Bluebirds and Birch trees

 When I was younger, I used to dress up on a regular basis. When I got older, it changed from dress-up to dressing up, and I used to do it more frequently than I do now–why?–because, why not?  Dressing up for fun without any plans other than wanting to look particularly fine on a given day is something I did when I got new pieces of clothing. I would spend the entire day sometimes, just going back and forth and trying on new outfits just to see what worked, and what didn't.  The act of taking the time and the care of what it was I was putting together was very relaxing, and in a way, I suppose it could be called therapeutic.  Why I have suddenly not done this is for one reason–I became lazy.  I don't have a lot of pictures taken of me, and as a result I usually end up taking pictures of myself on those particular days so I have some decent photographs. Those photos typically end up becoming profile pictures on social media. But for me, the getting ready a...

 Hey guys! First off, sorry I haven't gotten to posting that book post/recommendation. It's been a far more picky post than I'd hoped it would be.  But in the meantime–I finished my first knitting project for Fall! (Or Autumn, I call it both, so bear with me on this)  First off, I had been gifted a lovely skein of alpaca yarn that is simply gorgeous, and super super soft! But it's not been worked so much that it has lost all of it's natural fiber look.  I hadn't been sure what to make with it, as it was only a couple hundred yards, and it's not a whole lot of yarn if you're wanting to make something to wear.  Lo and behold, a cowl came across my vision one day, and it seemed a simple enough project. My cowl  Now, unlike most knitters, I didn't knit mine in the round. Not only was it a bit of a pain to try and gauge it correctly on circular needles, but mine aren't the right size for working with this particular skein, which is in the...

Hello friends! While going through my room, I came across a picture I had bought some time ago but never found a way to hang. While it's only a copy, it's a very good photocopy. Sadly, however, neither the picture itself or the frame it's been printed on has a watermark or a signature of any kind. I've never had to search for artwork online when I've had a physical copy, so I'm quite new to this. That being said, this is the painting/photocopy in question: I was hoping in the off chance that any of my readers out there would know anything about this painting, that they'd be able to help me in my search. Or, if you know any good ways of finding artists online, to maybe offer up some advice on the subject?

Up to 32 drafts and more things to write. Up to 32 drafts and more things to do. What do you do when you're up to 32 drafts and other obligations? Why, you make another draft because just as you've begun the last one you were writing, something else comes up and the entire topic of it changes.  So let's get right down to it shall we? I have just purchased two inking pens for my artwork. Something I like doing when I have a little spare cash, I'll buy one or two of a specific brand of a certain art supply to see how well it fares. Up till now, I have been using Pilot G2 pens for inking in my artwork, both pencils and watercolors. But today, I purchased two Pigma pens. The .5 Pigma Micron, and the Pigma Brush. I have yet to use them to any great extent, but these are my first impressions.   Pigma Micron .5  My hands are a little shaky at times when I'm inking, both as a factor of the cold and occasional anxious tendencies. While the Micron .5 is a very cl...

 So much seems to have happened already this year. And although we have so much of it left, we've already seen so much.  I feel like I've suddenly grown-up, and even though I know I have a long ways to go still, I can't help but feel like it's not as bad as I've come to imagine.  Here I am, in my last year of high school, getting ready to land my very first job. Prepping to get a drivers license, and finally figuring out that I do in fact want to dye part of my hair.  It might sound normal to everyone who's already gone and done it all, but the fact of the matter is that for each and every person who's about to go and do it--it might be more than a little scary.  I find myself thinking more and more lately about the past, when I would play for the whole day with my beanie babies (you had at least one I'm sure!) and play dress up with my imaginary friends. But also, not much has changed since then.  I still play with my beanie babies because I did...

Because I am a writer and an artist, and because these were about the same price as all the boring stuff in the store--I bought some awesome writing and art supplies. So without any more delay, the spoils of war findings from today's adventure.   Mechanical pencils with woodland creatures! Foxes, hedgehogs (I think), owls, and racoons! Not to mention refillable, that's always a nice option. Washi tape and molded erasers! If you don't know what washi tape is, go look it up an oogle at all the designs available. They vary in sizes as well, this one is 1" wide, with a carnival design, I've already put a strip across my computer for a decoration. The molded pizza erasers actually come apart, the cheese layer and then the green and red toppings! Although some people collect them, I prefer to use them as they work very well with the types of paper I use. Might as well make what I use fun! Elephant note paper, and two googly eyed push pins...

