bikecraft 2011

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Today I got to experience two of my new favorite Christmas season holiday traditions (both of which I began last year): The House Spirits open house and Bikecraft. If I'm going to go to fairs and holiday events, I want them to involve chocolate, cheese and alcohol samples or bikes. A group of us did the House Spirits thing today (after I went to the Belmont Bunk Sandwich shop for the first time) which was wonderful. It's awesome to have someone hand you samples of White Russians!

Later on, Andrew and I met at Bikecraft where I bought the above calendar (with the proceeds going to a charity), hel-muffs (which I tried to unsuccessfully make last year) and some reflecting stickers for my bike. If only everyone on my Xmas list wanted bike stuff, I would be done with my shopping.

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

 

This neighborhood in which I live feels more like a neighborhood than any other place I've lived in since I was a kid. In western Nebraska, the towns were all too small. In college, I wasn't really comfortable enough with people to be neighborly. In my apartment here, I didn't like my neighbors at all. In my last house, the neighbor were fine but the location didn't lend itself to a neighborhood feel. It was nice being at the end of a dead-end street but it meant a lot of people didn't pass by and, if they did, they were transitory people temporarily living in the apartments next door. Here, there's something lovely and peaceful about the neighborhood but also busy. It's kind of perfect.

Since I got my hammock, I've been all about the back porch of the house. Today, I moved to the front and got some front porch furniture so I could see more of the neighbors and feel more like part of the neigborhood. Jess and I walked around the Hawthorne St Fair after I got helped my hangover via brunch at big Jam. At the street fair, we found Rubber Redone where I saw some furniture made from recycled tires that I kind of love. After riding through the Sunday Parkways and watching a band perform at the neighbors, I took Dean back to the Fair where I bought the furniture. They delivered it later on. Originally, I thought it'd be too big for the front porch so I was going to move it out back but it fits perfect. Yay!

moonalice, the opening ceremony & my time as a jellyfish

When I was in high school, I really started to feel the social isolation of living in a small town so I subscribed to Details magazine. It wasn't a great magazine by any stretch of the imagination but it did have interesting stuff about fashion and music that I appreciated. One day, my mom stated that she didn't care for the magazine as she thought it was influencing me too much. I quickly dismissed her concern but then I got the next issue and it talked about living in a hippie commune. I got momentarily excited which she instantly caught onto. 

I've always enjoyed the hippie culture. I don't subscribe to it completely because I like my modern day conveniences a little too much but I like the idea of it and the Oregon Country Fair definitely gives me more than a small taste of what it's like. Last night, I was wandering through the 8 (the main fair area) and came to the Main Stage where MoonAlice was playing.  After I went down to visit fair for the first time in 2008, Raven brought me home a poster from a band that I thought looked cool and I appreciated the gesture so I've hung onto it. I just happened to wander into that band's show tonight (and get their latest poster) so I stayed for the show. They were a jam band and I wasn't completely sober so I was digging it. At one point, I looked around me and realized that I loved the crowd as much as the band. Here I was, dancing to the music of a jam band after midnight in the middle of the woods in Oregon with a crowd full of hippies. It was awesome!

 

The next morning, I got up and into Community Village early so I could participate in the opening ceremonies. We were told weeks ago that we would gather at Community Village in the morning, do our normal opening which is beautiful and then head to Main Stage where an indigenous elder would perform the opening ceremonies. The ceremonies involved recognizing the four elements; earth, water, sky and fire. This year's would focus on water though. Still they encourage everyone from the village to wear colors for their chosen element. I had a neat green skirt that I like so I chose earth (although I'm an Aquarius).

First off, I just love the opening ceremonies for Community Village. They are so heart-warming. We typically sing this spiritual verse which goes like this:

I'm gonna let life move me.

I'm gonna let life stir me deep.

I'm gonna let life wake me

from the ancient sleep.

I'm gonna laugh all my laughter.

I'm gonna cry all my tears.

I'm gonna love the rain as deeply as

the sun when it clears.

The ceremonies at Main Stage were neat too but it felt more like a production for the public whereas our community village ceremony felt a lot more personal and beautiful.

