tangle.

transitions

2011-01-13T17:30:00.000-08:00

i am transitioning...

...to wordpress

i hope you visit me there:

www.tangledesign.net

love
ryan-ashley

stitches

2011-01-12T10:56:00.001-08:00

a little sneak peak of the things in my 'finishing' pile...

these sweet things are going to be neckwarmers. i think i need to keep one for myself to wear to the art show sunday evening.

emiliana torrini

2011-01-12T10:29:00.001-08:00

"dead duck"

this is what i've got on repeat right now...

i'm at hip replacements today, watching the store while franzi & kip are in new york buying lots of new goodies for the store to accommodate the spring weather we are so badly hoping for. the snow is beautiful. i love it. and i love the cold. i love jackets and coats and sweaters and knitwear, but the winter pushes me inside myself. i spend more time in bed than any other time of year. it's when i catch up on the seasons of television i have neglected throughout the year, watch movies i didn't have time to see in theatre, and write the letters i've been thinking about writing since the last time i said "goodbye."

i've written a couple of letters this winter. one got sent away, but for the other, i've got no number, and i've got no address.

that being said, this winter has been really good for me. i'm moving across town on saturday, into a place by myself and it couldn't come at a better time.

anniversary

2011-01-11T07:19:00.001-08:00

ambitious

2011-01-10T18:19:00.000-08:00

so....my list the other day was a bit ambitious. i'm still working through it.

i am SO excited about the art show this weekend! once again, it's at bobo gallery, sunday evening at 8 pm. there will be readers of poetry & personal essays, a story-teller, two photographers, a sculptor, and my drawings.

the show will be followed by a dance party, dj'd by the lovely eb.

shortly after the art show, in the beginning of february, there will be another benefit at hairspray in downtown asheville...a drag/burlesque show/friend auction of sorts. basically, a mash-up. as soon as i'm through moving (hopefully that will be the middle of next week) i will start feverishly working on the flyer for that and re-pursuing contacts in nearby cities for april rally plans. oh yes, rally plans. i am so excited about all that jufa is doing to promote change/public education and am really thankful to have become involved because i have been desperate to find a way to make/work toward real change in our community/world, but have had trouble realizing a focus for that passion. hopefully i'll have more news on the upcoming events and rally very soon.

{KNITTING}

this yarn is my new love...

aslan trends, royal alpaca

i have been knitting the sweetest, softest neck-warmers and hats. it's soft and light and really malleable while being super warm and great at holding shape.

today...

2011-01-08T05:20:00.001-08:00

here is the breakdown, and i've got to stick to it.

}make magnets!
}finish drawings and frame them!!!!!
}make fabric neck-warmers and sew tags in, label them, etc
}put tags in knitted neck-warmers and prepare to take to atelier 24 &
}go by the dry goods shop and give leigh anne money for the book "is a boyfriend and a girlfriend" and pick up artist check
}pack up mannequin to take to elementality tomorrow
}make earrings
}call my bff, rachel burgess to talk some cross-continental gossip
}go to black mountain for some coffee and yarn
}hang with kate....possibly go hear some lit professors read at malaprops
}go see a band at bobo gallery
}oh yes, and explore the ins-and-outs of ravelry a bit more.

ok! go!

accomplishments

2011-01-06T14:02:00.001-08:00

today i...

went to the gym
finished one and began another drawing
got my oil changed
bought new tires
finished a custom order
worked on returning e-mails
knitted
mailed rachel her long overdue package...

and tonight i will...
make magnets
meet with the art show participants to stake out wall space
knit some more

bobo art show

2011-01-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

on january 16th, jufa ("just us for all") is putting on a benefit art show to raise the funds required for processing the non-profit status applications, as well as for transportation/supplies for a rally that will be taking place in raleigh sometime during april.

it's for a great cause and there's only a small donation of $5 requested upon entrance to the art show. it starts at 8 pm, and continues long into the night, as the show will be followed up by a dance party dj'd by eb bass. the show includes sam soper reading a personal essay, amy orenchuk's and delany brown's photography, jeni shepherd's sculpture and photography, lillian crutchfield's and holly garrell's poetry, fynn crooks' spoken word, and my drawings.

here is a sample of my work:

avett brothers

2010-12-30T16:05:00.000-08:00

it pays to be nice.

one of my favorite customers at the dripolator offered my an extra avett brothers ticket tonight!

i'm exhausted, and feeling under the weather, and should probably just go home and go to bed, butttttt, i'm not going to do that.

i've never seen them before. i can't wait!

i feel this song in my chest....

2010-12-29T19:06:00.000-08:00

....when i'm feeling really deeply

pad thai

2010-12-29T18:48:00.001-08:00

i am so over peanut sauce...

and even peanut butter is losing its luster. all is not right with the world!

i used to crave it! i needed it! i have stood in kitchens and cleaned out entire jars of peanut butter...jars that weren't even mine! i've had serious issues with peanut butter. it's like a drug. and then when you add other foods to it....like noodles....forGET about it!

and then all of a sudden the other night when i ordered pad thai, all i could think of was the red curry rice and vegetable dish my friend ordered. i choked down my peanut-covered noodles with disdain for the chalkiness and saltiness of the sauce. the noodles were sticky in my mouth. i hardly ate half.

my tastes are changing. it scares me a little. this aversion developed strikingly close to the appearance of my first gray hairs. what else could change? what other childhood favorites are going to suddenly begin leaving bad tastes in my mouth?

***

i haven't had a drink in almost three weeks.
the quitting smoking is taking a bit longer, and i've definitely been cheating, but i haven't had a cigarette in a couple of days, and i don't want one.

i've got that winter feeling

2010-12-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

it's cold here. it's been snowing off and on for the last week. my windshield has been covered in ice almost every morning, and all i have to clean it off with is the flat blunt edge of a plastic comb my step-father must have left in the car years ago. i went out to buy winter snow boots and bought puma high-tops, which are definitely not waterproof, instead. i'm going to hot yoga, to keep myself warm, and eating good food. by good, i mean i ate two toaster pastries for breakfast, and a pb & j for lunch, and i'll probably have pizza for dinner.

i'm knitting a lot, filling all those custom orders...thanks 'big crafty!'

i've also been making time, like i promised myself i would do when i left school, for my friends...for the people i can call when i'm feeling low and say, "let's craft and eat cookies and cry," and i know that, weather permitting, they will come.

i feel strangely at ease in the middle of what i see as a great earthquake. seismic waves crashing through the earth and splitting it into sides. this side, that side. my side, your side. everything is changing, and aside from my job and close friendships, i don't feel like i can consider very much else constant or stable.

i'm going home for christmas for a couple of days, and i'm sure i'll be walking right into the perfect picture of denial. the cheese & sausage balls, the christmas tree, the family pets, the family of four, the faux-finished kitchen walls, and the polished wood. the laugh lines, the crow's feet, the gray hairs, full glasses and silence. and from what i'm told, the "plan" is to go to the mall, my mother sister and i, on christmas eve day, to pick out our presents.

