Arts and Dafts

Monday Moments - Moments

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:12:50 -0500

I started Monday Moments awhile back and since then I think I've seriously lost touch with what I intended them to be. Over the last year or so, perhaps as my love of photography grew stronger, the power of one second...one tiny little moment, has become something I can't stop thinking about.

It really only takes a second for everything to change, to make a day memorable, to create a memory. And when I think about all the little moments we have every single day that we very soon forget, it kinda bums me out. Hence taking a Monday to think reflect on those moments.

This video I found really captures what it is I'm trying to say. Watch it. You won't regret it.

Gotta See It - Stabby Hat

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:05:07 -0500

It's been a really really long week at work. (Yay 14 hour days!) I think I could really use one of these...

I'd say that's a perfect mix of arts & dafts.

Etsy Wednesday - Leah Giberson

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:01:08 -0500

These are paintings. Seriously.

I absolutely love Leah Giberson's Etsy shop. At first glance, I really did think they were photographs. I had to look at the larger versions and read the descriptions to really convince myself otherwise. Once you get a closer look, you get to see the great textures of her canvas and paint.

Of course, they also look a little like photos because she uses them as references. Check out her Flickr where she shows you some of them side by side.

Everything here is totally affordable, uniquely beautiful and just a perfect and simple decorative touch. Why the heck wouldn't you want one for yourself?

Monday Moment - Gripe it out

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:22:58 -0500

If it weren't for the little moments like the one pictured above, I'm not sure how I would make it sometimes.

Yeah, that's right. I feel like griping today.

Life's not so pleasant distractions are getting me down. Sick cats, financial issues, surrounded by a general lack of motivation and some other things I can't mention here in a public forum. You know how it goes. People pissing other people off, etc.

What's bumming me out the most, and perhaps this is a girl thing, is that when a problem arises, the rest of that day is inevitably shot to hell. I know I'm behind on blogging, photos, etc and I actually woke up pretty stoked to get some of that done...until the cat made a sound, which snowballed into an issue and avalanched it's way into 'gee what are all the other problems in my life?"

It's a bitch trying to be creative when all your brain really wants to do is dwell.

Dwell, dwell, dwell.

And of course, half the problems aren't mine directly...they just effect me...directly. Which I guess makes them my problems.

Unless I pack up and run away to Fiji or something.

What's Fiji like this time of year?

Listen, this is hard for me, this whole getting it off my chest thing. I'm totally one of those people who says "everyone's got problems so suck it up." But today I just can't find a straw.

So instead I say, "Suck it."

Etsy Wednesday - Beautiful Art by Hide N Seek

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:23:43 -0500

I am in a seriously wintry mood today and the Hide N Seek Etsy shop is the perfect match. Let's face it, with Halloween about to end, we're just around the corner from being completely bombarded by the Holidays. Why not give in and get started?

At first I thought it was just a shop of lovely prints, but as I dug further, I found these adorable pocket mirrors (as seen above) for only $7.00! Why use a boring compact when you can have one of these?

There's also packets of stickers, beautiful round cornered postcards and gift tags n buttons all with the lovely characters found in this shop.

Of course, you can also get yourself 5x7, 8x11 or 16x11 prints.

Best part? Right now the stickers, postcards and prints are all on sale up to 50% off! So quick, don't wait on this one! Go stock up!

Monday Moment - For sale!

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:34:08 -0500

Hey! You see that up there? That's a screen capture of my photoblog! For the first time ever, I am selling prints of some of my photographs! (Big thanks to Fotomoto for making such an easy to use and awesome service for us photographers.)

So here's the deal, every bit of money I make on my prints will be going towards new equipment:

Laptop (y'know, one that has more than 60 gigs of hard drive space and can handle post processing more than one photo before I have to reboot it)
A couple of new lenses, primarily a 50mm 1.4 or 1.8
A flash, any old flash that is compatible with my camera
Lighting equipment so I can start to learn how to use it

My goal at this point is to continue what I'm doing of course, but also to start learning how to take headshots. It's the most natural next step I think I should take, having a background in theater and all. I'll be practicing out in the natural light with the current equipment I have, but I'd also really love to start learning how the "pros" do it.

FYI, not every photo is for sale. If you see something you really want a print of and I don't have the "Buy Print" link on it, just send me a note. Some of them are not for sale because of legal reasons (like no model release for example).

