Je suis venue te dire que je reviens

2009-01-21T12:58:00.000-08:00

The inspiration and/or desire to write usually befalls me when I am in the least position to actually do so. I will be driving on the highway, folding myself into a yoga pose or handling an all-consuming task at work; when suddenly a sentance or a melody decides to untangle itself out of my subconcious and mock my unability to lock it down right there and then.
Foward a few hours when I am readily installed in front of either pen or keyboard and all my mind will cough up, nothing but less than worthy scramble.

C'est la vie.

Don't drink the...

2008-10-11T05:29:00.000-07:00

a coupla weeks ago, we - Brooklyn Krafthaus that is- held a "dyeing yarn with koolaid" workshop. from my pre-teen initiation into tie-dyeing i had always loved dyeing fabrics, but now that i got into this...i am addicted.
both b and my friend m, had to suffer going with me from deli to deli and supermarket to supermarket, from all the way down by coney island all the way up to clinton hill via the lower east side.

i dont' own (nor ever plan on owning) a microwave, but the steam cooking method works just fine and makes me feel like a little witch cooking up a wicked potion of powders and threads.
besides, b luurrves coming home to the delicious scent of steamed lambswool mixed with 20 different artificial fruit aromas [insert gargling barf sounds here]. but what can i say.. an addict will put up with anything to get her crack.

onto the pictures:
soaking yarn noodles.

2008-10-08T18:09:00.001-07:00

Some promoting for UNSOUND

2008-08-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

Friday, August 22, 2008 marks the return of UNSOUND.

Since September 2006, UNSOUND has worked to bring some of the best in obscure underground music to the live stage in NYC.

We are very excited to have found a new home at the beautiful FONTANAS, located at 105 Eldridge Street on the Lower East Side, just at the northernmost tip of Chinatown in Manhattan, between Broome and Grand.

UNSOUND has gone through many changes and struggles since its inception, but we've learned and grown more confident through these experiences. Onward and Upward we climb, reaching for the day that we completely overshadow everything else that happens in the entire tri-state area.

Please allow me to introduce you to the colourful cast of characters who shall work their asses off for little or no money:

DJ TENEBRE probably the nicest, kindest, most genuine individual you will ever meet in your life, Jeff McGivney is destined to own (or to have built) most of the real estate in New York City before his 50th birthday. Known for his penchant for showing complete strangers his impressive organ and proud owner of an almost completely synthetic bottom jaw, there would be no such thing as UNSOUND without this aberration of nature standing by my side. Someone please just warn me before I look down next time.

DJ LEECH is the name used by the most miserable fuck you'll ever meet in your life. I mean really, how this guy has managed to accrue the incredible pantheon of close friends and acquaintances he has without having been stoned to death in a public square is truly beyond me. Aside from having utterly awful taste in music, he fancies himself as some kind of "musician" and don't even get me started on the crap he passes off as graphic design. Just be aware when you're talking to him that he will ultimately steer the topic back to himself, which in the end is probably the most boring subject you can imagine. Yawn.

SEAN 'BEEF SCHNITZEL' CUMMINGS has a name that would make even a priest guffaw. He used to work at some shithole in DUMBO (what the fuck is DUMBO anyway?) and did some kind of performance arty event there, booking a bunch of bands that nobody ever heard of and even stealing the UNSOUND crowd on more than one occasion through active terrorism, somehow temporarily hypnotising people and influencing them to go to his shows instead of ours. Then the guy has the nerve to try to come in on OUR action.
I mean, what the fuck?

JUSTIN 'I'M GONNA GET STABBED' ELIAS CONCHITA-ALONSO-MORALES is your typical Nuyorican thug, driving around Long Island with the bass of his reggaeton crap thumping so loud it puts cracks in his cheap-ass tint job. When he's not busy ducking out on some minor debt, he's making films of questionable quality that include his girlfriend being peed on while being called a cunt. In short (and he is short), he's not a very nice guy and if you're not careful he might try to steal your wallet. I also heard from a very reliable source that he's into urethral sounding. He also fronts a psychfolk band called THE MAILBOX IS FULL.

