Sitting For Long Periods

Tonight I went to the park just as the sun was about to set. I sat there for a long time, watching the clouds move, watching the colors change, sitting through drizzle and a still breeze. The colors changed between cool and warm a few times, and it began to rain slightly. When I looked up, the clouds raced around inside each other, like those models of planets at OMSI that you can spin, the colors and liquids inside morphing into each other. I like sitting in places for a long time and witnessing how many things change around you in the environment. Many people walk by you, come and go, the light changes colors, gets lighter and darker, the temperature changes from slightly warm to chattering cold.

Also, there was a guy that sat a ways away from me at the park that laughed like a hyena. The girl he was with wasn't that into him, but he was still very patient and persistent, so you gotta give him that!

Look at the squirrel:

Extra Reading:

Glenn Friedel: Friedel makes large scale photograms, a genre of cameraless photography where the artist takes a piece of photo paper, places objects on top of the paper, and then exposes the whole thing to light. Making photograms is usually taught as a beginner-level exercise, so I think it is great that Friedel and other artists have taken that exercise further to create stunning pieces. Friedel makes photograms of the human form, and the shapes and colors he produces are brilliant. The link I sent you to is from Google Images because Friedel's site seems to be down. However, if you still want to peruse his website, you can go here. 

Death Scene By Self

What if you ran through the forest by yourself
through the thicket and the dark
you are barefoot and
your feet begin to bleed because you have been skimming those toes against every particle
on purpose
actually.

You come across a clearing with dewy grass
and you wipe your blood on those blades
it's all smeared now,
looking up to a moon that is
closer than you saw it yesterday.

The lover you had five years ago walks
up to you
and
hello
you made me happy one day
but those are just thoughts
it's actually silent and
your lover,
she touches you
her hand goes right through you
which makes her disappear again,
like a bubble, when it pops.

A warm, black sea bubbles up around you
there is a tiny sailboat in the distance
with a striped red sail
and if you make it to that boat
by kicking your feet
you could make it back to the thicket where you began.

Though you can't
because
you fled from real life and now
of course
you want it back
and you thought that sailboat was close, maybe
and you realize you are completely alone
all alone with yourself
your thoughts
your heartbeat
and that sailboat that

you can't reach.
I'm sorry.
It's so difficult, isn't it?

Thump, thump.
your heartbeat goes on
still

Wow, what's a DSLR again when you've used an iPhone?

Extra Reading:

Liz Kasameyer: I like many of Kasameyer's portraits because she has an intimate and mysterious style that is intriguing. She'll get very close to her subjects and expose raw moments that I find very attractive. If you check out this blog, you can read more about a project that she dedicated to people who lost their lives in the Holocaust. 

Bubbles and Swimming

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and my head feels like it is filled with water, like my brain is bubbling. It is almost like I am swimming, swimming through my thoughts, trying to swim into sleep. That is what art reminds me of: bubbles and swimming and murky and grey and strange.

From my twelve hour walk, which is so long that it becomes a dream:

Extra Reading:

Chris Bennett: A lover of wilderness and travel and adventure, Bennett uses his passions to aid his photography. He shoots a lot of films and makes photographs that are observant and quiet, but strong. The strength that his photographs have make them incredibly beautiful to me.

Tired Tuesday

Today I was way too exhausted to work, so I came home to take a nap, and I only napped for about an hour. Then I went on a walk and now I am tired again. It seems like this happens whenever I take a day off to rest. It's the days when I don't need anymore sleep that I sleep all day.

Also, gluten free cake can be good. It goes down your throat swiftly. Then you wonder why you've gained five pounds.

I like puffy coats because I feel like a human marshmallow, which is the best kind of marshmallow. Cause let's be honest: the white marshmallows you eat aren't that great unless they're on s'mores.

Lately I have liked taking photos on my iPhone. I've needed a fast way to capture things. 

The tired face, woah:

 Appropriate at work:

Or I could just have these sunglasses:

They don't even cost anything. That's convenient.

The writing on bathroom walls makes me so happy. I go to Cup and Saucer a lot (on SE Hawthorne), and usually their walls are covered in writing. They literally repaint the walls every couple months because of how much people write on them. Unfortunately, when I went in the bathroom today, there was a fresh coat of paint, but this gem was still there:

"Did you wash your hands?"

"No"

"Well fucking do it then" (the word, "fucking" squiggled out, of corse! Let's be PC!)

