Something to Think About

I saw this on my Tumblr dashboard and felt the need to share it here too.  Read the poem from top to bottom then bottom to top.

Lost Generation.

I’m a part of Lost Generation

and I refuse to believe that

I can change the world

I realize this may be a shock but

“Happiness comes from within”

is a lie, and

“Money will make me happy”

So in thirty years I’ll tell my children

They are not the most important thing in my life

My employer will know that

I have my priority straight because

Work

Is more important than

Family

I tell you this

Once upon a time

Families stay together

But this will not be true in my era

This is a quick fix society

Experts tell me

Thirty years from now I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce

I do not concede that

I will live in a country of my own making

In the future

Environmental destruction will be the norm

No longer can it be said that

My peers and I care about this earth

It will be evident that

My generation is apathetic and lethargic

It is foolish to presume that

There is hope

And all of this will come true unless we reverse it.

2012 Goals {and a list, of course, too}

My four major goals of 2012.

Saving for Switzerland, paying off credit cards to be debt free, 

1 practice year for a life without plastic and 2 actives; yoga and dog walks.

And a List of 12 Things I'm looking forward to in 2012...

1. Joining the iphone club, more specifically insta.gram!
2. Another Gardening Season!
3. Wayne and Gretchen's Wedding!
4. Making my own yogurt, shampoo and soaps!
5. An important Solar Eclipse (May 20)!
6. 4 year wedding anniversary.
7. A Fun Summer with an almost 2 year old!
8. Designing and publishing a new professional website.
9. Sonja's 2nd Birthday.
10.Organizing my home and completing upcycling projects.
11. More Crafting and Art making with Katie, {maybe even show at a gallery}!
12. Hawaii with the whole family {our Christmas gift from my mom, even though I don't want to go for several reasons including fear of flying and moral objections- I know it will be a big memory maker}

What are your goals for 2012? Link them below!

Artist of the Week No. 7

Pop Art Featuring Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein

I will be teaching Pop Art to my high schoolers in a few weeks and thought I'd share some of my notes and thoughts with you all over here on my Artist of the "week" feature.  So here's what I have so far...

Since 1962 Lichtenstein has parodied the mindless violence and sexless romance {or romance-less sex} of comic strips to reveal the absurdity of American culture.

from here.

from here.

“It was hard to get a painting that was despicable enough so that no one would hang it.  Everyone was hanging everything.  It was almost acceptable to hang a dripping paint rag.  [But] the one thing everyone hated was commercial art.  Apparently they didn’t hate that enough either.” -Roy Lichtenstien

from here.

Lichtenstein’s work is that of comic book techniques and subjects.  He used bright primary colors with black and white.  He outlines simplified forms, and appropriates the benday dots to exemplify the stereotyped imagery.  By working on large scale canvases rivaling those of billboards he forces the trivialness onto his viewers.

During the 1950s Artists like Lichtenstein, Warhol and Oldenburg {who all had commercial art backgrounds} based their work on images from Times Square neon signs, the mass media and advertising.

Pop art made iconic images of things like hamburgers, toilets, lipstick tubes and lawnmowers.  Common consumables now interjected into the art world simply because of their chronic consumption by the American population, art imitates life right?

above and below from here.

Pop art was easy to like.  Who can resist shiny colors and clean designs?  The mechanical quality of the paintings gave the pieces glossy familiarity.  Meanwhile, galleries full of Abstract Expressionism were left behind.  One jealous gallery posted a sign next to Warhol’s soup can exhibit, “Get the real thing for 29 cents”

Pop art was a merging of clever marketing and consumer culture.  Creating Master Artists in an instant. 

Andy Warhol (1930-87) is a name every household knows, not just those associated with the art world. 

from here.

He chose his subject matter based on what he saw in the grocery store.  Magazine covers with Marilyn Monroe on the cover, or Campbell’s soup cans reproduced in his assembly line of a studio.  The Silk Screening technique he used made it easy reproduce his images over and over again. 

“Once you being to see Pop, you can’t see America in the same way.” - Andy Warhol

Not only did Warhol force people to reexamine their everyday surroundings, he made a point about the loss of identity in an industrial society.  His commentary is not something I agree with, but in his direct approach to everything industrialized there I am in direct opposition, it’s almost as if he could be sarcastic with his thoughts, and yet, he’s not.  Which is actually quite depressing to me…

He wanted to be a machine, that’s why he worked the way he did, he's also said that he wanted everyone to look alike and think alike {what a depressing thought to me as an artist}

How disturbing it must have been inside his head.  I look at his work as a direct reminder of what mass marketing leads to.  I think of the work as a satire to daily life, even if that’s not always what the artist intended.

From all I know about Andy Warhol the thing he wanted most in life was fame.  He predicted that everyone would have at least 15 minutes of fame.  His lasted for 25 years of his life and continues on to this day, as you can see from a recent photograph I took featuring pillows and dresses with his iconic imagery silk screened onto them.

