i feel like i have been rather photo happy here this week--partly because i can't decide which photos to share with you, and partly to make up for the fact that i am still rather low on energy and don't have much of my own content to show (but it is coming, and i am really excited! as a long parenthetical side note, i just have to say how happy and relieved i am to have a light at the end of the tunnel of the day job. i'm looking forward to some rest and starting to structure my days around what i want to be doing rather than trying--and usually failing--to fit them in around the things i don't value--i.e. my day job).
uh, anyway. . . i have been thinking lately, though, about what i would like to be doing with my blog in the coming months. i like the idea of sharing great arts and crafts that i run across. i found these adorable crocheted macarons by sian keegan over on bakers dozen. i like this little shop, full of goodies created by thirteen artists, in editions of thirteen. the brainchild of australian amy borell, i think this is such a sweet project!

i got curious about sian's other work, so mosied over to her website, where i found more illlustrations, patterns, and stuffed things. because, you know, as much fun as it is to have macarons, it's also important to eat your veggies. the fennels and radishes are my favorites (although i really like the scallions, too! see? it's hard to decide which ones to post!).
sian also posts lovely little things on her blog. and her shop? ack! love it (there are strawberries and cupcakes there! and stuffed animal portraits! see, i'm practicing real restraint here).


totally unrelated: some of you asked about my switch to wordpress, which i am doing for a couple of reasons. i was about to share those reasons here, but i think maybe i will devote a post to that in the next week or so. the short answer is: it's more flexible and allows me to do more. but i'm actually really excited about some new features i have discovered, and the ease with which it allows me to do these things.

what should i wear today?

kim and i were chatting yesterday about clothes and living cheaply and creatively, and she sent me a link to the uniform project, which i love. inspired by her teen years spent in school uniforms, sheena matheiken has taken a versatile dress, designed by her friend, and made seven identical pieces. she has pledged to wear them every day for a year in an effort to raise money for the akanksha foundation, which works with children in india to give them important education opportunities (you know, like going to school). three months in, she has already raised over $5,000!
i like this project for a couple of reasons. one, i always like anything that helps other people, especially the indian babies. they have a special place in my heart. two, i like the idea of a uniform! i am not the world's most creative dresser, by any means, and my closet is TINY. for some reason, 80% of the time, deciding what to wear is just not that fun for me. last season on project runway, someone asked michael kors about why he always wears a black t-shirt, blazer, and jeans. his answer was basically, "i have a lot of other creative decisions to make, i travel a lot. this is just easier." and i was shouting, "yes, yes!" at the tv screen. i really like the idea of having a basic element or two, and then changing it up with great accessories. as i move into a waaay more frugal phase of life, i am excited to make more of my own clothes, or modify thrifted clothes.
on a totally unrelated note, i am in the process of changing blogging platforms. as soon as i can get all my sidebar information transferred and a learn a few more things about wordpress, i will let you know about my blog's new home. i think i can still direct my laurabrownart.com domain to it, so there shouldn't be too many problems. i will let you know, though, so you can update any links you might have.

weekend!

my friend meg loves maira kalman, and has totally gotten me hooked on her work in a conscious way (if that makes sense). i really like how playful and full of energy her images are. i also like checking in on her blog, where she writes and illustrates little commentaries on various things--lately they are related to history, democracy, and government. here are a couple of excerpts from a piece about her visit to monticello.
i hope you have a wonderful weekend! i will be back on monday (my last monday in a dreaded beige cube!)

in good company.

so, as always, i have been listening to the current at my desk this morning, and felt particularly encouraged to know that on this day in 1977, elvis costello officially quit his day job (at elizabeth arden cosmetics--what?) to make music full-time.
now, i am not comparing myself to elvis costello in any way, really. but i will say that i have been a fan for a long time (ever since my sister introduced me to him in high school), and that mostly my criteria for admiration of artists/musicians/writers is essentially a lifetime of interesting and growing work (i have been thoroughly enjoying his new album, secret, profane, and sugarcane, by the way).
what i am trying to say is: everyone has to take the leap sometime. and while there are probably a lot of people who have leapt and not landed so well as mr. costello, i don't know about them, so i can't really dwell on being discouraged by their stories! (nice how that works out, huh?)
does this post make any sense? i have been sick all week and spent what felt like an entire year in bed yesterday. i returned to work today--because to my company, sick is not an option--but still don't feel like my brain is forming coherent anything. . . .

