I’m on the brink of starting a new project. As I mentioned yesterday, I was thinking of doing a collage piece with Mod-Podge. I looked through some magazines I had lying around the apartment yesterday, but nothing jumped out at me. Nothing inspiring. So I may paint instead. I know exactly what I’m going to do, and I have an idea for a whole series. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, something I was going to do about six months ago, and something I will do anyway regardless of current circumstances. I’ll post pictures once it’s complete.

In the meantime, I browsed around online to find some inspiring works by artists I adore. Looking at some of these paintings brought me right back to my days at Old Donation School, sitting through film strips about the big players in the world of art. These are where my artistic roots have grown from… While looking, what I noticed is that I’m drawn to bright use of color, thick textures, bold shapes and lines and that I lean more toward expressionist, abstract and pop-art styles. But what I find I’m most drawn to by far is the Fauvist style. What is a Fauvist? Funny you should ask because I have the definition right here:

Fauvism - An early twentieth century art movement and style of painting in France. The name Fauves, French for “Wild Beasts,” was given to artists adhering to this style because it was felt that they used intense colors in a violent, uncontrolled way. The leader of the Fauves was Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954).

This painting is the epitome of every thing I love about the Fauves…

Marc Chagall was another Fauvist (and cubist & surrealist) whose work I loved growing up. I loved the dream-like qualities to his work, yet there was dark side to it at the same time. This painting of Chagall’s always intrigued me…

Another artist I’m highly influenced/inspired by is Pablo Picasso, but specifically for his cubist period. Here is my favorite painting of his; I just love it. Here’s a commentary on the work that I found very interesting… after listening to it, I now understand why I have always been so drawn to it…

This next Picasso I grew up looking at because there was an exact replica hanging on our living room wall. I used to just lie on the couch and stare at it. For a project in art school we had to do a monochromatic rendition of a well-known work of art. I chose this painting. My version is below Picasso’s…

The funny thing is that this painting turned out to be somewhat prophetic. Day in and day out for about 15 years I saw Three Musicians. Last year, three musicians, became a very big part of my life. Interesting…

I am also a fan of the pop-art movement. I like a lot of Andy Warhol’s stuff. Again, I love the bright colors… the repetition…

… I was always a big Roy Lichtenstein fan as a kid as well. After looking at his work again, I can see where I got the influence for my Modest Bombshell logo…

Here are some more modern-day examples of work that truly inspires me…

These next few are all by an artist named Martina Shapiro, a Czech artist living in Canada. She is nothing short of incredible! I typed “contemporary art” into Google images and a lot of her stuff came up. It just stopped me in my tracks. We have a lot of the same influences. There’s just something so sensual about her work—I would love to see an exhibition of hers and would love even more to be able to afford to buy some of her work!

And here are a few more pieces that I love that inspire me as well…
I’m not sure who originally did this digital piece, but I love it. Again, for the use of bright colors…

Hopefully my first piece after such a long hiatus will be something I’m proud of! I can’t wait to get started! I will leave you with a photo of a piece of my own I got framed a little while ago. It was actually an underpainting exercise in my Painting I class back in my FAU days. The assignment was to paint 6 panels each with a different color acrylic paint—red, yellow, green, ultraviolet, violet and black. Once it dried, we were to paint over it in oils using various objects, such as Q-tips, sponges, combs, etc to create texture and depth. As a unit, I loved the panels all together, so… many years later, I finally got it matted and framed, and I love it!

Now that we’re into the quiet summertime lull here at work, I am finding myself with plenty of time to think a lot about wanting to feel more purposeful and fulfilled in my life. After my fairly recent breakup, I was left to rebuild my life yet again after just having rebuilt it about a year prior when my previous relationship ended… again, after having just gone through the major life-upheaval of breast cancer…

What I’ve decided is that I need to build my life around me and not around whomever I’m dating, which is the toxic pattern I’ve always repeated. Being tired of the same old results, I figure there’s no better time than now to change my life into what I want it to be. So, I’ve been trying to approach this life overhaul with baby steps, figuring small changes here and there will add up to a fabulous big difference. One of the things I’ve done, which I’ve mentioned previously, is working out. Now that I’ve incorporated that back as a regular part of my life, and I miss it if I don’t get to do it, I’m ready to make more changes…

I’ve almost got my Townie out of bicycle jail layaway (just $175 to go!), so I will soon have something fun & outdoorsey to do with my friends who have bikes… or by myself, which is nice, too. I got a quick-release basket with a handle installed so I can take the bike to the grocery or to the organic market on Las Olas on Saturdays. I got a rear rack installed, too, in case I need to carry something with me. I’m currently having fenders and torpedo lights installed, so I can ride it at night if I’m feeling brave. I even got a cute bell! Here’s a pic…

I project I should have my baby bike around mid-late July. I’m really looking forward to it.

