Articulate Matter

Going to Burning Man

2010-08-25T15:32:55Z

I’ll be away for about two weeks. Going back to the West Coast for my very first trip to Burning Man.

(Yes, I lived in San Francisco for over four years but I waited until I’d moved to another continent to finally go. I could explain why things worked out this way, but that would take forever and the most succinct explanation is rather snarky so I’ll just have to shrug and say c’est ma vie and leave it at that. But in real life I’d probably mispronounce the French, which would get a laugh out of my husband.)

Mourning

2010-08-20T11:10:12Z

It’s been three months since we gave our cat to friends, and in spite of all the new things we’ve been experiencing, there’s something missing…

Take us to your leader

2010-08-12T11:53:37Z

This vignette is actually going to be on display at this year’s Burning Man. I’m taking part in an art project called Tiny Tropolis so if you find yourself lost in Black Rock Desert at the beginning of September, come on by!

I gotta say, prepping tentacles for the desert is kinda difficult. There’s a reason creatures who live in dry areas don’t have them. :}

The little aliens are inspired by creatures from the program for Hide and Seek’s 2010 Weekender. I’m not sure who the artist is, but I just fell in love with them. I had a great time at the Weekender, too.

Symphony in Vermillion and Black

2010-08-06T16:16:15Z

Or maybe that should be “Verminion.” And ink.

Imperial Capitals

2010-08-01T13:24:35Z

I’ve taken a few stone carving classes since moving here; the latest in my series of fun and interesting, but fiscally useless, skills. When I told my parents, my father immediately made me a set of tiny stone carving tools (he’d made life-sized tools for the stone carvers of the National Cathedral so I guess it came naturally to him). Of course, I had to use them in an image, so I planned to make one of squids practicing letter carving.

I’d been feeling morose this past week and even spent some time wandering a local cemetery on Friday. Sometimes it take my conscious mind a bit of time to catch up with my subconscious, but once I figured out the connections I knew I had to include them in my story. Some artists build shrines, I make squid vignettes.

So, besides reflecting what I’ve been up to recently, this image is also a small, cyber memorial for my grandfather, Nicholas Kochansky, who died ten years ago today, August 1, 2000.

A tube-worm’s as lucky as lucky can be…

2010-07-22T12:08:14Z

Who invited Dick Van Dyke?

I thought hedgehogs would be the new characters of my UK adventures, but perhaps it’ll be Sabellidae instead. However, I hope this is my last Mary Poppins inspired vignette. These tube-worms have brought on ear-worms like whoa!

Magic 8 Paul

2010-07-12T15:31:46Z

Greetings! It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything hasn’t it? Sorry about that.

We still don’t have internet access at our flat (dealing with British Telecom has been one of the few less nice things about the move) so at the moment I am mooching WiFi from a local cafe (Bodrum – Thanks guys!) because world events just called out for an Articulate Matter vignette.

Being an USian, I hadn’t paid much attention to soccer… uh, I mean football, until now. But wow. I’m not entirely sure if I actually like socc… dangit, football, or if I’m just fascinated with the obsession that everyone here seems to have for it. Regardless, it’s been fun to watch games and get to know people.

And then Paul the Psychic Octopus came onto the scene and I knew I had to honor him somehow.

I will post again regularly… soon. I promise!

The Gang’s All Here

2010-05-01T05:06:15Z

Moving Sale! I’ve got a bunch of cephalopods that need a new home!

Go to my Etsy shop and peruse the offerings. The sale will continue through May 12th. After that, I’ll need to close down until we get settled into our new place.

When you’re feeling down…

2010-04-29T00:52:52Z

… It’s good to have a cat around.

Our cat was very cuddly while I was overwhelmed with a migraine on Monday. Between all the stuff we need to get done in the next month and the inevitable stress related migraines, I expect I’ll be missing a few day here and there.

One of the stressors is the fact that I don’t have much time left with our cat. Through a combination of things out of my control (the UK’s mandatory 6 month quarantine, her age, concern about how the long flight could hurt her, the potential difficulty of finding a flat that will let us keep her, etc.) I pretty much have to give her up.

In two weeks, some (awesome!) friends of ours will take over her care. I know she’ll be in good hands and will be spoiled like the queen that she is. But, man… I’m going to miss her.

Apples to Apples

2010-04-23T22:26:25Z

William Tell vs. René Magritte.