M M M

So I arrived in Madison around 3.  First stop-Botanical gardens. F'in amazing.  I took over 100 photos, and I learned so much about flowers in 3 hours.  It was so big and beautiful, with flowers so clearly labeled.  It was free And there was a Thai garden included!! I felt such a calm peace from the garden that day, and it was refreshing after all of this emotional turmoil I had been going through in Michigan. 

After I had had my fill of flowers, I decided to hit up a park, because it was a hot and sunny day.  I had a 40 of Miller high life sitting in my car, waiting for me.  I poured half into a water bottle (classy) and decided to sit in the park, next to the lake, people watch and draw.  There were a bunch of guys playing Ultimate frisbee, some girls drawing, and a lesbian couple frolicking.  I started a pen drawing, but didn't have time to finish it because I had to go meet my next couchsurfing host. 

So I drove to his house, and when I arrived, there was a strange man sitting on the roof.  It was he.  He came down to meet me, and my first impression was that he was a very attractive man.  His place was really chill.  It was right off Willy street, apparently the more hippy/vegan/bisexual side of town.  I liked dat.  We went to grab a bite to eat, then we went downtown to some bars.  The first one was an Irish bar, where his friend was playing fiddle.  There were about 8 people sitting around a table, playing traditional Irish music.  Like 5 old dudes, and a young guy and girl.  They were pretty amusing.  Across from us sat 2 couples.  It was 2 older men (60s) and 2 younger women (low 30's).  We were trying to figure out why they were together...the best guess was that the women were escorts.  But I don't know, and could not figure it out!  Anyways, the girl was wasted and broke a glass and the bartender got all pissed off and asked them to leave.


So the next day, we made breakfast, then went to the Terrace (over the lake) and played some card games, then I left him to go home.  I needed to take the bus, and it was 2.00$.  Not that much, but still I am really poor.  So I walked onto the bus, and the driver asked me for 20$.  He was kidding, but I said that I forgot my ID (Buses are free for Madison students), he ignored me and asked for 30$.  So I just walked on without paying.  I slipped on my sunglasses and headed northwest...:)

Wisconsin

Where was I...

So the day before we left, we decided to take a long walk around the city again.  We made the executive decision to take the dog too.  We walked along the lake, and when we were close to one of the museums, all of a sudden like 20 kids came running towards us wanting to pet the dog.  It was pretty funny.  There was some school field trip and kids were EVERYWHERE.  We decided to head downtown.  I went into a shop to get ice cream, and when I came out there was a bunch of yelling and I saw a police officer arresting someone that was resisting.  10 steps later there was a crazyass car with quotations all over it and terrifying dolls.  It also featured a loudspeaker with this guy's voice ranting about all these different things he believed in.  Then he parked and got out, he looked kind of bum-ish, but I was very glad to see him, because weird characters like that always light up my life.

Then we walked north towards home.  We ran into his magician friend from the night before; I sat on the dock of the river.  A goose slowly came closer and closer to me, then eventually right next to me.  It was cute, but I was also mildly afraid of it.   Later that night we went to this park on the lake and drank some beers and walked by the art museum so that I could get some night pictures.  It was very nice.  I left the next morning and back on the road I was..to Madison!

Milwaukee

It's been a crazy few days here so far...


I had taken some really beautiful night shots of the city.  But my memory card took a shit and I think I might have lost them forever unfortunately.  I walked around my first night by the lake at late sunset...once it started to get dark it was a little scary.  There were no lights anywhere and I was walking by myself in a park.  What can I say though, I am a risky girl.  I came back somewhat early that night and met/hung out with one of the guys that is hosting me. 

The next day  I went to the coffee shop where an old friend of mine works and talked to her for a while.  Then walked around with my host (Zach) for a couple of hours around the city.  We took his dog too, and I accused him of having the dog to pick up girls.  He denied this, but said it was a nice benefit.  We went to a brewery tour after that, got a little sloshy.  Our tour guide was f'in crazy.  He had a crazy mustache and tattoos everywhere.  He was really loud and funny...very entertaining to say the least.  I forced him to take a picture with me.

After that we split up, I had a free drink ticket to use before 6, so I headed out to a bar.  When I walked in some older guys said something like "Wow real Irish girl coming to the bar in the middle of the day".  Those fools.  So I sat down at the bar and struck up a conversation with the 2 guys next to me.  We talked for a while about Milwaukee and Yellowstone of course.  They bought me a couple of drinks and we agreed to see a museum the next day (which never happened).  Then I went to meet Zach and his roommate at the Safehouse bar, a crazy crazy crazy bar.  I don't even know where begin to describe it.  There's a hidden camera when you first walk in, and it's broadcasted throughout the entire bar.  The entrance is a hidden door which you have to figure out how to open, and everyone in the bar is watching you, and potentially laughing at you.  I saw this crazy older dude dancing his ass off in that room, and it was one of most amazing things I have ever seen.  Then we ate dinner, drank a little, and watched a magician do tricks.  I forgot to bring my camera to document this. This post is becoming really long and silly, so I will stop here!

