An ode to my dying car

Greetings fiends!

My daily posts have fallen to the wayside! Oh dear!
I've got an excuse. I've been spending the last few days searching for a new vehicle.

#inktopia drawing number 3
"An Ode to my Dying Car."

CAR:
There's my beautiful 1995 Toyota Camry wagon, driving off into the ether.
It still runs great and I just did a lot of repairs on it but there are some major possible repairs coming up that make the prospect of getting a newer car much more practical. (Aside from all the small worn things that make having an old car a bit troublesome)

SO, here I am, lamenting the loss of my favorite car in the world (who's back floor folds out into 2 reverse seats for a total of 7 possible passangers!) You don't get cars like that anymore. And recently, I've heard a lot of compliments and comments on the greatness of this model.
But I'm also celebrating a beginning. I am excited to try something new, and I'm humbled at some of the help and support and cheerleading I've already gotten about this change. I won't name the possible new car until it actually happens.

THE UNIVERSE is all up in my business:
Of course, this changes my game plan. I keep wondering what possible reason the universe would have for pushing me to make this change. At a time when things seem to be coming together in a delicate web of dreams and finances and pathways, a new car could be as devistating to that balance as a giant bumblebee flying through the newly formed web of a garden spider. My plan as it stands will not sustain this RIGHT NOW.

But as I think on it deeper, if I must assign a reason to this change, a reason other than just random circumstances and the obviously long overdue car refresh, then I have found a positive reason. The universe is pushing me to do greater things. I must be more wise with my time and my money. I must be more vigilant about my plans and projects. I MUST get on a solid and productive track of creation and promotion - and this will all be for the best. Yes, its all for the best. *cue godspell song*

MOVIE:
Speaking of 'Godspell', we just watched the movie via library rental. After a conversation earlier this month in which said movie was discussed, I realized I had never seen it. After watching previews
I realized for CERTAIN that I had never seen this. Odd, since I participated in a community theatre production of it when I was younger. It was very intriguing, somewhat inspiring, and I was pleased to hear those songs again (although we've been singing 'All for the Best' for days now, with much amusement.)

ART:
~TUESDAY~ I was able to complete 2 commissions.
The first one (of which I cannot share a photo of at this time) was complicated. I was attempting to draw an intense and horrific goddess character. I had done sketches, and thought on it for months. I started a new drawing for her but it just would NOT FLOW. So, I decided to get my charcoals in on the action and *POW* she appeared. I took a good photo and manipulated the image, adding in details and highlights digitally. I am quite pleased. When in doubt, change tactics!

Second, I completed a commissioned dog portrait. I am having quite a great time painting animals. It is not how I want to define myself, but I am enjoying them and very open and willing to paint more *wink wink* See below for details.

9x12 portrait of Layla the dog who's obsessed with shadows
Acrylic and colored pencil

~WEDNESDAY~
I began the shared journey through ink with the online challenge to draw an ink drawing daily. The challenge is identified via the hashtag #inktober. Its fun to see what other people are making as well. (#inktober number 3 is the car drawing above)

#inktopia drawings number 2 and 1

I also teach art on Wednesdays. I get super inspired to make art when I teach it.

~THURSDAY~
This day was mainly spent searching for cars. I took a shiny black 2008 Subaru Outback for a test drive. It was pretty and awesome. But, it was out of the bohemian price range. I have a new appreciation for cars.

~FRIDAY~
Hey, thats today!! (Tomorrow by the time I post this)
More searching for cars. Dad visited, and it was an adventure: dad, David and me, driving all around town looking for the right vehicle. We even visited a seedy little used car lot in a seedy part of town, just for the seedy experience. Gotta have all sorts of experiences - fodder for the art brain!
I also visited the Stutz gallery to see the newly opened residency show with the works of Lukas Schooler and David Hicks. http://stutzartists.com/2014ResidentsShow.html

ADVERTISING:
In light of my new car experience, I'm kicking things into high gear and any support for the studio would be greatly appreciated!

Etsy Link: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LydiaBurris

If you don't have the new braincandy yet, please consider getting one!

Brain Candy! Strange little art book zine.
$15 and it comes with a sketch!

I also uploaded some new small original works to Etsy. You can either buy from there or directly though me. Arrangements can be made to see my studio in downtown Indy.
I am also open to making more animal portraits! Pets, favorite creatures, etc!
Current price for Animal Portraits: $150 for an 11x14 and $100 for 9x12.

