Thursday, August 25, 2011

.sketchbook.project.

I am currently not quite halfway finished with my third Sketchbook Project. It's a lovely exercise, a bit frustrating, challenging, and super satisfying when you realize how much progress you've made. You sign up, fork over money, they send you a book, and you have until January to get it back to them, filled with whatever; and then it goes on tour.

My first sketchbook was a bit of a disaster. I choose my theme poorly, let myself become completely flabbergasted by the thin paper in the book, and didn't actually finish it until June - a full 6 months after it was due.

My second sketchbook was also a bit of a disaster. I finished it in about two months - a full 10 months before it was due; once again with a poorly chosen theme and execution, and then sat on it for awhile, trying to decide whether I was going to actually submit it, or set it on fire.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

.keeping.busy.

More often than not I find myself wishing for a new project, and scheming for ways I can further entertain/engage/busy myself. I like to keep busy. Idle hands/mind for me makes for the Crazy Place in my brains. I tend to multitask as well - I'm not just working on a project but also listening to an audiobook or podcast, or watching a TED talk or something on Netflix, while also scheming about dance, etc...

It makes my beau crazy - he likes to occupy himself with one thing at a time, intently and with purpose; and my flurry of "things" is very distracting for him.

Lately I've been on a "find projects" kick again lately, totally disregarding the plethora of projects I'm already working on; and fortunately before I added any to the list, my current list caught up with me, just in time to bring on feelings of being overwhelmed and overworked. And I'm happy about this. This is Good.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Cuddle-Fish

I'm working on a very Conceptual illustration of the evolution of life - but I needed a break from the research. I needed a Cute Break.
Answer = Cuttlefish


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

.September.Dance.Challenge.Precursor.

It's early yet - the last Dance Challenge just ended 2 days ago, but I've got my panties all in a wad, and I thought getting this out earlier might be the way to go.

Why are my panties in a wad?

Because of Morgan.
Morgan is a beautiful wild Orca, supposedly rescued to rehabilitate, but now essentially being held captive by her rehabilitators, the Harderwijk Dolfinarium.  There was an attempt to send her to an amusement park in the Canary Islands, which was thankfully blocked by the Orca Coalition, but her release back into the wild has not been secured yet.




It just makes me nauseous.
And while normally I keep my politics to myself, I just...there are no words.

So, for the next Dance Challenge, I'm going to take between 5-10 song suggestions. If the songs are in some way ocean related - bonus points. And rather than tipping, I'd like all donations to be made toward freeing Morgan. Last I checked they needed about 2500 Euros to keep the legal battle ongoing.
As a bonus, as well as YouTube video "likes" for the voting, I'll be taking dollar donations as votes as well - and all of those dollars, every one, will go to freeing Morgan.

I'll be taking song suggestions on the 1st of September, and the first batch of videos will be posted on the 5th. Voting will be open until the 9th, and the final video will be posted on the 10th.

Additionally, I'll be donating half of all etsy sales towards freeing Morgan.
For how long?
Until it's resolved.

Monday, August 15, 2011

.Dance.Challenge.August.Final.

OMG I'm so sleepy!!!!

Seriously, soooo sleepy. Maybe four hours last night? Then a full day of work? Then dancing?
So, without any judgment on my part - sleepy dancer dancing:




My favorite part is where my cat decides he's batman, and then gravity disagrees.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

.art.musing.

I've been mulling over what it is that I want to do with my art, my personal art, for the last week. Not a terribly long time to be mulling over something, especially with how busy I tend to be, but one thought keeps popping up over and over - Why do I have to do anything with it at all?

At first this thought, this answer, seems to be simple, straightforward, and fairly obvious. But it's not. Because I do want to do something with it - but not for the reasons I ought to want to do anything with it.
Down to pins and needles, ultimately my goal is to be able to do what I want, when I want, and not have to need to work for an entity I don't believe in to live the way I want to. A step back further, and I don't even need (or want) to live the way I'm living now. How I ended up here, with a house and a fiance and a pair of codependent cats is unimportant, really. It's where I am, and I have to make a decision if it's where I want to stay - or if the life I have to live in order to stay here is the life I really want to live.

Monday, August 8, 2011

.Dance.Challenge.August.

It seems to be crazy video day!

A few notes before you watch - the backlighting is horrible. Just ignore it. Also, my dining room is not tidy and perfect - ignore it. As "Beginning to Work on a Piece" videos, I'm not horribly dissappointed, but I'm not critiquing anything, and if it were up to me, I would not continue to work on certain ones. That being said, these are essentially pre-practice videos, and improv to boot. I very rarely choreograph, and especially not when I'm still getting to know a song. Also, I had to use my laptop to record as the digital camera has gone missing (that's what I get for cleaning anything).
However it's up to you, not me, and it's up to your YouTube "likes" - so Go! Like Things!

Also, still taking donations, if you're enjoying yourself of course!

Spectrum - White


My critique of my own dancing is here.

.ramble.

