ALT

4th term

2011-12-31T08:58:00.000-08:00

Greetings to this wonderful New Year.
If you check out my website HERE you'll see some of the new things I worked on this past semester.
I apologize for the delays between blog posts (almost a year, unacceptable). Originally the goal of this blog was to write about the experience of going back to school as an adult. I've been loosing steam to continue to blog about this because I've come to realize that going back to school in my 30s is not so weird after all. In fact going back to college has shown me that there are people of all ages going to school (although the majority are 18-24 obviously)
With that in mind I will try to shift this blog into the realm of documenting my Graphic Design journey, which will include school.
I am currently working for the CMPA. I have been working there since summer 2011. The work I have been doing there has involved illustrations, animations, some graphic design and photo manipulations. Although I cannot post what I have been working on yet, once the project is released I can show everything that I have done. That should be happening late fall 2012.
Other than that, I am still trying to get as much freelance work as possible. To aid in that I have joined several social medias to promote myself more. You can now follow me on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Dribbble, and DeviantArt.
This semester one of my classes is going to focus on creating an online identity for ourselves. I think I already have most of those covered. I'll also be blogging for that class, so once that is up and running I'll post the link here for anyone who wants to follow that as well. (I do hope you'll follow it because the group that gets the most traffic to their blog will get an A+)
Other things in the works that school is (forcing) encouraging us to do is to buy our own domain name. I will be moving my website, as well as coding my own website.
The classes I have this semester are moving more into the realm of digital Graphic design. I knew going into this program that I wanted to go into the more digital media, rather than print. Now the program has been changed so that media is the only choice. I'm going to be learning After Effects, and HTML5 and CSS3, and I'm just bursting with excitement.
I am now officially at the halfway point in my 3 year program and I can feel things becoming more real. I can see myself getting jobs that I never thought I could apply to before. I have gained so many new skills and eager to learn more.
My goals for this year include the development of my website, creating my identity in the Design world, planning for next year by sending out letters to studios letting them know who I am and that I would be looking for some place to co-op next winter term, find a summer job (or get my contract renewed with CMPA for the summer), and write and illustrate a children's book (maybe publish it too).
That's it for now. In the meantime feel free to check out my entry into a contest for John Fluevog shoes here. Hopefully mine is chosen to be one of the final 4 that the public can vote on to win.

A whole lotta stuff

2011-03-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

A whole month and no blog update? for shame. But it's not that I didn't want to post it's that this semester the projects are bigger and they take longer like 3-4 weeks, and most of them are not really artwork so I don't post them here.
I mean, common, do you really want to see me recreate a fax order form? I don't, so I don't post it.
Apologies aside here are this semesters works;
My Romeo & Juliet poster from the last post wasn't chosen as the winning design, which is fine as I still got an A (and that's what's really important isn't it, wink* wink*)
But I have picked up a couple of freelance graphic design jobs, which is amazing. I'm shocked at how fast I am able to use the skills I've learned in school. It just reiterates to me what a good choice it was for me to go back to school.
Here is a poster I did for my local YMCA-YWCA.
Anyone who knows me knows I love hula hooping. So being able to combie hooping and art is the best.
Criteria for the poster was to make it "pretty, spring like, whatever"
So this is my take on all that.
Doesn't it make you feel happy looking at it. Well it does for me.

Because of this design I was also asked to make another hooper friend a logo for her website, and create the logo for our hooping forum logo on Hoopcity.com
HOOP HOOP HOOP

Typography: we were given the text and had to redesign a teaching form for elementary school teachers. Basically, something they could pull out of a issued teaching binder and give a lesson on it to young children.

The hardest thing I found about doing this was making it something that a adult would use but the lesson is geared for children. I wanted to make it look bright and fun, but still a an educational tool. This is 1 page from a double sided piece, there is also another page about a different bug with different colour scheme. But I think you get the point with one page.

Typography: Take a Grimm fairy tale and design a layout and heading that matches the theme of the story but is entirely typographical.
I took a stereotypical image of grandmothers, cross-stitch, and used it as my inspiration.
Now I know cross stitch is no longer a "grandmother" craft, but it still evokes a olden time feel, and that is what I wanted.

Typography: Redesign a book cover. Original is on the left, redesign on the right.
When I showed my teacher the original cover she thought the title of the book was "Herbert". There is so much possibility to do with a book with "magic" in the title.
The smoke was done with a photoshop smoke brush.
I think this turned out pretty cool.

Graphic Design: Create a full page how to guide that could appear in the school newspaper.
Hooping again? what a surprise.
Text placement was so frustrating on this piece. It took a while to get right, but it turned out great.

So, how is the overall back to school experience? It is still great. I think the fact that I chose not to work and go to school has helped a great deal, as I am able to time manage very well.
I made Dean's list last semester, and am trying to stay on it again for this semester. All 3 years if possible.
I have even joined up with the school Achievement Magazine to work on the next issue. Great experience and looks great on the ole resume.
You can check them out here
I should have one more big blog entry at the end of the term with all the final projects, and then I'll just post personal projects until next September when school starts again.
2nd year here I come!

PS here is new link to my online portfolio

The Creative Process

2011-02-04T10:36:00.000-08:00

I realized that I have been showing all my finished pieces here and hardly shown the steps that get me there.
Anyone not familiar with creating art may not know that you can't just come up with a great idea and have it turn out how you want. There are initial sketches and roughs, reworking, expanding on one aspect and making it shine.
As I mentioned in my last post, my 1st Graphic Design assignment was to design a poster for Carleton University's theatrical production of Romeo & Juliet.
The requirements were no images of hearts, or swords. It is a tragedy and not a romantic interpretation.
I wanted my poster to intrigue the potential patron, and make them want to see the play because of it.
Here are the initial thumbnail sketches I whipped off to try different ideas.

( sorry not scanned yet)

As you can see, sometimes I strayed from the "no romance" criteria. But that is what happens when a romantic song comes on from my play list. Sometimes I just draw what the music tells me even if it's not what I want to draw.
Sometimes you have to get out the wrong ideas so the good ones can come out too.

I played with the idea of double imagery, Juliet in her bed and in the crypt, or creating shapes using images from the play.
I had it it my mind to make something surreal, like an illusion.

After mind mapping for a bit (a creative thinking exercise I learned in school. It's the process of brain storming all words that come to mind on the topic you are working on. Each word leads to other words and ideas, and so on like a spider web) I found some word ideas I liked. Death, skull, eyes, faces, lovers separated by death…

An image of a skull seemed an interesting way to go. Then I became inspired by skull images I remember seeing from Salvador Dali. Hidden images that from far away looks like a skull, but when you get up close you see all the pieces within.

What better design for a poster? You walk past and see a poster for Romeo & Juliet with a skull on it. You stop. "Wait a minute" you say, "I thought Romeo & Juliet was a romance, why is there a skull on the poster?" you stop and read more…
That was my plan anyway.

So after doing a lot of research online for "illusion skull images" (do you know how many there are?!?) I found a few that I liked and used them as inspiration to make my own.
My purpose was not to copy what someone else has done. Obviously because it's wrong and not allowed by the school, but also because, what would be the point? I didn't make it, so how could I even be able to stand behind it and promote it as something I was proud of? (I'm such a goody-two-shoes…sigh)
I wanted the poster to have a sketchy look, like scratchy pencil marks, or smudged pastels.
So let's try some pastels:
( sorry not scanned yet)
nope, that's not right.