fotos, classes, bridge-mending, and self-love

2010-12-11T08:05:00.000-08:00

i love blogging. i love writing. just recording, in general. i used to think, a long time ago, that i kept journals in order to go back. so i could go back to that page where i began the poem that would put me on the map...so i could return to the dog-eared page that had a list of bands somebody referred to me, and look them all up...so would be able to share the events of my life with somebody years from now, in precise detail....so i could re-read and conjure up memories with the clarity of recency.

the truth is, i never re-read. my life is a ball that rolls, and there isn't any time to go back. it gathers momentum, and it gathers mass, and there's no time to add to the verses of a love poem whose subject is no longer even relevant, and whose pages have buckled with the moisture from my hands and the weight from the books it's been shoved between in various bags.

my life is dangerously compartmentalized, and that fact has become glaring, blinding, in the recent months. i have strings and years of exciting, life-changing, vision-altering friendships and relationships that fit into little boxes on little time-lines and fit even smaller into the weeks and months of my very elaborate calendar. something begins, and it feels like my life, and i enjoy it, and then it ends and something else begins. if i were to go back through one of those journals of mine, it would probably be filled with hundreds of entries that begin the exact same way: "this new person is great....this job is great....this is the plan....here's what's next....this didn't work....nothing lasts...."

there has been no continuity. i fill my life with business busyness, and make little room for any-thing/body else, so that when they fall away, there's little deep impact...or so i think. for the last few months, i have begun to realize that the terseness of my time with these people/projects, and the casual nature with which i wave off the idea of any potential deep-rooted heartbreak or disappointment, has great impact. the impact of absence is great. the absence of that continuity, has had great, deep, impact.

because of these realizations, and all the mornings i spent convincing myself to leave bed once i realized how many bridges i needed to get to work on, i have been writing letters. most of them are in their baby-stages, and who knows when i'll be brave enough to send them all, but i've sent one, and already good things have come. i feel good. i've been writing to people, and taking pictures of the things i think are beautiful, and i really haven't been writing, because writing about people doesn't make them stay. writing in my journal about hurt feelings and disappointment isn't a conversation. it does no good. and nobody sees it. feeling sorry isn't an apology. it may not seem like there's a direct connection, but i've started going to yoga, and working out a lot. taking care of yourself, and loving yourself, i've found, makes it so much easier to love others, and to let others love you.

i had to move my studio space recently, and that's also why i haven't been posting here, or updating my etsy...but writing here keeps me honest. it keeps me on top of all the little things in the background that need to be done.

today i planned and added knitting classes to the dry goods shop class calendar, but i still need to...

}organize receipts
}take work to hip replacements & atelier 24
}update this 'ole thing with all the photos i've been taking
}clean my room
}buy toothpaste--i just ran out
}ask off work for days in january

oh yes, and recover from the big crafty...still working on that...

big crafty, ready yourself...

2010-11-15T05:11:00.001-08:00

paper earrings. lightweight, sweet photos

Published with Blogger-droid v1.5.8

where have i been?

2010-10-23T12:49:00.001-07:00

i have been paring off...paring off...
quitting jobs, quitting school, and spending all of my time in the studio. now that i only have one job, and am focusing on projects, i can't believe i ever did it. i can't believe i haven't gone crazy yet. i can barely find time to clean the dishes!

i sold my first item on etsy, moved into a wonderful house with the best room-mate i've ever had, finished my barista training, am preparing to meet with a photographer in the next couple weeks to get my etsy page up to par...

i need to write here more.

to do list for the next week...
1. finish knitted tie
2. organize studio space better
3. make jewelry
4. write patterns for knitted ties and patterns
5. paint the dining room
6. sketch out website ideas

pumpkin carving party tonight at the studio!!!

get knitty with it!

2010-10-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

between moving and work changes, i have totally neglected getting together knitting nights for all you lovely stitchers! so...here we go...

this sunday, october 10, from 630-830 i'll be hosting the usual saturday morning "knitting q & a". hopefully, those of you who are tired at 10 o'clock saturdays from debauched friday nights, will be ready to go on a relaxing sunday evening. feel free to bring food and "drink" for yourself, your favorite "mix tape" (ipod), and your needy project. this time is also great if you're just having a little trouble understanding a new pattern or figuring out where you left off. e-mail me at tangle.design@gmail.com if you have any questions. sliding fee $5-10.

tuesday, oct. 12: 630-830: "knit, tipple, & talk"
bring spirits, bring needles, bring fibers, and friends. this is just an opportunity to get together with friends and commune over our newly awakened fervor for warm winter knitting. no charge. just bring yourself and some vittles.

there will be more classes to come near the end of october, and november. keep your eyes open for: "mist-take no more," "master that gauge swatch," "write your own hat pattern," and more!

all classes held at the dry goods shop in west asheville.

free neckwarmer pattern

2010-09-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

for the pdf, visit my etsy!
and to purchase the item, it's also on etsy and at the dry goods shop...

the pattern:

materials:
cascade “eco +” yarn
US 13 needles

instructions:
1. cast on 44 stitches
2. knit for 52”
3. weave in loose ends, leaving one long one for seaming
4. put a single twist in knitted fabric before seaming, to create
a “mobius” illusion
5. seam 9” of ends together, leaving a slit to fit over the
shoulder

back on etsy!

2010-09-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

so after a long hiatus, i finally got back into the picture-taking mood, and took a bunch of my new wares along with some pretty vintage finds.

here's a few...

knitting q & a

2010-09-10T09:49:00.000-07:00

tomorrow morning from 10-12 at the dry goods shop, we are having a knitting q & a session. it's just a $5-10 donation for two hours of "help" from me. Basically, you can bring in a trouble project you have questions about, get reminders about how to read patterns, get started on something, or just come in and knit with the assurance that if something goes wrong, i'm here to help!

if you have questions, e-mail me at tangle.design@gmail.com

also, atelier 24 is having an opening tomorrow night from 6ish-9ish (i think!). wine and snacks are provided, along with artist meet & greets. i'll be there the entire time to answer any questions about my work, classes, or just to talk.

i am planning on starting to post a free knitting pattern on here every other week. it will be posted here, and on the dry goods blog. to learn more, take a class!

exposure

2010-09-03T11:37:00.000-07:00

here are some articles that have recently been written about the studio i started working in at the beginning of august:

wnc magazine

verve magazine, the article "good & plenty

i am teaching a knitting class there on tuesday morning from 10-12, and a knitting q & a the following saturday (sept. 11) from 10-12. for more details, visit the dry goods blog. if you're interested in signing up, just shoot me an e-mail at tangle.design@gmail.com , or e-mail leigh anne through the store blog.

see you soon!

i have SO MUCH news...

