Scenes From My Sketchbook

Sometimes I wish I kept a tangible diary so that when I am in college I can remember how personally I took things like when some boy in my grade told me that he shouldn’t have to actually read Pride and Prejudice because, get this, “Guys don’t read books.” I guess that’s what this blog is for though. Also, every week since 9^th grade I’ve done an entry in my sketchbook (I’m a ripe old junior now). Although I started off doing entries in my sketchbook just to fulfill an assignment for my drawing and painting class that I still take at school, it’s now become my favorite way to end the week. In September, I made a moodboard for fall vibes on this blog (aka Dia de los Muertos-meets-Mod-art teacher), and as I flip back through some of my favorite sketches, I realize I subconsciously made them in sync with that post. So in a way, although my sketchbook is mostly images, with the occasional poem or two, an illustration of a boy reading with a big X through it is just as  reflective of my mood at the moment, as the story I told you above. Saying all this makes me not feel not as bad that I missed out on some childhood right of passage of diary-keeping, okay?

Left: Pee-wee Herman + robot   Right: palm reading ad I found on the street + yin yang block print I carved.

Left: Tennessee Thomas, drummer of girl-band, The Like nestled in a sea of flower power

Left: collage feat. a Tweety Bird Band-Aid I got at the doctor's office. Right: drawing of a ubiquitous angsty teen girl (which is essentially a self-portrait.)

The thought bubbles in the drawing on the right are kind of hard to read but she’s thinking things like “At this rate, I don’t even think Bill Nye The Science Guy, would date me…Or would he?” or “I am so done with patriarchal society,” “Do you think if I dress as a question mark for Halloween people will get that I am The Who? Of course not.” And, “Nothing makes me want to commit suicide more than watching an ASPCA commercial.” 99% are things I have tweeted.

***Note: Since I took the time to make all of this work myself, please don’t reproduce them in any way without asking me first.

Here are some behind-the-scenes shots of something I did with my friends for photographer Danielle Levitt (who reminds me of an edgy Carrie Bradshaw); all of these photographs though were taken by my friend Ruby who is one of the raddest girls on the block (although she doesn’t live on my block, but I wish she did. Whatevez you get I am saying. She is COOL.) I am really excited to see all the photographs Danielle took of us as they come out, but for now I can just stare at these pictures from her studio to remind myself of how cool it was. Everywhere you went there was spin art mounted to the wall! Going to start saving up pennies for a spin art kit, I think.

Emily, Martina, and Me!

We look like a mismatched girl-band here. Emily has on her Deyrolle pour Opening Ceremony cat dress (because she’s a not-so-closeted crazy cat lady), Martina is in a tube top she DIY’ed and other thrifty scores. I am showing off my candy pride, as well as am wearing a painted wooden bunny necklace I got while on this past summer’s trip to Maine at a fair trade store. The yellow yin yang shirt I printed myself from a wood block print and the floral denim skirt is from Topshop.

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So, This Happened....

Click here for the October Etsy Spotlight

Click here for the November Etsy Spotlight

If you read this blog, you’d know that not only do I love Refinery29, but I got the chance to intern for them this past summer. In October, I was super excited about the debut of my new column for the site—an Etsy spotlight, in which each month I highlight 3 vendors I am currently obsessed with  from Etsy (stay with me, this will only sound like a self-promotional video for another sentence or two).  As much as I will forever get giddy thinking about some of my favorite designers like Ashish, Rachel Antonoff, and Meadham Kirchhoff, it’s exciting that all of these extreme DIY-ers are getting some love, too. So far I’ve featured elegant hybrids of our Founding Fathers and Mickey Mouse in the form of antique plates, a cool gal from Brooklyn who makes Aubrey Plaza-deadpan girl face shirts, and coquettish schoolbags. Today my second Etsy spotlight went up that was all about classy tie-dyes, Riot Grrrl jewelry, and hand stenciled leather bags. Check it out and share your Etsy favorites in the comments!

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Watecolor Feet

The phrase "Fashion is Pain," has never resonated with me, because the idea that wearing dangerously tall shoes is in the end worth it, if you look great, never computed for someone who's constantly taking public transportation and is naturally as clumsy as Lizzie McGuire. But I had an Urban Outfitters gift card, and on a day-off from school, I went into the store to peruse their stock and coming across these Paintings On Stilts. And there began my dilemma. Art and fashion for me go hand-and-hand, likewise, art, fashion, and COLOR are so incredibly important to me, and these shoes have it all. Lou Reed kept singing “Hey Babe, take a walk on the wild side” on the stereo and I just couldn’t resist him or the shoes and that was that. Clearly don't tempt me with any Lichtenstein print shoes in the future or I will be broke! The bucolic watercolor print of these reminds me of Christopher Kane’s Spring/Summer 2012---yes, they’re totally summer babe shoes but I’m so excited to get to pattern overload these with my polka dot and neon tights all winter long.  Plus, now I’m inspired to take on more watercolor projects. Oh, and I had a cheesy/cheese-y (there was cheese involved) picnic in the park. Can we just say my day was super successful?

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Alien Love

Soko: Alien Love on Nowness.com.

I just found “Alien Love” on Nowness, a new song that French singer and actress, Soko (born Stéphanie Sokolinski) released a music video for as a part of the music that will be featured on her upcoming album, I Thought I Was An Alien. The video follows the story of a girl and an alien falling in love, but there are all of these fun dance scenes and shots of the alien costume shopping that follow Soko’s lyrics as well. Soko’s voice sound like pretty wind chimes clingy in the breeze—something about it felt like summer to me.  In her interview with Nowness, Soko says, “I think the myths surrounding them are fascinating. I wonder if we’re all aliens. Maybe there are other people on other planets; they’re probably just the same as us and struggling with the same things.” Not only was the video was shot by Spike Jonze but it was made solely with an iPhone which I don’t know about you, but I am certainly not that tech savvy to pull off. Whether or not using the iPhone was the original intended idea for the video, I thought it added such a nice element and the technology/internet component went perfectly with the feelings of isolation in “Alien Love” as well. Plus the entire video looks like it was shot inside a rainbow prism which made it super duper trippy.  To read the rest of Soko’s interview with Nowness click here.

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