SO MANY BIRDS, WTF??

so there were SO many birds outside my window today. these pictures can't even express the multitude of birds there were, but i tried. it was pretty amazing. oh, and i threw in a picture of mr boy soakin' up some sun for good measure.

self portrait

this is the latest painting i did in my painting class. it's the first time we did portraits in the class, and i think i'm going to continue on in that vein since the teacher is basically letting us choose what we paint from here on out because it's the end of the semester. portraits are my favorite thing to paint/photograph.

at the end of class on thursday, my teacher told me that i've developed my own style over the semester, which i was glad to hear and sort of already knew.  earlier in the semester he had recommended that i look up the painter alice neel, and i immediately went home and did. i'd never heard of her before, but upon googling her work, i was awe-struck and inspired. over the past couple months, she's been a big influence on me, sort of like a guide.  my teacher, peter, told me that i have a strong sense of line and color, a lot like alice neel and van gogh. 

before this painting class, i feel like my paintings were completely different.  i was always pretty meticulous and concerned with getting it just-so. i always felt i needed to loosen up with my art, but i couldn't figure out how. i feel like with the stuff i've painted in my class, i've loosened up quite considerably. i almost feel like i reverted back to childhood because they've become so much simpler than i was making the whole concept of painting out to be.  and honestly, i could probably apply that to my whole life too. a lot of the times i feel like i make things out to be way more difficult than they are. so even though my paintings now are simpler, i feel like they have more of a soul and more depth to them. i'm really grateful for my awesome painting class, and for my friggin amazing teacher.  going to school for painting is better than i ever could have imagined it to be.

update

• this is a painting i'm working on in my painting class!
• this saturday, i'm going to new york to take engagement photos of my friend syia, who i haven't seen in 8 years! we went to the university of hartford together when we were 18, and apparently, during our time there, she told me she wanted me to be her wedding photographer whenever she got married. well, here it is in the future, and she got in touch with me via facebook remembering this conversation, and has asked me to take her engagement photos! i'm really honored and i CAN'T wait to see her.
• my sister kim has offered to buy me a plane ticket out to santa monica to visit her this winter! sky might come too, depending on his schedule. i am super excited; i miss my sister, not to mention the state of california.

painting class; life

so i just have to say that i LOVE my painting class. I LOVE IT.  alright, so i've only had a few classes so far, but every time i go, i increasingly feel really disappointed when it's the end of the class. it's a 3 hour class, but it goes by incredibly fast. it feels more like an hour.

so the paintings we've been doing have been more like warm-up paintings instead of real, spending-lots-of-time-to-make-it-perfect paintings. the first one we did, we had to bring in 2 objects from home, and we just used three colors to paint it: ivory black, titanium white, and yellow ochre. so i brought in a glass bottle with a funky shape, and one of my old cameras.  while the class paints, the teacher goes around and talks to each student about their painting, giving us advice, and sometimes takes our brushes and starting to paint your picture himself. pretty much the whole time i was painting, he barely stopped to give me advice at ALL.  then at the end of class on the second day of painting the picture, he smiled at my painting and jokingly asked if i was planning on chopping my ear off that weekend. then he told me he thought i didn't have to do anything more and that i was done. so that was that.

the next painting we had to do was in color, and we all had to bring in fruits or vegetables.  so i brought in a pear, and i was fighting so much with it. i was all nervous before class and i feel like i got self-conscious and nervous about painting after the success of the first one for some reason, maybe because i stupidly thought that he liked my first painting so much, now the pressure's on.  so i was having loads of trouble just painting a measly pear, and he was giving me advice, then i'd work on it more, then at the end of class he basically was like, "i think you had it nailed before, but you overworked it and kept going," and basically fixed it for me. as much as it was a little frustrating, i STILL didn't want the class to end, i just wanted to start another painting and do better.  then when everyone was getting ready to leave, he came over and.talked to me about the pear painting. i told him i felt like should've taken a break when he told us to, and given my eyes a rest and come back to it with fresh eyes and perhaps a better idea of what to do. he agreed and basically told me he's been painting for years and how he knows that sometimes it gets frustrating. then he told me he thought that what happened was i got a big head after the "remarkable success" of my first painting and this one came back and basically fucked with me, hahaha. he didn't say it to be mean, he was being playful but i totally got what he meant. then i laughed and was like, "well, now i'm humble again. please teach me to paint!" hahaha

