Dipping my toes....... more to come :)

Wowza!

I was inspired by Chris to update my blog since it's been a freakin' while....lots to catch up on.

I haven't been very creative....I find myself totally happy with just watching tv and reading copious amounts of e-books....I get a dull sensation that I am wasting my talents but I have to wonder if that's really how I feel or if that's guilt talking. I used to be so good at creating and now I'm scared of it...or, intimidated by it. I feel like I've lost all sense of how to assemble things, how to make things beautiful, and I'm not sure what to do about that.

Snoozy Bunny

Here's another one I finished yesterday :) I added z's because at first I was worried it would look like a dead bunny floating to heaven. LOL. I'm fairly happy with it though, and I'm getting better at stapling the fabric down. However, I will be needing a staple gun and instructions on how to do it even better cause I really want them to look clean and crisp.

I'm thinking on working on one for my niece and nephew....one for each of them.

I need to kinda sit down and figure out what I'm doing.....maybe work on a series that can be mix and matched, for kids. And then another series of weird ones....like my usual style. Brainstorming is needed!

New!!

I was working on this last nite.

I watched a show about home decorating that mentions a good way of adding colour to walls if you can't/ don't want to paint. Simply purchase some canvases, rip the canvas off, and staple a fabric of your choosing onto the wooden frame left over.

But I got to thinking, great...but I'm not gonna rely entirely on what cute fabrics you can find. I don't exactly get thrilled by the idea of having floral patterened wall coverings.

So I've brewed up this idea. Below is just my first piece. It's got some issues (apparently folding fabric corners over a wooden frame is a skill that elludes me at this point), but I'm really happy with it. I want to make more! I'm having visions in my head of Cuddletown again...including these types of things along with some others. I can totally see these selling. They'd look so cute in baby nurseries :)

What do you think? I'd so appreciate any comments and suggestions :)

Son, I am dissappoint. AKA, Alice in Wonderland

So, I'm about to join the ranks of "Random people who review movies and think their opinion matters to other random people" because....I watched Alice in Wonderland last nite, and it depressed me so badly that I can't NOT say anything.

Firstly, I love Tim Burton. Not the crazy goth Nightmare Before Christmas underwear-wearing sort of love (actually, I mostly dislike Nightmare Before Christmas....). In general, I like his morbid humour and love of the underdog. That's what appealed to me about Edward Scissorhands and Sweeney Todd and Ed Wood and Corpse Bride.

Alice In Wonderland reminds me that Tim Burton is human.

I anticipated it would be bad. But, I hoped that it would surprise me. I hoped beyond hope that this movie would delight me and make me dream about the day it would be released on dvd. No such luck.

From the very begining, Alice is cast as, surprise surprise, the "weird" one. She's the girl that says things she shouldn't, is a bit sassy, and abhors such restraints of her day such as corsets and , *gasp*, leggings. Oh man, you better watch out for that Alice, she's a feisty one...*eyeroll*. Save for a few moments in the intro scenes, this movie starts off very dull.

And it doesn't get better.

I'm sorry to say that even when she enters Wonderland (or, Underland, as the characters keep saying. so....why is the title "Wonderland" HMMM?? ;-) ) I sighed deeply and already regretted having bought a ticket. The introduction to Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum is so dull and akward you feel like you're trying to make small talk with a stranger on a bus. On top of that, I could barely understand what on earth anyone was saying, as the dialogue was mostly just a quick jumble leaving you wondering, "WTF is going on? Oh well. Maybe I'll just nap now" When you're using lots of strange words as the ones used in the film (thank goodness I was already familiar with "Jabberwocky"), you'd want to take care to make sure you don't confuse the hell out of your audience.

Some of the CGI is really beautiful.....but. CGI isn't enough. Did Tim Burton think it was? It seems like he got caught up in making the elements beautiful and interesting and forgot to care about the actual story. For instance, Pan's Labyrinth does a good job of including cgi and effects to actually enhance the story and make it stronger. But even without the effects, the story is so strong it would have stood easily on its own. Along these lines, Alice is fluff. And it isn't even entertaining fluff.

Johnny Depp as the mad hatter. OK. He seems crazy enough, with that creepy gap-toothed grin. I wonder if his character suffers because of the pisspoor plot and dialogue or if he simply acts it poorly. Don't get me wrong, at times he's rather cute and lovable, but mostly you don't really give a crap about him. And when he does a bizarre dance twords the end it's an epic facepalm moment that's sure to leave you groaning in embarassment long afterwards. Actually, the only character I gave a crap about in this movie was the Red Queen. She was the most entertaining and lively of the bunch.

The movie goes from cliche to cliche. Alice is the unwilling heroine. The Red Queen is the jealous big-headed woman who detests perfection in others. The struggle between good vs evil (rendered in such a smarmy, uninteresting way that I was rooting for the Red Queen to just behead the lot of them). And then the ending.....

DO NOT READ ON IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS!!!!

