The End of an Era

This blog is now a relic. Until next time. . .
here

Dirty Laundry

My Anthem

I have many songs that I consider 'me' but this afternoon I was eating lunch and this song started playing. Most of my songs remind me of moments I've had or how I'm feeling but this one is just me. It's Eric Clapton's "I've Got a Rock 'n Roll Heart." I couldn't find a video of him playing it but I did find a cover that isn't to terrible (although the quality is horrible) so you can get the gist:

On a side note, I think this also describes me father (I have grown into a little, female version of him) but we will always disagree on who holds the title of "greatest guitarist ever."

Obsolescence

In a generation of mass media and technology it's tough to imagine not having a TV. Yesterday I was staring at my empty "TV stand" (a credenza really) and wonderd what to put there. I came up with this: Do you recognize it? It's a stereo! Yes, just a music box. No internet access, no moving pictures, not even a remote. I could have put the speakers on the floor but I sort of like their presence, solid and obtrusive (mimicking a TV). Makes me think of Mel Blanc and radio personalities. History, things that belong on my blog. What's in the CD player? "Amos Lee" and "Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey" And no, I haven't named my gazelle, applications open.

On Track

I feel like I have been ranting this passed month, I need another creative outlet, one that exist in reality. Not internet nonsense. Oh! the internet nonsense.... Ok, focus, focus. Here are a few shots of a finished kitchen. The last photos I shared were close but the details were missing. Below, the sockets and switches are finished with gleaning, white face plates and a new faucet! Not my dream faucet but incredibly nicer than the "bargain-bin" faucet that came with the house.

Maybe

So my last post really got me thinking. Here is what I came up with:Simple. Perhaps it looks a little unfinished but I want something I can age with. Nothing to elaborate or overdone. I am still struggling over where to put it. I want to show it off, but I also want to be able to cover it easily. All weather, versatility. Option 1 or Option 2 (?):
Option 1 is problematic but it's growing on me. It wouldn't be visible except in a bathing suit (which I often avoid) so I'm thinking, no. I'm not sure about option 2, seems predictable. Any suggestions?

Red Lines

I don't know why but I have been on a "car kick" lately. Maybe I'm about to have a breakthrough, some masterpiece is about to boil over (one can only hope). Perhaps it's me searching out a possible tattoo idea. I know I want a car but how do you turn a car tattoo into something, well, "classy?"

That's for another post. This one is about my attraction to red lines. "Red lines?" You ask. Tires. I might be the only girl you will meet named Bill and the only one that melts over red line tires. They are just classic and they remind me of hot wheels. I'm a resto mod. girl (in case I haven't already mentioned that) I like my classics to look just as they did when they came off the show room but with modern convenience (ie. a/c, disc brakes, fm radio/cd and power steering). I guess the red lines just scream retro and I love it. I'm also a sucker for detail, obviously. How can your heart not skip a beat at the sight of these babies:

These are all bowties. I do love Mopar, they are #2. I'm beginning to warm up to Fords, slowly...

Vanishing Point

Last night I watched "Vanishing Point" and somehow I managed to stay awake for the duration of the movie (quite a feat, mind you). My dad had given me a copy of the movie and told me he saw it in theatre when he was about 13. He also warned that he didn't condone the nudity in the film, gotta love parents. I will warn, it does have a naked chick riding a motorcycle for those of you that try to be on the up-and-up but for those of you who take a little convincing it maybe a selling point. Either way give it a chance. It starts off a little slow and the quality of the movie isn't great but that's just the 70's. It ended up being a decent movie, 3/5 stars for the average movie viewer and 4 for car fans.

I have always been a fan of fast cars but this movie exhibited the urge I get when I'm on the open road. Maybe I just need incentive, like Kowalski, a bet, something to make me forget the consequences and just floor it. The flick also fueled my lust for the new Challenger even though they are overpriced and somewhat under powered (when compared to it's counterparts, Camaro, Mustang). Check it out if you get a chance and you enjoy "quasi-old" films.