DJ SKULLDOOM, who is known to the world at large by his mild-mannered alter ego, Seldon Hunt, is a tiny pixie of a man who has managed to live life in the shadows, without standing out in any particular way. Generally unremarkable to behold and easily lost in a crowd, Seldon has been known to duck behind low retaining walls — which he does quite effortlessly, due to his miniscule stature. He is also totally devoid of any special talents whatsoever, further adding to the enigma that is Skulldoom.

DJ ISADORA just so happens to be a long-standing ally of the cause, who has more often than not been the lady who's taken the money of our unsuspecting attendees at the door and stuffed it covertly into her own pockets (bra). Esther will now actually start earning her keep, instead of just being one of the many glorified groupies and hangers-on that have perpetually darkened our doorways. Keep an eye out for her handsome boyfriend The B-Man, because he likes to pick fights with lesbians for no good reason.

FADE KAINER was born Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, nephew of the vile and cruel Baron Vladimir Harkonnen over ten thousand years in the future. Contrary to the rampant rumours of his demise, he was actually sent back in time (and space) as punishment for having failed to defeat Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides at the infamous Battle of Arrakeen. After relocating to the slums of New York from the slums of South Florida, Feyd-Rautha changed his name to Fade Kainer and started making industrial metal, daydreaming of the bygone days of the future and wringing his hands diabolically.

BIG RED infamous for once having eaten an entire bull in one sitting, William 'Doomy Doomster' Abdale is probably the second-greatest guitar player in the known universe, but he prefers to remain anonymous because he feels that rockstardom would be far too boring. Instead, he wastes his time and money on pursuing a Masters Degree in some dead language called "Art" which i believe has something to do with fingerpainting. When called upon to actually perform, he makes excuses and weird faces (which are barely noticeable beneath his great big jesus beard), and then kind of tricks you into drinking more beers.

KATHRIN the newest member of our enclave of the damned, this porcelain-skinned, Germanic succubus will hopefully become familiar to our regulars as the first smiling face that greets you and takes your cash (and your soul), warning 'Abandon Hope, All Ye Who Enter Here' just before you descend the stairs to the darkened catacombs beneath FONTANAS, entering the unholy pit of flames where UNSOUND takes place. Sadly, she won't be making her official appearance until next month, because she hates us so much that she has arranged to be out of the country, rather than be near us.

THTFL & ANNIHILVS POWER ELECTRONIX PRESENT
UNSOUND
unorthodox music for unorthodox people

MONTHLY UNDERGROUND MUSIC EVENT
AUGUST 22, 2008

ROSETTA
www. myspace. com/rosetta
BALBOA
www. myspace. com/balboa
NORTH
www. myspace. com/north
INSWARM
www. myspace. com/inswarm

plus:
UNSOUND presents a book release party for
LIVES OF ILYA
the new illustrated novel by TARA VANFLOWER (LYCIA) & DANIELE SERRA
with giveaways and merchandise courtesy of MYTHOS MEDIA
www. myspace. com/taravanflowermusic
www. mythosmedia. net

For most, "immortal" is just a word, a description of a concept that
defies all rational explanation.
Born and reborn in the era of Christ,
Ilya knows all too well what "immortal" really means.
Journey with her
across the aeons in her truly eternal quest to find love, solace, or
even simple peace with the world and the nature of what she has become.

"Neither a graphic novel nor simply a story with pictures, but an
artistic hybrid somewhere between the two...told in Vanflower's deadpan
dream transcript style.
" - Brian John Mitchell, Silber Media

"An invitation for the reader to be captured by the illusive detachment
of literal and metaphorical Vampire" - Jarboe

FONTANAS
105 ELDRIDGE STREET (btwn BROOME & GRAND)
NYC
www. fontanasnyc. com

UNSOUND
www. myspace. com/unsoundnyc
www. annihilvs. org/UNSOUND

ALL UNSOUND EVENTS ARE $12.00 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.

ADVANCE TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT:

www. annihilvs.
org/UNSOUND/2008/future

SPACE IS LIMITED AND IT IS ADVISABLE TO PURCHASE TICKETS IN ADVANCE.

PRESALES HELP US PAY OUR ARTISTS!!!