"I don't have hands." (never mind, forget the PC thing!)

Two worlds colliding:

Someone's got a lavender gift on their seat:

Not only do people yard their furniture outside in the summer (pun not intended), but they use the outdoors as a closet, too!

Also,

do you see the foot deodorant inside the shoes?

And why not bring a pacifier out, too?!

Cause that's sanitary.

Apparently limb-loss is popular these days:

Look, I'm in her glasses and her chest.

Also,

a man with no arms saw a job posting for a bell ringer

the contact for the job was a priest

the man went to the priest and asked to be the bell ringer

the priest of course brought up the issue of having no hands (???)

the no-hands man said it was ok and that he'd prove it to the priest

the priest took the no-hands man up to the bell tower

the no-hands man ran and jumped, catching the bell rope with his teeth

the bell rung, and ricocheted back to hit the no-hands man in the face

the no-hands man fell to the ground

the priest ran down to help him

a crowd of people had surrounded the no-hands man

they asked the priest if he knew who the no-hands man was

the priest said,

"no, but his face rings a bell."

Admit it. You laughed. Or maybe you didn't, whatever.

Also,

A friend told me today that if he lost a limb

he might not be able to go on

but he's just drinking the haterade

and yes, I just said, "haterade"

I know

Is this doll not soooo creepy?

Yes, I think so!!

Also,

GIANT RUBIK'S CUBE!!!!!

What.

Extra Reading:

Mezzetty Art Gallery: I like this studio because it has a very commercial vibe, but the digital manipulation the artists use give the photographs a fine art quality. It looks Free People-esque with digital manipulation. 

Hard and Soft

I can be the laziest person or the most hard-working person you know. People who say things like, "my break is too long," seriously confuse me. How can you have too much time off? There is always something to do if you are creative enough to find it. Or until you run out of money. That's a problem, too!

The feeling of sitting on a real couch after a long day of work is bliss. My bed, shutting my eyes, sleeping. Unfortunately I have been doing so much canvassing that I have been starting to have dreams about it. Ha!

Here are some moments from my day:

Someone forgot their clothes, whoops:

 Gay marriage got legalized today!! Woohoo!! ...

... but there were still some homo-haters at Portland State, and one of my friends wrote this sign in protest:

That couch sitting, man:

Extra Reading:

Jakob Wagner: Wagner has so much work, and it's nice and quiet. He makes landscapes and captures the majesty of the world. Through aerial, long exposure, and travel photography, Wagner shows many angles of landscape that I think you will enjoy. 

Commercial Downpour

Today I got to be in a commercial to help promote the organization I work for, Democracy Resources. This was so exciting for me... a commercial, a commercial! I get to appear on daytime television! Luckily I was dressed in my tight, booty poppin' pants and leopard print belt for the occasion.

It absolutely poured outside today as I asked people to sign for my causes. The rain and cold make it a thousand times harder to ask people to sign because you feel like a dick for even asking. You want to make someone stand there in the rain and listen to you talk about a ballot measure? Sometimes your job requires you to be the person no one likes. Personally, I think it's a good life skill to have, so that if you're in a situation in real life where no one likes you, you're already used to it! Ha ha! 

This is what my day looked like, in pieces:

Still pleasant outside:

 Ominous storm clouds above:

 Lots of water, walking over the bridge twice:

 I got completely drenched. My jacket, scarf, pants, and backpack all took a shower, as well as my head:

 No more Maggie:

Extra Reading:

Thomas Jackson: What I love about Jackson's work is how he creates fantasy in his images. He can change a normal-looking scene by using a nebulae of inanimate objects or a strange alien as subjects. The lighting is beautiful in Jackson's photographs, and the subject matter is colorful, playful, and mysterious. 

After Wedding

Today I shot a wedding for one of my former photography teachers, Rachael. I don't have any of the photos yet because I used her equipment. However, at the end of the day, I took some leftover flowers that were going to be thrown away, and was able to display and photograph them. Since I don't have any of the wedding photos, I'll show some simple beauty that is love. 

I hope you all enjoyed this wonderful, beautiful day. Everyday should be an opportunity to be happy, whether you are at a wedding, on a trip, or at work.

Extra Reading:

Christian Oth Studio: At today's wedding, I met another photographer who told me about the work of the photographers at Christian Oth Studio. Being a group of wedding photographers who shoot all over the world, they get to experience many different venues, brides and grooms, and themes. Go check out all the different places they shoot!