updates from the studio

Dear Readers,

I love you all. I really do. Just knowing you are out there, eagerly awaiting my posts (at least, this is how I envision it!), makes me oh-so-happy...and yet, lately, a little sad. Sad because I have not been delivering those posts to you with my regular enthusiasm.

The reason is the same as it has been for awhile now: school. Sometimes it feels like a tired excuse, but it really is the truth. I've had to let go of some things temporarily in order to be able to keep up with school as I creep closer and closer to the finish line. Although I'm not graduating until June, my thesis exhibit work is due in 39 days! That is so soon! Aside from putting so much energy into making the body of work I'll be partially exhibiting, I've also been writing the written thesis, keeping up with the four (Yes...four...I'm a crazy lady!) classes I'm taking, and teaching one class.

I've put regular blogging on hold until April 4--the day I turn in my thesis work, but I'll be around periodically to check in. I thank you for your patience during this time and hope you will continue reading once I do return for good! I have so many ideas running through my head of things I would like to post about here, and things I would like to make that aren't part of my thesis work, and exactly how I am going to expand my Etsy shop this summer...so many ideas and goals that I am really excited about! I just have to keep on keeping on with school right now and put these ideas on the back burner for a few months longer.

For now...just a few peeks inside my studio:

First of all, I'll give you one image. Just one! From my thesis body of work. I don't want to give away all my surprises but I will have you know this is one of my favorites so far, so feel lucky:

It's called Color of the Year. It's based on...the Pantone color of the year, tangerine tango. Yes, I am a color geek! And yes, that is my hand, and I did paint my fingernails as close to tangerine tango as I could manage to find (Pantone should make nail polishes...!?). This image isn't just about the color, but I'll wait to go into more detail about content.

I've been shooting my images with a 4"x5" camera! I'm in love. The sample you just saw above is digital--my film is still waiting for me to process it. Just FYI.

A peek at my random studio items...paint that I used for the Pantone color photograph, a super sweet vintage darkroom timer I recently acquired, only part of my growing vase collection, 12 days of Christmas glass that I was actually drinking from at that moment, film, etc.

And a recent thrift store find (even while busy, I go every Friday morning--it's my special treat!)...a camera bag for $1.91. I have another one just like it that is much smaller that can only hold a 35 mm point and shoot camera (it could hold a digital point and shoot if I had one). This one could hold two point and shoots, my Holga, or my Fuji Instax...

...as modeled here. This is the perfect case for the Instax because the other two sections of the case would be ideal for holding extra film cartridges and developed Instax pictures! I love finding inexpensive vintage camera cases in good condition, because I am trying to expand my collection to fit a variety of needs. It's not always the best option to be lugging around my large camera bag. These small, hard cases, are also great for storage and keeping my cameras dust-free. After my thesis is done I want to spend a lot of time organizing my home studio and coming up with better storage options overall...I am excited to get more use out of my space once I no longer have a studio at school.

That's it for now! Thanks for reading, and I promise I won't be gone forever!

Kristen

thrift store finds: vintage levi's skirt (and a special surprise)

Saturday morning I woke up feeling [temporarily] free from responsibility (finals week just ended) and wanting to celebrate. I decided to go shopping...thrift store shopping, to be exact. The "regular" stores are crazy right now, and we all know thrifting is my favorite type of shopping anyhow.

Pictured above...Tomato pincushion ($4) and old farm photograph (25 cents): found at an antique store I visited with my friend Jessica. I haven't shared these photographs yet, but I've been doing some work with tomatoes and tomato-like objects, including my own 15-year old pincushion of this sort. This one is much, much older, so I grabbed it in hopes of using it in a future art project. I always snatch up farming and gardening vintage photographs when I find them, so I had to have this one, of course.

From my usual thrifting spot: cloth Christmas napkins (5 at 39 cents each), hand-glazed Santa tumbler with a signature and 1965 carved into the bottom. The glaze on the lips ran which is probably my favorite thing about this creepy, creepy Santa.

I find lots of old, mostly worthless point and shoots at this particular thrift store, all the time. I always, always look at every single camera. As a photographer, I just can't help it. I pass up plenty of semi-good stuff, to be honest. My younger self would have wanted them all, but I have to pass sometimes, or my home would be full of cameras. Polaroid cameras, semi-okay point and shoots, instamatics... I have a modest camera collection and I add new cameras when I find ones that interest me. When I find a Nikon under $5, though, I pretty much know I am going to buy it. This particular one, the Nikon Tele Touch ($4.95), was made in 1986 (how fitting, since I was born in 1986 and my birthday is in five days). I have a similar one made in 1980 but it doesn't do very well with close-up shots. This camera, however, has a macro function. I was so excited when I found it! It came with the original manual, even, AND a roll of used film is inside. That is my favorite thing about buying used cameras...the possibility of used film. Going to develop it this week and see what's on it.