Sailor Beware - Progress update

2008-07-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

a few months ago even just the thought of embroidery put me to sleep. it all started with the sparrow tankini, to give the instarsia more shape i embroidered over it. than came the amigurumi. the Pricked, Extreme Embroidery exhibit was the coup de grâce... i am addicted, and am teaching myself silk shading which i have tried (emphasis on "tried")to apply to this piece:

Stencil Printing

2008-06-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

So I worked on a t shirt mod. I have tons of old t shirts laying neatly pilled up on my desk waiting to be transformed into something I will actually wear.

Needless to say I had a hard time taking a picture of myself and decided to use a mirror, which would of course have been a lot easier, had I access to a full length mirror ...

on with the photos:

close up of the stencil print:

hi blogosphere

2008-05-12T15:07:00.001-07:00

i am not dead...
...just caught up in doing even more of all the things i would report about here...

more soon!

Embroidery

2008-04-14T09:47:00.000-07:00

This is my first real embroidery project and it's actually alot more fun than I remembered.

It is destined to end up on a purse.

my new collection of floss

l'air de rien, i have much to report

2008-02-07T07:30:00.000-08:00

my t-shirt surgery with the stencil should be ready to wear next week. just have to do some finishing and clean up all the threads.

i have been knitting again, thumb pain comes and goes but i am coping.

i joined a new meetup:

Click here to check out
The Brooklyn KraftHaus!

and here is a picture of me looking photoshopped (which i am not, promise) at the first meeting.

the super fun part is that i will be teaching workshops. yay. .... yayayayay.

for the first one i am planning on an amigurumi-workshop. level 1 being make other people's patterns and level 2. creating your own. in other words i have homework to do.

speaking of classes i am very inclined to take a screenprinting and a circuit bending class.
truth is that between the new recording gear we bought and zelda (ds) i already barely have time to sleep so we'll see...

For Hellcat

2008-01-25T13:04:00.000-08:00

So i was asked about the decoupage project with the mini-dresser. i figured someone else might care for some information, rather than an email a post with some tutorial linkage is in order.

Wikipedia features a really nice article with some historical details on the art of decoupage.

My current project began with the purchase of a mini drawer chest from ikea
I assembled it than wiped it down to make sure there was no dust clinging to it.
Than i glued some silk paper (that i had kept from xmas presents i received) to each side and the drawer "facades" using regular white glue, a plastic knife (to spread it evenly, and an exacto knife ( to cut the surplus paper of the edges).

Next: i will be painting and gluing images to the background and maybe even adding some glitter glue (still on the fence on that one). i bought some loteria postcards and have been printing victorian valentines and pin up tattoo flash off the int0rweb etc...
than once it's all put together the whole shebangs get glazed with a varnish i have used these two in the past:
one two

and for inspiration and viewing pleasure i leave with the crafty chica's fabooo decoupage heels

Plastic Passion

2008-01-09T08:49:00.000-08:00

about two months have gone by since i started my own personal "plastic bag free" challenge.
it all began when i read about the
rubbish vortex also called the great pacific garbage patch, through a link posted by the attention worthy helle jorgensen

i remembered how in munich we were encouraged to shop with fabric bags and refuse plastic ones. paired with my frustration at the ever-growing amount of plastic bags in my kitchen drawers i started by looking into alternatives and ways to recycle the bags.

truth be told, recycling them is so time consuming, that it would be unrealistic to assume i could keep up with the incoming new bags, or that i would need *THAT* many recycled-plastic items in my household.

so really the solution was/is to reduce the amount of plastic bags entering my home to the slightest minimum. bringing a tote bag when going grocery shopping is certainly a great way to reduce the usage of plastic bags, but in reality i mostly shop after work or spontaneously when i am out.

so this is what i have been doing. i keep a tote bag rolled up in my purse at all times.
whenever i need to buy anything that is the bag i use. in result i have been buying groceries more frequently and in smaller quantities which also reduces waste (food going bad in my fridge). for the big shopping trips i have nice sturdy bags from trader joes, including a freezer bag. and ikea bags for the costco trips. i know, i know those are partially plastic too, but i already had them and will be using them for a looooooooong time.

