Apache, Purty Motion Graphics

The good news is I get to spend this week at work animating graphics I drew last week . The bad news is, I’m so rusty at After Effects, its been a while since I dove into the program. So I decided to do some research and found this sexy monster of a music video. I don’t know how they did it, even after I read their behind the scenes instructions. Isn’t it purty?

Italian Film

It only took me three months to get my pictures developed from my trip to Italy. I’ve been known to take years. That’s the beauty of film, it’s like a little surprise every time you pick up the prints. We decided to go all out with the Italian Riveria theme and take posed shots around the neighborhood.

No big deal, just picking olives in the front yard. TAKE ME BACK.

The Many Colours of Kate Moross

My friend Verity got me hooked on listening to music by Jessie Ware (below). She has a Kate Bush gone R&B feel to her. I watched her “Wildest Moments” video over and over and I couldn’t figure out why I was so drawn to it. The video is literally the singer sitting in front of the camera, nothing special but so enticing at the same time. So I decided to check out the director’s bio and discovered the lovely Kate Moross. Unlike this music video, this London based designer/illustrator/creative seems drawn towards complex patterns and bright neon colors. Her style is very distinct and I really love it when a creative can just as easily design a pair of adidas one minute and direct a beautiful music video the next.

Ik Mis Mijn Fiets

After three years submerged in Amsterdam life, I’m amazed at how quickly I can slide back in to everything Americana. I’m back to working full-time which has thrown my lazy but awesome baking and interneting habits out the window. Its been a quick jerk back to reality. And for the most part its been great. There just one thing I want back so bad! My bicycle.

Ik mis mijn fiets, I miss my bike so so much.

To be fair, I love listening to NPR and public radio in Austin. I also love having a sun roof and scream singing to Rihanna without anyone noticing. But the everyday reality of highways, gas and traffic blows. I knew this would be the biggest adjustment back to America. Amsterdam bike culture, you are amazing. Don’t ever change.

Here are few Amsterdam bike shots, all available at my shop.

The BIG Garden Project

I’m overwhelmed and excited by this project. I want to start my very first garden! There’s a lot of space but the land is wild and rugged, snakes and all. So far, Arun has done most of the heavy work by hacking the weeds with a giant machete. We can finally see the ground but there’s still a ton of work to do before the soil will be ready. I seriously only know how to keep cacti and succulents alive. I don’t even know what you do with a pitchfork or how to grow anything from seeds. This will be interesting.

Tall, crazy weeds.

The hacked weeds. And the frame in the back could possibly be a DIY greenhouse?

Shakespeare in an Old Texan Barn

I had a nice cultural evening the other night. It involved sweating in an old farm barn in almost triple digit temperatures. It was live theatre, in balmy classy Texan style Shakespeare form. Since 1970, the students from the department of english at the University of Texas have been performing Shakespeare in this old 19th century barn. Students camp out in Windale, a tiny Texan countryside town all summer and learn and perform three plays. Its pretty impressive and a fun way to see live theatre. The play for the evening was appropriately, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  The location is beautiful and when you get out of the barn after the performance, the big Texan sky is filled with a clear view of brightly lit stars. Now that’s a way to spend summers night.

The necessary bbq pit stop needed before Shakespeare. Others (first image) preferred to picnic by the barn before the show.

Not me.

The Church and Town Hall in Giddings, Texas. A photo break on the way yo Windale.

The actors warming up before the show.

Folk & Garden

(image via The Little Canoe)

Have you seen the film Winter’s Bone? Its equally depressing as it is awesome. I had a chain of events that lead to this film, which lead to my obsession with a folk singer, the Ozarks, and gardening.

Here’s how it happened.

1. I became obsessed with The Hunger Games.

2. Which lead to an obsession with Jennifer Lawerence.

3. Which lead to me watching the film Winter’s Bone.

4. Which lead to me noticing the folk singer Maredith Sisco in the background of one of the scenes.

5. Which lead to me obsessing about her music on the interwebs.

6. Which lead to her gardening blog in the Ozark Mountains.

So you should watch the film, and you should listen to her amazing voice, and you should learn about gardening in the Ozarks.

Swiss Whimsy

Once upon a time, in a far away land, I took a journey to utopia. It took an overnight train, another train, a bus, and  a gondola lift up the Swiss alps to get there. This heavenly land was called Gimmelwald, Switzerland. There, I had my darling friend Taylor, a camera, a dress, and a bag of balloons and we embarked on a photoshoot/frolic-in-the-fields adventure. Years later, this is still one of my favorite travel memories. These prints are now available on my etsy shop. Large format prints will be available soon.

Art, Pie, or The Olympics?

Just over here in my pajamas at noon in Dallas, Texas. Don’t be jealous. While I wait for my friend to get off work, I’m pondering all the wonderful things I can do in this major U.S. city. Here are my options:

1. The classy me tells me I should take advantage of the culture here and visit the Dallas Contemporary. This would involve getting off the couch and putting on proper clothes but the end result would surely lead to a happy, inspiring day.

2. The hungry me tells me that art and culture is stupid, that I should stay in my pajamas and bake Paula Deen’s Chocolate Pecan Pie. Also, I’m engaging in buttery culinary ART without leaving the house. RIGHT?

3. The current me is sitting in front of a 70 inch TV (wowzers) and watching the Olympics (with occasional channel flipping to watch Super Nanny). By not leaving the couch, I’m engaging in the biggest cultural event in the world!

What to do? Life is so hard.

Animated Seoul

Way back in my military brat days, I lived in South Korea. I loved living there and this beautiful animation by Dave Prosser brings back a lot of memories of the country. Breathtaking mountains, addicted computer geeks at PC shops, and street stalls full of grannies making the best food I’ve ever tasted in my life. Ah Korea.