I’ve been really feeling the need to be creative lately, too. Now that the craziness of the Annual Sourcebook deadline is over, I can devote my energy to painting. I have my easel set up with all my paints and brushes set up and ready to use. I’ve also been interested in doing collage work with Mod Podge. I have a couple of plain, green, flat, boring ceramic pieces—one a platter, the other a flat, four-sided vase that I keep my cooking utensils in. My old apartment was accented in green and my new one is a studio, so all the green is a bit much—not to mention the fact that I’ve had to incorporate a lot of different colors into the new place with having all my art hung. These two pieces will be a nice way to use what I already have and add some artistic, visual interest to my kitchen. I’m excited to take a crack at it! I will post pictures of the finished masterpieces… So, I have the intention to be creative. The trick for me is to get off my ass and do it instead of letting my performance anxiety set in.

I’ve discovered that the way for me to stay motivated is to constantly be inspired. There’s a girl I know who is the perfect role model as far as the kind of artist I aspire to be: She does something creative *every* day. She has many talents, so she does not limit what she does to any one medium, which I can relate to. She blogs about her projects, what inspires her, etc… I will make it a point to follow her lead and blog about what inspires me, things I think are neat, and to just do what’s inside of me and not worry about whether other people will like it or not. She is Blueberry Shoes. And she is awesome! So go check out her blog AND her Etsy page! Maybe I’ll even sell my creations on my very own Etsy page… Thanks for being a creative inspiration, Hollie!

So, I’ll take these little baby steps too and see what happens from here… hopefully Keri the Upgrade will be complete and ready to be released soon.

This is Hope. Hope is a sweet, cute, playful, 2-year-old, Weimaraner-Golden Retriever mix. She is the dog of my good friend Mark’s boss, Willy, who found her as a puppy in the forest in Germany. From what I hear, Hope was near death. Willy took her in, nursed her back to health, and brought her back to the states, where she lived in the lap of luxury with Willy and his family for about two years. Willy’s wife, Nadine, was extremely allergic to Hope’s fur and could no longer bear the shots she had to take to deal with the allergies, so she needed to find a new home for Hope. Plus they were heading back to Germany, where they live part of the year. With Willy already back in Germany and Nadine not knowing what avenues to find a home for Hope back here in Florida, Willy enlisted me and Mark to help spread the word. We tried for months to no avail. Then just in the nick of time, the day before Nadine had to leave for Germany, I found someone. A stay-at-home Mom with a big house, a nice big fenced-in yard, and kids. Perfect! Well, something told me to hold on to the phone numbers of the other people who were interested because I got a phone call this morning from the new owner saying how she would not be able to keep Hope due to her being overwhelmed with some new work she’s been doing on the weekends. *sigh*

I gotta say that although I am SO glad she called me to let me know, rather than drop her off at the Humane Society, I am extremely fucking irritated. Why is it exactly that people can take on the responsibility of adopting a pet, welcoming them into their family, and then just decide on a whim that it is too much work? Why do so many people take this task so lightly? Do they think that owning a dog is a walk in the fucking park? That it’s not going to be work? That they won’t need to adjust their lifestyle? How can people just give up on an animal so easily? I have had two Golden Retrievers that I was severely allergic to and needed a friggin inhaler to address the asthma attacks I would get from them. Would I have ever given up on them? Fuck no. It was MY decision to take the dogs in, I will have to adjust to whatever comes of it… including asthma… I can barely afford to feed Lady. Does that stop me from buying her the best food I can afford? I buy her food before I buy myself food. Why? Because it was MY decision to adopt her. I made a commitment. She was in a shelter for 3 1/2 years. She was abused before that. Do you think that I’m going to let ANYTHING keep me from taking care of her? Hell no. At least not anything that I can control anyway. I don’t always have time to take her on long walks. I have been known to go out a lot on the weekends. But you know what? Her sitting by herself on my warm, comfortable bed is way better than her laying on a hard, wooden palette in a kennel surrounded by scared, barking dogs all day. I keep reminding myself of that when I feel guilty. I mean… yes this woman has kids, and yes, I’m sure she’s really busy chasing them around, but didn’t she fucking think this out before she made the decision to take Hope in? Maybe I’m not a mother, so I just couldn’t understand, but I know lots of moms that seem to balance kids and pets with out missing a beat. I call bullshit. Ugh, I hope I can find Hope a permanent home of someone who will not give up so easily on her. I wish I had the room and the money to take her myself because I would.