i have to say that i am really satisfied with this method. the reactions i get when i tell cashiers "i don't need a bag" are funny. sometimes they make fun of me,
sometimes they fight me "but let me bag the meat for you"*forces item into a doubled-bag before i can snag it*. but i stand strong, and have been pulling items back out of the bags and placing them back onto that plastic bag dispenser of doom. century 21 refuses to let me use my own bags as their bags are part of their anti-shrink system...pff..

now as for the plastic bags that already found their way into my home, these are the crafty endeavors that will make them into something other than lethal ocean-parasites.

yarn

fabric

bathmat/rug

grocery bag

n.b. the brits are trying to ban plastic bags alltogether http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2210012,00.html#article_continue

Pay It Forward

2008-01-02T10:23:00.000-08:00

Through this post I am joining PAY IT FORWARD (PIF) exchange meaning that I will send a handmade gift to the first three people to comment on here, under the condition that the three people post this as well and make handmade gifts for their first three posters...etc.

The time frame to make and send the gifts is ONE YEAR, neat huh!

The gifts can be anything as long as they are handmade by ourselves.

So comment away and let the fun commence!

Tragic Tree Jacket

2007-12-24T07:57:00.000-08:00

so now that i am down to the waist on the tree jacket, I tried it on once again and it looks retarded. hate to say it but the lane cervinia softer SUCKS! it doesn't drape or fall well at all. so instead of a punk rock westwood feel, it's more like a "early to mid 80's pierrot loving secretary" look. like you need long fake barbie pink nails and a perm with it. and monkey shoulder pads...not good.

so froggitty rip once again. gonna knit this up in merino wool.

happy holidays y'all!

hi blog

2007-12-19T20:57:00.000-08:00

you have been abandoned, yes. but i was away on vacation. alot to report soon

Hi there holiday gifting gnomes

2007-11-16T10:51:00.000-08:00

if y'all could so kindly drop this Jack Casady bass my way...

a usual occurence

2007-11-05T09:55:00.000-08:00

gig this friday

2007-10-31T07:52:00.001-07:00

new toy!

2007-10-30T10:23:00.001-07:00

sunday at the botanical gardens was just perfect: brazilian drum, balkan/gypsy band, and bonzais!

after, i really just wanted us to make a drive by visit to guitar center to pick up some strings, which is unrealistic...
however, an hour into poking and prodding of various wonders i stumbled upon a really cute and only slightly used backline 600
.

2007-10-30T10:23:00.000-07:00

the mission

2007-10-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

from Mother of London (Mildred)

and Jean-Paul Gaultier:

hereby i present...

2007-10-24T08:16:00.000-07:00

gawthy root!

tea or me?

2007-10-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

key purchase of the day:

MEDITERRANEAN TEA
Herbs and Botanicals from Mediterranean Shores

Silvery olive leaves, the base of this herbaceous blend, symbolize harmony and abundance and have been used for centuries for their healthful properties. This region also brings us the delicate lacy flowers of wild fennel and anise with their sweet-licorice aroma and flavor.

school of block

2007-10-21T09:25:00.000-07:00

this means that the gawthy root is DONE!

little loops of reality

2007-01-29T09:49:00.001-08:00

can sometimes be linked to little loops of thread, i wrote about this a while ago after crossing paths with an abandonned magazine and than decided to name this new blog fil-a-suivre, a double entendre on thread and meaning/thematics that need to be followed.

sunday as already mentionned was a date-day, after fabulous brunch it was too late to go to the museum of natural history but still early enough for brooklyn museum of art.

and right there, as we had just walked through the door, it was. the paracas textile that i had read, written and dreamed about. it is hard to translate the emotion i felt into words. i had been wondering about this piece of fabric for years, not being able to clearly remember what it was named and where to find it.

the figures are smaller yet as expressive as i could have gathered from the photograph. the colors, even more vibrant than print could have possibly translated them. some people feel a sense of sacred in the representation of the sacred symbol/figure, i felt it right then and there in the execution of such representation, and walked away feeling enthralled and reassured that there are still some things left to belive in.