the curious Lisa Wood

What a stroke of luck that I came across one of Lisa Wood's insect dioramas on pinterest, because it led me to follow her there and on instagram, which rewarded me with a  steady stream of amazing. I'm going to have to buy one of the bug creations, I just can't seem to settle on one. Here's a caterpillar getting an eye exam by a lady bug (click through to etsy shop to find it for sale):

I've also been seeing some pretty cool things on her instagram feed from her shop in San Francisco, The Woods. The place looks to be chock full of treasures - can't wait to check it out next time I'm up north.

morning serenade by Tom Waits

Tom Waits had a walk on singing cameo in my dream this morning, completely unrelated to the (now forgotten) rest of the dream. I woke up and realized it was actually my donkeys wailing for their breakfast. Now when they bray I relate it to his voice and it's a little more amusing/less annoying. This video below catches the tail end of one… they always stop when I come outside.

"Art is theft." - Pablo Picasso

I'm so glad I bought this book by Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist. Actually, I kindle-bought it, which is something I wonder if I'll ever get used to - I love the immediate gratification and saving-of-the-trees, but after I finish reading something it feels kind of like a cheap one night stand, with no book to sit on the shelf and pull out at a later date. 

But I digress, as usual. The book is short and to the point, filled with great quotes (like the one in this posting title) and simple genius from the author. I wish I could have read this so many years ago when I was in art school. But then again, maybe facing that brick wall of "everything has been done before" is an excellent (despite frustrating) way to grow and innovate. 

I liked the book so much, I immediately kindle-bought (sigh) his next book, "Show your work" , which is also a valuable read. And if you follow those links, you'll see a cute dog video promoting the book. I'm a sucker for cute dog videos.

Blacklisted from Facebook

I realize I should tread carefully and probably shouldn't make comments like the one in my last blog post "I hate Facebook, I really do.". Besides, I kind of want to eat my words after just finding an article about their artist's residency program. Sounds really interesting and sheds an impressive light on the company. And I should admit, I mostly hate it since my mother joined and started barraging me with comments and tags (me with my cousin on the toilet at 5 years old? Thanks a lot.) It may be now defunct, because I can't find any application info or recent news, but here's an interesting article from 2012.

I doubt I would ever be considered for an opportunity like this, after I made and sold t shirts several years back on Etsy that said "Facebook ruined my life" : 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/23774375/facebook-ruined-my-life-t-shirt

(I'm no longer making these t shirts, but if you do a search you'll find someone has copied the idea and design exactly and is selling them now)

Now to say Facebook ruined my life is certainly an exaggeration. But I do have a story about how it upended my life for several years by prompting a relationship that led me to pack up my life and move  3000 miles across the country. But that's another post, I think...

Starting over

A new website means I also need to start all over with my blog. Ah well, that's okay.... It was a bit sparse anyway. I think no matter how hard I try, I will always be a sporadic blogger at best. And truth be told, I hate facebook. I really do. But Instagram and Pinterest are very addictive, to me anyway.

As amazing as Wordpress is, (not to mention FREE),I just didn't have the time to commit to figuring out how to use it to it's full advantage. I switched over to Squarespace and so far am really enjoying their format.