Just for fun: here.
and...there are also other people who found inspiration from this film. If I can't convince you maybe Chris Cornell and Tom Morello can (I believe this was the video you were trying to recall):

Audioslave - Show Me How To Live (Official Music Video) - The top video clips of the week are here

New Doodles

Here is the latest version of the memo board:
Jordan is the contributing artist but I haven't been able to get a shot of her. I planned on doing a bio similar to the one I did for Thane but it has yet to happen. These robots are my mascots at work. They are on the room number outside of my office and my email signature so I guess they are pretty popular. I have been wondering the story on the absent "daddy" robot.

Nothing

Today I've got nothing. I'm sure I could type a novel but it would be a jumbled mess like my hair without conditioner. Anyway here are some doodles I did the other day while sitting in my studio. I had a couple of genuine ideas but other than that it's just imagery from songs.

Weekend Fun

This weekend we attended the Dachshund Dash. Weenie invasion!
The Oklahoma Victory Dolls were also there, lookin' hot and sassy! After the race I stopped by Hobby Lobby (good ol' christan, craft store) and I saw this "lovely" parked out front:This guy puts around Norman with his very festive bike, seen above, dressed in it's Easter garb. It changes each holiday I suppose he was in Hobby Lobby checkin' out the 4th of July goodies. Some people just have to much time... but it makes me laugh anyhow.

Mom

Happy mother's day! mom 'n I. (c.2006)me 'n my grandmas (2008).

My World

So I have been very selfish and arrogant lately. I have even made up excuses for this...sad? maybe. Maybe I'm just coping. Shuffle is great. Came across this:

". . . I never thought I would be, at twenty-three, on the verge of spontaneous combustion. -Woe-is-me.-But I guess that it comes with the territory, An ominous landscape of never-ending calamity.I need you to hear, I need you to see that I have had all I can take and exploding seems like an imminent possibility to me."

Oh! Brandon Boyd are you the only one who knows how I feel? If only you were here to serenade me!

Finally

I painted one of the stencils that I started awhile back. The other one is 6 colors and I have to admit I'm a little intimidated. In art school there were people that would break into the triple digits with their stencils...that's not me, for better or worse. I would always love to stand in front of their prints counting colors. So here it is:

So here is something a little different. My sketch. As you can see I changed the colors around in the process. I keep most of my sketches/doodles pretty secret. I guess I feel a little vulnerable exposing things that I don't consider 'finished.' I'm trying to turn over a new leaf, so here ya go:

Collaboration

I came across some photos of a collaborative show I did with some of my buddies during school. It was circus themed and there is a long story behind what it's about. It was called 'The Greatest Show on Earth." I would share but it's sort of vindictive and maybe a little incriminating for those involved. Basically, I'm not at liberty to disclose our motive. These photos make me smile. I think I need something like this again, preferably now.
Check 'em out at Chandra's flikr.

Happiness, A Warm Gun?

Depends on which side you are on... I caught this yesterday on the side of the grocery store. I like to think the black mark is a wishbone.

Joe and Bob

In art school I was hooked on: cars, history, textile patterns and music. All of these things still play an important role in my life but they aren't as evident in my recent work. Maturity, discovery, productivity...change? Good. A couple of important men in my life are Joe and Bob. I speak not of my wonderfully considerate and caring b/f and his father (although they are more important than these guys) instead, Joe Walsh and Bob Seger. A couple of "good ol' boys", and part of my music foundation, their music served as a jumping off point for much of my work during art school. Here are some of the pieces I speak of. I won't get into the specifics or what songs they represent. I think it's more exciting letting you interpret.

One last thing...

In light of the Camaro post I thought I would throw in a bio of my parents rides. I have posted about them in the past but I decided they were worthy of another post with better photos. Meet dad's car, the '67 Chevelle SS:

This car is indeed, an original 396 SS car. Awhile back we became suspicious about the integrity of the SS so we checked the vin and it's not a clone.YAY!This car is in desperate need of a restoration. It has some rust behind the back windshield and on the fender wells. A resto isn't on my dad's priority list so if anyone is willing to throw money at a car full of potential beauty and perfection, here's your chance! My dad's car has seen better days but it's still a piece of rolling muscle.