so, i am not out of the woods in terms of work and transition, and it is good to take a break from this space (although i actually miss it). i need to focus on some other things right now, but i figured if i were going to do that, i might as will post something really beautiful for you to look at if you stop by during my little hiatus (besides, as soon as i saw these on modish yesterday, i knew i wanted to look at them some more). amy's frantic search for a dress this week (she is going to a wedding tomorrow) led us to a discussion about being prepared for such things with a pretty dress. i think one of these tea dresses from sohomode might just be my choice. and with prices starting at $85, they are just as affordable as any old dress you would find at the mall (without the stress and sore feet), but made by hand out of gorgeous vintage cotton.
i have high hopes of getting to the family cabin in wisconsin this weekend (provided i get my work done and can find a ride), and i hope you have a wonderful long weekend.

happy friday! so, we can classify this under "things i can't stop thinking about/when i finally do get married, i am going to want to remember this!" so i might as well bookmark it and share it with you! there are so so many more beautiful photos of this wedding over at once wed and our labor of love (that site makes me really like weddings!), that i would encourage you to take a look at, but i picked a few (seen first on cup of jo):look at this awesome red truck that transported the bride and her (ten!) maidens to the ceremony! and those clutches! so cool. not to mention the BOOTS. and the pretty j. crew dresses.

beautiful REAL cakes made by a friend and the milk! (i guess i'm feeling pretty exclamatory today.) the MILK, people! i love it.

these might be my favorites: the bistro lights strung up in a field, and the sparkly send-off. so perfect. anyway, i just think these are gorgeous. i hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

happy effing monday!

hi friends! today i really AM happy, because i am waking up at my parents' house in the woods, next to my sister. and i don't have to go to work! last friday, mrs. french posted about these amazing illustrations and i knew immediately that they would make perfect monday morning eye candy (and really, i just wanted an excuse to look at them some more)! so enjoy these lovely illustrations by japanese artist naomi kobayashi. i really had a hard time choosing just a few to show you! i mean, aren't they all so wonderful?!
there is also a really nice little interview with one of my favorite blogger/creative ladies, chelsea of {frolic}, over at auburn and ivory. she has nice, real, encouraging things to say.

how i ended up liking mornings, or: my favorite part of my house.

shhhh!! i am playing hooky from work today! mostly because i have about a million things to do, and no time to do them. today i just want to talk about coffee (!) and about the sun in the mornings, especially in the summertime--if there is anything that makes up for the forty below in minnesota, it's these looooong summer days. i wake up in the morning and, for a few seconds, think i have been transported somewhere exotic, with all-night sunshine. anyway, about the coffee:
my programmable coffeemaker has changed my life. seriously. every weekday since i received it, i have programmed it to brew my coffee at six a.m. and you know what? it has made all the difference in the world. admittedly, sometimes the coffee sits in the coffeemaker until six-thirty, but for the most part, the gurgling sound and coffee smell are a great alarm clock (i still need my normal one, don't get me wrong). and in the warm months? ah, i love to sit on my back porch and just be in the sun. or write my morning pages, now that i do that.
the mug is one of my favorite possessions, the first piece of pottery i bought in college, and carried all over the world with me (or, at least to norway). and when i say 'possession', i mean, i'm weirdly possessive about it. i can't really handle seeing anyone else drink out of it. i'm not like that about anything else i own.
i will really miss this back porch. but somehow, i think my new back porch, with the private backyard and garden, will not be too difficult to get used to.
i hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful weekend!

blah blah blah, art (and a new artist i really like).