Embroidery hoops. I kind of have a lot of these. Next quarter I am going to be screen printing a lot of my own patterns onto fabrics and I want to display samples of them this way. I think it's going to look aaawesome. These are not really expensive brand new (a few dollars), but at 50 cents each, I couldn't pass them up! They are around 12-15 inches wide.

Then. I. Found. Something. That. Made. My. Jaw. Drop. I was looking at the skirts--buying used skirts is a great thing to do if you want to get into vintage or secondhand clothing, because it's easy to find ones that fit. I actually have quite a few that I really like and wear often. Lately I have been particularly drawn to vintage denim skirts. I was going through the rack, when I found this gem. A 1977 Levi's denim skirt...With. The. Tags. Still. On! You can bet I snatched it right up and headed for the dressing room. It's one size too big but super high waisted so you can't really tell at all. I feel weird about taking the tags off, so I haven't worn it yet...but I plan to soon! Oh, and guess how much I paid for this!? $2.99. That's right. Go ahead and pick your jaw up off the floor!

Check out the awesome hang tag on the far right. I really want to find a pair of jeans like that. I'm not kidding...I would totally wear them! I recently got some "high waisted" skinny pants from the GAP...I like them but they are actually disappointing in the "high waisted" department because they don't come up very high at all...not like these amazing jeans would!

Finally...my 12 Days of Christmas Day 4 Sneak Peek...today I bought Corey's Christmas present (he was there)...a cat! More on that tomorrow...but isn't she beautiful!? Adopted from the Humane Society.

thrift store finds: new cameras

On Friday I scored these two cameras from my favorite thrift store while looking for Christmas decorations! Other photographers who are reading: do you find that you simply have to look at the cameras for sale at any secondhand shop you set foot in!? Sometimes I find this to be a curse, but I love old cameras!

But, I don't buy every camera I find (that would be a lot), only the ones that stick out to me for one reason another (after aquiring three Instamatics last year I made myself get more choosy!). If the film type is still readily available, then that's a definite plus. Unfortunately, it's not for these two cameras, but in this case, their stylish looks and amazing prices got me.

The tiny one (probably the cutest camera I have ever seen) is a Kodak Brownie Chiquita! It was sold in Brazil from 1957 to 1964, and takes 127 film (45mm--available but for a hefty price). The writing on the front is in Portuguese! It's in mint condition and cost me $1.91.

The larger one is an Argus Seventy-five, made in 1949! It is in really good condition as well, came in the original case, and was $2.92. It's a twin lens camera with a waist level viewfinder, which I've had lots of fun playing around with since my Bronica's viewfinder isn't waist level. It's not as sophisticated as my Bronica though, since it has a fixed focus and only one aperture and shutter speed. It takes 620 film, which is about the same size as 120 but is on different sized spools. So I'm planning to rig up a roll of 120 film as soon as I can get a second 620 spool, and see what kind of pictures it can make.

If I'm able to make any photos with these, I'll do another post! Do you make pictures with any vintage toy cameras? What are your favorites?

thrift store finds

A few more thrift store finds from this weekend...A recipe card box that says "dinner is served" on it, so adorable ($.50)! I have actually been looking for a recipe card box. Right now my favorite recipes are scribbled on random sheets of paper and stuck to my fridge with weak magnets (they fall off a lot...). I am planning to put some magnets on the back of this recipe card box, write the recipes out on smaller, more organized pieces of paper, and stick the whole box to the fridge. Voila, storage solutions for the girl with too few kitchen cabinets.

And three new milk glass planters...how could I resist buying all three at $.90 apiece! I have some cuttings that will be ready to plant soon so these are perfect.

That's all for now...have you found anything good lately?

weekly thrift store finds

Remember when I said I was going to post my thrift store finds weekly? I apologize for taking a month to get started.

As I mentioned before, there's one thrift store close to my home here that I favor. I find most of my photo props there as well as other things (sometimes too many other things). I've been a little disappointed with other thrift stores I've tried in the city, so I usually just stick to this one and go about once a week. I don't know that most of my photo props are very interesting in and of themselves so in this feature I am just going to focus on those "other things."

Today I had some great finds! First I got these tall glass jars. I'd been wanting to find some large, lidded jars for terrariums to grow herbs in this winter (indoors), and I think these will be perfect. The herbs will have a lot of growing room to go up, but the jar's still wide enough for my hand to fit, which is good for maintaining terrariums. The tall one was $1.91 and the small one was $.90.