Next, my mom's car, a '67 Nova SS or Chevy II.

This car has a 283 small block v-8 with an 2-speed powerglide transmission and it's zippy. It has a lot of history considering it's been in our family since it came off the showroom in 1966. After my great grandpa became to old to drive his son took the car which ended up being handed down to my mom. This car is near perfection with only 80k original miles! It even has it's original drum breaks (which isn't good, the one thing I wouldn't trade is ABS). I think that concludes my infatuation with the idea of his/hers classic rides, now I just need to advocate for "no stop signs, or speed limits!"

Idle Time

I should mention that for the next two weeks I will have quite a bit of idle time. The law students have 2 weeks of finals which started yesterday so we don't have a lot of people beating down our door with problems. During finals I get to sit outside of the classrooms with my laptop in case someone has a computer emergency or failure, exciting! The point? Due to the lack of 'real work' I will probably be posting here a lot for the duration of finals. It will probably be a bunch of nothing but since this blog is really to humor myself I guess I don't need to apologize.

I just found this great video over at Design Sponge:

Parallelostory from impactist on Vimeo.

The Camaro

The Camaro is a memento of American history. I really love it because we had one when I was younger and my best friend and I would sit in it for hours pretending to be "pedal to the metal" on the open road. It was an '83 Z28 with t-tops, hotness! Today, I patiently await the return of the new Camaro wishing I could trade in my efficient, Japanese ride for some all-American power. It helps the economy, eh? I am a practical person, (in this case I sacrifice fun) so I will continue to ride the Honda but I can dream.

I really do appreciate Camaros. They represent my background and love for the "bowtie" but I also chuckle at their reputation. Those "Prius drivers" lift their noses to them because of their connotation with trailer parks and meth labs. I know our Camaro was a beaut but most have been hot rodded and wrecked and some people still cling to their beater but come on... it's a fast car,who can garage them? Hand me the keys to a small block v-8 (or a big block) and I will punch it. I do it every time I hop into my dad's car, I can't help it. My little sixer has some pep but the torque just isn't there. I love the power, chrome, the smell of fuel burning, I wouldn't trade it for batteries and catalytic converters, (sorry world) I'm only here until I'm gone!

Wow, I rant today! My point was to show you these photos:

This is a diptych I made while in art school (c. 2007). They were really large (about 30" long) and the blue one sold. I wish I had some better photos. I should really learn how to take better photos but it's not one of my priorities at the moment. One day I was up at the shop and I found a Chilton for our '83. It had some really neat diagrams so I used them to screen print the background and then I printed a picture of our car on top. It's a very masculine piece. Many of my pieces involving automobiles often incorporate feminine aspects like flowers but this one was straight up "MAN" which is probably why it was one of the few pieces I have sold. Since we are discussing Camaros I will say that I have been called Bumblebee a time or two, we speak through music and we kick major ass!

Photo. ps. Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Logo

This is my parents' logo for their business. I have grown up around it and I never thought it was that special until recent years. My great grandfather bought a rental store franchise, A-Z rental, and it eventually turned into Diamond Zorn when my grandmother married my grandpa. Oh history/herstory, sentimentality, love it!

The logo above is my version (quick and inaccurate),the real thing is a little more compact, the text fits better in the real/professional design. The versatility is also nice, sometimes they reduce it to a simple diamond with a Z in it when they are having to label things by hand. Someday I'm going to make a large sign of the logo to hang in my living room, maybe to hang over the fireplace (given that I have one).

