Guess what I do for adventure?

I hang glide on a Dorito.  

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

Newness

Although I have totally been dissing my "Blogtown and Z Boys," as my friend Mandee says, it is finally time for a new blog post and a new painting!  This little number was inspired by some of the many wonderful shapes in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.  Tulips, budding flowers, leaves, and as always, cloud shapes.  The rusty oranges and dull browns look great with aqua blues, mint greens, dusty pinks, and dark plums.  And the white and yellow shapes break away from the pack.  For as flat as I like my paintings to be, I like the movement in this one.  And, for being balanced in composition, almost strictly so, it still escapes being static.  I look forward to more painting adventures now that summer is winding down and I don't have magical places like Cape Cod to distract me!

Detail:

Brooklyn halfsie finisher!

On May 22nd, I finished my second half-marathon, this time in Brooklyn, NY!  The race started in lovely Prospect Park and ended on the Coney Island boardwalk, where finishers were rewarded with a banana and water.  Hahahaha!  That's right, the Brooklyn edition of the half-marathon series offered no medal!  While Brooklyn always keeps it real, we all know accomplishments mean nothing if you don't have a medal to prove it;)

  

So how does a lady celebrate an achievement like this?  A growler of Heffen Weissen from Brouwerij Lane  (Greenpoint Brooklyn), a huge bottle of Smart Water, and a Netflix movie marathon!

Here's to half-marathon #2! I wonder if I have it in me to do one in all five boroughs!?

P.S. Someone quite thoughtful made sure I got that medal!

my first bunting!

 

Nothing cheers me up like bunting! Recently, I acquired this adorable trio of mini bunting (above) from the Knotted Nest store on Etsy. 

Knotted Nest

Inspired by this crafty idea, I took on a quite a challenge for my first sewing project ever.  With a dear friend having a baby soon, I thought it would be the perfect handmade gift for decorating the new lil' one's room.  Needing an inspirational message, I turned to Hip Hop, my go-to for life mottos!  Nas' "The World is Yours" is pretty much the best advice for a new baby, so I started there.  

After a crash course in operating a sewing machine from my awesome roommate, I began the project with some nervousness, but mostly determination.  Measuring and cutting came first.  I made a triangle stencil, 7 inches on each side for good luck!  I cut the fabric out using serrated scissors, which make an adorable zig zag edge.  Each triangle had another triangle behind it, so that the banner could be reversible!  Then I cut out the felt letters, using fabric chalk to outline the font.  After all the cutting was finished, it was time to assemble!  To hang the banner, I used a thick mint green ribbon.  I folded it in half, ironed it, and tucked the triangles in, pinning them securely. After sewing was complete, I added some finishing touches: streamers on each end and white Ric Rac trim on the letters. 

The finished banner was a hit!  Handmade gifts are always so charming and I was thrilled I pulled it off without it looking too much like a Dr. Frankenstein job.  Cheers to baby Willem, who hopefully won't get the wrong idea and end up a dictator:)  

my best friend forever makes art.

Meghan Rennie takes pretty photographs about the space in between things.  The opening reception for "We're so Much Alike, We Must be Brothers" is on May 6th in Toronto.  Just sayin'.  Also, I love her.

PIGEON FIGHT

www.meghanrennie.com

flower party!

Each Spring, one of the most enchanting events takes place at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens: Hanami.  Hanami literally means "flower viewing" in Japanese. Since we don't have the cherry blossom forecast  (sakurazensen) here in America, I went twice to experience the different stages of this amazing process, as the blossoms only last one or two weeks! The first time I went the blossoms must have just bloomed that morning all at once.  They were so perfectly in place, as you can see in the polaroids.  When I returned a week later, it was just completely different and magical!!!  The breeze had created all this wonderful blossom snow, and tiny petals were flying through the air and showering down onto the ground.  It was the most cheerful and relaxing vision I've ever seen!  Nature is really cool.

new art story: Process Makes Perfect!

(Jodie Jill, 2009.  Ink, gouache, and colored pencil on paper. 58 1/2 x 42 1/4 inches. By Storm Tharp)

CHEEK Magazine has a hot new issue out!  In issue sweet 16, I wrote a little story on this year's Whitney Biennial.  The MVPs of this year's selection use some pretty mind bending processes that can be read about here:

Process Makes Perfect

enthralling.

I have a huge crush on Efterklang's "Magic Chairs" album.  They are from Copenhagen Denmark, which makes them cooler than you and I.
May 15th would be a perfect day to take me to Brussels, Belgium where they are playing with CocoRosie.  Just sayin'.  Afterwards, we can go look at Flemish art like Hans Memling, Jan van Eyck and Peter Brueghel the Elder.

all dolled up!

I treated myself to a little nesting doll tattoo.  You know, LIFE reward for a job well done! I've been fond of Ashley Love's work for quite some time (I've mentioned this NC southern belle before), and I am thrilled to be all dolled up by her!  She is a total perfectionist, and took the time to work with the available space on my arm.  
This little beauty is so precious. I love the design, which is totally balanced with love arrows, berry branches, and a single rose. Isn't the color pallet just so modern and dashing!? Ashley's work is next level, what I like to call post-traditional.  She is a rising star for sure. And that lavender rose is on my elbow folks!  (Ouchie.)  It makes me feel kind of tough;)

Fun fact: 

Nesting dolls, a.k.a. matryoshka dolls, are a Russian tradition, but actually based on a 1890 Japanese figurine called "fukuruma." 

