Revisiting My Teenage Self

I haven't written in a long time. Make that a very long time. Priorities have shifted, and I don't really know what I want from my creativity anymore. That being said, I do miss blogging and writing and just doing something creative. So tonight, I put the dishes and adult responsibilities on hold and dug out some relics from my teen years. Surprisingly, some things haven't changed so much.

When I was 16 and 17*, I wrote a zine called Boldly Going Nowhere. It took me about 3 months to put together an issue, and I stopped once I went away to college, so I only ever made 6 issues. I distributed them to friends and people on this Witchbaby** message board I belonged to (I have absolutely ZERO recollection of how I got myself involved with that, or why I stopped being involved. None whatsoever.) A guy at work recently gave me a copy of his zine (which, by the way, is really cool - thanks, Corey!), which got me thinking about all of the time I spent working on mine. Maybe one day I'll resurrect it, or create another one. But for now, I think I'll just re-published certain "highlights" in this new-fangled media thing called "a blog."

"I pull into the parking lot of Office Depot, thinking I'll pick my two extra binders and clear colored plastic dividers at my leisure. As I'm walking in, I see a girl from school. "Hi Jessie," I call...she returns the salutation. It is at that exact moment I realize that I will probably see about half my high school crammed into the 7 aisles set aside for school supplies. Amazingly, not only is half my school population squeezed into those few walkways, but also half the student body of just about every nearby elementary, junior, and high school. Of course the shelves are practically bare and you have to fight and elbow and bite in order to even get close enough to glimpse the price tags advertising that Office Depot has the lowest prices and the largest selection of school supplies.

But I, taking a stance as "Monkey Girl" herself, decide that I have no better place to be other than in the midst of students and their parents at Office Depot, and therefore will look for the humor in the situation. Seek and ye shall find, my friend. Frantic students are everywhere. "Omigod Mom, I can't have THAT planner! It will clash with everything I own!" Once I finally position myself in front of the dividers, I take my sweet time picking the ones I want. Let's see, do I want the plain white ones? Or the ones with clear tabs? Oooh, if I get this package I can get 8 for the price of 5! I pick my dividers. I decide I don't want them. I put them back. Impatient people are all around me, frothing at the mouth, waiting to snatch up the best deals.

Standing in line to pay for my items of choice, I hear a rousing account of how someone in the calculus class has already finished all the math homework for that night, and how unbelievable that is, and who she was asking for help, and how she has to juggle THAT class with ASB AND the assemblies. And behind me is a girl who is pointing out every single athlete from my school to her mother, explaining who is on varsity and who is not, and who is really good at what they do, and who is not. I shift my folders and dividers in my arms. Catching sight of my precious dividers, the girl exclaims "Mom! I need those!! Omigod!!!" Mom suggests asking me where I found them. The young athlete declines. It wouldn't be cool. I'm probably some loser, and besides, she's waaaay too cool to talk to me anyhow. I silently laugh. I pretend not to here Mom's suggestion.

People are walking into Office Depot, shrieking their friend's names, and running over to give them a hug that nearly knocks them off their feet. It's THE social event of the season! Party at Office Depot! Let's make cute accessories out of Post-it Notes!!

And of course there are those of us who are pretending not to know that we are standing right next to each other in line. Oh hi Sarah, didn't see you standing on my foot practically. How was your summer? WILD you say? Mmm hmmm, see you around school, I can't WAIT! Fakey fake. But it's the best way to handle people at the party of the century, at Office Depot."
-Boldly Going Nowhere, Issue #1, written circa 1998

*Remember, I was 16 and 17 when I wrote these things. You must excuse the silliness.

**For those not in the know, Witchbaby is a character from The Weetzie Bat Books, written by Francesca Lia Block. They were a series of 5 books that followed the same characters throughout their lives in LA, and were eventually published in a single volume called Dangerous Angels, which was one of my favorite books at that time. When things are stressful for me I find myself regressing to my teenage self, listening to Portishead and Smashing Pumpkins, tearing through my FLB collection and battling insomnia and nightmares. (Last night the nightmares centered around my upcoming trip to England for my sister-in-law's wedding. I get there and realize I've left my shoes at home.)

Commissions: The Good

Doing work on commission is fun, but I always get really nervous. Most of the time it's a gift I'm asked to work on, so I worry about what the person who asked me to make something with think, and then I also worry about what the person receiving the gift will think. But, I have to remember that I'm my own worst critic, as I'm sure many of you out there are.

A guy I work with asked me to make a necklace for his wife for her birthday. I know his wife a little, but I needed some serious help to figure out what to make. She's not particularly religious, but loves religious symbolism. Perfect! I'm not Catholic, but I have a thing for Catholic imagery, and as a result have a number of photographs of churches, prayer candles, and the Madonna in my stash. I started with this photograph, taken in a tiny church in Venice:

Venice, Italy

Then I started agonizing over what the backside of the necklace should look like. I finally decided to use a blue silk fabric that related to the blue of the Virgin Mary's robe, with a little bit of lace and a butterfly cut-out. According to my Dictionary of Symbols (picked up who-knows-where, but it sure comes in handy), butterflies are "an emblem of the soul and of unconscious attraction towards the light."

