It’s 2012, and I couldn’t be happier that 2011 is over. It’s been a long ride, and I’m still working on depression issues. I think the above picture sums up what I’ve been doing with myself: maintenance. Lots of maintenance.
I do have some fun modeling from this past year. What about art? … Not particularly. Dark fashion? I can take loads of new pictures thanks to shopping! Nerdiness? That’s always here.
I’ll be posting soon! I have some things to wrap up before my semester begins this next week, so I may not post again until Thursday or so. See you all soon!
My boyfriend and I have been together six months. We celebrated by going to an amazing restaurant called the Vegetarian House here in San Jose, and it was lovely. He surprised me with these flowers.
They are now resting happily on my desk.
This is what I dressed in for our date. Most of the brands I am wearing in this photo are unknown or Forever 21. The outer top is from a goth swap, the jacket from a traveling boutique that stops on campus, and I have had the skirt for years. Legwarmers were necessary!
I know all of these clothes!
Top: Sears
Bodice: ?? I’ve had it since high school
Skirt: Metamorphose, bought from friend
Socks: Forever 21
Boots: Forever 21
Minor distortion with the camera—I am not this short.
Make Up Station:
Natural browns and beiges were used on my eyes, with Clinique black eye liner and mascara. I lightly dabbed on MAC’s Ruby Woo lipstick and finished the look off with concealer and Studio Fix.
Non-sequitor: this hand painted glass jar was a gift to me from my mother. It’s got character, don’t you think?
A big thanks to Rachel for taking pictures of me today! <3
On rituals and holidays and consumerism and reaction : It’s easy to slap judgment on people without thinking about it. It’s hard when you’ve put yourself in their situation, and may realize you understand their decisions more than you’d like.
Hey everyone, another quick break in updates. I’m in Southern California. Over the weeekend, I was in Santa Barbara, relaxing with Monarch butterflies, the random heat wave, and enjoying my boyfriend’s company and family.
Now, I’m in Oak Park, going to a drawing intensive at my teacher’s drawing school. This is my second time going and my third week studying exclusively with his school, so I’m hoping to enjoy myself, get some good practice out of this, and fill more pages in my portfolio sketchbook with some of the resources at my disposal I have down here (skull studies, animal studies, anatomy studies, etc).
I don’t have internet access where I’m staying, however, so updates are going to be harder. I’ll see what I can do about getting photos up (I always forget to take them when on vacation–bad habit. I need to start doing this, otherwise I’ll forget everywhere I’ve been).
Have a wonderful week! I’m back in more native grounds come this weekend, and school starts again next week. More fashion, art, and random thoughts coming soon.
Engadget is putting out rapid-fire information about a lot of new amazing technology like the tablet I linked above during CES 2011. I went to this huge electronics trade show last year, and I would have loved to go this year (Yes, I am that big a nerd).
Pedocouture: In Vogue magazine, 6-year-olds are sex vixens – For something more serious: Guys, this isn’t supposed to be okay. Vogue, get your act together. I don’t agree with the writer’s assessment that the looks are “whorish” per se, but they are all kinds of not-good on girls under the age of ten.
Adult Chocolate Milk – Awesome idea. I can’t wait to try this. For ages 21+ only.
Wild Mongolia (and other documentaries) – I recently found that Hulu has documentaries now. I love it. Start with this one, expand from there if you see fit. I’ve been watching them all day.
Should the Burqa be banned? – Over a year old and still really interesting. If you have time to listen to a debate between three intelligent Australian women, please give it a chance.
Zhena’s Gypsy Tea – Caramelized Pear – I confess, I’m putting this here moreso as a reminder to myself. But I adore this tea. It was brewed for me by my good friend, Beth, and it is amazing.
Maya Angelou’s Cooking Advice: Ignore the Rules – Maya Angelou is amazing in her own right. I love hearing her talk. And now, she’s giving us old recipes and quick talk on NPR about old fashioned food.
Sherlock Holmes – Episode 1 A study in pink - This reboot of Sherlock Holmes is amazing. Watch it! Keep it going! It’s coming back for another series in 2011, but I really want them to keep working on it.
