she10helm

Local Performances

2010-03-16T10:47:00.001-07:00

Blizzard Conditions

2010-02-10T06:27:00.001-08:00

Today the weatherman called for "Blizzard Conditions" and so far we have not been disappointed. The snowfall isn't too much heavier than it has been around here lately, but the wind is pretty brutal and is blowing everything around like crazy. I live in a building downtown and even the roads here are covered. I feel bad for the students though -- the university (which I can also see from my window) has stubbornly refused to close, despite the weather. Mind over environment, I guess...

Regardless, the pictures over at Cycle Chic from Copenhagen kind of make me feel like a pussy about this weather. I'm trolling around looking like that little kid in the red suit from A Christmas Story while they're gliding along on their bicycles looking chic as ever.

Maybe I'll change up my schtick today and try and look presentable in the snow for once. If I make it out today at all, that is. I guess we'll see if the call of the coffee shop can overcome my current state of tea-drinking, pajama-wearing, and netflixed South Park.

rings n things

2010-02-02T06:59:00.000-08:00

In a fit of whimsy I ordered some adjustable ring bases from etsy. I've been having some fun making a few rings.

Vintage button and arcade button rings.

I've had these arcade tokens since... oh... about the tenth grade? There was an arcade in the mall in my (ridiculously boring+shitty+whatever) hometown where we would go whenever we didn't have anything worthwhile to do (as in... aways). Unfortunately, as soon as we could drive there, they closed. I found some of the tokens the other day, and they've been rebirthed into my new favorite rings.

This one is a button from my extensive vintage button collection. I used a pair of pliers to rip off the loop on the back.

Also! I found my button maker! Unfortunately I only had two button casings left but I felt they've been put to good use.

Um.....good!!!

2010-01-29T12:36:00.001-08:00

Sign of the day, spotted earlier at the grocery store in Newland with Dan:

The prolonged pause has me suspicious to this candy's true level of goodness.

Aya Takano

2010-01-20T11:35:00.000-08:00

Another artist who I find really inspiring right now is Japanese artist Aya Takano. Takano is a member of KaiKai KiKi Co., Ltd., an art production company that is run by artist Takashi Murakami.

Takano's works are lively, exuding energy which pervades further than the canvas. She features figures of girls, partially or fully nude, interacting with incredible depictions of future worlds.

I love the colors she uses and the sense of movement she creates.

For more information on Takano, visit her artist page at KaiKai KiKi Co. Ltd.

Post Office

2010-01-16T21:35:00.001-08:00

INCOMING: Care Package

2010-01-16T14:20:00.000-08:00

My good friend Kristi sent me a care package yesterday, hurrah!

She always stuffs her boxes with the best little things. I got some black and white Ilford film, paper scraps, excerpts from a book she's currently reading, music, candy, and a tiny little sunflower pot.

Picture blurred to protect secrets.

Kristi doesn't just send ordinary letters; she sends tiny books which she has made with her letters. I love the gold stamps she's used on this one.

I think the mushrooms are my favorite, though that owl rocks too.

How to Draw a Bunny

2010-01-14T10:05:00.001-08:00

How to Draw a Bunny, a documentary of artist Ray Johnson, is one of my most recent obsessions. I first saw it about a month ago. It was a Wednesday, a night of our weekly movie night, and everyone expect Dan and I punked out. We met in the lobby of the HCP, projector set up towards the main wall, ready to be fed whatever obscure nonsense we would decide upon. We settled on How to Draw a Bunny. Unfolded before us over the next 90 minutes were the life and times of Ray Johnson, an artist of New York's Pop Art era.

While he primarily did collage, he also dabbled in performance and conceptual art. He had an exquisite eye for placement. Johnson was ridiculously prolific and a pioneer of mail art. You can read up on some specifics on his wikipedia. The film features significant exploration into Johnson's 1995 suicide. Friends and associates of Johnson describe the curious setup around his death, and how it may have actually been created, by Johnson, as his final piece.