(fukuruma)

banner fever.

Tender Letters

I love banners!  Every celebration deserves one.  Some of the most lovely banners I have seen as of late can be found in Gina's Etsy store, aptly named, Tender Letters.  I love how rugged her designs are, it gives them tons of personality!  "Love Ahoy" with the mini anchors is my favorite!!! I mean, how stupid cute us that!?

I am eager to start my own banner projects with vintage fabrics and inspired phrases!  Below is a banner I made last fall for my birthday dance-'til-you're-dead party!  Of course the letters were rearranged in honor of one of many pet names I have been given over time.

halfsies rookie!!!

Today I completed my first half marathon!!!  That's 13.1 miles of guts and glory through the heart of New York City.  This was the 5th edition of the NYC half marathon, and the first time it has been held in the Spring, making for absolutely perfect weather!
This race is kind of a big bad monster, but I tried to keep my eye on the prize and keep it breezy:) Mostly I was just sort of run-dancing to sweet jams on my ipod.  I don't particularly "enjoy" running but little victories feel really lovely!

got her toes done up with her fingernails matchin'!

In Tokyo, girls get their nails done up like this!  That's three dimensions of jewel-encrusted hello kitty and gumdrops, pastries and bows, or whichever decorative object you can dream up!  Since there are no Japanese 3D nail art salons in Brooklyn, I guess I'll just have to open up my own, serving bubble tea daily, and hosting black light karaoke all day every day.

This song is really really really ridiculously good.

The Ōsaka Loop Line 大阪環状線 is a railway line in Japan that encircles central Osaka. It's also my new favorite song by Discovery, a super-fun-experimental-bubble-gum-electro-pop band made of the good stuff kids love: Rostam Batmanglij, the keyboardist from Vampire Weekend and Wes Miles, Ra Ra Riot's main vocals.  
Just to give you an idea, their influences include: "subwoofer, pitchshifted handclap, that sixteenth note high hat you're hearing in da night, highlighter yellow/neon orange."  That means that while it's bubbly and makes you feel amazingly happy, you can still turn up the bass and make the trunk rattle!!!  
This is the kind of song you listen to when you first wake up in the morning, when you know it's gonna be a lovely day...which is every day, duh! Listen:

Osaka Loop Line

i love you beach house.

Beach House released "Teen Dream" last week. It's a solid album. Get your make-out on in its warm breeze. 

It's hard to stay cool: Ra Ra Riot's The Rhumb Line

A rhumb line is a line crossing all meridians of longitude at the same angle.  It's also a pretty album by Ra Ra Riot. I'm revisting this late summer 2008 debut from these Syracuse indie rockers.  It's really rich musically, with string intsruments weaving through more percussive and snappy beats.  It's a big boquet of fun!
Best news: Ra Ra Riot perform Friday, February 5th along with The Antlers at BAM.

Ra Ra Riot at BAM!

Oh snap!

Today I picked up some classic Chuck Taylor All-Stars in stormy grey.  I'm feeling really grunge-tastic.  It's amazing that this is actually my first pair; somehow I skipped the angry teenager trend in the 90s.  It's never too late for a classic punk/grunge throwback.  "It's not like I'm some modern punk, dickhead. It's an obvious, 1977 original punk rock look." -Enid, Ghost World
Since I'm fifteen again, I'll need to grab a pack of grape flavored Bubble Yum and some slap bracelets. See you at recess...I brought my Skip-it!

Gun Salutes: Tamar Mogendorff

Tamar Mogendorff likes stuffing animals.  Although, her faux taxidermy is a sweeter version of actual hunting trophies, where the beauty of the animal can be appreciated harmlessly.  Bumbling around over the long weekend, I discovered her newest creations at bird in Williamsburg (203 Grand Street).  I always loved her miniature bird houses and mushrooms, but these new larger creations are really enchanting. 
They remind me of "Golden Pony Boy" from one of the hippest and heartfelt love stories: Michel Gondrey's "The Science of Sleep."

(Golden Pony Boy was created by Lauri Faggioni, another wonderful lady who stuffs adorable objects.) 

There is something very clumsy and charming about the raw finish of hand stitched objects.   To see more pretty:

TAMAR MOGENDORFF

Gucci bulldog keychain.

Spotted.

Luxury, bows, bulldogs...these are a few of my favorite things. When I see cute like this, "Love my Way" by the Psychedelic Furs starts playing in my head.  Is that weird? I hope so!

hello newness!

(Print by Mike Monteiro, available through 20 x 200, a Jen Beckman Project )

2009 almost took the fight out of me.

It was totally dope and important and fun and awesome, but exhausting and dumb.

Here's hoping that 2010 is completely pleasant.

I'm hanging up my boxing gloves.

But I am prepared to take them down again.

Keep your glory gold.