mardi 18 novembre 2008

first breath after coma


To those who don't know, I have in fact been free from exams for 10 days already.


!!!

This is therefore a very overdue post, but I have been too overcome by the idea of never having to form coherent sentences ever again, and have thus been indulging in pointing and grunting rather than typing out these wordy run-on sentences which when strung together form my poor excuse of a blog.

Last week has already become a hazy memory, but I do recall that the first thing which I did after my final English exam was go home, shower and change into a dress, then hit the shops with Jayne (yay Jayne! She has a new blog
earlyespresso). I resisted the urge to spend big, so resolved to buying cheap knick knacks such as a tacky flowery and pearly bracelet, an Exposions in the Sky album and this totally amazing nail polish.



It's sparkly and pastel and lilac (and eating my face!). It makes me feel as though i have tiny cupcakes at the tips of my fingers(!). Jayne and I also dropped by our favourite sushi place - you get to wrap the seaweed onto the rice yourself to ensure optimum freshness and crispness! It is truly the only way sushi should be eaten.



What happened after that gets somewhat confusing. There was a lot of hanging out, borrowing books, eating, buying things, waiting for trains, waiting for friends, waiting for the rain to stop, waiting inside magazine shops (wondering how long you can stay reading magazines for free before someone kicks you out). Having all the time in the world results in a lot of peaceful waiting...

I did a little experiment with my cheapest pink plastic camera. I used some black tape to create the illusion of panorama and thus the proportions of movies. Still too poor to develop/scan negatives though, so I've been resolving to snapping pictures of them against a lightbulb (again). I think I'm going to invest in a proper neg scanner.


This was Friday, it started with eating cake and ended with shivering on the beach at sunset after attending the most random art exhibition in the middle of nowhere. We comforted ourselves with a late McDonald's dinner and episodes of Criminal Minds.






I slept over at Alana's that night, and then on Saturday morning we trashed the kitchen by making red velvet cupcakes!


Sunday was market day, and I bought these two disgustingly cute framed prints of rabbits.



It's now a week later, and I don't know how the past 7 days have gone by. I recall seeing the Facehunter crossing Elizabeth St on Monday afternoon, and then spending the rest of the week with Jayne trying to hunt him down (oh the irony). I also got a haircut, bought a dress, and shot half a roll of film on the Olympus Trip. My haircut makes me look like a boy, expecially from this angle:



Considering how easily spooked I am, I don't know how I don't get freaked out by that white mask (right) dangling off my bed-post.
Do you remember why I have that mask? If not let me refresh your memory; it was from this photoshoot:






I finally took my art folio out of my teacher's office, and decided to take photos of these negs. Here's a bonus shot of Alana I found on that same roll:


I have also been sketching a fair bit in my moleskine, but will perhaps do an update on that another time.

The most important thing in my life at the moment is preparing for my interview for Cambridge architecture. I have been trying to read up on the subject, so that I don't make a complete fool of myself. Oh, the other most important part of my life at the moment is my new obsession with Matthew Gray Gubler aka Dr. Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds! He is the most adorable person in Hollywood. Gabby and I have made a group for him on Facebook. I can't decide who I like better, Matthew Gray Gubler himself or his character Dr. Reid. Both are absolutely endearing, and quirky enough for me to feel normal.

Strangely enough, the past 10 days have been as brainless as this post suggests. I haven't given too much thought to what my final results may look like, but when I am asleep I have dreams about it. I am still subconsciously consumed by my education! Tomorrow I am leaving for Sandy Point with five other friends to enjoy a week of relaxation. We are going to lie around on the beach if the weather warms up, but if not, it's going to be a Criminal Minds marathon. For nostalgic value, we are also bringing Sims 2. The plan is that we are going to make a house with us as the Sims aswell as a Gaspard Ulliel and a Matthew Gray Gubler. It's going to be neat! I've also borrowed some Richard Brautigan books for rainy days.
I think it's time for bed now, but hooray for the longest blog entry ever!

mardi 11 novembre 2008

My nightmares usually feature big black birds

...or chemistry exams.