2010-09-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

#1. yesterday, i set up at atelier 24 on lexington avenue! i had been debating about it pretty much all summer, and due to the season's business--what with the big crafty and bele chere, and relationship changes, moving across town and working like a madperson--i just never seemed to be able to take the time to consider ACTUALLY trying to set up a spot there. gabrielle must have known i needed the little extra push because after just a few e-mails throughout july and august, i made the jump.

i spent all last week field-tripping to hardware stores where i would stare dumbfoundedly at the aisles of nails and brackets and lumber, covering myself and my wardrobe in paint, and feverishly labeling, inventorying, and making new pieces. after all the build-up, i could hardly believe when it was finished. i have work in a few different stores, but i have never felt such a strong sense of accomplishment as i did when i finished my little wall, because i was really able to envision my goals for the future.

here are some pictures...

-------

#2. i have decided to stay at the dripolator! the wine bar has been great, but there's no place like home, and the dripolator definitely feels like that. i'll start the espresso training with scott next week, and i'll be behind the espresso machine in no time!

thanks to everybody here for being so incredible...

#3. KNITTING CLASSES! my next post will describe these in a bit more detail, but i am teaching them at the dry goods shop in west asheville. there's a calendar of events link on the right side of the blog page. check it out!

#4. School has started again. Two classes. They seem to be pretty easy, but without being uninteresting, SO, that's great!

(knitting post will be up later today)

this will last forever

2010-08-26T11:40:00.001-07:00

this will last forever
Originally uploaded by tangleborn.

these are the first of my new "this will last forever" locket series.

i remember as a little girl having a locket with a picture of myself and my mother, and feeling really secure knowing those photos of us were right there. it's almost unheard of for people to have photo albums anymore, or at least to maintain/update them. everybody has digital albums.

i want to touch the photos. i want to really SEE them. i want to encourage people to keep their loved ones close to their hearts.

these will be just a couple of the pieces featured in my new space at the gallery Atelier 24 Lexington on lexington avenue in downtown asheville. i'm setting the space up on tuesday. i got a sweet little telephone table for the display and can't wait to put it all together and put my new work out!

hoop hoop

2010-08-16T10:01:00.001-07:00

custom order for tammy at "customers boutique" in west asheville. the first of many of these gaudy beauties...

Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.8

studio-mate

2010-08-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

i am now officially studio mates with jean potter

and leigh anne hilbert

at the dry goods shop in west asheville.

i'm really eager to get back to work, but setting up a new space takes time...although moving the workings of a studio is cumbersome, there's something so refreshing about re-configuring the wheres and the ways that you work. is it wrong to find bead organization thrilling? fabric folding, exciting? moving tables around and around and around, moving?

well, if it's wrong, then i don't want to be right.

hopefully, i will begin teaching knitting classes there soon. potential schedule to come!

changes

2010-08-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

the only constant is change...
it seems like i have heard people say these words so many times that they have lost their meaning. in addition to the fact that it's a cliche whose using feels like beating a dead horse, i just don't think that it's true.

of course, change is always happening. it happens so fast that there's almost no before & after sometimes, but i believe that some things are constant. the context of my love for somebody might change, but the love never really leaves. i might stop painting, but my passion for art hasn't gone anywhere; i will find something else to create. i might not go out in the world very much anymore, but my desire for making connections with people is still strong.

i wish home was constant right now. i think i've moved my furniture around 5 times in the last month and a half. it's as if i believe that if i move it around enough, everything will fall right into place and the space will be mine and i will be ready to put pictures on the walls and call it my own and settle in.

once everything gets all settled, i will FINALLY be able to have the time to get my etsy shop up and running again, and start making! i'm a little wiped out from bele chere and haven't had much of a chance to recoup that lost energy, but it's going to happen soon!

funny girl

2010-08-01T10:05:00.001-07:00

my page in verve magazine...

the shoot was SO much fun!

jess was wonderful to work with.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.8

from the big crafty

2010-07-22T08:22:00.001-07:00

a preview for bele chere:

hatpins, neckwarmers, hairclips, gift tags...

neckwarmers...

there's a nikki in there...

bele chere preparations

2010-07-20T12:16:00.001-07:00

just working on some last minute projects to fill up the sace with more than just jewely. the hip replacementa booths will be featuring work from margart goodson and i, as well as other artists in the store, sunglasses, asheville grown t-shirts, and more. we will be on the corner of lexington and college st.

i will have...
{jewelry} made from sterling, brass, stainless steel, leather, fabric, vintage chain, beads, and semi-precious stones
{cuffs} made from fa ric and leathee
{bobby pins} made with upcycled magazine images sold.on sweet home-made gift tags
{magnets} from glass stones and upycled mag. images
{gift tags} with a variety of images and hand-stamped 'to & from'
{knitted} neckwarmers, cowls, and wristwarmers

pictures to come tomorrow!

hope to see lots of friends there xxx

Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.8

i dream of photography

2010-07-06T06:56:00.000-07:00

dream last night:

i was living in two houses--one with a room-mate and one with my family. everybody from both houses left. i was suddenly responsible for two leases and two rents. i tried to rent rooms in the large house out as studio spaces because of the floors and lighting and quiet area. in the process of moving furniture around and making arrangements, i found an old polaroid camera of mine (one i actually have but that does not work) and began taking pictures in and around the house. it seemed as if the camera had endless amounts of film. each photograph was beautiful, deeply saturated, and captured what i could not see for myself. through the photographs, my situation seemed less a catastrophe and more an opportunity. everything around me was beautiful.

and then the last photograph pulled and i went into the backyard. it met up with industrial wasteland that stretched for miles and i discovered that there was a shanty distillery at the crest of the hill of the yard that met up with the miles of trash and emptiness. there were 5 types of nectary fruit infused vodkas brewing. the liquid felt as thin as water and the taste was like nothing i'd ever had.

the end.

THE BIG CRAFTY

2010-07-05T07:49:00.000-07:00

so, it's on!
less than a week from today.
sunday 11-6 pm.
one day only.

so many many many wonderful artists will be there with their handmade wares, alongside local musicians, great local food, free beer.

i will have picture soon, but so far i plan on having...
<>neck-warmers & knitted cowls galore (lots of new designs)
<>necklaces::::::from long and elegant with multiple strands, to bright and fun
<>earrings--paper, stone, brass, silver, you name it.
<>and miscellaneous other treaties.

my friend, nikki sova, will also be joining me. she specializes in a variety of feather earrings and necklaces with filigree findings and lots of brass & copper.

it's going to be fun!

and if you don't care about jewelry, that's fine. come to support everybody else.

<3 ryan-ashley

dry goods

2010-06-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

meeting at the dry goods shop this morning!
it's right at the crest of the hill in west asheville where the exits for 240 are.

grand opening on july 3rd!

maybe i'll be consigning there..........?

...A bright bowl of brass is beautiful to the Lord. Bright polished brass like the cymbals...

