potato prints

worst skipping school day ever.

i. am. pissed.

instead of going to school today i decided that spending the day catching up on homework would be the better option. sounds logical, right? well i went to get coffee while waiting for the bayard taylor library to open, and low and behold as i approached my car, i locked the keys inside. the last time i did this was a year ago, and i promised myself i wouldn't do it again. but, you know, it's not the kind of thing that you can really control. sometimes things like that just happen.

so, i decided i wouldn't call my parents for three reasons. a) i didn't think we had an extra set of keys b) i didn't want to openly admit to skipping school c) i hate going to my parents for help when i can just handle situations by myself. yeah, locksmith services probably cost $40 or $50, but i'd rather pay for it than asking my parents to.

i call 4-1-1 and get a number of a locksmith in kennett square. the woman on the phone says they open cars. it'll be 25 minutes and about $75. shit. more expensive than i though but oh well, i already called and it's only 25 minutes. i need to get my papers done asap, and my notes are in the car.

three hours later, the creep of all creeps shows up, spends 30 seconds opening my car, and charges me $180. i argued with him but of course i am a nervous and passive person so i gave in. i was under pressure. and i panicked. i feel like the biggest idiot in the world. i feel sick to my stomach. he definately took advantage of me and i just payed him $180. drained my bank account. much worse things could have happened, i know, but that thought doesn't seem to supress my current frustration. i didn't even get to write my papers.

ended up explaining the whole thing to my mom between tears. and to top it off, we have an extra set of keys.

how to be an explorer of the world

to SLOW DOWN and to PAY ATTENTION: the ultimate to do on my to do list. just. do. nothing. the past few days have been a whirlwind, working non stop in the daytime, climbing/jumping over garden walls to escape the police men at night...(i could give you details but the sequence of events that happened that night are becoming fuzzy in my memory and are seeming more and more like a really funny, strange dream). all of this work and excitement and straight up strangeness has got me so tired i am delirious.

and so, these next 5 days of no work and no school will be cherished beyond belief. i want to work in the soil, touch fabric, sit and drink tea and do nothing but notice the magic of the newly blossomed life around me.

"the aspect of things that are most important for us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity. (One is unable to notice something because it is always before ones eyes). " - ludwig wittengestein

-words of wisdom from keri smith

the condor

when i was in peru this past summer, abby, bri and i decided to visit a shaman one afternoon after our volunteer projects. we'd heard rumors about a shaman named don martin, who resided in huasao, about a half hour outside the city of cuzco. apparently this guy was the real deal; he gave medical advice and performed healing, he could tell you strengths and flaws in your relationships, instantly knew if you were a virgin, and like most shamans, read your future. we embarked on this little journey with a hand drawn map and some coins for the combi ride to the countryside. when we arrived, we wandered the ghost town of huasao and finally found a little shack with a line of locals standing outside, and chickens running everywhere. we felt a little out of place - we didn't need medical assistance like these other people, we were just a couple of american girls wanting to know who we were going to marry. after waiting for what seemed close to 2 hours, it was finally my turn. i walked into the hut to see this old man behind a table of coca leaves with candles lit all around him. he asked me to blow on the coca leaves, asked me my name, and where i was from. when i told him the "estados unidos" he looked disgusted and pointed to the door, telling my friends and i were unwelcome.

:(

today, i googled his name and came up with this:
Don Martin Pinedo Acuna ("the condor") was born and raised in Paruro. He was the apprentice of the famous Don Benito Corihuaman. After Don Benito's death, Don Martin inherited his mesa and his knowledge. He lives in the village of Huasao, Peru where he heals people every day. He is the keeper of the sacred Apu (mountain) named Pachatusan ("where the Earth dances"), the main Apu of the city of Cuzco. His special gift comes through the eyes, wings and energy of the Condor. His work with seeing the future, with healing stones, the Earth-honoring ceremony (Despacho), and flute-playing is legendary and not to be missed.


as abby said, "i feel jipped"

tuesdays

days like today are best described in lists.

my day consisted of:
-skipping half of my already shortened school day
-building a highly anticipated blanket fort
-sushi and goldfish and a too many hershey kisses
-making out like a bandit at salvation army - 90's sundresses, frames, blankets & dishes
-snugglin
-yerba mate / rose hip tea
-traveling the world via google maps street view

mmm why can't this be every day?

