, abcdef FAIL. and Time to Eat??. The first part requires me to squeeze copious amounts of acrylic paint onto a 5x5 canvas. Controlled messiness is fun! After that, it's all about what I find in my mind to apply to the surface.

I started a new one this past week.. reds, creams and yellows. I accidentally blew a load of glitter over it. But I ended up liking it, thank God. There's no undoing glitter. Once it's there, IT'S THERE. It looked to harmonious, so I added silver. I remembered that I had my mom's old medical dictionary from when she did nursing... so I pulled it out and started perusing through different afflictions, disorders, viruses and diseases. Good times, indeed. Who knew that SO MUCH could go wrong within your own body?

I'm not sure what order I found things in, but I discovered various medical drawings of the body and explanations for anxiety disorders. I started combining them together on the surface, adding my own paintings and ink drawings to blend them all together. I'm still not finished, but here's the progress so far.

fond memories

Yesterday I had the pleasure of running into my former sculpture professor while I was hanging up fliers for the Bike Art & Student show at the MRAC (<-- another story, for another time). I had just paid for my large iced coffee at the local DD, when I turned around and instantly recognized her. And I was so flattered that she recognized me as well. With our coffees in hand, and my bike in tow, we walked back to her home where we discussed our activities over the past seven years. I was surprised that she remembered my bark and latex figures. They were something that I've always loved to work on, and should do so more often, now that I think about it.

From the way I was explaining my so called 'art-goings-on' it honestly sounded like I was trying to convince not only her, but myself of my involvement in the art world, if you could call it that. I've done a good amount of work in the past couple years... but... I don't know. Nothing extraordinary, I guess. And no, I'm not being hard on myself. It's the simple truth. I'm an artist with professional training with a full time accounting job. I try to allot the time to work on pieces on my 'off-time', and sometimes I simply cannot. Sometimes I feel like I've failed already.

Seeing her again... It makes me yearn to begin new sculptures. It makes me want to finish the work that I have already begun. It makes me sad that I don't have a functional sculpture studio space to work in. Sure, I have my 'office' that doubles as my sewing room, where I can cut stained glass and paint... but a sculpture studio, it will never be. I'll either ruin the floor, muck up the walls, damage the stairway to and fro, this or that or so on. Sigh.

Will I ever work on sculpture ever again? HELL YES I WILL. I don't know when, but I have so many concepts that I want to explore. I wonder if other artists have gone through similar periods in their lifetime. First and foremost, I have to finish three projects that I've already started. None of which I'm keeping myself. Only one of which I'm being paid for. I have to stop doing that, too.

waxy solution

I have a triptych painting that I completed earlier in 2011 that was never quite... finished. I love the simplicity of it, and the colors are bright but not overwhelming. It reminds me of a sunset that I've never seen. I know that doesn't make sense. But, when I close my eyes and see an idyllic sunset, that's what I picture.

Sorry sunset, this is not what I'm picturing... This is awkward.

Like I said, it's never quite looked finished. One reason might be the fact that it contains 3 canvases (one is 9x12 and two are 4x6) and has never been framed. That screams UNFINISHED. I came across my little creation when I was reorganizing, and I immediately set it in the "to finish" pile. I thought experimenting with wax would be fun with this painting, because it would slightly smooth the lines while keeping the colors bright and vibrant. Plus... why not? If there's room to play, then I'M ALL IN.

On Saturday, I set out to the Salvation Army to find a used pan so I could melt my wax on the stove. Twenty minutes later with a $1.99 pan in hand, the wax was melted and I began to brush it onto the paintings. At first, I thought it sucked: It was lumpy and uneven, not smooth and polished like I wanted. But I began to see some potential. Once I was finished layering the wax on the canvas, I took it upstairs and brought out the big guns: My blow-dryer and my persistence.

Using some old sculpture knives my morning nemesis, I started smoothing and manipulating the wax: Taking it from some areas and reapplying it to others. Now... I think it's looking pretty awesome. My next step is to create a frame for the paintings out of heavy duty quality plywood. (As you might recall, I'm not so swift when it comes to word work. Looks like I'll be asking Lou for some help!)

I'm not sure how I'll arrange them yet, but here's a preview!

seasonal creative syndrome

Since I basically know everything there is to know about stuff in general (LOL!) I diagnosed myself with SCS. I call it Seasonal Creative Syndrome. Every year when the temperature spikes above 60 degrees, I emerge from my work space, pale and groggy, rubbing my eyes and looking up into that giant ball of energy we call the sun. My attention swiftly drifts from doing anything indoors to doing everything outdoors. Thoughts of sewing bags turn into thoughts of sewing new cushions for the bar stools outside. Painting with acrylics and oils becomes spray painting outdoor patio furniture. And organizing my office space? No... that becomes trimming vines, planting flowers and sweeping the patio.

Who doesn't love working outside?! I basically grew up wanting to mow the lawn every chance I got, and if weeding had to be done, believe me: IT GOT DONE WITH GUSTO. Years and years of city apartment living deprived me of the opportunity to garden, and now... well, now I'm all up on it like stink on s***.

