A Glance at Last Week

Last week was ruff for me, but I tried to make the best of it.  I've been trying to ride my bike more often. So when I needed to go into the city for some art supplies, but more importantly I wanted some cookies. I hopped on my bike to save some money(for cookies). The cookies didn't last long enough to be photographed sadly. It was such a beautiful night. These where taken on the Brooklyn bridge. This is the only bridge I like biking on even with the tourist that like to walk in the bike lane.

The art supplies: two Faber-Castell pens(XS, F) a white gel pen, and a Excel craft knife. I was using a sharpie but it wasn't working out. I love the Faber-Castell pens. I haven't find much use for the gel pen yet, but I'm sure I will!

A la prochaine!

Monday Afternoons...

Reading: Matilda - Ronald Dahl

Writing: This post, and hopefully a couple more after it. Then I really must work on this dreaded artist statement for  school.

Listening: Cheers(Drink To That) - Rihanna

Eating: Bread pudding with a cup of OJ

Feeling: Totally inspired after yesterdays trip to the Brooklyn Arts Library!

A la prochaine!

Video of the Day: The Sketchbook Project 2012

I found this video about The Sketchbook Project over at ModCloth's blog. I love it! I'm defiantly going to be apart of the 2013 project! I'm just doing too much right now to take on anything else. I'm also defiantly going to visit the Art Co-op soon. It's only a 20 minute bike ride away after all!

A la prochaine!

Seen near Union Square.

I've seen Louis Mendes but never had my own camera to take his photograph. I'm glad I was finally able to capture him! He is a great photgrapher. Taken 10/16/2011.

A la prochaine!

Sunday Morning Music: The White Stripes

Dear crush,

"Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow..."

"Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the same well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can this be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain"....."When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy"..."Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed."

From The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

When I first read this it didn't ring true to me. How can joy and sorrow be "inseparable"?  A couple of days ago I was intensely happy, but before the day had ended I was intensely sad. When I sat and thought about it I realized that even when I was happy that sadness was still there, and vise versa. What this quote means to me is something I've always known. When you are sad happiness isn't far away(and vise versa).

A la prochaine!

Image Transferring #1

So I tried to transfer an image for the first time not to long ago. It was a complete fail. Boo! But with I shall not give up. I think the problem was I might have bought the wrong Gel Medium and I only left the image on for a couple of hours. I was so excited to see the results. The image I used was a couple of years old too. Here's my disaster:

 The first image is what I got. The second is what I wanted(minus the words). I wasn't ready to except defeat so I added some more gel medium on top in an attempt to add some shine(or something). When the gel dried the image looked dried out again. In the end though I added the text and through some red paint spatter on top.

 A la Prochaine!

I am euphoric! Come join me.

Have you ever been so happy that you actually can feel it flowing freely down through your fingers and toes? Do you feel it pulsing through your chest? Do you sit with it, eyes closed, just rolling it back and forth?

Have you ever sat and wondered why? And when you finally figure out that it had nothing to do with anyone else. Does the shook of it thrill you? That this feeling came from within with no outside help... I love that! The best type of happiness comes from within  and ohh how is last and last!

I can feel it in my fingers and toes. I am euphoric!
A la prochaine!

The Sketchbook Project

Have you heard of the sketchbook project? I didn't but instantly fell for the idea. That is until I found out that I would never get my sketchbook back and that I had to pay a small fee to join. And I would have to return the book by a certain date. Since I just found out about it and I decided to do it next year. I still wanted to do something so in the end I decided to do the project, but from home and share what I do to the pages with you all!

The Sketchbook: 

A small Canson journal I got about a year ago compliments of Blick art materials that I had barely used. I decided that for this journal I wasn't going to work with in a theme. I didn't want to limit myself I just wanted to create! This is what I have so far...

 I'm going to try and be more  a bit more creative. I really want to try image transferring! I'm going to need more supplies before can though. I made most piece with what I already had available(and ruined some paint brushes by letting paint dry in the camel hairs x-( darn it...) Here's a list of what I hope to get eventually:

• Faber-Castell artist pens- I've been using a sharpie but it hasn't been going well
• White gel pen- for small details
• A Mixed Media Journal- I've noticed that my paper buckles under all the stuff I'm putting on it. The journal I'm currently using is the paper is only 65lbs. I've read that 80lbs or better is good better for what I'm doing.

That's all. I like to keep my list small! I'm really excited about image transferring so I'll let you all see the results of that when I get Gel Medium.

A la prochaine!

Ready or Not- Fall is Here!

