Melancholy Moon

The moon is hiding under clouds tonight...

Run Wake's Idol

I happened across this odd, macabre video today and find myself oddly enamoured of the idol...come to find out the animated piece was created by Run Wake (check out the website: http://www.runwrake.com/ )

things transient and things of love

I saw this poster through a window at the school where I teach. Rushing off to class, there was no time to ask about it. When I came back today to get a closer look, it was gone. Sometimes the magic of things and moments lies in their transience.

These two chairs sat in the dark morning on a corner near my home, nestling together like comfortable lovers. When I came back this morning, the chairs were gone. I like to imagine someone took them home to clean up and give them care...perhaps providing a place for two to sit with knees, shoulders and arms touching. A lovely thought for dark, autumn mornings...

lunafornia dream = five of my favorite things

This teeny little video combines five of my favorite things: the moon, dreams, solemn rabbits, paper cuts and animation. Oh, Johnny Kim - what a lovely treat!

Lunafornia Dream from Johnny Kim on Vimeo.

maybe this is loneliness

Yesterday I had a strange feeling...something not quite right...couldn't figure it out. But when the afternoon sun hit the wall I wondered, "maybe this is loneliness?" I'm not a particularly lonely person, so it was interesting to investigate the feeling. And during my investigations, I found this little video (from the BBC program "Days Like This" and voiced by a lovely Irish man):

House of Dreams

This week, I got to visit a preschool class. The students listened to this wonderful book, The Big Orange Splot. Then we adjourned to "the message center" to draw pictures of our own dream houses. My drawing includes:

• flowers
• an observatory tower with two telescopes for watching the night sky
• a dance floor in the yard (with colorful lantern lights for illuminating night tangos)
• a hammock 
• a bridge to reach to the addition (the addition was built for the sole purpose of having a balcony, something a 4-year-old told me I MUST have)
• a winding road
• so much vegetation
• a shadow from my hand that looks a little like a rain cloud - I guess the flowers need rain...

Even with all these magnificent things, my drawing unsurprisingly paled in comparison to the pre-schooler's dream houses. Theirs will filled with trains, bridges, towers, elevators, secret hiding places for puppies and special wonderful bedrooms with twinkle lights throughout.

Do you not know this book? Here is a wonderful version I found, voiced by some delightfully accented students who I don't know.

Kooky - Teaser

I'm waiting with trembling excitement for Jan Sverak's latest film to be released in the U.S. Kooky looks like my kind of magic!

Shy girl goes to Time Based Art (Romeo & Juliet)

Shy girl braved PDX's TBA festival tonight for Nature Theatre of Oklahoma's Romeo and Juliet.  Now savoring the deliciousness of hearing those beautiful words in the dark. These folks are the bomb. Word up. http://www.oktheater.org/

This yellow Mercedes = my muse

yellow leaves, yellow house, yellow car

This yellow Mercedes = my muse

This car has been parked on my block for a while.  I see it most every morning on our walk. Every morning it offers something new. It is a magic, generous car.

picket fence

shadow's embrace

the empress and my crowning glory

another trip to the hairdresser (The Proper in Portland) invites a study of a vintage stand-up "empress" hairdryer...looking into the future past...no-one sits under it anymore, but the folks at The Proper do keep the light on, just in case.

if I were to sit under this waiting for my hair to dry, would I feel like an empress?

this might be my favorite view...the air nozzles look like they're having a conversation.




Galen Amussen, my hairdresser at The Proper, is the absolute bomb. She does not speak with an accent like the man in this video, but she is funny as heck, generous to a tee, and she shapes my hair into a crowning glory of wonderful. 

Kate Bush - Blow Away with Night Scented Stock

shadows on the moon

fallen stars

Insomnia brings me outdoors in the late, late night and the early, early morning...I wish I could capture the sound of trees hushing gently to each other; the slant of quiet, long shadows crossing the yard and the calm quiet of neighbor cats' nightly explorations.