I'm starting to think I'll never get to those 9 drafted blog posts. But every time I open up my blog to write, none of them come out at me to say, "Me! Finish me!" But I think that's okay. Because you know what, I'm not normal. I don't think anyone is ever what the "civilized" world would call, normal. Not when you reach down to who they really are. No one I have met, has ever qualified to be "normal." We all have weird passions and strangely timed hobbies. Some of us have jobs while others don't, but that's not what makes a person "normal." Normal is a label given to people from other people who feel that someone has done a good job at being a social and successful human being. News Flash : Normal doesn't equal life. You have a job, that's great! Or not, maybe you don't like it. I have a part time job of sorts, great, you make money, hopefully. You don't have a job, depending on situation, that ...

 Why not resolutions? Because do be completely honest, I've never made one, or if I had I rather doubt I kept it. Rather, I call them yearly goals. Now those more often than not, I do keep. So here, is a short list of things I wish to accomplish this year, and will do my absolute best to complete them. But they are not the ordinary goals one usually hears during the excitement of new years partying. Finish reading Sherlock Holmes. Finish reading Jules Verne. Finish reading Emma, by Jane Austen. Complete first draft of Skaters World. If possible to continue from the above, work on draft two. Complete chapter one of Coffee Rings, draft something. (I lost track for that one) Work on, and if possible, complete draft one/rewrite Commit. Update all outlines. Get papers from writing and artwork orderly and filed. Granted, every single one of those pertains to stories, in one form or another. However, I do have non-writing related goals as well; such as-- Get drivers licens...

 This new year of two thousand and sixteen has started off quite different from last year, and quite different from imagined. But it is not altogether, quite apart from fantastic!  First and foremost, I am sitting here with the very strange brunch of cold homemade pizza, and coffee. Mostly because someone took it upon themselves to eat what was left of my toast. The coffee pot was still about halfway full, and we can't have that on a Saturday, oh no sir!  Secondly, on the first day of the new year, I completed a drawing of myself, along with nearly all the characters of my stories that I had written about in the past year of 2015. The ending result being me, accompanied by the two main characters of Coffee Rings, the four main and three supporting of Skaters World, and the seven main with the nine supporting of Commit. Despite that rather large number of twenty-five characters, plus myself, I ran out of room and was unable to include any others from other novels, or an...

Dream big, because even if your dreams might be too big for one person, that's what you have your friends for. That's what you have your family for. My dreams are larger than life most days. But that shouldn't stop me. Soon, I'll be able to clear a good amount of stuff out of my room, and get going. I plan on not holding back the moment I graduate. Dreams, here I come. Not to say I don't chase them now, oh heavens no! I chase them the best I can with everything else right now, and true it's hard. But I'm not stopping. I can do so much, but with the help of others, I can do so much more. Look forward to this not simply being a lonely blog of a girl who doesn't know what to say, but one with a definite dream. One that I'm chasing with all of my heart. Step one, clean the room so that dreams can begin to take form. Step two, clean the mind at the same time. Step three, we'll see what we feel like doing after steps one and two. True I expect life t...

 Who has ever been stumped for getting a gift?  *raises hand while rubbing forehead.*  I have finally come to a solution for myself as to what to give to my surprisingly large amount of friends, and it costs almost nothing. And I am actually giving them something. Paper. With paint on it. And pen. And ink. I'm painting them all a little portrait of themselves in a photo of my choosing. So yeah if they don't like it, than they really shouldn't post the photo. Because I use what I can! For some I'm using graduation photo shoots for inspiration, others I'm finding pictures that I know they either really liked, or looked fabulous in. And hopefully those last two things coincide. That also means I'll probably have to find a way to look on instagram without me actually getting an account because I don't like it.  But my friends do and that's where 97% of all their photos go to. I'd post some of the artwork, but since how it...

You know what's something that I don't say anymore? "I don't like my artwork." You know why? Because it's not true. Often times it has been said because the piece that I was drawing didn't turn out like I had originally planned. But that's okay, because it just means that I need to get better. And you can always get better. But just because something didn't turn out the way you had envisioned in your head doesn't mean that you're not a good artist. (And it's artist not drawer. A drawer is what a dresser is made of, and artist is someone who draws. Please do not make this mistake, as it tends to be rather infuriating to some... myself included.) So why is it that so many people seem to loath their own artwork? Because it's not what they had planned when they began. Or it's not going the way they had wanted because they couldn't figure something out. I cant tell you how many times I had been there, because I lost ...