Lace

Sides

Hoping to not find out that she hates the color blue (this necklace is fairly blue-tastic), I boxed it up and took it to work.

Front

Back

Thankfully, she loved it and put it on right away. That's what I love about creating a custom jewelry piece for someone.

Check out my other necklaces at thepigandpepper.etsy.com!

Beautiful Blooms

Sunflowers

Why is it that so many of us don't take the time to treat ourselves to something small? I'm in Trader Joe's enough to be on a first name basis with half of their lovely staff, and I always gaze with longing at the floral displays. So my goal is to treat myself to some blooms when they catch my eye. 

Sunflowers

There's really nothing quite as cheerful as bright yellow sunflowers on the kitchen table, is there?

Playing Catch-Up

I've been bad. I haven't posted in quite awhile.

Here's what you missed:

Etsy Samples

1. Samples from the CCCOE Team arrived - YAY! It was like Christmas in my mailbox.

Silver Lining - Sold!

2. I had two photos in a local exhibition and am so thrilled to say that one of them sold and the other was accepted into the Orange County Fair!

Sketchbook Project - Study

3. I signed up to participate in The Sketchbook Project and have been a lean, mean, creating machine ever since.

Mawi

4. My family was faced with the difficult decision to let go of our cat, Mawi. We lost a little light in the world, and I've been finding it quite difficult to come to terms with.

5. I've been re-discovering my love for yoga.

LA Arboretum

6. I finally discovered what the LA Arboretum is all about. If you don't know yet, go. Now.

San Francisco

7. My husband and I are about to leave on a much-needed 3 day trip to San Francisco. I can't get the thought of all that yummy food and artwork out of my head.

I'll try to be better from now on...

Taking Some Time

Ranunculus

Plant Assortment

Hanging Baskets

Schwinn

Tomatos, Rosemary, Oregano, Geraniums

Chili

Recreation

The gallery I work in has an annual juried exhibtion with a local art league every spring. Beverly, one of the lovely artists who participates, came in this week bearing gifts of sweet pea and poppy bouquets and offers of succulents from her garden to anyone who was interested. Off I motored to her house after work, and returned home with a trunk laden full of goodies. James and I spent Wednesday in the small patio area we call a garden with our plants, both new and old. (Well, he spent the time in the garden planting, I swept and lit candles. I'm hopeless when it comes to gardening.) At the end of the day, we pulled our chairs from the dining nook outside to enjoy a glass of wine and a can of beer among the candles and potted goodness. (That's me in the last photo, wearing my latest favorite long cardi from Urban Outfitters. I really shouldn't have, but I couldn't resist...)

Farmer's Market Love

We went to the local Famer's Market today in the hopes of finding heirloom tomatos, strawberries and sweet pea sproutlings. No heirloom tomatos or sweet peas, but we found beautiful strawberries and settled on a small basil plant to replace our dead one.

Strawberries

Sweet Basil

You can't imagine how amazing these smell...

http://sweetpeastudios.etsy.com

http://thepigandpepper.etsy.com

Getting Personal

I have a hard time knowing what to write about myself. I always worry that there's a fine line between informative and TMI and I'm on the wrong side of it. Plus my childhood shyness tends to rear its ugly head whenever I try to write anything remotely resembling a bio or artist statement.

Soldering

Anyway, here's a start! Thanks, Carly (of Lovely and Amazing) for the idea!

The ABC's of Me

A-Age: 27

B-Bed Size: Full
C-Chore you hate: Cleaning the toilet
D-Dog's Name: I don't have a dog, I have two cats that live with my parents called Mawi and Cal
E-Essential start to your day: Coffee with hazelnut creamer and a kiss from my husband
F-Favorite colors: Blues, greens, very deep pinks
G-Gold, Silver or Platinum: Whatever. I just like things silver in color.
H-Height: 5'5"
I-Instruments you play: I used to play the guitar when I was in high school. I'm learning to play the handbells now. And I sing in my church choir.
J-Jewelry you wear everyday: My wedding rings on my left ring finger, 4 silver twig rings on my left pointer, a thick silver band from the Camden Market in London on my right pointer, a silver and amethyst heart ring my husband gave me for my 21st birthday and a thin silver band on my right ring finger.
K-Kids: Not right now.
L-Living arrangements: I live in one-bedroom apartment with my husband
M-Mom's name: Joyce
N-Nicknames: Jenn Jenn, etc.
O-Overnight Hospital Stay: Only when I was born.
P-Pet Peeves: Nasty people. Cell phones going off in movies. People who don't use their turn signals.
Q-Quote: "Life is what happens when you're busy making plans." I have no idea who said that.
R-Right or Left Handed: Right
S-Siblings: None
T-Time you wake up: Between 6:45 and 8:00 unless it's my day off.
U-Underwear: I'm a fan.
V-Vegetable you dislike: Beets, Brussels sprouts
W-Ways you run late: I just don't think about what time I have to leave to get there in time. I'm pretty good at that.
X-X-Rays: Just my teeth
Y-Yummy food you make: I make lots of yummy food. Lasagna, spagetti bolognaise, German potato salad, chicken parmesan, paprika/garlic potatos, lemon and thyme salmon.....lots.
Z-Zoo Favorite: I just love zoos.

http://thepigandpepper.etsy.com

http://sweetpeastudios.etsy.com/