2010-06-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

i recently ordered some beautiful stamped brass findings, and spent quite a bit of time last night making new pieces out of them. i've gotten into this habit of renting seinfeld episodes to put on while jeweling. it's sort of...become an obsession. i started at the very beginning and slowly but surely i am making my way through (i just made it through season 1). i think i am probably spending far more money on seinfeld episodes than on food, and i could save if i would just get netflix or something, but there's nothing like starting out a night of jewelry-making with a long walk or bike ride to the video store, handling the scrappy old boxes of dvd's and feeling the excitement upon discovering that they're "in!" my heart almost skips a beat each time i open the thin plastic containers at orbit to discover the little piece of paper which means it's not been checked out yet. so, with the help of the seinfeld crew...

here's what i've been working on for the big crafty:

and for hip replacements:

tangle rose

2010-06-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

new paper earrings at custom in west asheville! check them out! they're all made from molly rose freeman designs.

molly rose freeman

2010-06-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

the big crafty is coming up soon.
i'm getting ready with new neck-warmer designs, new paper earrings, cuffs, necklaces, and tons more accessories. i'll be posting some sneak-peak pictures tomorrow or the next day.

in the meannntimmmmmme, molly rose freman and i have been conjuring up some new designs through some fun collaborations. it's always a plus when you're favorite people can also be your favorite artists. her new, neon, pattern-inspired designs are mesmerizing.

soo...what better way to get some new pictures in my earrings and get her art out there in a wearable way than to make paper earrings out of them! i'll be submitting some of these to customin a couple of days and will have tons more for the big crafty.

here they are!

and some of miss molly's originals...

kettle-dyed

2010-06-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

this has been a busy, busy, two weeks.
working tons at hip replacements,
finishing artist inventory at elementality,
stocking stores up with earrings before visiting home,

visiting home...
i'm out of asheville, the etsy shop is on vacation, and i'm here hanging out with the family. it's so strange visiting home for anything other than a holiday, but apparently 8th grade graduation is an important occasion. my lil 'sis is growing up!

aside from beginning my senior comps study guide and spending time with my sister, i have been DROWNING in new, beautiful yarn!

as soon as i got to town yesterday, i stopped at bella filati to stock up on yarn since i rarely visit home and, well, no other yarn shop compares! here's what i scored:

i will be turning these into beautiful new neckwarmers and scarves to sell at the big crafty!

rainstorm

2010-05-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

it's sunny this afternoon, really perfect weather. the sky started out gray this morning, and poured sheets of rain. the sun came out. and just a few minutes ago, the rain started falling again. it always feels like such a surreal experience, to get caught in the rain on a sunny day...as if on the set of a movie where the tech. got all his timing wrong and showered the actors in the middle of a beach scene...or the middle of a living room.

it reminds me of the summers before middle school, before i got too cool to run around half-naked in the back yard. all we could do to stay cool in that dusty, rural town, in the middle of those blistering summers was to run the sprinklers and the hoses constantly. it was biting cold, but so damn refreshing.

thinking back, it makes me sad to think about all the water we wasted but also appreciative of the level of abandon most of us had at that age, when all we could worry about was staying cool.

i found this here
and thought it was really beautiful

edward sharpe & the magnetic zeros

2010-05-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

my new favorite song.
i love these guys.
and they love each other...

forever

2010-05-24T08:25:00.000-07:00

it feels like...
i haven't written on this in forever.

so many things have been happening.

bele chere is on! and i am supposedly steadily building stock for the show. (un)fortunately the jewelry has been going so well at hip replacements and elementality that i really haven't had very much time to make downstock for etsy OR the show. this week i am definitely planning on cracking down.

by the end of the month i have to...
-begin studying for the comprehensive exams in the fall
-continue to make downstock (this part i like!)
-begin the reading list i must have completed by august
-work on poetry for my creative thesis proposal/packet

weekly/daily:
-work out-boot camp with my closest friends!
-read!
-clean
-remind myself to go out into the world once in a while so i don't forget how to socialize after deeply creative hibernation
-tell myself that definitive statements ("yes" and "do") aren't as difficult as they seem

school ended two weeks ago, and if i don't start studying for my last semester soon, i am definitely going to lose steam.

there are lots of new things happening to distract me, though! for example....i have been distracted by...
my new HAIRCUT

new room-mate...

new piercing...

new earrings/jewelry!

l'arc...

the yolaine:

this summer is going to be BUSYBUSYBUSY!
but
i am really excited about it, especially because i really feel like i'm surrounded by the best friends of my life.

2010-05-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

frustrated!

2010-05-06T07:26:00.000-07:00

why, oh, why, can't i think about anything other than art? sitting in class during reviews for finals, i am planning my next necklace. while reciting poetry and memorizing dates, all i can think about is taking photographs. any time i see an image--sometimes even in text books--all i see is new 'pulp' designs.

i have been passionate about writing and literature all my life, but for the first time, i haven't concentrated on grades as a form of self-evaluation. my new philosophy is this: if even just a few books i skimmed over in class impressed upon me enough to pick them up again post-graduation, then school has been good for me. if, while writing, my tense-changes are more apparent, and i'm a better critic of my own work, then school has been worth it.

for such a long time i thought school would be the key to graduating to the next step--grad school, publications, jobs....

now...it just feels like my entire life is on hold in order for me to finish. i am choking on inspiration, suffocating under the weight of all of the beads just begging for my attention.

and relationships?

psshfhhfhffh. forgedaboudit.

new "artist pulp"

2010-04-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

these ones have the names of the artists on the back!
they are for sale athip replacements...

new jewelry

2010-04-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

all for sale at elementality:

there is also a lot of new work on my etsy!

pulp series

2010-04-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

okay, so here's my idea for the new names of the different types of "pulp" earrings.

first, a little about "pulp." i call these earrings "pulp" because they are all made from paper, and because four letter words are just really sweet. some of them are made using recycled magazines, photos from old art books, found images, etc., and are called "re-pulp".
the ones that are specifically made from pictures of larger classic artist works are called "classic pulp" and the ones made from local artist drawings, rendered specifically for the earrings (these ones soon to come!!! my friend molly is working on some right now!) will be called "local pulp".

any suggestions?
any requests?
any wishes, hopes, dreams---jewelry and non-jewelry-related?

also, anybody who wants to submit designs, i think the way i'm going to do it is this:
you decide a price for a print and i basically buy the design for a fair price (not sure what that would be yet) and either:
a. copy at my will and pay a small royalty per pair sold
b. only make what can be produced from the couple of prints i buy up front

i couldn't pay a lot for the designs, because i would have to still make a profit for my time and supplies, but the idea is that artist collaboration creates community; provides networking, visibility, and marketing for all involved; and artwork that wouldn't necessarily be affordable to a lot of people as an original or large printed piece, would become more accessible to the frugal consumer (thus providing you with great advertising!)

artist series and new versions of my l'arc earrings

2010-04-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

these earrings can be found at etsy
and at elementality, in the asheville mall.

these are really delicate and light. free-swinging. $22.
""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465010936990359794" />

i had trouble letting these go. $20.

with the sweet little leaf, $24.

these bright green and turquoise are $24.

