artist of the week

since i skipped last week's artist of the week (sorry! it was my spring break), i thought i'd pick someone extra crazy this time. victoria van dyke is a canadian, lesbian, feminist artist/photographer. she was raped when she was eleven years old and this trauma has caused her to create some extremely disturbing artwork. she is a self-proclaimed cannibal and placed herself in a mental asylum for two years where she received psychiatric treatment for cannibalism. in 2007 she chopped off her pinky toe, put it in a jar, and tried to show it in a gallery, the gallery refused.












see more of her work here

so true

blogs you should read if you don't already pt. III

ABC Adventures - all of these ideas sound so fun! seems like a great way to spend spring.
Matt, Liz and Madeline - mom died after childbirth, daddy keeps baby blog. breaks. my. heart.
Zen Habits - i like self improvement, don't you?
Beautiful and Depraved - tumblrs count too! for connoisseurs of premium filth.
Letters to Crushes - these make me hopeful and sad at the same time.
Sure of You - i love lovely quotes.
Synthetic Pubes - great name, hot photos.
Debauchette - apparently i'm on a sexy images kick.
Its Only The Wind - photographs, quotes, music, lyrics, & more.


enjoy! ♥

how to get free stuff pt. II

Coke Rewards - seriously! you don't know how many people i know wh ojust throw out their coke caps. i've gotten a whole bunch of 20 oz cokes for free!
Cash Crate - fill out surveys and other forms and make money (just remember to use fake info). i got a $20 check from them not too long ago so it's def legit! they even have a twitter.
Free Samples Blog - pretty self explanatory.
Free Grabber - grab some freebies!
Craigslist - people want to give away things for free all the time.

• do a package exchange, give old stuff you don't want away and get cool new things in return.
• clothing swaps! look for ones in your area.
• check your favorite stores and restaurants for free giveaway days. try searching facebook events for free pancakes, ice cream, coffee, and other freebies.
  

artist of the week

i'm a little biased on this one considering i worked at the guggenheim last summer while her exhibit was on display, but i think louise bourgeois is one of the most talented female artists i have ever encountered. for goodness sake, the woman is 97 years old and has been creating art for almost her entire life. ever since i saw a film about her called the spider, the mistress, and the tangerine at the film forum in nyc, i have been fascinated with her kind of cryptic manner of speech, her no nonsense attitude, her traumatic, heart wrenching childhood, and how she goes about creating her art.

blogs you should read if you don't already pt. II

Face Hunter - faaaashun. they've got some really inspiring looks here.
Passive Aggressive Notes - as a passive aggressive person myself, i thoroughly enjoy these.
Design*Sponge - the reason i cannot wait to get and decorate my own apartment.
Stickers and Donuts - a really fun lifestyle blog about all sorts of creative things.
The Wit of the Staircase - the blog of the deceased theresa duncan. theresa duncan and jeremy blake were artists who had an incredible love. their suicides (as morbid as this sounds) are pretty fascinating. read the new york article about it here.

my top 10 party songs by women

1. m.i.a - boyz
2. goldfrapp - strict machine
3. ida corr vs. fedde le grand - let me think about it
4. the knife - heartbeats
5. yelle - je veux te voir
6. le tigre - deceptacon
7. missy elliot - let it bump
8. peaches - set it off
9. sia - buttons
10. the sounds - dance with me

my top 10 sad songs by women

1. feist - let it die
2. jenny lewis - godspeed
3. sara bareilles - gravity
4. rilo kiley - does he love you?
5. fiona apple - sullen girl
6. esthero - i drive alone
7. feist - now at last
8. linda perhacs - hey, who really cares?
9. regina spektor - summer in the city
10. she & him - sentimental heart

my top 10 songs about love by women

in no particular order...


1. jaymay - you are the only one i love
2. the dø – at last
3. brazilian girls - me gustas cuando callas
4. kate nash - birds
5. ingrid michaelson - the way i am
6. laura marling - new romantic
7. mirah - words cannot describe
8. jolie holland - amen
9. keren ann - one day without
10. suzanne vega- caramel

artist of the week

thought i'd throw another fantastic photographer at you. there are many reasons i love cindy sherman. here are just a few: she's a feminist, her subject is almost always herself, she's a master at transformation using makeup, costume, wigs, etc. , she often gets her inspiration from medieval art, and she shares my struggle and annoyance with the more technical aspects of darkroom photography.









cindy sherman

kiss

my favorite movie kiss. what's your favorite kind of kiss?

how to get free stuff

i consider myself to be a master at getting free things. the amount of beauty products, food, samples, etc. i have received in the last few years has certainly saved me some money and allowed me to try some fantastic new products! i figured it was time to share the wealth (u see wut i did thar) and give you some tips so you can get some freebies too.

• Totally Free Crap great site for getting samples.

• Free Stuff free stuff on lj.

• Free Is Free more freebies on lj.

• Free Stuff Galore yet another place to get free things on lj.

• Walmart Samples walmart's free samples section.

• Beauty Blitz more of a contest but still, enter daily to win beauty products. i already won under eye cream and a heating hair treatment!

• try entering giveaways through magazines. try Lucky, Glamour, Allure. it's worth a shot!

free stuff tips

• create an email address just for freebies. some of the sites tend to send a lot of spam.
• use a fake phone number. you don't want calls at 2am, do you?
• use a fake name if you want..the less information you give out the better. i use one very close to my actual name in case the mailman get's confused.
• if it looks kind of shady, it probably is.
• search free stuff/things/freebies on google. i am sure you will find more free things!

quote

"Loneliness is the human condition. Cultivate it. The way it tunnels into you allows your soul room to grow. Never expect to outgrow loneliness. Never hope to find people who will understand you, someone to fill that space. An intelligent, sensitive person is the exception, the very great exception. If you expect to find people who will understand you, you will grow murderous with disappointment. The best you'll ever do is to understand yourself, know what it is that you want, and not let the cattle stand in your way." - Janet Fitch from the book White Oleander

artist of the week

or er..artists.

robert and shana parkeharrison are two of my favorite photographers. they are married and create dream-like, surrealist photographs. they intend for their photographs to "tell stories of loss, human struggle, and personal exploration within landscapes scarred by technology and over-use." i find that a lot of the images they create are dark and disturbingly thought provoking.






you can see more images from this series here.






you can see their newer color work here.

blogs you should read if you don't already

iCiNG - gala darling is everything i aspire to be.
Le Love - everyone likes beautiful romantic imagery, single or not.
You Are Remarkable - spread the love. this blog makes me feel so very good about myself.
KrisAtomic - her illustrations are far too cute and her photos are deliciously refreshing.
The Unicorn Diaries - simply dreamy.
Feministing - i love me some feminist chitchat.
Niotillfem - this girl's life is like a fairytale.
Baby Sinead - who doesn't like reading about a porn star? excellent sex toy reviews too.
The Crepes of Wrath - stuff my face now plz.

first post

so i decided to create a blog. i'm not really sure where i'm going to go with it. i intend to post about art, artists, quotes i like, things that make me happy, good writing, and whatever else strikes my fancy.

i think a good place to start is with the title of this blog. it's the title of a poem by jeffrey mcdaniel:

If you heard your lover scream in the next room and you ran in and saw his pinkie on the floor, in a small puddle of blood. You wouldn't rush to the pinkie and say, 'Darling, are you OK? ' No, you'd wrap your arms around his shoulders and worry about the pinkie later. The same holds true if you heard the scream, ran in and saw his hand or -god forbid- his whole arm. But suppose you hear your lover scream in the next room, and you run in and his head is on the floor next to his body. Which do you rush to and comfort first?