There's a new post up at Oliver's website:
http://eatandsmilefoods.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=5&Itemid=15
Tell me what you think of the pictures!
love,
Alex
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Art
I love art. I always have. My mom loves to tell the story of taking me to the Louvre in Paris when I was four, and I outlasted her. I was just fascinated by how reality can shift like that from where I was to a canvas. How history was right in front of me, a moment in time captured forever. 
I love almost everything. Degas, Monet, Seurat; Klimt, Gerstl, Schiele; Hopper; Vermeer. Anything Beidermeier. Anything beautiful, really.
In college, I found myself drawn to certain artists. My friend Charlie, a photographer, helped me develop my own artistic eye. We would walk through Whitman's campus, and he would point things out like the evening light gilding a brick wall, or the drops of water on bare sticks, like little diamonds sparkling in the morning light. Charlie brought that magic from the Louvre to the world around me.
But my favorite artist at Whitman was Vanessa Calvert. She did what I loved about art in a unique way. I remember walking through the senior art show, and having my breath literally taken away as I walked into her side room. The walls were covered with her amazing work, and in the center was a sculpture. It was just a table and chairs, with some objects on the table, but she had broken it apart, and put it back together so that it mirrored her paintings.
Although some might call her work dark, I think it's beautiful. It shows the world in a new and interesting light, and I've always thought it was entrancing.
Here are her words (taken from broderickgallery.com):
One of these days, I'll get to put one of them on my own wall, and say I have an original Calvert!
"My work explores the relationship between time, memory, and perception. Unable to distinctly separate the three, I am drawn to a depiction of the world where all exist simultaneously. I am fascinated with 
the imperfections and flaws of memory. As time distorts and distills our perceptions of reality, our memories take on a life of their own. I create a glimpse of that world which teeters between real and unreal through an untraditional approach to still-life and landscape that combines encaustic and photo-collage. Stripped down to their essence, my subjects are concentrated studies of the solitary nature of our surroundings. Reflecting the worn nature of the subjects, the background is scraped and fused in order to suspend the object, like a memory, with some pieces missing and some repeated or replaced. The layers of saturated color defused through pigmented wax not only provide grounding for the subject but also a blurred vision of the rest of their story. The subjects become simultaneously personal and generic through an anonymity of time and place that allows the viewer to associate his or her own memories with each piece. These pieces serve as a response to the inundation of visual stimuli in our lives. By isolating an object, I condense our oversaturated society down to a moment in time."
Vanessa Calvert, 2006
the imperfections and flaws of memory. As time distorts and distills our perceptions of reality, our memories take on a life of their own. I create a glimpse of that world which teeters between real and unreal through an untraditional approach to still-life and landscape that combines encaustic and photo-collage. Stripped down to their essence, my subjects are concentrated studies of the solitary nature of our surroundings. Reflecting the worn nature of the subjects, the background is scraped and fused in order to suspend the object, like a memory, with some pieces missing and some repeated or replaced. The layers of saturated color defused through pigmented wax not only provide grounding for the subject but also a blurred vision of the rest of their story. The subjects become simultaneously personal and generic through an anonymity of time and place that allows the viewer to associate his or her own memories with each piece. These pieces serve as a response to the inundation of visual stimuli in our lives. By isolating an object, I condense our oversaturated society down to a moment in time."Vanessa Calvert, 2006
One of these days, I'll get to put one of them on my own wall, and say I have an original Calvert!(images from Broderickgallery.com)
Friday, October 3, 2008
purses
Note to self:
Next time you buy the "perfect purse," make sure it really does fit a score along with all your other pursey stuff, and that you don't have to contort yourself in funny ways to get at it's contents because the strap is too long...
I do love the color though! (bottom left corner...the green, of course!)
Happy Birthday to ME!!
So today is my 28th birthday, and it's the first one in a couple years that I'm only happy about. I sort of went through a quarter life crisis at twenty five. And then again at 26. And there were remenants of those feelings at 27. But this year I'm just having a great day! I'm looking forward to this year and to each year that comes after it. I wouldn't want to stay the same age my whole life.
Before, when Oliver would call me his old lady (I'm nine months older than he is), I'd laugh and smile, but inside I would feel all icky. But now it is kind of cute. Because nine months is now only 2 percent of my life. And that's just so far!
It's funny how the older I get, the shorter time feels. I guess old Einstein was right about the whole relativity thing...
Anyway, those are my musings for today. I know I said I'd get more pictures on here, so here you go, even though it's an old one...
