Dreamy

Day #27 Challenge: Dreamland.  Use a recent dream as inspiration for what you do today.

Awesome!  I did have a few dreams last night that I remember the details of, but this day was a little busy for me.  Instead, I snapped a few pictures of the Francesca Lia Block cootie catcher I wrote about before, which has a bit to do with dreams too:

The picture of the very inside wasn't uploading correctly, but it gives a short summary of FLB's life in the very center with a synopsis of the plot of each book under the flap of each corresponding title.  The background image is from the cover of FLB's book, Weetzie Bat:

Oddly enough, I did have a dream last night that my the back yard of the house that my parents live in was flooded, and I was canoeing through it.  

Not really portable

Challenge: Make something portable (or that seems portable) that normally isn't.

I have to say, I really struggled with this challenge.  Almost everything I thought of to make portable already exists in some portable form.  It reminds me of when I travel, and there are all those travel-sized containers and other gear to help you pack light.  I really enjoy looking at all that tiny stuff, and get so impressed by the new things designers cook up.

So instead of working with the challenge and brainstorming more, I decided to take some pictures of a few old drawings I found while cleaning my apartment the other day.

I sketched this out when I was thinking of designs for a sculpture in my Metals Fabrication class in the summer of 2005:

I think I was more than a little inspired by Metroid graphics in this design.  Fun fact: I found a bunch of old mix cds while cleaning too, many from 2005.  I guess it was a good year?  In hindsight, it really was.  Here's a skelley:

I used to draw skeletons all the time and still really enjoy drawing them and finding quality skeleton imagery in art and design.  I also drew this guy in 2005, and man, I'm totally glad I put the dates on stuff as often as I do/did or I'd totally forget when I made things.  Here's something else:

A bunch of stylized balloons?  Who knows.  I really like it though, but sadly, I left this one undated.  And lastly:

I call this dude "Funky Shuffle Dancer" and I think I drew him sometime in the early-mid 2000s as well, judging from the way I had my name written on the piece of paper (cropped out).  I went through an intense few years where signing my name in a "cool" way was really important, oh me.  But I love how free this guy is in the picture!

I feel like I kind of gave up on today's challenge.  I guess these old drawings are portable although I don't usually think of them having that function, but I've been carrying them from place to place for several years now, so they work for today's challenge in a technical way.

Day 25

Challenge: Work with nature.  Go to your yard or nearby park and collect materials to work with.

Today's challenge is right up my alley!  I looked around my place for inspiration and found a small green bowl.  Aha, I could make a little terrarium!  I've seen some really cute ones in a shop made by a local artist and on a few other blogs and really wanted to try my hand at one.

So I gathered some grass and a few clippings of old growth from a pine tree outside my apartment.  I put a small chunk of cotton batting in the bottom of the bowl to make a higher surface to work with, glued in some of the grass and pine chunks, a Lego wookie, and here's the result:

Some of the cotton batting is still visible, but I wasn't super concerned about craftsmanship and presentation for my first terrarium.  And you know what?  I don't think it's a true terrarium since it doesn't have a glass enclosure, but I still wanted to share my inspiration and line of thought.  Here's a closer view:

Can you find the wookie in this picture?

Hey, guess what?  There's a wiki out there called Wookieepedia!  I discovered it a few years ago when I was trying to find a specific Star Wars quote.  I love how totally whiny Luke Skywalker is when he delivers the line.

Also, my sister/roommate found some Legos, so I am totally gonna try to work them into a project this week.  Huzzah!  

It IS easy being green

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

I was having such a fun time yesterday cleaning my apartment that I completely forgot to post.  This girl knows how to have fun!  But honestly, my weekends have been pretty over-planned lately so the cleaning has totally escaped me.  Now that it's done, I feel so much better in my space and can enjoy my long weekend a bit.

Yesterday's challenge: It's not easy being green.  Work only with green-colored materials today.  Try working on a green surface for a real challenge.

Well, I don't really have many green surfaces, but I was super excited about this challenge.  I've mentioned before how I enjoy making things out of felt, and I decided to make a small boutonniere using green felt, embroidery floss, a pipe cleaner, and a button.  It was so much fun and I'm really happy with the result:

I've been seeing and reading about a lot of people who are using handcrafted flowers for weddings, and I completely love that idea.  Handmade flowers aren't tacky like fake flowers can be, and I think they'd be great favors for guests to take home - and excellent way to save a little cash when planning a wedding and add a personal (not to mention sustainable) touch.

Off to go to a baseball game!  I haven't been to a game in years and am really excited.  Go, Tigers!!!

Fortunate recycling

Challenge: Waste not.  Dig in a recycling bin for all of today's materials.

I checked the recycling bin at work and found a lot of paper products.  I decided to make something out of an old event calendar.  The first idea I had was to make a cootie catcher, so I made one!  For privacy and to add some limits to the amount of visual information, I blacked out a lot of the words with a black marker, Austin Kleon style, and came up with this not-too-pretty-but-still-interesting work:

(that's right, I'm wearing my "I Read Banned  Books" bracelet)

 

The 4 categories to start from: Library, Favorite Books, Policies, and Thursday.  After that, you can choose from Library (again), Discover, Monday, or just a picture showing a book on one side and a person reading a book on the other.  From there, the participant chooses his/her final fortune: Music Celebration, Learn to Play Chess, Rainbows in the Garden, or Save the Date for the Summer Reading Program.  All great fortunes!

It’s a wild and crazy adventure with this cootie catcher!  I made one a few years ago for a school project about Francesca Lia Block.  The imagery in her books is so great!  Read this excerpt from Weetzie Bat, the first book in the Dangerous Angels series, and try to tell me it’s not beautiful.  I’m gonna try to remember to scope out some old folders around my apartment this weekend and see if I can find that old cootie catcher and post a few pics.

Happy weekending!