i really like my teacher a lot and i feel so lucky to be in an actual class and learning about how to do something i LOVE doing anyway. this is my first official painting class and i already feel so enriched and like what i'm learning is invaluable. i can't even express how much i'm enjoying it. the other day i was thinking about how disappointing it'll be when the class is over, but it's only september! i still have loads of time in this class!

oh, and here's my teacher's website, it's pretty freakin' phenomenal, and truthfully, a bit intimidating:

http://peterwaite.com/

etsy

oh yeah, and i started an etsy shop last week. no one has bought anything yet:

www.etsy.com/shop/glitterbones

connecticut country summer

so we're house sitting in storrs, and we decided to take a walk down stearn's road. we came upon this farm and this spectacular view and beautiful spacious land and lovely trees and awesome corn and i felt like i was walking around in someone's oil painting.

janelle monae

so last friday, i went to a free janelle monae show in hartford. sky and norm and i were able to work our way up to the front row before the show started. i took a zillion pictures. here are a few.

it was AMAAAAAZING!!!

i'm going to see janelle monae perform in hartford tomorrow evening! it's FREE! i'm so incredibly stoked because even though she's pretty much brand new and only released her very first album about 2 months ago, she's ALREADY one of my favorite artists of all time. which is also very convenient because not a whole lot of people know who she is yet.  they will someday, but now, i'm enjoying being an enormous fan of someone who the masses have yet to discover.

i took this photo when i saw her opening for erykah badu in boston in june.

so, the other night sky and i were driving down main street in willimantic, when i spotted this LEG in a tree.  i was so excited i nearly lost my mind, and ordered sky to turn the car around.

after taking a few pictures of it, we hauled it out of the tree and put it in the backseat of the car.  i was super excited especially because i have been really wanting a mannequin, or a torso to hang on the wall, or something along those lines. and now i'm one leg closer!!!

i'm thinking about painting it or doing something with it to include it in my art show at the coop in august.  still can't figure out what i want to do with it yet.

it's still in the car, and when i went to go get in the car yesterday, my eyes fell upon it in the backseat and it SCARED the living daylights out of me.  then i laughed hysterically. i'm a little self-conscious about bringing it up to the apartment, because my neighbors across the street are always chilling on their front lawn, and it would be SO weird to have them watch me get a LEG out of my car and hoist it all the way upstairs to my apartment.....LOL. then again maybe i should do it proudly.

sooo... i haven't been posting lately because i've been waiting for our modem to come in the mail. then we'll finally have a good internet connection. as it is now, it takes an eternity to upload one photo, so i never even bother.  sometimes it takes 10 minutes from the time i hit "publish post" until it actually loads. so basically, i'll update more when our modem gets here, hopefully today.  then i'll be posting a zillion pictures all the time, but for now it's just not happening.

running

this morning, sky and i woke up early, put on our sweat pants and made our way to the track.  it was HOT and i was sweating before i even reached the track.  we stretched first, then walked a lap, then began to run.  and it was...fun. it felt really good. the trick is,  you have to pace yourself.  i didn't burst into full-on running, i took it slow and easy the whole time.  that, paired with a really great album on my headphones, made me feel unstoppable (i wasn't actually unstoppable, of course).

so we ran two laps, walked a lap, ran two, walked one and a half, then ran half a lap, then went home.  at one point during the running, i completely got into a zone and stopped counting the seconds till i could walk again.  i really felt that the music i was listening to was KEY.  it really motivated me and pushed me and i got lost in my own little world, singing along in my head.  it really helps to have motivational lyrics paired with upbeat music.  i was listening to janelle monae's The ArchAndroid, specifically the song "Tightrope" was when i was really in my groove.