There were bags that I wanted to sew this weekend... but I didn't. There was a sculpture I wanted to start... but I didn't. And you know what? For once I don't feel too bad about not completing something I set out to do. I spent my time outside in the sun. Trimming vines, transplanting iris's, installing a new patio light, turning soil, and admiring the small world of our backyard. And I'll do it again, every chance I get.

our garden, last year in the springtime.

adventures in wonderland.

 Lou and I took an impromptu exploratory journey around some neighboring towns this past Saturday.  It was amazingly refreshing to get out of the grind of being placing and doing things... weekends always fill up so fast on that stuff.  We winged it and let our instincts direct us on where to go and what to do.  In Narberth, we found a lovely shop called Sweet Mabel, skipped around the train station, and found a cute little pastry place for a mid-morning nosh.  Next, we went hiking in (or near) Smedley near Swarthmore College.  In our attempts to find the college campus, we ran into a local Community Arts Center which unfortunately was closed, but we saw some awesome stuff on the grounds of the center!  I can't wait to go back and check out the gallery!  Then, we were off to the town of Swarthmore, where we explored the campus, and I put on an extra 2 lbs. by eating a bacon egg n' cheese sammy covered in hot sauce on a poppy bagel at a local cafe.  OMNOMNOM.  We closed the adventure by stopping at Produce Junction.  Loading up on veggies is always a nice way to complete the day, don't you think?

 

hot yoga, you're hot

Recently, I tried out hot yoga and MAN IS IT HOT.  And really enjoyable, too!  This is coming from a person who hasn't even taken a "normal" yoga class.  I just have yoga DVD's that I got from the sale rack at TJMaxx a couple years ago.  HAH.  Being in a class is totally different.  You can't turn off the yoga instructor when you're spaghetti is done like you can with a DVD.  And you can't fast forward him to "child's pose" when you're too tired. I wish I could compare the hot yoga to regular yoga, but alas I cannot.  Alls I can say is that:
I concentrate on my breathing and my posture.
It is so hot that I sweat more than I ever sweated in my entire life.
It gives me crazy amounts of energy after class, and the next day.
It makes my soul feel good.
It's as hot as a _______________ in there.  You can fill in your own blank.  Mine is too vulgar.

It's amazing how much different yoga is from traditional exercise. It's inspiring to see so many individuals that benefit from it, you know?  Maybe after my two weeks are up (I got a two week pass for cheap, yo) I'll sign up for some more classes.  Looks like my interests have shifted from food, to crafts, to yoga?!  This leaves much to be explored.

fall is in the air. art is all around.

So it's true, I've temporarily fallen off of the crafting wagon.  Although I'm not going through withdraw.  Other exciting things have been happening, all of which have been breathing new life into my soul.  Gawd, that sounded cliché. Let's start with Friday, shall we?  

HomeSkooled Gallery hosted a remarkable show at PhilaMOCA.  The Art Anti-Gallery exhibit allowed visitors to participate in the exhibit, which is a far cry from "the usual" art exhibit which can sometimes come across as stuffy and strict.  I posed as a Greek Frisbee sculpture, helped sculpt another figure out of clay, played with sounds, created my own rules, made my own art to hang in frames, ate chocolate covered doodles, and made my own gallery sandwich.  It was a fantastic night, and I think everyone would agree that we're all looking forward to whatever HomeSkooled Gallery does next!

Here's some pics from the night.

I spent Saturday and Sunday outside, and it was desperately needed!  The air was chilly and crisp, the sky was dotted with clouds and starts, and the sound of a crackling fire was barely audible though everyone's laughing.  Sleeping was amazing.  I woke up refreshed... and cold!  The day was spent hiking, biking, and watching downhill mountain bikers speed through a custom course.  Kudos to the past couple of days.  Even though they were not filled with me making my own pieces of art work, it was filled with art of a different kind: LIFE!

holy s*** batman, my renewed energy is ridiculous.

On Monday night, I was thinking about how tired I was from running around like a nutcase and how I hoped that I'd be able to stay awake (and un-grumpy) to fully enjoy Tuesday night.  Little did I know then, that my mind tried to secretly sabotage me into thinking that way.  All because of that tiny bit of self doubt!  Shit, this thinking is impressive.  I need coffee to finish these thoughts.  Let's reflect.

How do I explain this properly?... if I have tasks to do today, I'll do them in the order that I've placed them... A,B,C, D, etc.  Before I go about these tasks, I think about how I will feel when I complete them. Remember?  On Monday night, I thought that I would feel tired and grumpy last night.  However, for one reason or another, last night I diverged off my usual path of inadvertently predicting my feelings, and I meandered into uncharted Jill waters.  It was very freeing, and it felt wonderfully un-anxious.  At the end of the night, I felt enjoyment because I did enjoy myself, not because I thought I would enjoy myself.  I think that's about as clear as that thought is going to get.

Diverging off my set path breathed life into my night and gave me this renewed sense of energy.  That sentence might not be grammatically correct, but honey badger don't care.  I face today with excitement about upcoming art projects and about life.  Move over Confucius, there's a new thinker in town. And she just finished her coffee.