5 am Web Surfing

First post since being married! First post since....well, forever. Kinda been slacking. Lots of interested stuff has happened that I could've posted about but frankly, I've been insanely busy. The only reason I am able to post right now is because I came in to work at 5 am today and it's a Sunday and I have taken a total of 1 phone call in the 2 hours I have been here. Not much to do. So I've been reading Andre Agassi's autobiography "Open" which is fascinating. I love tennis and I miss playing it. I haven't played in about a year at least. Makes me sad. So I got around to looking up the mens singles current rankings trying to see how my man Andy Roddick was doing.

You can imagine the shock that came over me when I found out he has been RETIRED since last year and I had no idea. Like I said on Facebook, I am now dead inside. 

Garrett Helund, however, brought me a little back to life. I watched "Country Strong" last night because I love the music and my husband works graveyard shifts and I had nothing better to do. His voice is amazing. I though he was a professional country artist. Little did I know that he is actually a famous actor and he plays Sam Flynn in Tron: Legacy. What the heck?????

That doesn't even seem like the same person! First of all, the voices sound totally different. Second, he seems like a small little man boy in Tron and a big, strong manly man in Country Strong. This just goes to show how extremely versatile he is. I am in love with his voice. And I am absolutely in love with this song.

I died inside a little bit again when I found out he is dating Kirsten Dunst. I don't know how she is as a person but as an actress I'm not a fan. But if they're happy, more power to them.

That's all I've found out for now. Hopefully anything else I discover will be good things that won't make me die inside anymore.

Living in the Moment

A few years ago I came across a book called "13 Reasons Why" by Jay Asher. It was one of those books that you pick up and don't put down until you've read every single word. Today, I downloaded a book co-authored by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler called "The Future of Us". I started reading it and didn't stop until I finished, which was about 15 minutes ago. While I didn't like it as much as "13 Reasons Why", it did get me thinking a lot. "The Future of Us" is basically about a girl and her friend who get an AOL disc and download it onto her computer (before the internet was everywhere and iPods or Facebook were invented) and it has a Facebook account on it with their lives 15 years in the future. They become obsessed with how their current lives affect their future lives and it turns into this huge life changing thing over about a weeks time and don't realize how they are ignoring their current lives. 

As I've written in previous posts, I love Buddhism. Not as a religion or anything, but I think Buddha was very wise and teaches very useful concepts and ways to find happiness within yourself. A big part of Buddhism is something called mindfulness. It's about being aware of yourself and what is going on in the moment, how your body feels, managing your thoughts, and being totally present in the current moment. I have a few buddhist books and they go more in depth about the concept but it is really helpful. Most people don't know this but last year I found out I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I'm not ashamed to admit this anymore. Millions of people suffer from it, and it's not something you can just "get over" and stop on a whim. I've found that mindfulness is helps a lot with people who are suffering from extreme stress and use it remain calm in stressful situations. Practicing mindfulness and being in the present moment helps you stop worry so much about the future and enjoy life more. If you just focus on being happy here, right now, then a lot of stress goes away. Your life will turn out how it is supposed to. Everything happens for a reason, and it does no good to put all your time, energy, and emotions into worrying about how one little thing you do now will affect your future 15 years from now. 

If anyone is interested in reading more about mindfulness or Buddhism I love all the books I've read by Thich Nhat Hanh, he is very wise and has changed my life. 

Here is a very artistic rendition of him lol (all his photos were low res). Doesn't he look wise?

Flatbacks and Paper Cases

I am still in Bookbinding and I am LOVING IT. Some people think it sounds lame, but that is only because they don't know how freakin fun it is. At least to me. And every single other person who has ever taken the class. Here are my latest projects:

Flatback Binding

This book has cloth on the spine and paper for the rest of the cover. This is the most common kind of book, and is also my favorite one to make so far. I will probably make a lot more with this style of binding. 

It has handmade paper stuck on endbands. 

Paper Case Binding

This book was the most expensive to make so far. The cover paper was almost $10 for one sheet that is about 24"x? something. It's called St. Armand paper and it's handmade, which is why it's so expensive. Plus the seashell pendants for the front, the leather, the beads, the special thread for the sewn on endband shown in the last picture, plus all the text paper on the inside. It also took the most time to make this book compared to all the other ones. 

