my life leaf

this is my new tattoo. 

(2/16/2011)

its a semi-abstract drawing i did of a maple leaf.

i went with my left foot for this one, balancing out the pre-existing tattoo i have on my right.

after my first ("don't let your eyes refuse to see. 

don't let your ears refuse to hear..."), 

i decided that if i were to ever get another tat, that it would be something i drew.

As the maple leaf has 5 points, there are also 5 members in my family. i hid each persons first initial in each of the five points on the leaf, (minus my own), as they are each close to my heart and make up my "life leaf", if you will.

fun free facts:

apparently, in china, the maple leaf is an emblem of lovers.  
just one leaf? singular? 
hmmmmmmm...

it's also the national flag of canada, of this I am aware.

as much as i love justin beiber, neither the beebs nor canada, NOR this ridiculous website (you must see this) 


http://lesbianswholooklikejustinbieber.tumblr.com/


are the driving inspiration behind this recent decision. 
for reals.
only this... 

i have this deep fascination with trees and leaves and the cyclical,
beautiful life they lead.

i admire the slow and elegant growth of trees, 

the birth of its leaves and the dependency of the leaves upon the the tree. 

I admire the changing of the leaves 
with the coming of the fall,  
the gorgeous array of colors, 
the death of the leaves and the fall from their procreator to the ground.

 all the while possessing this unmatched beauty

which we refuse to receive as a display of mortality. 

SURELY this kind of beauty can only be found in something that is so alive. 

The intricate details found in a leaf's veins, so exposed, yet so beautiful, the unwaivering strength and story of a tree's roots,  the shelter of its branches- 

I think it's incredible.

i see the beauty of life and death here;

 the beauty of change over time, 
the beauty of growth and dependence.

the greatest of these is love

it's valentines day (once again), 

and good ol' mr. cupid has shot a mental arrow my way, putting the big "L" word on my brain. 

the best and most beautiful things in this world

 cannot be seen or even touched. 

they must be felt with the heart.

LOVE: 

we think about it,

sing about it,

dream about it ,

and loose sleep worrying about it. 

when we don't know we have it, 

we search for it.

 when we discover it, 

we don't know what to do with it.

 when we have it, 

we fear loosing it. 

it is the constant source of pleasure and pain,

but we don't know which it will be from one moment to the next.

 it is a short word,

easy to spell,

 difficult to define

 & IMPOSSIBLE to live without.

"and now these 3 remain: 

faith, hope and love. 

but the greatest of these is LOVE."

"let your love be like the misty rains, 

coming softly, but flooding the river."  

LOVE

NEVER

FAILS.

"all you need is love."

"LOVE is not breathlessness, 

it is not excitement, 

it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. 

That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. 

Love itself 

is what is left over when being in love has burned away,

 and this is both an art and a fortunate accident."

live. laugh. LOVE.

"the greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return."

georgia theatre drawing

i've been working on a charcoal drawing of the late, great georgia theatre here in athens, GA.

i took pictures as i went along, sort of like taking pics during a pregnancy (no?).

so here she is, my new baby girl.

the beginning is always the hardest part for me. 

i have to re-learn to trust myself to not eff it up.

just a few finishing touches left to be made....

le finish producto

details in the fabric

i plan on making high quality prints and selling them to help fund my dream trip to europe this summer.

if you're interested, 

holler at ya girl.

a tribute to rain

here's to the rain, 

one of my most valued friends. 

i feel an indescribable peace when it rains, 

as though my soul is taking longer, deeper breaths. 

rain is like a shower for my inner being, 

a much needed cleansing for my mind. 

i love to watch the rain as art

and listen to it as the most beautiful song. 

i love to run in the rain, 

and partake in the occasional rain dance
(highly recommended).

to me, rain is one of the most romantic gifts on this earth. 

to me there is no doubt, 

GOD is in the rain.

into each life some rain must fall. 

henry wadsworth longfellow

(cheese, i know. but you gotta love this scene....)

you pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too. that's a part of it. 

denzel washington

strange how hard it rains now

rows and rows of big dark clouds

i keep holding on underneath this shroud....

-patty griffin (Rain)

first.blog.ever.

for those of you who know me, you know that garden state is prrreeeetty much my favorite movie. ever. maybe it won't be my favorite movie forever, but it has been since i saw it in the dollar theatre for the first time years ago (2004). i love it. i watch it monthly. i have to have my garden state fix. i get garden state urges and i love to quote it. natalie portman is my favorite actress. im in love with her. okay, so not really, i just want to BE her. again, not really...let's be serious. it just makes me feel good. its about life, love, yet its simple. real life shit. what's not to love? plus, zach braff is prrrretty awesome.

for those of you who haven't seen this glorious film, there is this scene where sam (natalie p.) and andrew (zach b.) are in front of this huge fireplace, drying off from this epic night swim they just had. Andrew (aka "large") is sharing this crazy sad story about his childhood and his mom dieing...

sam: you're in it right now, aren't you? 
andrew largeman: what? 
sam: my mom always says that, when she can see im like working something out in my head, she's like, 'you're in it right now' and I'm looking at you're telling this story, and you're definitely in it.

hence my blog title. boom.

i thought it fit quite nicely. if you haven't seen this movie, stop reading this blog now....and see it. its amazing. life changing. i figured this blog could be a place for me to go when im "in it right now"; a place for me to really take what's being worked out in my head and put it somewhere.

and now for the disclaimersss: 

lets get some things straight slash get all of the cards out on the table (is that how the saying goes?). i am not a writer. i am an artist. i like to write, but it's not always fancy, pretty, gramatically correct, in order, or interesting (to you or to me). this i know. ill make up words. ill probably post some things that you will think are stupid, may not like or disagree with, but i have already taken these things into consideration, trust me. its okay. id rather write and share and move on with my life than spend too much time correcting my thoughts using a thesaurus, spell check or triple reading to make sure it sounds cool enough. oh, and this is sometimes going to be more for me than it is for any of you. but i hope that you can still enjoy bits and pieces, parts, slices, or if i am lucky, the whole pie. this is me. these are my thoughts, my dreams, my ramblings.