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Showing posts from 2014

sidewalks

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I walk a lot in California.  There is so much to take in and quite a bit to find a long the way (and there are tons of MMA places everywhere!).  Here are a few photos from my travels although sadly, I did not find the guavas on a walk.

Featured Artist Monday|Aerolíneas Federales

Life has kept me away from the blog lately, which I am happy about since time away from the computer is generally a good thing.  I wanted to share this band with you all though since they are pretty great.  I have a new co-worker to thank for the music tip!

Featured Artist Monday|Kim Westfall

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I was just introduced to Westfall's work this past weekend at Helmuth Projects in San Diego.

Sarah Kersten Kickstarter

I've posted about Sarah Kersten on here before and now she's running a Kickstarter campaign for her ceramic studio.  I'm a big fan of her work, especially her fermentation jars, and you can pick one up and support her new studio.

Featured Artist Monday|Judith Leyster

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Who better to chose for my return to the F.A.M. series than the 17th century Dutch painter Judith Leyster?  More on Leyster here .

Tourmaline Beach

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My time has been a little less free lately so I haven't had a chance to keep up with my posting but here is a photo from a trip we took to Tourmaline Beach yesterday.  I never get tired of beaches...or Beaches .

Featured Artist Monday|Samara Golden

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I saw this piece, " Thank You ", by Samara Golden at Made in L.A. a few weeks back.  The sound component was probably my favorite part but I also can get behind any piece that engages you with 3-D glasses (that's me at the top) and replicas of Casio watches.  I also really liked that one of the photos looked like my friend Gary.

Drive Like Jehu

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We went to the free Drive Like Jehu reunion  concert  this past Sunday night and it was really impressive on several fronts.  They played with a live organist and there was probably at least 3,000 people there.  It all felt very late 90s, as do many things here, and I loved it.  

Paul Rucker

This TED talk by the wonderful artist Paul Rucker is a must watch.

Featured Artist Monday|Danielle Dean

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This is a still from Dean's video piece " Training ". More on Dean here .

recent snaps

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We just returned from our honeymoon to Catalina Island.  I loved every bit of that trip and returned feeling inspired.  Here are some photos of some recent pieces as well as my first attempt at making udon noodles.

can I live on a houseboat already, please?

I love this video on artist Heather Wilcoxon from In the Make.   I have been living in SoCal for the almost 6 months now and haven't met too many artists out here yet.  Perhaps they're all on houseboats? Wouldn't that be dreamy.

patbingsu

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We headed over to Big Joy Bakery & Cafe today to try this patbingsu , which is pretty much the best thing ever.  The little bits that look like gum drops are mochi and there is red bean under that.  Yum! 

Featured Artist Monday|Wynne Greenwood

More on Greenwood here .

a wedding

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This past weekend we got married in La Jolla at the MCASD. Surprise! It was not quite an elopement but it was a very tiny wedding. I made these embroidered hankies for the guests and this one was my favorite.

Featured Artist Monday|Elizabeth Kley

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Aren't these just the dreamiest?  More on Kley here .

North Shore

Living in SD is really all about the surfing.  Not so much for me but you know, it's in the culture here.  It takes me back to one of my favorite movies, North Shore.  I'm not so sure it holds up as much now but this montage has some of the best lines and reminds me how Turtle is definitely the best character.

Velodrome

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We went to see the velodrome races the other day at Balboa Park and I loved every bit of it.  This entire experience seemed right out of an 80s movie about Southern California (and definitely made me think of this classic).  These races are weekly throughout summer so I will definitely be returning for more.

Featured Artist Monday|Tala Madani

Madani's work is featured in the Hammer Museum's Made in LA exhibit. I'm hoping to travel up there very soon to see it.

New England

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I just made it back from a trip to New Hampshire and Maine to visit family.  New England is a pretty magical place.  My San Diego apartment is from the 1930s and it feels downright ancient but once you walk down a street in New Hampshire and the buildings are two-three hundred years old it puts everything in context.  We made a quick stop at the Portland Museum of Art which houses a small, yet strong collection.  I loved the Alex Katz pieces, specifically this giant one posted here. 