The leather wraps from the back cover around the shells in kind of like an 8 pattern to keep the book shut. 

This is a sewn on endband. I'm not happy with the color of it but I bought the thread without having the paper in front of me so I didn't realize how badly it didn't match. Hand sewn endbands are not nearly as common as stuck on endbands and they add value to the book. 

All my books are completely handmade, other than the closures (leather, seashells, beads) used on the paper case book. I am in love with making books and will probably keep making them for a long time. I have started a shop on Etsy and will start selling books when I have made more. I am too attached to the ones I've made so far since they're the first ones I've made. I have a feeling it's going to be really hard for me to let go of books I make, but all artists have to come to terms with letting go of their creations at one point or another. 

Books, Books, Nothing But Books

I love bookbinding. Some people think it's lame, but I love it. I recently learned how to make books using the Coptic Binding. We only had to make one book for the assignment but I made two :) The first one took me a while but the second one only took me about 6 or 7 hours total, from scratch. I am proud of myself lol. Here are some pics:

Here's the front of both of them. The first one I made is on the left, the second one is on the right.

This is the side view

This is the back

This is the front inside cover

This is the back inside cover

The next kind of book we are learning how to make is called the Flat Back binding, which is how most books are made. I can't wait :)

Drawing With the Moon

Have you ever read the book "Happy Birthday, Moon"? 

If you haven't, you're missing out. That book is one of my all time favorite children's books. I loved it when I was little and I still love it. There is something about being outside on a summer night, perfect temperature with a slight breeze, looking up at the stars and staring at the moon. 

It is the most relaxing thing in the entire world for me. Hearing the wind in the trees and staring out at the huge, open sky. Priceless. Tonight, I thought I would try and get some pictures of some fireworks over the valley and I ended up drawing with the moon and the city lights. 

I tried signing my name using the moon but it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. This is the closest I got:

That last picture reminds me of another children's book called "Sam and the Firefly". Another classic. 

I could've stayed there all night taking pictures but some sketchy guys were coming down the mountain so I decided to leave so my body didn't end up in a ditch. That's one thing that sucks about being a girl.....you can't be out in the wilderness by yourself late at night. Sounds weird but I like being out in the wilderness by myself at night lol. Stupid sketchy men. Anyway, hopefully more awesome pictures to come soon :) 

This Henna Smells Weird

Once upon a time, I turned 21. That day was cursed and a super huge let down. Nothing went right. I had planned to go on a hot air balloon ride early in the morning, and the company called and cancelled due to crappy weather. I was going to go see the Spiral Jetty FINALLY....but then realized it was clear out in Brigham City and I didn't have time or motivation to go that far. Blah blah blah, you get the gist. It wasn't at all what I had planned. 


THEN


My sister Brittany came to the rescue. Today was the super adventure that should have been my 21st birthday. I guess it was still in the same week, so it counts :) 


FIRST: We went to the farmer's market in Salt Lake. Super toasty hot. Lots of girls in dresses and bootie shorts who decided to boycott shaving their legs. And also lots of really cool booths. Props to all the little hippies, farmers, and entrepreneurs out there with their homemade stuff. It was weird too cause my illustration teacher from BYU, Greg Newbold, made all the posters for the farmer's market and would talk about it all the time and I saw them everywhere. 

SECOND: We went to City Creek mall and ate at Bocata, which I love. Their bread is de-freakin-licious. We people watched and it was super entertaining. Also, we walked through Tiffany's and felt like people were going to throw us out at any moment because we couldn't afford to even look at all the  diamonds. Next time we will just wear big floppy hats and eat breakfast outside of it. 

THIRD: We went to Randy's Records and bought some vinyls. Other than the nasty trashy guys who apparently have never heard of deodorant, it was a pretty cool place. I got a Lynyrd Skynyrd record and the Footloose Soundtrack record lol. Britt gave me her old vinyl player so now I can finally start my collection :)

FOURTH: We went to Now and Again, which is a really cute antique store owned by a cute gay (<----I think) man in a cowboy hat. I bought miniature statues of Myron's Discobolos and the Venus de Milo. They had some really cute dressers that I wanted too but I decided to pass for now. 

FIFTH: We went to Night Flight comic book store by the Salt Lake Library. I bought a bunch of comics and am planning on framing them and hanging them on my wall. They should look pretty legit so I'm excited. 

