still here

Just have a lot on my plate these days. In fact it rather feels like I'm carrying too many plates all piled up with way too much and I'm making sure they are all steady and not crashing into another one/onto the floor. Lots of stuff on the back burner, lots of cancellations/flaking on friends.

sunflower prints

I made these prints a few weeks ago while trying to get out of my post-grad rut. Two tries with a piece of linoleum and lino cutters and a test run with yellow ink got me thinking they needed something more so I layered red over yellow (hello USC!) and then did a red-purple gradation for the last handful. I've been sending them out as cards and want to make more.

woodsy delights

In these in-between kinds of days I dream of leaving the city, going off into the woods and living off the land. How typical of a twenty-something without a job, no? Didn't mean to start this off sour, by any means. My wanderlust is getting a bit out of hand though. I'll find a way to cure it and then figure out a solid way of life sometime. soon? sometime...

hiking with y

These are all from a hike we went on last month. Amidst towering stands of yucca and magnificent clumps of sage we found areas of shade to cool off in, befriended lizards on rocks and still managed to look badass (my sister at least) in the rising heat. She liked the walk back the most, with the shadier paths and babbling brook along the way. Duly noted!

things I like right now

Plants in my room, particularly this maidenhair fern (Adiantum aethiopicum). Its green fronds hold one of the most beautiful shades of green in nature, in my opinion. I've only ever had two maidenhair ferns in my care, both of which died (it was probably ten years ago so there), so I'm determined to keep this one alive.

Growing edible things in the garden, like these blackberries. Only three ripe ones and all sour but LOOK we're growing BERRIES! Ahhh. Can't wait for our tomatoes to ripen so I can eat them right off the vine.


Mochas! I'm obviously not one of those serious coffee-drinkers. The first one is a mocha from Pannikin which was just freakin' delicious and the second is of the 'Highlander Grog' mocha from another awesome cafe in Solana Beach. It smelled like Baileys and, topped with chocolate whipped cream and a drizzle of syrup tasted like heaven. As a lover of chocolate it really shouldn't be a surprise that I demand chocolate in my coffee.

close-ups to inspire

From my latest trip to the Norton Simon. I focused on the brushstrokes of the different artists and studied their styles all in preparation for an oil painting I started the next day.

The World of Sex - Henry Miller

I picked this up at last Sunday's flea market for $1. Of course the title print first caught my eye, and I figured most people passed it over because of that and the fact it looked like a flimsy pamphlet. But upon closer inspection I saw the author's name - Henry Miller, then made out the delicate, beautiful print of the human body, barely noticeable when viewing the thing at a 90º angle, and without any further ado I snapped it up. I was wide awake despite feeling exhausted yesterday and so read it all last night before bed. The content is not as extensive on the topic of sex as the title offers, but in no way does that undermine the writing. In it Miller addresses the issue of his liberal usage of sex in his writing, as sex undoubtedly plays a strong role in the growth of many an individual, whether one would like to admit this or not. What I find remarkable about Henry Miller is that I've never found his writing obscene for the sake of being provocative, in fact his writing seems incredibly truthful and poetic as he chronicles his life experiences and how they build or break him down as a man. I find his words totally intoxicating.

I could tell that my mom was slightly mortified upon viewing this title, as she didn't even know what to say about it. I told her it's an essay by one of my favorite writers, and that seeing only 1000 copies of this one had been printed, I had to have it. I began to tell her about it today but she didn't seem interested. Prudish mothers are so funny and ironic!

flea market-ing

Some more flea market items that caught my eye on Sunday - Is this the Vans I'm thinking of?; I wish I could have made off with the sly happy face and "Put on a Happy D" button, but I have sooo many buttons; Southwest patterned shirts; a Scottie-shaped Avon perfume bottle!

wise words

The other day a man asked me if anything good was going on in my life and, being in dreary mood I replied truthfully, 'No, not really.' He looked at me a little concerned and said, well didn't Shakespeare say 'Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so'? Which is from my favorite Shakespeare play, Hamlet. The man who brought up the quote made me realize I'd been moping around for too long, and that I've been letting others/things dictate how I feel, instead of putting myself in control of things. It may seem contrived, but I really value the interjection of an inspirational quote every now and again, and I'm glad this inspiration didn't strike me from a tea bag tag, in a fortune cookie, or from a tumblr blog.

buying & selling

I bought this Edible Mushrooms book for a dollar mostly because I was attracted to its cover and the black-and-white photos inside. Since Southern California isn't much of a 'mushroom'-ing place I had no urgent NEED for this, but I like reading up on plants and wild things you can eat. A bit later, a lady peered into my mom's cart and, upon seeing it asked if she would be interested in selling it to her. My mom said it was her daughter's and she would ask me if I'd part with it. So I walked over to the lady and she explained she was putting together a birthday package for a friend who lives in Oregon who forages for wild mushrooms and thought it would be great for her. So I asked her how much she was willing to pay for it and she said '5 dollars!' Sold! Then I realized she too was a seller tending her booth so it was a fun feeling knowing she had gotten something that day too, albeit indirectly.

smoke

I've been burning leaves of Salvia apiana every other day in my room, which strangely helps me calm down and refocus. At least, I like to think so.

bird's foot trefoil

This is Lotus corniculatus, or Bird's Foot Trefoil/Birdfoot Deervetch. This plant means a lot to me because I would gather its blossoms at the park I grew up near when I was four/five. I remember when I proudly held out a bunch of it to my grandma and she wove them into a little tiara for me that I got so excited over. Even though it's supposedly a bit of an invasive species in North America, the only place I've consistently seen it was at this park. And going back to that park a few days ago and seeing the little clumps of yellow in the grass again evoked an old time in my life that was fairly happy. For the past week I was obsessively thinking about my life thus far, dwelling in the past. It was driving me absolutely crazy, but for the most part I think I've calmed down.

and summer begins...

UNNNNFH so incredible. I mean, I'm so excited I can't sleep! More on that later, in the meantime, go see X-Men: First Class (if you are a fan of the X-Men, comics, and/or James McAvoy in general, along with other people of course). Marvel Studios, you're doin' it right!

apathy + fervor

I'm entangled in a perpetual tug-of-war between not caring about important things and caring way too much about insignificant ones. Then reversing those. I'm immature, irresponsible, and indolent and part of me doesn't care too much but then another part of me is like WHY and I'm telling myself that's what I'm figuring out. Oh and thank god it's June.