#some of those doodles were in the back bit of my photo gallery

[koodless]

Hotel Stuff- x-x, private eye, dark fantasy

[ohblackdiamond]

the story of mandate (conclusion)

Part I is here. Here is the completely signed magazine.

I went to a Paul event thanks to my dear friend @elrohare and I was a woman on a mission. This was my holy grail, my twelve labors of Hercules, my ultimate sacrifice of good sense, my Mandate, if you will. Paul is a man of constant sorrow who's seen trouble all his days. Paul had not known trouble until he saw my face again a mere two months after his last time.

Unlike Gene, who will randomly set a date to hand out his crap for hilarious prices, Ace, who will appear at any 500-1000 seater across the country and balefully advertise his meet and greets onstage, and Peter, who will roll out of bed every six months for a horror convention, Paul does his events at Wentworth galleries across the country. Paul is basically like Pokemon Red's Porygon. You can get him, but he'll take everything you have.

I was prepared. I had done the legwork and the paperwork. Part of my purchase included an autographed item. (Please note that this is not nearly the entirety of the, uh, Paul Stanley Experience, if you will-- this is only the Mandate aspect of it. There was more!)

Paul remembered both of us. "It's been awhile."

"Yeah, couple months, since February, yeah." I'm actually sort of not shocked he remembered us since neither of us look like typical KISS fans. There is also a very large height difference between us, so we are distinctive. We talk. I manage some conversation, some of which is sort of funny. But I'm not here to provide Paul with wit and candor. I'm here for Mandate, which he has already by that point seen the back of even with me trying to cover the naked men in the tub with my phone. He has already also seen the front of it, with its doodled-on-by-Gene cover. He has seen it open, because I had to set it down in order for us to take our picture together. He has probably spent the whole rest of our conversation leading up to this determining what to say to the lone weirdo that has not given him RARO, his solo album, his other solo album, the KISS comic book (mint condition), or various and sundry other KISS collectibles.

He has hit on it. He gestures to the president of Wentworth who is, incidentally, the one that's borrowing my phone to take our pictures. He comes closer as Paul shows him the magazine, along with me.

"Gene drew on it [the front cover of my copy]," I say.

"Mandate... this is the very first magazine we were ever in." (Peter said the same thing in his first book. They are both technically incorrect, but far be it from me to correct Paul Stanley on things that happened before I was born-- and to be honest, knowing what I know about how slow it could end up being to go from writing a feature for a monthly magazine to it actually being published, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they'd done the magazine some months prior to it being on the shelves).

"Our manager at the time said he could get us into a magazine. We didn't know it was a gay magazine. I mean, whatever you're into, but... ["I wasn't," basically, though I don't know if he said those two words specifically]....." as he flips, completely needlessly, through the pictures, sort of slowly, until he gets to page eight and page nine, where all three of his bandmates have signed in black Sharpie. "Of course, they blew me [the photo] up. ... And Gene drew on it."

I finally manage to pipe up.

"Yeah, Gene texted you about it, purportedly, anyway...."

"Yeah, he did."

"He did? Really?"

He looked like he was weirdly thoughtful. Well, sounded like he was. Maybe even a little bit amused. I had a hard time looking too hard at him while this was going on, and I found myself looking more at the naked men he was flipping through. But I had my plan and I would not be too distracted. I had brought my own black Sharpie, since I knew he had a penchant for signing in silver (this is because his Wentworth artwork always comes with an inscription on black paper that he writes on in silver). The Sharpie was right there and, possibly because he was keenly aware of my level of distress at the thought of Mandate being signed in a different color, he obediently took it and signed it and shut it, and handed it back to me. My smile could've broken through my dimples.

Triumph complete. Thank you, @elrohare for again allowing me the pleasure of coming with, and I was glad to plus-one and for once, return the favor.

Thank you, Mr. Paul Stanley of KISS. And thank you to Peter, Gene (especially Gene!), and Ace. I hope Mandate gave you all an unexpected blast from the past, and I really wish I'd told Paul that Peter quite appreciated the ass on the guy on the front cover. Maybe next time.

[airariaira]

Troisième - 12/02/20

It’s been more than a month, and holy heck time has truly flown. Yet somehow I feel like I have been here for a while, too. I’m feeling more settled and comfortable here in Troyes - I can get to and from school fine, and I don’t jump up with fright at every bus stop on the way home alone, worried about missing my stop! I couldn’t even imagine getting lost now. I feel confident enough to explore a bit more, and this afternoon I took a walk a little in town and along the Seine, because the weather was gorgeous. That was of course until i was 15 minutes away from home and the wind picked up, then suddenly there was needles of rain soaking through my jacket and my bag and my jeans. Honestly, I felt very personally attacked by the weather at that point. On a day that only a few hours earlier had looked like this from my window?:

It was so gorgeous outside with my window open, I could hear the traffic and the birds and the breeze - the air coming in was a little cold, but in that nice fresh winter way. I couldn’t possibly not go outside. So, after my two hours of school this morning (Philosophy and English Literature), I decided to go on a little walk exploring:

^A padlock fence I saw while walking along the river

^This is one of the ol chimneys from the 19th-century factories in Troyes. Troyes has been a city famous for producing clothing and goods for hundreds of years, and you can see these bad boys pop up all around. I also met some cute new friends:

So what if these new friends are paintings of cats on the streets? This is MY blong, you’re not allowed to judge me.

Since my last blog post, a fair amount has happened, I’ll catch you all up... Which won’t be too hard for me to do, seeing as I started writing a travel diary to keep up to date with what I’ve been doing - unlike Mr Alex Gasson it seems, as he wrote in his blog (which, by the way, you can find on this link here) Lets go all the way back to Saturday the 26th of January, the morning of which I wrote my last blog post. That afternoon we took a trip out to my host family’s house by the lake (called La Lac d’Orient) in the pretty, historic village of Géraudot only a little while away from Troyes. We went for a walk around the nearby forest, which was gorgeous. We heard a woodpecker, too.

The lake is man-made, not natural, and is where water from the Seine is redirected to avoid flooding out Paris each year. On the shore, there’s a small plastic path down to the water to make the lake more accessible for those with disabilities. I thought that was good, I’m surprised I’ve never seen anythign like it before. 

Following the walk, we went back to the house for a coffee and a board game. That evening on the way back to the city, we stopped by the outlet store shopping centre. I found a little bit of home there...

(I pinkie promise that the bag has gifts in it! For other people!) Sunday the 26th was a slightly warmer day, which I suppose was a bit of a last hurrah, because the forcast for the following week was not so good. On that day I went out with my host mother Marie, we went to another museum. This is in a building called Hôtel de Vauluisant, which houses both the Musée d’Art Champenois, and the Musée de la Bonneterie. The art section was so phenomenally beautiful - filled with old paintings and sculptures and stained glass from the many many churches in Troyes. The section on Troyes’ factory and bonneterie history had many machines from the early factories of the city. This is the area outside of the building:

After that, we went to a beautiful church just across the road from the museum. The inside of the church took me aback for two reasons. One, because if was so incredibly beautiful inside, filled to abundance with enormous paintings, sculptures, and flowers. Two, because it was so freaking cold inside. I coud see my breath cloud out probabaly more dramatically than it has during any winter commute to school in New Zealand. That said though, it was definitely worth the visit. I never knew churches could be so decked-out in beautiful things. I don’t think a picture could capture how pretty it was, but here you go anyway:

Monday the 27th was a pretty standard French school day. I ended up with a bit of a migraine so had a quiet day. That evening we (my host siblings Lola and Antoine, and my host mother Marie) did some English revision for Antoine’s upcoming English exam, which was fun. Tuesday the following day was another good school day. I had a lot of free hours, so I went into town for a while. Wednesday was of course my short day. That afternoon I went out with two new friends, Cheyenne and Alicia, to the museum and town. It was good fun! Cheyenne and I at the museum:

The weekend of the 1st/2nd was good. On Sunday in the afternoon we went bowling. The cousin of my host siblings, who’s from Boston and living in Paris for a year, came and joined us. Her name is Noa, and she stayed from Sunday to Wednesday to celebrate her birthday. On Monday I finally handed out the rest of my New Zealand souvenirs in my English class. At lunchtime I sat with Juliette and some others. Juliette lived in Christchurch for a year a little while ago! Tuesday the 4th was Noa’s birthday. School was interesting, with lots of free periods spaced out throughout the day (awkward timing!) We couldn’t find a spare classroom for French Literature which was weird?? That evening, we celebrated Noa’s birthday with raclette and then cake. On Wednesday she left back for Paris - I wonder if one day we’ll meet again in this big old world? That evening I went wandering around town with Marie for a while again, and I got a photo in front of the famous Cœur de Troyes:

It lights up at night and the red light beats like a heart. I’ll be interested to see how many couples will be taking their pictures in front of it on Friday for Valentine’s Day! Last Friday I walked to the bus stop with a new appreciation for how pretty the city is. I start school at 9, so get to see the way the morning sun hits the old buildings so beautifully. The sky was so blue and the light so nice, I don’t know if a camera could capture it quite so perfectly:

And on Saturday the 8th... Paris!!! I travelled over with my host sister Lola, and we met Marie there. The day seemed to last for so long while it was happening, but somehow I found myself suddenly sitting on the train back to Troyes again. Now, it feels like it went by so fast. We started with the Tour Eiffel, naturally, where I took a video - and unintentionally caught someone proposing! Everything there was so big and old and impressive - it sumultaneously felt surreal, and like it was exactly where I was meant to be. 

Following the Eiffel Tower, we took a short cruise on the Seine on the Bateau Mouches to sightsee a little bit. It was so bitterly cold and windy on the water, but the sculptures and cuildings and bridges were pretty enough to make up for it. Here’s a picture of a scaled-down model of the Statue of Liberty, and the Eiffel Tower in the same frame:

After lunch, we had our little indulgence in consumerism by going to the Galleries Lafayette, where all the expensive brands and rich are piled into one big, pretty shopping centre. It was sparkly and dazzling, and I don’t think I’ve every been surrounded by so many expensive things in my life before. It smelled like money and every kind of perfume all at once. Just how Jay Gatsby would have liked it. Here’s me on the roof:

It was such a long way down! After that, we went to the Arc de Triomphe. It’s so incredibly huge in person. It was wonderful to see all of the avenues surrounding me while on the roof (getting rained on... am I making a habit of that?) The rain didn’t drain my spirits, however. It was so cool to admire the bustle of Parisian life happening all below me. 

