"Boys"

                                                          "Specimen"

Skeleton I

new idea- charcoal powder and glue...

New paintings

Wacom tablet- Drawings I

I got a Wacom tablet as a birthday present to myself last november- here's some of the first drawings I did with them.  Some were "commissioned" I guess you could say- others were just for fun-- these were all done before i discovered the blend tool :p

Racism- 21st century

This post is totally un-art related but I needed to rant about it and what better place to rant than on my blog?  The bolded statement is a friend of mine's fb status- I blocked out our names in order to protect us.  I'll let the thread speak for itself- the only part I wish I hadn't said was when I lost my cool at the very end- this is a direct copy and paste straight from fb.

 

A--------What horrid manifestation of capitalist oppression has the United States subjected the people of the middle east to in order to cause such world wide chaos? Oh...some wackos made a movie. You're right...Muslims are peaceful people. Lol  

• Me-when Andres Serrano created the piece of art called "piss christ" where a figure of christ was submerged in urine in a glass tube christians all over the world were outraged. the artist recieved death threats, there were violent protests and anger not to mention the piece was actually destroyed with hammers. its not the fact that muslims are considered peaceful or not its when people threaten a religious group that creates problems. muslims or christians or whoever it doesnt matter what religious affiliation you are- there's extremes in every group.September 13 at 12:54pm · Like

• A--------How many people got killed over the piss Christ? I'm pretty sure the body count is still rising on this issue. So you're telling me it's possible to be outraged over something sacrilegious and not kill people as a result? I'm not the one who needs to know that, tell that to the bloody savages.

  September 13 at 12:57pm via mobile · Like

   
• Me- im saying the sarcasm in your status about muslims being peaceful people should be reconsidered.

  September 13 at 1:02pm · Like

   
• A--------I'm saying they aren't peaceful people. They are savages. You just proved my point, Christians get offended, at least they don't drag people in the street. It's 2012 and people accepting their behavior and defending it only causes it to continue.

  September 13 at 1:19pm · Like

   
• Me-i know youre saying theyre not peaceful. thats why im writing this. the humans killing because of this video are separate from being muslim that just happens to be their religious affiliation. if a christain or a jew were killing people in the same light i doubt your status would say christains are savages..but rather that person is crazy or those ppl are crazy- you wouldnt generalize an entire population based on their actions would you?

  September 13 at 1:57pm via mobile · Like

   
• A--------No. I don't care about Christians or Jews. If the inquisition was going on I'd have plenty to say. But that isn't the issue. This is a religious issue. They are savages, they wipe their asses with their hands. And they drag dead bodies through the streets. It doesn't matter what country they are from, the thing that connects the protesters right now is their faith, Islam. So being a Muslim is exactly the problem. You cannot separate that from their actions.

  September 13 at 2:03pm · Like

   
• Me-this is only a religious issue because the video is attacking the religion. If it were a video that was extremely offensive towards african americans for example it would become a racial issue. The video is what condemns it to religion, not the people themselves. Its the offense that makes the problem. so if those black people were all gay for example would you say that gays are savages- no becuase the offense isnt made against their sexual orientation its made against the fact that they're black. the fact that they are gay is a coincidence even if thats what connects them. I'm pretty sure all these killings are occurring by men so it should also be ok for you to say that all men are savages. or if all these men are fathers- i could also say that all fathers are savages.

  September 13 at 2:20pm · Like

   
• A--------We aren't dealing with a hypothetical about blacks or gays or fathers or alligator wrestlers. We are dealing with the very real issue of Muslims being angry over a religious issue, they mob, kill people that have nothing to do with any of this, and you have decided to take it upon yourself not only to defend the savage Muslims who happen to not be responsible for this particular incident, but also to justify the behavior of the actual killers by stating that the offense is making the problem. Got it. Also, there is plenty of offensive things out there on the internet, being a civilized human being means that we can move past these offenses without loss of innocent life. And every group you have referenced thus far; Christians, Jews, Blacks, Gays, Men, Fathers; has been subject to grave slights and insults in the past, and was able to get past that without rioting like a bunch of angry chimps. You have given me nothing but an ever expanding list of groups of people who are more civilized than Muslims.

