My art room is finally unpacked!

Sooo... you may have seen my Before pictures. If you didn't then this probably doesn't seem like a great accomplishment. It is not as nice as some beautiful craft rooms I have seen, but I really love it- and I am so grateful to have a whole room... especially since I kinda need it...


This is my dress form with a work in progress on it. I got the form at the last thursday market in portland and it didn't have a base so adam made this one for me. It is great but I really need to be able to turn it. I am trying to decide what to do to make the bottom cohesive. Behind it I have a metal shelving unit filled with supplies. I have block printing
supplies, lots of watercolor and acrylic painting stuff, jewelry findings, a whole tub of sweaters I have already felted but not decided what to do with yet, a tub of lace and sewing findings, a tub of needle felting supplies, and a tub of clothing that I plan to upcycle... someday.


Then I have my sewing/drawing table, file cabinet, and a little metal rack with the billions of prismacolor markers I got when I was at FIDM and the few that I acquired since (really HOW many shades of each color do you REALLY need when you have been taught to blend colors... I DO need some new blending markers though.) , a few reference books, and my FAVORITE several past issues of Vouge Collections. I have an easel in the other corner, but I am not ready to share that painting (sorry).


And then there are the closets... They look messy but I know what is going on. Adam, my dear husband made me the shelves for the fabric.

I am going to be making this dress! YAY

After a few convo's and a little tweaking I got the bid to do this wedding dress. I am spending over half of the price that I bid on supplies and am going to get paid much less than minimum wage for my time- but I am madly in love with this dress and am SO excited to get to make it. I guess that is how I know I am a designer. I do it because I love it, and it is more important for me to have the opportunity to make something breathtaking than it is for me to make money off of it.

Cutie! my baby Autumn.

Finally Forging!

Happy fall!

I don’t write too many of these blogs between work and commuting and trying to spend time with the family, but today is a red-letter day….the new forge is functioning and functional! It’s a new version of the old one a made in ABQ, firebricks, and black iron pipe mostly, this time with the addition of ceramic insulation, and a second tulare line for more even air distribution. I use hardwood charcoal as fuel, and it seems to work pretty well so far. Too bad I don’t have an anvil stand yet. I guess the crouching and standing should be good for my knees.

I now have three anvils also. Two pieces of railroad track, which I haven’t shaped quite to my liking, and my old steel block. I’m planning on making the little railroad piece into a fairly convex shape, to help in drawing out steel. I’ll eventually cut a chunk off my big steel block too, for similar reasons, and a different arc.

So, you’d think that I would start small after a couple of years off. Not me. The first two projects to go into the new fire are a nice long Santuko style kitchen knife (maybe 10-12”) from a heavy duty dodge leaf spring and (ok this one is pretty small) a paring knife from some O1 round stock. After they cool off, maybe I will take some pictures and you can watch them progress….very….very slowly. Obviously there is a little way to go on both of these.

Anyway, I’m pretty excited that the new forge is running, so I thought I would share.

Cheers!

Adam

Share the Road

Biking to work has harbored many peeves, and I wish drivers had to be more aware of not only bicycle law but also courtesies. I agree that bikers do some annoying things too, like not obeying traffic signals, especially stop signs.

These are the top five most obnoxious things that drivers do to bicyclists. Also keep in mind that I tow a baby behind me when I ride, making some of these offenses just appalling.

5) When drivers do the right thing, follow the law, be courteous, whatever, but then act like it was a huge burden and they are doing you a huge favor. For example, a driver pulls out in to the street too far from a parking lot so they reverse. I smile and wave and then they sigh and roll their eyes.

4)When drivers do not know that bicycles have to follow the same laws that they do and expect the cyclist to yield to them just because they are in a car. It is amazing how frequently I have to yield to turning cars to avoid getting hit by them, and how often cars at lights try to turn right before I can go straight! Motorists wouldn't do that with pedestrians, so why do they do it with cyclists?

3) When drivers do not see me because they are doing something else. They are usually talking on the phone, which is illegal here, but I have seen people do all kinds of things from eating to doing make-up that I have to watch for when I am biking.