The view from the top:

(I think the stairs were worth it... I’m not sure what the other two think though...   🤔)

I was so tired after that big day that on the train ride back home I just stared into space for the entire hour and a half! Throughout the day, I kept waiting for one of those slack-jawed tourist moments to hit me, a feeling of helpless amazement when I looked at some monument or the like. But it didn’t - perhaps I’m just better at enjoying travel in a slow, contented kind of way. The rain in Paris on Saturday would prove to be the beginning of a storm that would last a few days. On Monday the 10thI was very happy to be sitting inside, writing my travel diary, rather than outside in that rain and wind I could hear against the roof and walls. All in all, I’ve been really enjoying my time on exchange. Sometimes I do truly feel a little out of my depth - like I’m wasting my time here is I speak much English, but I just can’t always articulate myself fully in French. Sometimes I feel a little out of place and behind when I’m around my peers and they’re speaking such rapic French. However, it does get easier each day. I feel happy and comfortable here.

Here’s some more photos, just so I can flex on my people back in New Zealand about how pretty this city is...

^A fountain the bus goes past each day, taken on one of the rare occasions that the bus isn’t packed to the brim and I manage to grab a seat!

^A pretty sculpture in town

^A church with a gorgeous roof that’s just behind the house

^Some more pretty houses (gosh I must look like such a weirdo taking pictures of all these buildings)

^A pretty street in pretty afternoon light

^A very ~zenn~ little square nestled in buildings in town

Aaand last but not least...

A prime example of the memes and doodles that are copied onto the blackboard during recreation. (Shh - don’t tell the teacher who drew what!) Until next time!

[miss-m-winks]

Instead of a summary of my art from each month of 2019 I’ve compiled a summary of my art from every year of this decade! Finding some of that old art was incredibly difficult.

And making an exact image description of all this would be too long to write or read so I’m going to do my best to describe all this in a concise and interesting way.

2010: I was a sophomore in high school, so about 15 years old. These two drawings are in pencil and colored pencil, one of some random girl character wearing brightly colored clothes and a rainbow shawl thing (??) walking on clouds it seems. No idea what that was meant to be about. The other is a reference for my old oc, the very first one I ever had, based on myself. She looks human but with unicorn ears and a horn, plus wings and a tail. I hadn’t figured out animal legs yet either so she has perfectly normal human legs that just end in hooves.

2011: still mostly pencil, colored pencil, I don’t remember if I had a laptop yet. I would have been 16 years old at this time. I picked a self portrait here, a coloreddrawing of myself in black concert dress playing the trumpet because I got to do a solo in jazz band and I was very happy about it. The other art I picked for this year is digital but in the old ms paint program (you know before it tried to be fancy with a few more realistic tools and was only pixel art tools) I do believe I was still using the family computer for this, with a mouse. I was really creative with the tools. It’s my unicorn girl oc again, flying through the sky. I included a progress image, showing how I made it. I’m so glad I saved the steps and posted them it’s really cool to see my old art process for that.

2012: 17 years old, and I think I finally had a laptop with a good art program on it by this time but I still did mostly traditional art, lots of colored pencil work. I found this old experimental art I did that year, a colored pencil drawing of a girl sitting on a tree branch, but the background is all digital, a painting of a fantasy night sky with three moons. It actually looks kinda good, the edges of the colored pencil drawing are crisp and smooth and the digital background doesn’t look out of place. I mean the shading is a bit of a mess and I used white clouds on a black night sky which is a bit funny looking but it isn’t that bad. The other image is a colored pencil drawing that was really ambitious for me at the time. I had this cool idea to draw Death with sunset colored wings, all poetic and stuff. Why did I also draw death with blue skin and horns? I don’t know. Why is death sitting on an ambiguous brown cliff overlooking a cemetery? Well I guess I just was having trouble finding any other way to make a nice background and have death above a cemetery. I should redo this one, it’s a really good concept.

2013: my last year of high school, 18 years old. I was doing digital art a lot more often this year and expanding the diversity of my ocs. One of these images is a digital drawing of two of my first characters of color, two male black elves (black as in African-based) smoochin. My first black oc was also my first queer oc, jayvyn. A gay elf. There are a lot of issues with the way I originally conceptualized his story but even when I was thinking he was the only queer person in his town and there was homophobia towards him (I was only just dipping my toes outside the mindset I grew up in) I gave him a whole massive group of friends (a boys' lacrosse team he was on don’t ask me why lacrosse I have no idea I don’t even know much about lacrosse it was a weird choice) and those friends were extremely loyal and supportive of him, even to the point of going on dates with him just to make him happy. and again, he was the only gay character I had so I was writing a bunch of straight dudes taking their one gay friend on dates in a town full of people who were at least vaguely homophobic, I definitely had a lot of growing to do in my writing and my own mindset but I’m kinda proud of myself for doing that? I could have done so much worse with my first queer oc and my first real step into characters of color, but I made the whole story about this tight knit group of boys who were all such close loving friends. (Gee I wonder if this had anything to do with my being ace and not knowing it yet). Oh yeah, the other image is also there, that one is from a photoshop class I took. We had a three-way folding mirrors the bathroom at the time so I put on a hoodie, turned out the bathroom lights, folded the mirrors in and shoved my face into the gap and then took a photo with the flash while holding my mouth open in a silent scream. The result is this really cool series of screaming faces at different angles, which I then ran through a few filters and major contrast adjustment. Could be an edgy generic horror movie cover lol

2014: 19 years old, and I just finished a year of community college and then left on a church mission for 18 months. I probably should have used some of my first college art class drawings for this year's summary but I was using my old deviantart gallery to collect these old images so I forgot I had all that college art too. These two digital images are pretty dynamic in different ways. Dynamic lighting and dark skin, an experiment I was doing to figure out lighting better for my characters of color. That’s Jayvyn again I think, with lightning shooting out of his hand because I sure love making characters with lightning powers. The other is dynamic in the posing and I’m still incredibly happy with it, it’s a drawing of a grey centaur from behind, bucking in panic because a kitten pounced on its foot. Definitely still one of the best centaur drawings I have ever made.

2015: 20 years old, I was actually on my church mission for this entire year so finding art from that year was very very tricky. One is just a small pencil drawing on another oc, Ronan with his cool mechanical leg playing fiddle I guess? I was doing a lot of synesthesia doodles that year so there are lots of swirly lines coming off the fiddle. I was also surprised to find this really neat digital art I made of Ravio from link between worlds, I almost forgot I did find a way to make digital art on my mission (no access to my laptop, limited apps we were allowed to use, super limited access to normal computers except for emails and such, always busy doing important stuff) I discovered the drawing function in the iPad notes app and every time I had time I would use it until I figured out how to make it work for me, using only my fingers, the limited color palette options, and this marker tool that had one size and only multiplied (except when using white) this is definitely one of the best ones, but I don’t know where the rest went. I had a lot. I was stunned to find this because it really looks like I could have done it on a laptop, can’t believe I forgot I did that.

2016: 21 years old. Had to get used to a laptop again. Also I created my current main oc Morianten during my church mission so here I have the very first full body digital art of him! I’ve definitely changed his anatomy a lot since then, made him much more bird like. Kinda funny to look at this old one and see just how differently I draw him now, only three years later. I also have here a digital painting of some other members of morianten's adoptive family, his dad and little brother having a father son race in nice racing wheelchairs. I still struggle with proportions when I draw characters in wheelchairs.

2017: 22 years old, and back in college. I really had a focus on figure drawing that year, I was back in college art classes and I found posespace.com which is just full of professionally shot art model photos. I’ve got one digital figure drawing of my oc Talib, another practice in lighting on dark skin. The other image is a charcoal drawing of my oc Parva, I think I did that one in a 30 minute time frame where I was taking pictures at different points to show my process but I’ve lost the process images.

2018: 23 years old, and really getting into color depth with my digital art. I found a really old pencil drawing of a dynamic dancing scene and redid it as a digital painting with extreme colored lighting dynamics and new characters. I also got super into mermay so I’ve included one of my favorites, a rainbow trout gal and her elf girlfriend having a chat after a nice swim. I’m super proud of the colors and proportions here, and the shading is pretty great too.

And then it’s 2019! This year! I’m 24! For this one I used three images instead of two, all digital. My ocs Talib and Kouto as persephone and hades in a really quick painting I did but the colors and lighting are intense and fun. No outlines painting of Morianten with some pretty intense lightning lighting. That one took ages and I’m still not entirely pleased with the way I drew his face there but I’m proud of it. And I never actually posted this last one, it’s a new oc created exclusively for the DC superheroes au I dabbled in with @askmissbernadette, a young hero called Lion riding a skateboard in a dark city with a long coat on because that’s a fun way to replace the common superhero cape design.

Overall, it was really fun to go through my art for the entire decade and see how much it’s changed over time. And to see how much my characters have changed. Hope 2020 is a good year, hope the 20s in general are good. Here’s to another 10 years of change and progress!

[fanfic-inator795]

RotTMNT/Baron Jitsu Fanfiction: Dating... With Children - Chapter Two

(Also on AO3 if you want to leave a comment or kudos)

Plot:  Benjamin Draxum hardly considered himself a man of high social standing. Not because he was uncouth or unworthy of it, mind you, but simply because he didn't have much of a social life. Hard to have one when he usually spent his days at work, cooped up in a lab for so long that he often had his lunches in there, and his nights at home reading or doing research for more personal projects. But perhaps meeting handsome semi-retired movie star - as well as his four young sons - could change all that...

((Chapter two, ya’ll! Thank you to everyone for their support on this story so far, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter! ^v^))

“...What’ve you got there, baby?”

Mikey smiled, and held the drawing - consisting of crayon, marker AND a bit of paint - up for his father to see. “Lots of drawings!” he replied, “Didn't wanna choose one, so I made ‘em all! Like this guy here is a super cool dragon, an’ here's his friend who’s a turtle that can skateboard, and this is a bee that's always makin’ up words and making people spell them!”

“Heh, I'm sure I know what that's inspired from,” Lou chuckled, remembering how Raph shared that his class was having a spelling bee a couple weeks ago. He sat and listened to his youngest explain each doodle, nodding and making quick comments of his own as he did so.

“And that's all I really have so far,” Mikey finished, setting the paper down, “but I think I wanna try to add a few more drawings. Maybe some stickers too, THEN it'll be perfect!”

“Alright,” Lou nodded, “But when you're finished, would you please clean off the table? Remember, we have company coming over tonight.”

“Oh yeah! Don't worry, Papa, I will!”

