Yesterday was a really fun day. I went on a photo adventure in downtown Phoenix and had a swell time.
I've mentioned it in a previous post, but I've been working on a photo project called "Camera Swap" with my three very cool pen pals, Melissa, Adam and Nikolaus. I bought some cheap disposable cameras and have been taking random, kookie pictures of events and places I encounter in my day-to-day life.
I've lived in Phoenix for most of my life but I'd never really taken the time to explore the downtown area so I thought that this photo project would provide a perfect opportunity to really look around for unique/cool spots in the city. Also, the weather was nicer than it's been all summer (it was overcast and only about 98 degrees instead of 118 degrees we had last week). It was kind of challenging juggling the three disposable cameras and also remembering to take a few with my personal camera but I think I did okay. I had never really noticed/appreciated how colorful and lively downtown Phoenix is since I'd only really hung out there at night.
In retrospect, I wish I would've taken a duplicate photo of all of the things I photographed with the disposables since I'll be shipping them off soon and won't get to see the printed pictures (that's the point of the swap, to take pictures of your life, then to give those moments to someone else). However, I'll most likely be doing this project again since it was so much fun and now I know to take backup pictures so I'll know what pictures I took. At least I got some photos, though.
After I took most of the photos on the cameras, I stopped for snax at Treehouse Bakery. It's a vegan bakery that's right around the corner from Trunk Space and Bikini Lounge. I got a Spicy Hot Chocolate cupcake and an Iced Tea and it was HEAVEN. I had no idea vegan pastry could be so good! And the store is owned by two girls, so next time you're in that area and find yourself with a sweet tooth, pay them a visit! (I should've taken a picture of our cupcakes!)
Anywho, I'm really looking forward to seeing the pictures my friends take, especially since they all live in cities I've never been to. Melissa is from Glasgow, Adam from Plano, TX and Nikolaus lives in Cologne, Germany. As an added bonus, all of these peeps are talented at photography so I'm pretty much guaranteed to get some rad photos. I need to make a friend in France now, haha!
In other news, I've also recently become OBSESSED with the show, Adventure Time! In less than two weeks I've watched all 5 seasons and made 3 embroidery hoops of characters from the show (and I have a list of more characters I'd like to make into hoops too). Here's some pics, they're pretty math if I do say so myself!
All of these hoops are currently up for grabs in my Etsy shop, so take a gander at www.iggystarpup.etsy.com
I'm so happy I finally gave this show a chance because I absolutely love it. The writing and voice acting is brilliant! I'm even thinking about going as Marceline the Vampire Queen for Halloween now.
Okies, well, I better get some biz done before I have to go to work.
I'll see you in the Nightosphere, you sick freaks!
So far this weekend has been pretty pretty pretty good. I've watched a crapload of tv but that's okay, as long as it's in moderation, right? In case you're curious I've watched "Our Idiot Brother", "Dirty Girl", "My Week with Marilyn" and some of season 2 of "Game of Thrones". I must say, I have some damn good taste in tv, I'll tell you what.
But I didn't just watch tv. I've gotten a lot of work done too. Courtney works hard and she plays hard. I finished a Breaking Bad hoop and it sold in less than 24 hours! Then today I got a commission for a Fancy Beasts animal portrait so I've been a busy little bumble bee.
The buyer of the Heisenberg hoop (pictured below) was an old art school buddy of mine. He drove over to my neck of the woods to pick up the hoop and we got to catch up as well. Always good to get updates on other Herberger Institute of Art and Design alumni. While we were shootin' the breeze I bumped into another friend of mine who I hadn't seen in years. My friend and I had wanted to take a picture together with the embroidery when a woman offers to take our picture. I look up and I'm like, "Oh mah gawd!" I've known this girl since I was 12 and now she's a married lady who's just about to have her first baby. Time sure does fly, doesn't it? However, I feel like my life is more like the movie "Big" played backwards. I feel as though I'm becoming more of a kid with each passing year, haha!
Anyway, I've probably already said this before but it feels SO GOOD to sell something you made. For an artist, there isn't any better feeling. I've been meaning to buy a map and start putting pins in it to keep track of all the places my art is. It's cool to think that my art is all over the world now and that a part of me has traveled to distant lands and over vast oceans. Neat, huh?
Oh! Another thing I wanted to mention is that today I bought a disposable camera and the reason I bought this camera is because I'm going to be doing a project with my pen pal called "camera swap". If you haven't heard of it (I hadn't til a week ago) let me explain it to you. So both you and your buddy buy disposable cameras and take pictures of your life and the things around you. Once the camera is full you mail it to each other and get it developed. What makes this a special project is that only your buddy will ever see the pictures you took, not you. It's like sending a part of your life to another person to share. I'm very excited about this project and am already thinking about places I want to photograph. I took 2 pictures today so only 25 to go. My friend lives in Texas, which I haven't really spent any time in but I'd like to do this same project with my pen friend in Scotland as well. That would be a super cool exchange since our environments are so vastly different. So yeah, you should try it with a friend :)
Okies, I better get back to work but I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening and have a nice holiday!
Take her easy!