by the time we decided to wrap it up, i felt like a rockstar.  we plan on running again tomorrow morning.  for now, it's time to run to the co-op for some fruit to make a fruit salad, and for a cup of some organic, fair trade, (FREE FOR EMPLOYEES!) coffee . :)

cultivating my life

for the past few weeks i've been paying extra attention to what my mind and body are trying to tell me they need. i've come up with a list of what they've told me so far, and i intend to start following the list.  i have a feeling that if i do what it tells me,  i will have more confidence in myself and more motivation in my life.  the thing about life is, you always have the choice to make it better.  all you have to do is decide.

• exercise.  at the very least, three times a week.  sky and i are going to check out a zumba class that our school, manchester community college, offers.  i'm really excited. in the meantime, we're going running for half an hour around the local high school track tomorrow morning.   i need to exercise.  my body has been begging for it.  and i really think that exercising is the key to the path that i want to be on, motivation-wise and confidence-wise.
• yoga.  we went out and bought a yoga dvd.  after running tomorrow, we're going to use it.  i also really feel like i need to stretch and meditate more often; yoga seems perfect. 
• sell things on ebay. namely a whole bunch of old clothes, jewelry, and shoes i have. i have SO MUCH STUFF. and i really need to just purge it all out of my life.  i could also use a little extra cash.  ebay is kind of intimidating to me.  mostly it's the actual payment methods that kind of throw me off, how to accept payments, etc. but that's a small thing that i just need to jump over, and i shouldn't let it stop me.  it would be so awesome if one day i could turn this blog into a blog/vintage shop, and have it be relatively successful.  
• explore my entrepreneurial side, coax it to the forefront of my life, and research being self-employed. i've known since i was a kid that this would be the only way i'd be truly happy making a living. 
• nix the coffee; drink green or white tea instead.
• create more artwork; take more pictures.

what it comes down to is, i need more discipline in my life, and i'm ready to make the decision to be more disciplined.  

gratitude

unless you're one of the lucky ones who gets paid for doing what you love doing anyway, every working person comes upon a time in their life when they have to muster everything they've got to drag their butt to work.  for the past couple of weeks, i've been going through one of those times.  i think it's due to the fact that summer is here, along with other little tid-bits thrown in, such as an influx of fun and exciting plans springing up in my life,  hearing about friends and their vacations, and maybe the fact that my boyfriend sky has a week and a half off from work right now (his job closes several times a year due being located on a college campus).

but i think the biggest reason contributing to my mood lately is school.  i'm really excited to go to school this fall and i keep staring at my future with anticipation.  i can't wait until i finally have a degree and i live where i want to live and i'm doing something fulfilling to make a living.  i think it's these combined reasons and their cause that's motivating me to grab my non-working life by the horns and figure out what makes me happy, and how to expand that happiness into making it my whole life.

on that note, here's a list of things i really appreciate in my life:

• my boyfriend sky.  i don't really know how to express my gratitude for him without it sounding insincere and cliche.  he's my best friend.  i tell him everything.  he listens and he cares.  he makes me great food all the time.  seriously, without him i'd probably eat nothing but frozen vegetables and bananas.  we like doing the same things, our future goals are compatible and include each other and he makes me laugh.  so many people spend their lives looking for what i have.  i have great love in my life and i do not take it for granted.
• my brain.  i'm really glad that i'm smart. granted, i know i'm not the smartest of the bunch, but i know i'm not dumb either.  my friends are all REALLY brilliant people, so that must say something about me, right?
• i'm really glad i made the decision to go back to school. and i'm really excited about trying to get all A's.  i'm excited that on top of working 40 hours a week, i'll be taking two classes. it's a little intimidating but i'm up for the challenge and i'm glad that i'm up for the challenge.  i'm long overdue for a challenge.  like i said, my goal is to get As in both the classes i'm taking in the fall.
• well let's see. i'm grateful that our friend norm is over and that we're about to watch "jersey shore." that show is ridiculous.
• i'm grateful for my cat mr. boy.  he's so cute and happy and gentle and sweet. aww i love him.
• i'm grateful that even though work sucks sometimes, i work with really great people.  

