Another World is Possible, But it is Within This One

When I went home for dinner last night, there were a few little gifty's waiting for me.  Mom went to an antique mall over the weekend and found this tiny little dish to add to my Asian corner.

It fits right in with my other landscape plates of the Far East.  And look at my plant!  It has some new little shoots and leaves coming in.  The other item was this awesome surf book that Debby found for me at the bookstore where she works.

It is divided up by country (Norway, New Zealand, etc) and features beautiful photography of the oceans, nature, and surfing.  And because it is an oversized book, the photos jump out even more!  Thanks Debby!

On another apartment update note, I recently got some posterboard to frame my purple print that hangs above the couch.  I had been keeping an eye out for a frame but then realized that part of the appeal of the piece is the texture and matte-look of the paint.  I think this solved the dilemma, really making the colors and design pop, but at the same time allowing the texture to still be appreciated.

(photos by e.hunt)

Like An Afterimage

Happy last few days of February!  Where did this month go?!  I feel like I just started writing 2/__ dates on everything.  Anyway, I hope you all had an enjoyable weekend.  After a couple weeks of springtime 60s and 70s, the temps dropped back down into the 30s.  Good thing I decided against putting all my winter coats away last week!

I worked all weekend: nice, long, 8-hours shifts Friday through Sunday.  On Friday I went home for a delicious chili dinner and then got to enjoy it again as leftovers the following night.  I have spent my evenings watching Season 5 of Game of Thrones.  As expected, things got even worse for our band of Westerosi main characters over the course of the ten episodes.  Now I only have one more season to watch before the new one starts later this spring.

Last night Dad made soup for Sunday dinner.  I don't know if you all have heard, but Antiques Roadshow is coming to St. Louis this summer so we have been brainstorming items that we could bring that would be appealing enough to get us on the show.  There's the old airplane wing, a box of letters and other documents from the Mayor of Kirkwood back in the 1800s, a series of antique books, and these top hats that were made in St. Louis.  Dad and I modeled them for the table.

(photos collected from ew, gameofthrones.wikia, draysbay, laprensa, radiotimes, inquisitr, watchersonthewall, huffpost, popsugar, and by t.hunt)

Everything You Have Seen Here Has Been an Illusion

Good Wednesday afternoon, everyone!  Not too much going on here.  I have a couple days off work so I've just been sleeping in, having leisurely cups of coffee in front of the computer by the window, running a few errands, and trying to do a few sketches here and there.  This one is an idea for my friend Alissa's next tattoo.  She already has the fleur de lis on her inner wrist and wanted to get the famous flying birds image from Le Petit Prince on the same arm.  I thought it'd be cool to connect the two by having the prince jumping off of the fleur de lis.  She texted me a picture of a style that she liked so I just decided to draw it out.

I watched The Illusionist (2006) last night.  Edward Norton (Fight Club, The Italian Job, Moonrise Kingdom) is a turn of the century magician in Vienna.  He has traveled the world picking up tricks and magic, then returns and catches the attention of his childhood friend, the Duchess Sophie, played by Jessica Biel (7th Heaven, Justin Timberlake's wife).  They pick up their forbidden love where they left off, which is even more complicated now as she is intended for the evil Crown Prince, played by the always-a-villain Rufus Sewell (A Knight's Tale, The Legend of Zorro, The Holiday).  Meanwhile, the always-delightful supporting character actor Paul Giamatti (Love & Mercy, John Adams), as the Chief Inspector, is trying to figure out the mystery; not just the magician's mysteries, but the mystery of murder and intrigue within the love-triangle and the Crown Prince's evil plans.

Like most magician movies, it really wants you to question what is real and what is a trick, but this movie doesn't dwell on that.  It's more about the love story.  When it came out in 2006, my friend Katherine and I saw a commercial for a movie about magicians and murder and whatnot and decided we really wanted to see it.  The problem was that neither of us could remember what it was called so when we saw The Illusionist was coming out we just assumed this was it.  When this movie did not match the tone of the commercial, or star Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, we knew we were wrong.  That movie was called The Prestige, and came out later that year.  Both are good, and are quite different from one another.  Maybe I'll watch that one next.

(photo by e.hunt, and collected from ntesla)

When the Waterless Waters Rise

I started reading a new book the other night: Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.  In college I read another one by her, The Year of the Flood, and quite enjoyed it.  This one though is her most well-known and acclaimed.  Like The Flood, it is set in a futuristic dystopia, focusing on a woman's experience through the harsh, but at that point regular, reality and everyday life.  Survival is a big theme.

