My workmates knocked it outta the park again this year for some office celebrations! A Gluten-Free Babycakes party with nail polishing to boot (I got every color in the rainbow! But shhh don't tell! The blues are my favorites!)! And since I am furthering into my 30's it's only appropriate to receive Prozac!
PS All this kicky-assiness and my birthday isn't until Sunday. AWESOME.
It's RARE that I find jewelry I really like. RARE. And with my birthday on the horizon, I have been on the hunt for something to put around my neck with my initials. Oh pyrrha. Oh pyrrha. Seriously, I love the rawness that each piece takes on and I love that each design has it's own meaning.
I really like the gold, (can I borrow $700) but I think I might opt for the last one, I am a Leo after all...
You want want to dance? Check out ArtCrime (a la Theory Events) this Saturday, my girl Mel will be droppin her Spanish and dancin' on your face! DJs 100dbs and DJ Scallwag will be manning the decks along with DJ Balagan hitting up your earbuds with some Brazilian beats! Eye candy will be provided by NYC's finest and also a kickass team of Madrid street artists Trabajos en la Calle. I really want to go but I got a baby shower to host. I really want my pants on a wall someday too.
Before there was Steve, there was Paul. And before there were either of them people were doing some important shit, designing beautiful fabrics. (I got full-on exposure about age 10. My dad always had Paul Simon's Graceland blasting on countless trips to our cabin in Ruidoso, New Mexico. It has been forever in my top 10 albums of all time. Serious stuff.) And given the background and recent trip to South Africa and recent job change into the world of print and pattern design, needless to say it's becoming my theme music. Anyway...
Current trends in the P&P world are very very ethnic, so much so, I am thinking about taking weaving lessons and booking my next trip to Central Asia. (One director has got me carving potatoes to make stamps for a floral print for girls! NICE!) I just want to share a few of the prints I am recreating:
Ikat - is a style of weaving that uses a resist dying process similar to tie-dying on either the warp or weft before the threads are woven to create a pattern or design. This is probably one of my favorites to re-create, they hail from South America, South-East Asia. I might just need to get that loom. But seriously, no budget for that, so I have been painting with watercolors and dragging those paintings into photoshop and slapping a filter on!
Bandhani - Bandhani is a dye/tying process. Grains are tied to the cloth and then the cloth is dyed, usually in black, green red and yellow. The part where the grain is tied remains white. Bandhani originated from Gujarat, India and various colors and patterns represent imparts of new life. We have a serious budget and I can't actually tie all the fabric myself, so I have been using white-out pens to achieve a similar feel, now if only my darn printers can get it right!
Wax Print - Similar to batik, wax printing is resist dying with a wax pattern covering the fabric. Always multicolored with intricate designs, some versions also include African proverbs. I have not made any designs with wax, but I do a lot of things using Elmer's glue. It's a faster approach and you get similar result. But I dunno, I think i am going to try my own wax designs, I wonder if that will infringe on the fire codes here? I keep picturing lighting candlesticks and dripping the wax all over.
And so that was your lesson of the day.
PS I HIGHLY advise you click on the links. My descriptions are a little shotty! Busy day today!
I think this photo was from 1990. Look how AWESOME my hair is. From L to R: Holly Ray, Me, Lauren Taylor (Burch)
If you were good you got merits. If you were really good you got lots of merits. If you were a spazz with your merits like me, you blew them all at the merit store. Yes, it was like real money. And you could rent little woodland creatures too. This merit is actually from the 60's or 70's I believe. Some how this made it to NYC with me. The more recent ones are plastic and clearly I have no more of those.
The Quail Cabin '89 From L t0 R: Lanie Mckinnon, Carter McMahon, Kelly Pugh, Kristin Queen, Caroline Whiteside, Jeanne Connor, Lauren Taylor (Burch), Me, Gibbs Colgin (Miller), Mary Connor
I went to school to pass the time so I could go to Camp Longhorn every summer for 10 years. So much fun and secrets you'd think I joined a cult.
OH! And some famous CLH alumni: Blake Mycoskie the founder of TOM's!
PS My hair got SOOO blond from the sun my first year, my parents didn't even recognize me when they came to pick me up!
PPS The cult actually continues in old age, they have alumni camp, which I find extremely tempting, but too lazy to actually book the flight all the way to Texas!
I have been riding up to 20+ miles every week, even early in the mornings for about half an hour! SAY WAHT! I can't even believe it myself. So what I am sure you're all really wondering is, what gets me going (aside from my badass steed) especially at 6 am on a weekday? The ULTIMATE HARD ROCK BIKE SESH playlist:
1. Bang Your Head - Quiet Riot 2. Rock You Like a Hurricane - Scorpions 3. We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister 4. Round & Round - Ratt 5. Seperate Ways - Journey (What? you thought STEVE wouldn't be apart of my workout?!) 6. Cum On Feel the Noize - Quiet Riot 7. Electric Avenue - Eddie Grant (What? yea, so what, it doesn't go, but it keeps me from yelling at pedestrians. Calms me right down. Seriously, ya'll need to wake up, I nearly clip your head everyday. Think of me as a car, ok? I will run you over.) 8. Kiss Me Deadly - Lita Ford 9. Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leopard 10. Don't Stop Believin' - Journey (If you hear these lyrics at about 6:57 am around McCarren Park being shouted, it's me.)
(Or really, you could just buy The Wrestler soundtrack.)
Get Outta My Way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PS I should really list the mister's, as we are on opposite ends of the music spectrum. Did someone say The Poni-tails? We often ride together, the playlists keep us sane, as he rides like a cabbie and I ride like an angry grammy. It helps us focus and channel our true cyclist personas.