SIXTH: We went to Ikea and Britt bought some stuff. I don't have a home to decorate so I didn't buy anything. However, I wore my new converse that I got for my birthday, which are high tops, and didn't have tall enough socks for them. Let me just say that all that walking around while those shoes rubbed my ankles started to hurt after a while. SO...Britt pushed me on an Ikea cart and everyone stared, and I didn't care one bit. They were all secretly thinking that they wanted to be pushed on Ikea cart. Who wouldn't want to do that? It's the bomb shiz. 

SEVENTH: We went to Walmart and I bought tall socks. And a Superman shirt. 


EIGHTH: I got home and did henna tattoos with Leann. I got this Henna set from Barnes and Noble cause it was on clearance....yeah.....it was on clearance for a reason. All the other times I have gotten henna it was from Good Earth. Lesson learned. Always get your henna at good earth. I left the henna paste on my arm for 4 hours, took it off and it is SUPER light. It's supposed to darken in a day or two so I hope it does. Also it smells really weird. 

(I've been trying to get the picture of my henna off my phone but it's not working so I'll try to add it later.)

NINTH: Psycho was free on demand so I finally watched it for the first time after hearing it referenced all the time and seeing a billion parodies of it. It was actually a pretty good movie and I liked the cinematography. It was done pretty artsy so yay Hitchcock :)

So that was my super adventure for today. Hopefully there are many more to come. 

Happy Early Birthday To Me!

Sooooo.......my 21st birthday is in 21 days. Funny huh lol. I got a bonus at work today so I used it as an excuse to buy myself an early birthday present. 

This baby!

That's right, it's the Nook Color. I have never been more excited to read in my entire life. The first book I downloaded is:

This is the summary:

A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an eleven-hundred-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe “and built her back up again.

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State “and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise. But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone.

Strayed faces down rattlesnakes and black bears, intense heat and record snowfalls, and both the beauty and loneliness of the trail. Told with great suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild vividly captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

Sounds cool to me. And apparently it is part of Oprah's Book Club. Faaaaancy. Now if it will finish downloading I can start reading it :) 

A Glimpse of the Past

Guess what. I love black and white photography. Obviously I like color photography as well, but I love old black and white photos. Old photos are like time machines that allow us to see what life was like back then, which I am fascinated by. Removing color turns the attention to the lighting, shapes,and composition which are sometimes overlooked when there are colors involved. Here are some of my favorite photographs in one of my photo books called The Photographers Eye by John Szarkowski. These photos are examples of why I am so passionate about photography. 

JACQUES HENRI LARTIGUE: Beach at Villerville, 1908

(My favorite part about this is the boat on the left)

WILLIAM SMITH: View across Chain Bridge, Washington, D.C., c. 1863. The Library of Congress

CLARENCE JOHN LAUGHLIN: The Fierce-Eyed Building, 1938

HARRY CALLAHAN: Detroit, 1943

MATTHEW B. BRADY or staff: Conspirator Payne, 1865. The Library of Congress

BILL BRANDT: No. 43 from Perspective of Nudes, 1957

MANUEL ALVAREZ BRAVO: Eating Place, c. 1940

GARRY WINOGRAND: Untitled, 1963

"There is a terrible truthfulness about photography. The ordinary academician gets hold of a pretty model, paints her as well as he can, calls her Juliet, and puts a nice verse from Shakespeare underneath, and the picture is admired beyond measure. The photographer finds the same pretty girl, he dresses her up and photographs her, and calls her Juliet, but somehow it is no good--it is still Miss Wilkins, the model. It is too true to be Juliet."

                                                            -George Bernard Shaw

MAX BURCHARTZ: Eye of Lotte, 1930. Otto Steinert, Essen, Germany

RICHARD AVEDON: Ezra Pound, 1958. Made for Harper's Bazaar

ROBERT FRANK: Parade, Hoboken, New Jersey, 1955, from The Americans

CHARLES NEGRE: Henry Le Secq at Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, 1851. Calotype. 

ELLIOT ERWITT: Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach, 1962

HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON: Children Playing in Ruins, Seville, Spain, 1933

JACQUES HENRI LARTIGUE: Glider Constructed by Maurice Lartigue, Chateau Rouzat, 1909

EDWARD STEICHEN: Sunday Papers: West 86th Street, New York, c. 1922