retro

We started rephotographing our old slides and negatives (rolls)... We laugh a lot. In most of the photos of my early childhood, I think, I look like a boy, beacause I had short hair... these ones are some exceptions.

collage

I made these simple collaged illustrations yesterday.
But the customer didn't like them. :P

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A Very Old One

This is a very old pastel painting that I made well before university, sometime in 2001.
Actually, I'm not sure I still like it, but I think I do. Has quite a few faults.
Both of these are detail shots only. The entire one is 50 by 70 cms, and I made it on a deep red sheet of paper, that is what shows thru. I painted it on the floor. My then-boyfriend made photos of my progress. One day I might post those, too, 'cause I think they are funny.

Priya drew my attention to the fact that lately I haven't posted artworks of mine. Yeah, true. I haven't worked very much lately. But I'm sure that sooner or later I'll get back to making artworks (other than graphic design). Actually, this is a kind of a moral obligation of mine, as one of my teachers worded it. I dunno. Maybe it is. Well, if that's what I'm meant to do, then I'd better do it. I really don't know why I've been so lazy nowadays, but to be honest, I don't want to beat myself up about is. Still, I hope I'll soon get my act together.

Color, Patterns, Tiles, Gaudí, Barcelona

Photos that I made in Parc Güell, Barcelona. I deliberately oversaturated these images, which might make them seem a bit kitschy, but I guess they convey the overall atmosphere of the place.
Gaudí was a genious. Decorating with broken tiles is such a good idea. And it's recycling. A green way to home decor. And it can be real art, too.

Inspiration: Decor Trees

Bringing nature into the house in whatever way is a good idea.
Images from emmas designblogg, fine little day (cropped) and purple area.

Aquisition: Very Floral Tights

Floral tights from H&M.
On a screen print that I made last year.

In the Kitchen: Itsy Bitsy Chocolate Chip Cookies

So, I made this the other day. Itsy Bitsy Chocolate Chip Cookies from Heidi at 101cookbooks.
They turned out pretty well. Nothing groundbraking, but they taste very good. And it took a whole lot less labor and mess than I thought it would.
Also, I'm rather pleased with the photos I managed to take about them... don't know what made me photograph them against a magazine back cover, but it seems to me that it was a good idea. Now Lara Stone (in Louis Vuitton) is lying there trapped under the itsy bitsy cookies, seemingly wanting to have some... :P

Inspiration: Surface Interest _ Tucks

I find these really inspiring.
(Middle image from Sartoria Vico via grijs.)

Madrid

From our trip to Spain.

Barcelona: La Sagrada Famiglia

Just came back from a rather short trip to Barcelona and Madrid. It was amazing.
I went with some 50 other students from the university...
Don't know what to say... it was really, really amazing... worth every penny... even tho we took the train and had to change some twenty times alltogether... :P

Wannamake: Loose-fitting Tees

I love these loose-fitting tees, and wanna make my own.
Some credits for these: Totokaelo, Alexander Wang via Purpleweed, Bodkin, feber.se

An Old One

This is an old "academic-style" drawing that I made some two years ago at the university.
I'm about to attend the life-drawing class again. Life drawing is mandatory only in the first two years, but I think it could do good. I'm freaked out tho. Haven't drawn for a year and a half or so.
(charcoal on tinted paper, 50x70 cms, but this picture is cropped)

In the Kitchen: Broccoli Tomato Thing

The other day I made this broccoli thing for myself. This was something I just improvised in a kind of a use-what-you-have way, and it turned out to be delicious.
I sautéed some broccoli in a little olive oil, and after that I added some canned tomatoes, salt, black pepper, nutmeg and a bit of garlic. Then I added a whole egg, sitrred it, and added some blue cheese, stirred it a few times again, and it was ready. And I liked it a lot. The broccoli still remained crunchy, which was far from being a problem to me.