ALSO, my friend Molly and I are working on collaborations for my 'pulp' series--the earrings made from paper and wire frames. it is going to be called 'pulp artist' and all the designs for these will be done by molly. she, the artist, i the architect. stay tuned for sneak peaks of designs!

sold

2010-04-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

this just sold from hip replacements!

and there are more pictures to come of paper earrings very very soon.

ALSO

i went to biltmore yesterday to see what the downtown is actually like. i have even been guilty in the past of talking about biltmore as if it's a place that i don't really have a need for, but decided it was important to break out of the lexington avenue block. i was completely shocked. in almost every store, the owners were not only working, but were engaging. genuinely friendly, interested, and excited about business...without ego. there was one store in particular called baggie goose where the owner (?) was particularly accommodating. so so so friendly and helpful. i will definitely be going back. they have really great stationary, journals, felt-tip pens similar to microns, and a variety of decorative card stock.

their info:

The Baggie Goose

3 Swan St, Asheville, NC 28803

p: (828) 274 3333

flight

2010-04-20T06:26:00.000-07:00

unfortunately, i didn't have time this morning to take photos, but, i am taking some beautiful new feather earrings to elementality today.
picture:
asymmetry
sterling chain
spring-colored beads
light, luxurious feathers in all different colors

priced from 16-26, there's something for everybody

i will post a picture of this later, but there's also a luxurious bead-knitted bracelet going to the store. i haven't sold these before, but it's wonderful. light golds and browns, a beautiful sterling clasp and chain. it's about 2" wide.

extra! extra!

2010-04-19T08:42:00.001-07:00

for the past two years, i have been asking the staff of metabolism, "when do i submit?" each time they answered, "anytime! just submit." they were encouraging, expectant, excited. the more submissions the better. but somehow, not having a deadline, impeded my ability to do so. there was no time. no date. no 8 am last minute window that required me to stay up all the night before editing. no push. no drive. no frenzy. anytime i wanted, i could go to the site, and upload a file, and push a button...anytime...so i didn't.

i have been focusing so much on art lately, that i haven't been writing for myself at all. this is compounded with the fact that i am studying writing. the energy i put into my workshops and readings of other authors exhausts my ability to invent, for myself. i have to invent for those who i am paying to make me better--to secure my "future." i didn't want to submit something i had done for a class, but had no energy to do for myself. then, i my "personality" class one day, i woke up. the professor mentioned memory briefly, and alfred adler's theories about the creation and accuracy of memory.

then i saw the photos of myself as a child, with my mother & my father, for the first time. and the memories came. and i wondered how accurate they were. i wondered if they were inventions of mine, or fabrications of my mother, or fairy tales. i saw that some of the pictures matched the ones in my mind of specific moments, ages ago. so i wrote a poem.

it's really fitting, actually, that psychology would inspire me to write lyrically, given that i grew up with the jargon of pathologists, and that a picture i took on one of the last walks with my dog was accepted. i left the other dog, nina, at home that day. i thought, "maybe panda just needs more time with just me. maybe she misses our solitary jogs and early-morning romps in the woods. maybe being around another dog all the time isn't what she needs. even the fence in the back yard is too small for her. so i left nina and grabbed my camera. it was one of the best walks we have had (or did i invent that?). each time i started to take a picture, she waited patiently. that day, it seemed like all of the squirrels were hiding away until we passed, so that she wouldn't disrupt a single composition. she sat and waited and even posed a couple of times.

the acceptance of these works was just what i needed. it was what i needed to remind me about the dreams i had as a child of growing up to be a poet, and of all the young writers' workshops and young adult magazines and newspaper internship. a small nudge of validation.

so here is the link:
metabolism
click on the link at the top of the page:
ISSUE 2: a most superlative initiative

studio

2010-04-17T14:07:00.001-07:00

i am in the process of setting up the studio.
it's coming along well.

it seems like it's always when things are going really well that something really sad and distracting happens, which challenges my typically unwavering focus and motivation.

and feeling like a failure doesn't help.

giving brings no guarantees. givegivegive, lovelovelove, and hope for some emotional return.

if only we could talk to animals, and ask them what they really need. i knew i loved her, and that she loved me, and that having her made my life better, made it feel more full, but i didn't realize how wrenching the separation would be. i'm a complete wreck.

it feels like i've lost my best friend, and most reliable companion.

2010-04-16T13:34:00.001-07:00

Green drinks at bobo gallery at 6 this evening--featuring franzi

new room. fresh start.

2010-04-14T16:21:00.000-07:00

it's only at the other end of the house, but i needed a change. i needed small. clean. crisp. bright.

neck tattoo

2010-04-13T07:52:00.000-07:00

on saturday, j and i went to get tattoos. we were planning on just getting "hush" on our hands, but while waiting on the appointment, decided we couldn't possibly go without "tangle" also. i thought long and hard about the placement, and nothing seemed more fitting than this spot on my neck. i think it's beautiful, and tasteful, and didn't even think about the fact that the neck is a taboo place for a tattoo. then i went out last night, with a sweater and blazer because it was cold, and my sweetheart started laughing.

what? i asked.
it's just funny. you have a neck tattoo.
yeah, i know, i put it there.
it's just funny because you have on long sleeves and i can still see your tattoo.

then i realized he was pointing out that i can't really cover it up. i hadn't even thought about it. thank goodness i don't have a job where that matters, and that now i never will!

went out and played ping pong and fooz ball (sp?) and apparently, i'm pretty good at ping pong! i can thank my parents for all those summers at the y as a kid...

off to work now to check out the new goodies!

l'arc sunday

2010-04-11T07:17:00.000-07:00

lots of these will be in elementality today.

reminder!! tuesday is the one day in April we are accepting new artist submissions. check out this page: submissions for the details. we are always looking for fresh, inspired, jewelry, accessories, and sweatshop-free clothing!

me...

yesterday was one of the most restful, lazy, productive saturdays i have had in a long time. it's no lie that i really can't remember the last time i woke up, started to do things around the house, then actually went back to bed. i woke up again at noon, 4 hours later than usual on saturdays. had lunch with my sweetheart, then met up with one of my favorite people for chocolate, collaboration, and tattoos.

i got one of hers: hush
she got one of mine: tangle
and we both got our own (pictures tomorrow)

AND THEN we made pizza and jewelry until the wee hours of the morning so that our sweet little earring trees would be filled to the brim on this fine sunday!

come see me.

listography

2010-04-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

jordana, jordana, you're so good to me!
lucky me--my birthday month reaching even into april.
here's the gift i got last night

some examples of the lists:
-places you've lived
-biggest fears
-strangest places you've had sex
-personal fashion trends over the years
-your biggest regrets
-bad habits

flamingo

2010-04-07T09:30:00.001-07:00

going to my new studio this afternoon to paint the mini stage inside flamingo pink!

paper frames

2010-04-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

these are going to elementality tomorrow!