2)When drivers use the bike lane to park in or pass turning cars in. Most of my ride has a parking lane AND a bike lane, but for some reason lots of cars cant fit their car into the parking lane and have to take up the bike lane too. I am also amazed by how many times I see cars sneak around leftboud vehicles by driving in the bike lane.

1)Dangerously reckless or aloof behavior. This has actually happened, while towing Autumn... I really hate it when cars drive in to the bike lane right next to me giving me about a foot of clearance and honk and yell trying to scare me because they think it is funny. Seriously? I know I look like a nerd with my orange safety vest, but get a life. That is dangerous. I also had a parked car open their door into us as we rode past. Needless to say Autumn learned some new words that day.

ok.
Thats all.

This week has been eventful.

Last Friday we had a roller derby game in Kansas City and my husband, baby, a team mate and I were planing on driving, and ultimately DID drive. That was a terrible idea. Next time I need to go to Kansas I am getting a hot air balloon a la Wizard of Oz or i am flying in an airplane. I left work at five and at about five thirty, right around when I ride my bike and baby trailer up the driveway I got a call from Adam to notify me that his car- an old Subaru- was not running...probably because it ran out of oil...

Fortunately he made it to his exit and then back up to my dads shop, where I met him after getting the go-ahead to borrow one of my dads business trucks for the trip. We drove through the night, and I only got about 3 hours of sleep. My team lost the game, but my postpartum performance is not what it used to be and I don't get played enough to have a huge impact on the score
.

My baby also learned to crawl out of her walker. Fortunately she knows how to do it without hurting herself. She also can move the barricades I put up to keep her in the room I am working in, and likes to climb UP anything the can hold on to. Also, according to my dad: She *may* have taken steps. WE will REALLY have to watch her now.



I also got responses from two bids I placed for wedding dresses. Here are two of the sketches I did not put up in the last post.

This one is for the woman who wanted the petal hem. She wanted it to be less intricate, which will be less fun for me, but it also means I will get closer to actually paying myself for my time.

This one is for the other woman. I really love it but it will take a lot of time. I will be able to cover cost of materials but not pay myself for my time, which is fine right now since I am trying to build my portfolio.

I hope I get one of these bids.

In other news it has been raining here... A LOT, which is nice, but very strange for Albuquerque. We also went to the state fair today, which was fun. As I looked at the art in the fine art building I thought I should have entered some pieces- as I usually do around this time. Too Bad I don't ever think about it in time to actually enter anything.

Initial sketches

I am hoping to get to make another wedding dress!
These are the initial sketches for the bid. The client wants a petal hem and a scoop neack or sweetheart neckline, but I am not a fan of sweetheart necklines, so I could not bring myself to do one, scoop neck it is!

Monday RANT: Couture? Oui or Non...

SO, I have always been amazed by what is called couture. I decided to punish myself one day and look up what people tagged as couture. As expected I was annoyed, surprised and amazed by what was tagged as couture.



When I was in school I was taught that only if you are an approved couturier are your dresses couture, and anything that was not approved by the french government but applied couture techniques should be refereed to as "couture style" or something that made it clear that you are not an approved couturier. No wonder I am so annoyed when people throw it around.




I just looked up the definition of couture and I actually am more understanding of how it could be misused. The web definitions are very vague, running the gammot from simply "High fashion" to "all fashionable dresses" (WHAT?!? that is just inaccurate) To the definition that I was taught which is available on wikipedia .













(Couture Christian Dior Spring '07...which I believe was still John Galliano)





There are many lovely items on etsy that I totally take no offense to being tagged as couture, but I expect a few things of the items tagged as such.


1-I am very disappointed when something tagged as "couture" is not made out of very fine materials (you know, it shouldn't be made out of $1 a yard poly)


2-If something is a mass produced item with embellishments i do not think it should be tagged couture, especially if those embellishments are made with a bead dazzler or an embroidery machine.


3-I expect to see hand sewn details...beading, draping, pleating...something


These are Totally Acceptably Tagged as couture, and are really stunning pieces!

This is from Toolgrrl

Those are gloves. amazing!

This is from atilladesign

The had detail at the hem is lovely!