New Aquisition: Mini Playing Cards

I wanted to buy these since Christmas.
I don't want to play with them... I'll just set them aside, and I'm going to use them for some DIY projects like making a necklace, brooch or buttons maybe. They would make very interesting buttons I guess.

Guess What!

Aaaand, this is another poster for the Freedom of Speech, that I whipped up last. Not the best ever but I kinda like it.
Haaa, one more exam to go (aesthetics), and I'm done with this semester.

Wannado: Excercise!

Being 36, I can now really see that my body is aging. It's not something I want to stop. But I think that there are some things I can do to slow it down. I really want to enjoy my life in a good, strong and healthy body, so I decided to incorporate regular excercise into my days. Regular excercise benefits not just the body but mind and spirit as well. We'll see.
First off, I'll do the beginner's workout from bodyrock.tv once a day.

Wannamake: More Ideas for DIY Accessories

Some other inspiring pictures of stuff I (or anyone else) could make:

* Straw brooch.
* Necklace made of beads and cloth rope. (both images from the Stil in Berlin blog)*Emboidered necklace or brooch. (source unknown, sorry, but I'm rather sure you can find these somewhere on etsy)The idea of crafting really keeps my mind active. Instead of preparing for my exams I keep thinking about things I could make. We'll see if i'll ever get to really making things. Lemme hope I will.

Inspiration: Quote

I'm rather tired of all those "Keep Calm and Carry on" posters and various versions of. It's nice and all but too widely spread.
The reason I put this version up here is to inspire myself to really get to making things. I'm very good at thinking about what beautiful things I would make or do, but most of the time I'm rather reluctant to start making or doing those beautiful things.
Getting really excited about something is a good way to start and I think that excitement is something one can generate in ones self.
So, let's get excited and make things. (An do the house-cleaning.)

An Other Version

Last week I went to school to consult my teachers. I showed them my "freedom of speech" posters and this is the one they preferred. They might be right. Don't know.

Wannamake

There are quite a few things I'd love to craft. A few of them are:

* A wooden necklace. (I think the one on the left is from Dries van Noten and the one on the right is from LuaLua.) As a teenager I would make a few odd necklaces... One from a little book on economics, one from the counter of a digital clock, one from little branch pieces tied together with copper wire, one from a smaller straw puppet, and so on... most of these were just repurposed stuff that I would wear as pendant on a leather string.
* Sewn little friends. (I guess I got these images from ffffound.com)
* A nice tote bag for shopping. I've made a few of these as Christmas presents for some family members. Only, I really ran out of time so I just couldn't make one for myself. I made them from heavy IKEA fabrics lined with yellow-white gingham.* Some kind of an apron. Though I might end up buying an apron from IKEA, as that's where I have most of my kitchen towels too.I'm not very crafty nowadays, so there's a possibility I'll never make any of the above.
I remember never finishing any of my knitting projects as a kid. So in the end I had one sock, one glove, and at least 3 or 4 half-knitted vests and sweaters. Oh I did finish a really long scarf that I couln't wear beause the yarn I made it from was too harsh on my skin.
My sewing projects turned out to be much more of a success. Even tho I've always had a few half-sewn or cut but never-sewn items in drawers or closets, the were a lot more I actually managed to finish. I started sewing at the age of ten or so. And ever since my sewing skills grew (I hope). I've made numerous clothes for myself and some for others. I like sewing. So much that about 8 years ago I made a living from custom sewing bridal and evening gowns. It was rewarding, but after a few years I got tired. And it's just now that I'm again getting into the mood of wanting to sew. So, we'll see, whether it's back or not.

(I am so, so sorry that I'm not able to give due credit to the copyright owners of the pictures displayed. I have a huge folder of "Stuff I like" and with a few exemptions I make the sloppy job of simply downloading the photos I like instead of renaming them with the correct source so later I would know. I guess most of the above photos are from ffffound.com but I can't be sure.)

Ways of Looking at Myself: Thru the Looking Glass

So, these are two of the images I made of myself a few days ago.
Just experiments.