(This is me singing Glitter and be Gay in the musical Candide by Leonard Bernstein my senior year of college)
love,
Alex
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Liam and Audrey
So last night I woke up at 5:30 in the morning in horrible pain. I took pain pills and went back to bed, but couldn't fall asleep because it hurt too much.
To keep my mind off of it, I let myself wander and two characters popped into my head simultaneously. Of course, now I don't remember much. Just their names: Liam and Audrey.
I feel like I should start writing their story...
Liam loved the feeling of wind in his hair when he ran. It was so different from walking. It was the reason he wouldn't let his mom cut his hair no matter how many times he got teased at school for it. When his hair was short, he didn't feel like he was flying. He couldn't pretend he was superman, saving the world. He was just Liam running through a field, playing by himself.
At least with long hair he could convince himself that there was a reason he didn't have any friends at school. At least, not any more...
--
Audrey was watching Liam through the leaves, sitting on the third highest branch of the large Oak tree. She pushed a strand of hair off her face, and lifted a leaf that was blocking her view.
Liam was so weird. I mean, she'd been watching him since she first heard him running through the wheat field. He wasn't very quiet about it. At least she was stealthy when she climbed trees. And this was her favorite, her oak tree. Yeah, ok, so it was in Liam's backyard, but still! His backyard was gynormous and she doubted he had even bothered to climb it once. She had climbed it a bazillion times. Therefore, logically, it must be hers.
But now here was Liam, running around the field, and she couldn't very well just fly down in front of him. And she didn't think she could climb down, even if she wanted to. She loved climibing up trees, but the down part was scary. So she watched him. Waiting for him to leave.
Boys could be so frustrating.
--
When his legs started feeling like over-cooked spagetti noodles, Liam looked around to find some shade. It was after noon and the May sun was starting to get hot. He looked back toward his house and realized he had gone farther than he meant to. Walking home for some lemonade sure sounded nice, but as soon as he stopped running, his spagetti legs stubbornly refused to acknowledge that they were capable of going that far. Stupid legs.
So home was out, but he didn't want to just sit in the wheat field. The wheat tickled his face when he sat in it. So he looked all around for a clearing. Aha! A tree! Shade sounded so good at that point. He didn't realize how sweaty and hot he was until he stopped running and the wind stopped cooling him down.
He limped in toward it, wishing his legs weren't so gooey. When he (finally!) reached the tree, he sat down with his back to the trunk. He was a little annoyed at how uncomfortable it was. He always thought sitting in a tree nook sounded cozy. But the ground was uneven and the trunk made his back bend in a weird direction, and one of the roots jutted up right under his butt.
He scooted forward, trying to evade the bump, and leaned farther back, looking up into the branches when he heard a voice: "Don't you dare look up here, Liam McGregor, or I swear I will kick you in the balls!"
He would have laughed if it hadn't been for the fact that it was Audrey and he knew she wasn't lying because she had kicked Elliot in the balls just las week when he asked her to show him hers if he show her his. His eyelids flew shut.
"Not looking! I swear, Audrey."
"You better not!"
"I'm not! Jeesh. What are you doing up there?"
"Go away, Liam. I was playing here first."
"Go away? But..Audrey, you're in my backyard!"
"So?"
"So why are you in my backyard, Audrey?"
"Uhg. I don't have to explain myself to the likes of you, Liam McGregor."
"Ok, fine. But this is my tree in my backyard, and I'll sit here if I want to."
"You are so annoying! Just go away, ok?"
"No I won't."
"Fine. Then I'll go."
"Um...You know...you don't have to...if you don't want to, I mean..."
She hadn't expected that. She always assumed that Liam liked playing by himself. I mean, he was always running into the secret woods that they weren't allowed to play in during recess. If he liked playing with other kids, then why didn't he just, you know, play with them? This must be some kind of mean trick.
"Is this some kind of mean trick, Liam McGregor?"
"What do you mean?" Liam had started holding his breath when he asked her to stay. I mean this was Audrey. No way would she want to play with him. He was a boy. He had cooties. At least, that's what she had told him last year in second grade when he asked her if she wanted to be on his capture the flag team.
"I mean...are you gonna, you know, poke me, or, I don't know, chase me around or something? I mean, that's all you boys ever do at school and it's getting so boring."
"I don't do that," he said. And he didn't. He couldn't understand why David and Joel thought it was so funny. I mean it was obvious the girls hated it when they did it.
Audrey thought back and realized he was right. All the other boys did, but not Liam. Because he was always off in his own little world. "Ok. As long as you promise, Liam McGregor."
"I promise. But would you stop calling me that? Why can't you just call me Liam?"