Let's try pencil:

Let's try again:

and again:

The idea is there, it's just still not coming together yet…

So now I have added the type, and I still can't get the image right. I try using Photoshop and Illustrator. I try simplifying, I try making it rougher.
I'm getting frustrated.

Photoshop is not helping the drawing look any better, so now I move towards a stylized graphic image.

I have the idea now. Illustrator is working out and I like what I see.
But just to try things out I make 3 mock up posters to see which one I like and what my peers and teacher think at our in-class critique.

The class and teacher agree that the 2nd image is the best but the black skull doesn't work. You can't readily see the faces in the eyes. Of course! Why didn't I make the skull white? skulls are white.
I have no explanation for why I made it black, other then sometimes you just try weird things so often you forget the simple solutions.
Also the font was way too big. On the computer I forget to notice these things, but once you try to print it out you see it more clearly.

So this is it. The final piece. It's not my original vision, but I like it.
It's eye catching and looks professional.
It has the illusion and surreal qualities I wanted, as well as the scratchy look thanks to the font.
The red colour with the black & white is bold and should get attention.
The design is simple enough to understand with a quick glance. Someone does not have to stare at it forever to understand what the purpose is.

If everything goes well, you may very well see this poster posted around Ottawa. Wish me luck!

2nd Term

2011-01-15T18:50:00.000-08:00

500 applied , 100 got in, 30(ish) failed a course 1st semester, and can not continue the regular course load.
And I still truck on.
Hit the ground running was the only warning I was to receive last semester to prepare me for this one. I am ready. Bring it on.

The course load this term is as follows;
Graphic Design II
Typography II
Computer Graphics II
Illustration
Animation
Prepress I
Colour for Communication

I had thought about dropping Animation, as I have already taken 2 years of Animation previously. However, after the first class I changed my mind. Not only are we going to be taught Flash (yay!) but our teacher appears to be very cool and I can for see a very enjoyable learning experience.

Our first assignment in Graphic Design is to design a poster for Carleton University's dramatic production of Romeo & Juliet (a play I have issue with, but that is for another time. Let's just say I think Romeo is a big jerk)

Anyway, we are not to use any hearts or swords or roses in our design. It is a Tragedy, and that needs to be conveyed in the poster.
Other then that, not much has happened this first week back other than some in class assignments. I won't post those here, only the big projects.

Here are a couple of pieces from last term that did not get into the blog before:

Photography advertisement ad. Task : To take a photo of a product that would entice someone to buy it. I choose to photograph my Hoopnotica travel hoop, of course.
Setting up the lighting was the hardest part. Because the hoop has reflective tape, every shadow was visible and it made the hoop look very grey. I wanted the silver tape to look silver.
It took 2 giant white canvases, my sun room, a lamp and the flash on my camera to get the light right. As well as propping the canvas up with my foot and left arm while trying to work the camera with my right hand. Phew!
This photo was from my last Photography assignment. For Typography, we had to design a 2 page layout with one of our photos. The text was given to us and, using InDesign, we had to make a dynamic and interesting layout.
I have a new appreciation for magazine layout artists. I did not realize what is involved in making a layout. InDesign is a program I need to learn a lot more about.

oops

2010-12-13T09:13:00.000-08:00

Forgot to post the final version of this piece, as I only got it back a week ago.
Enjoy.

End of Term

2010-12-12T06:37:00.000-08:00

I did it. My first semester, and I rocked. “A” average and lots of pieces to be proud of. I even ignited the spark of creativity in myself again, and I plan to continue it by painting and drawing during the break from school before next semester.
Although I did feel as if my energy was waning and my idea factory was shutting down, I managed to perk up again before the end of term and get myself back in gear. It's a challenge to push yourself everyday to stay focused. But I am proud of the end result.

Assignments for these last few weeks;

Drawing class. I cannot begin to express how impressed I am about this piece. I have never been able to make hair look good in a drawing, but after some quick tips from my teacher I was able to turn out this baby. It is supposed to accompany an editorial article about any topic we wanted. I chose Alcoholism. The picture was taken by me and redrawn from the photo. Pencil on drawing board.

Graphic Design. We were given a list of terms/ideas and had to create a
“road sign” for it. Done in Illustrator.
The terms were;
Prison Farm
Canadian Pioneer Village
Extreme Sports area
Chinese Opera
Fairy Tale Park
Target Area
Rodeo
Vaudeville Theatre
Fortune Teller
Bungee Jump Area
Silent Picture Studio
Classic TV Show

You get extra points if you know what/who the Fortune Teller is.
So that is it. As of the 17th I am on break. See you here Jan 10th for more school stuff, unless I post some of the Christmas break art I do.
Merry Christmas.

High expectations of a perfectionist

2010-11-24T07:00:00.000-08:00

With less then 3 weeks left of school, I am trying to push myself as hard as I can.
Ideas must be concrete and exceptional. I want honors here people. I want extra responsibilities.
Actually, I was asked to help out the Journalism students with their student magazine.
They needed some illustrations, so I did one one and so did another classmate of mine.
The story I received was about Facebook. What people did to socialize before it's invention, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Here is my final piece for them; Done in Illustrator.
It was fun to design, and I think it came out kinda cute.
The final final piece has black outlines and the gradients are flat because Adobe Acrobat does weird things with gradient colours.
(for the newbs, gradients are the colours that fade from one colour to the next.)
I got my inspiration from Charlene Chua; an amazing illustrator who lives in Toronto.
I would love to do what she does; work from home, draw all day, that would be the life.

Typography; I normally do well in this class. I have a good idea and I can make it turn out like I want. For some reason, I could not get this assignment right.
I redid it 4 times, and the night before it was due, I redid it again. It shows.
I am not happy with this at all.
The assignment involved creating a poster to showcase a font. Any style as long as the font was the focal point and we did not use pictures; text only or shapes.
I had the idea of making a movie poster. I worked the wrong way around I think. I had the idea of the style and tried to find a font that fit the style, rather than choosing a font and making something regarding the font.
This piece is very weak, and I'm sure it will bring down my average in this class. :(
Graphic Design; Create a logo on the topic handed out in class. I got Amelia Earhart.
This logo took a long time to get 'right', but I think it works. I would tweak a couple of the thin lines to make them thicker, but that is about it.
We drew the logo in ink and then cut it out of construction paper. Then we designed a directional sign that pointed us to another thing associated with the original logo.
That is why there are 3 planes in a circle, it is supposed to be an air show sign.

Not bad overall. Good grades and still having fun. Final projects are in the works and then I will have one last blog entry for this semester.

Home Stretch

2010-11-09T18:05:00.000-08:00

So with about 4 weeks left before the end of this term, I can honestly say I'm still doing pretty well. Unfortunately I feel myself pushing along with somewhat less gusto then I had at the start of the term.
That bothers me. I'm taking time to do other things and not making school #1 priority. I believe it comes from the fact that before I was in school, I enjoyed my free time. I would come home from work and switch off mentally.
I can't do that now, but the habit is hard to break.
Each semester is going to get harder. I will not fail this course.
Assignments these last weeks have been long. 2 week deadlines, or oral presentations.

Computer Graphics; this is the first piece I've handed in for this course. The only other things we have done are presentations and apple pro tip videos. Nothing worthy to show here. This picture started out as a restoration of an old photo. The picture had lots of scratches and some fold marks which I corrected in Photoshop.
The second part was to colour the picture in Adobe Illustrator. This is not the final version, but it's very close to what I handed in.