Busy Bee

Today was actually a productive day. It started out slow and lazy but after a little Carly Simon and some Otis Redding I was on my merry way. See! I cut out 2 stencils; one with 3 colors and one with 6 colors so I guess that means I really cut out 9 stencils. The wall behind me has been top secret for awhile but today I was looking at it and thought it was time for the debut.This is the start of the gallery wall for my living room. The theme? Family, believe it or not. A spark plug, some cotton, 3 stalks of corn growing from one hole, 33/3 peas, and portrait silhouettes. Read the story of the spark plug here. As for the others, I will let you run with them for now. I'm not really in a story telling mood so I will fill you in later with better photos. I also think that each piece deserves its own post if not for the sake of astounding aesthetic (Ha!) but for the sake of the stories that inspired them.

Summer Revisited

Last summer we had a big family reunion and it was a lot of fun. I know family reunions can be really lame but this one was pretty exciting. I got to see people I hadn't seen in ten years and now that I'm older I really enjoy hearing the family history. We had family from near and far (South Carolina, California, Texas, and even Sweden!) and the location was beautiful. This was my maternal side and they don't miss a 'happy hour' so it can get pretty interesting. I made the shirts (oh, how I miss my screen printing days), there were 2 different styles:
[Me.Mom's mom. Mom. Aunt.]
[Grandma's husband. Cousin. Grandma.]
I wish I had a detail photo but I can't find one. It was the "Belt" reunion and they had a clothing store in Coffeyville, Kansas so that was the theme. I used a photo of the storefront and an old advertisement for the designs. I wanted to print something they could wear again so it couldn't be to personalized. [Dad.Mom.Me. Brother.]
I thought this was a decent family pic. Looking back I notice that I am the only one in my family that values sunscreen. Contrast is one of the designs elements but I don't think pasty counts.

Learn It

...know it, beware!

Obsession

So I'm not feeling so great, swine flu? maybe. Tired, among other things and feeling unmotivated. For the first time in awhile I just want to lie on the couch and watch a movie but which one?
One of these? Thought so but decided I needed something a little less stunning. How many Cary Grant DVD's does one need? More, always more. This maybe a sign that I need professional help...

May

Spring cleaning. I was erasing pictures from my phone and I came across some my brother had taken. I like the glow they have, I wish I were that angelic in real life.
These are from my dad's birthday. Maybe it's the candle opera's in the background that make the setting. I think in the first one I'm telling them how much cake I want and how it needs to be cut to make me happy. I'm pretty demanding when it comes to cake. Happy Friday and welcome to May!

Win Some Lose Some

I was working on a stencil, didn't turn out so hot (imagine that...an omen?). Obviously, you can't win them all. I try not to use black in my pieces maybe it's a sign I lack the skill but I never have good luck when I use black. I prefer earth tones, but I can always change it, it will just have to be another day...

Meet Thane!

Thane is one of the contributing artist for the 'memo board.' It's turned into quite the project! Thane 'has been an artist for ten years, since he could hold a pen.' Below, you see him next to his masterpiece, a portrait of me, of course.
When asked what advice he could offer the world he responded humbly, "Don't be selfish." Words of the wise...

Moustache!

So I was doing some work in my studio and I couldn't resist this. Sharpies are to much fun. They are like duct tape, multipurpose...even good for body art! I'm being so productive today, no? At least this week is almost over.

Marketing

Yesterday I was grocery shopping and I went to buy some spaghetti sauce. I was looking at all the different brands trying to decide on which flavor I wanted. In the midst of decisions I was drawn to Paul Newman's brand, Newman's Own. I looked at the different flavors and I noticed that a couple of them had different packaging. Paul in the hat isn't that off base. After all, somedays you just need to spice things up with accessories. But, on the other awkwardly packaged sauce was a pair of hands grasping Paul's cheeks, maybe it is suppose to be his Italian grandma? I don't know, it just seemed silly. Is there some infamous Italian joke I'm not getting? I laughed anyway and I couldn't resist taking a photo. Good times.


Oh and just in case you were wondering, I went for pesto and tomato. Who can resist Paul in a hat, right? Sorry for the horrible photos.