So I guess here are a few hints, if it can be easily mass produced, you can charge less than $200 for it(and pay yourself for your time- once I made a dress that would have cost about $2000 if I were paying myself for my time but I only charged $200 for the dress) , or it is made with cheap materials... it is NOT couture.

How Hot is Donna Passarelli's art????

Donna Passarelli is an etsy artist in the New Jersy area. I read her work as a little pop art, and a little punk rock, and I really LOVE it! Here are a few of my favorite pieces that are available NOW... But check out her sold items, Donna has some serious talent that, and I enjoyed checking out her sold items almost as much as I enjoyed her colorful, lively shop.

"Pink Army Men" by Donna Passarelli

"Page no. 1" ACEO print by Donna Passarelli

"Smiling Boy" by Donna Passarelli

Check out Donna's Etsy store at : http://donnadidit.etsy.com
Check out her vintage store at: http://VintageThicknCreamy.etsy.com

and you can even get a cross stitch pattern based off of her paintings. I didn't have any luck with the link, so contact her if you are interested!

Aqua Java

One of my prints was featured in a treasury! YAY.

Thank You http://beachcomberscove.etsy.com for featuring me in your treasury. Take a look while it lasts aquaandjava

I loves me some tacos! I loves them good.

I am not sure why I call these tacos... they really resemble burritos. It may just be because I have never liked "burritos" so I can like them more if I call them tacos.

It is a soft tortilla with spanish rice, corn, black beans, lean carne asada, avocado, cheese, lettuce and tomato. YUMMY.

Weather you call it a burrito or a taco it is fast, healthy, and filling fare, and it is easy for familys with picky eaters because everyone builds their own.

Some Local Artist Love

SO, I didn't notice right away that Eduardo Cervantes was in New Mexico, but I probably should have because there were several photographs-even the ones taken outside of New Mexico- that made me feel like home.


"El Musico" by Eduardo Cervantes

This artist has a way with catching decay and nostalgia-both things that I happen to LOVE- that makes my gut turn with curiosity and anticipation. I love Eddyizm's use of high contrast colors that pop off the page.


"Dumbo" (by Eduardo Cervantes)


"The Sandstone Bluffs"(by Eduardo Cervantes)

These are just a few of Eddyizm's beautiful and fun photographs. Please check out his stores, they are linked to below.

http://eddyizm.etsy.com
http://www.1000markets.com/users/eddyizm/products

It has been a little too long since my last post, I apologize!

I played a game in Portland a week ago and we lost by A LOT. After living there Portland had left a pretty awful taste in my mouth, but I had so much fun visiting and I loved playing the Rose City Rollers Wheels of Justice, even if they kicked our ass.

I actually was not ready to leave when it was time to go.

This past weekend Adam and I finally got a weekend *kind of* off of derby. I mean I helped with newbies on Friday, helped with newbies again on Saturday and did some counting of merch to get the website prepared to start selling it, and had travel team practice and a league meeting on Sunday, but- compared to being out of town playing bouts, it felt like having the weekend off of derby.

Obviously, I love it or I wouldn't do it, but I was so happy to get a few things done!

I finally tackled that art room- which is good, because I have lots of projects floating around in my head that I want to get started on. More on that, later. I will also put up some more pictures soon of the new and improved workspace!

We also finally started putting the art up. For some reason we are having more trouble deciding where to put things this time, even though we have a ton of wall space. I am not sure what to do about the paintings that are not hanging, maybe I should have a big etsy sale. Paintings get ruined when they are stored for too long.

What a game!

This weekend was the second in a three bout run, and we had a great game in Taos on Saturday. It was a home game, Disco Brawlers v/s my team, the Doomsdames, but both teams had a little help. We were lucky to have Carson b. Demented, Botulism, and star jammer Brutalataur. We also had some brand new skaters playing thier very first bout on our team. Doomsdames fell behind quickly, but we also had a HUGE comeback in the second period. The game came down to the LAST JAM. With brutalataur in for the doomsdames and a major penalty on the Disco Brawlers' jammer the game ended with a two point spread! 105 Disco Brawlers to 103 Doomsdames. It was good, because when you lose by such a small margin it doesnt really feel like a loss, but it also makes you really think hard about your mistakes. That two points could have been from whenI didn't get on the track in time. It could have been made up anywhere!