Dena posted this yesterday. And since I haven’t posted anything in a while, I figured I’d be a copy-cat. Some of the questions are retarded.

1. What thing is nearest to you? I am sitting at my cluttered desk at work, so there are about a hundred different things near me.

2. What is your ringtone? I have different ones for different groups people. Here are a some of them: Under The Bridge by RHCP, Vivrant Thing by A Tribe Called Quest, Short Skirt Long Jacket by Cake, I’m Waiting For The Man by The Velvet Underground, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Theme Song, Stewie’s “Mom… mom… mom” bit, The Office Theme Song and a couple others.

3. What was the last message in your inbox? In my text: “Me, too.” In my email: An email from Mark saying how he just took a shot at applying for a position as an Adult Swim Production Assistant.

4. Who is your best friend? Hmmm, I have a few people I consider my best friends… Shelly, Melissa and Mark

5. What is the brand of your TV? Insignia

6. What schools did you attend? Kings Grant Elementary, Holland Elementary, White Oaks Elementary, Princess Anne Junior, Kempsville Junior, Kempsville High, Virginia Commonwealth University, Indian River Community College, Florida Atlantic University

7. Do you own a MP4? I’m not quite sure what an MP4 is. I have an ipod. Does that count?

8. What song are you listening to now? There is no music in my office right now, and come to think of it, I didn’t listen to anything in the car on the way to work OR at home this morning while I was getting ready. It’s been an unusually silent morning so far. BUT, I have had “P.Y.T. Pretty Young Thing” by Michael Jackson embedded in my brain all morning, if that counts.

9. Did you kiss anybody in the past 2 days? Maybe… Yes… Kind of… I’m not sure anymore… Oh boy.

10. Have you ever kissed someone you met in the blogosphere? Uh, no.

11. What would you want to be called if you weren’t your current name? Shapoopy.

12. Would you be happy if you had everything? I’m gonna stick with Dena’s answer: Stupid question… I’m getting closer to just ending this. If the questions don’t improve, I will.

13. Are you always thinking of someone special? Not really.

14. Tell us of your most desperate dream? Desperate? Really?

15. When did you last laugh till you cried? Late Saturday night/early Sunday morning when I told Nikki my friend Brian was serious about the party we were supposed to go to being a “furry party.” The look on her face was priceless—she thought he was joking, and I didn’t even know what a furry party was until she explained it to me. I just thought it was a costume party where people wore furry costumes. LOL

16. If you had a crush, would you tell them you love him/her now? First of all, isn’t it jumping the gun a little to *love* a crush? Isn’t a crush the first stage of “liking/being infatuated with” someone? Second, are we in high school? If you love someone, shouldn’t you just say so?

17. If you could be anywhere in the world now, where would you want to be? Right this very moment, I would love to be up in Virginia Beach sitting around the kitchen table with my mom, aunt, grandma, and cousin talking over breakfast and coffee with the sun shining in through the window.

18. When was your heart last broken? Three months ago, but it’s good as new now.

19. Whose birthday(s) is/are coming up? That I know of? My friend’s husband’s on June 17th. Then after that, my grandpa’s on July 18th.

20. How many email accounts do you have? Four. Three personal (which all get sent to one), and one work account.

Whoa, it’s been a good two weeks or so since I’ve posted! I’ve been super busy with work and my new workout schedule. Yes folks, I bit the bullet and hired a trainer to help get me back in the game! After multiple attempts at getting back into lifting weights on my own, I figured it was time to call in a professional to help me keep my eye on the prize and stay motivated. So, I work out 4 - 5 days a week for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours each session. I’m feeling stronger and *starting* to feel a little sleeker. Although I’ve been on my new regime for about 3 weeks now, I finally just started the diet my trainer put me on this week. You know, the usual: lots of veggies and lean protein sources… a sweet potato a day… yogurt… fruit… the occasional whole grain-whole wheat bread… water, water, and more water… So, hopefully I’ll really start to see some results by July. My short-term goal is to fit *comfortably* back into all of my clothes again (They’re kinda tight right now ). It would be nice to feel great better in my bikini for the Miami girls’ weekend over 4th of July I have planned with my high school friend, Jessica, who is flying in from Amsterdam. My longer-term goal is to get rid of the muffin tops/spare tire/thin layer of blubber that has found a home around my mid-section (thank you chemo) and to tone up my arms. And still, my even longer-term goal is to get into pin-up photo shape, so I can take another round of 40’s retro pin-up photos. I am really proud of the ones I took about 3 1/2 years ago and it was so fun. I’d like to have a new set to celebrate beating breast cancer, getting a second chance at life, feeling sexy and beautiful again after going through so much, and getting my body back after my little health detour. I hope to meet this goal by the end of the year. I think that is very realistic. Here’s a couple of the ones from 3 1/2 years ago (which I’m sure most of you have seen before)…