discovered someone new yesterday, as i dialogued yesterday. it was an interesting discussion, about whether or not the online art world is reflective of the art and gallery scene in the "real" world. it was a discussion that stayed with me all day, and when i went back to see what others had said, i found that most people weren't answering the question, "does the online art community reflect real life", rather they were saying, "the online art community is better than that of real life!" which, in some ways, it is.
but you know what? sometimes i miss real life galleries and art scenes! i like openings, the excitement of preparing for a party, of inviting friends, of the possibility of meeting new ones (not to mention, there is usually free food!). i also miss seeing work in real life, taking in the size and scale, specific details, textures, and colors that sometimes get lost when work is distilled into a photograph and viewed on a screen.
i have been rather isolated in my own art making in the last few years (or in my not making, as the case may be). i have found the online community to be open and accessible. but is it better? i don't know. it is different, that is for sure. after the whole discussion, i feel inspired to get out and get involved in my local real life art scene.
viewing art online is a very private experience--it reminds me of how people used to listen to and perform music in community and that was how it was, but now we all have our ipods and we just listen to our own music and experience it very privately. there is no discussion over images we find online (usually), not much conversation or interaction (and we all know how i like to converse).
but if we are going to talk about the online art community, and how nice it is to stumble across someone whose work you like, then i want to talk about nigel peake. his blog is lovely, with photographs and drawings--mostly houses and structures, which are always good in my book. the photo above is his.

iris. that's me.

one of the benefits of living with an herbalist is that you learn a lot of interesting things. for example, i am an iris. which is nice, since i have always liked irises, particularly the wild ones that grow in the ditches along the roads near my parents' old house in northern wisconsin. in greek mythology, iris is the messanger, the connection between the gods and humanity, using the rainbow as her vocabulary (iris = rainbow in greek). sort of like an artist.
as plants, irises are the ones that grow wild in boggy, swampy, mucky areas. they send their rhizomes out under the earth, through the muck and, just when you think they are not going to come up, they shoot out through the muck and raise their flags as little bright signs of persistence and beauty. irises are fighters, they metabolize the muck and bloom in the midst of it.
the iris is a gorgeous flower, and i identify with her in so many ways, especially the more julia reads to me.

(images found at the lovely small stump + studio choo. they always have gorgeous photos of their arrangements.)

thievery.

someone (i cannot for the life of me remember who) posted this quote several weeks ago. i have come back to ruminating about it since then and i am simultaneously inspired and appalled by it.
what do you think? are we all doomed to recycling ideas? is that such a bad thing? is it possible to tell the difference between innovation and imitation? i would be interested in hearing thoughts. one of the things i miss most about school (yes, these five years), one of the reasons i wish i had a special man-friend (i guess he would have to be the perfect one, obviously, since not all boys like talking about ideas like this) is talking about ideas! and about creativity and about work that is good or not, etc etc etc.
you know. so, even though i would prefer to have such a conversation face-to-face, share them with me in blogland, because that is what is available at the moment.
have a great wednesday. this week is a doozey for me, so i will be really glad when it is over.

monday morning pretty.

here is the deal with me and mondays: we don't really go well together (i sure don't heart them, but i am glad some people do). when i finally do quit my job and go out on that limb and start making my own way/living in the world, mondays will not be heavy workdays. or, maybe when that happens, i will actually look forward to them! although i will say, if i ever am able to maintain my ideal balance in life, i will only work four days, four and a half tops. until then. . . mondays=ugh (especially since julia told me about the correlation between heart attacks and 8-9am on mondays: that's when most of them occur! eep!).
here is the deal with me and blogging: i am still figuring out what kind of blogger i am/want to be. i am working on being consistent in posting, i am working on finding things that are worthy of turning into possible 'regular features', i am sometimes rebelling against the idea of 'regular features' (let's face it, i am afraid of commitment).
so please bear with me, especially when the mondays + the blogging adolescence collide.
one thing i am sure of: when it comes to things i don't like (i.e. mondays) and something i am trying to get better at (i.e. blogging), i have learned that it is best to look on the bright side.
be optimistic.
look for the good in the situation.
be positive.
henceforth, i will commence with something i feel good about committing to: a monday morning post that is happy and easy on the eyes. something to make me smile, even if i am not looking at it. when i stare at my inbox as it opens, i will think about what i have posted on my blog and smile (probably with closed eyes. that rapidly filling inbox is something i just can't handle watching).
and hopefully you will smile, too.
these are photos from the lovely sophie cuvelier, whose website and blog are so wonderful. i really like her blog, which is basically a huge collection of photos of everyday things, and then how she transforms those things, through colors, shapes, and textures, into garlands. yeah, it's pretty great. first found on jordan's blog. she's also pretty great.
so there you go: happy effing monday.

