b2

my work space

2012-02-13T19:19:00.001-07:00

I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm really really messy when I do work. I don't particularly like it- there's something so nice about a big clean desk and a lack of clutter and everything having its place... But inevitably my desk becomes a big old cluttered mess. Pliers, glue, scissors, electronics, fabric, receipts, charcoal, empty cups and glasses, sketchbooks, bills... I do think it's worth noting that in this photo of my current work space you can find 3 decorative unicorns. At least it has that going for it...

my fantasy football team

2012-02-12T18:09:00.002-07:00

This past Monday, the day after the Superbowl, I asked my friend Ryan who had won. He told me that it definitely wasn't my fantasy football team. I'm surprised, since my fantasy football team is pretty strong; A salamander, two dogs, a duckling, and Hulk Hogan.

police sketches

2012-02-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

Am I crazy or does this police sketch that I took a photo of outside the Boulder Police station look a bit like Bill Murray?

I took a photo of this one too. I'm not sure who it resembles, but it's pretty great...

bridge to nowhere

2012-02-01T00:44:00.000-07:00

Today Chris and I hiked to the Bridge to Nowhere, a giant concrete bridge built in the 1930s that was originally meant to be part of a road through the San Gabriel Mountains. In 1938 there was a flood that washed out the road, which left the bridge standing awkwardly in what feels like the middle of nowhere. It's a 9 mile round trip hike up a river bed with lots of scrambling and river crossings. We saw big-horned sheep, lots of amazing rocks, and when we got back to the parking lot as the sun was setting we saw a guy getting pumped up for some evening solo hiking- the trunk of his car popped and some tinny hip-hop blasting as he laced up his shoes and stretched, sipping from something that looked like it was a McDonald's milkshake.

Then we drove back to Culver City and ate at the Hare Krishna temple. All in all, a good day...

Chris Burden’s 'Metropolis II'

2012-01-30T14:14:00.004-07:00

I went to LACMA this past weekend with my brother and sister-in-law and niece. Chris Burden's installation was mesmerizing- all the little cars whizzing around what feels like a bubbly shiny version of the 'future'... Here's what LACMA says on their website:

Created by artist Chris Burden, Metropolis II (2010) is a complex, large-scale kinetic sculpture modeled after a fast-paced modern city. The armature of the piece is constructed of steel beams, forming an eclectic grid interwoven with an elaborate system of eighteen roadways, including a six-lane freeway, train tracks, and hundreds of buildings. 1,100 miniature toy cars speed through the city at 240 scale miles per hour on the specially designed plastic roadways. Every hour, the equivalent of approximately 100,000 cars circulates through the sculpture.

Monday pattern

2012-01-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

box of succulents

2012-01-20T17:49:00.003-07:00

Our landlord left a bunch of wood in the driveway that Chris and I were planning to burn at some point... We never got around to burning it but I did make some boxes to plant things in on the back patio.

I be making bracelets

2012-01-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

I've been making leather bracelets lately. I'm making some of the hardware out of stainless steel wire but I imagine it could be really nice in a higher quality metal. I like combining the leather with unlikely materials... felt, bits of copper tubing, embroidery floss... I don't usually wear bracelets since I always have my watch on my left wrist and I don't like anything on my right wrist that will interfere with drawing or using a computer, but I seem to keep making these anyway...

Rody

2012-01-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

This is Maggie's Rody- an inflatable rubber horse which is pretty awesome. I got some new paper and charcoal, along with some chunks of graphite the other day and I feel rusty but excited to do some drawings...

Saturday night pattern

2012-01-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

animal zombies

2012-01-10T15:46:00.001-07:00

The other day some friends and I were wondering if animals could be zombies, too. I think we decided no, unless the infection could somehow pass from human to another species, which doesn't seem to be how it works... But if it *did*, these guys would surely terrorize...

first day of school

2012-01-09T16:33:00.003-07:00

We have a drawer of bags in our kitchen for groceries or whatever else needs carrying. This is the bag that Chris decided to use to bring to school today, filled with his books and binders. I think it's appropriate that he would bring such a special bag to school on this, the first day of the new semester. I know I always use to try to put my best foot forward on the first day of school...