Alice doesn't think twice about going back to the real world. She doesn't even consider staying in this land where she's considered a heroine, where she has friends who love her, and where everyone is "wacky" just like her. I'm reminded of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, who, though she was trying to get home the entire time, hesitates at the idea of leaving all of her friends behind.When asked why she wants to return, Alice says has important things to do and see. Does she? I never thought she cared about ANYTHING, and suddenly she's passionate about life? This is nothing in comparison to what happens when she returns. Everyone is lined up at the party she was attending, and she addresses each person with her newfound opinions, moving on to another and then another. This smacks of Burton trying to quickly and "neatly" finish the film, showing how brave and bold Alice has become. Then. Bizarrely. Alice dances the mad hatter dance. just to drive her messages home. before she walks off. Wow. That'll teach them. That'll teach me for seeing this movie! Then we go to a scene where Alice is encouraging a business man to expand trading to China. WTF. And she's on a boat, sailing off to a new, adventuresome life as a businesswoman. JOY. Apparently that's the highly important life she couldn't wait to get back to lead.

Alice has clearly gone 'round the bend afterall.

Sleepy......

Oh man it's been a while!

I'm sorry to say that I haven't really been up to much besides my usual. My parents are kinda driving me up the wall figuring out the visa stuff, and though I feel not much else is going on I feel my mind under constant stress because of anxiety.

It's gotten so bad, it's hard to imagine what it would be like to NOT be anxious about something. I was doing a lot better when we moved into the new place but as time passes it's just seeping in more and more and I'm not entirely sure what to do about it.

I did find an ad for meditation courses nearby. I shot the idea out to Chris and he is actually all about trying. So here I am, doing some googling to find out more.

I've fallen back on some things because I've just, felt absorbed. Hahaha. that makes no sense. but I do urgently need to email my Lady V and Janyce and send some responses on myspace. I'm sorry to my friends, I'm not neglecting you at all, just going through a low dip and back up I'll be.

I've ordered a couple dresses on ebay. This is a big deal for me. I haven't worn a dress in YEARS. I've always hated dressing up. But I;ve gotten so bored with just pants and t shirts, and tired of feeling like a man with a huge rack. So I bit the bullet. I have no fantastic expectations that I'll be thrilled with my purchases. After all, they'll require exposure of my legs, which haven't seen the light of day since sunday school. But little by little.

I was reflecting on something....about how hard it is to be spiritual in these modern times. it is. SO hard. When everything you read and hear tries to point you in other directions, and make you feel ridiculous for trying desperately hard to hold onto your beliefs, however tenuous the connection. What's wrong with spirituality complimenting science, and vice versa? Isn't that what balance is all about?

HeadacheHeadacheHeadacheHeadache

Ouchie. It hurts. Need moar sleep, less flash games.

I have been playing flash games like some sort of crazy person, sitting in front of my computer clickclickclicking the mouse. ah, it's fun.

Worst St. Ives advertisement of all time!

This is the first real drawing I've finished in a long long time. It's not great, but better than normal. What's shocking about it is that I'm getting better at drawing more than one character at a time.

I did this for Chris for Valentine's day as a gift :D

Sorry for the crappy photos. I've got a new camera and tripod on my list of future purchases. Shaky hands ftl!

:)

I've been reconnecting with old friends. I suppose myspace isn't as useless as it seems.

I find myself wholly, profoundly blessed with all of the people that are dear to me in my life. We may be born alone, and go home alone, but we're not ever alone in it.

I felt that this warranted some photos of cute animal pals.

Arts & Craps

My storage cabinets!

I do have a lot of supplies, but I've got a real strange variety. Coloured pencils, markers, clay, beading and crafting supplies, various glues, TONS of felt, watercolours, acrylics, resin supplies. gold leaf (LMAO weird I know...), stamping stuff, soldering iron and solder (LOL),grommets and eyelets and other such dainty scrapbooking stuff that's great for bookmaking, tons of chipboard....and etc!

I've got this real nice closet that I can use for my stuff like an extra cabinet :D This is GREAT for all my different types and sizes of papers.

Hooray!

It's practically done for now. I am working on getting a new table to do my work on though, since my computer takes this one over.

I'm looking forward to starting some artwork again! I think, as I mentioned before, my next attempt will be dioramas and adding more 3dimension to my drawings. so I'll start incorporating more felt and beads and different things.

Been listening tons to Live's albumn "The Distance To Here". I really love Live. And this albumn, though it's from 1999, is starting to mean more and more to me now. I adored it when it came out...it's got such beautiful imagery and interesting music. But now it really is meaningful for me, too. I used to think they were all love songs but I can see now they're about being awakened spiritually.

Speaking of which, I am going to join a Spiritualism community. Spiritualism is basically a belief in the soul and survival after death and that it's possible to contact spirits and such. I have a good feeling that this will be really good for me, and I'm excited but nervous, too. Along with "church", they offer courses and seminars and stuff. Ooh la la! :D

I bought some presents for my darling Vanessa....one of them totally on impulse (thanks to Chris!). VANESSA, you haven't emailed me back yet you goon!!

Sammy update!

Sammy has updated his blog for the first time in forever!

We may be instating the Daily Sam soon. Just need to acquire some more pictures :D!

Whatcha waiting for? Go go go! :D

Sammy Can Has Adventures