Typography; Do a self portrait using Adobe Illustrator. We had to use type, without stretching or warping the letters. We had to find letters or words that represent us and would make a proper likeness.
I used Monotype Corsiva font. I couldn't get the lips to look right, but oh well.
Yes, the word on my shoulder says "Reliable"
Other words say "Original", "Easy Going", "Artistic", and "Intuitive".

Photography; another course I never posted before. No one wants to see pictures of a chair taken with 9 different focal lengths, and 3 different lighting styles.
This was our first artistic piece.
Take a portrait of some one that captures their interests or mood.
I tweaked it up in Photoshop. Also after a few "technical issues", and having to re-shoot twice, I think this turned out the best out of the 156 pictures I took.

Meeting me Midway at Midterm

2010-10-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

I am grateful that in art related programs there are no "mid-terms". We don't have to study for big tests. We do however get a large mid-term project.
No big deal on that front. I've been managing my time really well. I have time to sleep, and I even watch a movie now and then, while still getting A's.
I see some of my classmates struggling though.
Some have part time jobs that are asking more of them than they can give. Extra shifts and such.
I have even seen some of them come in saying they've been up all night finishing their project (which I had done the day before). Or they are finishing the assignment in the minutes before class starts.
I don't know if these delays the other students are having (it's not all of them, or the same ones each time) has anything to do with age, experience, or what not. Maybe it just comes down to time management. I believe I have a good understanding of how long an assignment will take me to do. When the teachers give us a 2 week assignment, I don't sit back and go
"Sweet, I can relax for a week before I even need to look at this thing."
That's setting yourself up for failure.
The teacher wants to see something that looks like it's been worked on for 2 weeks, and they can tell.

I forgot to scan my drawing assignment before handing it in, so I'll have to wait before I can post it here. My egg drawing is currently hanging in a display case outside the Media & Design Department office, along with some of the other students works. Yay.
Here is the last Graphic design piece I did.
Again it was a 2-part:

The topic was to teach us to think of how to simplify something into an icon. Think computer icons, logos, etc.
We had to choose a tool, and redraw it in 3 different styles, simplified, basic shapes, and lines.

Then we had to choose a food, or animal, and represent it in lines. Then redraw it again but with planes (black areas that give the shape)
Simplifying it down to the basic shape.
This is a Dragon fruit. I thought I was being real original.
"No one will do a dragon fruit."
Apparently , someone else in the class thought the same thing. .
Next was to draw an animal and incorporate a musical instrument that it sounds like. Like a trumpet and an elephant, or a drum and a beaver tail. .
I thought a dolphin kinda sounds like a Kazoo. So, that's what I did.

Too much time. .

2010-10-14T13:26:00.000-07:00

Not too much to post this week. For some reason we have been assigned several oral presentations, and due to the holiday Monday, assignments for classes that fell on that day are not due until next week.
So, it feels a little weird to have worked so hard for 5 weeks then have "free time". I'll enjoy it while it lasts since mid term is coming soon.
Drawing class seems to be the only one not affected by these delays, so I have been busy working on these assignments.

Draw 3 eggs. Set up a still life with 3 eggs and render them as realistic as possible.
I am not happy with how this turned out. I would have liked more time to get it just perfect. I feel the egg on the right turned out like crap.
Getting good tones with pencil is something that I am rusty at, having been a computer artist for many years.

This assignment that I currently working on is to tell a story. Photograph 3 elements that could be an image to go along with a news story.
My teacher has a bit of a morbid streak (which I admire so much, there are so few of us horror minded women). She showed us lots of examples of images that tell the story of murder, suicide, kidnapping etc. . from previous students.
I was inspired to dig out some of my Halloween props. This is my basement, and it is perfectly creepy for the mood here. It took some playing around with the light, but I think this works.
I don't really know what this story would be about, but what would you do if you turned on the lights in your basement and saw this looking out at you?

Here is what I have so far. I am getting the feel for pencil again I think. I want this to be awesome.
I've been averaging excellent marks so far, and I want to keep pushing myself. There are other students in my class who are still better than me. It's great incentive to keep pushing myself to be better.

BTW, I have not been posting everything I am working at school here. Some works are in class assignments, that are not worth showing to anyone.
And my photography class hasn't yielded any dramatic photos yet. We are still being taught all the settings on our cameras.

So perfect you'll go Crazy

2010-10-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

When your teacher warns you that being a perfectionist in this course, could be a bad thing, you don't really believe her.
Until she tells you how 2 previous students became anorexic, and one ended up at the Royal Ottawa.
Apparently, under the pressures of the course, and trying to be "perfect", this student brought a knife to school. I was not told what they did with 'said' knife, but they ended up at the Royal.

Presentation is very important in every assignment we do. Work must be mounted on Black card paper. The paper must be scored with a knife so when you fold it you don't get all those bumpy fold lines.
A piece of tracing paper is taped over the artwork, with black masking tape.
And everything must be center properly. Perfect, perfect perfect. A whole grade letter could be dependent on presentation alone.
Being a perfectionist already, I have been a slave to re-touching and remounting my work to make it "Teacher perfect". Hopefully I won't go crazy.

Here are this weeks assignments.

This is the 2nd drawing assignment. Again, using 6 pencils to create 11 different gradients in one chart.
Again, I apologize for the lousy scan, but the lighter tones just don't show up that well.

The 2nd Typography assignment. To hand draw a short phrase, using an old style font. Also to design an "Illustrated Capital" letter, that relates to the text chosen.
I picked a Gothic font.
The text is from an Alice Cooper song. It's not the entire sentence, because it would not all have fit on the drawing board.
The sentence was "You thought you had your Mr Right, but he was really Mr Hyde." So I cut it down to 7 words.

Graphic design. This week the lecture was on negative space. We were given a list of words, all relating to something white. We chose 4 words, and created an interesting representation of that word.
Really had to push the ideas here. The teacher told us how he had already seen about a hundred white duck profiles on a black background, and to show him something different.
So I showed him the bottom of the duck.
The others are a Bride, a ghost, and a snowman.

The next is part of the same assignment. Create a design/composition with an interesting break up of positive and negative space. How many objects can you see in this figure?

Having a blast

2010-09-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

We are well into week 3 and the workload is manageable. I am proud of the way I am time managing right now, and so far everything is going great.
I am having a great time at school. I wake up each day excited to work on my assignments and go to class.
The work is fun, and I feel renewed creativity burning inside me.
Here are 3 assignments that I have handed in this week.
The first was for Typography. We were asked to create 9 symbols that could be interpreted as letters of an alphabet. They could not resemble actual letters (from any language) They must work as a whole image (i.e. look like they come from the same alphabet) and each symbol should be interesting by itself.

This piece was a for Graphic Design. We were each given a word (mine was Landmark) and we had to make visual examples of meanings for the word as if you looked it up in a thesaurus.
Some of the examples I tried to depict where the obvious recognizable places. Also, landmark as a "landmark event" i.e. graduation, 9/11.. .
I thought it turned out pretty good. But during in class critique I realized I should have made the images more "Graphic" and less "illustration".
Think simplified image, like the apple logo rather than a real apple drawing. I was not the only one who did this so I don't feel too bad.