as you like it

in new york, we got to go to the society of illustrators, a really inspiring art gallery.. the works i liked the most were the ones where the mediums were kind of "interdisciplinary" if you will; a work considered illustration that contained elements of graphic design or painting. maybe i just have a natural affinity to mixed media, but i think incorporating these different elements into one piece makes it so interesting. my favorites were by a guy named edel rodriquez. i just love the simplicity, boldness, and organic feel of his artwork. as you like itraisin in the sun

the more time i spend around art/artists, the more i feel it's calling in my own life. while this may seem like a good thing, it's taken me long enough to create my plans for next year and i'm really not trying to start over! i know that the market for artists isn't at it's peak in today's economy. but, the prospect of maybe, just maybe, being able to make a living by making art is incredibly appealing.

wilma

oh, wilmington. chock full of private school kids and strange crack heads that stand in the middle of the street and refuse to move. i drive there about three times a week to visit erik and attend my photography class. i've had my bad times with wilmy, like last weekend when someone smashed out the back window of my car. but all it takes is a little creativity and some adventurous spirit to find the good in wilmington.

i'm about to let you in on a few of my favorite places, which i'm pretty apprehensive about doing, but i'm feeling nice today. so here you go.. the best kept secrets of wilmington, delaware:

gibraltar: an old abandoned mansion surrounded by the most wonderful gardens. step through the gate and you'll feel like a princess, i swear. if you are sneaky enough you can break in to the house and witness it's paint-chipped walls and old musty curtains.

"the rooftop": since i have a terrible time paying attention while someone else is driving, i can't exactly tell you where it is. but erik has the secret code to get in the appt. complex and ride the beautiful ancient elevator up to the roof, where you have a lovely view of the city.
rockford park: i know it's not quite a secret, but just behind the tower, there's a hill in the woods that's decked out with huge algae-green boulders and tiny caves that are all too fun to explore

the annex: THE place for cheap old crap. like instamatic cameras, interesting old artwork, awesome pottery and tacky figurines... and sometimes if you rummage around enough, you can find some cool clothes, like a beautiful white flowy dress i'm eyein' up from the 20s.

(framed bird pictures courtesy of the annex)

stay tuned for a secret waterfall that i am STILL tying to find. and a sick rope swing.

new york, new york

it's nice to visit, but man do those people walk fast!

fall back spring forward

it is 6:30 and still plenty light out. and despite the fact that i'm in my room typing a paper, i'm enjoying this whole daylight savings deal.

change the wallpaper

(goodwill afghan/pillows and the ever-expanding (predominantly) erik rankin art gallery)

(peruvian dreamcatcher)

(lil' library)

on a whim last weekend i decided to paint my room this lovely shade of "native pottery". finished it in a night with the help of erik (he actually did most of the work). a sunday morning regular at work said that there's a german phrase that means "change the wallpaper." take it literally or metaphorically, change is so uplifting. my native pottery walls practically ooze inspiration and motivation to me every morning.

before i start sounding like the barack obama campaign let me leave you with this:

"unconsciously i had assumed that creativeness was solely the prerogative of certain professionals. but then expectations were broken up by various of my subjects. for instance, one woman, uneducated, poor, a full-time housewife and mother, did none of these conventionally creative things and yet was a marvelous cook, mother, wife, and homemaker. with little money, she was in all these areas original, novel, ingenious, unexpected, inventive. i just had to call her creative. i learned from her and others like her that a first-rate soup is more creative than a second-rate painting, and that generally, cooking or parenthood or making a home could be creative while poetry need not be; it could be uncreative." - corita kent

then i defy you, stars!

i just thoughtfully shot, and was so excited for, an expired roll of film from the 80s, but then when i opened up the camera i discovered that the film never registered. makes me so sad.

anyways, this is how i've felt every day of my life for the past 8 (?) months:

burst

i don't know about you, but this lil bouquet of flowers only satisfies my springtime craving for so long.



mark my word that one month from today (thursday, march 26) there will be pink blossoms on select trees. i promise. hang in there, spring is comin'

deep down

one of my biggest pet peeves is when someone insists that they don't care what other people think about them. first off, i think it's human nature to be concerned about what others think. also, the opinion that others form about you is the ultimate measure of your effect, good or bad, on people. i know that there's always the possibility that someone's view about you can be misconstrued and there's tons of variables that go into it... but for the most part, i think it's a fairly accurate critique of a person's character. the only thing that really matters.

anais

"we do not grow absolutely chronologically. we grow sometimes in one dimension and not another. unevenly. we grow partially. we are relative. we are mature in one realm, childish in another. the past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. we are made up of layers, cells, constellations!" - anais nin

valentines day

what better way to celebrate love than a giant batch of jello shots?

TIME

...and the mark that it makes

excuse the finger smudges, i was too lazy to clean my scanner. grandpa gave me his old minolta x-700 35mm camera and i've been playing around with it. these are the first shots from my first roll that was developed semi-successfully. film is so exciting to use, nothing beats the anticipation of the roll to be complete.