+word of the day

PANACEA

太陽は常に上昇します。
pan·a·ce·a   
[pan-uh-see-uh]
–noun
1. a solution for all problems or difficulties

+ poem of the day

“I thought the earth remembered me,
she took me back so tenderly,
arranging her dark skirts, her pockets
full of lichens and seeds.
I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,
nothing between me and the white fire of the stars
but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths
among the branches of the perfect trees.
All night I heard the small kingdoms
breathing around me, the insects,
and the birds who do their work in the darkness.
All night I rose and fell, as if in water,
grappling with a luminous doom. By morning
I had vanished at least a dozen times
into something better.”

—	Mary Oliver, Sleeping in the Forest

+ DIY container project

learn how to remove the writing off plastic food containers from this blog.
you can reuse the blank containers for organizing storage or for gifting presents.  http://2busybrunettes.com/2012/04/18/i-heart-earth/

+ Pin and Thread Art

  Pin and thread artwork is a linear geometric design in which you draw string from point to point, creating a matrix of angles and lines.  It was more popular in the 60's but there are still many artists who make masterpieces.  My inspiration to make a design was seeing giant pentagonal pieces at burning man in 2011.  They were elevated and connected at their sides in various angles to make a long walkway in which the star dusted night sky shown through neon geometric designs. the installation was black lit and the effect was magical and interactive.  Being my first attempt, I learned a lot along the way and really enjoyed the process.  It was easy to get confused at the pattern so i used markers on each side as I went along, and developed a good rhythm in the process.  I felt as if I was weaving a magical tapestry.  Pins did not warrant a secure hold so I replaced them with nails and the string I used was an extra sturdy quilting thread. There are 18 pins on each side of the frame, with string going once to each 18 opposite pins, making a total of about 650 lines, all with their own individual path.  in the future, I want to experiment with polygon and circular frames, various colored and textured thread as well. 

+ 3D portable installation

Deciding on a theme was the hardest part of this project.  I chose Beetlejuice mostly because the painting aspect would be fun and i already posessed enough odd things to display among cob webs.  I left the rest to the imagination of the viewer, keeping it easy, simple, and fun. It could be his bioexocist kit, his lunch box, or the man himself morphing into a disguise.
 The box use to be a cassette case, opening on both sides. I gutted the plastic inside, painted the striped beetlejuicesque design, and let the piece fall open with bugs and jars of gooey things inside. 
As a last project in a poorly constructed class, i wanted to use the box in the future and not just a one time deal so i emptied it after presentation and now it will serve as a container for art supplies.

+ SALACIOUS

1: arousing or appealing to sexual desire or imagination :lascivious 

2: lecherous, lustful

hearing this word recently reminded me i learned it in high school from an emo song. I asked my 12th grade teacher what it meant because i had never heard it before and liked all the sounds amougst its syllables. Today i remembered how obsessed i was with this cd that i couldn't even remember the artist, so i went on an internet treasure hunt and bless the cosmic online web, it didn't take 5 minutes to track down the White Octave, on Deep Elm records, my trusty source for high quality emotionally charged indie rock of the late 90's. This music was the soundtrack of my early teen years.  Before a car, before i loosened up a bit and obsessed over Hendrix, Dylan, Zeppelin, Sabbath and other true heroes of all free spirits. A little trip down memory lane...

+HET architecture

the Organic Building in Chuo-ku, Osaka, Japan

http://www.hetgallery.com/

+ quote of the day

“Silence is God’s first language. Everything else is a poor translation.” - Fr. Thomas Keating

+ window shade

My work room has two nice big windows looking out into our yard and our neighbors. I wanted privacy without blocking the beautiful sunlight coming in so i made a decorated shade with patterned paper. While somewhat temporary, this shade diffuses the light so my plants are happy and i can use the shelf that a curtain might otherwise take up.

+

Tashi Mannox - Tibetan Calligrapher from Planetary Collective on Vimeo.

+ the 21st century clock

+ food snapshots: november

hot and fresh with a little cream. life is good and there is much potential in the morning with a cup of coffee in your hand.

heirloom apple with cashew butter is a great school snack

you cant have your avocado and eat it too

lavender mate with steamed soy

elephant garlic

    

+ Spiral Plant Stand

from design sketching to drawing in AutoCAD, this is my CNC project for Industrial Drawing class.  The assignment was to make a flat pack product that could be easily assembled by a consumer.  I wanted to make something simple yet attractive that anyone could enjoy so i decided to make a plant stand.  it now holds an orchid plant on my desk. seeing the bridge from ideas to computer illustrations to the tangible wood parts reveals exiting potential in my design career at school.

+ stereo upgrade

today i hand painted my 30$ ipod stereo. a gold oil-based paint pen and a little creativity was all it took to improve a otherwise hideous contraption.  giving things a little love improves my environment and helps me appreciate everything around me. even a cheap stereo from china can be given meaning and beauty if we have the time to see potential and appreciate its purpose. 

+ Pixars Zoetrope to explain animation

They got their idea from studio Ghibli and im still looking for a good video of theirs, complete with Totoro! The second video is a pixar short about aliens.

+ Fritz Baumgarten

German illustrator, (1883 – 1966)