I’ve been desperately needing to clean my make-up brushes. Make-up artists have told me in the past to simply use shampoo, and it just doesn’t… really… work. My foundation brush showed signs of tarnish from the metal, my liner never got fully clean, … I think you get the idea. As an artist, however, I have multiple kinds of paint brushes. In order to keep those clean and free of different types of paint, I need real brush cleaner. The Master’s brush cleaner is my weapon of choice, and I realized—I could totally use it to clean my make-up brushes. I have to say, it was the wisest decision I could have made. All of my make-up brushes are now back to life and back to their original color. Brush cleaner = amazing.
I’m going to take a second to talk about decent brushes for a discount price. I got most of these brushes from Sally’s—save for the MAC liner brush and the MAC foundation brush. But, not all of us can stock up on a full brush kit from MAC, NARS or some other high end cosmetics line. Please do consider Sephora’s brush kits (they are really amazing), or if you’re a student like me, check out your local Sally’s Beauty Supply. Sally’s offers a discount card for $5. That discount card did it’s job and then some for me time and time again when I dyed my hair every 2 months, and it works for all of their stock beauty supplies. Check it out! You won’t be sorry. Also, sign up for websites like Make-Up Alley. They have reviews for all kinds of beauty products, including Sally’s and Sephora’s specific cosmetics and tools.
Do not use your cat to apply make-up. It will end in blood and tears.
Last weekend, I reorganized my art table. I wanted to show everyone. I love my art table now! I can actually use it!
This past week, I also played with my acrylics. I have quickly discovered that while I like to complain about not using acrylics in my painting class, I, in fact, have forgotten how to properly use them. That’s art school for you.
I decorated my winter sketchbook that’s due for my major.
Here’s the inside, with a small plaque I printed. There are cat and squirrel gesture drawings at the bottom.
I hate these hand studies, but blind and semi-blind contour sketches are great exercises for warming up. The other page is actually full now, but the drawings are no good.
Last weekend, I also bought a bunch of new yarn. I no longer had space in my small yarn bag for all of my things. I repurposed this shelf that I had, and it’s perfect for yarn.
Oh, as an aside: I am writing articles for a feminist fashion magazine run by my friend Maddie Maschger. It fits more of a modern incarnation of Riot Grrrl thinking and lifestyle (different than my native goth environment), but it’s worth reading through, whatever your leaning. Please forgive any awkwardness in my main article—there was a fudging at the final stages of publishing and we couldn’t implement my edits.
Blog stuff: Dear readers! Do you like the purple background on the blog? Please tell me what you think. I’m growing fond of it. I have also written an About page. I’ll be updating it when I think of more to put in it. I’m also trying to figure out why my widgets aren’t working on my sidebar. Hrm. WordPress.
An alternative to “birth rape” – Venezuela terms it “obstetric violence,” and while I’m not having kids anytime soon, it’s definitely something that I hope sets a standard for treatment of women in labor in hospitals.
CorpGoth – I just discovered my friend Trystan was maintaining this blog. She touches on a lot of helpful information that is similar here, although her focus is on corporate wear.
Amusing video of a finger skateboarder shredding to full-sized skateboard sound effects.
I hope everyone had a safe and tasty holiday last week. I have been swamped, and when I opened up my editor on Thursday to make my Thanksgiving post, I discovered I really had nothing to say that would interest you fine people.
Over the weekend, I picked up a lot of yarn for knitting and some more items from Forever 21. Black Friday shopping at home and at hobby and art stores are the best–you choose your environment!
I think I’m going to start putting these little polyvore styling ideas up more, especially during these busy holidays.
Now, the most expensive item is the little feather piece, which is listed in GBP (British Pounds). An item like that is quite easily handmade, found on Etsy for a fraction of that price, or you may find something similar at Forever 21 for $5. Now, the quality of those change drastically depending on a) who you buy from on Etsy, or if you don’t mind playing $5 roulette with your hair pieces. Otherwise, I’d honestly not recommend purchasing it–I just liked the color change from that teal to violet. I’m a sucker for kitschy accents like fingerless gloves, and they are useful in cooler weather.
Also, little items like those rings can also be replaced with things that have the same feeling or shape that are much cheaper.
I will not be posting any fashion shots until next week. I have two huge projects to paint and Thanksgiving is Thursday. My school is winding down into finals time, which means I am busy, busy girl.
I’ll post something holiday related on Thanksgiving day. Until then, enjoy your week and be safe, if you’re traveling for thanksgiving!
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