Obvious Child

I fell behind on my movie a week challenge from last year.  Life happened and I moved across the country down to California.  Now that I'm settling in I am hoping to pick up it back up.  Although, it may be more like a movie every now and then. I just saw Obvious Child and I loved it's candid take on abortion, love, and family relations.  The movie featured several of my favorites (Jenny Slate, Gabby Hoffman, Scout Niblett, Planned Parenthood...the list goes on).  It is a full spectrum view on abortion that I have never seen in a film. Kudos to Gillian Robespierre for getting this material out there and expanding the dialogue. 

new embroidery work (floor studio)

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Here is a snapshot of some new pieces I have been working on since the move to San Diego.  The change in scenery has definitely affected my color palette and also my approach with the water colors and the embroidery.  As I move closer to finishing each piece I will post more close-ups. Great rug, right?

Featured Artist Monday|Alison Wilding

Featured Artist Monday|Alyssa Baguss

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I just discovered the work of Alyssa Baguss this morning while poking through the Walker Art Center site and blog .  Her drawings are lovely and I'm really digging the compositions. Side note, I started to learning more HTML this weekend through Dash .  This site is great for anyone looking for a good intro to HTML and CSS.

rays

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The other day Ian and I were in the ocean at La Jolla and I saw this cute little fellow a few hiding a few feet from me.  There are lots of sting and bat rays out here.  I think this guy was a sting ray. They tend to be disinterested in people unless you step on them. Since landing in San Diego I have seen two pods of dolphins, one sting ray, seals and sea lions galore.  Not to be greedy but I am hoping for a whale spotting sometime soon too.

Featured Artist Monday| Ann Hamilton

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I am a little shocked I haven't posted about Hamilton yet but she's the jam.  More on her work here . Image from Workshop Residence .

neighborhood| Point Loma

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neighborhood| University Heights

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I'll be posting more of these in the coming weeks.

Austin, TX

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These are photos from my trip to Austin this past weekend.  Austin is a place that definitely lives up to the hype.  They say it's the capitol of live music and I have to say, there is live music everywhere!  It's kind of unavoidable.  Nevertheless, I went to a spectacular wedding and saw lots of friends and made the rounds at some of the tourist sights.   I found this amazing portrait at the top at an antique store (where I later knocked over and broke a birdhouse, oops!) and of course I was super stoked to see this portrait of Ann Richards at the Capitol building.

On Fire

This is one of my favorite songs and I was lucky to wake up to it playing on the record player this morning.  While pulling up the embed code for the blog I played this video a few times, in the round, which I definitely recommend trying.  Thanks, Sebadoh, for rocking my Wednesday.

Featured Artist Monday|Nancy Spero

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I am excited to have my 400th post be about Nancy Spero, a total badass.  More on Spero here .

Mother's Day

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As Mother's Day approaches I wanted to give a shout out to all my friends who are wonderful moms and to my own mother who is my guiding light (and is also in that amazing horse photo at the top of my blog).  I also want to thank two of my favorite ladies in the whole world, my Grandma Dorothy and Lala (Grandma Helen).  I miss you both!

never enough M.I.A.

Back from Arizona

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I just made it back from a two week vacation to Arizona. As Ian calls it, it was a real "circle of life" trip.  I got a chance to see old friends and deal with some more difficult situations as well. Arizona shined very bright on this trip.  I traveled to Tucson, Aravaipa Canyon, Sedona, Arcosanti (last picture from the series above), and ended up in Phoenix for the wedding and baby shower of two of my best friends.

experiments with digitization

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I started playing around with an open source version of Photoshop and am experimenting with digitizing some of my embroidery work. While I love working with my hands, it has taken a toll on my wrists and arms lately so I'm looking for new ways to approach my practice.  I have also starting making my own fabric designs.  More to come on that one soon, stay tuned!

gila monsters and a trip to AZ

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I am off to Arizona next week for a visit to family, a wedding, and a baby shower.  There is lots going on in 2014!  Side note, I'm hoping for a gila monster sighting, preferably from a distance.