I wish Google + were cooler

2012-01-08T22:57:00.002-07:00

So sad, right? This was what I saw when I clicked on 'Hang out' under a friend's photo on Google + (Though after I took this screen shot I actually chatted with Duncan and Vanessa for a while...I'm guessing we were the only ones using the Google + 'Hang out' feature at the time...) Google does things so well, but I guess people are just set in their ways with Facebook. Bummer. That robot looks so rejected...

Aprons for Christmas

2011-12-28T21:42:00.003-07:00

These are the aprons I made for my sister-in-law and niece for Christmas. I wrapped up the smaller one and put it in the pocket of the bigger one, then wrapped them both together. Why is it that when things are smaller they are so darn cute? I could hardly stand it as I was sketching out the pattern for the smaller one. And even as small as it is, my niece is still swimming in it... Maybe she'll still be able to wear it when she's a little kid helping her mom cook in the kitchen and not just a toddler stirring up a bowlful of blocks with a salad tong...

Crows on Christmas Eve

2011-12-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

I went for a walk along Ballona Creek on Christmas Eve, and came across hundreds of crows spending time on the cement banks and splashing in the water. I stopped and took photos of them for a while. I really love crows...

keep Oklahoma

2011-12-21T15:31:00.004-07:00

I don't really think this note needs an explanation. It's just pretty much awesome.

A Wednesday at the Hospital

2011-12-19T11:36:00.004-07:00

Chris had surgery on his wrist on Wednesday so I went with him to the Hospital in Santa Monica. Recovering from a gnarly stomach virus myself, I spent much of the day curled in a vinyl upholstered chair in a dismal waiting room with framed faded prints of tropical island beaches. I nibbled on saltines and took sips of ginger tea and drew a blue footed booby. The whole day was sort of surreal...

another Monday pattern

2011-12-05T23:04:00.002-07:00

thanks, spoonflower.com!

2011-09-30T19:48:00.005-06:00

So this is the print I made to brighten up my nieces room in a wall-hanging:

And this is the fabric swatch I got back from spoonflower.com, where they print fabric for you for a pretty reasonable price:

The colors got a little duller, but not bad! I have a feeling all the money I just got doing some freelance work is going to get funneled directly to these guys for a while.

pot o' gold

2011-09-30T19:42:00.000-06:00

With movies like 'Zookeeper' and 'Smurfs' coming out of this place, I shouldn't be surprised that Sony Studios might just be the gold at the end of the rainbow...

birdz

2011-09-29T00:16:00.003-06:00

late night

2011-09-19T04:04:00.003-06:00

late night pattern

2011-09-15T11:19:00.002-06:00

This was on my computer screen when I woke it up this morning, from a late night last night...

sketchbook session

2011-09-13T11:26:00.004-06:00

I will make some sort of pattern out of this soon...

and also

2011-09-10T18:33:00.003-06:00

I am in love with Trader Joe's. They didn't have them in Rhode Island and they didn't have them in Colorado which means that I have spent my adult life, so far, not knowing what I was missing. My sister-in-law predicts the love affair will fade within the next three years, but until it does I am pretty happy. The loot above cost me about $36. And that's raw almond butter in there, gluten free bread, sun-dried tomatoes marinated in olive oil, shaved asiago cheese, and three bags of salad greens. Plus a bunch more. And as if the food and prices aren't enough- the staff is so nice that I forget where I am and they sell cheap yummy sake. AND there's one walking distance from my house. *sigh*

I can't believe I live here now

2011-09-10T18:25:00.002-06:00

Walking home from the grocery store I passed a fruit stand and couldn't resist. They certainly don't have these in Colorado. I pointed out what I wanted from the fruit he had in front of him and he proceeded to cut up pieces for me. Mango, melons, jicima, coconut, and cucumber. Topped with chili powder and freshly squeezed lime. For $5. I'm in love...

baby hippos for Xander

2011-08-23T19:47:00.003-06:00

These are some baby hippos that I sketched for my friend Xander, who is 3. I am going to send them in a letter, because who doesn't love getting mail?

aaaach!

2011-07-28T08:52:00.005-06:00

My house is infested with spiders. It's true. I've done a pretty good job tolerating them in the last couple years- I keep a plastic cup and postcard on hand to relocate the ones that I find that I decide I don't want around- they're too fast or too big or too hairy (shudder...). This morning I found this in my bathroom. I don't know what's going on here. I left it alone. I am hoping it will take care of itself and not be there the next time I go in. I am moving in 4 days, and then these spiders will be someone else's problem.

