Thursday, March 31, 2011

Day !8: Flower Power/Random Day Photos

"Creativity is that marvelous capacity to grasp mutually distinct realities and draw a spark from their juxtaposition." --Max Ernst


"Why not a space flower? Why do we always expect metal ships?"
--W. D. Richter (Screenwriter, Invasion of the Body Snatchers)


Today I added some Lego flowers to the base (and one on the top) of Mr. Robot.  I like the juxtaposition of the "cold" robot "warmly" offering a flower, which is echoed in the "cold" hardware and "warm" Lego flowers.



Now, I just need a final backdrop and he's done. I wish he photographed better and I made my lines cleaner.  Next time :)

XOXO,
Kira


P.S. Look at this awesome building I saw tonight.  I love how the stone continues from the outside to the inside.  Tres chic.


P.P.S. Look at my amazing meal that I ate.  Anchor and Hope's Lobster and Crab Gnocchi.  YUM and so pretty.


Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Day 17: Hardware Hanging


“Life is like a ten speed bicycle. 

Most of us have gears we never use.”

--Charles M. Schulz quotes (American cartoonist, 1922-2000)



Today I bought more shiny parts for Mr. Robot's backdrop and restrung the components with jump rings.  I think it looks much cleaner and more modern, which is exactly what I was going for.  He's coming along! :)


XOXO,
Kira

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Day 16: Spring Love/Different Perspective

"I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my 
senses put in order."



-  John Burroughs 

Not only has Spring sprung, but it seems my love has been given new wings. :)





"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. 
Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth."
--Marcus Aurelius

Movies are a fun way to see things differently.






XOXO,
Kira

Monday, March 28, 2011

Day 15: Doodle Disappointment

An artist can make a mark, a squiggle, anything. Motivation implies movement. 
-Steve Hovland


I got side tracked and didn't set aside proper time and energy to do something satisfyingly creative today  I did, however, do a little doodle.  I guess it's better than nothing.


And then I crawled into bed at my house/dog sitting gig and chilled out. It felt great.
    

But I can and WILL do better.

XOXO,
Kira

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Day 14: Photo Ops

A great photograph is a full expression of what 
one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what 
one feels about life in its entirety. 
 ~Ansel Adams

Beautiful Sonoma County:












Saturday, March 26, 2011

Day 13: MacGyver Model Making

“Any problem can be solved with a little ingenuity.”
MacGyver (American TV character played by Richard Dean Anderson)

 Sorry for the delay for this post...I was at a bachelorette party in Northern California wine country :)

My friend was trying to impart some knowledge to her model designer for product packaging, but was having a hard time explaining the concept in words.

This is the model we came up with using a match box, a cellophane bag, scissors, and a piece of gum:

 

 
And this was the end result:

My friend said was exactly what she had envisioned! Super fun!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Day 12: Feather Earrings

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all.
Emily Dickinson

These are the first earrings I've ever made, and I LOVE how they came out.
 The materials: feathers, earring posts, jump rings, silver chain, and the things that clip onto the feathers--blanking on the name.
Two new tools! I dig being a girl with her own tools. 

 I cut the length of silver chain, and later actually made a cut to the longer strands and put one un-feathered chain onto each earring.

 It looked like a feath-tastropy
FINISHED PRODUCT! I'll post a pic of me wearing them later. Super exited (even though they are pretty hipster-ish) ;)



Thursday, March 24, 2011

Day 11: Creative Preparation

Before anything else, preparation is the key to success. 
--Alexander Graham Bell

Today, I didn't quite do anything creative, per se, but I did move my hard drive onto my storage drive so that I can rebuild my computer (well, not me, exactly :).  This, in turn, will CREATE more power, speed, and space for me to be able to do more computer creating.  Totally, geekily, exciting.

All action results from thought, so it is thought that matters. Sai Baba


I also came up with a new painting/art project. Super excited about it. Will keep it tucked away until it's in progress. Action must still be my focus.  I have decided that I am going to redo the bolt curtains on Mr. Robot and use jump rings to connect the bolts, instead of thread.  It will look much cleaner and less janky. Back to the hardware store tomorrow :)

Night night.

XOXO,
Kira

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Day 10 (DOUBLE DIGITS!): Hardware Happiness

I work with just about anything: paint, wood, glass, plastic, fabric, etc. 
I use a lot of "found" and "altered-function" objects in my work... By "altered-function," I mean objects that one buys new, let's say, at a hardware store, and uses in a way contrary to its designer's intent. 
--Burnell Yow!

I had fun at the hardware store today, and came out with a buttload of bolts to make bead, er, bolt curtains for Mr. Robot's backdrop.

Excuse the pics...they are not the best.  The light bulb burned out in our living room, which doubles as my craft space.  I thought the environmentally friendly bulbs were supposed to last longer...doesn't seem to be the case, in my experience.  And the ceilings in our old Edwardian apartment are too tall for me to reach, even with my super tall ladder.  Time to call Mr. Roeper. :)

Here are the bolts all tied up.  I think I might make jewelry out of them at some point.

 The inside of Mr. Robot

Hanging Thingamajigs

                                      
My Ikea tool kit (aka My Very First Tool Kit)

I used a nail to make starter holes

And then screwed in picture hooks...


then tied on the bolt stings.  It looks better in person. I need to clean 
up the strings and make some more strands of botls.
A work in progress...

 It just started pouring.

Guess it's time to cuddle with my doggie :)

XOXO,
Kira


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Day 9: Doing the Robot




People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing. (Dale Carnegie)

I have had this shadow box for ever and have been scared to use (ruin) it.  Finally, I thought, "This is stupid. It has too much power. Just go for it and have fun."
  And I did: Mr. Robot has been started.  He is painted on the underside of the glass.

He still needs more of a background.  I'm thinking something with bolts and wrenches! Or perhaps a field of flowers and some glitter on the box itself! Time will tell....

XOXO,
Kira

Monday, March 21, 2011

Day 8: Fun with Photoshop

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."
Marcel Proust

Meet Lulu, my crazy pooch.  She liked the look and warmth of the scarf I made so much that it made her feel like an adventurer and a surrealist! :)




Where does your doggy want to travel? If you want to see where your dog can go, email me a picture and an idea of where you'd like to see them visit, and I'll see what i can do!

XOXO,
Kira

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Day 7: Tying Up Loose Ends

A thing is complete when you can let it be. 
--Gita Bellin



For Day 7 I decided to tie up loose ends and finish a scarf I had started far too long ago.  It is called the Noro Scarf and I used the pattern I found on Brooklyn Tweed's website.



I love how it came out and am infatuated with the turquoise colors.  It took me a while to get the hang of the slip-stitch selvedge, but this video was immensely helpful:


I think I want to make another version with less neutral colors.  What do you think?

XOXO,
Kira

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Day 6: Creature Creations

Without the playing with fantasy no creative work 
has ever yet come to birth.The debt we owe to the 
play of imagination is incalculable. 
--Carl Jung

Fun with Legos!








Creativity is about play and a kind of willingness to go with your intuition. It's crucial to an artist. If you know where you are going and what you are going to do, why do it? -Frank Gehry