you said you'd be my dream, i could have you every night

forget chocolates and flowers. all work by tracey emin.

writing sample, deux

on San Francisco, february 8, 2013

you know, sometimes i really hate this city. it's too small. it smells like piss and poo nearly everywhere you walk. there are too many hills that are too steep to climb every goddam day. i step on crack pipes on my way home from work, and because of all the walking i have done i have busted through at least three pairs of black flats per year i've lived here. thats about fifteen pairs of black flats, if you count my oakland years. which my bank account counts them, so you should, too. san francisco is for people who want to live in portland, but have seasonal affective disorder. san francisco is for people who want to be cool, pretend like they're cool and hip and knowledgeable but really they're just insecure assholes. san francisco is sad to walk around, but even sadder on muni buses where people piss and freak out and go nuts and steal your iphone. so i've heard. i actually was on a bus where someone pissed and the driver wouldn't let him off. so you jump off to avoid the piss. and then you walk. and walk. and walk up a hill. and then you finally make it up the hill, and look across that vast bay to the marin headlands. you turn ninety degrees and see the bay bridge expanding past the ferry building. you turn ninety degrees and see the hill you just walked up, with a cable car chugging up it. you turn ninety degrees and see ONE MORE ONE MORE ONE MORE HILL. you turn ninety degrees again, and start walking those last few steps to home. up ten steps. up the elevator. into your apartment which you love love love. then you remember why you live in san francisco. and you love it.

writing sample

on LA, circa 2004

i love LA. i know i'm not supposed to because it's smoggy and gross and disgusting and there's weird people in hollywood and you can't get anywhere without a freeway that's jammed and there's never cheap parking and there's exhaust and you can't breathe but there is something about this city that sucks you in spits you out and you don't really seem to mind. an energy. teeming with people crammed to the gills with cars just mad chaos. is it ADD? perhaps. and then you get to PCH and it's calm, even when your sitting with 5 million other people in cars. you roll down the window hear the surf breathe the fresh air see the sun glinting on waves crashing into cliffs coming down a hill to see a coastline rocky and hilly and crammed with beautiful beachfront homes and then it makes it all worth it. that coast. it sucks you in even if you hate all of LA.

3020 laguna street in exitum

almost a year ago today, a unique temporal art experience

yulia pinkusevich, data mass projection

chris fraser, outline

jeremiah barber, dreamburn

andy vogt, drawn out

other photos i took and improperly catalogued. if you know who did these works of art, please let me know.

random bits of randomness

from travels / city walks

union square, san francisco

the five-and-dime, st. joe

the wall of my childhood closet, elkhart

the former museum, san francisco

nature/texture

winter on lake michigan, sunset

yeah you still kiss me sometimes...

new work

inspired by Lula magazine shots

all i have to show for is this

what do you do in your kitchen? i stain large pieces of board.

conceptually, i thought developing a product binder that represented my Ministry of Craft brand would be relatively easy. i'm quite good with layouts, and adept at utilizing inDesign, illustrator and photoshop. little did i know that the process would take more than a month, full of meetings with friends and artists. and that it would force me to consider my "brand" and how i wish to represent it.

why, being the smart girl that i am, did i not think it would force me to consider my brand and how i wish to represent it?! you've all heard the adage, it's hard to see the forest through the trees? i got so focused on the "trees", i.e.: the separate components of my product binder (what pages? what font? what copyright information?) that i lost sight of the forest, or rather, my brand.

i'm not afraid to admit that i often lose the bigger picture, either at my day job, or in my side business. it's good to have people that remind you of the bigger picture, to help you zoom out, and see what you're missing, or to show you what path you are on.

so, i found myself on a sunday afternoon staining a large piece of board that will act as "hunting lodge" for my taxidermy heads. though i know this means starting (almost) from scratch with my product binder, i feel the end product will be more cohesive, and better represent my brand.

there's a map of the world on the wall in your room

nathan's studio (detail)

i had an interesting experience this weekend that i’d like to share. i was asked very recently to start a music column for Nighthawk Press, a literary review based out of Chicago (which you should definitely check out). i immediately jumped at the chance, and 48 hours later had not one, but two very lengthy posts submitted to the editor. then, i got to thinking about the neglect of my own personal writing. why can’t i write for my own blog, yet can set aside time to submit to another? the weather in San Francisco finally broke today, and i went for a walk, and thought a lot about this conundrum, and came up with a few interesting points.