For those random art and letter enthusiasts, I am offering fun mail art. Inside there are random arty tidbits and things from my studio. Tiny art pieces and/or tiny prints, possible snippits of fun words, poems and prose. One never knows what will end up in these envelopes, but it definitely brings smiles! (also on etsy!)

Crazy Mail

LAST RANDOMNESS: 
And sometimes I just like to play with my work.
Here is a digital remix of one of my drawings.

Layered realities, layered.

  Don't forget to comment, dance and blow the trumpet.

Sow the Seed

SOME MUSIC, SOME PROSE, AND SOME ART
Listen to this as you read, let it sow a seed ....
 (XX - INTRO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VPKfacgXao

Winter is approaching. My time is filled with class preparations and thoughts of the future and my car begins to smoke again. I wonder how I will ever make it to the mountain I wish to be at, so seemingly far away. No matter how far I get, no matter how fast I run, my destination is ever so far away. The years tick by, the money runs just as dry as it did 10 years ago.
I don't want to look back, I don't want to see the miles I've gone already, I don't want the appreciation of my travel to slow my progress, - again - I don't want to sigh and relax too much, for fear complacency will seep further into my crackling dreams, for all I've done, it seems... I circle back again, to the same old memes, the patterns of myself a never ending fractal of routines ... expanding into larger and more complicated seasons, the details engorging with added responsibilities and reasons.
Cheer for me fiends... As I push this boulder up the hill, over and over and over again.

-------

Today's creativity lay in creating projects for my classes. A morphing drawing for my drawing class, and pattern explorations for the color theory and design class. I should complete my own projects, not only for samples, but for shiggles and gits.

I almost didn't make anything new, but I found a drawing I had started at the beginning of September. So I decided to finish it.

 

"Sow the Seed"

Pen, watercolor, white ink and white acrylic. Some colored pencil. 

4" x 8" Currently available for $40.

My Bisquick is Expired and some colorful bizarre DOODLES

What did I do today my fiends? Did I fall into the lazy haze of the couch to watch shows or complete a jigsaw puzzle on my iphone, or did I stand up and reach for the paints?! I tell you, dear fiends, I did both!

Hannibal makes me GIDDY:
I tend to fly through a tv series with Dave because we bond over an episode of ~something~ during
mealtimes. I never thought watching the tv would be an engaging and fun experience - I always viewed it as a soul sucking device that kills brain-cells - but with the right person, watching shows can be exciting and inspiring, especially when you can pause the show and discuss theories, or parallel themes, or how an actor's certain facial structure confuses and delights you. We are currently watching Hannibal, a spectacular and maddening series, making me giddy with obsession. I am inspired by the surreal vision sequences - and the spectacular master plan of the show's path.
I can't help but think that mom would have loved this show, and I feel a little closer to her spirit when watching it. Is that sick? No, that's just us.
Other shows crossing our dinner plate lately are the new episodes of Bones and Sons of Anarchy. All of the shows we watch pretty much confirms the sneaky suspicion that our culture is obsessed with violence. Perhaps I should include more violence in my art? I have the sick surreal stuff down for sure.

SO. ART! 
Thats why I'm writing this daily thing right now.

Today I --
- finished the buttons I started yesterday. We don't need a photo of that.
- Colored two 4x6 drawings I did the past few days (on Stillman & Birn sample papers)
Medium: Bic Pen, watercolor, white ink. Both started as automatic drawings.

First one sold. The second is available at $35.


- I also cooked home made soup. I was considering putting dumplings in it, but my bisquick expired in 2011. *pout* I wonder if Hannibal would ever consider using bisquick. Probably not, unless he was challenged to.

Its only 11:15, I know more art will happen - I plan on working on some commission work, and looking at grading some student drawings, and doodling more.. I'll save anything truly interesting for tomorrow's post!

As always, Comment, Share, Rave, Dance if you are so inspired to do so by this post!  What do you think of Hannibal? What do you like to paint watercolors with? Is your bisquick expired?

Things are about to get fiendishly creative

Well my fiends, I'm starting again on that attempted journey of daily art sharing, as a public push for my personal drive - I plan on staring complacency in the face and screaming a resounding "NO!"

There will be more new art, epic explorations and a search for fresh creative experiences.