2010-04-02T08:51:00.001-07:00

Baking in the sun while studying--not a good idea.i want to jump in a lake! not fill out abcde bubbles for psychology.

shutter

2010-04-01T11:42:00.001-07:00

flickr!
click

asheville etsy street team

2010-03-31T14:58:00.000-07:00

i'm a member!

i just added a few asheville etsy street team links under the "link list."

check it out. the "buy handmade" blog is also worth spending some time on.

2010-03-26T15:47:00.001-07:00

i looked in the mirror today and was startled by the image of myself. my hair hasn't been this long in 4 or 5 years, and before that, it had only been long once. hair is a strange thing; the way people use it to say something about themselves, or to cauterize grief, or to initiate some life change...

i have always loved cutting my hair, like shedding old skin: translucent, reptilian layers, seeing little extensions of myself falling to the floor. my version of a power cleanse. whenever i felt bad, i cut a little away, and whatever ailed me seemed to get cut away too, or at least swept away. i see myself differently now, as i really am, without the conflict and shame that comes with adolescence.

maybe it's just the weather, but i'm feeling pretty good.

i found a feather in a book of short fiction. it's been in there for months. i was walking to class one day and there they were, feathers everywhere. so i tucked one away and forgot about it until i flipped through the book today.

origami

2010-03-25T06:03:00.000-07:00

new earrings at hip replacements made from origami paper, hand-made and silk-screened aqua paper, and random photographs.

new vintage-inspired feminine lariet necklace.

picture to come in a few hours!

jewelry now at elementality!

2010-03-23T19:25:00.001-07:00

the items posted earlier today can now be found at elementality, in the asheville mall.
come see!

power tool.

2010-03-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

i bought my first power tool last night. a dremel. so that i can power through stones to expand my jewelry-making abilities to fit my visions.

i had a set in mind that i wanted to make, but knew i needed to drill, and, here it is:

and these sweet little things are being sold at hip replacements for $16 and $18. as soon as i make some more up, they will be at custom, and hopefull at elementality as well! they're made from wire thin metal frames, with sterling silver ear-wire and headpins, and a variety of paper: origami paper, hand silk-screened pulp paper, and pieces from gift bags (the bright pink), which are sentimental. the ones with the type are hand-stamped.

level up

2010-03-22T08:59:00.001-07:00

taking jewelry to the next level.
buying a drill tonight so i can drill through some dreamy creamypeach agate. pictures to come.

tonight is looking bright!

2010-03-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

today i...

-brought new jewelry to hip replacements and custom this afternoon, and will be taking some to elementality in the coming week as well.
-bought new beads and findings at chevron trading co. on lexington ave. for some up-coming projects. i am thinking classyfemininevintageluxury...
-learned how to tune-up my bike all by myself!
-bought an incredible 3-record joanna newsom set and am listening right now
-made veggies for dinner
-thought about romance

itinerary:

-finish dinner
-edit fiction short stories
-go to vintage jewelry trunk show at custom from 7-9
-go see 'the rubber cushions' at broadways (kip's band, y'all!)
-see you

greener grass

2010-03-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

why can't i ever be happy with what i have when i have it?
it's rare that i realize the potential for happiness in a situation until i have rejected the possibility, grown older and wiser, moved forward, and realized how good i had it. or do i just romanticize the past? maybe these lost people and places weren't as great as i remember. why do i romanticize the past in order to be unhappy with the present? i am writing specifically about relationships. i compare, and it's completely unrealistic, because i am so far now from who i was then, and they, i am sure, are also different. and how many times can a person fuck up love before love goes somewhere else?

mixes by a friend:

2010-03-17T04:10:00.000-07:00

mix1: (this is what i'm listening to right now, and typing instead of studying for a midterm)

feel.love.thinking.of/faunts
run in the morning sun/lady & bird
black magic (magic love and dreams...
because/the bird and the bee
you may be blue/vetiver
golden cage/the whitest boy alive
borders/the whitest boy alive
cheerleader/grizzly bear
in ear park/department of eagles
this must be it/royksopp
happy up here/royksopp
happy up here/royksopp
it's all true/tracey thorn
o.n.e./yeasayer
so light is in her footfall/air
song for/earlimart
my moon my man
angel echoes/fourtet
look/solillaquists of sound

mix 2

bang bang/sara schiralli
easier/grizzly bear
wait for summer/yeasayer
summertime/jesca hoop
paper aeroplane/angus and julia stone
down the line/jose gonzalez
daffodils/charlene soraia
now, now/st. vincent
this is the thing/fink
don't bring me down/sia
children of the grounds/midlake
tenuousness/andrew bird
pagan angel and a borrowed car
set free/katie gray
how often?/lex land
woods/bon iver
rose and vine/matt bauer
angeles/elliot smith
do what i do/lady & bird

two years.

2010-03-17T03:56:00.001-07:00

after being at unc-a for two years, i finally decided to submit to our creative-arts magazine. the deadline had been closed for new submissions until the fall. that's just like me. i have to start working on my 60-page project soon! novel? series of short stories? i just can't wait until i am out of school so i can really work on writing.

crazy

2010-03-14T17:50:00.001-07:00

i'm sure that i'm crazy, but i just submitted a poem called "the inaccuracy of memory" to the new yorker.

my aspirations are high.

mother of sorrows

2010-03-12T11:08:00.000-08:00

a book i'm reading.

"...she had a way of speaking of attention that made even the slightest desire for it seem suspect and pernicious. Attention? What a joke! What a ridiculous thing to want! Who in his right mind would ever admit to wanting something the world simply wasn't prepared to give?"

cut.

2010-03-12T10:35:00.000-08:00

i am officially "tangle." says the register of deeds.
courthouses are strange places. i've never been inside one for doing anything wrong, but even going to register my business name was intimidating. it felt like everybody knew where to go, or what to say, but me.
and, oh my! the polished wood! mahogony or something. and huge leather-bound books. and antique-looking, teller-like windows from the banks in old movies.
it was like walking onto a scene in a movie made long before i was ever born. a scene, after which, a terribly exciting car chase would take place.

donedonedone

2010-03-10T11:49:00.001-08:00

completed...
going to the courthouse= i'm legitimate!

and here are several things i am taking to 'custom' to submit for consignment this evening:

completed...
going to the courthouse= i'm legitimate!

and here are several things i am taking to 'custom' to submit for consignment this evening:

to do:

2010-03-10T07:51:00.001-08:00

go to the courthouse to...
register my business name
get tax id #
get business license!

then...
post pictures of my submission to 'custom' in west-asheville
make tags for the jewelry
go to custom

and after...
make dinner for a friend

firsts

2010-03-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

my first record purchase. shep & me from harvest records. i just love those block-prints and deliciously saturated greens and yellows.

my first custompurchase: blue jean pencil skirt and hand-appliqued (in the shop) racer tank.

a best friend...

for a friend.