one: it’s easier to rely on someone else to edit and publish content. all you have to do is write and submit, and you’re done! simples! when I sit to write a post, i think about how much time i have, how it’s going to look with the site, is it too lengthy? what image will i use? what do i want to say? and then, most of the time, i get tired and go do something else.

two: i find it’s easier to write about something you’re not directly involved with. i am not a musician, nor do i wish to be a musician. my posts for Nighthawk are all about my passion for music. for myself, i find it easier to write about something i am removed from. as a fan of music, i can write whatever i want. as a visual artist, i consider every point i try to make as an artist. i aspire to create, and write, with intention. and i find myself self-editing more when i write about my work, especially when i feel the pressure of how i choose to express myself.

three: music is so consumable. you can multitask while listening to music. in fact, i’m listening right now! i find that you can’t really say that for any other art form. since it is so consumable, you can experience a wide variety in a short amount of time. for other visual art, like film, you have to sit and absorb for two hours. music is really the people’s expression.

four: most visual art, unfortunately, has some accessibility issues. of course, with the internet and the “democratization” of art (which can be argued as a good or bad thing), accessibility is no longer the limitation it once was. i can spend three hours down the rabbit-hole and come out with twelve new artists that i love. but the roots of art still lie in a hierarchical and, for lack of a better word, elitist environment. art and the artist seek to reach people, but the structure of the art world is still very insular.

to elaborate further on the fourth point, i’m lucky enough to operate in the San Francisco art community, which i find very open and collaborative. collaboration is what will carry art and the artist forward. we no longer have to operate in the bubble of the art world. we can be committed to reaching new audiences, and can work together to build new communities that are inclusive and engaging. we share resources, and spaces, and within those collaborations we find something bigger than ourselves, which is very powerful.

as for me, i’m going to continue to write with intention, but not be so self-edited that i find i have nothing to say.

playground love

i find to do my work, i have to have an organized environment. i had been quite happy with the layout of my apartment, which also doubles as my studio, but in the passing months, everything got a bit "misplaced." so, i took the time this past weekend to clean house, and make it more visually pleasing. i am quite pleased with the results.

here are my bookshelves, which i decided to "color-code":

bookshelf detail, cardboard skull i found in Chicago and my grandfather's paintbrushes with custom plexi stand he built:

bookshelf detail, framed postcard from stella magazine, mink shoe clips found at the vintage clothing fair, and a doily my great grandmother made:

room divider, which separates my small studio into two rooms. this is the living room. all of my art supplies, fabric, and art-related books and magazines are stored here:

divider detail, my drawing pencils, crochet teeth, stella magazine, vol. 1, and rilakumma toys:

the solution to my thread storage issue - i bought pegboard and pegs from the hardware store. i like it because it also serves as additional hooks for storage:

Gutermann embroidery thread, the best thread in the world:

why not try it all, if you'll only remember it once...

so i haven't been a very diligent blogger, as you can tell. and frankly, the photos i have posted of my own work haven't exactly been inspiring. so, this is the perfect opportunity to start over. i have revamped the image and the meaning behind this blog in the attempt to take myself more seriously as an artist, and to produce even more work that inspires me. and, in the hopes that in 2012 i'll be ready to apply for an MFA program either here or abroad.

here is the first installation of the new and improved blog. i hope you like it.

seated girl #2, 2010/2011, 4'x4' canvas

seated girl #1, 2010/2011, 3'x6' canvas

seated girl #1, detail

seated girl #1, detail

carlos nine

beautiful

old(er) work

iris schieferstein

love, squared...

craft + fashion.

Benjamin Cho

love...

Hussein Chalayan, Spring 2010 RTW details

vivienne westwood for cole + son

amazing. truly lovely.

where style meets cute

stolen from cute overload.com.

amazing.

curious.

things i would like for the home:

in progress

here is a scan of the embroidery i'm currently working on.
i find it therapeutic and really quite nice to work on. i will update you as it progresses. if you click on it, you can see a bigger image to get the detail.

spread love.

ode to peets

oh, peets
how i love thee caffe freddo extra bold!
creamy, sweets
oh peets!

your caffe freddo extra bold sends shivers up my spine!
so delicious, not at all nutritious
yet oh so wonderful!
peets!