chair ridden
Posted: October 17, 2010 Filed under: art, baltimore, in progress, willful creatures Leave a commentRan the Baltimore half-marathon yesterday and suffered (well, two) injuries halfway through the race. To remedy this, I am now chair-ridden for the next couple of weeks. It blows, but I did finish this little piece yesterday:
I’m jazzed where the rest of the piece is going. Bought some additional embroidery thread on Friday, much to my excitement.
The race did not go as expected, needless to say. The first 6 miles were great – my pace was about where I wanted it, and I ran well with the knowledge that the last 3 miles (a half marathon is 13.1 miles) would be a gentle decent and I could make up any extra time I had added before then.
Around mile 6, I felt a tear in my right hip. It wasn’t just a pull – the pain was sharp and instantaneous. I kept running, trying to power through. Around mile 8, I felt the same sensation. The last two miles were a limp-run. I realized I could still have a decent time if I just kept running, so I did. I finished about 6 minutes slower than I really wanted to (1:51:33), which works out to be about 8:30 a mile. All in all, not bad, but I still cried like a little babby after the race (mostly out of frustration).
I did feel better when a friend pointed out that my finish was in the top 7% of females for that race, so really all my ill feelings are all in vain. It could have been so much worse. This video kept running through my head the last half:
we used to wait
Posted: October 11, 2010 Filed under: art, Travel, willful creatures | Tags: collage, embroidery, sara e barnes Leave a commentThis weekend was sort of exhausting, but fun. Road tripped to Brooklyn with one of my best friends and visited two of my favorite people. FINALLY bought a new Monroe piercing that fit properly, and took the Olive Garden Never-Ending Pasta Challenge with Missy. Also ordered a bottle of wine at the table of the Olive Garden, because, why not?
Traffic back to Baltimore was awful, especially around the Delaware/MD border. A trip that should have taken 3.5 hours took 5. Needless to say, I was ready to decompress, but not before finishing this:
Conceptually, I like the stuff outside the “cave” I’ve put this character in, but I think I don’t like that stuff outside as much. It’s growing on me, I think. What do YOU think?
day of birth
Posted: September 23, 2010 Filed under: in progress, willful creatures Leave a commentHere’s a new piece that I started this week:
It’s also my birthday. I am a twin, so it’s his birthday too. Happy birthday, brother Barnes! The day has started out swimmingly with a midnight phone call from one of my very best friends.
Tonight all I want to do is relax at home and work on some art. Tomorrow party.
over the weekend
Posted: September 20, 2010 Filed under: art, willful creatures 1 CommentFinished this over the weekend:
and a detail:
My original plan was to have a cropped, clean edge on this image. After doing that, I find I like the raw edges much more. What do you think?
heerrooo, fall
Posted: September 13, 2010 Filed under: baltimore, WAFA, willful creatures | Tags: in progress, vermont studio center, wafa 1 CommentWell, I went away for two weeks and came back to the beginning of fall in Baltimore.
The Vermont Studio Center was beautiful and secluded and exactly what I needed. I was able to indulge my workaholic tendencies and be in the studio all day, everyday. I also went running, which was INSANE. You see, Johnson, Vermont is in a valley. The only place to run is up. I ran so many hills! I did a 9mile run that had multiple half-mile hills tacked on to it. Beautiful scenery, but a frustrating run.
A few choice pictures. (You can see more on my Flickr)
Also, remember when I posted about the Bumbershoot Arts and Music Festival? Installed pieces below. I am really pleased with how they turned out!
I was feeling renewed to be able to have these couple weeks of focus, in addition to return to Baltimore with all the freelance stuff taken care of. The Friday before I left Vermont, however, I got an email about a project that had never been finished and now needs to be worked on. Guess that’s the way it goes, eh?
composite
Posted: August 10, 2010 Filed under: in progress, willful creatures 1 Comment
I’ve been working on this for awhile. More of not actually working, but thinking about working, sketching on tracing paper, hemming and hawwing over what to do and scolding myself for such a weak inital concept.
Isn’t art great??
I finally got around to working on this piece last night. I like where it is headed, but I want to add some minor stitching to the top arms/shapes. I am actually happy with how it turned out, at least I am so far. I love using unusual shapes for pieces. I’ve never been someone who can work in a rectangle very well.
I want to have 15 pieces done for grad school portfolio. This is my… 7th? I will challenge myself to do it. I have two weeks of unadulterated art-making, so let’s see what I can do with that. I am trying to get all my ideas flushed out for that period of time so I can just MAKE while I’m there, and not worry as much about sketching.
part fin
Posted: July 21, 2010 Filed under: in progress, willful creatures 2 Comments
This will soon make sense.
I’ve decided that for my Vermont residency, I will recycle an old moleskin. I need to prepare all the pages. Excitement!
fire lit
Posted: July 14, 2010 Filed under: art, in progress, willful creatures | Tags: collage, embroidery, flickr Leave a commentFinished that part of embroidery I started last week:
I’m pleased with the progress so far!
Remember when I wrote about WAFA? That has really motivated me to set up a decent Flickr page (I have one for Brown Paper Bag, but not really one for personal use). Hopefully I will be better about updating this. When something is not Google-centric, I have a terrible time remembering to update!
Also, if anyone wants to buy me a Flickr Pro account, I won’t be sad about it.
art lately
Posted: July 9, 2010 Filed under: art, in progress, willful creatures | Tags: aimee bender, wafa, willful creatures 1 CommentI have recently sent off a big freelance job to the printers, so now my evenings can be spent working on my own pursuits. This mostly includes tackling laundry, but here is something that I started too (gimpy wrist and all):
Think of this image like a venn diagram – the middle will be fully sewed.
Exciting news! A month and a half ago the We Are Fucking Awesome (WAFA) collective was accepting applications for consideration to join their group. Essentially, WAFA is a collective made up of artist from around the globe. They are focused on collaborative efforts and initiatives, creating an open dialogue that supports an artistic community. I submitted my work + application and found out last night that I was one of a few people to be invited to work with them. Yay! I am looking forward to connecting with everyone in the group.
fin pt. 2
Posted: April 18, 2010 Filed under: willful creatures | Tags: aimee bender, collage, finished, willful creatures 1 CommentSorry guys! It’s been a little while. I guess my “I’ll post Monday-Wednesday-Friday” thing fell by the wayside. Sometimes I just don’t have anything to say/post!
A background added to this piece. Overall, I am happy and done. I can’t work on it any longer. For celebration, I am buying myself gummy worms tonight, even though I went on a bit of a shopping spree today. Two pairs of shoes and a top – not my normal MO.
I’ve been running a lot more and really enjoying it. I received my iPod shuffle which is a dream. It is so light and clips onto my clothing easily, and I sort of like that I have little control over what’s played (other than ff’d through things). I’ve decided to run the Baltimore Marathon’s 13.1 mi course this fall. I have enlisted my dad for help in a training schedule. I always find I need something to work for. After the triathlon (June 20), I’m going to see if I can find another race between the tri and the half marathon. Look at me!
marshmellow kisses 