Gingersnap

(Miami Valley Regional Transit Authority Trolley Circa 1996) As a kid, I loved riding the yellow bus. No. Not the school bus. The Dayton RTA trolley. Is it was always an adventure, especially around the holidays when Santa sat in the back seat handing out candy canes to eager children. Those days are long past. As well as the original trolley design. People frown heavily on public transportation- saying that it’s the poor man’s ride and that things are better efficient with a car! While there are pros and cons of every way of transport, I will always enjoy a good bus ride. With new environmentally friendly buses (they have trolley hybrids now!) and a cost effective way of saving money, buses, trains, and subways are certainly wonderful way to travel. Sometimes they can be late. At times very early. But I truly love buses and appreciate the people driving them. I especially enjoy long journeys and going the distance on buses I’ve never boarded. That of which I can do more of since recei...

Besides Christmas cards and rubber duck fashion design, I've been exploring a new arena. Ever since I got my results back from 23andme.com and Dr. McDonald, I've been trying to figure out how to create a body of work. Can one make art from being identified as 87.8% African and 12.2% European? Sure. Art is so universal that anything can be! I love the face. The many emotions, the movements, the features. A billion adjectives can describe how much I enjoy creating art about the face! So in combining the research and facial enthusiasm, abstracted portraiture seemed to be my answer. For this upcoming project. The shape of Africa is in various crevices of the human face. The lips are my favorite- I enjoy creating the mouth- its variations of reds, pinks, browns, and purples. It's a feature that seems to stand out the most in my portraits. This isn't any different. The eyes are closed, lashes peering down at that strangely shaped sideways, African continental lips- perhaps a ...

Here are 500 words to describe EJ Dimera: acute affable apt adroit agile agog abandoned abdicate abiding abrogated accomplished accountability acrimonious adamant adaptive adherent adumbrated advantageous affected afflicted alluring absorbing aggressive altruistic amaranthine amazing ambiguous ambitious ambrosial amiable amusing analytical anxious apprehensive ardent arousing artful articulate assailed assertive assiduous astonishing astounding astute attentive audacious aureate authoritative avaricious aware awe-inspiring beautiful beguiling behooved berated bewildering bewitching bold brassy brazen brilliant burdensome capable cajoling cantankerous captious captivating cautious cavalier cerebral chivalrous clandestined clever charismatic charming cheeky circumspect coaxing cocky cognizant collected commanding compelling complex complicated comprehensive conciliatory conclusive condescending confident conflicted coniving conscientious constructive consuming contemplative contemporary ...

Ever since I heard from resident artist Kevin Harris about five dollar Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Dayton Printmaking Coop, I have been super duper excited! It’s an amazing opportunity to use the facility and their materials for so low a price. It’s a great steal to take advantage of! Plus, it is an hour’s walk away. Yes! Woo hoo! Now for weeks, I kept wondering what would I make? What kinds of drawings are worth printing? Holiday cards are definitely on the way, but I wanted to make other artworks too. As most of my friends know, I’ve been secretly plotting to squeeze my way into the fashion industry. A few blog posts ago, I shared whimsical fashion dreams- rubber ducky style! Etsy, eBay, Google, JoAnn’s, thrift shops were the places I searched for rubber ducky centric fabrics. Weeks ago, I found this amazing number for only $1 at the Village! Yes, $1. And it was originally $2! Talk about dated and vintage. Tote bag? Skirt? A vest? Who knows what I’ll be making out of it? There’s ...

This was my dream last night. A clustered, metaphoric cloud of rubber duck inspiration came to me.... I suppose we all have our little maddening obsessions. These little things that make us overly happy time and time again. Mine are of course- chocolate, vintage clothes, art, writing, and rubber ducks! So combining art, rubber ducks, and fashion made for an exciting sketchbook venture! From previous posts, you could see that the owl designs being included into the wearable world got me thinking about finding a place for ducks. What if they could be emphasis for clothes and bags and not just towels, hand dispensers, and other bathroom items? Starring Prismacolor colored pencils and markers, let's see the five nifty items I've made so far. Was there ever a fancier tote? A lot of people will gawk and stare at the fashionista with envy when she walks around painting the town blue and yellow with this glam rubber duck patterned bag! I have a lot of fantasies swinging this round and ...

I finally disclosed details about Library. On my friend's bus, we discussed this venture. Kind and very supportive, he was very passionate in his belief that with friends, prospective business partners, word of mouth, and generated buzz that this may very well succeed. One of a kind and uniquely original, this place could bridge different folks together and be resourceful yet fun to several generations of individuals. Library is one of many ventures in a series of planned objectives for me and I'm quite hesitant about it. The gist of it is still not completely sorted out yet, but for one thing, Library is only the tentative title. Not even sure it should be called that. However, I'm desperate to have its interior designed like a library- featuring stacks of shelves, books sorted by categories, little crook and cranny areas where people can hide and read books. Sort of like I used to when I worked at the library so long ago. Not trying to say that everyone's just like ...

First off, the upcoming weekend is very, very exciting for I will be writing about the upcoming James Scott Minor League Baseball game on Saturday evening and the fantastic, fun filled enjoyment of Wizard World Chicago on Sunday. Woot! Woot! Now on with the show! For the past few weeks, I've been digging one of a kind items, especially uniquely crafted wearable art that relate to me as an individual, as a creative, free-spirited young woman. It was imperative to find things that speak that language. Some of which I saw on etsy, rarely eBay, and now I've been looking into shops a lot more independent. One purchase I loved was made last Friday, a beautiful bag from an incredibly chic indie store, called Vau Store which features sweet tote bags featuring modest, minimalistic, metaphoric (say that three times fast, I dare you!) designs. I was very lucky for it was sold out a week prior, but the store tweeted me a heads up once it was stocked (and on sale nonetheless!) Drawn by t...