Distraction

2011-07-20T12:43:00.006-06:00

I don't know how I'm supposed to get anything packed when there is so much to distract me. Like the cds of x-rays from injuries I've had in the past few years. I think it's so cool that the imaging center gave me a copy...

Colors that Courtney likes

2011-07-18T21:27:00.003-06:00

This was the dinner we had back at camp on Saturday night, after a day of mountain biking on the Colorado trail and soaking at Cottonwood Hot Springs... We had salmon with a cilantro-lime-ginger-garlic marinade, and asparagus and green beans with a lemon-mustard-dill dressing... Mmm... Following dinner were Pepperidge Farm cookies and the longest game of Uno known to man...

Colorado Native

2011-07-11T16:33:00.006-06:00

My friend Ryan (who happens to be a Colorado Native himself) brought over a 6-pack of this beer yesterday. The beer bottles have fairly official looking labels on them but the cardboard 6-pack holder is branded with a red permanent marker, by hand. Brilliant. (And the beer's not too bad, either...) Ah... I will miss Colorado when I leave...

on my run this morning

2011-06-23T12:36:00.002-06:00

I saw a guy who looked just like King Hippo out on a trail run this morning. He was wearing white gloves instead of pink ones but I'm still pretty sure it was him...

shark bride

2011-06-21T13:46:00.004-06:00

I'm finding a lot of gems on some old hard drives that I'm trying to sort through today. I keep getting very distracted from what I should be doing...

poppy pattern

2011-06-14T18:37:00.000-06:00

Monday Pattern

2011-06-13T21:07:00.002-06:00

patterns at the zoo

2011-05-23T22:41:00.002-06:00

The women of NPR- part I

2011-05-15T20:08:00.010-06:00

These are images included in a Calendar that Chris and I made for our friends who are NPR junkies, for their wedding. I imagine the women of NPR would wear respectable pajamas in a sexy photoshoot rather than real lingerie.

Mandalit Del Barco

Sylvia Poggioli

Neda Ulaby

Michele Norris

Cokie Roberts

Mara Liasson

alphabet animals

2011-05-13T12:10:00.003-06:00

Easter bundlettes

2011-04-25T10:13:00.004-06:00

I think the best part was that the pear blossoms I used for decoration smelled a little like fish. Mmm...

my friend Courtney

2011-04-21T11:40:00.004-06:00

I got to see my friend Courtney recently which was great. Our conversations always give me all sorts of fodder for new projects, and we talked about art and design and dogs and computers and bikes and food and music. I recycled an old drawing to make this pattern, inspired by one of our conversations. I would wear a summer dress with this pattern on it. Hmm...

nice mittens...

2011-04-11T10:50:00.002-06:00

These guys are old- I found them in a folder of sketches and notes from ages ago, but I really like the middle guy and his mittens.

spring pattern

2011-04-07T11:55:00.000-06:00

snail pattern

2011-03-31T16:58:00.000-06:00

so much honey...

2011-03-25T13:17:00.003-06:00

Thursday pattern

2011-03-24T10:46:00.001-06:00

this is what I look like on my birthday eating soup

2011-03-22T11:03:00.005-06:00

This is the picture I got from my friend Kristin today, with this note:

"It is your birthday. Right now. And I am mailing something to you today, but in the meantime please enjoy this portrait of you with the bowl of soup I made you for your birthday. It is spicy Indian eggplant-red pepper and I hope you like it."

I do. It's delicious.

out of hibernation

2011-03-21T11:50:00.003-06:00

I'm glad that Marley's out of hibernation and ready to help me with my yard work. She sniffed at the rhubarb that's starting to poke up in the garden and pounced on the end of the hose when I moved it. When I went inside she decided to rest on my back stoop for the rest of the afternoon, which made me happy.

yucko

2011-03-18T11:25:00.002-06:00

I was just wondering to myself if some friends will be in town next weekend and my first instinct was to open up their Entourage Calendar and take a look at their schedule. I take that to mean that I spend far too much time at work on my computer. Yucko.

