Ellie's dinosaurs

Thesis

adverts

Johnny H.

Examples

Examples

Thesis

Thesis

Underground Railroad quilt codes

Ideas for John Henry

Reflections

I've been working on Pecos Bill and making a great deal of headway. All but one image is ready for text. I have a feeling I'll need to create probably two to three more scratchboards, but I think that will be a simple endeavor. My schedule for completing the design this weekend, is feasible. Printing next week?

Other projects to complete (ideally this weekend): resume - and finishing the arroyo in my cowboy quilt. As a side note, if I woke up at eight, when my alarm goes off, I'd find I have ample time to complete everything that needs to be done. Late nights aren't working like they did during the school year.

My emotions are still in turmoil, well maybe not so much my emotions but thoughts. I'm going through a significant amount of change right now. I'm on that brink between carelessness and adulthood. There are responsibilities I've yet to undertake that need to be faced.

On that note, my artistic capacity is starting to twitch again. It has been somewhat dead since the arrival of summer - to be expected, but none the less annoying. Somehow I'm not finding the the time to create these works or maybe I'm simply not finding the moment to overcome my own hesitance and put pen to paper. Either way I am feeling that ball of discord that settles in the pit of my stomach when I need to create - and don't.

Thesis

Today I woke up having just convinced myself that my dream of arriving 44 minutes late to my thesis presentation (and thus everyone had moved on to the next person) was not real.

I finished Romancing the Folk. I'm a little behind on my reading schedule, but that was to be expected. My due date for books to be finished has become Saturday instead of the intended Wednesday.

Anyway - here is my best attempt at summarizing the book and why it might be relevant to my research. I think doing this might be helpful for later when I need to recall what exactly it was that I read.

Romancing the Folk: Public Memory and American Roots Music (Cultural Studies of the United States by Benjamin Filene

Chapter one: Here we learn about the American landscape before the very idea of folk. In fact, folk is a relatively new idea. At the turn of the 20th century, American was not even 200 years old. Inhabitant’s great-great grandfathers had been present at the founding of the country. America did not yet see it’s own culture as being specific to the country verses the place from which they had originated. For the most part of the 19th century folk meant folk from the motherland - specifically the English countryside.

to be continued...

Reflections

It's only nine am and my room is already considerably muggy. I can't open my window any wider. I'd buy a fan, except I know I have two back in my brother's garage.

On the plus side - it reminds me of being back in KCMO...

Pecos Bill is officially a year old, not sure how I feel about that. It should have been done six months ago. Why am I so hesitant to work on it? I guess I'm afraid of fucking it up, although I can't help but think there must be some more dramatic underlying reason that it isn't finished. I've planned a schedule for its completion. The deadline is next weekend. That way I'll have more time to complete other projects - like the sandwich compendium - in time for the zine symposium.

This weekend I'm going in search of a job. I have four presses to contact. Tonight I'll figure out my resume situation - probably at a bar since working in my room is difficult.

Getting down to business.

Thesis

I'm having trouble sitting down and reading. There is an endless parade of books I'm attempting to get through, but it is difficult to actually finish a damn chapter. Maybe because the reading is heavy, or maybe because I'm out of practice - I'm finding myself drifting into space and what I encounter there is only adding the the fastness of my heartbeat.

I don't think my heart has slowed down to a simple pace (day-wise) for five days now. However...something about the pounding in my chest lets me know I'm alive - constantly on edge. Is that a good thing? Will this be my existence til December...somehow my answer is yes, and I'm okay with that. There is much to do, and so it goes.

My emotions are raw right now, and I cannot accurately decipher where it is they are headed. I need to keep this chronicle going - at the right time, things will smooth out. Until then...

Patience.

Outfit-a-day

Back home

It has been awhile since I've blogged and alot has happened since then.

Now I'm home, I've packed up from Kansas City - said goodbye, and left to cross the country with Adam. Christmas has come and gone and now it is that limbo time - waiting for New Years.