I have managed to squeeze in some fun in the past few weeks… For my 35th birthday weekend a bunch of friends and I went to an 80’s prom! It was the most ridiculously fun night I’ve had in long time. Shopping for the costumes was almost as fun as the actual prom itself…

Once we all had found our totally awesome costumes, it was off to my place to get ready. I had the honor of being everyone’s stylist. So I banana-clipped, hairsprayed, and gave all the girls garish makeup ala 1983, then we were off to Respectables for the 80s prom!

It was a great success. Tons of people decked out looking like Cyndi Lauper and Madonna. There were people rocking the 80s glam rock look, the new-wave look. Oh, so many wonderful 80s subcultures to choose from! They advertised spiked punch and an 80’s-style balloon arch. I was thinking an obnoxiously huge monstrosity of molded balloons, but this is what they had. Wah-wah…

Oh-well. You can’t have it all, right? So we danced the night away to tunes such as Cars by Gary Numan, did the sprinkler to Blue Monday by New Order, and backed up the bus to Break My Stride by Matthew Wilder. Oh yeah, baby.

And who could forget Thriller?

We looked totally radical! We were a motley crew for sure!

Awesomeness!

Wish I could have gotten those photos to align better in this post, but I don’t know coding, sorry…

Need a good nose-snorting belly laugh? Check out Awkward Family Photos dot com.
Here are a few of my faves… *wipes eyes after rolling on the floor in fits of mirth*

Whoa, I just can’t wake up today. What I wouldn’t give to crawl in bed and pull the covers over my head and sleep for a few days. Hope I snap out of it by 7:15 for tonight’s workout with my trainer, who, by the way, totally kicked my ass with his leg workout on Tuesday. I can barely walk. I feel like one of those toy people with the segmented arms & legs and the rubber bands holding them together and you push the button and they fall and stand back up (what the hell do you call those, anyway?). I hope I don’t look as funny walking as I feel I do.

Yesterday was my 35th birthday. I never really thought about the number 35 until yesterday… It is kind of freaking me out a little. My life is nothing like I imagined it would be at 35. Things are okay, I’m just reflecting… Anyway, I had a great birthday. A few of the girls at work took me to lunch, and a new friend took me out for dinner and a couple drinks. I had every intention of taking a few pictures, as I put my camera, and even extra batteries in my purse in case they ran out (because they always run out), but in true fashion, I forgot. I’m famous for doing that. I’m just terrible at remembering to take pictures. This weekend for sure though. I think I will go as far as to give someone else my camera and put them in charge of picture taking.

Until then, here’s a few pictures I took from a walk Lady and I went on a few days ago…

I don’t really have much to say tonight. It’s deadline at work, which actually is a pretty easy one—well, it would be if the ads would get in on time. Instead I will be rushing to build ads (and get them approved) that should have been in for at least a week now. Whatever. I’m not really worried about it. It always comes together in the end.

Let’s see… How bout a Weekend Round-up?

I had a great weekend. Friday, I saw the opening date of the Nine Inch Nails-Jane’s Addiction tour with Heather. It was AMAZING!!!! I saw NIN along with Marilyn Manson at the Hampton Coluseum back in ‘94 for the Downward Spiral Tour… Hmmm… also with a girl named Heather… Weird… Anyway… I was completely in awe, lost in the music, and floating for a week after the show. So it was great seeing them again for another mind-blowing performance. And Trent Reznor looked positively yummy. I always thought he was sexy in a dark, angsty, tortured soul kind of way. Time has been good to him.

I had never seen Jane’s before this. Supposedly this is their last tour, so I’m so happy I had the opportunity to see them. They opened with Three Days, which is my favorite JA song. And Perry Farrell drank from a champagne bottle the whole time.

Haha! Oh—it was friggin awesome. So awesome, that I actually danced the whole time.

It was a perfect evening for an outdoor concert. Not a cloud in the sky. Beautiful sunset. Not too warm, not too cool. No mosquitos. Perfect. I was there with fun people. We had lawn seats, which I normally despise, but it wasn’t so bad this time around. Usually when you have lawn tickets, you get stuck next to adolescent punk-asses who irritate the shit out of everyone and can’t handle the alcohol and drugs they consume. But not this time! Here’s a pic of me and Heather before the show started.