Tuesday pattern

2011-03-08T10:20:00.001-07:00

orchids and chris

2011-03-07T10:34:00.002-07:00

Rolling Greens in Culver City is a beautiful place to spend a few hours on a gorgeous day in early March. Afterwards I highly recommend stopping by the fruit stand near the corner of Clarington and W. Washington and getting mangoes and oranges with lemon juice and chili pepper to eat in the shade nearby...

another Monday pattern

2011-03-07T10:26:00.003-07:00

another Monday pattern

2011-02-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

crock-testing

2011-02-17T08:37:00.002-07:00

"A crock test is used to determine the amount of color that may be transferred from a sample fabric to another fabric by rubbing.
How This Test Works:
A sample fabric is fastened to the crock meter and then rubbed against a white test cloth. This test is done twice; first with a dry test cloth, then with a wet test cloth. The amount of color transferred to the test cloth is assessed by comparison with the AATCC Chromatic Transference Scale."

Wednesday pattern

2011-02-16T10:41:00.000-07:00

more patterns

2011-02-10T11:11:00.001-07:00

another Monday pattern

2011-02-07T10:05:00.002-07:00

-9 degrees

2011-02-02T10:15:00.003-07:00

Inspired by my friend Kate, I made a terrarium on Sunday. I knew the weather was about to change so I took advantage of the thawed ground and the blooming violets in my backyard and dug some up to plant in this jar. I also took moss that was growing in the clawfoot tub in the back flowerbed and some lavender seedlings that I brought in at the first frost in autumn... The violets may have been angry that I robbed them of the last of the sunlight Sunday afternoon, but if they knew what was in store I imagine they'd thank me.

Monday pattern

2011-01-31T19:13:00.003-07:00

A trip to Denver Botanic Gardens and the temperature dropping with unbelievable speed makes me draw flowers, I guess.

ach

2011-01-25T10:22:00.002-07:00

some days...

2011-01-21T11:34:00.005-07:00

This little guy appeared on a page of notes from a meeting I was in the other day...

monsters

2011-01-19T10:47:00.006-07:00

brainstorm

2011-01-14T10:23:00.003-07:00

After 4 days of the pipes in my house being frozen I've begun racking my brain for new ways to try to thaw them...

light reading (& watching)

2011-01-13T20:21:00.005-07:00

These were books (and a video) on a bookshelf at a coffee shop I was hanging out at in California last weekend. I think my favorite is 'Myspace for Dummies'.

frozen pipes

2011-01-12T15:18:00.001-07:00

stupid cat...

2010-12-27T20:02:00.006-07:00

I guess it's no surprise that I have fallen for you, little Marley. The way you hang out under my car and then come running when I call you- you let me pick you up and then you purr while I pet you... Dammit- I don't even *like* cats...

a cake and an octopus

2010-12-27T19:52:00.005-07:00

Sometimes instead of drawing I knit.

And sometimes I attempt to convert a sea-level UK recipe to an American one at 5430 ft, and then hide the mistakes with powdered cocoa and sugar...

So strange...

2010-11-24T14:03:00.003-07:00

This is the conversation that I just had with the man that pulled over and rolled down his car window- stopping me on the final stretch of my lunchtime run:

man: [rolls down window- yells something]
me: [taking off headphones] What?
man: Aren't you that baseball player?
me: No.
man. Oh. [rolls up window-drives away]

I have so many questions...

my new camera

2010-11-21T10:32:00.005-07:00

These lil' clothespins gathered to watch the sunrise with me on Wednesday morning.

What is kept in this truck, I wonder?

Full moon in the parking lot- As if any of us needed another reason to love the mall.

Mock village used for combat training.*

* Nah... it's the peppermint seaweed soap I made that's making my house smell *amazing* as it continues to harden.

born in the glamourous usa- just like me!

2010-11-19T17:21:00.005-07:00

This was the best thing that happened at work today. The contents of the envelope weren't nearly as awesome as the exterior.

Savers on a Sunday

2010-11-15T10:01:00.004-07:00

This saltshaker was a bear chained to a stump, with "No hugging allowed" painted at its base. Huh? (The pepper shaker is peeking in from the left.) Close by was a flocked Fivel figurine. I pushed them together to get this nice lil' family portrait...

little table

2010-11-13T13:17:00.003-07:00

rickity-tick

2010-11-10T15:28:00.004-07:00

not again...