This is hard to see (it did not scan well). It is for my drawing class. It is actually not worth a grade, but is a precursor to our next assignment. Which will be crazy, but will look very cool when done.
It is to get us used to hand drawing gradients (light to dark tones).
The fact that it did not scan is actually a good thing. It means I got a light enough shade on the paper. There are 11 squares per row, white to black, and I had to draw 5 rows. Done with 6 Castell pencils 2H to 2B.

The "Paperless" Classroom

2010-09-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

If anyone remembers (or is in) school, you will most likely have gotten tons of copies of notes, assignments, and course outlines given to you during your education period.
How much of that ended up in a crumpled mass at the bottom of your locker? I know my did(does/will be).
About 8 years ago Algonquin introduced a new tool for students called Blackboard. It was an online service that allowed students to take their elective courses online. It used chat rooms, forums, and email to allow you to contribute to your class and send in your assignments.
This is the new face of Blackboard. It' s a bit overwhelming to look at, and not really easy to navigate, but it has evolved into, I believe, a great student/teacher tool.
One example is my Computer Graphics class.
The course outline is posted here, rather than handed out in class.
All my assignment instructions will be posted here week by week.
When they are available, I can see my grades posted here throughout the semester.
As well, all my digital assignments will be handed in via an online "drop box".
All this makes for an exciting, new, college experience for me.
Although paper is still important to the school, (I am in Graphic Design after all) it's nice to see a more environmental and modern approach to the teaching styles going on today.

Welcome back to school. .

2010-09-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

Survival achieved. That may be a bit dramatic. It wasn't that bad. However, I did have a small, mental, freak out last night before the "big day".
What was I scared about? I've been to Algonquin before. I'm computer savvy. I can handle homework. I think it was the fear of having to start over and make new friends again. Meeting people, who I may not have anything in common with, and who may force me to spend my breaks eating alone in the corner of the cafeteria like a leper.
Accept me you annoying, emo children!
I am happy to say though, that the group of people who share my timetable are a pretty diverse group from all different backgrounds.
And I have made an acquaintance.
One thing I noticed though, was how plugged in everyone there is. I know we all have mp3 players, and cell phones, iphones, etc. . But I did not realize how much people keep to them selves with these things. Everywhere on campus that I went, everyone is on their laptop/iphone/gadget. No one is talking to each other.
People are even texting other people when they are hanging out with friends. Are the friends you are not with more important than the friends you are with right now?
It will be interesting to see the communication skills, from some of the younger students in my classes, when we have to pretend to present something to a client.
And finally, on the "will I have to buy a mac" topic, it looks like I don't have to this semester. Thank you for saving me 4000$.
We'll see what winter term brings.

Meet and Greet

2010-09-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

Today was a chance for us to meet our teachers, and get a briefing of the program and what is expected of us.
Having already taken Animation at Algonquin, I was not surprised to hear about the heavy workload and tight deadlines.
-When something is due at 8am, you hand it in at 8am. 8:05 = 50% off you grade, no matter how good it was.
They even discourage people from taking part-time employment. If you have to work, they say no more than 15hrs/week, or you will have trouble managing your assignments.
The fresh out of high school group seemed very concerned.
I still can't shake the surreal quality of it all. I am in school. I can no longer spend my nights playing video games, and watching movies. That will be hard to do the first week.
Looking back, I think my major fault when I was taking Animation, was that I was not willing to give up sleep for school, and I had a part-time job. I believe my work was not as good as it could have been had I been able to put more time in it.
This time, I have no job, and (maybe) I can forgo some extra sleep. . .
We shall see.
My goals for this semester: Get B's if not A's. Increase my drawing ability. Make friends/contacts (network, network, network)
Apparently we have a "field trip" to the Apple store coming up. What a wacky fall this should be.

Orientation Day

2010-09-01T06:42:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know, this is being posted on my website Scarlett Popsicle . I am going back to school to take graphic Design at Algonquin College. I have decided to blog about the whole 3 year experience of returning to school as an adult. Enjoy.
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I still feel this weird sense of fog clouding my mind. There I was, back at Algonquin, but I felt like I did not belong. I felt like I was sneaking into the school and joining in on the events taking place, even though I had every right to be there. I’ve paid my tuition, I’m going to school. Why is it not sinking in yet?
The Orientation guest speakers presented encouragement and financial advice for us “new” students. I listened, somewhat, knowing that they were not really talking to me, but to the “kids”.
I use the term “kids” loosely. That is the other part of going back to school that has me feeling like a spy. I am in my early 30s, and most of the people there will be just out of high school. Do I ever need to tell people how old I am? Can I blend in? Do I need to blend in? I have the advantage of experience and maturity (pffft) to help me face these challenges, we’ll see how that goes.
Most of the day, I was surrounded by nervous “children” with their parents. It was kind of comical.
I overheard a young girl talking to her mother. “When we get home I am going to go online and order that . . . (couldn’t make out what she said)”
Mom “I think you had better pay attention to what’s going on here and not worry about what you will do when we get home.”
Daughter “But Mom, I’ve been waiting for 3 weeks to order it”
Mom “You need to focus on this. This is more important”
Daughter “But Mom!”
Hehe. She won’t last the semester.
I did not take the tour of the school (why would I?) Instead I did my own exploring, taking in all the changes that have been done since I was last there.
The OB (Observatory lounge/bar) has been redone, as well as most of the bathrooms and the whole cafeteria. I peeked into the Graphic Design lab, and drooled over all the 27” iMacs. I am a PC girl, but common, who wouldn’t get excited about that?!
I go back Friday to meet with the teachers of the program, some of the 2nd year students, and get more information about the classes.
So far, I am very excited about what I am hearing about the program. We were congratulated for being accepted, as over 500 people apply. I am not sure of how many spots they have, but I will let you know when I know.
Assignments are sometimes taken from actual companies that need a project. The students each create their assignment and the company chooses one to use. That student also gets paid for their work. The hiring rate is also high for graduates.
Wish me luck.

Clarity

2010-06-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

The world is changing. Every second, every day it changes. Fads come and go, technology evolves, people's ideals and beliefs mature.
When we are young we spend our time trying to be like everyone else. When we reach the first milestone age (around 25) we begin to develop our true selves.
People begin to believe things they didn't as children. Things we just accepted because that is what we were taught, we now question.
I've noticed a lot of friends and family changing things about themselves recently. The way they interact with the world, the way they eat, the way they live.
I've done it too.
Perhaps I'll do it again when I reach that next milestone age (mid life?)
For now I am beginning again. I will be going back to school to do something I probably should have done 13 years ago. If I had, would I be the person I am today?
I won't regret the choices I've made, or the person I have become.
I will continue to grow, to learn, to change. I am not a block of stone to be chiseled into a final shape. I am a ball of clay, that can forever be remade into something new.
I am ready for change. What will I be today?

Hoops

2010-02-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

I got the urge to make some hula hoops about a month ago. I had almost talked myself into splurging and ordering some special tapes from an online retailer. Cross-border shipping usually really sucks, so I was hesitant.
So, while checking out their wares, I happened upon a link to a Canadian retailer. OMG. So needless to say, I went with the Canadian. It's Hoop Tape Canada. I totally recommend them, as their customer support was great, and they shipped quickly.

Aren't they lovely?!?! The only reason there is a camouflage tape in there is because to make this craft financially doable, I offered some of my co-workers the chance to buy a hoop from me. They excitedly agreed, and one of them wanted a camouflage coloured hoop.

