I love moving, but hate starting over.

So,  it’s not gone public yet, but my significant other and I have decided to part ways.  Most of his things are no longer in the apartment which means that things are being reorganized, and rearranged. I wouldn’t mind this so much. I like moving things around. It keeps things fresh. The thing that’s really bothering me is the change that it represents. I’ve also swapped rooms with my daughter, and that breaks my sentimental heart. I absolutely loved the colour of my room.  Hers is painted a pale shade of blue that is only ever used for children’s rooms. That aside, I am also sad to see her father go. I know i’m mostly disappointed about the fantasy of it all, but logic has very little to do with it. I’m afraid to start over again. I miss having someone around. Most of all on days like today when I am ill. I’ve just gotten used to little things  that he would take care of, and truth be told, i’m really not looking forward to taking the garbage out myself.

It has, however, been great for my artwork. I have ideas all the time now. As if having him here was blocking them. They’re just flowing in like mad. I can’t believe it. Mind you, meeting that artist i had earlier mentioned had a lot to do with it as well. Talking to him opened my eyes to all these possibilities. I found out after a while that i could go toe to toe with him any day and not feel insecure about it. Feeling insecure always puts a damper on motivation.  That’s one of the great things about starting over. I can throw myself right into things now, because i never did. it’s a reminder not to waste my time.

That being said, i think i’ve been pushing myself too hard with everything. i became violently ill yesterday and my eye has been twitching for days.  my body is telling me to relax, so today i am bedridden. I finally put a small dent in ‘the god delusion’ and finished off the first ‘walking dead’ graphic novel. yay. if i keep this up i may in fact some day read all the books i’ve been meaning to.

Examples of things i’ve been doing:

I digress…

So upon further thought and reading more articles, i came to the realization that what i was hating is, in fact, called pop-art. I also discovered that i, too have a soft spot for it. I was bitter about a lot of things when i last wrote and i definitely regret being so ignorant. I do love His art. All of it. Even the pop-y stuff. Even the direct rip offs. Hell, maybe i love HIM…. just kidding.

A Form of Flattery

With the economy as it is, and the job market in Windsor being weak, i have found myself, once again, unemployed. So, Something Clever becomes the main focus. Whether it be artwork or screen printing. So it means a lot of art shows… so long as i can afford to do so.
Recently, at one of the art shows I was at, I was lucky enough to meet an artist whose art i had admired for a really long time. And, of course, because i had admired their art, I had this childish idea of what an awesome person they must also be. As we were talking i found that we had a lot in common and i even felt this zing of a spark between us. I mean, this person was not only an amazing artist, but also seemed to be very intelligent and one of the few people I’ve met who was aware of the world outside of Essex County. Anyway, as i got to know them, i started to see all these little cracks. Infatuated as i was, i ignored them as best i could, but they kept piling up…. there was a trend here… things i’d seen before. I came to realize that much of this person’s work did not belong to them at all… here i thought i had met a creative soul, someone really unique with a brilliant and beautiful mind and it turned out they were just playing monkey see – monkey do. I felt my heart sink to my stomach. How could this even be so?

I also recently picked up this month’s issue of Juxtapoz thinking i might buy it. I had a friend in high school who swore by it, and i’ve been following it on facebook for years. I was so horribly disgusted by what i found. The trendiest crap possible. Every art piece seemed so painfully similar. All with one central human character with over sized eyes which look irritated. Irritated the way your eyes look when you’ve been either smoking pot for hours or crying for the same amount of time. a lot of them with tattoos and/ or Victorian items. It really kind of irks me. I mean, is that how you get noticed as an artist in the present? just do what everyone else is doing? It seems to me, counter-creative. Ironic, i know, for a screen-printer to say, as the idea behind screen printing is to create a tonne of the same image. I don’t know… perhaps i’m just jealous and frustrated with my own lack of success as an artist.

Hello world!

Ok… well, I’m uber cheep… ’cause like most ‘Windsor-ites’ I’m also broke.  So I’m going to cheap web page route.

I have several  of them. Here, myspace, facebook, buyitsellit. Basically, anything that’s free.

What is ‘Something Clever’? That’s a good question. I’m not altogether sure myself. All I  know, is that I made it (with a lot of help), and it’s awesome.

Mostly it’s clothes and occasionally bags and purses. Maybe someday it will be more than that. Everything is handmade, So for the most part everything is unique. The shirts I print, however, are bought.  It’s cheaper and easier for everyone that way. Which,  I think most of us can appreicate given the financial status of… well, the world right now.

Anyways, have a look at the pictures and stuff to get a better idea of what this is all about.

Also, check out the following stores to see the real deal:

Jones & Co.

The Unique Rabbit

Made in Windsor