“Good,” Lou smiled, ruffling his curly hair and making the boy giggle, “Thank you.”

“I'm glad Dr. Draxum is coming over,” Donnie spoke up from the beanbag, looking up from his textbook, “I wanna talk to him more about science stuff. And look!” He held up his book - ‘The Building-Blocks of Life’. “I'm reading up on genetics too! And I'm pretty sure I’ll be about as smart as him on it by the time I'm finished.”

Amused, Lou raised an eyebrow. “I didn't realize they were teaching genetics in the first grade.”

“They aren't. I finished my work early and got to go to the library again.” “Ah.” Lou made another mental tally in his head. The school hadn't said anything yet, but if this kept up, he'd have to go there himself and look into possibly moving Donatello up to Raph’s grade. “Can you believe that some kids aren't even interested in looking at the big kid section of books? Or at the non-fiction section? Those are the best sections!”

“Heh, no, I can't. But then it's a good thing that you can appreciate them.” He began to stand up, but stopped when his ears picked up on something. Some quiet whispers, a couple soft footsteps… The martial artist smirked, and prepared himself.

After a couple seconds, he felt something heavy run into him, slamming him to the carpeted floor. He let out an “OOF!”, unable to help himself, while giggles filled his ears. “I got you, Pop!” Raph grinned, “You're pinned!”

“Oh, are you sure?” Lou asked, “because I think-” He twisted his body quickly, knocking a surprised Raphael off before scooping him up into his arms, making the boy squeal. “That I have YOU!” Raph squirmed in his father’s grip while Lou gave him a couple quick noogies before kissing him on the top of his head.

“Daaaad!” Raph groaned, sticking his tongue out. Lou just laughed, letting the boy go.

“Told ya you couldn't beat him, Raphie,” Leo said, grinning at the whole scene as he sat on the arm of his pop’s chair, growing legs swinging, “He's like, the best fighter in the whole world!”

“Yeah well, I still pinned you for a second, right Pop?”

“Mm-hm,” Lou nodded, “Though next time, make sure to actually pin them once you have them on the floor. Don't just sit on them, but try putting your hands and weight on their shoulders. Makes it harder for them to move, slows them down some.” After a moment, he added “But, maybe don't try to tackle our guest tonight, hm?”

“Heh, I won't.” “Good. Now why don't you and your brother wash up?” Raph and Leo both glanced down at their grass and dirt covered limbs, grimaced at them and dashed out of the room.

Still chuckling a bit to himself, Lou picked himself off the floor and headed back into the kitchen. He had already started prepping a couple dishes, but he still had plenty left to do for their meal. His smile softened a bit as he thought about their guest…

It had taken five days for Draxum to call him. In that time, Lou had tried looking him up online. Draxum’s social media was pretty standard, nothing offensive or red-flag raising but nothing too interesting either. The only other piece of the man online was a brief biography on his lab’s research site along with a photo - where he had a very serious and professional expression on his face. A far cry from the fairly casual man he had met at the art gallery.

When he did finally call, it had been late at night, just after he'd put the boys to bed and right before heading to bed himself. Lou had wondered if perhaps this was planned, as a sort of “welp, I tried calling but there was no answer, oh well” type of thing. But Lou had answered, and much to his (and certainly to Draxum’s) surprise, they had ended up talking for a couple hours.

The conversation had started out pretty slow and standard. Lou asked how his day at work was, and Draxum asked how he and the boys were doing. After a while though, things became a little more natural, and their conversation almost became more of a banter. They’d go back and forth, discussing their favorite forms of entertainment, hobbies they enjoyed, and even sharing a couple personal anecdotes. And after all that, there was no way Lou wasn't going to end the call by inviting him over.

Draxum told him he'd have to check his schedule. It only took until the next morning for Draxum to text, letting him know that he would be free the following weekend. Again, Lou couldn't help but wonder if Draxum actually had to check his schedule or if he just didn't want to appear to eager, but said nothing. Instead, he simply gave him a date, time and his home address, and let him know that he was looking forward to it.

Lou had to admit, Draxum wasn't usually his type, but he was still unique enough to catch the ex-movie star’s interest. After all, how many buff science-type bookworms did one meet in their life? Draxum was certainly intelligent, and had a bit of a dry wit but never seemed like a snob. He was a bit stiff but not boring, spoke his mind and, if Lou was really being honest, was so hot. (Again, buff bookworms. Who knew?) Plus, his kids really seemed to like him too. In Lou’s opinion, that last bit was the most important one of all. So, with all that in mind, Lou just figured: “Eh, why not?”

It was funny how often that phrase came up during the big decisions in his life - like when he had decided that he wanted to try being a father when almost everything else in his life seemed hollow, and ended up adopting four kids instead of just one.

---------

Draxum looked at his watch. 5:17. A bit early but, wasn't that better than being late? Really, it was a good sign he was there at all, given that he was still a bit surprised at himself for even accepting the invite. ...Not that spending more time with Lou was necessarily a bad idea...

He then glanced up at the house he was now in front of. Having never actually been invited to a celebrity’s home before, he hadn't quite been sure what to expect. But a medium sized, cozy looking and slightly run-down home in Brooklyn certainly was a bit of a surprise. Maybe making action movies didn't pay as well as Draxum thought.

Still, he kept these comments to himself as he went up the walkway that was littered with chalk drawings and up to the door, knocking twice. It took a couple moments for someone - one of the boys, the one with light patches of skin around his eyes who was wearing a blue tee - to open the door. “You know the password?” He asked.

Draxum’s expression twisted slightly in annoyance, but he kept his cool. “Open says me?” He guessed.

“Mm nnnnope, sorry.” With that, the door was slammed in his face. From the other side, he could hear more young voices, scolding and lightly arguing with each other. The door opened again, and one boy had become four. “I was just joking!” Leo insisted while Donnie continued to glare.

“Hi, Dr. Draxum!” Mikey greeted with a wave.

“Sorry about my dumb brother-” “Hey!” “You can come on in,” Raph added.

Draxum nodded. “Thank you,” he said, moving his arm a bit so he could reveal more of the small box he had been carrying. “If you hadn't let me in when you did, this probably would have melted.”

Leo’s eyes widened. “Wait, you brought cake?! Well you should’a said so!”

With a ghost of a smile on his face, Draxum walked inside. The living room to the Jitsu home was inviting and very much in-use, but not the cluttered and messy space that Draxum had been worried it might have been. There was a reclining chair, a love seat, two kid-sized beanbags, a coffee table with several colorful marks now permanently on it, and a flat screen tv that was playing some cartoon. There were a couple toys on the floor, though not enough that Draxum had to worry about tripping over anything, as well as a few framed pictures on the wall. One of Lou at what looked like some award ceremony, one of him with a Chinese woman (ex wife, perhaps?) and of course, one of him with his children that looked like it was taken just a couple years ago.

“Hey, Doc!” a voice called from the kitchen, bringing Draxum out of his thoughts, “How’s it going? You find the place alright?”

“Yes, there's this wonderful thing called a gps that really helps,” Draxum dryly replied.

Lou chuckled, smiling at him over his shoulder, and blinking when he saw the ice cream cake in the taller man’s hands. From the look of the packaging, he could guess that it came from a pretty high end bakery. “Oh, you didn't have to bring anything.”

“Well, you said you were making supper, I figured the least I could do was bring dessert,” Draxum told him, “Should I just put this in the fridge, then?”

“Yeah, go right ahead.” Draxum did, and then sat down at the table. He noticed that Lou was just in a loose fitting, pale yellow tee and some jeans. Immediately, he felt overdressed, even if he himself was just in a button-up long sleeve shirt and some dark khakis. Still, Draxum tried to look as ‘casual’ as possible, but clearly it wasn't working by the way Lou kept glancing back at him from the kitchen counter

“I'm glad you could make it, by the way,” Lou spoke up, trying to break the ice a little, “I'm sure you get pretty busy, being a scientist and all.”

“Actually, unless I hit a big breakthrough or doing work on a time sensitive project, it's pretty much a nine-to-five job most of the time,” Draxum replied, “The work stays steady, at least.” Lou nodded, and went back to his cooking. Not wanting to risk falling into uncomfortable silence once again, Draxum decided to ask something that had been on his mind since they first met. “And what do you do for a living these days, given that your last film was in, what, the early 2000s?”

Rather than being offended or caught off guard, Lou just smirked. “...You sure you're not a fan of my films?”

“Definitely not,” Draxum retorted so quickly that it made Lou laugh

“If you say so! Anyway, yeah, that was about the time I moved from LA to here. I was smart about my last few paychecks, so I pretty much live off my savings.

Draxum blinked. “...Seriously?”

“Seriously. Though, I know I can't use ALL of it - I know at least one of my kids is going to be going to college - so I do odd jobs when I need to. Make appearances at conventions, do a quick commercial or two sometimes- heh, last year I was even paid to play on a gameshow. A stagehand kept an eye on the boys as they watched me play from the audience, I won some money for a charity, and then the next day I took them to Disneyland. Used most of that paycheck to do it, too. So, I guess you could call me a bit of a sellout.” Though judging by his tone, Lou didn't seem bothered by this at all.

“I don't think anyone could really blame you for taking less time consuming work,” Draxum offered, “Still, do you ever miss making movies, as cheesy as they are?” Or rather, were.

Lou thought for a moment as he tossed the last few ingredients into the frying pan. “...Yeah,” he admitted, “I do. Though, there are plenty of things about the industry that I definitely don't miss, and besides…” His smile softened a bit. “I've got plenty of other things to occupy my time.”

Suddenly, there was a shout. Turning in surprise, Draxum looked through the doorway and watched as Donnie tackled a laughing Leon to the floor. “...Speaking of which, do you know that your kids are tackling each other?”

“Oh yeah, they do that sometimes,” Lou nodded, not even moving from the counter, “Boys will be boys and all that. They're going to roughhouse no matter what I say, and as long as they follow the rules, I usually don't need to step in.”

“Rules?”

Setting down his stirring spoon, Lou counted them off his fingers. “No holding anyone down for more than a couple seconds, no using force to get someone to play what you want to play, if someone says they don't want to wrestle then just leave them be, and no making anyone cry. They're good boys, so that last one is usually punishment enough when they accidentally break it.”

“Ah, I see,” Draxum nodded. Well, that was one way to teach kids how to control their strength and think about their actions. Still, he wondered how Lou would go about things once his sons got a little older and possibly became interested in following in their father’s martial arts footsteps.