Image from a store front in Venice. 2009.

The majority of information above is from The Annotated Mona Lisa, a Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern. By Carol Strickland, Ph.D.

More information about Pop Art here.

And a list of more pop artists:

Blake, Peter - 1932 - 
Boshier, Derek - 1937 - 
Chamberlain, John - 1927 - 
Dine, Jim - 1935 - 
Haacke, Hans - 1936 - 
Hamilton, Richard - 1922 - 
Hockney, David - 1937 - 
Indiana, Robert - 1928 - 
Johns, Jasper - 1930 - 
Jones, Allen - 1937 - 
Kienholz, Edward - 1927 - 1994
Kitaj, R.B. - 1932 - 
Koons, Jeff - - 
Lichtenstein, Roy - 1923 - 1997
Lindner, Richard - 1901 - 1978
Oldenburg, Claes - 1929 - 
Paolozzi, Sir Eduardo - 1924 - 
Phillips, Peter - 1939 - 
Polke, Sigmar - 1941 - 
Ramos, Mel - 1935 - 
Rauschenberg, Robert - 1925 - 
Rivers, Larry - 1923 - 2002
Segal, George - 1924 - 2000
Thiebaud, Wayne - 1920 - 
Warhol, Andy - 1928 - 1987
Wesselmann, Tom - 1931 - 
Blake, Peter - 1932 - 
Boshier, Derek - 1937 - 
Chamberlain, John - 1927 - 
Dine, Jim - 1935 - 
Haacke, Hans - 1936 - 
Hamilton, Richard - 1922 - 
Hockney, David - 1937 - 
Indiana, Robert - 1928 - 
Johns, Jasper - 1930 - 
Jones, Allen - 1937 - 
Kienholz, Edward - 1927 - 1994
Kitaj, R.B. - 1932 - 
Koons, Jeff - - 
Lichtenstein, Roy - 1923 - 1997
Lindner, Richard - 1901 - 1978
Oldenburg, Claes - 1929 - 
Paolozzi, Sir Eduardo - 1924 - 
Phillips, Peter - 1939 - 
Polke, Sigmar - 1941 - 
Ramos, Mel - 1935 - 
Rauschenberg, Robert - 1925 - 
Rivers, Larry - 1923 - 2002
Segal, George - 1924 - 2000
Thiebaud, Wayne - 1920 - 
Warhol, Andy - 1928 - 1987
Wesselmann, Tom - 1931 - 

My Memories Suite Review and GIVEAWAY No. 7!

Recently, I was asked to review a great product, My memories Suite!  Its a digital scrap book you download and import your photos into, you can check out their blog here.  It's been really fun playing with all of our Holiday and Vacation photos, like this one {edited for the blog}...

Things I Love:
Very user friendly.
Includes rulers for those who want everything perfectly spaced out.
Lots of Free upgrade options.
The program includes SPELL CHECK!
Free pre-designed layout options {along with a build your own layout option}.
Lots of fun backgrounds {The New Orleans paper selection is my favorite}.
Fun things like word art designer, embellishments, and imprints.
The calendar feature, you can turn your images into your own digital or print calendar!
You can import music and videos.
You can print from home {or use the professional service}.
You can export each page as a .jpg {like I did for the above image}
You can save the album as a digital medium, like slideshow or movie.

Things I Don't:
You need internet to access everything, so it can be frustrating when traveling.

How you can win it:
1. Go to mymemories.com and leave a comment below, telling me what template you'd like to use for your photos, INCLUDE email or contact info!
2. Like My Memories Suites on Facebook, tell me you did so in another comment here, INCLUDE email or contact info!
3. Follow D.I.Y. Cupcake for a third entry, leave ANOTHER comment with your name and  INCLUDE your email or contact info.

Giveaway will end January 3rd at midnight, the winner will be announced on D.I.Y. Cupcake on January 4th using random.org!

And if you can't wait to win, here is a discount code for $10 off the purchase of the software program and a $10 coupon for the mymemories.com store {saving all my reader's $20 thanks to My Memories Suites} STMMMS44356

Enjoy!

It's Better to Give than to Receive.

Especially when you're giving handmade. Here's what I've gotten this fall for various gifts...

This, for my friend Alex, for her belated Birthday.

and this one too.

Duck Print for Sonja's Room

And this matching Mallard Print too.

This Print, For Our Home

I have a few other practical things too, like this, this and this. 

Everyone else is getting Home Made Vanilla Extract in vials from here! and I might sew a few items too for people who were extra thoughtful to us this holiday season, because I DO want people to know I love them, I just don't want to buy stuff to prove it.  

Happy Handmade Shopping!

Do It Yourself; Seattle and The Flight Home {day 5}

Last Breakfast at Cloud City, until next time anyway...