This journey is for myself, but Im taking the weird bus, so there's plenty of room for all of you to ride along! 

Saturday Sept 27 2014

Here is an update from today! It was a fairly active art day.
There was doodling, networking, button making, and the eating of snacks.

Arty thing no.1

Tonight I showed work at the 3040 gallery, for their 100 under 100 show.
Yes this is the gallery. Its a house gallery. Its got underground ties. You see that little door? Its a goblin door to the underworld. See? Underground ties. 

I brought out some oldies and did some trades. Trying to clear out some old work to make way for new work. I made some extra art buttons for it before going.

Arty thing no.2

I doodled this dreamy bizarreness last night. (Technically yesterday as it was before I slept, yet technically today because I did it at 4 am. HA!) 

Its on 4"x6" sample paper from "Stillman & Birn". I plan on adding color. 

Slowly working on writing stories to give my creations a home. Perhaps I'll get a chance to share with sooner than later.

Artything no. 3

I cannot share yet as its a commission yet to be revealed (also finished in the am 'last night') a hilarious and quick logo for a friend. I'll share it as I get a chance. 

Arty thing no.4 

Ive just commissioned six 12x18 shadow boxes to do sculptural pieces in. I cannot wait to get started! 

NOW, hopefully I can keep this up.

If you read it, leave a comment. If something strikes you, say so! If this inspires a happy little jig, please record it and share the youtube link. :D !! 

I'm outta here. If I do any more art today I shall include it in tomorrow's post.

I am not an artist, I am a data entry hampster.

Greetings. This is just a random public place rant and revelation about the never-ending shuffle of filing data and things. I feel like sharing lately. Be warned.


The beginning of my January has now officially been labeled (by me) as the Epic-Re-Organizational-and-Data-Entry-Explosion.
I am having trouble finding myself in all this paperwork, and have begun to doubt that I was ever an artist. I keep trying to work on art slowly, but then I am reminded that I need to finish entering data so I can calculate my end of year expenses and gains. (I was very behind on my data entry, so this has been going on for several days now)

I've also been discovering the joys of organizational BINDERS.
I decided to re-vamp how I collect and store data concerning my art business events, sales, and etcetera, all with the use of a nice binder and separator sleeves. This led me to create a binder for a Color and Design class I am about to teach.

In the process of organizing my data, I discovered that my filing cabinets were too full, and I spent another 2 days purging and archiving papers into folders that can go in a box in the basement. (Coincidentally, half of those giant folders were full of convention swag that I should really just throw away, but have a feeling I'll want to open it up oneday and look through it - I am sure if I ever do open those folders again, I'll proclaim "Why the hell did I keep this crap?")
Now with more space in my cabinets I began to re-order the categories into more useful categories, made sure important data gets kept, and made sure to put crap I don't want to look at in the secondary filing cabinet in my office closet. (like things about my phone and the best buy payment plan)

I begin to think I've made headway, when I realize I didn't quite finish my end of year tally, I still have some Christmas postcards to send, (some still need addresses), and I've got books, scrap papers and notes, and other miscellany that I need to organize and archive.
I watch a show during dinner, and get distracted from the fact that I still have several commissions in progress, my last semester's art class files need to be purged and re-organized, I've got bags and boxes in my office, and *clunk* there is an exercise bike in my way. When did I become a hoarder? But I'm not! Lets do some art. Oh hey, there's that art piece I was working on for that show... I need to make more than one piece for that show... lets do some sketches... *opens sketchbook* where I find reminders of other things that need to be done, like sign up for the new health insurance or pay a fine and get nothing. I look into that for a bit and make calls. This reminds me I need to file some more... and organize those addresses, and start entering this years expenses so I don't fall behind later.

And *poof* I'm running in circles it still looks like my office exploded.
Yet I am still super proud of my new binder system, and my newly cleaned filing cabinets. I will be able to easily keep track of all my business info so I don't have to feel like a 5 headed hampster running on a wheel when I need to know small details that would otherwise get lost in the shuffle.
Also, I should probably start to file quarterly. Another thing to add to the list of things to do.

And really, I just want to pour paint on myself and dance in the snow while singing the Labyrinth soundtrack. 

