Drunken Dallas

This is one side of the Double Wide a hip dive bar in Dallas. I would recommend it to all who want cheap good drinks, a good varietal of music, and retro art vibe surroundings. It is a venue I haven't seen any acts there but would be more than enthused to do so while I am in Texas. My Jamesons I was drinking were bought for me but they were only 3 dollars apiece. The decorations would have been horrifying by themselves but as a whole worked out rather well. All the staff working that night seemed like cool cats and were extremely welcoming and friendly. It is not far down Commerce st I think its address is 3500. I was told this is the sketchy neighborhood but at 2 am I was the only sketchy person to be seen! The bar is a must see for kitsch and its outdoor patio.

note in mural above a franken Elvis.

I had a good 21st birthday at this bar and some others in Deep Ellum, I just wish I had more friends to take down there with me.

In other news of existence I am gaining a great appreciation of westerns. My Gpa watches them all the time and there are some that are pretty cool. And on another note I need another career I can no longer make jewelry. If you have any suggestions as to what I might be able to do I would greatly apprecaite them. I think this whole artist poet thing will drive me to my grave at 35 or so. I might still do it because it still sounds romantic to jump out the window of a hotel room in New Mexico after drinking too much absinthe and smuggling my lover over the border or something. But the whole thing is rather stressful being creative and such all the time. Some of my friends in college I imagine think, "oh I wish I was like Jennie making stuff, not having finals, drinking, writing..."

NOt so I desperately wish I was still in school at Evergreen. And try writing an essay without someone telling you to! Its hard. I went back and revised my whole 15 page paper from my last quarter I was in school on a whim. I was bored tired of being creative and not collegiate.

But mostly I think it is Texas. Texas is the reason!

And when I get to Mexico everything will be alright.

TETANUS

Everyday I am glad I have a very recent tetanus shot. And my puppy makes me feel better about having to pull a broken saw blade out of the meat of my middle finger.

ON a different note of ADORNMENT. The Lucky Charm! I posted this today on etsy, I got the poker chips from the DLC Gallery. They were going to be thrown away, I saved them. Now they are lucky bracelets.

The wearable icon I made for a Russian class. The design is my approximation of oklads (the boxes that protect all but the face and hands of an icon). There are far more varieties of icons of Mary in Russian iconography and religious use than of any other figure; Marian icons are commonly copies of images considered to be miraculous, of which there are hundreds: "The icons of Mary were always deemed miraculous, those of her son rarely so". Icons of Mary most often depict her with the child Jesus in her arms.
I repoussed the front of the box. The stone is ametrine, citrine and amethyst grown together. The stone came from the Anahi Mine in Bolivia. "Citrine is associated wit the third chakra (self esteem) while amethyst is connected to intuition and introspection. It follows that the stone signifies the transition between corporeal and spiritual attributes. " from the gem section of the complete metalsmith.
I put the Holy Virgin of Guadalupe in there to fill the space. The wood inside is still unpainted and is pine the traditional wood for icons.
I have a 15 page paper written on oklads and wearable icons, two more icons, videos of me making them, and pictures of the process. Little too much unless you are intensely interested in Russian Orthodox Icons.

One of the things I posted today on etsy. This is not the best shot but I thought it was the coolest. The background is oil pastels my dad gave me the other day.

I hear coyotes howling every night. I get bitten by bugs, and stay outside into the night. It is a frigid winter haha a whole 54 degrees outside. The weather is heaven....till it gets hot and humid.
Effie found herself a buzzard egg and is trying to make it hatch. I don't think it will. I told her never to be an egg thief again.

I wish I had my own jet. That is on my list of essential items I will need when I move to Russia when I am 35 and a multi millionaire.
That or I wish I lived closer to my friends.

Valentine's Day

I got some chocolate from my father.

I miss cleaning and singing. So that is what I did today. When everyone came home they were inspired by my having cleaned the house. So now they have decided to re paint the porch and reupholster the wicker seating set. So cleaning the house got me more than I bargained for. I am letting the repainted wicker dry in the shed now.

I am watching the Addams Family right now with my sisters. Great movie I think, I love morbid humor like Edward Gorey's illustrations too.

I will leave you with a picture of where I want to be again. And hopefully can visit, Olympia.
Soren is not actually a foot taller than me, this was taken on a little foot bridge we used to visit a lot in the forest.

Swearing

Which I have done a lot of lately.
Could be my chorus.
mood dictated by
how metal reacts to my hands.
Cutting a patina
of blood on copper.

My Tinker Studio

I must be technologically inept. I can't put my little flash mini etsy shop anywhere!!!. I tried putting it up in vain on this blog and again on my facebook the only place it worked was myspace. Alas shit happens.
I have quite the little production going in a garage in Texas. It is the best nest I could wish for, there is a fridge with beer in it. I have a bunch of cool projects I am working on that I might not even try to sell because they will be too cool. The one will be a big necklace reminiscent of European war medals of the 18th century. I am making it out of three red stones, working title Communist Read. It has a United Nations 25th anniversary coin(1945-1970) I spent hours trying to saw apart exactly. I have made a lot of progress on it I am just trying to do it perfectly so I am taking it slow. The piercing has taken me the longest and assembly of all the parts will be difficult. The title refers to the difficulties writers faced in Russia, and their triumphs. With special focus on Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The pattern pierced on the back of the red stones is brick like and red. In A day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Ivan lays bricks all day and takes pride in his work in the gulag. I thought this was inspiring... pride in forced labor, but it is his only way to show his mettle, character, abilities. Ivan would look at my bricks and tell me they were screwed up. Of course this piece wont have a designated front or back but can be worn either way. And will have a better artists statement after I formulate all my ideas better.
I also have a small scale sculpture with a coin, rocks, leather, wooden beads, poker ship, silver on the theme of unrequited love but have been taking my time on it or still vainly hoping.
I have also started a little production line making copper books. In a jewelry class they will tell you not to clamp your metal together to saw it. Well I did it a couple times and they tell you not to do it because it is hard as hell but also quicker aka cheating. I got etching mordant for my copper so I can do some really cool stuff now.

With the photos of my studio above we will play a little search game.
FIND: wheelchair, daffodil bloom from the front yard, poker chips, my ipod, my phone, my pack of cigs, I am just joking. It is a busy little place. I was untying knots in a chain and someone came up behind me to look over my shoulder waited there for a minute watching me. It pisses me off so much when people do that come stand directly behind me when I am doing something. My Gpa came out while I was soldering and offered me a spoonful of tuna salad. Just kind of waved it in my face as my solder was about to flow and I was going to get a perfect conection. FUCK the tuna salad. So the only bad thing about my studio, is that to be left alone I have tell them to not talk to me on pain of a tongue lashing.