I don't really need any more coffee mugs, but I have this tiny mug from Italy that says "caffe" on it. It's about the size of a shot of espresso (see the picture for scale). Well, today, I came across this huge coffee mug in exactly the same style, which says "cappuccino." I thought it was too hilarious to pass up. I can't imagine having a cappuccino that large! $.90.

I also found this empty camera case. It's in great condition. I am a small purse kind of girl these days, so if I want to take a camera with me I have to grab an additional bag. This case is too small for an SLR but would be great for my 35mm point and shoot or any of my plastic cameras. Plus it's just pretty hip. I mean, who wouldn't want to be seen pulling a Holga out of something so legit? $.90.
And then...I found the Best Thing Ever. Okay. Back story. When I was younger, my family had a typewriter, and I would use it in collaboration with my mom to write little stories, which we would then illustrate. I still have a few of these! I don't know what happened to that typewriter, only that it's no longer around. For the past few years I have really wanted one, but being that I have a more modernized way of writing neatly--a computer and printer, it's hard to justify paying a lot (but there are some especially beautiful ones out there!). I'm always on the lookout for one at a thrift store, but most of the ones I have found have keys that stick. Today I found this one for $3.95 and all of the keys work except the little "o" key which sticks only about one out of every three times. So I got it and I could not be happier! I want to write everything on it. I might keep it in my studio at school. It will depend on how much my schedule overlaps with my studiomate Steve...he might not appreciate the noise the keys make!

a new weekly feature: thrifting

I've been trying to come up with a few regular weekly features for this blog, and I think one that makes sense to me is thrift store finds. I try to make it to one thrift store a week (usually the same one--it's a gem) because I source a lot of my art materials that way. Although my photography costs are basically non-negotiable (darkroom paper, film, etc.--to look for a good deal or cheaper brand is to compromise the quality) I can utilize used materials for the things/sets I fabricate to be photographed, as well as other things I make for other purposes.

Aside from that, I think shopping is fun and thrift store shopping (as well as yard saling) is all about the search, not about spending a lot of money. In addition to art supplies, I look for things that would be useful around the apartment, like kitchen gadgets and planters.

Yesterday's finds:
- Two Betty Crocker recipe card library boxes (recipes removed) circa 1971 - 40 cents each
- Milk glass planter (I collect these--beautiful and inexpensive for small houseplants!) - 90 cents
- 2.5 yards heavy navy blue fabric - $1.99
- Clip board (will use it for displaying art) - 50 cents
- 32 oz. Speedball screen printing ink (unopened! took my chances on it being good) - $2.93
- Mini label maker (for a schoolteacher friend--I already have one) - 30 cents
- Blue embroidery hoop - 30 cents

Total: $7.33 ($10 less than the cost of that screen printing ink new!)

I would be ever so grateful if you would let me know if a thrift store feature would appeal to you! If you have any ideas for it, feel free to share. Would you want to see the insides of stores themselves? Tips for successful thrifting? Guest posts from other thrifters? Thanks for your input!

plant collection

Plants and planters. I do love to collect them. This collection of plants by my dining room window is in a variety of thrifted and repurposed planters. The plants themselves are from cuttings or the "sad plant shelf," as I call it, at the hardware store. Basically, all the plants that seem on the verge of death end up on this shelf at a very discounted price, and I take pity on them and nurse them back to good health in these adorable little planters. Probably half my trips to the hardware store result in coming home with a new plant (and being an artist, I go quite often). And now for some history:

Owl Planter - from a "crazy owl lady" in my college town, who had her house decorated entirely in owl things, and sold this to me at her yard sale. Plant: cutting from my original devil's ivy plant.
Milk Glass Planter - from a yard sale in my college town (my old roommate Rosa and I used to go every Saturday last summer!) for 10 cents. Plant: croton, the first plant I bought after moving to Columbus.
Turtle - from a sad thrift store in Columbus, when I had first moved here and was trying to find some good ones. Nothing is planted in it currently. I think it's in need of something!
Small Corked Jar - from my favorite thrift store here in Columbus. It matched the larger one so I got it. Plant: wild strawberries from my front yard in Ohio.
Blue Ball Jar - from an antique store in Columbus, bought as an experiment in photographing terrariums with pinhole cameras. Plant: clover from my yard here.
Large Corked Jar - from a yard sale I went to with Rosa. Plant: wild strawberries and moss from Corey's yard in our college town. Still going strong after a year!
Tea Pot - from the Salvation Army in my college town. It came with a lid taped on that I later found out wasn't the right lid and didn't really fit, so I decided to use it for a planter. It doesn't hold water very well, so this sedum succulent grows well in it. The sedum is from a cutting in my front flowerbed (the plant was here already when I moved in).
Strawberry Jam Jar - from local jam I bought at Columbus's North Market during my visit to see if I wanted to move here. Plant: spearmint cuttings from my friend Alex.
Camping Pan - originally I bought this pan to be a candy bowl in my dorm sophomore year. Then I used it as a fruit bowl. Currently it holds half-used seed packets and blank popsicle sticks in preparation for my fall garden!

