Apartment Tour

It's raining and gloomy outside which means I'm stuck inside. I thought I would welcome you inside my apartment! It's very cozy and most days I don't want to leave. I would rather lay on my couch and watch netflix, hulu, or hbogo all day. Most of my furniture is from urban outfitters, hand me downs, and the garbage. I luckily find a lot of cool things in the garbage like unwanted art, cabinets, and trinkets.

I really love interior design and decorating. One of my favorite blogs to look at is apartment therapy and their small space section. Although my studio is small, I don't mind it. It was really fun to decorate and see what creative ways I could come up with to make if feel bigger. My last apartment was even smaller and so I actually think the space I live in now is big. One of the benefits of living in a smaller apartment is it's easier to clean! I'm really neat and kind of OCD when it comes to cleaning. I can't sleep and I feel really cranky if I feel my apartment is dirty.

One thing I do wish for is a microwave. I haven't figured out where to put it though.

Mod Sixties

Hung out with Obtrusiv yesterday. I'm not sure where it is we are in these photos but I really liked their geometric shaped walls. It looked very Mod Sixties and I tried to make the photos look as if we were time traveling but I'm not sure if I succeeded in doing that. I really want to take a photoshop class! I also really want to learn how to make gifs.

Jason S

Jason S. is an artist who paints and writes poetry. He doesn't believe in inspiration and despises technology. Many of his paintings features cell phones and iPads, with an underlying notion that our society is too dependent on it. He lives in a lovely apartment filled with novels written by exceptional authors and he also has great taste in music. He loves jazz and has traveled many parts of the world, including Tokyo. All of the paintings in his home were created by him and when he's not painting or writing, he works as a social worker for children.

I found Jason to be quite interesting, especially his comment on inspiration. I can't say that I agree though. I think that anything anyone makes was inspired from something else.

Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.” — Jim Jarmusch

Nuyorican Poets Cafe

Yesterday I went to Nuyorican Poets Cafe, a really cool place in the lower east side where talented spoken word poets and musicians come together and perform. They also do an open mic. Check out AriesxFlame's youtube channel. She performed last night and she was amazing.

"I still ponder if it was you or me that caused this

bliss of nothingness.

I pulled down my wall

Only to fall into a puddle of self absorbed traits that was hidden

Inside a crate

A crate that you kept beside you

And if only I knew

But I was blinded by the sweet murmurs

You said

But as soon as I let you in

All of that fled

It was inevitable that our fate

Resulted in pain

For only I

And when I let out my crys

No one heard them but me

Tranquility is infused inside my heart by your eminent ability to make me feel lovely

And I don’t mean to confuse you

But I feel more comfortable knowing you don’t understand me

Because your presence leaves me feeling vulnerable

I am not friends with fear

And communication was never my forte

But look closely at the way my eyes look at you

Because they talk louder then my lips ever will

Look at it under the moonlight

They’ll glisten softly

And tell you exactly what you wish to hear"

I wrote this poem a few years ago. I was nervous when I went up on stage to recite it. I just didn't look at anybody. The light shining in my eyes helped block out the people in front of me.

Obtrusiv

Obtrusiv is a start up online magazine that features an eclectic selection of interviews and articles that discuss the topics of art, culture, and style. The staff is made up of creative individuals that are driven by passion and curiosity. When I asked the founder of Obtrusiv what inspires him, he said, "getting in the minds of others and learning what makes them tick." 

If you were to ask me my opinion on Obtrusiv, I would say that it exudes passion. The passion to understand the depths of artists and their natural ability to create. Is it an inborn quality or is it something that has been developed with the help of ones surroundings? Inspiration definitely derives from within and the best way to get great inspiration is to constantly feed yourself with aesthetics until your brain has no choice but to shit it out, excuse my language. 

www.obtrusiv.com

Hide Away

Listening to
Hideaway - Karen O and the Kids

You'll ask your reasons why
What once was yours is mine
My baby is gone

Li Hui

ML: You’ve taken a lot of portraits - but don’t seem to ever show faces. Why is this?

LH: I think people change their faces too fast in the real world. Sometimes there is no way of knowing their true feelings. But I just wanna know more about what’s going on inside of them and their body language tells me that. Besides, I am a really shy person, so it’s hard for me to focus on someone’s face.



Interview
Website

I love Hui's photos because it represents something mystical. It inspires a story created by my own understanding of what I see when I look at her photos and it plays with my imagination. 

"The pictures I took back then always bring back certain memories and remind me of a special person I met. It was during that time that I realized I was looking through the lens to capture everything that I care about. "

If you look at her website and click on about, she provides links to other interviews she's done. I loved reading all her interviews because the way she expresses herself is inspiring and relatable. I don't know her personally but after reading her interviews and then looking at her photos again, I felt like I could see a glimpse of her. 

Pulp Art Book

I have been exploring flickr a lot more these days and I'm having a bunch of "what the fuck, this is amazing" moments. I stumbled across Neil Krugs flickr and his stuff is just wow. These photos are from him & Joni Harbeck's Pulp Art Book. I am in love with each and every one of them.

View them all here, & his flickr is here. Prepare to be wowed.

Also look here to see some dreamy/magical photos. I really like the dreamy and magical effects because I think it creates an unspoken and visual story.

I remember in photography class my teacher said in order to become a better photographer you should look at a lot of photos and see which styles you like the best. You should borrow and re create your own version of what you appreciate.

“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to.”
- Jim Jarmusch

Brad Kunkle

"Born in rural Pennsylvania, Brad Kunkle spent his younger years exploring and romanticizing the beauty of the sparse countryside and the deep forests around him.  From an early age he was drawn to the worlds of Maxfield Parrish and the Pre-Raphaelites  –worlds, he says,  “where a subtle, supernatural beauty seems to be hiding under the breath of women –worlds where something beyond our natural perception is waiting to be found.”

- Read more here