Allowance of Holiday Laziness, and setting the oven on fire

4:43 AM 12/28/2013

the obsession with Sherlock continues.
We have found and unlocked secret online content - placed there to tease viewers about
the upcoming season! I also found a book at dads containing 3 volumes of Sherlock Stories
all in one book. The first story I read is the original about Irene Adler. Now that I've
watched the BBC version of things, the character has been brought to life for me, making
it easier to read and be interested in the stories - even the Victorian versions of them.

I have another book I need to finish as a job so I can Illustrate a cover for it. While I'm
enjoying that book, I'm on HOLIDAY as a HERMIT, so I'm allowing myself to be
emersed in other things. Although, I think tomorrow I may lightly begin to work on some
other projects. In total have a private portrait, a book cover portrait, the remains of a cd
cover, A book cover (trade), an OLD project that needs to be finished, and an upcoming
game characters commission. 2 other projects are on my shelf that sorta died with the
other involved party. For you artists, how many projects have you booked at the same
time? I hope once I get caught up on these I can manage myself better.

So, this Holiday as a Hermit has included watching a lot of tele, playing 'Fate's Carnival'
(Mystery Case File game) and spending time in the kitchen. I cooked BRICKLE today for
the first time on my own. I performed the recipe out of order and set the oven on fire, but
the dessert I was cooking miraculously turned out fantastic.
No idea how that happened, and I don't think I can blame coyote on that one.

I'm also thinking in an english accent. Too much SHERLOCK.

p.s. Freshly cooked bacon and raw celery make a really good combination.

Reading fake tv blogs and chatting about Christmas

5:54 AM 12/27/2013

I am amused by finding out that there is an actual blog for the John Watson character on
the BBC series "Sherlock" - the characters keep referring to his blog posts, and now I can
go READ THEM. There are other little fun tidbits too, like Sherlock's blog, and Molly the
Medical Examiner's blog. There are comments by other people in the show, and Molly's
blog shows the growing love interest between her and Moriarty (before anyone knew it
was Moriarty)
I'm very impressed and amused and have read about half of the entries so far. More than
just the episodes of the show, there are other tidbits too - rants and insights of things that
happen in the shows. (Like when he argued with the automated grocery till)
http://www.johnwatsonblog.co.uk/
In fact, I am inspired by the whole blog thing again, I'm going to post this very entry. (I
know, I THREATEN this all the time and rarely get anywhere!)
(I DO log my days often but rarely share them anymore. I felt ... jammed by the idea of
having to screen my thoughts for the public)

And now it is 6:00 am. I should go to bed. I'm just now beginning to get tired. Its
Christmas week and I am finally giving myself a break from commissions and other
responsibilities (mostly) But I still stay up verrrry late.

What else did I do today?
COOK! I made bacon, pan fried potatos and veggies, and green bean casserole. Perhaps
tomorrow I'll finally make Brickle (and send some to my sister.) I had threatened to make
the sweet dessert on Christmas day, but didn't get to it. I hung out with Sarah and Malcolm
instead. And later with Joshua and Christina. We played Scatergories and I got to show
off 'Norman', my new cute little friend who makes adorable noises and motions.  (Strange
little toy Dave got for me) My excuse is that I was such a tom boy when I was a little girl,
and never allowed anyone to say the word 'cute' within 20 feet of my presence. I've got
some catching up to do. (I also just ordered a plushie CATBUG, prompted by Dave with
an amazon gift card and a pic of it on my wishlist. For those who know who that character
is, you'll understand I had no choice. Once Cat-bugged, you are lost in this strange
obsessed mental space and crave more catbug.)
Here is a video of the little guy - he (she) is a toy called  Fijit Friends Shimmies, named 'Whirlina', but I re-sexed and re-named him to 'Norman' because it just felt right.

TREE!!
This is the very first year I have a CHRISTMAS TREE.
I do not know why I waited so long for one, perhaps because I never stay home on
Christmas, I visit my family. But last year we found one on clearance and so this year I
put it up. I LOVE putting ornaments on Christmas trees! Dad gave me a box of
ornaments he was saving for me, and Dave remembered to put mom's fascinating little
'broken baby doll' ornaments that creeped everyone out the year she gave them as gifts.
'Cathe, why are you giving us DEAD BABIES for Christmas?!' I MISS MOTHER SO
BADLY.

Ok, Time for bed, or for another segment of Fate's Carnival (Big fish game)... no. Its 6:22
am. Its bedtime. maybe.










P.S. Renamed the blog again, in anticipation of more randomness.