Guilty Pleasures.

I am so ashamed of this but I don't even care. Here are a few things I enjoy, but kinda wish I didn't:

1. American Idol.
2. Dancing with the Stars.
3. Karaoke songs.

Yes, I download karaoke songs and sway to the old school beats (as I am doing right now). So classic. How can people not enjoy them? This, I do not know. I am probably shaming my cool music savvy friends. Sorry.

Transferring Neglect (from School to Art).

So...I had disappeared from the blogosphere for a while. This was a result of a much needed introduction that went something like this:

Evalynn, school. School, Evalynn.
Me: Nice to meet you.

Yes, I had to focus on school for a while. I had been somewhat putting it aside for my art, which I admit, I should never have done. Art is just so addicting though. I realized I had a problem and am now taking the steps to solve it. Pat on the back for me.

Now I am patching up the neglected blog with a post. Hooray.

Since I have been studying and such (studying techniques are all coming back to me now, ha), I have been unable to stencil/spray paint it up. A shame, really. BUT I did try my hand at ACEOs (Art Cards Editions & Originals or Artist Trading Card, respectively) 2 nights ago since it is much less time consuming than my usual art pieces.

I had never attempted such a thing before. I actually had never heard of an ACEO until about 2 months ago on Etsy. Just thought I'd get that out of the way to excuse myself for the ACEOs to follow. Yeah...found out it isn't really my thing. I felt kind of awkward making them, to be honest. But that's okay. At least now I know.

Perception.


Story Time.

I think I am going to stick with spray paint and stencils. Yup. Also, I got my statistics quiz back today and received a 29.5 out of 30 (a BIG change from the quizzes of the past 3 weeks). Apparently I am doing something right.

Productivity? What's that?

Im Just Weird, note cards set. TheTimeIsNow.


I could not have said it better myself.

I have been feeling a little blah lately. I have armfuls of work to do, but have yet to do anything about it. Yup. Just one of those days. Except for me it's been, oh, a couple of weeks.

On the upside, I made 2 sales today. Yay.

I love Mother Romano.

My mother never ceases to surprise me.

Last night, my mother and I watched some television. Okay, it was a Hallmark movie. She loves those. It was pretty much quality mother and daughter time.

Being the awkward kid that I am, I grabbed for the nearest pen and started drawing a small face on my pointer finger. I write on my hands a lot. It is a bad habit. I showed my mother and expected the look that I always get from others when I do things like this. It is usually a: "You are one strange kid" disapproving look. You get used to it.

My mother did not give me this look. Instead, she found it pretty humorous. She took the pen from me and doodled a little face on her own pointer finger. Wow. I was pretty shocked. My mom's not one to draw on her hand. She's not the type of person to do such a thing.

I ran to my camera. No time for stealthiness. I apologize for the horrible quality pictures, but excitement tends to create an unsteady hand for me.

In the beginning. Look at the concentration involved.

Aw. Look at how proud she looks. I never got this look growing up. Ha.

The final product. She wrapped it in a small piece of paper towel to make it baby-looking. Oh mother Romano.

I couldn't help but chuckle as I was preparing this post for all to see. I hadn't actually really seen the final product until now. I was too much in the moment to truly notice its facial features.

This made my day.

Freshy's: Homemade Brigade.

The Homemade Brigade is a craft/art sale that occurs once a month at a local coffee shop called Freshy's. I participated in the very first one that happened in February. The rare glowing sun was out mingling with the happy Seattlites. This equaled a packed coffee shop of potential customers. However, I was in a corner where it took leaps and motivation to reach me. No sales resulted for Margins. I suppose no one was particularly motivated that day.

Today, was the Homemade Brigade of April. I snagged a quality spot this time around.


The weather was not so much quality though. It snowed off and on, rained off and on, and the sun would make quick appearances every now and then. A little bit of everything. Barely any potential customers were around in the 4 hour period of the brigade. Boredom resulted in Big Brother:


My doodle started out as merely bullseyes but then I saw a loving relationship between the two formed creatures. I pondered: mother and child maybe? Then the bullseyes started to resemble human eyes and I immediately thought: Big brother! Yes...it was that kind of day.

The shop owner is super nice and offered to showcase my work on her wall at no charge. She shows off artwork from a few different artists instead of just one around her shop, which I think is quite refreshing. My first coffee shop wall (my apologies for the lack of photography skills):


I sold one art piece today - Biggest Fan.


