right now i am loving the steampunk movement. i love everything about the style, the elegance and adventure!
a friend put these fantastic goggles on ebay today, they are simply amazing!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Authentic-antique-WWII-Red-Goggles-Excellent-motorcycle-steampunk-NICE-/121057952893
check them out!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Quotes that I like. Version one
All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusion is called a philosopher. --Ambrose Bierce
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction. --Albert Einstein
Listen to the mustn'ts, child, listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me. Anything can happen, child, anything can be. --Shel Silverstein
“whatever you can do, or dream you can..begin it. boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” --Goethe
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction. --Albert Einstein
Listen to the mustn'ts, child, listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me. Anything can happen, child, anything can be. --Shel Silverstein
“whatever you can do, or dream you can..begin it. boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” --Goethe
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
I Don't Believe Potential Has An Expiration Date. (part one)
Hi. I don't know if I have ever made a proper introduction.
My name is Stephanie, or Mink if you like it. (I like it.)
I am 31 years OLD! I'm a high-school drop-out, but I have my G.E.D. (in which I scored within the top 3%). I have never gone to college, but would really like to before I turn 40. I have dabbled in art throughout my life and would love to pursue it as a career.
I kind of had a late start in life....
Here's part one of my story:
I grew up in Madrid, Maine, a town that isn't a town anymore...it has dis-incorporated. That means that it was too tiny and poor to sustain itself. My parents were from New Jersey. My father was so sick of people that he moved my mom and sister to the side of Saddleback Mountain in way-rural Maine in 1979. I was born in 1980 to a 40-year-old mother and a forty-three year old dad. My father built our home with no electricity, locally milled lumber, and sheer will. We got electricity when I was two.
Dad was an improvisational genius, but nearly illiterate and terribly ill-tempered. He was the son of two German immigrants who came to America before WWII. My dad went to kindergarten in the country that his parents hailed from, but he and his mother fled back to the states right before the war started (we are not Jewish, but sometimes I wish we were). He went to first grade in America, not able to speak English. He drew Swastikas on his paper airplanes because it was all he knew. He was tormented in school because they said he was a Nazi. His house was raided many times because of his heritage, the government thought his parents were spies.
Mom was born to two deaf parents and has been an interpreter since she was three. She could read and write well at age four. She went to a catholic school where the nuns did not answer any of her questions about why God allowed suffering. She questioned the fairness of Hell, she thought Heaven would be boring. Yet she has always been deeply religious. She met my father at age fifteen, a friend of a friend. She was pregnant with my brother at age sixteen, and had to drop out of her catholic high-school (it's just what was done). Her and my father were married before my oldest brother was born.
Mom had aspirations of being an artist before she married Dad, she had won awards for her paintings in high-school, not for her technical skill, but for her vision. Mom had the ability to make people think and feel through her art. Sadly, like many women of that era, daily life got in the way of pursuing her artistic side.
I am afraid that will be my outcome, and though I fight it every day, I feel as though I am losing ground. My husband sees how I feel and encourages me to go to school. I am scared though....I am afraid of being a financial burden, of being peers with people quite younger than myself, of finding out that I am not really an artist.
how does one get through the fear and move on to success?
My name is Stephanie, or Mink if you like it. (I like it.)
I am 31 years OLD! I'm a high-school drop-out, but I have my G.E.D. (in which I scored within the top 3%). I have never gone to college, but would really like to before I turn 40. I have dabbled in art throughout my life and would love to pursue it as a career.
I kind of had a late start in life....
Here's part one of my story:
I grew up in Madrid, Maine, a town that isn't a town anymore...it has dis-incorporated. That means that it was too tiny and poor to sustain itself. My parents were from New Jersey. My father was so sick of people that he moved my mom and sister to the side of Saddleback Mountain in way-rural Maine in 1979. I was born in 1980 to a 40-year-old mother and a forty-three year old dad. My father built our home with no electricity, locally milled lumber, and sheer will. We got electricity when I was two.
Dad was an improvisational genius, but nearly illiterate and terribly ill-tempered. He was the son of two German immigrants who came to America before WWII. My dad went to kindergarten in the country that his parents hailed from, but he and his mother fled back to the states right before the war started (we are not Jewish, but sometimes I wish we were). He went to first grade in America, not able to speak English. He drew Swastikas on his paper airplanes because it was all he knew. He was tormented in school because they said he was a Nazi. His house was raided many times because of his heritage, the government thought his parents were spies.
Mom was born to two deaf parents and has been an interpreter since she was three. She could read and write well at age four. She went to a catholic school where the nuns did not answer any of her questions about why God allowed suffering. She questioned the fairness of Hell, she thought Heaven would be boring. Yet she has always been deeply religious. She met my father at age fifteen, a friend of a friend. She was pregnant with my brother at age sixteen, and had to drop out of her catholic high-school (it's just what was done). Her and my father were married before my oldest brother was born.