mantles and zinnias

Garden updates:
7 perfect thumbelina zinnias have bloomed--more on the way.
4 happy eggplants are getting larger by the day.
10 elegant peppers are slowly changing to their mature colors.
Countless tomatoes are stubbornly staying green while I dream of all the delicious tomato sandwiches I could be eating.

Eight days of summer school left! Only three days left of this schedule, then a week long seminar in the art education department. With Terry Barrett! So exciting.

I thought that until school ends and I am able to show you more creative projects, that I would take this time to show some corners of my home that I feel are especially nice. This is my mantle (the fireplace is non-working, and covered with black tile, sadly). I thought it would be more meaningful if I explained each of the items here:

Bunting - handmade from fabric scraps and vintage red polka dot piping
World Map - from a thrifted National Geographic
Embroidered Flowers - found at my favorite thrift store here in Columbus, it's professionally framed and was 90 cents!
Owls of the Deep Print - by Matt Cipov via Etsy (I have a bunch of his prints--love them!)
Mason Jar Candle - on sale for 25 cents at Kroger, too cute to pass up, got a set of four
Cassette Tapes - from the Salvation Army in my college town, I play them on my record player, which has a tape deck in the side
Tomato Pin Cushion - gift from my grandmother when I was a child. She and my mom taught me to sew.
Repurposed Jars - I save them or pick them up at thrift stores--they come in handy a lot
First jar is filled with thread and film (for awhile my sewing machine was in the living room)
Second jar is filled with scissors and knitting needles. Knitting needles were a gift from my friend Mallory, who prefers knitting with circular needles so she bestowed her collection of straight ones to me.

What I like about my decorations is that I don't spend a lot but I think they fit my style perfectly, maybe even better than if I bought everything new. If you're patient while shopping at thrift stores and yard sales, you can find high quality, unique items for only a little money. It's fun too! And don't forget to make a few things! That's the best part.

serendipitous thrifting

I enjoy thrifting because it saves money, it helps recycle old things that would go unused otherwise and saves the resources required to produce new things, and because I love finding unique and often vintage items. I think going to thrift stores and yard sales to find items is a fun sort of challenge.

I believe in serendipitous thrifting. I take mental notes of things I am needing around the house and for art projects, and usually come across those things within a few weeks. For example, last Saturday, my studiomate Brittney and I went to several yard sales. At one sale, I found a box of 2 dozen mason jars for $5, without lids. I have been preparing to do some canning later in the summer for quite some time now, and had been on the lookout for jars. I knew it was a good deal, even if I had to buy the lids new, but the serendipitous part came in when today I found a new box of lids for 50 cents at my favorite local thrift store. Now I need only 12 more lids to make my set complete, but I currently have 24 jars and 12 lids for $5.50, and I like that no new jars were produced just for me.

I also think thrifting is great for people who make art and/or do crafts. Today I also found an unopened, 8 oz. jar of screen printing fabric ink, which costs around $6 new, but was only 50 cents. I've been working on setting up a screen printing area in my home for summer, and was only a few days away from ordering a set of inks, so finding one of the colors I needed (white, for a set of cyan, magenta, yellow, black, white) was perfect. In the past, I've found fabric, yarn, string, darkroom supplies (be careful purchasing things which expire), and more.

What kinds of things do you like to shop for at thrift stores and yard sales?

chocolatey, cinnamony goodness

Today was my day off work, so I did a few of my favorite things...thrift store shopping, baking, and Gilmore Girls watching (oh, wait, it's summer, I do that last one every day...). I found a set of three glass canisters (with strawberries on them!) for flour, sugar, and...one more thing...to be decided...tea? brown sugar? ideas?

I also went to the store (I admit it, it was Wal-Mart) in search of seeds to get started on the miniature herb garden I am going to grow...but there were no more seeds! I guess it's too late in the season...but there were still plenty of pots and every other gardening tool you can think of! That's okay. I am not discouraged. There are plenty of other (better) places I can find seeds. I am determined to grow my own herbs (and strawberries!) for cooking. Two years ago, I took a seminar/in the field class called Organic Gardening...and ever since then, I have really wanted my own garden. The problem is that I have no place to grow it.

