sweet but not innocent

I shouldn't have encouraged his poor behavior by taking pictures.

(The third and forth pictures were taken just moments after the first two, after I left the room for a bit... sigh... "this is why we can't have nice things"...)

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small but wonderous details of a day

Last weekend I had a day that started with this:

Included this:

And this:

And ended with this:

And I call that a "good day"...

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1. A double-yolker egg. I always read these as a good omen of fun times ahead. I assign superstitious meanings to random events in my life all the time. I once read that this is actually a mental disorder - but it's kind of fun so I remain happily undiagnosed.

2. This stack of post-bread-baking-bowls reminded me of an Aardvark... and I feel it is important that you know that.

3. A friend's baby's first time in a lake. Splashing!

4. Driving home from the lake we witnessed a Cat-Versus-Skunk-Stand-Off. We actually turned the car around to go back and watch it. Our viewing ended with the skunk running away, the cat in hot pursuit. Sort of a Reverse-Pepe-LePew-Situation. I imagine that it still ended badly for the cat...

beautiful bills

My days have been busy busy lately so haven't been able to make much art or post many photos... but I see that the internet has survived without my input. Shocking!

Anyway, yesterday I was back at the Laboratory. Cleaning out the old stuff, making way for new stuff. It's really starting to take shape.

Most of the old scientist's stuff is gone now and there is much more space for the new scientist to work in.

There was a surprising amount of personal effects left in the lab and it was very interesting to piece together a picture of the old scientist's life through the objects left behind. I felt like a private eye.

The dear old man has past on and I shan't tell tales about him here except to say he was Greek and I think he was a good guy and a busy scientist.

Yesterday I found a folder full of old Greek money. I've never been to Greece or seen it's money...

It's beautiful old paper through don't ya think?

in-between painting

layers of paint and shape. i don't know how i started or where i'm going with these - i just do them over to the side of my work space when i get bored, stuck, tired or annoyed with what i'm doing.

Misc.

This is the view from my home/office right now (I'm procrastinating).

I think the whole paddle-boat fleet must have been unleashed out there! Nice day for it.

And here are some gems from my lab-clean-up project from yesterday. I spent most of the day clearing out five over-flowing, 4-drawer filing cabinets. So far the oldest thing I've found is a manuscript from 1958. I found a reprint (from 1962) of Francis Crick's paper "The Genetic Code". Yes, THAT Crick. From science class. The double helix guy. Those were the glory days of science.

The cover of this journal will look familiar to most Canadians. CBC's "Gem Logo" came out in 1974.

These journal covers are luscious enough to make me want to do some Liquid Chromatography!

And a friendly reminder from the Feddy Gov (this message was only on sporadic file folders, not all... to keep you in suspense):

Dress 9 - The Dress Quest is Dead

Well, I made it to Dress Day #9 (which was actually Thursday past but I've been too otherwise-occupied to write here since then).

I started a temporary job (I'm a "casual" Fed for the next couple weeks) that involves being in a Scientific Laboratory. It requires biking to work and having to wear pants and shoes in the lab - so the dress-up is dead. I was growing a little bored with it anyway, truth be told.

The job is a fun one: cleaning up Husbo's new lab space which was previously occupied by another scientist for 30-odd years... and he was a bit of a pack rat!

This might not seem fun to very many people but it is almost heaven for me: old government furniture and surplus, old science manuals/gadgets, and the paraphernalia of a stranger's working life just sitting there to sift through - and getting paid for it!

I enjoy cleaning up and organizing really messy spaces. I find it very satisfying and it's something I'm good at.

So, that's the update on that.

This last dress wasn't even a dress but a skirt and long shirt. I'm mostly posting it because I took some adorable/stupid pictures of my stupid/adorable cat at the same time.

He and this rug really tie the room together. He loves that rug.

the elevator ate my homework

I found this homework/script about Organic Farming in my building's elevator and it is hilarious... I don't know what it says about the state of critical thinking and persuasive argument skills in our nation's youth but I've certainly been quoting it around the house all day...

"That's no moon! It's your vegetable!"

(Click on the pictures to make them bigger.)

Read. Enjoy.

drawing my own - plus some hockey talk

While I waited to hear about an illustration yesterday I started another painting of my own tattoos.

Here's the progress so far.

This figure-8 knot was done about a year and a half ago by Steve Baker in Guelph, ON. I think he did a really nice, clean job on it.

Not much to say about it: I like the look of knots (I used to be into tying fancy, decorative knots), I like the number 8, my sister-in-law was about to get married so I had the phrase "tying the knot" (and eternity) on my mind.