Seattle Airport was not as baby friendly.  We had to wait in the normal line for security which was at least twice as long as the line at Sky Harbor.  Sonja was not impressed, and we all heard about it.

Once we were on the plane it was pretty smooth sailing.  Sonja clapped on take off and climbed on our laps for the first hour of the flight, then nursed to sleep for the rest of the flight.  

Complementary Ginger Ale for the flight home.

We did a lot while in Seattle, but here's the list we made on day one and I saved for next time...

If anyone knows where to get macaroons (the french kind) in Seattle or Phoenix, let me know!!

Donuts Post Flight!

AND in case anyone needs another reason to use cloth instead of paper.

This red rash/irritation is from her Seven Generation diapers we used in combination with her cloth while traveling.  She only wore paper for 2 days and for only parts of the day...maybe 15-20 total and this is what it did to her poor skin :(

AND THAT WAS OUR TRIP!  

I'll be back again after the holidays with a great giveaway and some images from the Holidays!

Do It Yourself; Seattle and Portland {day 4}

Another amazing day in the Pacific Northwest.  On day four we ventured to Portland with a few goals in mind. 

1. Eat {and drink} at the Rogue Brewery.

2. Eat some donuts from VooDoo donuts.

we did that and so much more!

First Stop, coffee in Seattle at Zeitgeist to say hi to B. on our way out...

Once we got to Portland we headed to the park!  

Jaxon's Friend Addie {Tucson Native and current Portlandian} took us to all our requested sites and more!

Playgrounds aren't just for the kiddos, Jxn is practicing his upside down skills {above}

The Sun Came Out! 

And I love the effect it had on my pictures!

After the park, we headed to Hawthorne and got some crepes at a local creperie and then some souvenirs from Cassidy Jewelry (not pictured).

Sonja Coloring for the first time at a restaurant!

We each ordered something different then shared...

Mural in the Creperie Hallway.

After Crepes we headed to Powell Books, sorry for lack of pictures I was sick of my camera at this point.

After Book shopping we headed to VooDoo Donuts:

After donuts {which we saved for later} we headed to the Rogue Brewery...

Who orders water at Rogue? This girl.  I was too tired to get a drink for myself, although I did taste several beers including their pumpkin ale which is made with pumpkins they grew on their hops farm!

Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout has a special place in my heart, it's the beer I drank while in labor,

yes.  in labor.  My midwife suggested to drink a half glass of stout beer to help with a full night's sleep.

Hummus and a full table of half eaten food and drinks.

Back at the hotel I checked the donuts to see what we got in the VooDoo dozen {donuts pre-flight}.

This little girl slept the whole drive back to Seattle, so once we got to the hotel she was WIDE AWAKE until 2 a.m. 

She also discovered how ear phones work while on the drive and thought they were the coolest thing!

Hope you've enjoyed the photos, the last morning and flight home are next.

Happy Vacation Photo Viewing!!

Do It Yourself; Seattle and Olympia {day 3}

We have a lot of friends in Seattle and surrounding areas so on day 3 we headed to a small town outside of Olympia to visit a family.  A very important family, this family are mutual friends of our closest friends and they are the ones who inspired our home birth.  Before I was pregnant our friend mentioned them to us and how they had a great experience and how we should do it too, whenever we do have kids.  I was hesitant because I, like many women, had been conditioned to think so many things could go wrong it would be crazy to NOT birth in a hospital.  But after a lot of research and hearing about their experience I couldn't go the hospital, not with my fear of IVs and desire to do a natural birth {that would be much too harder if bed ridden, deprived of food and on a pitocin drip}. ANYWAY... our babies ended up having the same birthday one year apart! Which means a LOT to me. I thought it would be great for the kiddos to meet and they had SO much fun together.  

Here are the photos of the day and the homestead of that family...

On the way to get some coffee and I spotted some Yard Bombing in Downtown Seattle.

Zeitgeist Coffee to visit Aunt Brianna at work. 

The Homestead...

Their sheep and chicken coming to say hi. 

They have one peacock named Tyrone and two peahens.

A nice fire to keep us all warm. 

The kiddos playing.

Getting a tour of the land.

This might be morbid to some, but after these animals are hunted {or found dead} Papa puts out his decaying animals to help feed the eco system on his land.  They are slowly consumed and their nutrients put back into the earth.  While walking around he showed us several places where the animal had laid until their final beetle cleaning and the ground was more lush than anywhere else on their property.  It's amazing how nature works so well when left to it's own systems. 

I love this hand carved broom on their porch!

And then on to dinner, sorry not much of a transistion there, but once we were back in Seattle we headed to Jaxon's for dinner and made some mac and cheese, not just any mac but a medley of Aged English Cheddar, Gruyere and Fontina!

And that's what we did on day three, I'll share day four next.  Get Excited!