I'm not very good at hyping things up. Seriously, just watch it. It's on netflix.

Oh Hello There, 2010

2010-01-02T18:06:00.001-08:00

I skipped town for a week in order to celebrate Christmas with my family in eastern North Carolina. I spent the holiday with my mother and brother at her apartment in Greenville, where I made my brother sleep on the couch (as usual). Mom has a collection of incredibly creepy 'Old World' style Santas on her mantle, which I would rather not spend the night with.

Disconcerting, to say the least.

The holiday passed much like any other -- we all drove each other crazy, swapped some mild insults, burnt ourselves on the oven while cooking, played board games, and watched The Christmas Story over and over again.

Then it was on to Jacksonville to see my stepfather and catch up with a few old friends. I was only there for about 2 days or so before returning to Boone.

If Dawson's Creek has taught you anything, it's that all kids do in eastern NC is hang out on docks, looking pensive.

And so, with the holidays behind us, thus begins the long crawl until April or May, when the sun will return to the mountain. Until then, more ice, more wind, and more snow. What we got two weeks ago still has yet to leave.

However! Though it is a time of mild hibernation, it is also a time to embark on new projects! What will 2010 hold in store for me? A job, hopefully. I pay rent Monday and will have about $200 to my name. I would greatly appreciate collective finger-crossing to prevent eviction and gain employment. In the mean time, though, I am embarking on several new projects and am trying to send out some mail art.

Works in Progress.

If you'd like to be the recipient of some mail art, please feel free to comment on this entry with your email address, and I'll shoot you a message.

Snow Day(s)

2009-12-20T20:25:00.000-08:00

This weekend was Boone's biggest snow in the last ten years. I've only been up here five, and it was CONSIDERABLY more snowy than the last few years put together. Since it happened so early, I'm a bit apprehensive for the rest of the winter (early February always seems the worst), but it was beautiful seeing the town covered. We received 14", which may not seem like much to some people, but for a girl from the coast it seemed like a lot. In fact, it's the most I've ever seen with the exception of the one Christmas I spent with my grandparents in northern Michigan.

Most of the weekend was spent bundled up watching Twin Peaks, talking, and cooking. However, Dan and I both live within walking distance of downtown, so we were able to keep supplied with hot coffee.

I'm kind of a nerd for things like big trucks.

Buried Treasure

2009-12-17T05:59:00.000-08:00

This weekend Dan and I went on an adventure to the antique stores downtown in a vain attempt to find my brother something for Christmas. My brother is notoriously difficult to shop for -- last year, upon asking him what he would like, he told me he'd like for Christmas "...not to happen." Charming. SO! This year, wisely not consulting him for advice, I figured I could just rake through other people's abandoned objects to see if I could find something he might, at the very least, find interesting.

Unfortunately, there were no mounted animal heads, and the taxidermist's ducks were just a wee too expensive for my tastes. Also! A very surprising (and disheartening) lack of old, interesting knives. However! Much fun was still had by Dan and I, especially upon finding the following objects:

We encountered this beautiful creature approximately 10 seconds after entering the first store proper. Standing at an intimidating five and a half feet (ie slightly taller than myself), Dan and I marveled at its mysterious visage - horse? camel? llama? badly paint-chipped baby giraffe?

Whatever the case, he watched us regally with cold black eyes, silently judging. Silently judging.

There's a face that surely can deter theft and inspire nightmares in the sleeping minds of children. Sorry, kids -- no dancing sugarplums THIS year.

This family portrait was at the same place. Rotundity aside, I love the . . . cat? . . . in the bottom left corner. Cat? Dog? Piglet? Whatever the case, this pet truly belongs with this family, don't you think?

OH! And the Christmas plate. The bottom reads "NO ROOM IN THE INN-71." I love the gangsta undertones, the inn-keeping brazenly giving Joseph the hand and saying "Hellz no, there ain't no muthafuckin' room in my muthafuckin' inn." For some reason we thought this was hilarious. And clearly a Christmas heirloom to be handed down from generation to generation.