I've been spending some time trolling the "creative gigs" section of craigslist looking for a part-time or flexible supplement to my- well, let's face it- nonexistent income. A lot of times it's severely frustrating because either a.) there's nothing out there worth following up on or b.) people with a perfectly adequate cash flow want an artist to be their "intern" or do work pro-bono to add to their "portfolio" just so they can save a dime. Music labels or marketing firms pose under the guise of being an upstart to get free talent, that kind of crap. Really pisses me off, because it undercuts the whole principle that artists and designers are craftspeople with skills worth paying for. I mean, you wouldn't try to hire a plumber to fix your toilet, and then try to tell him that you can't pay him, but the incredible experience of unclogging your shitter will look great on his resume? Would you??

If so, then you deserve to have your bathroom explode. In turn, lots of disgruntled artists post snarky replies railing against the kind of disrespect that's going on. It's kinda hostile out there, which adds to the already present suckage, but it's the truth- nobody with skills, talent, and training should work for cheap or free, pretty much.

So. I've kinda had an emotional day, but I did come across this one ad tonight which nearly made me lose it, and for completely the opposite reason stated above. Woman in Southie (that's South Boston to the rest of you) has a little table she'd like painted for her disabled 3-year old daughter. She doesn't get a whole lot into what the drama with the kiddo is, but does go on about some pretty design ideas her little one might like- flowers, butterflies, teacups, the works- and offers a modest fee, or maybe barter, maybe pay for the supplies. She just wants something nice for her kid, and it's clear they don't have a whole lot to spare. She shouldn't even have to suggest it, you know? But she's still offering payment, which is at least respectful, and it would be a really nice thing for some artist to do for her.

Because this would definitely be a nice thing to do for free.

the newest member of our [increasingly] odd little family clan, Miss Matilda C. Rocketbutt. She's tiny, and she makes little happy warbly noises! awww, the little widget.

 

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Edited to add more pictures of the little dahlin'. I named her Matilda because, a. I like that name, and b. that makes her nickname Maddy, so she's pretty much named after Matt. Last night she snuggled on my lap while we watched TV, and after a little while i got her to calm down enough to put her head down and have a snooze, all while curled up in the cup of my hand. Loves having her ears scratched. Starts burbling and squeaking and making happy noises. She also seems to like continuous sound, I guess that's what what she's used to in the pet store, so in the studio today i have my downtempo/ambient electronica mix playing. She's chilled out a bit and has scoped out her cage a little, instead of just hiding in her box, and she's started to associate my voice with food and snuggles, so she isn't as skittish. She's so tiny, and so fast, like she's got a little jetpack strapped to her tush. And this morning I offered her a little banana-blueberry smoothie off my finger, and she lapped it right up. Somebody's got a little sweet tooth, hehe!

Me and Maddy

She has a little pink nose and a white racing stripe up to her ears.

And a little white butt, which is the only thing you can see when she's "hiding".

 
Checkin' some stuff out.

She looks like a badger-face. Or an oreo-cookie-face, whichever.

Oh, and her big brother, Ugmoe? Completely nonplussed. He just wants his carrots and his butt scratched as usual.

No little sisters allowed! Grr!

You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find a plain black knitted beanie with earflaps. As it was, i had to lop off the ridiculous pom-pom sewn on the top. It makes me look like an angry gnome. Matt thinks it is cute. Therefore i do not mind looking unfashionable, and my ears are warm so i have been wearing it it all afternoon.

That is all.

Recent acquisition from Nakisha Elsje VanderHoeven; it's an original watercolor. Reminds me of my own wicked little lop-eared rabbit, if we ever let him out in the snow.

Edit: I was so inspired by this piece, I snagged a spot in the Etsy Treasury and created a collection of winter rabbits. Enjoy!

The song is "My Patch" [duh!] by Jim Noir. I discovered it after doing
ten minutes of extensive online research, because i liked the version
in the new Target commercial.

I had myself a little design *squee* earlier when I stumbled onto Zune's promo website for their digital media player. Once I got the hang of flying through their semi-psychadelic theme artwork (I wish it were mine!), not only did I discover a pile of eclectic new music on the accompanying tracklist*, but it all made me hearken back to the days where the intarwebs first promised the possibility of visually-immersive experiences. And look, here we are!

So. Freaking. Pretty.

*Rogue Wave - Lake Michigan
  Ceu - Ave Cruz
  Junky XL - Dark Territory
  Pacha Massive - Don't Let Go
  Great Lake Swimmers- Your Rocky Spine
  Handsome Furs - Cannot Get Started

I'm lucky enough to live in a city neighborhood which is surrounded by sprawling parkland. Lately one of my favorite occupations is to explore the outreaches of my immediate territory, which often takes me for miles through winding wooded paths and over hills and across hidden meadows. I usually go with a thermos of hot tea and digital camera in hand. Besides the hundreds of acres in the city Arboretum, as well as the cemetary which backs onto my hill, there are miles and miles of conservation land and paths. I almost have more places to roam than I did growing up in a rural town.