  September 13 at 2:28pm · Like

   
• Me-  i never defended or justified the ppl responsible for the killings- im defending the other millions of muslims you decided to group in your status, who like the victims that were killed, also have nothing to do with it

  September 13 at 3:41pm via mobile · Like

   
• A--------Negative. Those Muslims who I group in my status continue to hold the same ideas that make every civilized person a target. They may have not had a hand in it, but they all sign off on the same ideologies that continue to promote war instead of peace. It's some insane left wing thinking that these people are not a threat, when every single major conflict since the 1980's has been as a result of their religious ideologies. These people aren't like the groups you mentioned earlier, they are more akin to Nazi's. Nobody cares if a Nazi killed someone or not, a Nazi is a Nazi because they subscribe to an ideology that is incompatible with peace. Muslims subscribe to an ideology that is incompatible with peace, unless of course, everyone is Muslim. And look, I've talked a whole lot of shit about Muslims, held the innocent accountable for the actions of the guilty, and I didn't have to kill anyone to do it. If this was a single person, or maybe a group of 50 or so, I could empathize more fully with your position, however it is not the case. We've got entire countries up in arms. Entire countries who say they are our allies. The thing they all have in common is their faith. So yes, your friend who sits next to you in Chemistry may seem like a docile and peace loving Muslim, but put him in a pack with his buddies when he isn't the minority, and see how well they all treat you, as a woman.

  September 13 at 4:02pm · Like

   
• Me-well then i guess you better run cause i was raised a muslim and ill probly shank you in your sleep

  September 13 at 4:43pm via mobile · Like

   
• A--------You're going to have enough trouble driving. ZING!

  September 13 at 4:55pm · Like

   
• Me-no need ill just blow up all of az. so your racist against muslims- classy.

  September 13 at 5:06pm via mobile · Like

   
• A--------Muslims aren't a race, they are an archaic religion designed to unite a bunch of nomadic barbarians. Now they are united, my point is, they remain barbarians. They just translated this video into arabic 7 days ago. And we were having a civil conversation until Dahlia got violent (which her kind are prone to, hence the purpose of this post) and you're just name calling, that's not productive.

Tattoooos

This is a tattoo I drew up for a friend of mine- he's Dirty Lingo's lead singer's brother, Brian- who is also in an awesome band called the Good Bipolars http://www.facebook.com/goodbipolars !!  He wanted a guitar that turned into a tree with music notes and chili peppers on the branches

I'd absolutely love to get into tattooing but in order to start you need an apprenticeship and I've had no luck with that in Phoenix unfortunately :(

Dirty Lingo

So in the midst of all my post-graduation anxiety I packed up my car and drove across the country from Kalamazoo, MI to Phoenix, AZ.  It was a 36 hour drive through snow storms, mountains, and beautiful landscapes.  The trip was pretty terrifying- the longest I'd ever driven at one time was 6 hours, I didn't know anybody where I was going, and to say that I'm awkward and shy is the understatement of the year but this trip was just what I needed to feel like the last 4 years of college was good for something- cause god knows the job market wasn't helping with that.

When I arrived in Phoenix I lived in my car a bit, and hung out in coffee shops during the day looking for housing.  It wasn't the most comfortable way to live but it definitely gave me some perspective.  Luckily I found a CL add for a little house in Scottsdale fairly quickly- I met 2 amazing women at this house and within a few weeks I was living with them.  One of these women, Laura, runs the Phoenix branch of RAW.  An organization that collaborates with artists in local cities all over the US and gives them the opportunity to display their work.  Its totally AWESOME! check out their site http://www.rawartists.org/

Anyway they were totally open and accepting of all my shyness and awkwardness and one night they invited me out to see a show.  Laura's boyfriend is in a band called "Dirty Lingo."  They make some killer music- really addicting melodies tied with some heavier lyrics- it makes for some damn good music.  They also do great covers of the beatles, nirvana, radiohead, etc. You gotta check these guys out!!! http://www.facebook.com/DirtyLingo

The following pics are all related to the band 

 I was just messing around one day and made this up

 The lead singer asked me to do a photo of their band so this is them, done in marker and paper

I put it through photoshop to clean it up a bit and switch the 2 guitarists cause when they perform live they always stand in this order (opposite of how i originally drew it)