There were some Rose City Rollers folks at the game- I should say the rose city rollers president was at the bout. I never really met her when I was skating in portland so I didn't say anything to her.

After the bout we went to an amazing farm and camped in the orchard.

IT was a great weekend.

Two bouts down, and one to go. Off to portland on Friday!

Custom Roller Skate Bearing Necklaces.

My husband, a roller derby ref, came up with this brilliant spin on the standard roller skate bearing neclace, a staple in any rollergirls wardrobe.

The one in this picture is one that Adam made for me early in our relationship... this was before I had a baby and I would LOVE to look like this again. This one has amber in the center. Now I wear one with turquoise in the center. This necklace is one of my most prized possessions.

This steampunk version was a custom order for another skater, the gear even turns.

This one was a collaboration, and also a very affordable piece. This one is available in our etsy store which you can get to by clicking on the side bar or clicking on this link http://AcrylicAndSteel.etsy.com

We can make them custom based on your team colors, or favorite colors.

My cute baby!

Just appreciating what I dont have...

As I rode my bike in to work this morning, even though I have a nasty cold, It felt SO good. I also think it is fun. I really love that we only have one car, and that I practically never have to drive it. I like looking back and waving to my grinning baby girl, who I tow in a little red bike cart behind me.

I also like biking to work, and occasionally other places because it means that if Roller derby practice is rained out- or I can't go for some other reason- I don't feel gross because I didn't get any exercise that day. I do still feel kind of yucky if I miss more than one day of skating.

I really stopped driving because I HATE driving. I can appreciate all of the other benefits- the non selfish ones like reduced pollution and traffic congestion- that come with alternative modes of transportation. I am also glad that Albuquerque is not too big, so getting around on a bike sometimes is pretty easy.

Unpacking is hard.

We have been in our new house for a little over a month now- and there is still SO MUCH unpacking to do. All of the important things are done so it is really easy to push off what is left for another day... the problem is that the things that are not unpacked yet are all of the good things... art needs to be hung, and my sewing/art/craft room needs to be organized desperately.

This is the current state of my art room. The worst part is that since I have needed to get things from there it is an even bigger disaster!

Adam has started to make some progess in his shop though! this weekend he made and organized this work bench!



Saddly, it is pretty unlikely that I will get my room more organized before the close of august. Fortunately that is because I will be doing something I love-playing roller derby!

I have already been fortunate enough to play in three bouts since I have been here. On monday I returned to Albuquerque from Tucson, where my team- The Munecas Muertas- played the Saddle Tramps. The Tucson Saddle Tramps have long been a personal favorite team, but it still nice to win a game! I felt really good about this game. It was the first time since Autumns birtrh that I have felt like I was playing effectively. It made me sad to see some dramma about strategy conflicts unfold on the bench. Also, I had to walk away from some critisism, because in the middle of a game it was not going to help.

I hope to get some pictures soon.

Next weekend I will be in Taos for a home game, and then we will be in portland to play the Wheels of Justice.

Yummy...

Lately I have had several meals that looked so pretty that I wanted to share them, but I usually didn't have my camera nearby to take a picture. I mentioned to Adam that I wanted to post some pictures and possibly recipes but I could never remember to take pictures while dinner was still pretty- meaning, before we started eating. This meal was lovely, delicious, and beautiful. Also, my wonderful husband remembered to take a picture before we started eating last night.
.

The meal is lean beef sauteed with onion and garlic, steamed veggies and seasoned potatoes.

"Moonlight Triste" by Erica Voges

This Piece is on flat canvas so it is a great deal!
only $45 plus shipping
8x10 with mounting bracket on the back

Busy Weekend

We had quite a weekend around here! My mom came in to Albuquerque last Wednesday and my brother drove up this weekend from las cruses. Duke City Derby also had an art show go up at the Blackbird Buvette -all proceeds to benefit duke city derby. Between derby and family this weekend it felt like I was going nonstop! It was so much fun to spend time with my mom and my brothers.