Last week I found a meadow, sort of tucked unexpectedly between the back of the Arboretum and a fenced-off train lot. Weird juxtaposition. I was at first drawn off course by the open spread of green tufted grass, sun dappled by clumps of short trees. I found a small marsh which was fringed by a willow grove on one side, and a path wound through the tall grass, across a dry streambed, and up a short slope. I startled a deer out of her hiding place in the reeds. When i looked back around, i saw a long concrete wall covered in fantastic graffiti art. Presumably the area is secluded enough so the urban picassos could paint without interruption.

I like to take close-ups of spraypaint art, composing something entirely separate from the original design. Plus, there's the added texture of the peeling paint, cracks and lumps in the concrete, and spatters and drips. I spent some time at my newfound plein-air gallery collecting colorful abstract photographs. I'm thinking maybe I'll sell framed prints. Yeah, artsy-fartsy, i know.

Today Matty and I took advantage of the clear November weather to walk around the arboretum in Jamaica Plain. After wandering a few miles though the woods, we came across a huge hill from the top of which we could not only see the panorama of the city, but also the the neighboring hillside, where our house is.

And then we goofed off.

Hey look! That dog has his collar popped.

And after that, we chilled for a bit in our neighborhood cafe, and took interesting pictures of each other.

It's a horror of a night here in Boston. A storm is blowing by offshore, and the wind and the rain have been howling like mad up on our hill. Almost all the leaves have blown off the trees, and our wild yard is full of damp piles of green, red and gold.

I'm [supposedly] working on a novel for Nanowrimo, and I've poked at it a bit. I promised myself- PROMISED- that I'd make some kinda effort to get this thing done. Not only would it be awesome to have written some semblance of a "novel" before I get all old and stuff, but I'm hoping this self-imposed assignment will get my creative ass in gear and give me a little discipline. Har. Right. But I hate starting, so i'm thinking I'll begin in the middle of a story, and fill in bits and random pieces around that. Maybe that's why I started off this blog with a version of  "It was a dark and stormy night..." Blah!

In other news, yesterday was Matt-tastic's birthday. He wanted to go to the Medieval Manor for dinner, so we were treated to some feasting and revelry and naughty jokes. I got absolutely, unintentionally schnockered. Matty had a blast, and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure. While i was busy hiccupping over my tankard, he was up on stage hamming it up with the king and the jester, something to do with jousting with phallic breadsticks. Hehehe. It's all a little foggy. But he had a great time- ok, we had a great time- and laughed a whole lot when I was all tipsy outside the theatre. I fell on my ass!! Go, me!

So yeah, I kinda had a hangover this morning. Heh.

Last weekend we went to a dorky halloween party, and by dorky I mean in an absolutely awesome way, because i have the dorkiest sense of humor ever. I dressed up as a LOLcat (I'm in ur party, drinkin ur beerz), and the mister went as a Safety Manager. I'm always teasing him about being overly cautious, so we spent part of the evening gleefully writing up humorous safety violations on the other people attending.

Evidence of dorky halloween costumes:

Also, some photos from a few weeks ago, when we went for a hike up the Great Blue Hill in Canton. The weather was glorious, and we had a clear view of the city and surrounding hills, all speckled with gold and orange.

Also, I've been working on some beady things, so hopefully that will all come to some kind of visible fruition sometime soon. I've been in kind of a creative slum for the past few weeks, but I've been keeping busy organizing and doing some bookkeeping, and setting up some things in my studio. Bought some nice new plier, too, so maybe my hands won't cramp up as much. Also, one of my silly uncles tipped me off about a new bead shop in his neighborhood, so I sent them an email tonight with some photos of my paper beads and other designs. hopefully they'll bite, and at the very least I'll go over and pay a visit next week. Woo, beads.

Speaking of beads, a couple weeks ago Matt and  I went to visit his mum up in Maine, and I brought some beads and findings along with me to show her. She's a funny lady- she always goes on and on about little crafty ideas, but doesn't think she has the gumption to try them herself. Matt took her to a bead shop once, and she thought she might like to try and make something, but the little bitch working behind the counter was totally unhelpful, so that put the kaibosh on that idea for the time being. So I brought some pretties up with me, and  showed her how simple it is to stack beads on a wire headpin and hook it onto an earwire, and we had a good time designing some fancy fancy jilleries. She's actually really creative, and has a good eye for shape and color. So, I secretly made her an Etsy! Matt is going to suprise her with it tomorrow, and we're betting she'll be all excited. Oh, gosh, she'll say, that is just so neat. Those are the earrings I designed!? Wouldja just look at that!! Wow!

Hehehehe.

Also been playing Kingdom of Loathing a little bit. Yeah, yeah, goofing off. whatever. I did some art!

So, for now we're all cosy in our little house on the hill, and we finally got the heat to come on. Our furnace is as old as hell, down there in our scary dark basement. I made a delish supper- herbed lamb chops, baked squash, mashed potatoes, roasted pears- a regular yankee feast, perfect for a chilly autumn evening. Brrr!