That brings me to my latest baking venture. Now, I found this vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe and all the reviews said it was the best chocolate chip recipe ever, but I wasn't sure what all the hype was about. After making the cookies, I think I get it. They're delicious! I did vary the recipe somewhat though (of course, right? why can't I just leave any recipe as it is?). You can click the link for theirs, and here's my revised version:

Happy Vegan Double Chocolate Cookies
2 c whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c vegan chocolate chips
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c vegetable oil
1/4 c vegan margarine
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c cocoa powder
1/2 c water

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen small cookies. Press cookie dough balls down with a fork--the dough will not expand when baked.

The ingredients I adjusted were...used whole wheat flour instead of unbleached flour, added cocoa powder + a little more water to compensate, used 1/2 as much sugar, and used less oil and added a little vegan margarine (a review I read said this was a good idea).

whales, berries, and coffee cans

1. Last week was my lucky week for mail! Corey bought me this adorably cute gocco print from Argyle Whale. It's perfect! I love it, and it was incredibly thoughtful of him. I'm keeping it safe until I move and decide what color frames to get for a handful of prints I have acquired over the past year or so. Is that a good way to break into being an adult...buying picture frames instead of just using thumbtacks? Somehow, I think it's a necessary step.

2. My parents and brother picked wild blackberries and my mom turned them into a cobbler. It was really delicious. I can't take any credit for it but wanted to photograph it for her and thought I'd share. I can ask her for the recipe if anyone would like it.

3. This is my new coffee canister! I really wanted a whole set of canisters like this...you know, the kind that graduate in size and you display them all on your countertop and fill them with essentials like flour, sugar, coffee, tea, etc. Well, yes, I really did want the whole set, and the whole set they did have for sale...but the second one was missing its lid, tragically. So, I got this one just for coffee but I'm still on the lookout for a whole display. (In the picture above, I would also like you to note one of my most prized possessions...my clear telephone...which I received as a gift for my 7th birthday, and yes, it still works.)

4. I decided to bake another loaf of bread today in the new breadmaker...it's nearly finished and the whole house smells deliciously of fresh bread. I should have timed it better and had it finish earlier before everyone was heading to bed!

here's to fresh bread

Yesterday I convinced Corey to accompany me to the local Salvation Army to look at housewares. I've been collecting a few things here and there for the new apartment, which is only one month away from becoming a reality! I enjoy collecting glass and ceramic dishes one by one...of course, nothing really matches that way, but I think there's something nice about it. Maybe having mis-matchy dishes is something not many would appreciate, but when I see so many dishes I like, how can I settle on just one design? And vintage dishes are my favorite. I don't know, there's just something I like about opening up the cabinet and seeing a variety of colors and patterns, each handpicked from the thrift-store shelves. It feels nice to be able to reuse and treasure once-unwanted items, as well.

So, we went...I found $5 worth of coffee mugs, glass bowls, and tiny dip dishes (at least, that will be my use for them) which I'll post pictures of later (they're very adorable). Then, from a few feet away, I heard Corey say, "Hey, there are some breadmakers over here." He knew I'd been planning to buy one as an apartment-warming gift...ahem, to myself. I think he's excited about that because he knows I will be sharing fresh bread with him. After inspecting the three that were available--each at the price of just $5--we decided that one really stood out...it looked almost brand new, with a plastic wrapper still covering the keypad of programming buttons. So, we plugged it in to be sure that it worked, and when it came on just fine, I decided to make the purchase. I figured that if it didn't work (it was nonrefundable), it was at least worth a try before shelling out $55-$100 for a new one, and I'd just consider it a donation to Salvation Army. It's sitting on the kitchen counter now, waiting to be tested later today. Cross your fingers for me! I was even able to download the instruction manual/recipe book for free from Sunbeam's website. Here's to fresh-baked bread!

Update: The inaugural loaf is now baking! I chose to start off with one of my favorite bread recipes, a wheat bread from Betty Crocker (my mom's breadmaker is by Betty Crocker and has a recipe book with it). Here is the recipe for a 1.5 lb loaf:

9 oz. lukewarm water
1/2 Tbsp. salt
1/4 c. brown sugar
3 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp. butter (I used Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread)
3 Tbsp. dry milk (I used 3 Tbsp. soy milk and cut out 3 Tbsp. of water)
1 packet dry active yeast

And to liven it up a little, I threw in a very easy add-in of 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder and 1 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning. This adds a delicious flavor of garlic and basil to the bread. The only downfall is the resulting bread isn't very good with peanut butter, and I do love a good slice of peanut butter toast.