Seventy pages in, I still like The Flood better.  Both are set in totalitarian worlds that don't seem that farfetched, but the way they got there is different in both.  Handmaid hasn't really explained why the world is the way it is yet, but Flood was much more focused on the environmental destruction and sicknesses of humankind.  I remember there being much more detail and imagery in that book, although Handmaid seems a little more closer to our current reality, like it could actually happen in the future.  

Both are well-written and it's nice to be reading again.  Ever since reading books for high school and analyzing them into the ground, I've lost interest in reading books for pleasure.  I've read a few here and there (the Harry Potters, Lord of the Rings, Chocolat, and a couple others), but it's never been an enjoyable hobby like it was when I was growing up.  Maybe this will start a new trend for me.

(photo by e.hunt)

Dayscape

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  It has been a busy last couple weeks for me.  Two Sundays ago we celebrated Mom's birthday with a festive Mexican soup dinner.  I worked a long shift at work, came home and changed, then went straight home to join everyone.  The dinner was delicious and Mom enjoyed her presents.  Happy late Birthday, Mama Bear!

We've had some rather odd weather the last week.  One day it's in the high sixties, the next day it flurry-snows!  While it's been nice to not have to bundle up every time I go outside, I'm still holding out for some more snow.  It's also been nice to open my windows and let in some fresh air.

I've also been spending some time with the old charcoal and pastel sets.  I started with a portrait of Princess Leia as sort of a warmup exercise.  You know, get back in the habit of charcoal drawing again.  Next up, I decided to draw another great fictional female character, Galadriel from The Lord of the Rings.  This time I decided to add a little color.  I've always thought Peter Jackson was a little reserved and traditional in his portrayals of the fantasy races.  Doesn't she look better with blue hair?!

Neither of them are perfect, or really look like the actresses, but they were fun to do and a great way to get used to drawing with charcoal and chalk again.  I'd like to do a full color one next, maybe a landscape!

Other than that I've just been working, doing a bit of homework here and there, and going home for dinner every few nights.  A couple days ago Mom surprised me with a nice series of wave prints she found online!  You know me: anything with waves and I'm sold!  You can't see it in the picture, but they're actually made with newspaper clippings.  I still have to get some frames, but they look great on the wall above my bed.

(photos by e.hunt)

Winter White Mood Board

I was going through the blog circuit today and one of my newer follows (The Clothes Horse) recently did a February Mood Board post and I thought it was a cool idea that I'd like to try.  Hers was red and pink themed, because you know, Valentine's Day, but I think I might do a Winter White theme.  Even though we've had the most mild winter I can remember (HELLO CLIMATE CHANGE-DENIERS), I'm thinking there's going to be at least one snowy day before the season is out.  Here's hoping!

(photos collected from cheezburger, dsignlabel.nl, freepeople, getmetacos.tumblr, instagram, hercampus, modernandclassy.tumblr, themountainlaurel.tumblr, instagram.com/kjp, instagram.com/jxxy, instagram.com/figbowl, instagram.com/natgeotravel, instagram.com/cntraveler, instagram.com/daughter_of_the_woods,  instagram.com/p/BOfwhN3jzHj/, blog.thedpages, thegiftsoflife.tumblr, and polienne)

There Is So Much Sky

I don't know about any of you, but for me it's been quite the busy week!  On Monday I met up with an old sorority friend who just moved to St. Louis.  We met up at Crushed Red over in Clayton where we had pizza and salad and got all caught up on our lives.  Looking forward to our next hang out!

After that I stopped by Artmart and picked up a little sketchbook to keep by the couch so I can doodle when I'm watching tv.  Next, I drove back to work to complete my training to train new hires!  My boss hired seven or eight new people (we've been short-staffed for a while now) and needed some extra people to help train them all right away.  Plus, I get a $65 bonus for each person that completes the training!!  So far, my two trainees are doing well, and have both mentioned how much they are enjoying the training, so yay.

I've also hung out with the work girls a couple nights this week.  On Monday we met up at TGI Fridays, which happens to be right across the street from my apartment.  Convenient!  It's sort of our after-work-drinks spot.  Last night one of the girls made a bunch of food so we had dinner at her house and watched Deadpool, the non-superhero movie that came out last summer.  As I expected, it was not as good, funny, or innovative as everyone made it out to be.

I have today and tomorrow off work and I am very glad.  Training people is exhausting!  I have a few errands to run, a little apartment cleaning to do, and some homework, but I am just looking forward to relaxing a bit!  Also, how is it already February?!

(photos by e.gerhardt, and e.hunt)