Friday my beau and I wandered over the the First Friday openings - which was mostly disappointing, though not as disappointing as last month though I'm pretty sure that was due to the lack of heat (it was hot but not as hot), as most of the galleries we went to look at were filled with the exact same art as last month - and it wasn't good. Not that we looked at many galleries - after three repeats (one I was actually really happy to see a second time) and one gallery that was so inadvertently elitist I walked out, we gave up and went out for dinner.

The one repeat I was really happy about was Andrew Batcheller, who's showing at the Mojo. There a review of it at the bottom of this, and you can see his work here. Between his good work - and the several bad shows, I got my studio cleaned, finally, and did some painting of my own.
And I really need to stay away from acrylic paint from now on.
And that's easily managed.

I'm still trying to figure out what it is I want to be doing with my own art. Reading mostly. It's coming. A big rant. I feel it.

This afternoon I'll be posting videos for the Dance Challenge - around 5 I think?

Thursday, August 4, 2011

.from.my.sketchbook.


Preliminary work for a little political cartoon my brain is too dead to deal with at this very moment. But later...
And in the realm of dead, I had a lovely little rant started in my brain about the purpose of art, and what I'd like the purpose of my art to be...it will come. 


[EDIT - 10 minutes later]
Okay, I need to rephrase this, as I don't think "my brain is dead" really covers how my thinking parts feel at the moment.

My brain feels like it's been scrambled, and is leaking out of my eye sockets.
Seriously.
I spent 4 hours at work today making boxes, and it scrambled my brains. Like eggs. but not so delicious.

Alright, maybe as delicious, but I don't know as I've never eaten brains of any sort - but especially not human brains because that's how you get Mad Cow Disease (or so I hear). And my brains might be pretty delicious as brains go - filled with pretty colors and ink lines and music and dancing.
Or they might just taste like regular brains.
That have been scrambled.

It's not too dissimilar a feeling that I have after finishing an intensive illustration project - when emerging from that concentration into daylight and blinking alot. But, still.
Scrambled.

So it might be martinis and french fries tonight.
And drawing.

Or possibly dancing, as I need to video the Dance Challenge pieces this weekend.
We. Will. See.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Dance Challenge / Art Challenge

The Dance Challenge is off to a great start. I have Six - count them - Six songs I'm working on currently. One in particular is throwing me for a mental loop and it's going to be really really interesting to see what comes of it. But the challenge is exciting - really pulling me out of my box in a host of different directions.

Meanwhile, I noticed that my illustration portfolio is sadly lacking in portraits - something which used to be my thing. So I put a call out to my friends on who I should illustrate, and after a few questions (no, no bellydancers; yes, men and women; and a variety of professions) I got a good starter list. The one suggestion that really caught my eye was Gregor Mendel...
...oh Gregor, how I love you. My introduction to high school biology, my love affair with genetics...
Perfect first subject.

And as he was a friar, and sort of the godfather of modern genetics, it seemed only right to make an Icon of him.


Next will be a lighthearted portrait of my friend Amanda, as a fairy.

Monday, August 1, 2011

It's Hot! Dance Challenge

It's so hot!
106˚ when I got into my car after work.
Clearly my honey bee has vanished - off to cooler climates.

But, it's time for my first ever Dance Challenge.
Here's the deal - You suggest songs, I dance to the first minute of them, and post them on YouTube and here in a week. You get to pick what I dance to! Voting commences for five days. Then I'll dance to the entirety of the song with the most votes. Voting will be done via "Like" clicks on YouTube.

Rules:
  • I'm using the first 5 song suggestions only. If you don't get yours submitted in time, never fear - should this work out without making my head explode, I'll be repeating it next month.
  • Songs may not be sexually explicit. I'm not dancing to the Big Butt song, or whatever else.
  • Songs also have to be available on iTunes, since I don't have a ton of free time to be hunting down obscure recordings of  Tatil Shibak.
  • I reserve the right to add new rules as necessary, since this is a big experiment - but I promise not to be unreasonable.

Donations/Tipping is welcome, especially since I'm more than likely going to be having to purchase music.
If you haven't seen me perform, I highly suggest checking out my videos (there is a link on the right!) to get an idea of what my movement style is like and how you can challenge me!







And GO!

.monday.

When I left my house this morning for work - at horrible horrible 6:30am - there was a sleepy honey bee taking a snooze on the door frame. I was a little jealous, of his snoozing, and in awe that I could be so close to him without him rousing.

Decent enough weekend, for having gotten little enough done from my list of things to get done. Fortunately, costume repair was not necessary for my Saturday night shows, and the rest...sometimes naps are more important.

One very important lesson was learned - if you're doing a sword dance, don't plan on balancing the stupid thing on your chin if there's not proper temperature control. Meaning, don't do it if your face has been sweating at all - at best and if you're lucky, you'll end up with a chest balance instead. At worst....you're going to drop your lovely shiny sword on the floor and dent the sword, the floor, or both.