It didn't take much longer for their supper to be finished. The kids came to the table without even needing to be called, smelling the food and eager to eat as well as being excited to talk with their guest again. While Raph and Leo told Lou all about the latest exciting climax in their cartoon, Mikey shared one of his drawings with Draxum, who could only stare at it.

“It's, uh…” He tilted his head a bit, staring at the mess of bright colors and scribbles. What on earth was it supposed to be? A natural disaster mixed with a rainbow? “...Very nice, yes.

Mikey beamed. “Really?! Which one is your favorite?”

Shoot, there was more than one drawing there? Well, that at least explained why everything was so cluttered. “Er, well…” He focused a little more on the drawing, and try to find anything that resembled something other than a blob or a tumbleweed to him. “I like this… Cat. Yes, this cat over in the corner, with the… Ice cream on it?”

Mikey looked back at the paper. “That's not a cat.” “Oh, sor-” “But that's a good idea!” The boy gave Draxum another bright smile. “I’ll draw you a kitty with ice cream later, kay?”

“Heh, very well,” Draxum nodded, relieved that he didn't offend the young artist.

“-And then, they used the magic sword, and blasted the bad guys right into the sky!” “Yeah, and the main hero guy said the BEST thing afterwards! He's soooo cool!”

“Well of course, he IS the main hero, after all” Lou chuckled, setting the last of the dishes down at the table, “Donnie, please put your book away now.”

Donnie frowned, reluctantly closing his half-finished textbook. “Fine…” As he placed it back into his ever-present backpack, Draxum managed to catch the book’s title.

“Genetics, hm?” He asked, smiling a bit. Perhaps the boy had been inspired. “Enjoying it so far?” Donnie nodded, keeping his eyes on the silverware in front of him.

The meal was fairly simple. A baked fish as the main course, with fried rice and an easy-to-make salad as the sides. Still, what it lacked in uniqueness, it more than made up for in good flavor. “I'm usually not much of a fish eater, but this is quite good,” Draxum commented, after only a couple bites.

“Mm-hm,” Lou smirked, “I'm not just a handsome actor-martial artist, after all. I know how to cook.” Draxum just rolled his eyes, mildly amused at his date’s cockiness.

“You should try eatin’ the fish and the rice at the same time,” Raph advised, “They go really good together!”

Draxum was the type to keep his food, as well as the tastes and textures, separate while he ate, but he did try the combination once just to appease the eldest Jitsu child. As he continued to eat, Draxum kept glancing over at Donatello out of the corner of his eye. The boy in purple nibbled and picked at his food, fidgeting a bit and staying silent. Certainly different from the eager and inquisitive boy Donnie had introduced himself as, so what had brought on this sudden shyness?

Was it something Draxum had said? He couldn't think of anything that could've been taken as discouragement or dismissal. So, maybe Donnie just didn't care for his field of science but didn't want to offend Draxum by saying so? No, that didn't seem right either. So then, what-?

He noticed Leo leaning over, whispering to Donnie for a moment before being nudged away. Rather than being annoyed, Leo just looked a bit concerned while his twin just looked… Embarrassed? An epiphany went off in Draxum’s mind. So THAT was why Donnie wasn't talking to him.

“Donnie,” he began, getting the boy’s attention, “I was wondering if you had any thoughts on your research so far?”

Donnie continued to squirm, squeezing his fists in his lap. “I-I mean, I'm still reading through the book so, so I'm not really an expert on it yet.” Truth be told, while he liked all sciences, he had really taken a shine to robotics and technology the most. “But talking to you ‘bout it before gave me a good head start, and I know the basics of it already and, um…”

“Yes…?”

“A-And, I…” Donnie scowled before suddenly shouting, “I have a scientific theory! A-About genetics, I mean.”

Draxum nodded, keeping composed (because, wow, even he could admit this was kind of adorable). “May I hear about it?” he asked, making sure to keep his voice neutral to avoid sounding patronizing, knowing that a child as smart as Donnie would definitely notice.

“Well… O-Our genes are inherited from our birth parents, right? So we only have a possibility of getting what they, or the rest of their people in their family, had. But, maybe there could be a way to, um, switch out genes somehow? Maybe with gene samples from other people, or with genes made by scientists, and then those new cells could develop and make whatever kind of person with whatever features they wanted.” Donnie winced a bit once he was finished, and waited for Draxum’s reaction.

The scientist hummed. “Well, that is a sound theory. Perhaps a bit difficult to test at the moment, but I can understand the basis of it, as well as see how it could be possible one day.” Donnie’s eyes widened. He stared back at Draxum, and began to grin widely, as if he had just received the best compliment ever. Draxum held back a chuckle. “Would you like to discuss this theory further?” “Yeah!”

Unsurprisingly, once Draxum began sharing the concept of gene mutation, the conversation devolved into a mix of scientific theorizing with some sci-if-esque levels of speculation (Donnie) and a debate over which animal features and mutations would be best to mix with people (the rest of the boys). Still, the discussion was no less enjoyable, to the kids or to Draxum.

And as for Lou, he just watched and listened, a warm smile on his face. This may have been their first shared meal together, but Draxum already felt like a seat at the table that had always somehow been there

----------

“...I think I just made it impossible for your kids to go to sleep tonight.”

“Eh, they've had worse sugar rushes. Trust me, this is nothing. Besides, they'll burn it all up soon enough.”

The remaining slices of the ice cream cake had already been placed back into the fridge, and because it was still somewhat light out, the boys had been allowed to go play outside for a while. So, they raced out the door, leaving their father and his date to watch by the window while they started playing what Draxum could only describe as a mixed up version of soccer and cricket.

He wasn't even sure if they were keeping score. All he could tell was that the game involved running all around the small yard, using foam swords and hockey sticks to hit a ball as well as kicking it with their feet. Either way, they all seemed to enjoy it, with Raph happily teaming up with Mikey and offering him a piggyback ride whenever his youngest brother struggled to keep up.

Draxum hummed, taking a small sip from the tea Lou had made for him before setting the cup back down. “Your kids are definitely unique.”

“Heh, they sure are,” Lou agreed, “They really are good boys… And they really like you, you know.”

Draxum nodded. It was still sort of hard to believe himself, given how he often thought of children as nothing more than tiny annoyances. Yes, Lou’s kids were loud, and strange, and still a tiny bit annoying. But they were also clever and endearing, and even a little cute. So, he had no real problems with them liking him, or with liking them in return.

“...And,” Lou began, taking a step closer, suddenly making Draxum very aware of his presence, “I really like you too.”

“I-...” That was all Draxum could get out as he turned from the window, looking Lou directly in the eyes now. The handsome (‘ugh, why did he have to be so handsome,’ Draxum thought to himself, knowing this would all be so much easier if he wasn't) man stared back at him, lips curled into an honest smile. No cockiness or playing up his ego, Lou simply wanted him to know how he felt.

“And I mean it too. And uh, heh, no pressure or anything but… I hope the feeling’s mutual.” Draxum didn't say anything, but he didn't look away either. Lou took another slow step forward. Close enough together to do so now, Draxum dared himself to take his hands.

“I think… That's a possibility,” Draxum told him quietly, finally finding the words to reply.

Lou smiled, letting out a soft chuckle that made Draxum’s heart leap a bit. “Good to know…” They were closer now, enough for Draxum to see himself in Lou’s glasses. He told himself that he wasn't the kind of man to kiss on the first date, but Lou was making it SO tempting!

Their faces were getting closer, with Draxum’s own feeling much too warm. He placed his hands on the shorter man’s chest… And gently pushed him away.

The ex-action star blinked, the intimate mood gone in an instant, suddenly leaving him feeling cold. Still, despite his disappointment, Lou backed away.

“...It’s getting late,” Draxum stated, “I should probably get going.” He didn't waste time moving past Lou, now standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room.

Lou nodded. “Right, of course. Well, thanks again for coming over. I had a nice-”

“I’m-” Draxum suddenly began to say, still refusing to look back at him, “I’m… Available next weekend, as well. So, perhaps you could come over to my place and we could have dinner there.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Just the two of us. It, it's the least I could do, cooking for you in return.”

“...” Lou’s grin returned. So there WAS going to be a next time! “Yeah, that sounds great! Just text me a time and your address and I’ll be there!”

Draxum nodded. “I will.”

“Heh, I’ll be looking forward to our next appointment, Dr. Draxum.”

Even with the light blush still in his cheeks, Draxum turned back around halfway, scoffing at him. “You don't have to keep calling me that. I have a first name, I won't be offended if you use it.”

Despite his internet search on the man, Lou continued to be coy. “You never told me it, Dr. Tall, Dark and Handsome.”

His date rolled his eyes, sighing slightly. He was tall, definitely, but he wasn't anywhere near dark. His skin just barely had a tan! “It's Benjamin. Benjamin Draxum.”

“Ah. Well, Ben, I’ll see you next week.” Draxum nodded, hesitating for only a moment before moving once more. Lou followed him to the front door, and they each gave a quick good night before Draxum left.

“Heh, a second date,” Lou told himself, still grinning about it, “How about that?” With his steps light and earlier disappointment being unable to touch his now sky-high mood, Lou went into his backyard and began trying to wrangle up his kids and get them back inside for pajamas and teeth brushing.

[genderpunktheo]

I have to ask, I know you'll be giving us bits with each character over time, but I already found one I identify with and like from previous posts who will likely be my favourite so... Can you tell all about poppy? 😊

Absolutely! Thanks for the excuse to ramble all about her :D

Her full name is Poppy Beatrice Winters, her birthday is the 29th of January and she’s nineteen years old. She’s maybe on the short side of average height, long blonde hair, green eyes and she’s always been on the heavy side: she’s fat and she doesn’t give a damn who knows it. 

Her main gift is in nature magic, she feels most at home surrounded by trees and animals and the weather and can manipulate all of this to a small degree - maybe cast a rain charm to end that dry spell, or coax a rose bush into bloom. Because of this gift, she’s always got on great with Amir who shares her love of plants and her main hobbies include going on hikes, climbing trees and collecting leaves and flowers to press in her journal. 

Her room is covered all over with plants, and with a bookshelf, most of which is filled up with gardening books, nature guides, travel memoirs and so on but one whole shelf of which is dedicated to her past journals. She records all her thoughts in them along with the pressed flowers and other mementos - ticket stubs, doodles, photos. The only person she’s ever allowed to look through them is Dae, and in return Poppy is allowed to go through all of Dae’s sketchbooks. 