2010-11-01T11:58:00.000-06:00

before the frost

2010-10-27T11:16:00.003-06:00

I saw this girl eating a grasshopper a couple weeks ago. Hopefully she laid her eggs before these last few nights of frost...

it's always the one you least suspect

2010-10-18T16:25:00.003-06:00

I would have bet on the ninja, but that just goes to show how much I know... This is the [crime] scene I came back to at my desk after going for a run at lunch today. Woah...

Sunday afternoon

2010-10-18T10:21:00.006-06:00

I think this squirrel likes hanging out on my neighbors wall. He seems pretty fearless, and I decided to test this by walking slowly towards him with the camera, taking pictures every few seconds. You can see he eventually turned to run from me, but even then popped up a few seconds later to see what I was doing.

looks like I have a problem on my hands

2010-10-11T08:49:00.005-06:00

You know, I thought my new little goldfish was acting a little strange when I got up to feed him yesterday morning... Now I know why. Apparently he'd been out stenciling his name on public property the night before. Oh, Thor...

my favorite thing in a while

2010-10-11T08:40:00.003-06:00

Sitting at the bar at Salt on a rainy Sunday afternoon with Kate, she pulled out her notebook to write something down and I saw this sketch which I immediately fell in love with. Whales! Big blobby whales with amorphous bodies and content expressions! *sigh* So great.

new friend

2010-10-07T15:54:00.003-06:00

I was a little worried that Sidekick would eat any new friend I introduced him to, but I figured I'd give it a shot. (Mudcarp died when I was out of town a few weeks ago- I thought it would be nice to give Sidekick a new friend.) I actually gave him two new friends, Thor and Cupcake, but Cupcake got sick and died a week after I got her. Thor and Sidekick seem to be pretty fond of each other, though, despite the disparity in size. I have noticed that Thor stays clear of Sidekick when I feed them- he holds back and eats the little bits of food that drift down to him, or he swims to the opposite side of the tank to eat at the surface. Smart lil' guy.

where are the acorns?

2010-10-06T11:03:00.000-06:00

plums

2010-09-30T08:43:00.004-06:00

Oh my, little plum tree. You're making me blush...

plum jam

2010-09-27T10:03:00.004-06:00

I made and canned 10 jars of plum jam yesterday, after harvesting all the plums I could from the tree in my backyard. The ladder I was using put me at eye level with the top of the neighbors cinderblock wall (that they undoubtedly have to keep out the riffraff- aka: me) and as I was picking plums a lil' squirrel decided to come see what I was doing. Totally fearless, he just sat and stared. I threw a plum at him. It landed on my neighbors' patio. Oops... (heh-heh...)

check out this bird

2010-09-22T13:09:00.002-06:00

it's been a while...

2010-09-21T10:33:00.004-06:00

...and my sketchbook has cobwebs. The last month has felt like a whirlwind and I simply stepped back and watched as all sort of things were happening around me (and sometimes to me). My brain is muddled and I'm tired and ready for a bit of downtime to dissect all that's been going on...

notes from a meeting a long time ago

2010-08-20T09:30:00.002-06:00

This was a collaborative page of notes from a meeting a long time ago with a coworker who no longer works with me, unfortunately. We were imagining that our boss lived in a trailer out in the prairie dog field by our office. We decided he must have had a long extension cord from the building so he could get power. (The rest of the drawing is a bit less clear- but I'm sure it made perfect sense at the time...)

the industrial park where I work is a lot like an enchanted forest.