This one was done several years ago by Lydia Stalingrad in Halifax, NS. At the time I think she was a bit nervous about the smallish lettering but she did a great job - true to the feel of the old advert it came from.

This was sort of a memento of living in Halifax, to my love for hockey/hockey-history/Canadiana, and to my love for old advertising all wrapped up in one.

I don't play hockey... I did play soccer for a bit... but I've never been able to "get into" soccer (despite reading The Ball Is Round - which was a good read). The game is just too long and boring for me. There, I said it.

Hockey captures my attention on many levels. I'll happily admit that it's partly due to living in the province of its origin for 5 years and running into Sidney Crosby a few times. (I watched the Pens win the cup in Sid's boyhood arena - it was hilarious and cool.)

Anyway, I get attached to places via the history of those places and Halifax's and hockey's histories happen to be intertwined.

This little book made a good argument about Halifax-Dartmouth being the place where hockey really began. Also, it's a quick and informative read about hockey's interesting history. I recommend it.

I might get the little striped guy tattooed someday... maybe when the Pens win the cup again.

I thought this tidbit (or should I say "timbit"?) about the acrobatic influence of the goalies from the "coloured leagues" on the NHL was really interesting.

Dress 8 - and the Ol' Bounce N' Roll

Dress: H&M via thrift store.

This frock is the dress-equivalent of track pants.

To paraphrase Seinfeld, I feel a little like I've given up on life if I wear this during the day. I usually just wear it during that strange sartorial period between a post-yoga-shower and bedtime.

I never wear it out of the apartment building. (OK. I'll admit to going as far as the laundry room in it - for shame!)

..but it's light and loose and today's gonna be the hottest day of the year so far... and I need to start and finish a final illustration for tomorrow morning... so today it's OK to wear this dress all day.

This photo makes more sense if you know that it's taken in my office on this weird sitting-situation I've employed of late.

It's a Bosu Ball on top of a footstool on wheels and it is the perfect height for my drawing board. I arrived at this set-up through trial and error. It's working well so far but it's always an adventure to sit on because it both bounces and rolls. One never know when tragedy could strike!

Also I can bust out and do some core-strength at any moment (but that rarely happens)...

DIY bike rack

I think the bike rack that my Husbo created deserves a little more attention than I gave it previously because it's such a clever space-saver and he made it with only some scrap wood we had in the apartment and two cheap screwdrivers (to hold the bikes in place).

You can do it too!

The best part is, since the bike's weight is still on the floor, you don't need to worry about using heavy-duty wall mounting stuff.

For my part, I painted it white and added the hooks for hanging lights and reflectors and such.

Our building's bike room is currently chockablock and it has this weird door situation: two doors back to back that open in opposite directions. Both require unlocking and both are spring-loaded. The whole thing is terribly awkward so we've opted to keep our bikes in the apartment for now.

The other bike is absent from this picture but the rack does hold two bikes.

We hung a map of our new city right beside the bike rack so we know how to get where we're going.

(I found the skates in the basement-giveaway-spot. Just my size!! I'm super excited to try them out on the canal next winter!!!)

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Dress # 7

Day 7 Dress:

American Eagle via thrift store.

This one is cute in a nautical way - though it is far shorter than I feel OK about wearing without leggings (which is still MUCH longer than what the younger gals wears these days) - so that makes it sort of impossible for me to wear this outside on a hot summer as it is intended to be worn...

It is nice for working inside though. Has pockets - a practical feature I love.

Managed to get my favourite rose-etched mirror into this shot. I'm not adverse to showing my face, but having a rose-face is cool too.

The bow on the back of this dress is sorta what made me buy it...

I'm always attracted to fancy details on clothing but then they almost always make me feel too conspicuous when I wear the thing in public.

I'm always torn between being totally outlandish in my dress and being extrememly plain (like devising a simple, understated-but-well-tailored uniform that I could wear every single day. Inevitably I end up somewhere in a messy, undecided middle ground... I need to get this sorted out... I'm leaning towards plain so that I can spend more time on other pursuits.

Anyway, here's that bow.

So far, by going through my clothes in this manner, I've gotten rid of (sent to thrift store) one pair of capri leggings and two pairs of old flip-flops . I might doff yesterday's and today's dresses too...

It's hard getting rid of things you still like... but I can't see wearing some of this stuff very often if it takes a month of dedicated dress-wearing to actually wear them... someone else could probably get more use out of them.

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Dress #6

Dress Day 6.

I finally changed my clothes.