that's it for now, but there will be more in the future. 

i'm excited to start kickboxing tomorrow!!

janelle monae

by all means.  help yourself to the future album of the year. i won't stop you. go right ahead. add some brilliant music to your life. become obsessed with this album because you just can't get enough of it.  i won't stop you. in fact i'll help you make it easy.

a friday night glimpse

highlights include:

• the most nervous hackey-sack circle ever
• sitting around a wrought-iron patio furniture
• vanilla cognac
• alfred hitchcock's "the birds" on the tv in the background
• watching sky unicycle
• the fact that i have to work tomorrow morning and it's now 1:30am.
• the spaciousness of the house i'm house-sitting

bulbs

i love these glass bulbs hanging in adrienne's window; i think putting spider plants in them is so creative.

creepy jesus

 

so i went to my parents' house last week to celebrate my sister sarah's 22nd birthday, and for some reason i noticed this wooden jesus statue on their mantel. this statue is pretty much a family heirloom; my mom told me it was her aunt's and it came from italy, and it was made out of some kind of wood that i forgot. but it was odd because, although this statue has been standing on the mantel with his creepy arms outstretched since before i could talk, i pretty much JUST decided to pay it a good amount of attention that specific day last week. i had fun taking tons of pictures of it. it really is quite beautiful in a really creepy, mysterious way. i would post more pics in this blog entry, but i can't figure out how to post more than one photo per entry....? anyone?

the girl with the dragon tattoo

my friend at work HIGHLY recommended this book to me. honestly, i haven't been in the book-reading mood for quite a long time now, which is odd. i've sat down and read the prologue of this book. but that reading bug that usually persuades me to keep reading is absent. i do actually want to read it. but what usually happens is, i pick it up with a vague interest, look at the bright, clashing colors on the cover, think about a dragon tattoo, then kind of think about reading it, then i'm distracted by something else and i put it down and walk away, only to repeat this again and again.

sell-out

alright, so i added adsense and amazon associates to my blog. in a way i feel like a sell-out, but the side of me that says "i would like to earn a little extra $ on the side" has won me over. you know those people who make a living just by having a blog? i would LOVE to be one of those people. i definitely don't think i'm going to be making a six-figure income right away, and i probably won't get ANY money, at least not for a long time. but i would really like to start practicing and learning and one day, maybe, just maybe, i will have a blog with enough traffic to earn me at least a helpful chunk of change.

the thing that i need is an informative, useful blog on a specific topic. now i just need a topic that i'm informative about. hmmm. does a working-and-paying-my-way-through-school 20-something with a penchant for art and photography sound at all interesting? aren't those a dime a dozen? hmm....

the movies

 

sky and tim and i went to the movies a couple weeks ago and saw the karate kid. the only thing i took from that movie was the kung fu state of mind and how to apply it to life. i left the rest.

PS: what's with the tiny picasa logo in this post?!

this is my brand new camera, and the one that most likely took 90% of the photos in this blog.

mr boy feet <3

there was a tree growing out of the bushes in front of our apartment! then the landlords came and trimmed the bushes and now it's gone. i liked it.

james + adrienne's cat odin. he's so cute. i took this when i was over there during my day to check up on the cats while j+a were on vaca. odin was so affectionate and he followed me around the house and yard almost the whole time. i kind of felt bad when i got into my car to finally leave; he kind of watched me go with big sad eyes.

i have a blogger.

hello friends, lovers, haters, heros, children, old people, everyone.

i now have my very own blogger account. livejournal is long since dead and so i decided to jump on the blogger bandwagon. took me long enough.

prepare for lots and loooooooooooooooots of photos. i'm excited!