"I don't know. Sure, fine. Ok. Keep your eyes closed. I'm coming down. And I swear if you peak even once--"
"I know, I know, you'll kick me in the balls." Boy, Liam thought, she really doesn't want me to see up her skirt. Liam covered his closed eyes with his hands to prove he wasn't peaking.
When she was certain he wouldn't see, Audrey leapt into the air and flew to the ground, landing gracefully on her tiptoes. She searched Liam's face for some reaction that he had seen what she could do, but he just looked impatient.
"I would have, you know."
Liam flinched. "Jeez, Audrey, you scared the bejebus out of me. How'd you get down here so fast? Wow, you should be a spy! I didn't hear anything!" He said all this still covering his eyes with his hands
"Then you weren't listening hard enough!" she said defensively. "And why are you still closing your eyes? I'm already down here, dummy."
Liam took his hands off his eyes, looking amused by her anger. "'Cause I don't want you to kick me in the balls."
They looked at eachother for a second and then both started laughing.
"Yeah, yeah, ok," Audrey said, and started wandering off into the field.
Liam grinned from ear to ear, following after here
"So what were yo doing out here?" Audrey asked. "I mean, you were running all over, but you weren't even going anywhere."
"I like running," Liam said, a little embarassed. He didn't like that she had been watching him. It seemed silly now to want to feel like you were flying.
"You like running?" Audrey said. "That's it?"
"Yeah. I just like running."
"If you say so." She paused and looked at him like he was an alien for a second. Then she started a quirky, crooked smile and pounced towards him. "Tag!" she screeched and then started running away from him.
Liam laughed and started running after her. He was having the time of his life.
To keep my mind off of it, I let myself wander and two characters popped into my head simultaneously. Of course, now I don't remember much. Just their names: Liam and Audrey.
I feel like I should start writing their story...
Liam loved the feeling of wind in his hair when he ran. It was so different from walking. It was the reason he wouldn't let his mom cut his hair no matter how many times he got teased at school for it. When his hair was short, he didn't feel like he was flying. He couldn't pretend he was superman, saving the world. He was just Liam running through a field, playing by himself.
At least with long hair he could convince himself that there was a reason he didn't have any friends at school. At least, not any more...
--
Audrey was watching Liam through the leaves, sitting on the third highest branch of the large Oak tree. She pushed a strand of hair off her face, and lifted a leaf that was blocking her view.
Liam was so weird. I mean, she'd been watching him since she first heard him running through the wheat field. He wasn't very quiet about it. At least she was stealthy when she climbed trees. And this was her favorite, her oak tree. Yeah, ok, so it was in Liam's backyard, but still! His backyard was gynormous and she doubted he had even bothered to climb it once. She had climbed it a bazillion times. Therefore, logically, it must be hers.
But now here was Liam, running around the field, and she couldn't very well just fly down in front of him. And she didn't think she could climb down, even if she wanted to. She loved climibing up trees, but the down part was scary. So she watched him. Waiting for him to leave.
Boys could be so frustrating.
--
When his legs started feeling like over-cooked spagetti noodles, Liam looked around to find some shade. It was after noon and the May sun was starting to get hot. He looked back toward his house and realized he had gone farther than he meant to. Walking home for some lemonade sure sounded nice, but as soon as he stopped running, his spagetti legs stubbornly refused to acknowledge that they were capable of going that far. Stupid legs.
So home was out, but he didn't want to just sit in the wheat field. The wheat tickled his face when he sat in it. So he looked all around for a clearing. Aha! A tree! Shade sounded so good at that point. He didn't realize how sweaty and hot he was until he stopped running and the wind stopped cooling him down.
He limped in toward it, wishing his legs weren't so gooey. When he (finally!) reached the tree, he sat down with his back to the trunk. He was a little annoyed at how uncomfortable it was. He always thought sitting in a tree nook sounded cozy. But the ground was uneven and the trunk made his back bend in a weird direction, and one of the roots jutted up right under his butt.
He scooted forward, trying to evade the bump, and leaned farther back, looking up into the branches when he heard a voice: "Don't you dare look up here, Liam McGregor, or I swear I will kick you in the balls!"
He would have laughed if it hadn't been for the fact that it was Audrey and he knew she wasn't lying because she had kicked Elliot in the balls just las week when he asked her to show him hers if he show her his. His eyelids flew shut.
"Not looking! I swear, Audrey."
"You better not!"
"I'm not! Jeesh. What are you doing up there?"
"Go away, Liam. I was playing here first."
"Go away? But..Audrey, you're in my backyard!"
"So?"
"So why are you in my backyard, Audrey?"
"Uhg. I don't have to explain myself to the likes of you, Liam McGregor."
"Ok, fine. But this is my tree in my backyard, and I'll sit here if I want to."