Saturday, I went to the bike shop and put my Townie on layaway, had lunch at Pei Wei (YUM!!!) with Melissa, finished hanging pictures in my apartment, and went for a couple drinks with Angela. Sunday, I rejoined civilization and got cable again. *Halleuah!* After the cable guy left, I vegetated and watched—wait for it—90210 reruns on Soapnet (LOL!), then had a couple friends over for a dip in the pool. It’s been hot as a mother lately. Holy shit, it was sweltering. I don’t know how anyone survives down here without a pool. By the time I was done with the pool, I had a raging headache from the heat and wanted to puke. Then Mark had me over for dinner, Family Guy and American Dad. Ok—how hilarious was Family Guy this Sunday? I laughed my ass off. Here it is in case you missed it. I have two words for you: Vagina Boob.

Here’s what I’ve got in store that’s new and exciting…

Tomorrow night I am going to see Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction at Cruzan Amphitheater in West Palm Beach with my good friend Heather who just moved back down here April 1st from Pittsburgh. I haven’t hung out with her since she moved back, and other than a quick dinner during her last visit around Thanksgiving time, I hadn’t seen her since 2004 when we worked together at Ruth’s Chris, so it will be great to hang out with her again! Here’s a pic of us from our dinner back in November (taken right before I went back to being a brunette!). I will bring my camera to display evidence of anticipated mischief and mayhem.

Another thing I am sooooooo excited about is that I am getting a bike! No, not a motorcycle. A bicycle. An Electra Townie, to be precise! I haven’t had a bike since high school or maybe even junior high, so it’s been a long time. I did a lot of research and shopping around and weighing of all my options, and have come to the conclusion that it’s the PERFECT bike for me for a lot of reasons. The only bikes I’ve ever owned have been beach cruisers. It has a comfy seat, coaster brakes (which is the only thing I’ve ever known)., although you can get one with a zillion gears, the model I’ve decided on has one gear, which is the only thing I’ve ever known as well, so it just feels more natural to me. I don’t like the way “easier” gears feel. The Townie is like a beach cruiser, but better. Here’s why: it has flat-foot technology, which means I can put my feet on the ground WHILE I’m still on the seat! Those of you who know about my severe anxiety with riding a bike, know this is exactly where I get anxious: the having to hop back up on the seat when I’m going to take off from a stop. And one very important thing I didn’t realize until I actually went to the bicycle shop and test rode different bikes is that after all my surgeries, I no longer have the upper body strength to hoist myself back up on the seat quickly. And that stresses me out even more. Another reason this flat-foot thing is so great for me, is that you are not bent over, like with a regular bike. On the Townie, you are straight up, which is so much better on my lower back (I have bad lower back problems)! So, the Townie is the perfect bike for me! I found a shop that sells them way cheaper than any other shop I’ve been to, they have an excellent layaway plan, and one year free tune-ups! Soooooo, I am going to put my new baby on layaway Saturday! I feel like such a pre-teen, I am SO excited. Here is what my bike will look like…

Except mine will have a basket and most likely fenders, retro-looking bullet lights, and maybe even a rear rack and saddle bag basket. Once I pay it off, I will be able to ride my bike to work (only .9 miles away), ride to the beach (only 1.5 miles away), ride Downtown to the Las Olas Riverfront (only 1.5 miles away), ride on over to my favorite watering hole Shuck N Dive, or Jamba Juice or the Brew coffeehouse or the grocery store (all 1 mile from my apartment), aaannnnddddd I can ride all over my beautiful neighborhood. All my friends that live in my neighborhood have bikes too, so I can finally go riding with them. Hahaha… How pre-teen do I sound? “Hey Angela, hey Daria, do you want to go ride bikes?” LOL! I love it! It’s gonna be a great summer! First a pool? And now a bike, too? WIN!

You may notice 90% of my posts are missing. I’ve gone through and made them private for a couple of reasons. I believe if you register, you may be able to see them, but I’m not sure. Please let me know what you see when logged in, so I know! Thanks!

Anyway, I promised the other day to post pictures of my latest ‘do when it was photo-worthy. My hair is in that really awkward growing-out stage where I can’t really do anything with it. It’s actually kind of a mullet shape currently, which I know is all the rage right now, but it’s just not for me. So, I actually did my do today in the only way I know how without it looking ragamuffin-like. It’s kind of a faux up-do, which is very Audrey Hepburn-ish, which I like. Never thought I’d be okay with having bangs, but I don’t think they look half bad. I actually get lots of compliments when I wear it like this, so that helps. Shelly asked me to take pictures, so I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone. So here ya go!