zippypops

let's forget

that the economy is steamrolling straight to hell in a hand basket and focus instead on happier thoughts like my favorite compound of junk shops! located in Auburn, NY, situated next door to Auburn Prison, the site of the first execution via electric chair (a Stickley by the way).

shall we then?

the beautiful facade...

the old, leaky, creaky, and stinky former factory building houses 3 separate businesses filling 3 floors. inside you will find anything and I mean anything (including the kitchen sink) in various stages of decay and disrepair; lamps, luggage, chairs, clothes... etc. and everything seems to be priced either $15 or $20.

and the ugliest/comfiest couch EVAH!

the place is run by a collection of rough and scruffy gentlemen who might cause a fright, but in actuality are quite sweet and accommodating.

behind and to the right of this building, nestled snug up against the prison's outer wall, is another shop, this one classified "antiques." it basically has the same selection as the other shops, just slightly less decrepit and slightly more expensive.

so, irregardless of our country's finances, places like this will still exist and I will still be shopping there.

pre-hibernation mode

unpack the down comforters and the thick books, autumn approaches. (finally tackling Ulysses. if not now, when?)

after several previous false starts, my web design night class is in full swing. I've actually had coding dreams! honestly, dreams in which I am writing html code. how geeky is that? (and none too interesting!)

because there is no obvious visual to go with this riveting post... my kid and my cat...

she is still growing in the fur that was shaved for her emergency thread-extraction surgery, but it is growing in white! (can you see?) why is that?
how strange.

and yes, that is how she likes to be carried and held.

like a baby.

clay is not an easy friend!

I've been toiling away and have re-done the clay doll's head twice, but I think I've finally had a break through. (I am to shy to post photos yet, still more work needed) I flipped through some doll books in an attempt to remind myself what I respond to — a more stylized head.
inspiration...

all of this happy work is accompanied by one of my favorite composers, Yann Tiersen, who has a new album out. I snapped it right up, it's lovely. you can listen to a couple of the tracks here.

favorite house update...

rubble.
(sniff)

15 years ago...

movie night

Roger Ebert has a very interesting blog that I check up on from time to time.
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/

this is a snippet from his most recent post...
"What's your favorite movie? As my faithful readers all know, the answer to that question says a lot about the person answering. It could be used as a screening device on a blind date. Among other things, it tells you whether the person has actually seen a lot of movies, and I persist in believing that cinematic taste is as important as taste in literature, music, art, or other things requiring taste (including food and politics)."

so, I was thinking, if I had to list them, what are my favorite movies? and by this I mean the ones that I could watch over and over without ever tiring of them.

1. The Return, dir. Zvyagintsev
2. The Odd Couple, dir. Saks
(I worship Walter Matthau. I could include the Bad News Bears on this list. re-watch that movie as an adult, you'll agree... perfection.)
3. Elling, dir. Næss
4. Harold and Maude, dir. Ashby (also, Being There)
5. Blue, dir. Kieslowski
6. Stroszek, dir. Herzog
7. Once, dir. Carney

I love Terry Gilliam, but I can't take watching most of his movies repeatedly. Brazil, maybe... there is also Guy Maddin and the Brothers Quay — again, same thing. I also watch mountains of old films, but no single one repeatedly.

I wonder what my list says?

not easy

well....

this is definitely out of my comfort zone!

I want a more stylized head, but the damn art school training keeps kicking in!
I am just going to put it away and come back to it tomorrow.

besides, every 10 minutes someone needs something or wants something or is having a meltdown over homework .... (now I hear tears in the next room)

more inspiration

on a quest for a new doll I googled "mohair ny" (hoping to find a local supplier) and LOOK at what I found!
http://www.whendisbears.com/

 

absolutely beautiful work by Wendy Meagher who lives in Constantia, NY
I loves it!

(I hope she doesn't mind me posting the photo... it's from her site)

inspiration

little did I know that E.J. Taylor of yesterday's library book was THIS guy...







http://www.ejtaylor.com/

I knew the work, didn't recognize the name!

he recommends using Sculpy. I picked up a package today and am really excited to give it a try! there is so many different types of modeling materials available that I had never heard of before, (paper clay, air drying ceramic-type clay, etc) but Sculpy seems very good because it won't hardened until you bake it in your oven.

to do list

borrowed this from the library....

"Dollmaking" by E.J. Taylor, one of the best doll making books I've seen.
Instructions and explanations, not patterns, for assorted rag, paper, stocking, papier-mache, clay, and wax dolls. beautiful photos! it seems to be out of print, but there are several used copies available on amazon.

I have 4 more of my regular dolls that need finishing, after that I want to try the clay doll, using a fimo or similar type material... I'll have to do a bit of research. any suggestions?