summery, letterpressy goodness.

i have been thoroughly enjoying my letterpress class. i learn something new every week, something i am able to take right back to my studio and try out. for example, i ordered this roller gauge from boxcar because they said i needed it (!), so i did--even though i could not for the life of me understand what they were saying in the directions. but then! next week in letterpress class, we learned how to use a roller gauge!
last night was particularly interesting because we spontaneously worked on one of the little tabletop platen presses and i learned some really great registration techniques, which i will definitely start employing right away--it will make my printing so much easier and better.


we created a group broadside to practice setting type, and they turned out so beautifully.


i also really love my rides home. each week the sky is lighter and lighter, and it's always cool enough to enjoy the ride, which takes me past this new park by the river road. the black hulking power line holder-upper-thing and the smokestack-steamstack-pipey things are my favorite part of the photo (and possibly the city? hmmm). i really do love minneapolis in the summer.

summer wheels.

i never really think about buying a car. i get around pretty well on my bike, or the bus, or i am happy to hibernate most of the winter instead of going out in the -40 degrees. however, when the weather warms up, i start to yearn for a new set of wheels. i long to speed along in traffic on an efficient, beautiful little scooter. but these are merely dreams. and for now, i am okay with that. perhaps someday i will have a little vespa of my own, but until i marry rich, i will just drool over other peoples'. like these, on flickr (they sort of represent the real scooters i see around town).

(pedrosimoes7).

a cute little pink number (ania.havia).

my own talented sister.

what i am most likely to end up with (by sicoactivia).

more lovely vespa photos that i couldn't figure out how to save right here.

as i mentioned yesterday, i am no fashionista. i do not enjoy shopping. in general, i do not look in a mirror to decide whether or not an outfit is right. rather, i think, "am i comfortable? do i want to wear this all day?" i love my levi's and long-sleeved black shirt ($4 at wal-mart. i know! i'm sorry. i won't do that anymore). if i could wear this as my uniform i would. uh, and what i mean is, i basically do. especially in winter. between november and april, i pretty much don't have any interest in looking pretty or feminine. i just care about being warm.
however, eventually spring comes, and the weather warms up, and i manage to unearth my razor and shave my legs. i still don't like putting a lot of effort into it, but i want to look pretty in the summer. i want to look pretty, and i want to be as cool, and i want to do these things with as little energy and daily effort as possible. i am way more active in the summer, i bike everywhere, i am more social, and i sweat a whole lot more.
i have decided the solution to these criteria are a few colorful, comfortable, beautiful dresses that i can easily pull on and wear all day, any day. as a seasoned seamstress, this should not be a problem. with a good pattern or two, some fabulous cloth, and a weekend (or a few weeknights) i should be able to manage some great summer staples. here are some of my inspirations:

angry chicken's beautiful little number.

the gorgeous fiji dress available at modaspia.

hear hear, keith ellison!

julia just read to me an article from the star tribune about some politicians who were arrested the other day for protesting the removal of aid workers from darfur. our representative, keith ellison, was one of them. here are some highlights:

Ellison said he and the other members of Congress who were arrested succeeded in bringing national attention to the Darfur crisis that they wouldn't have received otherwise. "I could have sent out a press release, but it would be, 'Yeah, so what?'"

With Ellison representing a Minneapolis-based congressional district that many analysts consider one of the safest Democratic seats in the nation, his arrest is unlikely to affect his standing at home.

"I think that the people of the Fifth Congressional District of Minnesota believe passionately in human rights," Ellison said. "They want me to lead from the front. They want me to set a moral tone."

"How many news outlets had Darfur in any of their story lines this morning?" he said. "There are 1.3 million lives that hang in the balance here, and nobody was doing a story on that until this happened."

hoo-rah, it's the weekend!

what are you doing this weekend? i have tickets to see m. ward (he is so amazing and beautiful--definitely at the top of my celebrity crush list), the minneapolis farmers' market makes its return, and i desperately want to hit the art crawl in st. paul at some point.
oh, and don't forget that i like you just opened in its new location! it's right around the corner from my house, and i am so excited to have a fabulous handmade boutique in my neighborhood. they are having a grand opening on saturday. treats at 4!
i am so happy that spring is here!