So I hit up Home Depot for some 3/4" 160psi tubing (which they did not have) So I settled for 3/4" 100 psi tubing. I think the 100 psi worked out. 160psi would have been very thick, so I am not sure why all the websites recommend that size. This is not a tutorial of how I made my hoops. There are enough of those all over the internet. I just wanted to show off my finished products. So from this. . .

. . . I got these. The first 4 are the ones for my co-workers. The colours didn't show up too well in the photo but they are purple/black, orange/brown, pink/black, and camouflage/brown.

The red and black beauty is all mine. Look at her, she is lovely. I can't wait to show her off at the next hoop jam.

I still have tubing for 2 more hoops. So I will try one out with fabric and tapes, and the last will be blue and silver with black. So lovely. I want to make more. . .

Guest blog. . Tavis!

2009-06-07T17:36:00.001-07:00

Today my Mom surprised me with a trip in the car. Mom said we were going to a “walk-a-thon”, whatever that is. She did say we would meet lots of dogs there, and that we were going for “a walk”. Yay! There were lots of dogs there. I met everyone. Even a cute girl who looked like me.

Here I am outside the registration tent.

Look at all the people. I couldn't wait to get started.

Looking at those goody bags. I wonder what's in them. I hope it's food.

All the dogs were so nice. I just wanted to play with them all, but mom would not let me.
Finally we got to walk! 5Km, no problem. We cruised right past all the other dogs and their people.

Here I am after the walk. I was tired.
Mom and I just chilled out on the grass for a bit.

Then I was finally allowed to have my goodie bag. I so deserve this.

Friday

2009-06-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

It's Friday. The beginning of my weekend. Todays word of the day is “fun”. Tonight I will go to the Hoop Jam with friends and just let my mind wander as I gyrate my hips to keep my hula hoop up.
I still have some work to do on my task list before I can put a big success on this weeks' goals. Time is running out. And I have tried to do some work, but nothing is turning out like I want it to. Guess that means I'm really out of practice.
Tomorrow, Tavis and I are participating in a walk-a-thon for a animal rescue group. I was supposed to do it with a co-worker, but due to unfortunate circumstances at work, she had her schedule changed an is unable to participate with me. So Tavis and I will go it alone. Well not truly alone. I am sure there will be enough people there that we'll make some new friends. Maybe we'll even win the pet/owner look-alike contest?
So, off to do some chores and then Hoop Jam.

The list

2009-05-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

“Put yourself on your list” I think Oprah may have said something along these lines. Everywhere I look I hear people blogging about stuff they want to do, how they will make their lives better, get in shape, make money, blah blah blah. I admit I'm guilty of doing this and then not following through.
I do get inspired by other people's resolutions. I get inspired by their successes, and I learn from their failures. I shy away from the big changes, and say “I will do this”, but I never do.
So what is the problem? How do I get around this?
Baby steps?
“If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always gotten” This seems to be very true for me.
So, like George in that episode of Seinfeld, I will try to do the opposite of what I have done and see what happens. That is easier said then done, if the past is anything to go on. So what can I do?
Let's try week to week. Here is my list.

Call/chat w/ 3 friends/week (so if you are a friend of mine, get ready to hear from me each week whether you want to or not )
Draw something (It will be posted at the end of each week)
Workout 4 days a week
Practice Hula hooping
Make 1 piece of jewelery (posted at the end of the week)
Blog at least once a week
Update website at least once a week
Work on crochet project (post results once a week)

I'll start with this and see how we go. Words of encouragement are welcomed, as well as threats to get off my butt and do this stuff.
So starting Sunday, let the week begin. . .

As added incentive, I have posted this list on my computer screen. No Excuses!!

Creative April

2009-04-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

I have decided to be inspired by, but not actually participate, in the "make something cool every day in April" event sweeping the net.
I know I cannot make something new every day. If I can make 4 projects this month I would be happy with that.
Here is the start of a friendship bracelet. I used to make these all the time when I was a kid. I forgot how fun they are to make.

Here is the finished product 1 day later! yay! Oh and Tavis helped a little bit . . . .

I also made some Etsy inspired Tree of Life pendants with extra beading materials I had.
The picture is not the greatest, but they are pretty cool. These were made with stones, but I will make some more with beads. That way I can sell them for a little less. Any one want one??

Breaking

2009-02-21T14:18:00.001-08:00

Treating myself to a week off from work. I had originally planned to do as little as possible and to play as many video games as possible. But today I had the chance to do some thinking about what I need, and I think I should use this free time to do some of those things.

Firstly, I will get in some needed excerise. I've been slacking off and have gained some weight back. :(

I want to give my website a makeover. It's been 4 years since I changed it. Hmm, I either need to learn css or get someone to make it for me. . .

I need to practice drawing and actually work on some new artwork.

I will practice chest hooping (man is it hard)

And I will have fun, because you should always have some fun.

Wowie

2009-02-14T07:22:00.000-08:00

So, last night was the Hoop Jam. A free get together for people who hoop, or who want to learn. Not just your kiddie, dollar store, hula hoop. These are bigger, heavier, and sparkly.
I'm happy to say I got the gist of it pretty fast (maybe watching videos does help?) I had an idea going it what I needed to do. But I still have lots to learn.
I did attempt some turns, walking, a couple of dance steps with the hoop in motion before it when circling to the ground.
I must say that after doing it for over an hour, you do get pretty tired.
Surprisingly, it is not my abs that are sore this morning, it's my sides. I can't wait to do more. The women there were very impressive. They make it look effortless and beautiful. It's super fun.
The highlight of the evening was a drawing for 2 hand made hoops. I made a donation, entered my name and crossed my fingers for one.
Unfortunately, I did not win. But my friend The Muse, who joined me that night, did win one. Way to go!
Then she did the most amazing thing. She gave her prize to me. I was shocked and don't really remember what she said as to why she was giving it to me. But thank you again so much! It's a beautiful red and black one.
We'll see if my sides let me try it again today, or if I need to wait a day to recoup.

Breath it in

2009-02-06T12:44:00.000-08:00

I am all set for Spring. . .any time now. . .
A fresh coat of paint, a new template, some fresh air. Breath in a fresh new world. Embrace your creatitivity. Challenge it.
This year is going to be full of surprises, and I can say that I am a little scared but very excited to see what will happen.
I do have some plans for this year, but I don't want that to be my map to happiness.
Let's just see what the future brings. In the mean time, I will try to fill my days with love, art, fuzzy beasts and candy.

The skirt

2009-01-29T19:36:00.000-08:00

A few posts ago (July 2008 actually) I mentioned a skirt that I really liked, and wanted to make for myself. Since I have no sewing knowledge I decided to go the easy route, and by easy I mean more expensive. .
I am having the skirt made for me. Everything has been finalized, deposits have been sent, now I wait. And when I get updates from the dressmaker I will post them here. Can't wait, hope it turns out the way I want. I should have it by March.

I want

2009-01-28T19:40:00.001-08:00

I wrote this some time ago. I was asked what I want, and taking a couple of moments to think about it, here is what I came up with. Yes, I realize it may sound greedy/materialistic or lame, but it's true and I don't deny any of it.