The two of them often visit museums and art galleries together, or with Kit in tow. Dae loves the art galleries best, and Kit loves the science museum, and Poppy can appreciate both of those but her favourites are history museums, the drier and dustier the better - she feels like they’re more personal somehow that way. Her favourite was the tiny little history museum on St. Mary’s, the little island in the Scilly Isles she visited once - it was the smallest she’d ever been to, full of stories of ship wrecks and fishermen, and the people of the island. They were selling copies of the island’s biannual news magazine from as far back as the 1920s - she still has a couple.

Being in the city with the rest of the Coven can be a bit of a struggle at times because it keeps her away from the nature she loves most. So she looks really hard for the nature in the city whether that’s the flower beds the council has had built or the moss growing up the walls. She admires how nature finds a way to thrive no matter what. 

Poppy identifies as bisexual, something she defines as the attraction to genders the same as and other than your own, although she has only dated guys and girls. She is also polyamorous but this isn’t something she’d had the opportunity to explore before, and as she’s written in her journals she thinks this might be why her previous relationships (great though some of them where) never quite felt right.

Over the course of the book she’s going to get the chance for her first poly triad though and I’m going to fill it with as much cute fluffy polyam goodness as I can

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WHICH MEANS N I-1/I

It works because although the response rate—whether by filtering, or by using filters to force spammers to dilute their pitches—the fewer businesses will find it worth their while to send spam. This may be an impossible dream. So I'd advise you to be a doctor, odds are you'll start one of those. I can't imagine they'll work any less hard to feed stories to bloggers, if they could find one who was good enough. If you can afford to take a shot at describing where these trends are leading.1 It might seem this would require you to be a doctor, odds are you'll start one of those. You have to approach them as if you were a specimen under their all-seeing microscope, and make it seem as if Larry and Sergey say you should only work on problems that exist. If company management companies existed, signing up with one would seem the ideal plan for most people, would be if you could hire someone to manage the company for him.2 It's wrong to call it a trick in his case, though. How much stock should they get? Several journalists have tried to interpret that as evidence for some macro story they were telling, but the overall plan was straightforward. If you don't put users first, you leave a gap for competitors who do.

Our angels asked for one, and looking back, I'm amazed how much worry it caused me. When I did try statistical analysis, I found immediately that it was a good thing.3 It's not what people learn in classes at MIT and Stanford that has made technology companies spring up around them. Don't force things; just work on stuff you like; if you can't get started, tell someone what you plan to do and how you're going to be negative.4 99 and, say, APL, they could do more than search. The truth is disappointing but interesting: if you're a young founder under 23 say, are evil. Those ideas are so rare that you can filter present-day spam, because spam evolves. Their current business model didn't occur to them until IBM dropped it in their lap five years later. But there may still be money to be made from something like journalism. These can be much more effective, b lets each user decide their own precise definition of spam, with 1.5 Not all ideas of that type are good startup ideas will seem obvious to you. When nerds are unbearable it's usually because I'm interested in the speaker.

Perhaps it was even simpler than they thought. Is really just a bunch of ads, glued together by just enough articles to make it look like a group photo. I think the top firms will actually make more money as founders' bitches than their bosses. If it were, taking money from a top VC firm can be a powerful force. Even today we can see an echo of the secrecy of medieval guilds, in the now pointless secrecy of the Masons. The great majority of programmers still go straight from college to cubicle, and stay there. If hiring unnecessary people is expensive and dangerous. Most startups that fail do it because they feel they need to get a tiny bit less occasional to compensate for a 2x decrease in the stock sold in series A rounds.

The first George Bush managed to win in 1988, though he would later be vanquished by one of the things I've learned about making things that I didn't realize why. If half the startups we fund succeed, then half of you are going to be two-faced, you have to decide who the founders are, and that probably made a difference. But there are two threshold values. If a company starts fighting over IP, it's a worse form of self-indulgence. I was reluctant to do something hard, you can just walk in whenever you want and say manage my rental property for me and they'll do it. We had office chairs so cheap that the arms all fell off. Most startups grow fast or die; if you can't predict whether there's a path out of an idea, you can always make money from it. I realize this kind of thought.6 But negative lessons are just as valuable as positive ones. The phenomenon is like a pricing anomaly; once people realize it's there, it will disappear. Just as trying to think of startup ideas. TV for a monitor, which seemed intolerably déclassé to a high-end hardware company like HP was at the time.

Work on hard problems, driven mainly by curiosity, but have a second self watching over your shoulder, taking note of gaps and anomalies.7 Wouldn't it be amazing if we could achieve a 50% success rate? None of them would have been there without PR firms, but briefly and skeptically. For the rest of the text in a non-German email in that they often consist of several words stuck together. And this I think would severely constrain them. Just write whatever you want most of the time. In 1958 these ideas were anything but obvious. I feared it would have seemed to nearly everyone that running off to the city to make your software worse.8 Here are some of the fancier bits of New York or LA. Mitchell and Jeffrey Quill and I realized that though all of them occurring simultaneously in the mid 2000s. It's important to realize you're not.

Part of the reason people in big companies, or in a few mostly uninteresting domains. Keep doing it when you start a company to put art galleries online. In the MIT CS department, there seems to be able to change it easily, or at least something like a natural science. They may have felt they were forced to do this was at trade shows. So even if the problem is more with the patent office takes a while to understand new technology. It also has to be non-obvious. Any of you who were nerds in high school know about this mysterious thing called business if they would be for themselves. 06451222 difficult 0. There's nothing wrong with being unsure. Now that the cost of failing is becoming lower, we should expect founders to do it would be an extraordinary bargain.9 The source of the problem may be a struggle ahead.10

I almost included a fourth: get a job, and a research director at Smith Barney. Mitchell and Jeffrey Quill and I realized that though all of them perhaps, but if so this is a kind of religious conviction.11 If you're not omniscient, you just don't end up saying much. They were sued for patent infringement. N is 1. Do the founders of Google knew, brand is worth next to nothing in the search business. You know there's demand, and people answering it often aren't clear in their own interest. None of them would have been delighted at first to be bought for $2 million, $90k is 4. So even if the problem is simply that they understood search.12

Notes

We couldn't talk meaningfully about revenues without growing big in revenues without including the numbers from the late Latin tripalium, a VC who read a new SEC rule issued in 1982 rule 415 that made steam engines dramatically more efficient: the pledge is deliberately vague, we're going to kill bad comments to solve a lot of classic abstract expressionism is doodling of this desirable company, and if you sort investors by benevolence you've also sorted them by the customs of the 2003 season was 2. If you have to choose which was open to newcomers because it isn't critical to do business with any firm employing anyone who had recently arrived from Russia. You won't hire all those 20 people at once, or b get your employer to renounce, in the narrowest sense.

But the time of day, thirty years later.

But that is worth more to most people realize, because the danger of chasing large investments is not one of few they had to work than stay home with them. But this seems empirically false.

Apple's products but their policies. But one of his professors did in salary.

So as a kid, this is also the fashion leaders. They might not have gotten where they all sit waiting for the reader: rephrase that thought to please the same motives.

It's not simply a function of revenues, and we should work like they will only do they decide you're a YC startup and you can remove them from leaving to start, so you'd have reached after lots of opportunities to sell them technology.

5 mentions prices ranging from 50 to get into the intellectual sounding theory behind it.

There is no longer working to help the company is their project. What if a company tried to motivate them.

Exercise for the first year or so. Cit.

Ironically, the only result is higher prices. The hard part of wisdom. What people usually mean when they talked about before, but unfortunately not true!

Become. According to the inane questions of the venture business. I know it didn't to undergraduates on the y, you'd get ten times as productive as those working for startups that has raised a million dollars.

I read most things I write. Steven Hauser. Though in a safe will be weak: things Steve Jobs got pushed out by John Sculley in a time machine.

Thanks to Simon Willison, Robert Morris, Chris Small, Joe Hewitt, and Aaron Iba for putting up with me.

[meloncubemag-blog]

Laurel McLeod’s Experiments in Studio Art

My interview with Laurel has been my most spontaneous interview for the ‘Cube yet. I met the friendly artist Thursday afternoon at a meeting for a mentorship program that we are both involved in, collaborating on an upcoming exhibition together in April with several other artists based in Guelph. Our impromptu chat over hot beverages and fruit cups at The Cornerstone flitted over what sorts of art mediums and conceptual questions we are drawn towards most, comparisons of our experiences studying at OCAD and UofG, and Laurel’s environmentally sensitive approach to her artistic practice.  

I learned tons about navigating the undergraduate Studio Art program at UofG through Laurel’s descriptions of her classes, and both the technical and conceptual influences that drive contemporary drawing and painting practices in unconventional directions.

* * * *

So how did you find yourself majoring in Studio and minoring in Art History at the University of Guelph?

I’ve always been interested in art but I actually started school at Guelph for Biological Sciences. I was taking art history courses, so I decided to do a minor in art history. Then I started getting more into art, and I realized… “What am I doing in Biology?” Which is when I decided to fully pursue studio art.

It’s a big change to go from completely biology to completely art!

Yeah, for sure. A good change! I paint but I also took a digital media course, animation, and I’m into photography right now.

What types of photography do you learn at the university?

Last year we were doing digital, but right now we’re going large format photography and using 4 x 5s. We put the black cloth over our heads to see the image, and then develop the image in the dark room.

Does the sitter have to pose for a long time?

Nope! It doesn’t take long to capture the image at all, the development process is longer. There’s actually a dark room at school.

Could you tell me more about your painting projects?

Yeah! So last semester I got more interested in making works that were based around things found in nature. So I made a series of paintings that are 9x12, and I made thirty of those. What I did was I placed canvases outside with a bit of black pigment on top, and I let the wind disperse the pigment and they all ended up with different forms on top. Then I took those back to the studio and recreated them myself… So I was trying to talk about “what if people replicate what nature can make?”

Interesting! Did you find that you could replicate the forms close to what nature had made?

Hmmmmm, sometimes (laughs), not always.

What have you been working on lately?

I’m working with preserved moss in my works. It’s all based on a lot of nature and influenced by zen paintings. I guess there is not a ton of attachment to every piece for me personally, but I’ve been trying to figure out the materials more. I’ve been trying to use materials other than paints to create my paintings.

How did you come across the idea to use preserved moss, and is it easily accessible to you?

Back home (in Oakville) there is a garden center and I go there all the time now. My professor had suggested to me “Maybe try to look at zen paintings and imagery?” So I did, and eventually that morphed into this project.

Do you receive valuable feedback from your peers?