I am quite thankful.

Kinko's. Kinko's. Kinko's.

I have had pretty bad experiences at Kinko's. (Pardon. FedEx Kinko's.)

Many of my most classic procrastination moments have taken place at a Kinko's. These situations bring me to the doorstep of the nearest Kinko's with my Mac in hand and anxiety within.

Anxiety not only due to the possibility of a late paper, but also due to figuring out how to print the thing out. Technology dislikes me. We don't click, which is sad because I thought that I was supposed to be among the generation of technology savvy individuals. Apparently, I did not make the cut.

I went to Kinko's today. I actually shuddered when I decided that I had to go. I wanted to create (greeting) cards of my art work because I heard it was a good thing. So I did and...I don't know. They are alright I suppose (I just say that to protect my self-esteem). I actually don't like them much. Maybe the paper just didn't do it for me. I get really picky about paper issues.

I was handed the sad looking greeting cards and walked over to the paper cutter, as they needed some trimming. Oh, the paper cutter. We haven't gotten along until my late high school years and even now our relationship's a little shaky. I can't seem to use it correctly, so the cards are awkwardly different sizes.

Luckily, there was a pleasant looking old woman at the next table keeping me and my loud, squeaky paper cutter company. I cringed with every swift of the cutter.

I was welcomed with Seattle's droplet showers as I walked out of the Kinko's. My squeaky windshield wipers did not help the situation.

The Dalai Lama.

"True compassion is not just an emotional response but a firm commitment founded on reason."

- His Holiness The Dalai Lama

Yesterday, I received the rare opportunity to witness the Dalai Lama speak at the University of Washington, the school of which I attend. It was nothing short of amazing. As I expected, his words were very much inspirational. He spoke of the importance of inner peace that, once is achieved, would be able to spread outward. The significance of compassion is the main message that he tries to communicate.

He is actually a very funny man. At one point, he pointed to a balding young man in the crowd and mentioned that they had the same hair. He would let out kind-hearted laughs at such comments. His smiles and laughs are quite contagious.

At the end, we all attempted to swarm out of the arena in one large crowd. However, we were halted by the security men. As we stood there, waiting patiently to get on with our daily lives, Cheryl remarks: "If we didn't just listen to a talk on peace and compassion..." Ha. She's right. There probably would be pushing and shoving involved in a different situation.

The message was nice and peaceful, despite the mass of protesters chanting outside the arena with signs in hand. It was a joy and truly refreshing to hear the Dalai Lama's words echo in the same vicinity that I was seated in.

Off to find my inner peace.

Featured Artist #1: La Maga.

I discovered the Etsy shop LaMaga by Favorites hopping and it immediately brightened my day. I have made two purchases on Etsy, Red Horses and Boneshaker. Both are original ink drawings by Raquel. I am drawn to her illustrations. I can't help it. They just make me extremely happy. She is an incredibly talented artist from Spain and has agreed to comply with my requests for answering a couple of questions.

What do I do best? Fall and spill liquids on myself and others.

What does Raquel do best? Art.

+What got you started in the whole art scene?

Well, I've been drawing since I could remember, but I started in a more serious way on 2005-2006, when my boyfriend gave me new watercolors, inks and a lot of art supplies as a birthday gift. I begin to draw several hours every day since then, and eventually I got better and I began to feel better drawing too.


+What inspires you to create such pieces of art?

Mostly, other people's work. I search a lot on the Internet and I watch a lot of art, design and photography books to inspire myself. I love to read too: Chejov, Gorey, Carroll, Cortazar, etc. I found great ideas on the books. Also, nature is a great source of inspiration for me: the forests, trees, animals...

+How did you think up your shop name?

La Maga is my favourite book character ever. She appears on "Rayuela", a book by Cortazar which everybody should read at least once in life (seriously, no exceptions ;))

+What bands do you rather enjoy?

I listen mostly to oldies from the 20's, 30's, 40's... Billie Holiday is my favourite singer ever, I just love her! :) I also love Bessie Smith, Bix beiderbecke, Sonny Boy Williamson II, etc. And about actual music I like Regina Spektor, Beirut, Iron&Wine, Sigur Ros, Explosions in the sky, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Clem Snide and a lot more!


+If you could have any super power, what would it be and why?