2010-03-06T08:05:00.000-08:00

reconnected with a friend just last week. a dear one to me. we didn't really spend much time together, or for long, but our interactions were shaping.

i made this for tie for him--the first one i've tried with fabric (from a vintage silk scarf). of course, i'm modeling it here...

distractions.

2010-03-06T07:52:00.000-08:00

we had a snow day earlier in the week, which prohibited me from taking my 3 midterms. of course, i welcomed the opportunity for more relaxed study time and postponed exams, but for the majority of the morning, i learned paper-crane folding.

i watched the video three times and then started folding with a frenzy that i couldn't seem to stop until all the pretty origami paper i'd bought two years ago and saved for just such an occasion was all used up. there was something deeply gratifying sitting alone at the sturdy wooden table in our kitchen, with the heat blowing, staring out of the plastic-covered window onto sheets of white show, folding tiny little pieces of paper into beautiful things while the snow continued to fall.

news at hip replacements.

2010-03-04T08:23:00.000-08:00

i know it's cold out, but come on.
we have so many new pieces by effie's heart.
and also, lots of sale items.
lots.
lots.
lots.

effie's heart...

the back door.

2010-03-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

john korn

miss flint.

2010-02-25T13:17:00.000-08:00

a sneak peak at the first of a new series...

new photos on etsy.

2010-02-25T13:08:00.000-08:00

new to etsy.
dear to me.

friday. and saturday.

2010-02-24T18:18:00.000-08:00

friday, at 4 pm in the laurel on forum, a professor visiting from unc-c will be giving a mini seminar on virginia woolf.

saturday night, at the flood gallery in the phil mechanics studio (109 roberts st.):
Queer Writer Girls 2...

Six Queer Writer-Girls to Read at The Flood Gallery Fine Art Center (in the Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts Street in Asheville, near The Grey Eagle).

Saturday February 27th at 7 PM

Camille Melody Cassada is an almost-graduate of Warren Wilson College who, at 24 years of age, spends most of her time around antiques, her two Jane Austen-named kittens, and her beautiful/painful mindset. She's a pale little thing with a penchant for semicolons, lace, and so-bad-it's-yummy pop music. In her opinion, the world needs more sequins, synchronized dance, and hyphenated words.

Becky Upham is a graduate of the UNC-Chapel Hill and holds an MA in Writing from Hollins University. She has been a teacher, cocktail waitress, fitness instructor, mother-of-three, dj, non-profit manager, race director and a drug rep, and now is writing a book.

Joanna Knowles, a graduate of UNCA, has published various poems and essays in local publications such as the Mountain Xpress and Rapid River. Two of her poems are in the current edition of The Nantahala Review. She was the recipient for the 2007-2008 Topp/Grillot Scholarship for poetry at UNCA and of the Carl Sandberg Award in 2008.

Amanda Gardner is a junior in the creative writing department at UNCA. She is a former migrant farm worker and backpacker who currently lives in Asheville with her partner Ashleigh.

Lori Horvitz’ short stories, poetry, and personal essays have appeared in a variety of literary journals and anthologies including The Southeast Review, Hotel Amerika and Thirteenth Moon. She is an Associate Professor of Literature and Language at UNCA.

Catherine Reid teaches creative writing at Warren Wilson College, where she specializes in creative nonfiction. She is the author of COYOTE: SEEKING THE HUNTER IN OUT MIDST, and co-edited two anthologies of work by lesbian writers, EVERY WOMAN I'VE EVER LOVED and HIS HANDS, HIS TOOLS, HIS SEX, HIS DRESS.

lights

2010-02-16T07:41:00.000-08:00

i dreamed last night that i came upon a place in the forest where a small community had been. there was nobody there, but what remained was still connected to sources of power somehow. the buildings were like advanced tree-houses, with sturdy frames, lighting, and open sides that faced the direction of the sun rise. there were strings and strings and strings of white christmas tree lights connecting one "house" from another, and even arranged around some trees to give the effect of a may pole. as i came upon them, a man appeared out from behind something, and then several men, and then what seemed to be an entire village. they told me they had to leave. that "they" were coming to tear everything down, that they had been discovered and were considered trespassers. it was getting torn down soon, i was told, so i'd better look now, and remember everything. all of the lights were turned on and it looked like i skeleton with all the bare limbs in the cold.

as i looked, the lights began flickering and dying one at a time until they were all out, and you could only hear bulldozers in the distance.

2010-02-15T16:46:00.000-08:00

2010-02-11T11:47:00.000-08:00

amy bloom

2010-02-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

went to see her read tonight at malaprop's, and bought this collection of her short stories.

i'm hopeful.

Gentleman Alone by Pablo Neruda

2010-02-08T10:07:00.000-08:00

Gentleman Alone by Pablo Neruda

The young maricones and the horny muchachas,
The big fat widows delirious from insomnia,
The young wives thirty hours' pregnant,
And the hoarse tomcats that cross my garden at night,
Like a collar of palpitating sexual oysters
Surround my solitary home,
Enemies of my soul,
Conspirators in pajamas
Who exchange deep kisses for passwords.
Radiant summer brings out the lovers
In melancholy regiments,
Fat and thin and happy and sad couples;
Under the elegant coconut palms, near the ocean and moon,
There is a continual life of pants and panties,
A hum from the fondling of silk stockings,
And women's breasts that glisten like eyes.
The salary man, after a while,
After the week's tedium, and the novels read in bed at night,
Has decisively fucked his neighbor,
And now takes her to the miserable movies,
Where the heroes are horses or passionate princes,
And he caresses her legs covered with sweet down
With his ardent and sweaty palms that smell like cigarettes.
The night of the hunter and the night of the husband
Come together like bed sheets and bury me,
And the hours after lunch, when the students and priests are masturbating,
And the animals mount each other openly,
And the bees smell of blood, and the flies buzz cholerically,
And cousins play strange games with cousins,
And doctors glower at the husband of the young patient,
And the early morning in which the professor, without a thought,
Pays his conjugal debt and eats breakfast,
And to top it all off, the adulterers, who love each other truly
On beds big and tall as ships:
So, eternally,
This twisted and breathing forest crushes me
With gigantic flowers like mouth and teeth
And black roots like fingernails and shoes.

six words.

2010-02-07T07:22:00.001-08:00

1. obsessed with the pursuit of truth.
2. my tree has no branches
3. most happy in quiet and solitude
4. the color of dusk. pink. gray.

i want. i need.