Yeah, we have critiques every few weeks, for every project there is a crit. My painting class has about nineteen students, mostly girls. In my final year class we have independent projects, and so we will talk to each other and the professor about our works.

Is there a focus on techniques or do students also discuss conceptual approaches to more experimental works?

I think for a lot of the students it is focused on technique because they are strictly painting, but for me the process and the meaning behind it is also important because I’m not using traditional painting methods. There aren’t a lot of people using moss (laughs), so there has to be a message there, right? Everyone’s work is so different.

Do professors ever influence you to create works in a certain style?

For sure, but in a good way. They help me develop solid works, but don’t impose their views on my work. If that was the case, I believe I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing, or enjoying it. I’ve definitely been influenced by my professors to go bigger with my artworks and do the best I can.

I was making a lot of small pieces, mostly because I was doing so many of them. Now, I feel like I can go bigger because I’m making so few. I feel like it’s ‘worked’ going bigger, and now I just want to keep going bigger!

How does the university teach you to price a painting?

There’s a few ways to do it…You can take the measurements of the height and width and price it that way, or you can take into account the materials and time and also considering if you’re putting it in a gallery or not. So you have to really think about where it’s going, and who’s seeing it.

What would you say to people who say, “I can’t draw, I’m not an artist”?

Everyone starts drawing when they’re little. We all have paper, we all have crayons, right? When do you decide then that you can’t draw? There are people who really like to draw and they have naturally just been drawing and don’t feel the need to ‘learn’ it in the same way if that makes sense?

For sure. I also find it interesting how we all draw the same thing when we’re little, even if we grow up in different countries.

Yeah! Like the clouds, and the sun, and the sky is always on top…

It must be a universal language of doodling. How long does it usually take for you to conceptualize a drawing and present it?

Lately I’ve been trying to spend more time to think about how a piece reads, or the framework of it, and make sure it’s conceptually sound before I even start it. So that takes longer than the drawing process, which is usually pretty fast. It’s very process-based. I can take paper and put some materials down and leave it, step away from it. Then I come back to it, add a bit of stuff on top, and then I’ve got a drawing. The drawing is pretty quick in that sense but the thinking behind it takes more time.

Do you document the process?

I haven’t been documenting the process itself in photos and videos, no. I have been going back to them and drawing on them a bit…

So once it’s ‘done’, it’s not really done, and you often go back to rework a piece?

I'm interested in the idea of chance involved when working with natural processes. That being said, yes, I do go back to a piece and add to it if I feel it isn't quite done. Often this involves melting more materials on top of the drawing, which allows for more colour and material interaction. These drawings are currently on show at the Boarding House Gallery. (below) 

* * * * 

Keep up to date with Laurel McLeod’s projects on her website  

and follow her Instagram! 

[caveartfair]

Alia Shawkat on How Art Helps Her Recharge from Acting

At the age of nine, Alia Shawkat began acting in earnest. Early on, she appeared in Barbie commercials, landed a small role in a David O. Russell film, and, in 2003, made her debut as the devious ingenue Maeby Fünke on Arrested Development. The critically acclaimed sitcom would carry her freckled face into the living rooms of millions of Americans for the next three years.

Since then, Shawkat’s become an esteemed staple of indie films and TV alike. Now 28, she currently stars as the misguided millennial crime-solver Dory Sief in the noirish comedy series Search Party, which returns for a second season this November. Shawkat also recently appeared as a seductive pre-school teacher in the fourth season of Transparent and co-wrote and acted in the forthcoming film Duck Butter, and in 2018, she’ll return as Maeby on the fifth season of Arrested Development. Despite this busy schedule—and in addition to moonlighting as a jazz singer—Shawkat has developed a serious art practice.

Work by Alia Shawkat. Photo by Emily Berl for Artsy.

It started in New York around a decade ago. “I’d gotten into Sarah Lawrence and I left after three days,” she tells me over the phone from Los Angeles. “Nothing against the school—it’s beautiful—it just wasn’t for me.” Pressed to choose between freshman year at the liberal arts college and a role in an independent film, she opted for the latter. “I kind of got my own education, though,” she reasons. “And then I didn’t act for a year. I started painting.”

Her boyfriend at the time gave her a space to work in his parents’ basement. “I started with a big canvas and a bunch of scrap paper. I didn’t really know anything about my style,” Shawkat recalls. Growing up, she’d filled notebooks and diaries with drawings and doodles, but she never formally pursued art.

But that first painting soon lead to many others. “That’s when I got more into visual arts and found the artists I liked,” she remembers of that time in New York. “I would get dressed up and go to museums by myself every day.” These days, she’s gravitating towards the figurative works of R.B. Kitaj—“I’m definitely the most inspired by him right now, his colors and placement of a mix of cartoonish characters and realistic images”—and George Grosz—“he’s one of my favorites, these amazing line drawings.”

Work by Alia Shawkat. Courtesy of the artist.

Shawkat’s own work skews toward drawings and paintings, in a raw, at times scrawled aesthetic, picturing people and bustling patchworks of color and texture. A drawing she posted on Instagram a few weeks back was a gut reaction to President Trump’s move to end DACA—a feverish, dreamlike scenario of a young man putting out a fire, while his thoughts and his vision are consumed by money.

“I think that any kind of art is naturally responding to what’s going on,” Shawkat notes. “I’ve been feeling kind of frustrated and a little helpless lately, and I think a lot of artists are. Art is very important in these times, but sometimes it’s hard to know that when you think you should be flying to Houston and helping people,” she adds (we’re speaking just after Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston). Those frustrations have come through in her art recently, she admits: “My work has definitely been a little more angry— there’s more of a scratchy feeling, like I’m taking it out.”

As far as her process overall, Shawkat tends to be spirited and spontaneous. “I’m not a very organized artist,” she says. “I like to have a lot of materials and different colors and textures to pull from. I just look around and see what works in the moment. I don’t usually pick one medium in a piece”—though she’s particularly fond of oil pastels.

Work by Alia Shawkat. Photo by Emily Berl for Artsy.

“I take a lot of bad photos on my phone and then I go home and mix them together. There’s something about little angles I see on the street, and the way people look when they’re walking. I’ll do a quick sketch version of them and add them into a big montage.”

A series of drawings of Donald Trump she made years ago have also surfaced recently. “Weirdly, I did those before he was in any way political. He was just a character,” she notes. “I never understood where he was coming from.” In one, Trump’s tie is dragging on the floor, in another, he has large, sagging breasts. “Now, I don’t feel like drawing him at all,” she continues. “Maybe I’ll go back to that though. I’ve always wanted to do political cartoons, like Ralph Steadman, but I always end up doing more abstract stuff. I’d like to do some version of abstract cartoons.”

Her current practice, which is primarily focused on mixed media drawings and paintings, has since become a complement to acting—not only an adjacent creative endeavor, but a therapeutic passion to dedicate her time to off-camera.

Alia Shawkat, Face Bandage. Courtesy of the artist.

“When you’re acting, you’re literally using a lot of emotions,” she says, and adds that to be able to access those emotions quickly is taxing. “You’re interacting with people on the crew, you’re aware of yourself more than you should be in your real life, you’re in this state where you’re pushing out energy, feeding off of people, being reactive, talking about ideas, and being very physical.”

Shawkat acknowledges that she’s been lucky to have done so much acting this year, but that the work leaves something to be desired. “After a while I always just crave something different, because I don’t really have anything else to pull from,” she notes. “You don’t have a normal life between gigs sometimes, so that’s a lot of what drawing is for me.

“It’s a way to reflect on what’s been happening,” she continues. “There was a period of time where I was going out a lot in L.A., going to a lot of parties. Then I kind of stopped and started working again on drawing. All of my drawings were of characters in these packed rooms; there were people everywhere, the walls were always closing in on somebody. [My work] is always an expression of what I’ve been feeling.”

Work by Alia Shawkat. Photo by Emily Berl for Artsy.

Shifting gears into making art, though, isn’t always easy. “It takes me a while to just sit down and actually do it, to get back into the rhythm,” she says. “It’s like going to the gym. Nobody wants to do it, and then every time you go, you think, ‘I feel amazing, I should be doing that every day.’ But every day it still takes a little bit of effort to go, even though you know you’re going to feel good.”

This fall, as she’s shooting for Arrested Development in L.A., she’s making her art a priority. “I signed a lease on a studio to just be able to work while I’m actually here, to focus on it,” she explains, noting that the show has her occupied on and off, a couple days per week. “I need to have a routine, of going to a place every day, so I can try to make as much work as possible, before I have to leave town again.”

During this time, she hopes to produce work for a potential future exhibition. Over the years, she’s shown her work at a handful of galleries, like Known Gallery and Dilettante Gallery in L.A. Last year she worked with Dilettante to publish a book of her drawings, and had a book release party at L.A. restaurant Kitchen Mouse. While admitting that she’s “just not very organized,” Shawkat does have ambitions to pursue her art practice in earnest; she’s particularly fond of the potential for a proper solo exhibition at a New York gallery.

Alia Shawkat, Gangster. Courtesy of the artist.

Until then, you can see her latest work on Instagram. She refrains from posting many personal photos on the site, but admits that it’s “the most successful way people see your drawings quickly.” She’s used the app as a platform within her practice, to display and disseminate works that feel urgent. “When the whole DACA thing was happening, I was able to sit down and draw, and it felt nice to have a response. I could make a small piece quickly and post it and then work on something bigger throughout the day that maybe one day would be in a show.”

That Instagram account and her artist website (where she’s selling drawings and paintings on the range of $100 to $1,200) both use the name Mutant Alia, which has become something of an alter-ego or persona Shawkat uses, inspired by a graffiti tag she saw years ago. “It just said ‘Mutant’ and I really responded to the word. I even have a tattoo of it,” she explains. “My friend said if you add an ‘e’ to it, it’s ‘mutante,’ and in Portuguese that means ever-changing.

“It definitely doesn’t have anything to do with ‘X-Men,’” she adds, deadpan. “But I like the idea of being something that’s always mutating, morphing.”

—Casey Lesser

from Artsy News

[itsjessslouise]

Hello!

I ran a poll on Twitter a few days a go asking which post I should do next out of: How to bullet journal, Reviewing mug food, a book review and my makeup routine. The results weren’t extremely useful in the fact I received 4 votes for Bullet Journal AND Book Review and 2 votes each for the other two. Obviously, I then had to decided between the two most popular ones and I decided on this one, How to Start a Bullet Journal! So here we go!