I think I would like to fly. Is the eternal dream of the human being. I dreamt so much of flying when I was a little girl! I would fly over the cities and the houses I know, and I even could carry people who like to try my super power. hehe Of course I would wear a beautiful cape and a beautiful super woman costume! :)

Thanks Raquel! You are wonderfully great. Take a look-see at her cute little shop: LaMaga filled with her amazing work.

Limb Productivity.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes/cake photos. I received quite a few responses to my pitiful request of cake images that I could gobble away at with my eyes. And boy did they make me happy happy happy.

The family surprised me with an actual cake. Ha. It was such a wonderful site to arrive home to after walking the 15 blocks uphill from my bus stop in the pouring rain, umbrella-less at night.

Ugh. The last few days have involved so much food. I need to put some limbs in action. And that is what I shall do to the max for the next few months. Move some of my limbs in a productive manner (exercise). Apparently, flailing arms is considered unproductive.

For those concerned, I refrained from going alcohol crazy. So, no worries. I limited myself to a gin and tonic and a falafel sandwich. That’s all I can really handle. Ha.

Furthermore, I was recently featured! Check it out. *WELCOME mat*

Side Note: Quality old school songs make me happy. Today’s – Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles.

Stay tuned. Tomorrow’s featured Etsy artist: La Maga.

(Sneak Peek: Waves of Indifference by La Maga).

Birthday: #21.

Today is my birthday. Woot. Woot. I had no birthday cake during my weekend celebrations and none planned tonight, which should be against the law. Just saying. I tried searching for the most extravagant/most expensive birthday cake online to fill this void. However, I was unsuccessful. So...if you have any links of yummy birthday cakes, I'd love to see them. In the meantime, here are a few things from Etsy to commemorate my 21st year of life. Ha. That sounds strange.

This postcard makes me happy. Shop: Enna.

If you're not going to drink beer, might as well use it for the sake of cleanliness. Shop: DennisAnderson.

If you are going to drink the stuff, might as well sport an environmentally friendly form of transportation. Shop: BreadandBadger.

These ones are sold which may be a party foul, but I really enjoy them. Shop: BakeandDestroy.

Saturday: Spent some quality time with friends to celebrate. There are 4 of us in the solid group. My friend Cheryl and I fondly call our group "the double dutch team." Mostly because we feel like 4 people make up a strong team for double dutch. The guys do the ropes, us girls jump up a storm was the vision.

Have a great day!

(PostScript): Ha. I just realized, this blog is headed with the date: Sunday, April 6th. Okay...so I got really excited and started writing this post the day before my birthday. A girl just can't help it sometimes.

My birthday = Monday, April 7th.

Reminiscing.

I don't feel much like studying. What do I do instead? Blog and listen to music because Etsy is down. As a result, a piece of my heart is broken. I think it may be the aortic valve.

I decided that my best artful ideas come from me in a half asleep state and/or boring lectures (me in a half asleep state). Yup. There's definitely a pattern.

Pondering about a possible next project. A series I shall name One to Another. I'd speak more about it but I don't want to get too much ahead of myself, as I often do. Not sure how it'll pan out. First, I'll do some experimenting and report back.

I've been thinking about Tanzania a lot. I volunteered there last summer for 3 weeks and it was one of the best moments of my life. True story. If you are at all interested, I have a very short (at times mushy) blog about my trip.

I really miss those days. I was so happy to be there. Was sad to leave.

This is where I post a picture of myself in Zanzibar - an island near Tanzania. I realized that there are no pictures of myself to be found and it feels strange to be all secretive-like. Probably doesn't meet your imagined image. I know how it is.


The one on the right is me, Margins...I mean Evalynn. The one on the left is Alex. She's from Georgia. She would always say: "Bless your heart." It was fantastic.

Slow internet connection is killing me slowly.

Love, Evalynn.

Place of My Art's Origin.

I think I am going crazy. I started writing this post in an etsy listing.

Yesterday was the first day of Spring Quarter. I had a 2 hour lecture and the professor couldn't seem to grab me out of space. I thought of 16 artful ideas. Also during this time, I swallowed my glob of gum. To lose something (gum no longer in mouth) that you can't get rid of (gum settles in your system for quite a while) is a horrible feeling.

Thought I'd share my back porch since I spoke of it in an earlier post. It is not very impressive nor extravagant. In fact, it is a bit shameful.

I don't believe in cleaning up work spaces for pictures so this is what it usually looks like. Except the scene usually involves a mad woman wearing a spray paint respirator with a paint can in hand mumbling about how the piece should have turned out.

You could only capture so much with a camera.