Mom had aspirations of being an artist before she married Dad, she had won awards for her paintings in high-school, not for her technical skill, but for her vision. Mom had the ability to make people think and feel through her art. Sadly, like many women of that era, daily life got in the way of pursuing her artistic side.
I am afraid that will be my outcome, and though I fight it every day, I feel as though I am losing ground. My husband sees how I feel and encourages me to go to school. I am scared though....I am afraid of being a financial burden, of being peers with people quite younger than myself, of finding out that I am not really an artist.
how does one get through the fear and move on to success?
Thursday, May 26, 2011
And Now I Don't Care So Much Either!
I "like" NPR.
On Facebook, as well as in my day-to-day radio listening. Today I happened to be obsessing just a bit and checking up on my Etsy and seeing if I have any new "hearts" and checking my jewelry business's facebook for any new "likes" or posts, etc. and I happened on a post from NPR featuring the following blog article by Dave Pell:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2011/05/26/136654846/i-don-t-care-if-you-read-this-article?sc=fb&cc=fp
If you have any kind of obsessive behavior involving checking your number of followers on twitter, your hearts on Etsy, or your likes on facebook, I highly recommend reading his post about measuring your life's worth based on your internet popularity!
I resolve to not care as much ANYMORE!
On Facebook, as well as in my day-to-day radio listening. Today I happened to be obsessing just a bit and checking up on my Etsy and seeing if I have any new "hearts" and checking my jewelry business's facebook for any new "likes" or posts, etc. and I happened on a post from NPR featuring the following blog article by Dave Pell:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2011/05/26/136654846/i-don-t-care-if-you-read-this-article?sc=fb&cc=fp
If you have any kind of obsessive behavior involving checking your number of followers on twitter, your hearts on Etsy, or your likes on facebook, I highly recommend reading his post about measuring your life's worth based on your internet popularity!
I resolve to not care as much ANYMORE!
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Hitting the creative wall
Hitting the wall. In endurance sports hitting the wall describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests by fatigue and loss of energy. In crafting or art it describes not having the right tools or proper technique in order to create your vision. Creative fatigue. In crafting and art the key is working around those walls, or bringing the walls down by learning.
Yesterday I hit the wall. A piece that I have been working on (my first real art piece which I will feature in a future blog post) requires the riveting of curved, domed metal. the rivets are hand-made and are about 3 mm big. I really did not think this through when I designed this. Not only is riveting a new skill to me, the curve and tininess will be difficult to master even with the right skills and tools.
In crafting and art the key is working around those walls.
When faced with this wall I could have done a few different things.
If you are a crafter or artist or artisan who is just starting out, please, please do not make the same mistake that I did yesterday. You risk ruining what you are working so hard to finish. Thank goodness my piece did not get overworked to the point of obliteration. There are so many resources out there to help you along, inspire you...when faced with the wall you will be able to work around it. It's part of the creative process to learn not only how to refocus your energies but also that the need even exists.
Lesson learned.
and now for something completely different:
Yesterday I hit the wall. A piece that I have been working on (my first real art piece which I will feature in a future blog post) requires the riveting of curved, domed metal. the rivets are hand-made and are about 3 mm big. I really did not think this through when I designed this. Not only is riveting a new skill to me, the curve and tininess will be difficult to master even with the right skills and tools.
In crafting and art the key is working around those walls.
When faced with this wall I could have done a few different things.
- Watch a few tutorials on rivets and cold connecting on youtube.
- Take a break and come back to it later.
- Practice on some easier pieces.
If you are a crafter or artist or artisan who is just starting out, please, please do not make the same mistake that I did yesterday. You risk ruining what you are working so hard to finish. Thank goodness my piece did not get overworked to the point of obliteration. There are so many resources out there to help you along, inspire you...when faced with the wall you will be able to work around it. It's part of the creative process to learn not only how to refocus your energies but also that the need even exists.
Lesson learned.
and now for something completely different:
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
It's Getting Steamy...
So, people I know and interact with on a regular basis (in this other dimension called rural Maine) that have seen some of my jewelry, and have asked me about it usually reply in two ways: "steam-what?" or, alternately, "what-punk?" It's becoming more mainstream but I suppose it's certainly not "Maine-stream" yet (we are about two to three YEARS behind California in almost all things ie: tech, trends, economy, etc.)
Steampunk has gained so much popularity and respect that the Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford opened an exhibit exclusively featuring this sub-culture. On the behalf of everyone who has not experienced the beauty of Steampunk, or for those already embracing the movement, I present the following video, courtesy sajohnston61 on youtube :
Steampunk has gained so much popularity and respect that the Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford opened an exhibit exclusively featuring this sub-culture. On the behalf of everyone who has not experienced the beauty of Steampunk, or for those already embracing the movement, I present the following video, courtesy sajohnston61 on youtube :
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