This is from Tristan & Iseut. I've never gone in that store but after looking at the website I would consider it. They have some plain/classic/tailored things that look nice.

This one is from a thrift store. The cut is a bit weird so it requires a tanktop underneath. I bought it when I first started venturing into pinks and florals roughly 2 years ago. Wearing it always brings out my more (stereotypically) girly side.

The necklace is a replica of an old thing. In olden days this would have been a three-sided locket but this one doesn't open... the pressed-glass roses are sweet though...

Posting about this made me look up the ancient story of Tristan and Isolde - which yielded this pretty picture. It's a romantic story. Read it and sigh.

Dress 4, Dress 5

If you are feeling ugly or having a bad hair day, take a picture from a different angle...

Dress 4 and 5 are one in the same. I'm busy with illustrations this weekend so I haven't left the house much. This knit-jersey number in black is easy to live and work in for days on end.

pin yourself to the earth

Isn't that a cool phrase? "Pin yourself to the earth..."

I learned about this Native American (I forget which tribe exactly - I'll rewrite this later with more deatils) custom of wearing a long sash and a pin/stake into battle with the idea that the warrior would pin themselves in place while fighting - as in, they could not run away.

I learned about this via a Gord Downie song called "Pinned". He in turn learned about it from reading a book about Custard's Last Stand.

There's something romantic and outstanding about this idea... but also something totally ludicrous - to be so totally entrenched on an issue that you no longer have the freedom to change your mind... but maybe that's just how I see it because I don't stand for much...

I'm a try-to-see-it-from-all-sides person and that often leaves me without very strong opinions on issues. I mean, I DO have opinions but I'm never very willing to take sides strongly - because it is hard to know if you have all the facts straight and every circumstance is a little different...

Anyway, the one thing in my life I've always been sure of and proud of was my decision to marry my man. This love is the only thing I can really "pin myself to" and he's the only person I can truly say I would fight to the death for.

So I'm thinking I might get a little anniversary tattoo soon. Something like below. Small and simple, real traditional-looking.

Though it might work with the "pinned" idea better if it didn't go through the skin but right into it.

I also really like the double-hearted dagger idea like in this tattoo done by Bailey H. Robinson (based on flash by Jack Tyron).

I think the dagger with two hearts is a pretty traditional piece of flash that lots of other people did/do. I just wanted to highlight this guy's work because I really like it and this was the first place I ever saw the double hearts. (So click on that there link for more tattoo-beauties!!!)

Anyway, undecided as of yet.

I think it makes more (personal) sense to me for it to tear the skin... plus I'm kinda into the skin-tears lately... but the double heart is more "elegant" and lovely...

hmmmm...

Dress #3

My current "go-to" dress.

Comfortable and easy to wear but nice enough fabric (linen) and detailing to look like I kind of give a shit about my appearance when I go outside.

It's Banana Republic but I got it at a thriftstore.

This colour looks pretty good on me.

Only showing my favourite details of the dress because I'll probably wear this one a lot this month - can't give away all the details on the first wear.

a friend, a tattoo, a painting

The other day I was surprised to find a comment on my FB wall from my friend Chris Hold (of Sacred Heart Tattoo in Vancouver) that said, "Your arm is famous."

It turns out Sacred Heart had been featured in Inked Magazine and a tattoo that Chris did on my arm during my recent trip to Vancouver was one of the pictures included in the feature.

Needless to say, I was chuffed - for Chris and for me. It was such a fun tattoo experience and I think he did a great job on it - I'm glad it's been commemorated in this strange way. It's good to see a friend doing well at what he loves. And this weird thing of having my disembodied arm in a glossy American magazine feels somehow like it connects me and Chris across the great divide of this huge country in a "what-are-the-odds?" kind of way...

I digress...

* So here is a picture of my (healed) arm beside a picture of my arm in a magazine. Meta-arm? Meta-magazine? It's meta-something I'm sure!

(I'll talk about the other tattoo another day because it is also a fun story.)

* My arm, with the tattoo Chris did, pointing at a picture of Chris. Gosh, this is getting complicated.

So, I have no "grand meaning" for this tattoo, but there are several layers to why I love it.

I basically just picked it out of a book called "Vintage Tattoos" because I knew I was going to Vancouver and I wanted to get tattooed by my old friend and I knew he liked doing old stuff.

It is from a poster by Joe & Mabel Darpel. I read their story and liked that they were a husband/wive tattooing team. Mabel (the name of our first cat coincidentally) had also been a knife-thrower which I thought was pretty bad-ass. They lived in Waco, Texas - where my husband has family. What I'm trying to say is, there were tonnes of small details that made them resonate with me.