Either way, please keep visiting my photos! I can't tell you how much the positive feedback I've been getting has meant to me. Don't forget to subscribe if you don't want to miss out on the new stuff!

Speaking of sharing, I don't know how many people out there actually send E-cards anymore, but you can do that for free with any of my photos. There's a link under all of them to do so. It also helps me out by making new people aware of my stuff.

Thanks again for all of the support!

Gotta See It - Short video that cheered me right up...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:05:04 -0500

Just a fantastic little animation from Randall Munroe of xkcd and Noam Raby with a sweet tune that really cheered me up from Olga Nune.

Etsy Wednesday - Miniature (and full sized) Hats

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:54:46 -0500

A couple of weeks ago, my friend and I checked out the Anime Fest on our dinner break just to pass the time. Our favorite part was seeing all the amazing Lolita costumes and best of all...the tiny hats!

Of course, I completely forgot about my temporary obsession (as I tend to do) until I came across the Gypsy Lady Hats Etsy shop.

Obsession renewed!

Oh, and in case you're not into the miniature thing, all their small hats are replicas of full sized hats.

They're a little pricier than the items I normally show on Etsy Wednesday, ranging from $50-$145, but each hat is created with the finest materials. So you know you're not only getting something unique (or custom if you desire), but also of the highest quality.

Come on, you know you want to take a peek!

Gotta See It - Found Photos of 'Wild Youth'

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0500

You've gotta check out this great collection of found photographs, all of America's youth throughout the decades, from Reservatory.net.

via revel in new york

Monday Moment - Revisit

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:35:06 -0500

I think one of my favorite parts of setting up my new photoblog is going back and revisiting my older shots, like this one you see above. It's my friend Jimmie Lee (yes, it's a man) posing in the beautiful queen's costume from a play we worked on together.

I had completely forgetten we even did this photo shoot back in August of '07. I only had my little Sony point n shoot at the time and was just realizing photography might be something I wanted to take more seriously.

Of course, out of about 100 photos, this is probably the only well framed shot. Most of them had a terrible tree in the background that looked like it was coming out of his head. Luckily in this one there was only a little bit of tree so I went ahead and photoshopped it out.

So, I think today you should take a moment to revisit some of your old photos, or writing, or drawings...whatever it is and see if you can bring it back to life. Or at least just reminisce.

Etsy Wednesday - Going Mobile

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:42:45 -0500

Are these not some of the coolest mobiles you've ever seen? I could totally hang every one of them in my apartment. I bet I could do some fun photo stuff with them too.....

These unique mobiles come from the Salty and Sweet Etsy shop. I wish I could show you all of them right here, but I just have to trust you'll go see 'em for yourself. Of course, in keeping with the Halloween theme, I had to highlight the zombie mobile (at top) entitled "Six Feet Over." That's (naturally) the first one that caught my eye.

Each mobile is laser cut from 1/16" solid black mat board and joined with black wire, which means they're precise and sturdy. Also, they come fully assembled so you don't have to worry about putting it all together yourself.

Each piece costs $30. That might seem a little steep but remember, you're buying a truly unique piece of art that I imagine you'd be hard pressed to find anywhere else.

So get shoppin!

A photo...

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:37:05 -0500

Today I managed to drag the fella over to the Prospect Park Zoo! Head over to my Flickr for more shots (with more to come) and of course don't forget the photoblog!

Art House Scavenger Project....Do It!

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:28:27 -0500

If you haven't been over to Art House yet, you simply must...whether you consider yourself an artist or not! It's filled with collaborative projects and a great artist community.

They just announced the latest of projects, The Scavenger Project!

From the site:

An international scavenger hunt to see how artists from around the globe visually interpret the same items, which are then documented in a book and exhibitions.

If you head over that link up there, you'll see the scavenger list, but just to whet your appetite, here's a few:

Social Network
Cats with their head out a window
Just a minute, just a second
Fortunes from cookies I have found

This is going to be a seriously fun project so go check it out!

P.S. Any medium is welcomed!

Must see Photoblog: Wysterior

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:29:21 -0500

Don't want to infringe on anyone's copyrights so here's a simple link to the fabulous photoblog, Wysterior.

1000 Awesome Things

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:30:09 -0500

Prepare to be distracted, 1000 Awesome things is just the tip of the iceberg over at Monsieur Cabinet!