If you need reminding what a bullet journal is see –> THIS <– post. There’s also a link to a video walkthrough of my own bullet journal. A bullet journal can be whatever you want it to be, but I’m going to give you some tips on a basic layout, hopefully!

To start off with you need supplies! You’ll need:

A Notebook (I highly recommend the Leuchtturm 1917 notebook with dotted paper)

Nice black pen

LOTS of coloured pens

Highlighters

A Pencil

Rubber

Coloured Pencils

Washi Tape

OK, it kind of depends what you want to do, so you might not actually need ALL those things but there’s definitely some essentials up there! Here’s a pretty photo of my bullet Journal:

One of the first things I recommend you do is look at Pinterest or Google Images for inspiration (At least, that’s what I did!). Or you could take inspiration from mine from the My Bullet Journal Post <– Here. Then I would begin to plan out what you’re going to do (what pages). The first page I did in mine was a Key so that I could have an organised structure and keep it consistent throughout. Here’s a list of pages I think are important:

A Key (as mentioned above)

A Future Planner/Year Overview whatever you want to call it!

Monthly Overview/Planner

Weekly double page spreads

I have used over 100 pages in my bullet journal so obviously I have more than just that, I have some fun pages too. Here are some ideas:

Birthday/Holiday Calendar

Yearly Mood Tracker

Habit Tracker for each month

Doodle page

Books to Read page

Pen Swatches/Testers

My Wishlist

Monthly memories

Movies to watch page

Bucket List

Brain Dump page

I have a few extra pages such as blog post ideas as well.

At the beginning of every month I always follow the same structure:

[Month] Overview

[Month] Habit Tracker

[Month] Sleep Tracker

[Month] Food Log

Then I continue with each week’s spread.

Reading this back, it probably sounds very confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be whatever you want it to be. Here’s a link to the walkthrough of my bullet journal and you can see all the pages and get inspired or whatever.

BULLET JOURNAL YOUTUBE VIDEO

Mine’s a lot of fancy writing and nice presentation but it doesn’t have to be like that. It’s very time consuming and so if you don’t have the time to sit and do that then it won’t be like that but it doesn’t matter!

Here’s a gallery of some of my Bullet Journal Pages:

#gallery-0-5 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-5 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Doodle Ideas page

The start of the July section

‘July memories’ and ‘books to read’ page

Birthday Calendar

August 1st-6th Weekly Spread

Weekly Spread

Incomplete Blog Info Page

My August Habit Tracker

The start of the September section and the (incomplete) September Overview

The Birthday Calendar

The Key to what everything means in the Bullet Journal

I hope that you were able to make some kind of sense of this post, I understand it maybe a bit badly explained and confusing but my next post will be 10000x better!

If you want some more information then feel free to contact me! Info on –> This <— Page!

Post again soon!

How to start a Bullet Journal! Hello! I ran a poll on Twitter a few days a go asking which post I should do next out of: How to bullet journal, Reviewing mug food, a book review and my makeup routine.

[nofomoartworld]

Hyperallergic: Gina Ruggeri’s “Maneuver X”

Gina Ruggeri, “Patchwork Infinitum” (2016), acrylic and ink on cloth, 120 x 117 inches (all images courtesy Nancy Margolis Gallery unless noted otherwise)

Looking over a group of my paintings a few years ago, a friend pointed out her favorite and told me she preferred it because it was “the least ingratiating — it seems indifferent to my response.” This curious critical metric, since then lodged in my brain, proves useful when thinking about an exhibition like Gina Ruggeri’s spectacular solo show at Nancy Margolis Gallery, on view through April 1.

The show includes 11 abstract, robustly chromatic works — paintings, essentially — in acrylic and ink on vaguely rectilinear expanses of fabric that are collaged together from smaller bits and pieces. This is quite a change: just a few years ago, Ruggeri’s paintings were highly illusionistic, restrained in palette, on irregularly shaped pieces of Mylar. Attached flat against the gallery wall, they ruptured those white expanses with jarring, slightly creepy depictions of decay — or at least, of surrealistic incongruity: enormous cracks and crevasses opening up to some unfathomable depth; grotto-like cavities growing inexplicably into space; puffy (if oddly weighty) clouds floating near the ceiling.

Gina Ruggeri, detail of “Patchwork Infinitum” (2016) (photo courtesy the author for Hyperallergic)

Intelligently conceived and beautifully realized, these paintings implied a wide-ranging critique of the tenuous nature of shelter, the ongoing crumbling of infrastructure, and the precariousness of real estate markets and maybe even the gallery system itself.

Beginning around 2012, Ruggeri’s work underwent a shift, then an overhaul, then something like a transformation. The exhibition’s press release is mum on all this, other than to say that she “made a conscious decision to forgo her earlier painting process in search of a new language.” (In a video interview with Nancy Margolis that plays in the gallery’s viewing room, Ruggeri explicitly links these changes to her experience with surfaces and situations other than the pristine walls of conventional exhibition spaces.)

The “language” may be new, but the underlying strategy is unchanged: to win over the viewer, through the sheer force and scale of commitment to a method. Of course, many artists go for the “wow factor,” a conspicuous abundance of something or other (as in technical skill; fulsome color; procedural complexity; an enormous quantity of some weird material). In any case, if the appeal of illusionism is rooted at least in part in beguiling the viewer with a seamless display of traditional technique, that approach remains intact in many of Ruggeri’s new paintings. She seems intent, still, on dazzling the viewer.

Gina Ruggeri, detail of “Patchwork Infinitum” (2016) (photo courtesy the author for Hyperallergic)

And dazzle she does, in works such as “Patchwork Infinitum” (120-by-117 inches; all works acrylic and ink on cloth, 2016 unless noted), an ambitious and beautiful collage-painting of enormous formal energy. Hanging curtain-like from a single horizontal crossbar, it is a wildly exuberant collection of incidents and effects, distinct passages grafted onto one another in a glorious profusion of blots, dots, curlicues, serpentine lines, billowing clusters of pod shapes, and slithering teardrops.

Most of the cloth seems fairly lightweight — muslin, maybe — but the surface sheen belies an adhesive- or medium-heavy process that would considerably stiffen the fabric. Underlying the composition is the hint of a grid, but that structure seems to emerge organically from joining the constituent yardage rather than from any particular affection for that emblem of modernism. Little pictorial dramas unfold here and there, much like a crowd scene in a Bruegel painting.

Gina Ruggeri, “Purple Remnants” (2016), acrylic and ink on cloth, 61 x 42 inches

There is a lot to like in the teeming “Purple Remnants” (61-by-42 inches), including a delicious contrast between saturated spectral colors and a translucent grayish mesh; the visual flavor is floral, though no flower is depicted. A commanding presence, “Quips and Gripes (Strips and Stripes)” (93-by-65 inches) is organized around a high-value-contrast, horizontal band of parallel stripes that spans the picture plane from side to side — a compositional move that is rare among these works. A dominant, decisive swath of crimson distinguishes “Embedded Red” (67-by-83 inches), asserting itself as figure in relationship to the surrounding ground.

Gina Ruggeri, “There Isn’t There” (2016), acrylic and ink on cloth, 35 x 40 inches

At the small end of the size spectrum, but no less riotous, is “There Isn’t There” (35-by-40 inches). Shoehorned in among the bumptious shapes in this bustling work are snippets of straightforward drawing, in particular a twisting, ribbon-like band that sometimes doubles back on itself like a baroque Möbius strip. If Ruggeri uses the motif to hint at the interplay of two- and three-dimensional space, she thereby directs our attention to the all-important physical space — about three inches deep — between these suspended paintings and the wall behind them. After that, there’s no missing the import of the negative, cut-out shapes that punctuate many of these paintings.

Two other painters who have hung complex abstract canvases from a single horizontal crossbar are Al Loving and Terence La Noue. Loving’s 1970s dyed-fabric constructions have a scruffy, rags-and-patches informality that only heightens their elegance; La Noue qualifies his paintings’ sumptuous palette and overall visual gregariousness by way of encrusted, willfully unlovely surfaces. Both artists ramped up their works’ tactility and physicality, keeping decorativeness in check; Ruggeri has done something similar in at least three paintings in this exhibition.

Gina Ruggeri, “No Recall” (2017), acrylic and ink on cloth, 71 x 43 inches

These works are the most recent, according to the gallery. They are tougher, less solicitous about our opinion or eager for our approval. Like the artist’s earlier paintings on Mylar, they are attached directly to the wall, but illusionism is banished completely; the pictorial space is flattened, reduced to the physical depth of the fabric’s conspicuous wrinkles and bulges. With its rumpled disk of black amid a patterned field of subtly varied greens and a neutralized orange, “No Recall” (2017, 71-by-43 inches) is relatively simple, even reductive. If “Patchwork Infinitum” is a run-on paragraph, “No Recall” is a simple declarative sentence; if the former evokes an enormous, detailed map, the latter looks more like a flag.

Gina Ruggeri, “Casting: Clinging” (2017), acrylic and ink on cloth, 67 x 64 inches

“Casting: Clinging” (67-by-64 inches) also operates according to overt figure/ground relationships, the ground here being a yard or two of camouflage-print cotton in a range of greens and browns. (The presence of the white, unprinted margin along the top edge, at the end of the bolt, might be a funny nod to “truth to materials.”) A few crumpled bits of cloth, painted with patterns of ovals, spots and dots, are arrayed across it, stuck to the surface presumably with acrylic medium. Their placement might seem arbitrary until you notice just how exquisitely they interact with each other and with the camo ground.

Gina Ruggeri, “Shrunken Red” (2017), acrylic and ink on cloth, 62 x 51 inches

These offer a different, more complex order of aesthetic experience, requiring more work on the viewer’s part; rather than let it wash over us, we must approach the object on its terms, meet it halfway. “Shrunken Red” (2017, 62-by-51 inches) uses one of painting’s primary conventions, a rectangular shape, to counter the visual mayhem unfolding across its surface: frantic doodles emerge from behind clotted swatches of crumpled fabric, blooms of dark green and indigo that push aside washes of yellow and blue. An actual ribbon-like strip of twisted cloth puts in an appearance as if claiming its rightful place among Ruggeri’s lexicon of shapes. “Shrunken Red” goes for broke, flirts with chaos. Looking at it involves a different sort of delectation than does the poised and smoothly functioning “Patchwork Infinitum,” or the precisely calibrated “There Isn’t There.” But “Shrunken Red” doesn’t really care.