Kate Bush's "Night Scented Stock" comes close (this version is wonderfully mashed with "Blow Away")

free life center

the free life center truck

On today's morning walk, I came across this truck (parked outside the home of Timothy Karpinski of the Together Gallery http://www.togethergallery.com/) and its art...intrigued, I followed the link to learn about the Free Life Center. http://www.freelifecenter.com/ Here's from their website:

"Mark Warren Jacques and Seth Neefus are two Portland-based artists embarking on a dream. Free Life Center houses their optimism and creativity, and you are invited to join them as they take their mobile art center on a nomadic journey...Whether it is a traditional gallery space or a site-specific event outdoors, these vagabond dreamers will host community events, musical performances, workshops, drawing parties, and more within the walls of the Free Life Center. Inspired by the community of free thinkers around them, they bring knowledge of creativity and simplicity to encourage others to share the "free life" with them."

I know and have admired Seth Neefus' work from shows the Together Gallery on NE Alberta (http://www.togethergallery.com/) and I love this collaboration with Mark Warren Jacques. What a perfect treasure find to celebrate the end of my own free summer!

Here's a video from the free life center website (I haven't figure out how to insert it here directly): http://vimeo.com/5569148

broken little treasures

This little candle was on the sidewalk during our morning walk...

Also, I found these last weekend when helping a friend with his father's estate. There were so many huge treasures in the home, but these broken pieces were the most intriguing...one is from an instrument and the other from an old phonograph...these creatures were never together in their working life, but now they are the best of friends.

Shy Girl goes to the Zine Symposium (shhh!)

This year’s symposium (the 10th!!) was held in the rather huge gym at PSU…I snuck in after 12:00 and was immediately and utterly overwhelmed by how many folks were there and how many zines were on each of the many long rows of tables. I’m a gal who relishes gazing over a few zines in minuscule independent stores (Reading Frenzy, Guapo), peeking into them like a tiny secret written just for me. I was a little inhibited by the prospect of peeking into the lives of the people who were sitting directly across the table from me. Also, nervous about potentially seeming to reject the creative expression of the person who had the chutzpah to put themselves out there into the wider community.

Even though most folks who know me would never name shyness as one of my qualities, I become bashful and in the presence of arty folk who are getting their stuff out into the world. Even the little books I make, I tend to leave around in random spots around the city as mysterious little treasures to be found by whoever finds them intriguing enough to pick up. Or I somewhat furtively hand them to people and then skitter away quickly. So, in this room filled with zinesters, I was wishing for that magic oil that makes you invisible.

the library copy of Clutch's zine

Despite my attempts at invisibility, I happened to meet Greg Means, the guy who drew one of my favorite zines, You Ruined Everything! He told me that this title is out of print and gave me permission to make a copy of the library copy I’ve been hording. You can check out some of the illustrations from You Ruined Everything! here: http://tugboatcity.livejournal.com/?skip=20&tag=100%20themes He also edits Papercutter from Tugboat Press: http://tugboatpress.com/

ee dumas' little zine Be More Awesome

Mostly, I skirted each table by at least five feet, gazing a little longingly but distantly…I would venture in close only if a cover really called out, “Shy Girl…Shy Girl…come look at meeee…” or if the vendor/author managed to catch my eye with a matching shy smile. This is how I met E E Dumas, an artist with an open face who makes quite a few delightful how-to zines including my favorite, Be More Awesome. This zine is free, but I gave him a $1.00 beause really, it takes time and money to copy, assemble and staple the small little things…He writes a blog called Expert Enthusiast that you can check out here: http://www.eedumas.com/blog/

Also checked in with Julie Sabatier, the host, creator and producer of Destination DIY – a radio and podcast show about “revolutionary do-it-yourself projects. I really enjoy her show and the accompanying zine. (purchased copies of both since I’ve misplaced the library’s copy of one and need to replace it…oops) You get some of the podcasts at her site: http://destinationdiy.com/audiolibrary.html

the cool boots with kitty

Managed to get in and out within 40 minutes, proudly clutching a small stash of zines under my arm…on my out of the building, I got a bonus gift: a young man (looked to be a 19ish PSU student likely still drunk from his Saturday night adventures) said, “Hey! I like your boots!.........You look like Annie Oakley…” These boots were a gift from my father – we found them at his retirement community’s thrift store. Annie Oakley...I wonder if she was sometimes a shy girl too?

spot on the sidewalk

Oh, and this heart was on the sidewalk as I skipped down to my car...

things i see at the hair salon

My hairdresser and her salon are a hotbed of creativity...every time I settle in there, I marvel at the amazing projects. Love these plants growing in this shell. Love the graceful curve of the trailing plant and the contrast against the white. And they always have the best shadows...