Thrift Store

Really. Nothing makes me feel more "Lubbock" than a Thrift Store Cowboys show.
http://www.last.fm/music/Thrift+Store+Cowboys/_/Damn+New+Mexico

And this weekend was no exception. I went to a Thrift Store show on Friday night and it summed up my Lubbock experience perfect:

BEAUTIFUL. LOCAL. FUN. LONESTAR. TOWNIES. COUNTRY. ALTERNATIVE. LOUD. ENERGETIC. AWKWARD. OVERALL GREAT!

Just as I can not fathom why 54 Seconds:
http://www.last.fm/music/54+Seconds/Coma/Complicated
one of my favorite Austin bands.. is not FAMOUS yet!.. I can not imagine how the Thrift Store Cowboys are not "famous" yet either.

I guess just as most contemporary artists might live -- undiscovered these bands are one in the same. Undiscovered. I hope one day they will be. And maybe they will GET THEIRS. Just as most artists should. :D

i do!

photo: me. my favorite office coffee mug

Everyday should start with a little Milton Glaser.
http://www.miltonglaser.com/pages/identproj/id_index.html

I had a conversation with a friend last weekend about how "men are more talented than women". crazy thought. but.. hummm, I wonder if it is true. I think about all of my immortal heroes: Dario Robleto. Matthew Barney. Ryan McGinness. Banksy. Egon Schiele. Tord Boontje. George Orwell. Massimo Vignelli. The Factory. Donald Judd. Milton Glaser. Herman Hess. Sagmeister. Wes Anderson. Anthony Bourdain. the asterisk.

ALL MEN.

well, the gender of "the asterisk" is not yet determined but I would venture to say the asterisk is in fact a man -- characteristics being physically secure and confident, sarcastic, alterior motives, underlying meanings and hard for most to pronounce. a man.

What is it about these men that made them so? And is "it" something that is unattainable to women? Why are all of "the greats" -- at least the ones in my world -- men?..

I was once mistaken for a man before an design interview. I submitted my resume, was called in and interviewed and then in a moment of honesty the Art Director told me -- based on my resume, their whole firm thought i "was a man". I was impressed with myself. And inspired to make more non-gender specific art.

I don't want to be a man. I love being a woman. And I love men.
But surely there is more to this than simply "men are more talented than women". Maybe it is something that men posses that women are simply lacking. And does that lacking include all women? fingers crossed that maybe I am in the minority and one day I will wake up and realize that I am too am one of my own immortal heroes.

sew it seems..

Another addition into my exploration of ideas :) A Singer "Tradition" sewing machine!!
My sister began to teach me how to sew this summer. After I nailed a few projects... I was hooked! During the August Art Market my dear Grandmother, Michaela Villegas, came to visit and was so surprised that I had learned to sew. Being the generous and caring Grandma that she has always been, she offered me her beloved sewing machine -- the machine that single-handedly made each member of our family their own "colcha" (blanket).

I was elated! My mom trekked out to my Grandmother's house a few days later to pick up the machine. She was to take Grandma's machine to the shop for a routine maintenance and then I would pick it up from her house.

Later that week, I arrived at my Mom's house... and to my surprise my Mom had bought me my very own machine! Apparently Grandma's machine was worn beyond repair and would have been difficult for a beginning sewer, such as myself, to use.

I have had a great time playing with my machine and making new things. So far I have made -- lavender scented eye pillows, cloth headbands, yoga mat bags and attempted a clutch bag... which turned out to be quite a failure. My Singer Tradition has proved to be, as everything in my apartment must be, very portable. I set it up in the kitchen usually right after dinner :). What a perfect place to feed my creative exploration of a new medium!

And how fitting is it that my mom gave me the Singer "Tradition"? Just as it should be named. I will work to carry on a tradition that has been in my family for generations. Maybe one day I will make "colchas" for everyone just as my Grandma Mickey did.