"You are so annoying! Just go away, ok?"
"No I won't."
"Fine. Then I'll go."
"Um...You know...you don't have to...if you don't want to, I mean..."
She hadn't expected that. She always assumed that Liam liked playing by himself. I mean, he was always running into the secret woods that they weren't allowed to play in during recess. If he liked playing with other kids, then why didn't he just, you know, play with them? This must be some kind of mean trick.
"Is this some kind of mean trick, Liam McGregor?"
"What do you mean?" Liam had started holding his breath when he asked her to stay. I mean this was Audrey. No way would she want to play with him. He was a boy. He had cooties. At least, that's what she had told him last year in second grade when he asked her if she wanted to be on his capture the flag team.
"I mean...are you gonna, you know, poke me, or, I don't know, chase me around or something? I mean, that's all you boys ever do at school and it's getting so boring."
"I don't do that," he said. And he didn't. He couldn't understand why David and Joel thought it was so funny. I mean it was obvious the girls hated it when they did it.
Audrey thought back and realized he was right. All the other boys did, but not Liam. Because he was always off in his own little world. "Ok. As long as you promise, Liam McGregor."
"I promise. But would you stop calling me that? Why can't you just call me Liam?"
"I don't know. Sure, fine. Ok. Keep your eyes closed. I'm coming down. And I swear if you peak even once--"
"I know, I know, you'll kick me in the balls." Boy, Liam thought, she really doesn't want me to see up her skirt. Liam covered his closed eyes with his hands to prove he wasn't peaking.
When she was certain he wouldn't see, Audrey leapt into the air and flew to the ground, landing gracefully on her tiptoes. She searched Liam's face for some reaction that he had seen what she could do, but he just looked impatient.
"I would have, you know."
Liam flinched. "Jeez, Audrey, you scared the bejebus out of me. How'd you get down here so fast? Wow, you should be a spy! I didn't hear anything!" He said all this still covering his eyes with his hands
"Then you weren't listening hard enough!" she said defensively. "And why are you still closing your eyes? I'm already down here, dummy."
Liam took his hands off his eyes, looking amused by her anger. "'Cause I don't want you to kick me in the balls."
They looked at eachother for a second and then both started laughing.
"Yeah, yeah, ok," Audrey said, and started wandering off into the field.
Liam grinned from ear to ear, following after here
"So what were yo doing out here?" Audrey asked. "I mean, you were running all over, but you weren't even going anywhere."
"I like running," Liam said, a little embarassed. He didn't like that she had been watching him. It seemed silly now to want to feel like you were flying.
"You like running?" Audrey said. "That's it?"
"Yeah. I just like running."
"If you say so." She paused and looked at him like he was an alien for a second. Then she started a quirky, crooked smile and pounced towards him. "Tag!" she screeched and then started running away from him.
Liam laughed and started running after her. He was having the time of his life.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Why there aren't more photos
This is something I feel I need to change...however, it's hard because I love the taking pictures part and the looking at pictures part...not such a fan of the getting the pictures off the camera and into the computer and on to the blog part.
But I herby vow that I will give you more pictures...
:-D
But I herby vow that I will give you more pictures...
:-D
Sleep deprivation and functionality
Why is it that the more tired I am, the harder it is for me to fall asleep? I feel a little like a zombie today. Or rather, a little more like a zombie, considering I felt like one yesterday...Stupid not sleeping enough. And before you ask, no, it's not because I'm stressed out. I've been in the can't-sleep-because-I'm-worried-about-too-much place before. This is not the same. I'm not worrying about anything. I'm just thinking whatever comes into my head. It just doesn't stop....grrrr. Sweet, lovely sleep, ah how I miss you.
So now I've come up with a new fun idea for a vanity. An inexpensive, but pretty vanity. Take one ikea work table. Mix in one ikea wall shelf. Add a few yards of pretty fabric that matches the room, followed by three ikea spotlights and a table mirror...and presto: you have a beautiful vanity. the only thing it needs is storage for all my beautifying things like flat irons and curlers, makeup, hair and face gunk, perfume, brushes, etc. I'll perfect my plans later...
Too tired to do it now...
love,
Alex
So now I've come up with a new fun idea for a vanity. An inexpensive, but pretty vanity. Take one ikea work table. Mix in one ikea wall shelf. Add a few yards of pretty fabric that matches the room, followed by three ikea spotlights and a table mirror...and presto: you have a beautiful vanity. the only thing it needs is storage for all my beautifying things like flat irons and curlers, makeup, hair and face gunk, perfume, brushes, etc. I'll perfect my plans later...
Too tired to do it now...
love,
Alex
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