I love fall. I love how the leaves change colors before falling to the ground. Then I love collecting those fallen leaves. I love hot spiced apple cider(or hot spiced chia). I love drinking tea first thing in the morning and again at bed time. I love butternut squash soup. I love chili. Most of all love what people do with pumpkin around this time. All these things mean fall is here! Here are some fall related links that you can eat, drink or just visually digest. Enjoy!

1. Create Love -Pumpkin Spice Muffins
2. A Beautiful Mess- Spiced Apple Cider & Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
3. Food Coma- Fried Apple & Vegetarian Chili 
4. Smile and Wave- October Loves You
Enjoy! P.s The image: We've been having some weird weather here in NYC. That image is one I took in 2009.

A la prochaine!

Sunday Morning Music: Weezer

Good Morning!

"Send me a postcard when you get there!"

I love traveling! But I've only had the means to leave my hometown twice, and I've never been out of the country. Though I'm working on changing that I still can't wait to see the rest of the world!

My wanderlust fix for now are postcards, and Postcrossing helps me get that. With postcrossing I can send and recieve to people all over the world. It's awesome and like having mutiple pen pals all over the world(something else I've always wanted to do!). What I early like is that you never know where your going to receive a post card from. Everytime you send one you get one!

Some of my favorites:

 A la prochaine!

How art is saving my life AND putting me in debt.

"Oh, you want to be an artist? There's no money in that!"

If you've decided to follow your heart and make art to support yourself then you've probably heard that statement before. I sure have! I don't let it sway me though. I feel like I don't really have a choose in the matter.
I've had anxiety issues for as long as I can remember. I ignored them(and everyone else around me did also) until 7th grade when I had my first panic attack. In high school I was homeless for a year, I then spent that next year in bed. At the end of that year the only thing that got me out of my bed was this desire to make something...anything...that I could touch..something that I was proud of...something no on else could make.

When people tell me I'm not going to make alot of money being an artist I always tell them "but I'll be happy". And in my head I add "and I'll never have to take anti-depressants!"

But lets honest a budding artist's income is small. No, no it's non-existent!

That would be fine if I wasn't a girl that LOVED to eat(and shop)! Not that you'd know it by looking at me. I recently went to the doctor and found out that I had lost some weight. I was pissed but not surprised. I took a week off work to focus on my portfolio which meant less money on payday.

I don't mind having less money but I hate being hungry. I think it's one of those things that happens when you grow up without enough food to go around. This past week I've been using my credit card to feed myself. I'm trying to be grown up about it. You know buy things to make meals instead of buying out, and all that jazz. It's very hard though.

I feel like to become better in my craft I need to practice. But while practicing I feel like I'm going without. Has anyone else felt(or feel) this way, or am I being a baby?

A la prochaine!

For your Viewing Enjoyment!

I've been working very hard trying to get a portfolio created for the school I want to go to. It's been hard work! I'm no where near finished it feels like I haven't even started really. BUT I'm also having alot of fun. I haven't been able to draw in a studio from a model like I usually do so I've just been sketching things out that are in my head. Here are two of my recent drawings:

I had a ball doing these! I call them "Those Hatters" I plan on doing more and/or making them paintings one day! Though I have fun doing these I don't know if there serious enough to go in my portfolio. I'm leaning towards adding them. Might as well put what I can do right out in the open. Right?

A la prochaine!

Artist Talk: Nakeya B.

Who?
Nakeya Brown

Where are your from?
Small town in Pennsylvania

What do you call yourself (writer, rapper, photographer, etc)?
Photographer

How do you create (your inspiration)?
I am big off of creating from feelings. I have moments where I am just searching for inspiration. I find traveling really inspires me, seeing other people's work and experimenting with new equipment keeps me producing new work.

Why do you do it?
After awhile you do something so much and it becomes a part of your life. It's hard to imagine myself giving up photography. It's a part of me.

Are you currently working on anything?
Currently I am working on a project focusing on plantation fields on River Road in New Orleans. There will be on display in December. As always I am working on capturing portraits of wonderful people. You can see those images at www.sheshootshere.com.

Advice you would give a young Artist?
Always invest time in getting to know your craft. Get to know who the greats where in your field that were doing it before you, they weren't great for no reason. And as usual, be sure to make your craft for yourself first, and everyone else later.

"and your very flesh shall be a great poem..."

"This is what you shall do:

Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches,

give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy,

devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God,

 have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, 

re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book,

dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem

and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body."

 — Walt Whitman from Leaves of Grass

A la Prochaine!

Sunday Morning Music: Florence and the Machine