I have my final chemistry exam in about an hour. I want to just DIE.

dimanche 9 novembre 2008

a place to call home


When it comes to architecture I prefer minimalism. Not necessarily in that avant garde sense where everything is a series of sterile right angles and abstract shapes, but rather, the space which minimalism suggests. I particularly enjoy and agree with this quote by a certain John Pawson:

"Emptiness allows us to see space as it is, to see architecture as it is, preventing it from being corrupted, or hidden, by the incidental debris of paraphernalia of every day life."

Perhaps a contradiction to my messy magpie-like nature, but it is a serendipitous contradiction, since, some one who enjoys 'stuff' as much as I do, really does need high ceilings and an open plan environment for some vital ventilation. I think in 10 years time, I hope to own a space like this:




It's a very ubiquitous type of apartment/studio, but I see a lot of potential. I love trolling around on The Selby (as does everyone else I suppose) and seeing how young creative types make use of spaces similar to this.

I also found
this article on the Nylon blog just before and I love how Mr. Kratzer has manifested his personal muses into his home out of such generic and monochramtic items as a Sharpie and a few white walls. AMAZING!

mercredi 5 novembre 2008

obamaobamaobama



WOOOH! Too bad if you were on team McCain, I'm sure we can agree on one thing though: no more Palin jokes in itself is worth celebrating. Come on, it was getting to the stage where it was like stealing candy from a baby.

grin

mardi 4 novembre 2008

btw

I had my first written exam today(art does not count seeing as it was just a discussion/interview between the examiner and I about my work). So now my two easiest exams are over(although the Chinese paper today was haaardly straight forward), 4 more to go. I'm going to study psychology now. Intensely.

fur

I can't believe I'm saying this but, I am lusting over some fur. Faux fur only though, I still absolutely detest the idea of wearing actual animal skin and hair(follicles and all) against my own skin. My mum has told me stories about her cheap fur coat from when she was young and how it hardened and stank when she found it at the back of her closet years later...I shudder.

Faux fur on the other hand has me swooning, since I do after all like the aesthetics and warmth of actual fur, just not the connotations that it brings. This sudden infatuation was probably brought to the surface because of my post from yesterday, and then seeing these two beauties today on Garance Doré :


Gold fur - how luxe!


This photo is so Bond girl from the USSR.

I am now particularly upset that I didn't buy this hat last year when I was in China:


Although I do vaguely remember the shop owner telling me that it was not for sale...

Here are another few cute reasons for why I should own some fur (notice that these are all young girls, not rich grannies!):


arvidabystrom


dropsnap.jp



I also found this fur helmet by Rachel Comey on Creatures of Comfort the other week, and I find it ridiculously cute. I was particularly amused(or maybe disturbed is a better word for it) that the label states "100% baby alpaca, died of natural causes."



You are probably thinking that I'm crazy for developing an obsession for fur in November, considering that here in the Southern Hemisphere we are entering Summer. I do feel a little insane, but I'll be going to China in January and February, so that will be my excuse.




PS: I hate you too PETA.

lundi 3 novembre 2008

aoi yu - dandelion

I was trolling around on flickr when I found this collection of photos scanned from Aoi Yu's photobook "Dandelion" of her travels in Russia. I am completely enamoured by the clothing, the colours, the textures, the landscape, the patterns.......I could just keep going on and on about it, but you can see for yourself in the photos below.



Even the rust on that little pot is perfect...!

It was this photo which first caught my eye. It's just so cosy and relaxed...


I do adore this outfit. The thick loose layers and the raw chunky knits are such a typically Japanese silhouette. I love how it's been combined with Russian aesthetics such as the scarf, the hat and the boots.


This photo is so regal!



Such a stunning snowscape.


Another perfect outfit.


The chunky sweater and chords in combination with the leather suspenders in this outfit remind me of the cosy and boyish costumes worn by the girl Fuji Itsuki in Shunji Iwai's Love Letter.

After swooning over these photos, I was reminded of my dream of travelling on the Trans-Siberia Express, except the Internet tells me there's no such thing as romantic-sounding as that. There is however a Trans-Siberia Railway with trains spanning from St. Petersberg to Beijing, so the Internet hasn't completely burst my bubble. Most of these trips are during the summer months though, and I prefer the winter scenery. Oh well, I don't have enough money to go on such a trip any time soon anyway, so I can worry about this at a later date. Right now I'm going to go back to studying. (10 more days until complete freedom)


scans are from hey mr. eric's flickr photostream