Art

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carmen beckmann ring

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Interrupting my regular posts about books/cute kid/depression/dogs/mild adventures to announce that I am selling something special I’ve held on to for a long time, and no, it isn’t my dignity (long gone), it’s this ring.  And you can buy it!  This ring was made by renown silversmith Carmen Beckmann, whose studio was active during the 60s and 70s in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. There are a few Beckmann pieces floating around out there, but I have never, ever seen another Beckmann poison ring in this setting (or one as cool as this selling this cheaply).  Her pieces are collector’s items, and this ring is no exception.  Google her/her stuff, super cool, right? even if you don’t buy my ring. This ring is a size 8 (I have fat fingers) but can be resized by a jeweler.  I enjoy the uncleaned silver look, but you can easily clean it up.  The stone is Amethyst.

Have a good weekend, guys!

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(this image was made by my super talented and colorful friend, Amelia, it belongs to her.)

I don’t need to clarify it here, but I am horrified by the election results.  I was always with her.  Those results were followed by many sleepless nights and tears (no one was more crestfallen than foos), but also with a lot of productive and supportive conversations and visits with friends.  In a weird way, my life and personal routines have not been the same since.  I’ve been mentally preparing myself to intervene should I happen to observe any racist/islamophobic/sexist shenanigans (I haven’t yet).  I have also been avoiding podcasts, newspapers, and blogs I previously enjoyed.  Just hearing his voice and seeing snippets of headlines is enough to make my stomach drop.  I know this is irrational; I also know I will get past this, because pretending things aren’t what they are is never going to bring about change.

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April’s art is my favorite art.  These are just a few of the many, many drawings she has sent me in the decade we have known and written to each other.  The first one concerns the death of Nico, who died after suffering a heart attack while riding her bicycle.  The second is a portrait of me in college. The third she sent a few weeks short of me birthing Foos, drawn shortly before she left for Afghanistan. She is the coolest, weirdest bean and I would give a sliver of the moon just to know what is going on in her marvelous brain.  I hope she keeps drawing forever.  Happy friday!

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Seth’s birthday was this week! it was a nice quiet day spent with the kids and his family for dinner.  It was great to celebrate a wonderful person who means so much to so many (especially me). I baked his favorite cake (chocolate with raspberry frosting, and I finally had the chance to make this cake topper (with adjustments!). This may be my favorite thing ever and the best part was he loved it too.

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  1. After looking over the original tutorial I thought I would personalize it a little. I found a picture of Seth I thought would fit the body of the tightrope walker nicely.
  2. I followed this very easy how to on how to turn a photograph into a drawing using PS6.
  3. Still using PS6 I cut and pasted Seth’s decapitated cartoon head onto the tightrope walker.
  4. I followed the rest of Oh Happy Day’s tutorial, printed, watercolored, and cut out my Seth in bubbly shorts figurine.
  5. Laughed and laughed. I still laugh every time I look at it.

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Inspired by a google search of embroidery art and my daughter’s current obsession with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I created this little dude for her room this past weekend. I take great pleasure introducing Foos to amazing women, usually through books or a google search. She took to RGB as if she were made of candy. If adding streaming video to wordpress didn’t cost money, I would post a video of the awesome song and dance Foos dedicated to RGB.  Though my embroidery skills really need improvement, this wasn’t difficult to do; It was a quick project, and in a weird way, fulfilling.  I used a photo found on the web, which was printed on photo paper for my base image (a post card would work so much better), and embroidery floss for the rest.  I think I am going to try my hand at doing more of these.  I’m thinking Bukowski wearing a flower crown telling you to go “fucking read,” ha! The possibilities are truly endless.

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