Hagensen Wedding!

August 29, 2009

Kendall & Tim tied the knot!

Janelle and I have been friends for 22 years. We've known eachother since birth. Her mom is like a second mom to me. I love it when she's silly, like in this photo. This past year Janelle and I lived together with two other lovely ladies. It was so wonderful to live in Seattle with Janelle- we've created some great memories at that house in Queen Anne/Fremont. Janelle loves cats, gardening, Jane Austen, white wine, and country men. Kudos to Janelle for being awesome.

This brings me pure joy. Humor is so healing, even if it's a dorky vegetable pun. (I secretly want to make my own...)

Mushroom Series

"Ink," oil and charcoal on wood, 2009, 27" x 35"

Mushroom Series

"Family," oil, charcoal, and wax on canvas, 2009, 22" x 28"

For one of my oil painting classes last quarter, I painted a series of pieces with mushroom subject matter. I've always been attracted to the aesthetic quality of mushrooms- the curves and colors. The paintings explore various textures and line qualities; combining abstraction with elements of realism. The paintings aim to evoke curiosity, mystery and nostalgia.

Sasquatch 2009

Kevin got me tickets to Sasquatch for my birthday last week! I've never been to the festival, so I'm pretty excited. The line-up is pretty enticing, looks like there a bunch of great bands (see above). We're going with his brother, Justin, and his girlfriend, Ivy. I'm looking forward to getting out in the open air, listening to music all day, and letting loose. Thanks, Kev. P.s. Kevin also made me an amazing birthday dinner. A recipe he made up- delicious, fresh salad with quinoa pasta, avocado, red leaf lettuce, kale, cukes.... ohhhh, he's a keeper :)

The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved

I started reading this book a few weeks ago. It's pretty incredible and thought-provoking. There's a recipe for pesto that's made from edible weeds! Yum!

The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved
By Sandon Ellix Katz

Post- Graduation Ideas....

Graduation = Liberation

I'm almost done with school (undergrad, that is...) I will be done with my B.A. for Psychology and Minor in Studio Art in December 2009! I've been thinking a lot about that to do after graduation. It seems like the sky is the limit, I have so many ideas, dreams, longings. Here's a sampling of some of the ideas I have.



1. Go WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities in Organic Farming). An herb or vegan farm would be ideal but I'm pretty open to other ideas. I was looking at farms in Hawaii, Oregon, California, and Europe. There are some amazing farms & gardens out there! I was reading about this one that is part of a meditation retreat center, how great would that be.




2. As mostly everyone knows, one of my favorite (there's really only three...) magazines is Bitch, straight from yours truly, Portland, OR. There's an internship for community development that is totally up my alley. I would LOVE to be an intern there. Portland, internship with Bitch, being close to loved ones, I dig it. A lot.


3. AmeriCorps has tons of amazing positions. Where I currently work one of my co-workers is an AmeriCorps volunteer. I love my current job and could see myself staying there for a while, and even possibly through AmeriCorps. I also found a position on their website for a teaching assistant position in New York, Lower East Side at a school for girls. Which would prepare me for graduate school in teaching, if that's the route I decide to take.


4. Other ideas that I haven't researched as much are: artist residency/community living, international work exchange, volunteering/working at p:ear gallery in Portland....

Kale Chips

I had some leftover kale from a beet stir-fry I made this weekend with Kevin, so I made kale chips. They're incredibly easy to make, low-tech, and taste f-ing fantastic. Plus, kale is so super good for you that it's like eating potato chips but better.

Kale Chips:

Ingredients

1-2 big bunches of kale

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon oil

coarse salt (to taste) or favorite seasoning blend

Directions: Pre-heat oven to 350.Wash and de-stem kale. Chop or tear into "chip" size pieces.Spread onto baking sheet. Pour the apple cider vinegar, oil and seasoning (1-2 tablespoons) onto kale. Mix to coat all pieces.Bake for 10 minutes or until crispy. Serve immediately!

Serves: 3-4 Preparation time: 3 minutes

Art Benefit

I am part of an awesome group of ladies that are putting on a benefit to raise money and awareness for the social injustice of human trafficking. 100 percent of the proceeds will go directly to W.A.R.N.; WARN stands for Washington Anti-Trafficking Response Network. Human Trafficking and sex slavery are huge problems in Washington. Seattle happens to be one of the largest ports for smuggling humans in. WARN is the only collaborated network in Washington that provides shelter, protection and resources to victims of trafficking. They work directly with victims pulling them out of trafficking, and helping to rehabilitate and establish them back into some kind of normal life. They have served our state and these victims persistently and humbly.

The benefit will be held the evenings of the first weekend in April, 2009 (2nd, 3rd and 4th). The benefit will be a silent auction of art work, sculptures, and some packages that all have been donated by artists, students, and businesses.

What Trafficking is:
Trafficking is ongoing exploitation. Travel is not always involved. In general, victims have either never consented to their conditions, or their initial consent is rendered meaningless by the victims age or by coercive, deceptive or abusive actions on the part of the traffickers.

Organization we are donating to:

WARN - Washington Anti-Trafficking Response Network

www.warn-trafficking.org

We are currently looking for donations from artists! E-mail for more info: jchaney@spu.edu

I like to make stuff

I keep adding to this list. Let me know if you have any others to share! I love finding neat things to create.

Some of my favorite craft sites:
- www.craftster.org
- www.whatthecraft.com
- www.theanticraft.com
- http://poppytalk.blogspot.com
- http://www.alteredcloth.com/blog
- http://fitzpatterns.myshopify.com

Weeds.

I hate t.v. for several reasons. I get this for free online (sans advertisements, mind you...) does that make me a hypocrite?

NEW

My first blog entry, how exciting. I've been wanting to start a blog for some time but never got around to it. My sister's blog is great and everytime I read it, I think, "Wow, I should do a blog too..." So here I am. First blog.