2010-08-17T10:57:00.003-06:00

lil' bunny

2010-08-12T08:39:00.003-06:00

This lil' guy liked his patch of worn down grass next to the walkway. He seemed to be too young to know to be afraid of me. It's sort of ridiculous how cute the baby bunnies are. I can hardly stop myself from making audible coos when I see one. Though it was fun the year the owls nested in the tree outside the conference room, I don't miss the torn up bunny parts strewn across the walkways when we would arrive at work in the mornings- evidence of the mother owl teaching her owlets how to hunt and preying on the naive and vulnerable little bunnies... I'd rather be greeted by bunnies like this little one, chewing on grass and watching me as I pass by.

very high tech

2010-08-11T16:47:00.003-06:00

I went to a very disappointing event at the art museum last month. A DJ was talking about the history of electronic music and it was sort of awful. I drew this picture of some sort of electrical something he was talking about. Not long after drawing this, Kate and Ryan and Chris and I used our stealth moves to sneak out the back door so we could go eat dumplings and noodles.

a magical rainstorm

2010-08-09T15:58:00.005-06:00

We just got whomped with a crazy storm- with thunder and lightning and sideways rain- When the power went off I went to my office window and took some pictures... It was just magical out there.

birdseed on the beach

2010-08-06T11:27:00.002-06:00

a fine line

2010-08-05T10:26:00.004-06:00

There's a fine line between sketchy and sweet when it comes to men wearing high waisted shorts with walkmen on their belts, giant headphones, and athletic socks pulled up to their knees. If said man is over 65 or developmentally disabled the look is absolutely sweet and I will smile and say hello when we cross paths on a trail at 6:30 am and I'm on a run before work. Otherwise I will likely move over and avoid eye contact and wonder if it would be beneficial for the man I've just seen to know how much he resembles a crazy child molester...

screen shot

2010-08-04T18:44:00.002-06:00

I imported a bunch of images into a spec pack I was working on, and when I went to sort them out I noticed how nicely the one image with my hand lined up with the other. I took a screen shot of the images before sorting them. Is this actually cool? Or is my brain just fried from staring at this screen for so many hours? I guess we'll never know...

magical keys

2010-08-03T09:38:00.003-06:00

My friend Julia gave me a unicorn key cover this morning. Amazing... Now every time I go to unlock my front door the whole experience will be mystical and magical and full of sparkles and glitter... Thank you Julia!

germ-balls

2010-07-30T11:32:00.002-06:00

The first time I saw balls like these to play in was at 'Sesame Playland' where my parents [uncharacteristically] brought my brother and me when we were very little. It must have been the same trip that we went to Hershey Park, in Hershey, PA. Strangely, there are no photos of either of these places- just the fuzzy memories I have stowed in the recesses of my brain. At Sesame Playland my parents bought us fruit juice in fruit-shaped bottles, which was *awesome*. (Mine was grape.) At Hershey Park we went on a ride that simulated the chocolate making process- when we entered the 'oven' portion I was terrified, thinking for certain that we were all going to be toasted into crispy cocoa for their factory...

It's a trap!

2010-07-23T16:59:00.002-06:00

This sign attached to a little bridge next to the sidewalk was clearly a trap. I don't know if it was put there by trolls or kidnappers or bears, but you can bet I didn't cross the bridge. No sir... just kept right on walking...

barbecued pizza

2010-07-19T10:37:00.003-06:00

Moonhawk took this picture on Saturday night. He takes such nice photos, and I really liked this one... (http://www.flickr.com/photos/moonhawk/4803940472/) I can't think of a nicer way to spend an evening: drinking wine and cooking for/eating with some of the people I love most...

tigers

2010-07-19T09:56:00.003-06:00

http://www.wildanimalsanctuary.org/animals/photogallery.html
We packed a picnic and got to the sanctuary around 6. The animals were mostly sprawled in the late day sun and as it began to cool off two lions called to one another, and the wolves and grizzlies began to get more active... The mountain lions began purring and the tigers who were staying cool in their galvanized pools pulled themselves out to dry off.

None of the animals will every be released into the wild- they're all there for the rest of their lives since they were born in captivity and most had been [mis]kept as pets or as circus performers, and would never be able to survive in the wild. It's a better life than they could have had otherwise, though- but strange to see a huge male lion roaring in the dried grass of Colorado farmland...

I made a pun.

2010-07-13T11:45:00.001-06:00

Get it?

drawing I found

2010-07-12T08:42:00.000-06:00

big move

2010-07-08T11:48:00.005-06:00

If Mudcarp and Sidekick were to move across the country, I imagine this is what it would look like... If we were all headed somewhere together (as I'm hoping we would be- those little guys are basically family...) maybe they'd let me stash some things in their rented truck... amidst their algae wafers and dried tubifex worms. My guess is that Mudcarp would do most of the driving.