Saturday 25 February 2012

do something constructive


when i was little my dad didn't let us watch much television, preferring us to use our time 'constructively', but my mother would sometimes let us watch a bit before he got home from work. i remember that when we heard his car pulling into the driveway, my brothers would spring from their chairs and yell 'CHEESE IT! DAD'S HOME! DO SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE!'. being nine years younger than they are, my vocabulary and logic was not near as developed as theirs and my immediate reaction to their cry was to get out some construction paper and my wee scissors and start cutting and pasting which, though not exactly what my father meant, was in itself constructive.

with that, here's another constructive use of construction paper :)


Thursday 23 February 2012

nine eyes have seen the glory


go check out 9-eyes.com for some truly amazing google earth shots

Wednesday 8 February 2012

36 things to do in my 36th year


it's my birthday today. first one that's kinda freaking me out, i cannot tell a lie. thirty six *sigh*. in spirit i'm still hovering somewhere around 22, though my body's feeling older than it should these days. i've seen a lot of wonderful things in my life so far, and known many wonderful folks. i've been married to a wonderful man for four of those years and consider myself a very lucky woman. as a great friend of 17 years told me this morning: i have the world as my oyster and am finally in full control of my destiny. ya, ima go with that :)


so there's this thing i do here every year at this time where i make a list of things i'd like to do in the coming year. you can see my other lists here, here and here, though i'm embarrassed to say i didn't check off very many last year - something i wish to remedy this time around. this year's list may have one or two heretofore mentioned items, but so what? it's my birthday.  (items in pink have been checked off)

here goes...

1. go on a solo trip, just me and my camera (doesn't have to be a long trip, could just be a weekend).

2. take at least two more workshops or classes (i found this really valuable last year, so i'm adding it again).

3. buy a new bike and throw out the old one that's been sitting on my balcony since i wrote 'buy a new bike' on last year's list.

4. frame and hang some of my photos around the house.

5. sculpt something with polymer clay.

6. see the new baby polar bear and soon to be visiting giant pandas at the Metro Toronto Zoo .

7. get a new bed. ours is old and making my back feel like i'm a whole lot older than 36.

8. write a script (i've been saying this for a while, but i'm getting closer to it - been writing a lot o notes and slowly crafting some characters. this is the year i finish it).

9. be a better friend

10. clean out my closet. once and for all. it's a jungle in there. for real.

11. lose 30 pounds. having to write this on the third list in a row makes me feel pretty sh*tty, but it ain't goin nowhere 'til i do it. this is the last year it will be on my list, dammit!

12. go on some sort of writing/art/creativity retreat.

13. write 5 songs. a debut EP, if you will. I learned to play guitar last year and now it's time to take a whack at songwriting.

14. participate in National Novel Writing Month

15. make my friends model for photo shoots. i'd like to improve my portrait skills and taking photos of your husband and your dog will only go so far :)

16. finish illustrating my second children's book (these are self published books for friends by the way. sounds a lot cooler than it is.)

17. visit my oldest friend in Nova Scotia (idealy drive over there as my dislike for airplanes seems to grow with every year i age)

18. stengthen the knee ligament i tore in Mexico last winter that still pains me each and every dang day.

19. buy Rudy a leash and collar from Niki's store.

20. paint 5 things. keepin' this one nice and broad. could be 5 paintings, could be four paintings and a chair, who knows?

21. stretch.

22. see at least 5 films at this year's TIFF

23. wrap my head around my spending habits and perhaps, maybe actually conceive of a budget of some sort. gettin' tired of running out o money 3 days before every paycheck :)

24. simplify.

25. go to Moosefest 2012!

26. go to the Stand By Me festival in Brownsville Oregon!

27. knit comfy slippers for my husband and myself.

28. watch the second season of Game of Thrones in HD (we're saving for a new TV)

29. do one o those 365 photo projects. this is a bit lofty a goal for me since i find it difficult to do just about anything every single day, but ima try. (starting tomorrow).

30. take a German course

31. submit something to one of the art/photography shows that my work puts on.