The Darpels (I'm just guessing here) probably got the imagery from the "Mercury Dimes" that were around from 1916-1945. Contrary to the name, these dimes did NOT depict Mercury. They depicted the "mythological goddess Liberty wearing a Phrygian cap, a classic symbol of liberty and freedom, with its wings intended to symbolize freedom of thought." (I stole that from Wiki...)

(I need more "freedom of thought" in my brain so it seemed like a good image for me.)

I really enjoyed learning all the random historical bits associated with this tattoo, especially about the Phrygian Caps. They show up all over the place!

So anyway, I recently decided that I would draw/paint all my tattoos (for the drawing practice and to write down the stories that go with them)

So I started with my Liberty Lady...

* Here you can see the book she came from, my sketch, and the beginning of my final version (which I traced from my sketch).

* Here she is inked in black. I'm still trying to get a handle on using ink and spit-shading and all that. A few of the laurel leaves went so badly that I completely blacked them out. I was pretty frustrated by the inking going badly but I decided to press on and finish the thing. I sometimes quit too easily...

* Here's the mess on my desk.

* Here's the finished thing, glorious screw-up that it is.

(I mean that in a healthy way - I'm glad I actually finished it. I think it has some good points and some bad points... but the main thing is that I finished it.)

Thanks for looking. And thanks to Chris for the awesome tattoo.

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Wear a DRESS Everyday in June: Dresses 1 & 2

I got invited to "wear a dress everyday in june" through facebook. I wasn't going to do it but had a sudden, May 31st change of heart.

It's not a fundraiser or anything and since I rarely leave the house, no one will see my dresses (except here online). The only reason to do it is for my own entertainment really...

I have a silly amount of clothes for someone who works from home. Maybe this will help me sort out what needs to go away permanently.

Dress #1:

This was basically a MooMoo that I tailored a little bit and then put a belt on. I LOVE the fabric and the pattern. I would still like to alter the neckline but haven't had time yet.

It turns out a dress like this is very comfortable during the hot, humid weather we had yesterday.

Dress #2:

This is a handmade house dress. Not made by me. Probably from the 70s? It's got convenient pockets and practical pleats. Very utilitarian. Not very flattering... but for some reason I like it anyway.

I added the horse head pin because that seam around the neck won't stay put.

Today it got cold again so I had to layer-up.

ASKing

I found the blurb below yesterday through tumblr. I think the person that posted it originally is maybe a transvestite? I'm not sure and don't really want to invest the time to figure it out right now... I just mention it because, if that is the case, then they probably have a lot of experiential wisdom to offer on the matter of getting to where you want to be in life.

(click here if it is cut off in your browser)

It is simple. So simple you might think you don't need be reminded of it... but you do. Or I do at least...

I've been thinking a lot about life/career goals lately - especially in light of my new family status (which I'm still getting used to and trying to be more open about - which is "involuntarily childless" by the way - as in, we wanted but can't have kids).

Anyway, my biggest problem in my life & career is always myself, getting in my own way with self-doubt and shyness and fears of failure. Possibly also fears of success...

I know there are A LOT of artists out there that are much better than me but I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a talented person with the potential to get much better.

I have talent but I often don't seem to have that fire in my belly that "great artists" have... the ones that create ceaselessly and with abandon. Or maybe I have a little flame but I'm very good at extinguishing it with my fears and insecurities. And let's not forget that for several years I've been trying to save room in my belly for something/someone else.

Anyway, it's warming up in there, in my belly. I'm working on something I have some passion for - which is fun. The biggest hurdle is going to be in about a month when I need to go out into the world and start asking people (who will probably still be strangers) to help me. I fear that. Hugely.

In response to this challenge and the blurb from tumblr I finally got around to hanging up these old sign letters in my house yesterday... as a daily reminder that I need to start ASKing - without fear of the answer "no"... because there is a chance that someone might eventually say "yes"... and that will be AWESOME!

(These letters used to be gold but I sprayed them white. I got them from the Re-Store in Guelph for $3 a piece... there were a few other letters available but this was the only word I could spell... signs and wonders?)

around the house

* Bombus terrestris found it's way up to our balcony

* Husband made us a bike rack out of some scrap wood. It's pretty slick.

* Just noticed that the reflection of the lake was up-side-down in this marble!!

(Duh... highschool physics explains this but I had forgotten it happens so it was a semi-magical rediscovery.)

* New old lamp.

* New old dartboard.

(I like that the brand is "BY" and we live in "Colonel BY Tower".)