News

Here is my latest painting.  It's on another old piece of wood that I found outside. I'm quite happy with it.  To me, it's an expression of spiritualism and unity in a basic form.

So I am definitely going to Yellowstone this summer, leaving next Monday for a 3 week roadtrip.  Kalamazoo, Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, Fargo, Bismark, Little Missouri National Grasslands, then I will either bum around Bozeman, camp in the Tetons, or take the scenic route (Beartooth Highway) into the park.  Still undecided...

And I finished a new song.  The recording isn't the best quality..I started to work on re-recording certain parts, but I'm going to redo at a later time because it's going to require a lot of work and maybe a better microphone. Check it here.    It's called Save Myself.  Hope you like it!

Update

So I kind of disappeared from artistic creation for a little while due to some unfortunate distractions.  But I am now back. At 75% throttle.  I won't be back to full throttle until I get out of this house.

But anyways, here are a few things I've made.

I found some old pieces of wood outside, and thought they might look nice with some paint on them.  This particular one is multiple things.  It is a flower.  It is also a sun shining down on mountains.  I have one more to paint, and I put a little more time into making the design of this one.  Hope to finish that before I move.

Here is a simple pillow design that I'm going to sew..also before I leave here.  There is a lonely and mistreated pillow that needs a new cover. 

I recently bought all of this spray paint for my toilet paper-wall art.  Just waiting for a sunny/not too-windy day!

I took this picture of myself and a random accordion I found in my house today.  I need to get some more models before everyone starts believing I am completely vain! :)


Also I'm working on my website...shooting a music video with my roommate as soon as it is sunny outside, and finishing up the recording of a song I recently wrote.  And I have a job interview on Wednesday for a packaging job.  There is a lot on my mind as you can see!

Wall of randomness..

So we started painting a big mural in Egypt and Pierre's hallway a couple of weeks ago.  It is a work in progress. It's something kind of silly/amazing that we want to leave behind at the house. Egypt and I painted the backround trees loosely, and we plan on doing a dusk sky after all of our special beings are in place.  Here are a few of them that I personally made:

Mr. Leek Man (who apparently is a pervert)

Crack Beer annnnd Vodka

The Nudist Tree

Evil blob of mold

Wall of weirdness!

Rough life plan

It's come to that point in my life where I need to start thinking about what I really want to do with all of this..life.  Right now I have been taking up extra shifts at work to save for this summer.  I'm also working on getting a website up before I leave, and making some business cards. 

I am heading to Yellowstone in the first or second week of May.  So far it looks like I will be traveling alone, so I will be taking a shorter roadtrip than initially planned.  I'm going to go through Minneapolis I think, and spend the week before I start working camping in the Grand Tetons with a friend of mine.

While at Yellowstone I am going to spend all the spare time I can taking photos of the most beautiful place in the world.  And doing a little networking promoting my art and website.

Here in Lansing, I am looking at a few different houses next week (to buy).  The home values here have really sunk very fast in the past few years and it is officially a really good time to buy.  So I'm hoping I can find something that will suit me, and a home I can put a studio in, that's important! I already know that I'm going to pour my soul into personalizing the house via paint.

That's all the news for now.  Just getting ready for my departure this summer!

my final destination

Flying through the blackest of nights
with my graveyard of critters
on the grill,
leading the way,
in my tired car
-the sun's behind me,
setting the tone

and my eyes are playing tricks
i keep seeing illuminated echoes of mountain silhouettes
that don't really exist

I'm sitting, hoping for Elko, Nevada to show up soon
I'll soon have arrived at my final destination
with an empty wallet
And a completion-sadness-exhaustion look on my face
ignoring my next adventure
and focused on my expired trip.

Roadtrippin

oh the great salt lake...see you very soon

A new FDA

I wish there was a way to tell, when you buy a product, exactly where it came from, the process it went through to become what it is currently. I guarantee many people would think twice about where they choose to spend their money. I don't want to be supporting cruel practices in a different part of the world, I'm willing to spend a little more to avoid that, and I think other people would too.

There could be third-party companies to verify social justice throughout the manufacturing process. Just like how we have companies to verify that wood is being harvested sustainably. I guess Fair Trade coffee is this concept, but it's only for one industry. It'd be nice to have reliable companies doing this across the board for all industries.

Another problem is all of the symbols on packaging and customer education. What I mean by this is that many consumers don't understand what all of the small symbols on the back of the product mean. I didn't really understand until I came into the packaging field.

Here's the symbol for SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) & FSC. Maybe someday it will happen for other causes too...

Everybody's Talkin'

Everybody's talking at me

I don't hear a word they're saying
Only the echoes of my mind

People stopping staring
I can't see their faces
Only the shadows of their eyes

I'm going where the sun keeps shining
Thru' the pouring rain
Going where the weather suits my clothes
Banking off of the North East winds
Sailing on summer breeze

And skipping over the ocean like a stone