I also decided that I could make it to the tucson game next weekend. We would save a little money if I would make these decision sooner- but this means that the next three weekends will all be devoted to roller derby. WE have a game with the Tucson Saddle Tramps next weekend, a "home" game in Taos the following weekend, and the weekend after that we play Portlands Wheels of Justice. I would really like to beat portland, but I know no matter what happens we will play our best in portland.

I would like to post some pictures of the art I donated to the art show, but blogger isn't letting me upload any pictures right now so I will have to try again later.

Wow, That is cute!

Adam Found this little guy outside the front door! adorable!

Duke City Derby is Homeless Again!

WE had some excitement at the beginning of the skating season when Duke City Derby started skating at the Santa Ana star center, especially after two seasons at midnight rodeo, which can best be described as a death trap. We had more people show up to Santa Ana games than any of our games at midnight rodeo but the long drive to nowhere didn't draw the crowds that we needed to pay back Santa Ana and DCD went massively in debt because of it. I am glad that I got to play one game there after I got back from portland. (SPEAKING OF DCD BEING MASSIVELY IN DEBT WE ARE HAVING AN ART SHOW FUNDRAISER AT BLACKBIRD BUVETTE THIS MONTH AND I WILL BE DONATING ART, those in burque should check it out)

Anyway, we are not going to play at Santa Ana Star center any more. That's fine... except for one thing... WHERE WILL WE PLAY?

All is not lost though, I have several games schedualed. Taos, Portland, Kansas... and I am sure I am forgetting some. There is a game coming up in Tucson, but I am not going to that one. (work, baby... you know... pretending my life does not revolve around roller derby-even though it does)

In other news, DCD is now inactive. I wise woman once said "Fuck the WFTDA" and I am kind of feeling that right now.


These Pictures are from my game at the StarCenter... and my first Game after autumn was born!

Learning How To Live

I have decided to change the way we live.

I thought we were fairly healthy before, and I stand by that, but having a baby changes everything.

Before Autumn was born, I considered myself an athlete, and was in the best shape of my life. I thought we ate well and took good care of ourselves. Admittedly I still had a pretty negative body image, and wanted to drop one dress size (then I would have been going from a size 8 to a 6).

When I got pregnant I nearly immediately started having breathing problems. But I continued to exercise and I quit smoking immediately. I did everything I thought I was supposed to and still gained over 90 lbs over the course of my pregnancy. I was less worried about it while pregnant because I was militant about breastfeeding, and that burns a ton of calories. Shortly after autumn was born I learned that I was physically unable to breastfeed- After a heart wrenching battle I gave up after 8 weeks and stopped completely when autumn was about 3 months old- that is another lesson in itself- a story worth sharing when I am ready to relive it.

I started walking pretty much immediately after I was released from the hospital and started playing roller Derby again 6 Weeks after autumn was born. I had been doing everything I thought I was supposed to do, and treating my body better than I ever had, and better than most people I know. Unfortunately I really have not been losing weight the way I expected to, and almost as annoyingly, I have not been making the athletic progress I wanted to make either.

I have struggled with weight most of my life. Adam has great genes and does not have to work nearly as hard as I do to stay in shape but he has already taught me a lot about how to live a healthier fitter lifestyle. Right now, that is not enough.

My goal now is to work towards total fitness, not only that required to help me lose weight, or play roller derby well. I am reading a book called "BETTER FASTER STRONGER" and reading up on how foods affect ones body. I am trying to cater my diet to my lifestyle, and eat foods that help me perform on all levels. I am also learning that I need to Diversify my workout and add some strength and flexibility training. I need to drink more water, too. The difference between this and every other time I have lost weight is that I don't want to treat my body well until I get fit again, or can skate well again, I want to make a habit of being good to myself so that I can live and enjoy life for a long time.

I DO want to lose some of this extra weight, but it is also important to me that I feel better and play roller derby REALLY WELL. Also, like I said, I have a baby now, and that changes everything. I want her to be raised knowing how to take good care of herself, so she doesn't struggle with wieght and general fitness the way I have. I think my parents did an excellent job raising me, in many ways, but I think for the first time ever I am really learning how to live.

NEW Autumn Pictures

Staying with Grandpa Howard

Little Rollergirl
Autumn Helping Us Move