My heart and seemingly body, is still in Kansas City. I've been waking up at 7 or 8 am and getting tired around 10 or 11pm - which when corresponded to Central time, was my schedule back in KC.

A couple times I've woken up not knowing where I was, at first I thought I must be with Adam because I certainly wasn't in my own bed.

It is pretty quiet around here and that has been getting to me. Between Joe, Jarrod, Zack downstairs and the general West Bottoms, there was always some sort of noise. On that note, I've decided living with roommates will be needed, because if I was by myself - the solitude would drive me crazy.

Missing my phone hasn't helped.

I'm having a hard time putting it together that I am not going back to KC. Well, I know I'm not, but I'm still bummed that I'm not.

The one thing I can live without - the cold. It sure is nice to take a bath and not freeze.

"Do not criticize or complain"

Or at least that is what Dale Carnegie says.

As for me. I am frustrated out of my wits. I am desperately trying to remind myself of the good points, and I'm not saying that I don't have them, but right this very second, I want to bang my head against the wall.

So here is a short list of things that are frustrating, to be followed by things I love and am happy with because that is a much more positive note to end on.

1. The Gap. Trying to climb the ladder, hate having people beat me to it that have less experience than I.
2. KC guys. Why can't I bring myself to talk candidly when appropriate and shut my big mouth when if spews forth nonsense.
3. My big mouth. For previous reasons.
4. Other part-time printing employees. Who think they're above folding cards. Sorry pal, you print 'em, you'll fold 'em (eventually).
5. "Totally". Again, big mouth. I'm not fifteen anymore.


I have some other issues, but really, who wants to listen to anyone gripe? Certainly not me.
On to things I like.

1. My roommates. The best I could ask for.
2. KCPPCA. Sometimes a night for typesetting washes all the frustration away.
3. My bike. Same thing can be said for a bike ride.
4. Screenprinting. More love here.
5. Wearing my new boots. They make me feel powerful and sexy.
6. Evenings with Halliday and Terri. Excellent lady friends.
7. Working on my product line.
8. The West Bottoms. Everyday I find more to love.
9. same could be said for Kansas City. If only I didn't have to have a second job, or if only my second job could be more fun.

Maximone to Halloween

Updates.

* Finished Batrider poster. So far, it has had the most positive feedback of all my posters. Recently, I've renewed my love for screenprinting. Now if only I knew how to mix cmyk inks more to my satisfaction.

* The St. Maximone celebration was last Wednesday. The dress code called for white, naturally the Pistol crew arrived in black. There were half a dozen shrines set up, including one with a man who was chosen to take on the spirit of Maximone and accept the offerings to the saint. I made an offering, but I cannot say what it was.

Aesthetically, the night was very much up my alley. In fact, I've decided to build a new shrine when I return, ideally double decker, one floor to Maximone and one to Lucy.

* Halloween at the Pistol, went well, although not enough people showed up.

* Typeset my business cards and postcards - now I only must print them. Working on hacking away at that printing list. Must finish Pecos Bill!!!

* Kelly, a friend of Joe's from Houston, visited for a week or so. We had a fabulous time and I made a good friend in the process. Very oddly, we have matching wardrobes...needless to say she was a fantastic dresser.

Picture updates

Outside dollar taco tuesday

St. Maximone

Dressed for Maximone

Up-do for Zack's Birthday

thoughts

Even God himself does not purpose to judge man until the end of his days.

Batrider

This weekend I had a fair amount of time working at the Gap.

Sunday I worked from 6pm to 3am helping move maternity down a floor and expanding kids. Yesterday I helped with Kid's visuals because the CEO of Gap will be visiting on Friday and we must have everything perfect for his arrival.

Today I am taking time to catch up on my art projects. Which pring me to my Batrider mock-up. I am really excited for this piece. It will be a four color screenprint with an edition of fourty. The ugly brown color in the digital piece will be metallic gold in the final.

I'm thinking the halo might be larger as well to better balance out the top, oh and "at the" is missing from next to "3rd" but like I said, this is just a mock-up.