Sunflower discovery

We love our old Buick.

 

Driving in the sun with the windows down.

Bouncing to cassette tapes.

Roads splitting and bulging at their seams

into pot holes scantily patched.

Pulling over and discovering.

Reflections off the hood.

Photographs through sunglasses.

Looking through mounds of dirt and shiny things

for unburied treasure.

A pile of terra cotta tile shards

with sunflowers. 

A bag full!

The coolest jukebox ever.

♥

It is officially Spring Break! I'm enjoying a few, much needed, hours to myself. Lately the only alone time I've come across is during all-nighters (yes I am a procrastinator). That said I have much school work to do despite this respite, but I will not neglect artistic pursuits. There are pictures to be taken, pages to be painted, mail art to be created, and dreams to be had. 

A list in progress:

1. Climb a tree!
   
2. Self portraiture: photo, sketch, paint
   
3. Develop Clare's narrative
   
4. Conceptual photography
   
5. Make prints of my photos
   
6. Write a short film already
   
7. Shoot 8mm
8. Get organized
   
9. Road trip
   
10. Think of a series
    
11. Practice yoga
    
12. Drive (still don't have my license...)
    
13. Get published
    
14. Pick a major

Curiosities galore.

A package from Kate!

She collects bones and nests and bugs and flowers.

And crafts amazing and creepy displays for them.

She also crafts clothes and diapers and bags and has an etsy shop.

This is the shrunken head she made with her boys out of an apple.

From her letter: "Little bones, a grouse foot, a rusty nail from our barn, butterflies that accompany our summer days, dragon fly wings, birds nest made with birch bark." And a Virgen de Guadalpue matchbox filled with little treasures including a little rubber frog and ladybug, shark teeth, a molar.

I was so intrigued by Kate's curiosities on flickr, you can see them here, here, and here, that she sent me a box full of treasures from her home. I can't wait to make little homes for them of my own. For now they're a livin in the jewelry case and tins.

Thank you so much, Kate!

xo Lara

Rainy day with Anais.

I never knew that this one loves the camera so. She must have got it from her mama. Anais is typically the aloof, flighty cat, unless you're in her domain then she follows you around everywhere and chirps like a bird. She never learned how to meow and she climbs to the top of the windows with her claws. It was very nice of her to model for me for 200+ frames workin' the window sill for me like a covercat :) I must shoot more of the creatures in the future. They're so expressive.
Oy it's midtern time. Adios.

xo lara

Mail Art ♥

From Randi! I feel like the luckiest girl in the world :)

Did you know she's working on a new book! 

And that my face is going to be in it?

And hopefully a photograph that I took.

It's a mail art book. On it she wrote that she's been making them since she was little.
And in a perfect bit of serendipitousness it came on the first spring-springy day!
It's full of her photography and stencil art.

Bits and pieces of Randi.
And a jolt of inspiration!Thank you so much Art Queen, for the rush of art energy. I feel like I could explode into saturated Larushka fragments everywhere. 

Mama Warrior cat was super excited too and kept posing with the art on the front steps. She was getting quite the amorous with the lens.Love that cat affection.xox-Lara

Cycled Thoughts magic.

I was on of the lucky winners in Sarah Elizabeth Condon's Cycled Thoughts Giveaway! Not only does Sarah keep an art & design blog called Visual Influence, she is also the curator of The Eclipse Gallery. Her Cycled Thoughts series raises critical questions about the relationship between artists and critics. In so doing she inspires: "How can you have your own opinion if you buy into other’s? Critics are being replaced by a general awareness of the capabilities of ourselves. How can you, as an artist, create original art, if you care?"  She describes the series as "autobiographical, a conglomerate of me. Recycled elements, found objects from my frequent nature hikes, stitching, and brutally honest text. A reflection of my life."

I got it in the mail Friday! This precious object jingles due to the bones and glass enclosed in repurposed packaging stitched onto crumpled paper on which Sarah wrote her thoughts on love in pencil. She advised me to hang it by nailing it directly into the wall. So cool, thank you Sarah!

Pieces from Cycled Thoughts and her new series Brave New Typography are for sale in her shop.

♥

Ghost jars & jumping cats

A warm afternoon at home.

Indoor cats with springs in their step.

Drinking chai tea on the steps with warrior cat curled up at my feet.

Hot cat fur and happy art mail.

Adios February.

On Saturdays, if it's nice outside I have been ditching all the reading, writing, and computing in order to drive aimlessly with A.P. and take pictures. When its not nice, we drive and look for places to take pictures when it is nice again.

I'm looking forward to improving at my new hobby and to (hopefully) getting a camera of my very own. Also looking forward to warm sunshine, afternoons spent at home. picnicks with the warrior cat, explorations, photo sessions, and perhaps even a trip to Peru (not likely but a girl can dream, right?).

And I caught up with my moon!

Shout out to my new friend Kate! 

xo Lara