I want to live in a nice house
I want enough property to let my dogs run free
I want 2 dogs, maybe more
I want to attend Horror/anime conventions
I want to sell my artwork
I want to attend movie festivals
I want to go to theater/concerts
I want to go see live music
I want to go out and socialize
I want to wear nice clothes
I want to have a home gym

Also, I am going through my computer and clearing out the junk. I stumbled upon some stories I started writing but never finished. I was surprised to see that I actually write pretty well (I'm shocked) but unfortunately, I don't remember the stories I was writing, so I cannot finish them. . shame.
Here are some samples:

This was a fantasy about elves and wizards and thieves (I was playing a lot of "Might & Magic" around this time)
-
“So long. . . .sometimes I hardly remember why it is I live in this darkness day after day. But then, there are times when I wake up with the fear that I have failed and the world is cursed, because of me. . . .NO, I want to kill them all!!!. . . . ugh, the demon in my mind. I must never let it control me, I must never . . . FAIL!”
- Chapter 1
Thief/Ranger dialogue-
Thief “I can’t bear this any longer”
Ranger “.....”
Thief “I know you can’t either. You’re a creature of the forest, don’t you need to live in a tree or something?”
Ranger “.....”
Thief “you have to talk to me eventually. There is no one else here.”
Ranger “....”
Thief ‘Fine. I don’t know why I bother.”
Ranger “Such a care free demeanor from some one who tried to kill me, or had you forgotten?”
Thief “I haven’t forgotten. Who says I still won’t?” ;)

No idea where I was going with this one, and why did I name the computer PAL?:

Chapter 1
He woke up like he always did, alone. This time the nightmare hadn’t been too bad. He didn’t feel the suffocating sense of dread as was common with his nightmares.
“Bad dreams again Mike?” came PAL’s soothing voice from the speaker by the bed.
“Yes, PAL. I’m afraid.” sighed Mike.
“Afraid Mike? Afraid the dreams won’t stop?” spoke PAL.
“No, that they will. . .” whispered Mike.
“I don’t understand Mike. Is there anything I can get you?”
“No, thank you Pal. Could you please open the curtains?” said Mike.
“Yes Mike.” said PAL.
As the curtains in Mike’s bedroom slowly opened to reveal the morning Mike could only smile to himself. The words ‘Yes Mike’ repeating over and over in his head. If there was any continuity to Mike’s life it was the soothing voice of PAL. He was always eager to please, if such a thing was possible for a machine. PAL was not the usual PC someone would have in their home. PAL was his home. After creating PAL five years ago as a hobby project, the machine became much more. Mike had been lonely. It was hard for him to make friends, and the opportunity to make a companion seemed the only option.

I became interested in Egyptian mythology at one point and came up with this:

It is said that Seth is dead, killed by Horus after being captured during battle. Seth’s spirit is supposed to have taken the form of a serpent and is hiding underground. Others say it was not Seth who was killed but one of his associates. If this is true Seth still lives, and Horus must again do battle with him. When good triumphs over evil Osiris and the rest of the Gods may return to the Earth, but only if Horus wins. . . .

Chpt 1
It is the beginning of a new day. The priest of the Temple of Ra is performing his regular duties. Reading over scrolls and writing texts for the temples. He dips his reid pen into a bowl of ink and begins to write something on a piece of parchment. He dips his pen again, this time as he begins to write the ink is blood.
Curious, he looks into the bowl to see it is full of blood. It begins to fill higher and higher until it pours over the bowl and all over the table and the parchment. He lifts his hands before his face and they too are covered in blood.
“By the hand of Ra!” He cries and covers his face with his hands. When he pulls his shaking hands away and they are normal again. Confused he looks to the table. Everything is normal but his dropped pen on the parchment where the ink has made a stain on it.
“These are ill prophecies.” he says weakly.
A servant comes in. “Master? Did you summon me?”
“No, leave me to my work.” to himself, “I must speak with the Pharaoh.”

Hope you enjoyed those snip-its. That's all there is unfortunately

Amazing!

2009-01-18T18:06:00.000-08:00

Why is that only in Russia do they have any real style and imagination for crochet patterns?!?!?

I'm seriously thinking about ordering a couple of books from here. But they are in Russian. Will I still be able to use them?? I may have some old Russian language books around ( I did take it for 1 semester in CEGEP) also the patterns look very advanced. . I'll think about it a bit more.

Happenings

2008-11-05T19:58:00.000-08:00

As a gift to myself, for my Birthday, I took a week off work. I just want to thank everyone again for a great Birthday, you are all amazing.
So, with a lot of free time, what's a girl to do? Prepare some elaborate dinners for one thing.
Monday I took it upon myself to make lasagna. I even made the noodles from scratch.
Behold the before: unfortunately I wanted to document it more but as things were cooking and what not I forgot to take pictures. .

If anyone is wondering about the pasta making process, just let me know. It's super easy.And voila! Delicious, fresh pasta lasagna. This evening (although there is no photographic proof) I made calzone. This too involved a foray into dough making. And I am planning to make a pie tomorrow. (Is dough my lot in life this vacation??)

The other benefit to being at home during the day is I get to spend time with Tavis. I love my big red dog. We vegged out in the afternoons after errands and walks in the park. If only we could do this everyday.
Since funds are very tight at the moment, Christmas this year is going to be simple. Everyone will be getting something handmade by moi. I ransacked Michael's for supplies. Without giving away what I am making, here is a quick peek at some of the goodies. Plus, a couple of books I bought for myself with some Birthday funds: Clive Barker's "Mister B. Gone", and "The New Horror Anthology" from various authors.

Getting it done.

2008-10-10T20:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's taken about 2 years, but here is the costume blog. So, it took me forever to find this nurse outfit. I happened to check out Value Village last year, after almost giving up. I'd already exhausted all the online stores and uniform stores. No one had what I was looking for, a sexy tight fitting nurse dress. One that looked like the ones from the Silent Hill movie.

So I went into Value Village with my sister, just to look around while she shopped. Then, there it was. It looked like what I needed, but would it fit?

I tried it on. It's tight in all the right places. I would never wear it in a normal public setting, but Halloween has no rules on good taste, so what the hell.

And just for fun I went to check out the shoe section. Oh my god! Like a gift from above, a simple pair of heels, white, in my size!

A whole costume for under 20$.

I picked up a nurse cap from Malabar as well. The next step? I will age the dress and cap, and stain up the shoes. I need to reinforce the buttons on the dress (they don't feel very secure to me. . ), rip it up a bit and stain it with blood and gore.

After that I will get some bandage wrap to wrap around my head to make the Silent Hill face-less nurse. And that should be it. Simple no? So why did it take me so long?

Also, I needed to use up some cake mix that was sitting in my pantry. So I threw together some Halloween ghost cupcakes. And one Yin-Yang cupcake for fun.

Cupcakes

2008-09-13T06:53:00.000-07:00

It was a cold and rainy afternoon. All the animals in the house were restless. It was almost as if they could sense a presence about to enter their home.
I was frantically going through cupboards and crevices, looking for ingredients to create something magical with which to appease the apparition that was about to appear.
At the sound of the ominous bell, Tavis sprang forth to confront the intruder. He unleashed a flurry of kisses and tails wags as The Muse made her appearance at my door.
She had brought a treasure of colourful candies and sugar with which to adorn the ceremony we were about to commence.
To begin the ceremony of the pumpkin, we took stock of all our ingredients. Giant bags of orange decorating sugar were the focal point of the conversation for a bit.
"Well, you said get 'a lot'" Said The Muse.
"That's true, I did." (note to self, be more specific when estimating ingredient quantities)
With spell book (um, cookbook), in hand we began the ceremony.
I'd like to say we embarked into a flurry of flying flour and sugar, but actually it was pretty easy going.
The "brew" was prepared, and sent to the "hell oven" for 18min at 350 degrees.
The next step was to adorn the offerings in ceremonial decorations.
No attempt was a failure. Every offering was graced in orange and green, and of course sparkling, orange sugar.
When all the offerings were properly attired, we set about documenting their glory. Capturing their souls in photograph after photograph.
When everything was over, we celebrated one more act, the sacrifice of the pumpkin. Delicious.
With our offerings divided between us, I bid farewell to The Muse. Sunshine had entered my home to banish the rain, and now it was gone.
I took a tentative step into the kitchen. As I looked at the pile of dishes in the sink, an odd and evil feeling came over me.
"Forget the dishes, I'm having another cupcake!"