Then, that night, I became a jellyfish. After the fire show in the parking lot (which I didn't attend this year for the first time), I went and helped the security crew get everyone back in. I enjoyed doing it last year and plan to keep it up every year I go. After we got everyone in, two of my camp-mates, Aaron and Robin handed me a jellyfish puppet to control. They made maybe seven or eight jellyfish. They consisted of slow-strobing lights in a balloon which was covered with a light fabric jellyfish costume. These jellyfish were attached to the end of a retractable 30 ft pole which you couldn't see at night. It was an awesome spectacle to see, especially when it was pitch dark. We went to Chela Mela, which is a meadow in the 8 where DJ's perform and people with glow-sticks gather. They loved the jellyfish. I was able to make it dance with the other jellyfish and also drop down into crowds of people. This enabled me to hear bizarre lines that I will never be told again like, "Dude, you dipped your jellyfish in my beer!" I love fair and this was definitely a day of highlights.

doing it myself

At BikeCraft yesterday, I went looking to make myself a more effective and weather-ready cyclist.  Even though I know they carry them at most stores, I was looking for a locally-made head-band-that-covers-the-ears thingy.  However, Sophia pointed me in the direction of ear cozies.  You slide them over the straps of your helmet and they cover your ears.  It was a very neat idea but I thought that the sizes looked too small and, for fifteen bucks, I could afford to take the time to make my own so I came up with the cozies pictured above.  I think I went a bit overboard with the back fur but it's too late now.  I might make some straight up black ones as well.  It was pretty easy.  I sat by the fire while we watched Six Feet Under episodes and hand sewed them.  It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

What else?
Raven got this marble game thing that was fun to play.  We played several games before it got old.  Again, a nice way to spend the day.

Also at BikeCraft, we got a list of power foods from a vendor.  Greens like kale and spinach were at the top of the list so I made myself a spinach, mushroom, onion and pepperjack cheese egg scramble today.  It was awesome.

the things my art teacher never taught me

I used to love art class in school. I loved various mediums, from ink to watercolor but I was particularly fascinated with etching on mirrors. It seemed so neat, to be able to take a plain mirror and put an image on it that would never be removed. Maybe I liked it better than paintings or drawings because mirrors could also be useful. Practically every house has at least one mirror. You might as well put something cool on it.

As of the last few years, I've been applying that mantra to t-shirt printing. Besides the fact that I basically have unlimited palates with the clothing donations, I like to have funky shit on my shirts. So far, I've been a part of the designing, printing and drying process but there are a few steps that I've been avoiding. So I'm all DYI, I decided to tackle one of them tonight, Photo Emulsion Remover. This isn't always necessary in the process of making a screen for screen printing but I hate to have shit sit around and I had at least two screens that I'm not planning on using again. I went to the Columbia Art Store and got me some emulsion remover. With this, I can clean up some older screens to reuse. There's always the possibility that the screen can't be cleaned but I at least wanted to try. Maybe I'll have two new screens to test my art on!

stitchery for the devil

When I was a kid, I had a Snoopy toy that went with me everywhere. Due to heavy use, it was constantly falling apart. My mom was its doctor, patching it up about every other week by sewing a new nose or eyes on it or stitching its arm back on.

Dean’s favorite toy is a little devil with a squeaker inside it. He’s chewed off half of its head, both arms, his tail and a good portion of its back but I keep stitching it up because he loves it so. The other day, I found the devil’s squeaker laying outside his body. It was shaped like a lung. Creepy. Anyway, today, I went out on a search for more squeakers.

Originally, the toy cost me around $.42. After a few different store visits, I ended up finding replacement squeakers at PetsMart. A four pack of squeakers cost me $2. However, it was worth 100 times that to see him love his toy again.

mass production

I should be in Seattle. However, I need to get merch ready for my upcoming trip. Today, with the aide of my friend Catherine, I completed a personal record of 45 shirts to take with me to sell. We printed the white ink on the black shirts which looks more like a mummy than an activist. With the halo, I figured it looked like a holy mummy. My friend Arturo and I decided it must be Jesus, taking that next step and turning wine to fire. :)

the process of printing

Tonight, I began my t-shirt printing process. I printed out 20 shirts in an hour and a half. Most of them came out okay. I got in the groove tonight and just cranked them out after a while. I actually wish I had more to print. I haven’t gotten through half of them yet but it seems like I could do so much more than what I have. I may be singing a different song after I get through with them but I think it will be a good project for the weekend.

While getting these shirts ready, I realize how quickly my European trip is coming. I’m really excited now. I’m a little concerned about finances but I’m trying not to let that fear overwhelm me. Que sera sera.

o happy day

It is a perfect Saturday morning! Absolutely perfect!

My vision is great, sometimes it's as good as it was with contacts and then sometimes it improves and gets as good as it was with glasses. But now it's just me, no outside devices!

I took a bike ride to Columbia Art & Drafting Supply for the first time. I have a money making idea and I had to buy supplies. My friend Arturo has a design that he's meant to print onto t-shirts but he never got around to it. I proposed to him that I would get the shirts, print the design and then sell the shirts while we are on tour and I would pay him a royalty fee for the design. It seems like a solid plan. I need money anyway and there's not too much overhead so it should put a little extra in my pocket. Plus art is fun!