32. let myself feel proud.

33. eat breakfast at home and pack my lunches as much as possible.

34. listen to tunes more. i miss having a soundtrack.

35. go see at least two live shows.

36. be earlier to bed and earlier to rise.

winter is coming

direwolves tank


not sure if i've mentioned this before, but i am a huge fan of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice & Fire series, the first installment of which was recently adapted as the magnificent HBO series Game of Thrones. i love it i love it i love it. can't get enough of it. looked it up on etsy this morning and found all sorts o neat stuff. thought i'd share some :)

winter is coming bracelets





Tuesday 7 February 2012

yigal ozeri


i should really have a category reserved for photorealistic painters since i'm so in awe of this kind of talent that i tend to post a lot of them. Israel born, New York based Yigal Ozeri is one such magically talented being. these are paintings, people. c'est vrai. *sigh*


Monday 6 February 2012

yesterday's muse #26 - helen bennett



Helen Bennett was born on August 14, 1911 in Springfield Missouri. she was a model and actress , best known for her stylish platinum coiffure. Bennett began her career as a beauty queen and was awarded the title Miss Missouri in 1937. she attended the University of Missouri and the Goodman Theater acting school in Chicago, before setting her sights on New York City.



in New York, Helen found work as a model. she also appeared on Broadway in shows such as "Dream Girl." according to IMDB, Helen's "attention to style and grooming earned her a much coveted recognition by Monsieur Leon, a prominent New York hairstylist who promoted -- some say invented -- the well-groomed "new look" in the late 1940s. Leon named Bennett along with actresses Claudette Colbert, Kathryn Grayson, Gertrude Lawrence and Norma Shearer as the five women in America with the best-dressed hair."




Bennett, along with a handful of other models like Norma Shearer and Gene Tierney, was able to make a successful transition into acting, appearing in films such as Lost City of the Jungle (1946) and The Scarlet Horseman (1946), and later, Return to Peyton Place (1961) with Tuesday Weld.



Helen was married to a man named Sylvester James Andrews, though I can't seem to find out when or for how long, or if she had any children. she died at the age of 89 on Sunday, February 25, 2001, in Santa Monica, California.



hall of dames # 24 - anjelica huston



Anjelica Huston was born in Santa Monica, California in 1951 to actor/director John Huston and prima ballerina Enrica Soma. her father was in Africa shooting the African Queen with Katherine Hepburn when Anjelica was born. she was named for her Sicilian maternal grandmother, Angelica Soma, who died when Anjelica's mother Enrica was still a child. most of Anjelica's childhood was spent living in Galway, Ireland.



Huston's parents separated when she was 10 years old, though they never divorced. in 1969, when Anjelica was 18, she began taking small acting roles in her father's films. that same year Anjelica's mother was killed in a car accident at the age of 39. following her mother's death, Anjelica moved to New York and became a model for several years, working with the likes of Richard Avedon and Bob Richardson. she and Richardson, 23 years her senior, were romantically involved.




in the late 1970's Anjelica began studying acting in hope of moving away from modeling and into the world of cinema. Huston's first notable role was in the Postman Always Rings Twice(1981) starring Jack Nicholson, with whom Anjelica had been living since 1973. four years later, she was cast by her father with Nicholson again in Prizzi's Honor(1985), for which Anjelica won a best supporting actress Oscar, making her a third generation oscar winner- the first in academy award history.




Anjelica has had a prolific acting career, highlights including The Grifters (1990), for which she was nominated for another academy award, her iconic portrayal of Morticia Addams in The Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993), and her work with director Wes Anderson in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Life Aquatic (2004). she was also awesome in Lonesome Dove (1989), and has directed two feature films and a television movie.




in 1992, Huston married sculptor Robert Graham Jr.. Anjelica and Robert lived together in Venice, California until his death in 2007.



i am inducting Anjelica Huston to the Loose Leaf Tigers Hall of Dames for her extraordinary talent, character and intelligence, matched only by unmatchable beauty. dame Anjelica will grace the small screen in the TV series Smash, which debuts tonight.