new project::l'avocat

in the baby stages of a new project highlighting all of the places we love to eat drink and be merry here in our own backyard. along the way i came across this nugget of truth (paraphrased by me):

Apparently, during a two millenia-long game of Telephone, the Aztec word ahuácatl, meaning testicles because of their shape, was hijacked by the Spanish invaders and became abogado. When these little crocodile pears were shipped back to Europe, they were anglicized to avocados and then avocat in French. Their original etymology was lost in translation. To the Europeans, l'avocat meant the advocate - a new meaning for the mystifying fruit was born.

and such, the path that leads us here is rarely that of which we expect.

please wait: now importing 915 photos to iPhoto. do not disconnect. thank you.

after 2 years of not syncing my phone, i've finally got everything updated enough to start syncing. before this action would lead to utter doom and my phone would crash at even the thought of 'upload' so this means BIG things to the blogosphere. i'm sure in 2+ years i've got some doozies to post. good times are in store for all.

 sneak peak of the random gems i've seen & captured for eternity, in no particular order:

It's been an interesting last few years, to say the least.

to the victor, goes the blogger

I've never been a huge Blogger champion (are the Google spies going to destroy me for admitting this using their own technology... I haven't yet finished reading the labyrinth that is the new Google Privacy Policy which I actually fully intend to do and for the record think it's creepy that they think it's handy/funny/clever/ironic to provide personality profiles for their users). THAT BEING SAID... I figured I would try out Wordpress. Sure they have many more customizable templates that reflect the wide range of generation x, y, & z-ers out there who wish to make their entire personal life public knowledge, but with slightly more focus than Facebook. But while it was easy to set up, and generally a handy interface, I have to admit I hated it. Only ONE menu is acceptable in this template? Huh? But what if I want to link to links, pages, AND posts? It's not like I'm looking for anything high tech. I rarely even blog (which I HATE its usage as a verb). But sometimes you just want to throw something into the 'cloud' and be able to access it from any node connected to the interwebs. 'What? You don't dream of computers in your sleep? You paint? Like paint WALLS?' You know, those kind of moments. Or those 'here's what I've been doing for the past 5 years' kind of moments. So today proved to be the kicker; the straw that broke the Wordpress camel's back. I figured out enough html code to embed Blogger into the Flash-based online portfolio I feel like I've been working on forever. 1 place for everything to land. And since I've always been pretty skeptical about my name flying around as a searchable item (cue Google Privacy Policy ironic wink) I decided to go with Flash so my name and images aren't really searchable, rather goofy dying code. So thinking about how different my day to day life is then what my night to night life (other than the utter geekiness, because let's be honest - that NEVER goes away), but that when all is said and done, when 5pm rolls around every Monday through Friday and I'm already home for the first job ever in my entire adult life where I'm not either on-call or somehow responsible for the afterhours, yes at the end of the day, I am left creative. And so that is my new home. Which I'm sure you got here via Left Creative in the first place (since really no one had or ever looked at this blog on their own when it was out there floating in space for 5 years). Welcome to my new home, where I am left creative.

ps. I'll migrate over the few posts I did put up using Wordpress - maybe they'll fill in the gaps. But their server keeps crashing while trying to export. Go figure!

me +  = ♥

I've loved the little guy the moment I laid eyes on him. So cute, just sleeping soundly waiting for me to activate his little soul. I did put him in a peacock costume though, so hope he doesn't get teased at school... 

But let's be honest, it's been a long time coming. From 3G to 4s... that's like Ford Pinto to Bentley Continental GT.

Torino, finally.

Ok a few more Torino pictures.... Best part about this city - boundless things to do, well and the best gelato in Italy. My husband who was doing most of the planning for our EuroTour knew little about Torino other than the Olympics and FIAT. I've always had a great interest in the city with a friend having spent many a summer there and showing me so many pictures. But we left most of the time there up to chance. We booked a little place 2 blocks from the city center and main train terminal. From there within 5 minutes we were strolling the  Via Roma and straight through the heart of the city. We even chanced upon the 150 year anniversary of the unification of Italy, and so there were Italian flags flying proudly from nearly every window. So awesome. I gotta find more pics...... bottom line: Italy is more than just seeing Rome & Tuscany! Go to Torino. If nothing else, go for the gelato (but not the pizza, because that sucked) but the gelato made up for it! Travel is always best with an open mind, flexible schedule & a hungry appetite!

Auto museum had just opened up like 2 weeks prior and were first in, other than 100 school kids from day camp during spring break. Seriously a must see. So cool - design, cars, art, history, and a 'ride' in a FIAT500! Concept cars were amazing as was the salute to F1 racing.

... and how rock n roll are the bathrooms. floor, ceiling, stalls, citrus dreams.

And these banners & flags were EVERYWHERE - don't mess with Italian pride!

sink full o' sockeye

As a firm believer in the barter system, that paper money is only the appearance of wealth, let a sink full of freshly caught sockeye salmon be proof that today's economy is thriving, relatively speaking. As a thank you from lovely people for friendship and 18 hours of wedding photography, 20 salmons came our way. After hours of brining and canning 32 jars and fileting the rest for future enjoyment, we are stocked for the winter and will think of them as we feast on the fruits of our labor. (Edited wedding photos to come!)

Clean House, Clean Head

Not being able to get to my studio for a month and having nearly no creative outlet, madness had set in. After moving, a garage sale, and then an eBay clearance sale, the storage room looked like a category 4 tornado touched down. I've never much adhered to the mantra "Clean House, Clean Head" but figured it was worth a shot. So I went about cleaning the storage room to amazing results... even hung the bikes! Insanity temporarily curbed. Look for me on the next episode of Clean Sweep.

Studio found. Now off to paint.

Before: 

After:

In the studio...

Finally got the new lighting and flooring set up. Working on a new series and doing all the base coats first. Been mixing colors and will get down to business this weekend.

Only problem with Canada is that nothing dries... so hooked up a fan and am waiting patiently.

studio or cave? who cares!

After a few years in transition, the new studio is up and running. With lots of room for building and painting, good things are in store!

Interesting Merger

The design side of the engineering program (design, architecture, landscape) and the college of fine arts have merged at ASU into the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.

This is the exact program I was looking for when I started out - over 8 years on, here it is.

When I first started looking into degree programs at Arizona State University, I considered entering the Fulton College of Engineering. After researching the program I felt that engineering was not the right path based mostly on the college's teaching philosophy and style. I always wanted to study graphic design, but figured math would give me the most profitable future. Then I chose art - and threw profitability out the window.

But at that time, graphic design in traditional sense was not being offered at ASU. Apparently they considered "design" to be technical and positioned it with engineering. Instead, I entered the Intermedia program which was a fusion of all types of fine art/design and rooted in art history. It was an open-ended option that allowed creativity to shape your education direction.

In the end, I graduated with an emphasis on photography, but am happy that I went the art route. I think the education I received allowed me to be well-rounded. But good to know that the opportunity exists for the new crop of geeky techie-artists like me out there. Plus brings $$ into the art department (even if filtered through the beloved engineering school) and that's a bonus they need.