Halloween countdown. .52days left

2008-09-09T16:19:00.000-07:00

I made an artist date with myself, and took a trip to the craft store. My goal was to make a Halloween wreath. I had no specific concept in mind, but I enjoyed seeing all the Halloween decorations they had set up at the store. Some items caught my eye, and they inevitably made their way into my basket. I had to keep some method to my shopping madness. I did not want to overload the wreath and make something tacky!. . .hehe.

Halloween is my all time, favorite time of year. For those of you who know me, you would already know this. A holiday dedicated to horror and and costumes, where you can use a skull as a decoration and no one calls the police on you. Who doesn't love that?!
Of course all the animals came around to watch me make the wreath. I knew they would. How can a cat resist something made of twigs and leaves and string?
After I was done, the carnage of glitter and twig pieces that littered my desk, was cleaned up with the help of Tavis. Unfortunately, his way of helping is eating everything off the floor. So, I shall anxiously await the return of said litter, in a less than pleasant form. . .
The final product. The picture does not do it justice, and I apologize for that. It is now hanging proudly on my front door.
Next project will be my costume. I need to start altering the dress/uniform, and I probably need to reinforce some of the loose buttons on it. Also, it will need to be aged and dirtied up, with some blood stains and tears. I'll have some pre-alteration pictures soon. Not sure if they will be here or on my website.

Time to grow up? Make me. .

2008-08-30T17:59:00.000-07:00

So, pondering the things in my life, as I usually do (Don't we all??)

I've entertained the idea of change, and growth.

But let's not get crazy, I'm not prepared to don a suit and get a briefcase or anything. I just believe that you should be happy. And I don't think I have been really happy for a while.

Change takes time, so for now I will just distract myself until I have time (hehe)

There are some things that I want to occupy my mind and spirit with. One is working on my portfolio. It's something you should always have handy and updated. I don't think I've touched mine for about. . .4 years. Ouch.

I plan to include more "Graphic Design" stuff. Also, I should take some life drawing again. To get my sketching back in shape.

On that note, here is something I did in Photoshop from a tutorial I found online. It turned out pretty cool.

Also, because Halloween is coming, I have some decorating ideas I've wanted to try.

I will be making a Halloween wreath, as well as finishing my Silent Hill Nurse costume.

I should plan some other house decorations. Something more shocking than just hanging skeletons. . .hmm, things to ponder.

Ramblings

2008-08-23T06:42:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I took a chance and invested in some real makeup. No cheapo drugstore stuff here.

I've always been intimidated by makeup. Whenever I've put some on I always feel like a clown. Or I put so little on you can't see it. I only every wear lipstick and maybe some mascara on special occasions, but I felt it was about time I learned to do it right.

I was inspired by the YouTube videos of panacea81. She makes it look so easy, and everything looks good on her.

So, taking a brave step I set out to pick up some MAC cosmetics. The other reason I've avoided buying this stuff is, again, intimidation, but by the sales staff. Waif-like, young girls with great makeup.

I was very proud of myself actually. I knew what I wanted, I even had a little shop talk with one of the girls.

"I know that the MAC Sharkskin Shadestick is discontinued, what do you have that will give me similar results?". . .

With my new makeup in hand, I took a deep breath and attempted to recreate a look that I learned from panacea81. Let's just say, I need some more practise.

Hopefully I will have it down by the time I go to some weddings in September.

It's not that the makeup was done wrong, I just still feel weird seeing it on me. My complexion is quite pale, so any eye makeup show ups right away. The "smokey" eye look I was going for still intimidates me. I know that everyone will notice it right away.

I just don't want people to think "aww, isn't it cute, she's trying to wear makeup."

Where, if I had always worn makeup, it would just be a new look I was trying out.

Here is a picture of my attempt at the "smokey" eye look. In case you are wondering what the other colours are, they are the MAC Delft, Blackground and Artifact Paint Pots, as well as a Beige-ing Shadestick.

Wow, I never realized how much my freckles show up.

Fun at the BBQ

2008-07-27T17:54:00.000-07:00

Went to a BBQ this weekend. Got to bring Tavis, which was great. He had a blast. Chasing balls, frisbees, children. . .

It was great to be able to have him run around in a big space off leash. I would take him off leash in town, but he likes to chase bikes, and squirrels, and I just don't trust him to come back.

The house we were at had a huge yard. It was lovely.

Hopefully one day I will have a place with lots of property. Tavis deserves room to run.

2008-07-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

I love this skirt. I am thinking about buying it off the Ebay store that carries it. But reading the feed back, and the fact that shipping costs the same as the skirt, I am hesitant to make the investment. . .especially if it does not fit.

I'm more intrigued at the prospect of possible making the skirt myself. I think I could even make it look a bit cooler to suit my tastes.

I don't have any real knowledge for sewing, but I do know a few people who do.

Anyone know where I might be able to find a pattern that may resemble this? How hard is it to make my own pattern?

I'm in the process of adding some medieval pieces of clothing to my wardrobe. Nothing costumy, just almost ordinary clothes with a bit of medieval flavor.

Also, I have gotten so tired of all the boring clothing in the stores right now. I think I may have to give up shopping here all together. I'll go to Montreal or Toronto or the internet for some more interesting stuff.

How is anyone supposed to have any personal style when stores make us all conform to the same styles?

I'm tired of following the crowd.

Powerful words

2008-07-18T07:55:00.001-07:00

Before there where blogs, there was the song "Sunscreen". Everything in it is so true, and powerful. We should all try to do the things listed in this song.

So instead of listing "things I want to do" kinda stuff I will simply post the lyrics to this song:

-Sunscreen Lyrics-

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….
You’re not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you.
Sing.
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.. Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen…

. . . yeah.

Reason #74 why I don't want children:

2008-07-15T14:07:00.000-07:00

There are many reasons why I don't want kids. Selfish reasons, personal reasons, environmental and social reasons. And then I read about something like this "Pedo-crazed parents call father a "pervert" for photographing his own children at a park" WTF???

Have we become so obsessed with the safety of children that this is going to happen? Don't take a photo of your child anymore, someone could post it on the internet and exploit them. Sigh. Why would I want to put up with crap like this?

If I was ever to have a kid (not likely), I would let them ride a bike without a helmet. They could go out and play at the park by themselves. Walk home from school by themselves. If they get kidnapped, oh well, they should have been more intelligent. It's survival of the fittest baby, guess you lost the game.

On a more fun note, I had an awesome time at Fantasia. Saw 6 movies. . .well, I went to 6 but saw 5. . .um, I fell asleep through the last one. How could I fall asleep through "Tokyo Gore Police"? And I really wanted to see it too.