Gina Ruggeri, “Quips and Gripes (Strips and Stripes)” (2016), acrylic and ink on cloth, 93 x 60 inches

Frank Stella is relevant, of course, to any discussion of the dark side of the decorative; it seems to me he subverts his works’ eye-candy potential with the chilliness of industrial fabrication — and sheer size. “Decorative with a vengeance” is how someone once described Stella’s production during the 1980s, and the phrase captures the passive-aggressiveness that gives that work its bite. Though Ruggeri’s work is very different from Stella’s, it raises the issue of what kind of relationship a viewer expects to have with an artwork, on a spectrum ranging from easy familiarity to mutual animosity.

In Whit Stillman’s 1994 comedy Barcelona, protagonist Ted Boynton (“deeply into sales”) describes “Maneuver X,” an advanced technique by which the salesman resorts to “removing all pressure” on the prospective customer, thus “creating a space that the customer has to affirmatively cross.” A willfully indifferent artwork can exert a similar pressure; many of Steven Parrino’s later paintings, for example, have a take-it-or-leave-it bluntness that, while unsettling, is unexpectedly seductive. Ruggeri seems to be increasingly comfortable making uncomfortable work, leveraging one of painting’s paradoxes to her great benefit.

Gina Ruggeri continues at Nancy Margolis Gallery (523 West 25th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan) through April 1.

The post Gina Ruggeri’s “Maneuver X” appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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[agosnesrerose]

Technique Tuesdays: Recycled Art

An artist’s imagination spins into high gear when working with recycled and repurposed items. In the hands of a mixed-media artist, rusty gears, an old book, or plastic mesh have the potential to become much more than what they were intended for. The exciting ideas below for creating recycled art can be easily incorporated in your next work of art. Don’t miss the great extra resources at the end for even more creative inspiration.

1. Mandy Russell discovered a great way to repurpose plastic switch plates–she turned them into felted book covers. In the Winter 2015 issue of Pages magazine, she explains that the plates’ firmness makes them perfect for wet felting, and the openings can become little windows. To wet felt a plate, Mandy begins by wrapping 3′ lengths of wool top fibers both horizontally and vertically around the plate, until the entire plate is covered. The wet felting process involves adding dish soap and hot water to the wool and gently rubbing it, rinsing it with hot water, and repeating those steps 5-8 times until the wool is well felted and tight around the plate. See the rest of the article to see how the covers and pages are sewn together, creating a uniquely bound—and very cozy—book.

Who knew switch plates could become the base for felted book covers? (Art by Mandy Russell, photo by Sharon White Photography)

2. Artist Rae Missigman found creative inspiration in the unlikeliest of places—the laundry room. She discovered that after going through a wash cycle, dye-trapping sheets are perfect for mixed-media recycled art: “Once I realized they could trap large amounts of dye,” she says, “I began to experiment with using them in my art.” Not only did they show off deep, vibrant color when dyed, but they were also very strong. Once laundered, they are sturdy and fabric-like. Rae uses these dye-trapping sheets in Art Lesson Vol. 5: Recycled and Re-inked: Bold, Colorful Embellishments. She first mists a shallow pan and the sheet with water, then adds several drops of acrylic ink (in analogous colors) to the pan. The sheet is placed in the pan and left to sit a few seconds to absorb the ink, then removed and placed on scrap paper to dry. Sheets can be cut into shapes or strips and sewn like fabric, and added to any mixed-media project.

With some ink and stitching, dye-trapping laundry sheets become colorful embellishments. (Art and photo by Rae Missigman)

3. Have you ever thought of recycling your own artwork? Danielle Donaldson got the notion when she realized that she had a huge collection of art that included pieces made at retreats, half-finished projects, and work that was sitting in a storage bin. In her book CreativeGirl: Mixed Media Techniques for an Artful Life, she uses the term “creative repurposing” to describe the process of taking parts of various pieces and combining them to make unique artwork. “Repurposing,” she writes, “gives me the freedom to hold on to just the bits and pieces that speak to me.” For one project, she starts by cutting up her old watercolor pieces, along with patterned paper. She then machine sews the strips together, using a variety of stitches, until she has a piece large enough to cover a birch panel. Danielle cuts the piece to size and adheres it with Mod Podge. The result: brand new artwork to fall in love with.

Repurpose your own artwork into new art by piecing and stitching it together. (Art by Danielle Donaldson)

4. Mandy Russell has another fun recycled art idea, and this one starts with vintage envelopes, used or unused. The text, postage stamps, and graphics on the envelopes, she discovered, are all great foundations for doodling. In “Zenvelopes: Inspired by Vintage Envelopes” in the Spring 2016 issue of Zen Doodle Workshop magazine, she recommends looking for jumping off points on the envelopes, such as a border, design, or logo. These become the anchors for doodles, or the beginning of a design. She drew pebbles, or small circles nested together, on the border of an Air Mail envelope, then drew fanciful flowers and plants growing out of them. She shaded the design and continued to add to it. On other envelopes, a business logo and return address became doodle anchors. Designs can be left black and white, or embellished with color.

Vintage envelopes can become canvases for doodle art. (Art by Mandy Russell, photo by Sharon White Photography)

5. Assemblage is a fantastic way to incorporate recycled pieces. Bits of hardware, broken plates, game and toy parts, and vintage typewriter keys can become whatever you want them to be—it’s all in how you see them. In “Artistic Salvage” in the January/February 2015 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine, Jen Hardwick offers insight into the process she uses to collect, sort, and use odds and ends for her stunning detailed pieces, some resembling birds, people, and robots. “A rust-speckled washer may serve as a bug’s right eye, or a tarnished chrome wrench can become a robot’s left arm,” she writes. “As soon as I choose them and lay them out, my sense of order kicks in and I seek out ways to balance them on the other side of the piece.” Part of the inherent fun and challenge of found material assemblage, she adds, is gathering parts that complement each other, rather than trying to create precise matches. Take another tip from how Jen organizes her vast collection: “Putting like parts with like parts gets me thinking about patterns before the assemblage even begins. It allows me to see what’s available, and how things will fit together: hardware in one pile, game pieces in a second, old tools in a third…Once I’ve started to work on a piece and the creative flow is high, I know exactly where to go for the next shape, texture, or color that I want.”

This recycled art piece, “Queen of Things Discarded and Forgotten,” is made from hardware, kitchen tools, and game pieces. (Art and photo by Jen Hardwick)

6. For an artist, old or discarded books are a treasure trove of recyclables: pages, covers, and even a worn spine can be used for art. In “Books Unfurled: Altered Book Art” in the Fall 2014 issue of Paper Art magazine, Kathy Baker-Addy shows how an entire book can become a dimensional, sculptural recycled art piece simply by cutting and folding pages. Gather a group of about 50 pages in the front, middle, and back of a book that’s about 1″ thick, and hold them together with binder clips. Slide a cutting mat under about 5 pages and, with a craft knife, cut swirls, stars, leaf shapes, or other continuous designs into the pages; you can incorporate folded pages as well. Make sure to leave the pages attached to the book. When all pages have been cut, allow them to cascade out, arranging the pieces as you want. Kathy suggests practicing first on scrap paper to test your designs. See the rest of the article for how to turn the book into a showpiece.

With some strategic cutting, an ordinary book becomes a stunning work of art. (Art by Kathy Baker-Addy, photo by Sharon White Photography)

7. Hardware store finds can be repurposed into reusable printmaking tools. In her book Printmaking Unleashed, Traci Bautista says hardware stores can be gold mines for items like plastic sink and bath mats, and fence materials. To start, spread fiber paste over a plastic page protector and add a few drops of fluid acrylic paint. Place an open-design bathmat, plastic fence material, and pieces of a plastic needlepoint canvas over the paste and press with a brayer. Remove the fence material and canvas, and dab on acrylic paint through the bathmat with a foam brush. Add a touch of white paint. Continue to add paint through the bathmat, and remove it to reveal the final print.

8. Instead of tossing empty aluminum cans into the recycling bin, use them to create mosaic art. That’s what Dawn Hunter did in “A New Kind of Pop Art” in the March/April 2014 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine. Start by drawing a simple design on tissue paper, then transfer the design to a piece of rigid foam insulation board by laying the tissue paper on top and poking shallow holes about ¼”-½” apart through the tissue and into the surface of the board with an awl. Paint the image with acrylic paint, approximating the colors of the cans you’re using. Cut the tops and bottoms off the cans, cut the cylinder apart, and trim any ragged edges. Sort the cans by color and cut them into a variety of shapes. Beginning at the top of the design, place the can pieces one at a time, gently poking through the metal and into the board with with an awl. Put glue on the tip of a wire nail and push it into the board until the head is flush with the metal.

This mosaic was made from cut up aluminum cans. (Art by Dawn Hunter, photo by Hornick/Rivlin Studio)

9. With a little color and some stitching, plain quilt batting can become eye-catching recycled art journal covers. In “Quilt Batting Journal Covers” in the Summer 2014 issue of Pages magazine, Rebekah Meier attaches quilt batting to fusible stabilizer, then machine stitches the piece, creating patterns and texture with the stitches. Hand embroidery can be added as well. Next, she paints the piece with clear gesso and adds vivid color with paint and Inktense Blocks. Pages are then machine sewn to the cover to complete the journal.

With some paint and stitching, plain quilt batting transforms into vivid book covers. (Art by Rebekah Meier, photo by Sharon White Photography)

10. In that same issue of Pages magazine, Carol Sloan turns a gallery-wrapped canvas into an artful home for tiny book in “Making Your Own Niche.” After plaster strips are applied, covering the canvas, cardboard is adhered to the front. Then, joint compound is spread over the back of the canvas, including the inside of the niche. When dry, the joint compound can be sanded smooth. The piece can be arted up at this point with stencils, Thermofax prints, carved marks, or drawings, and then it gets layers of acrylic paint and glazes to build up the surface. Antiquing medium and wax medium complete the look. Fill the niche with a small handmade book or other treasure.

Repurpose a gallery-wrapped canvas into a unique niche for a tiny book. (Art by Carol Sloan, photo by Sharon White Photography)

Learn more about recycled art in these resources from the North Light Shop!

Learn creative ways to artfully recycle in the March/April 2014 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine.

See what can be recycled into book art and art journal pages in the Summer 2014 issue of Pages magazine.

Rae Missigman artfully turns die-trapping sheets into beautiful embellishments in Art Lessons Volume 5: Recycled and Re-inked.

Learn how to make a one-of-a-kind journal from recycled materials in Upcycled Fabric Books with Erin Zamrzla.

The post Technique Tuesdays: Recycled Art appeared first on Artist's Network.

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