2010-02-07T07:08:00.000-08:00

reading- Mrs. Dalloway and The Life of William Faulkner
watching- been watching The Office quite a bit, but not really any movies
listening to- alternations between Bjork, Fever Ray, and David Bowie
craving- chocolate
missing- my sister and my best friend
excited about- my new drawings and embroidery projects
looking forward to- the future
pining for- love. endless, encompassing, swallow-you-whole, love.
dreaming about- complicated love triangles and deviant sexual escapades
loving- my dog
drinking- coffe--lots
eating- mostly breakfast food
fearful of- becoming a drone to my own schedule

i want it to snow today.

of montreal

2010-02-06T08:14:00.000-08:00

of montreal was amazing. i think i might wear makeup like this more often.

dream

2010-02-05T05:15:00.000-08:00

i just woke up. i slept an hour longer than i was supposed to because i was dreaming of a friendship:

i transferred schools, for some reason, from unc-a to liberty, where i discovered on the first day of class that i wasn't anybody if i didn't have a pair of frye boots. my parents had driven me up there for the orientation (not quite sure why, since i drive and shit), but we were staying in a hotel room near the campus, and we were all just lying around. i looked like i was suffering from summer heat the way i seemed to be just melting down the side of the bed; maybe it was the plastic-like coating on the bedspreads. anyway, i thought it would be a good idea to call my long lost, and invite him up for the day. i was surprised at his quick agreement. he arrived in 2.5 hours. he didn't want to go anywhere, though. he didn't hug me, or greet me warmly. he just sat down across from me in the room, as if he was only there out of obligation, and let me talk. fearful of the silence that might grow between us if i stopped--of the possibility he might slip away if i stopped talking--but finally i ran out of things to say that didn't require responses--since he wasn't saying a thing--and he said it was time for him to go. i protested, saying he just arrived, how could he leave after driving so far after so little time? when he stood and started to leave, i noticed how different he looked. wan. sad. but he left.

the family left, and i went to campus where i met a girl who also had just transferred. coincidentally, we were to be room-mates, and it was her birthday. we went out that night to celebrate, and the town was exactly like asheville, and i kept running into people i knew. we were bonding and talking about our lives right when my alarm went off, and i woke up feeling cheated.

then i watched this awesome video.

etsy

2010-02-04T20:06:00.001-08:00

new items on etsy.
sneak peak!

paper planes

2010-02-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

it's brown, and blue, and yellow.
something warm to ward off the winter greys i seem to be wearing every day.

really, i just dressed around the new necklace by monserrat de lucca/defy, that i found at minx yesterday. i am being very frugal: pretty much all cooking and coffee at home, but i have a weakness for paper-planes, like the ones i used to write little love notes on in grade school and send through the air hoping it didn't land near the wrong desk, secretly hoping that the object of my affection didn't end up opening it. i saw this, and knew it was mine. it's brass and will patina over time, but because of the quality, won't 'turn' against skin.

bad

2010-02-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

look at these awesome photos from a recent photo shoot featuring hip replacements clothing...

more on the site.

also, elementality's'vampire love' party moved to next friday night, the 12th, from 5-8 due to the projected weather conditions. come!

new jewelry

2010-01-30T21:30:00.000-08:00

i've been working on a lot of jewelry lately.
by "a lot," i mean whatever i can fit in, since time is scarce.

all of this jewelry will be in hip replacements starting tomorrow, ranging from $12-$24ish.

we will also have new hand-collaged gift boxes for the diy valentine-er.
come see me in the snow!

since i am the only available model after midnight...

brushfire.

2010-01-27T16:58:00.000-08:00

short story for advanced fiction writing...

Jody’s bedroom was like a bad dream. It was so dirty and cluttered, she feared creepy things might actually be living amongst the debris. Spiders in her flannel shirt pocket; rodents in her sneakers. Worse than the mess even, was the smell. Rotten banana peels underneath dirty, wet clothes, underneath sweaty matted dog, underneath black mold, and finally underneath patchouli and incense, which seemed to linger in the corners where the walls meet the ceiling, in the way smoke rises.
Each week, her therapist gave her a new assignment—a goal—that, when reached, would represent something within herself, some jarred parts, falling back into place, in order that she might see some way out of herself. Jody’s mother liked this about him. He called the place Jody seemed to get stuck in when things felt worst, the swamp; her thoughts were swamp water—murky and encompassing. During their last session, he had asked her to close her eyes and imagine her mind as the swamp, and to think about what would have to be done—to the swamp—to make it more inhabitable. Sunlight, she said, to dry up the water, and burning. Burning? he asked. You know, to clear out all the brush. So, as it was the most immediate source of stress, the assignment became to clean up her room.
The landscape of your environment, he said, is a direct reflection of your internal landscape, and the conditions of each, perpetuate the conditions of the other.
It was the day before her next appointment, and she still hadn’t cleaned. After school, she stood in the doorway to her room and surveyed the damage. Her stomach turned. She couldn’t imagine organizing because it felt too much like starting over, and the thought of doing laundry made her want to sleep. After a couple of minutes of immobility, with a deliberation she hadn’t known in months, Jody started hoisting everything she could find—shoes, clothes, electronics, stuffed-animals from her childhood—out of the window that overlooked the back yard. After everything was out, she ran downstairs with a box of matches in her hand, into the back yard, and lit it all on fire. She thought the burning in her eyes was bits of ash from wool sweaters and the chemical smell of burning rubber. As quickly as the tears came, they were dried by the flames like rivulets against her smoke-stained cheeks. She closed her eyes and, standing close enough to feel scared, imagined her swamp drying up only to find roots and bones where all the water used to be.

genogram

2010-01-19T08:04:00.000-08:00

i just completed my family genogram for my psychology class. all full of slashes and broken lines.

"they" say you are where you came from,
but what if it's either "nothing" or "everything"?

2010-01-18T13:36:00.001-08:00

Melancholy.

postsecret

2010-01-17T13:18:00.000-08:00

postsecret

roller-rink

2010-01-15T23:25:00.000-08:00

aside from the planet-sized blister on my foot, i had a blast skating.
last time i skated was for an anniversary with an old friend, over two years ago.

i didn't realize skating could be so meditative. after tonight, i've decided to make this a regular thing.

thanks to pat.

the "un-tie"

2010-01-15T05:02:00.000-08:00

new item on etsy.
this is the finished version of the thing i mentioned a few posts ago, the tie inspired by my great-grandmother's scarf. i know, i never took a picture of hers, but here is mine!

this is 100% hand-dyed wool yarn, fingering weight.

i love it because you don't even have to tie it; you just slip one end through the buttonhole on the other side!

elementality

2010-01-13T04:41:00.000-08:00

the mini-motos are doing splendid at elementality. just finished a fingerless glove special order for an awesome customer of ours and when she came to pick them up, bought a neck-warmer as well!

jordana and donna took us all out for a late christmas/new year's celebration to a local restaurant where they completely surprised (me at least) when extremely generous and thoughtful gifts (pics to come). i'm so thankful to be working with people who really care about who i am in the workplace, but also who i am outside of work, and the things that are also important to me in the rest of my life. i've just started taking over the task of organizing and "running" the local artist aspect of the store, and am really excited about being involved with that process.

our first friday party in february is going to be called "vampire love."