I did see "Shadows in the Palace", "X-Cross", "Bad Biology", "Wicked Lake", "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane", and . . .that other one. .. :(

I also bought the cutest red, medieval dress from La Table Ronde, in Old Montreal. It's simple, but with a little medieval style to it. I also got a blue skirt and a blouse to wear with the corset tops I already have. I can't wait to wear them.

I'm also still trying to think up some new designs to add to my online store. I want to have a whole range of products with cute pictures that I have made. And then maybe someone will buy something. . .

Back to the drawing board/tablet.

Fainting, puke, and problems with the dog. . Oh did I mention that my Vacation starts today?

2008-07-06T16:46:00.000-07:00

So, it's a gorgeous weekend. I am out with a friend, and we go out for dinner.
We happen to get on the topic of my shellfish allergy because almost everything on the menu has shrimp in it. Since I ordered a "safe" cheese tortellini, I wasn't worried.
Our meals arrive and somehow my order is confused with another dish which is tortellini, but it was surrounded by mussels and topped with crab legs, shrimp and scallops.
The waiter immediately corrects my order after I let him know of my allergy.
I don't know if what followed was because of the my proximity to shellfish, or if my food was, or what. All I know is after about 5 bites, I suddenly did not feel very well.
I got very hot, sweaty, pale, weak, nauseous, and everything got very quiet.
My friend immediately noticed something was up.
"Want me to get someone?"
"sure" I muttered while leaning against the booth we were in.
When my friend left to get a waiter, I suddenly needed a bathroom right away. So I got up to go to the bathroom.
I made it over to my friend and the waiter and collapsed to the floor.
I managed to gasp that I needed to get to the bathroom. They picked me up and lead me, but I almost collapsed again and hit my head on the wall. ( I was told later it was a mirror and I almost knocked it off the wall, oops) I then lay down on the floor. The waiters were all very nice. They called an ambulance, gave me some water and a wet towel. I am sure they wanted this event over as soon as possible. What restaurant wants someone to pass out and puke in their dinning room? none I am sure.
Long story short, I ended up going to the emergency room. By the time I saw a doctor I felt better. No one knows what happened to me, I don't either. But I am fine now so it's all good.

Here's another story for you. People are very unobservant. Have you ever walked toward someone and they have no idea you are there? Or see someone about to do something stupid like walk into a door? Well, I got to witness something like that this weekend.
I was on my way home, and waiting for a bus outside a large, popular mall. Someone had obviously been sick on the pavement recently. And I'd say about 90% of people walking through that bus stop noticed it.
All except one girl. I'd say she was 19ish. She walked out of the terminal area, and stopped just in front of the puddle. Then she put her purse down on the ground, 2 inches from the puddle!
I thought for sure she would see it when she bent down to rummage through her purse. But no.
She dug out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, and lit on up. (She still did not see it)
All I could think was "Look up, just look at the ground in front of you. Do you realize your purse is almost in puke??"
But no.
She put her lighter and cigarettes back into her purse and not looking anywhere, just stood up and smoked while waiting for her bus. I can't tell you more because at that point my bus came. She was still standing there when I left. Inches away. . .

Oh, and the best story. I get home from work tonight to find out I foolishly left out a bag of hard, caramel candies. And why is this bad? I have a dog. And guess how many candies are left from that bag. . .?
Luckily I know a few Vets. So for now, he is okay. A little sugar buzzed, but we'll keep an eye on him. Well, maybe that isn't the best story, but it is the one that upset me the most this weekend.
Since my vacation starts today, I have some free time to watch him. Yay, just how I planned my week. . . not.

21 days left.

2008-06-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

I can't, can't, can't wait for Repo: Gentic Opera to come out.
It is going to be the best movie ever. I don't remember when I first heard about it, but since then, I have followed it's journey religiously.
I have not been totaly obssessed with a film since Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Something about movies with music that just lights me up. And the songs are always awesome. Edgy and powerful.
I will be doing a double visit to Fantasia in Montreal this July just to go see Repo.
Why don't these great films ever get the chance to play in mainstream theaters? Why do the theaters always get stuffed with mass apeal "block busters" and boring "Epic/Scary/Date Movie" trash? And then they wonder why no one goes out to see films.
I think all the big theater chains out there should partition themselves to have half the screens show the block busters, and the other half show real cinema. I bet they would be surprised at the turnout.

OMG, I'm a blog (repeat post)

2008-06-21T06:13:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged by Last Stop Muse to partake in a little game. I must share 7 facts about myself. . . hmmm, thanks AB. ;)
Here are the rules:
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Post 7 facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

I will not shy away from the challenge. So for the lucky 5 people who actually visit this site, here you go, 7 facts about moi.
1. I love to watch violent, disgusting, gory horror movies, but I am actually afraid to see a real dead body.
2. I'm one of those people who reads a book without breaking the spine. All my books look like new. And if you borrow one, God help you if it comes back with the spine creased.
3. I like bands that don't exist. Bad News,, Limozeen, Diamond Dead.
4. I can play Guitar Hero, but I can't play guitar. . .yet.
5. People ask me if they can touch my hair. Strangers on the street! I'll be waiting in a line for something and some lady will come up to me and be like "Your hair looks so amazing. Is it real? Can I touch it?" If I am not too creeped out by the person I have let some people touch my hair. But don't expect me to just let you, no touchie!
6. I can wiggle my ears. When I show this to people they either freak or are totally jealous that they can't do it. I don't know how I figured out I could do it, I just can.
7. I sometimes participate in chain letters and blog tags, but I do not continue them. Sorry AB. So if you are my friend and you have a blog, and you want me to tag you, lemme know. Otherwise my part ends here.

Assignment due. . .

2008-06-19T17:14:00.000-07:00

I have the bad habit of getting all excited and inspired by the idea of new projects.
Things I would love to draw or create; crochet, painting, sculpture, etc. If it actually gets past the planning phase (I have folders and folders of ideas with reference photos and sketches), and I start to work on something, I'd say 40% of the things I start get finished.
I get bored easily. If the project doesn't stay "fun" I will most likely put it on hold to finish later. Later never comes.
So, I am trying to get myself more in the frame of mind of "this is not only my hobby, it is my love".
I am thinking of making a schedule to follow. Hey, it worked for me when I was in school, right?
Something along the lines of :

Monday:
8am-10am work-out & get ready for work
11-7 Job
7-8 learn to play guitar
9-10 work on art projects, etc, etc. . . .

But then there is all the life left out of a schedule like that. Pets to care for and keep out of trouble. . errands. . . socializing. . .
How to get it all done?
I guess I'll keep thinking about that one.
Until I am perfect I will have to deal with my procrastination :) Perhaps me and my procrastination should colaborate on a project? But I get to set the deadline. .

Getting my feet wet. . .

2008-06-17T17:39:00.000-07:00

Growing up, when I was asked what I wanted to do for a living, I always said I wanted to be an artist.

Then I would get "the look".

Any artist out there knows what I am talking about.

So, at some point I listened to those who gave me "the look". After taking 4yrs of art education, I took jobs in other, non-art fields. So, what should I do now?

Keep doing my art as a hobby? or take the chance and try to do it for a living?

I feel like I'm standing at the end of the diving board, trying to work up the guts to dive in. I know I can "swim", I'm even a fairly strong swimmer. It just seems like everyone else is Olympic caliber and I just can't compete.