Ada Limon and I have a tradition, 3rd year in the running: Urban Booze Cruise starting at noon on the weekend of Memorial Day here in beautiful sunny Williamsburg. Summer is here, can you feel it?!
PS MAJOR NEWS!!! Miss Ada has a poem "Crush" published into tomorrow's New Yorker! Congrats my dear! Massive!
I like bows. I like stippling. It's little out of hand. I notice a lot of people write some really clever sh*t on their blogs or post-it notes or whatever. I don't got nothing clever today, just bows.
PS Got that shirt in my hometown, at the American Council for the Blind. Hands down, best 2nd hand shop ever. I think basically because all the shit I want is so out of style in the minds of my old community that they wouldn't even think twice about my Journey 1986 Tour baseball heather grey shirt with royal blue quarter sleeves for a $1.82.
PPS Don't stop believing.
PPPS Oh fine, it was the Oh Sherrie song, you know that part where he's singing and then he's all woo'ing Sherrie on the steps?
You know what's good? When you realize dreams that you didn't know you had (but you did, you just filed them away in the back of your mind. Maybe because you just thought now wasn't the time or perhaps you couldn't figure out how to execute them.) COME TRUE. I am happy to report that from here on out, instead of being a "Graphic Designer" (YUCK, I have always thought those 2 words, just did not FIT with me, EVER) as my current profession, I will now be specializing ONLY in print and pattern design. I will be tackling the world of fabric and intricate detailed ideas with pens and paper and watercolor and india ink and OH MY!
It's nice when you know something works for you, just you. You know?
Who, WHO (and while I realize this song got waaaaaaay overplayed) doesn't love a little Feist, a little Sesame Street? It's Thursday!
And some totally irrelevant information about myself:
The last person I saw: Everyone there ever could be using NYC's MTA during morning rush hour. The last person I talked to: The check out lady where I got my yellow split pea soup. The last thing I bought for someone else: A vintage handkerchief. A belated birthday gift for Le Jeff. The last song I heard: Kraftwerk's Tour de France The last movie I saw: 3 o'clock High The last tv program I watched: Green Wing The last book I read: Another Bullshit Night in Suck City: A Memoir by Nick Flynn (still need to finish that) The last time I laughed: This morning. While working with a colleague on some art. We thought we might ACTUALLY wear the garment the art was going on. The last time I cried: On the plane to Austin. I was so ill I felt bad and cried because I thought the boyfriend wouldn't get to have fun in Texas!! The last dream I had: I don't even remember. I slept like a rock. The last thing I ate: Whole wheat toast with avocado, tomato, onion and salt and pepper. The last thought I had before writing this post: This post prior was too short with just Feist and some muppets.
If there's anything Austin should be known for (sans music, food, etc.) I think their signage should be waaaay up on that list. Every SINGLE establishment has type-candy, these are just a few, and can generally be found in the infamous SOCO area.
PS Can anyone suggest a good camera? I am just noticing how CRAPTASTIC these photos look in comparison. I guess I could photoshop, but that might require more than I am willing to give. I will however shell out $500 for a new camera. Thoughts?
A few folks here and there have asked to see what I do at work, so I thought I would share a few things from here on out. I can't share a lot of things I do because the clothing I do designs for has to hit the floors before I can release my ideas! You know, that binding contractual type of stuff. Anyway, while perusing one of my favorite blogs for me, for you I ran across MrPS (Megan Price) and fell into some sugar coated lust with her self screened totes. Like I need anymore bags, but I digress, it had ice cream all over it and well how can I not welcome summer with a little ice cream? I. Scream.
PS I did those 2 treats for some girlie girl tees. The first one was done in pen and tracing paper (heavenly textures!) and the second was some full on watercolor!
PPS Unfortunately ice cream kills my tummy (lactose), but luckily I am a coconut JUNKIE and have been enjoying Purely Decadent's Mint Chocolate Chip. HOLY COCONUTS! It's GOOD!
My workmates knocked it outta the park again this year for some office celebrations! A Gluten-Free Babycakes party with nail polishing to boot (I got every color in the rainbow! But shhh don't tell! The blues are my favorites!)! And since I am furthering into my 30's it's only appropriate to receive Prozac!
My dear friend Deb over at Your Destiny is Stone Golden trusted me to guest post for her while she is away! ENJOY!
Paul. Watch out Steve.
Ikat
African Wax Print
Bandhani
Attawaytogo!
I think this photo was from 1990. Look how AWESOME my hair is.
If you were good you got merits. If you were really good you got lots of merits. If you were a spazz with your merits like me, you blew them all at the merit store. Yes, it was like real money. And you could rent little woodland creatures too. This merit is actually from the 60's or 70's I believe. Some how this made it to NYC with me. The more recent ones are plastic and clearly I have no more of those.
The Quail Cabin '89
The Royal Me © 2009
Ada Limon and I have a tradition, 3rd year in the running: Urban Booze Cruise starting at noon on the weekend of Memorial Day here in beautiful sunny Williamsburg. Summer is here, can you feel it?!
The Royal Me © 2009
Steve. Perry.
The Royal Me © 2009
The Royal Me © 2009
If there's anything Austin should be known for (sans music, food, etc.) I think their signage should be waaaay up on that list. Every SINGLE establishment has type-candy, these are just a few, and can generally be found in the infamous SOCO area.
The Royal Me © 2006
The Royal Me © 2007
Megan Price aka Mr. PS © 2006
