Capture. Create. Relate.

Haha, this makes me laugh. I woke up this morning to a text from my mom (and by morning I mean afternoon) saying …

“We arrive chicago” (her english isn’t that great) “Waiting for connecting flgt to korea” Hah! They left and didn’t wake me up to say bye! Hahaha. I didn’t think they were leaving that early! I had planned on going with them to the airport and everything.

Well, I guess I have the house to myself now. This means using my room as a closet and sleeping in the bigger bedroom with the tv, sound system and cool lights. This means walking around in my underwear. This means keeping wine and beer in the fridge without my mom questioning me. Ah, I love being alone. Also, as of Saturday, I’m going to have to take care of my aunt’s house too since she’s leaving for the Philippines as well. So I’ll have another little getaway. And a car! First place I’m going to run away to? Kingston. I have good friends there and I miss them muchly. I hope the car doesn’t break on me…

Oh, and with regards to the previous text I sent my mom: she doesn’t hang up on me often. Only when she’s at work. In which case I’m just pulling her leg and joking with her. She’s great.

So my dog, Missy, is afraid of thunderstorms. She likes to hide in the most visually uncomfortable places in the house. I tried to sit her on my lap but she just ran off to play hide and seek. Where did I find her?

In one of the shelves in my study room, in a box, behind a pillow case full of my sisters clothes. Better than peeing all over the carpet though?

I’m trying to draw all clean and proper … It’s not working out for me too well.

Just thought I’d let you know.

We took the rest of the party over to Ash’s house.

And, yes, the whole process of this going-away party was an all morning, afternoon, evening, night, and early morning affair. The ladies and I ingested our dance inducing liquids in red cups (I just drank straight from my good ol bottle of rose. Why waste a cup?) and went over to Babz for Grind. Did we dance? Did we ever! I managed to stumble over to the 95 and make it home in one piece. Next day I gathered myself together and went over to Ash’s where we hungout and got cookies from our local Boko Bakery like the loyal customers we are.

I got me one of those teddies but in pink!

You know how I said that white chocolate is the way to lure me out of my studio on Murray St? I take it back. Get me one of these cookies … Or plenty.

Oh, come on. Really tumblr? Let me post pictures. Why is this not working? I haven’t been on in forever and now it’s giving me trouble.

Oh wait it works now.

Ahem. 

So I’m a sad girl right now. My friends Ash, Jen, Britt and Kristin are leaving for Korea for 1-2 years. My friend Hayley is leaving for France for a year. Where will I be? In Ottawa. I’m itching to travel and my jet-setting friends aren’t making it easy for me to be left behind. These are the girls who I consider to be my best of friends. They’ve been there for me throughout absolutely everything and are the kind of friends who just text or call to say hello. No one ever does that anymore. Everyone just wants to get straight to the point of everything and not just take a breather and wish someone a good day. It’s nice to know that someone is thinking about you, no? 

Anyways.

Even though these amazing, accomplished and strong ladies are leaving, I really believe that we’ll remain friends no matter what. I’m just really going to miss them. The following are just pictures of the going-away party Britt hosted at her place in the “country” haha.

Stranded at a random west-end park n’ ride … I do believe that we were pretty well-prepared for the worst.

At Britt’s house where we ate such delicious food momma Wilson made and hot tubbed while telling spooky stories. 

Onto our next adventure. I don’t think my camera was quick enough to capture that much excitement. 

So I’ve been feeling so crummy lately. I’m tired, I feel like I’ve been working so much, I don’t have time to see my friends (except when at work), I am so busy with work and school that I often forget to grab a bite to eat… Top it off with tummy aches and headaches.

Even if I had time to go out and play, I find myself much rather staying in and sleeping.

Sleep? What’s that?

Oh, also, studio update: I’ve decided not to switch studios for the following reasons…

1) The other studio I am being offered has low ceilings (I need higher ceilings for my oil paints
2) The new studio just doesn’t feel right (with the low ceilings, I feel like I’m in an insane asylum)
3) To add to the insane asylum feel, it’s closed off in it’s own corner of the second floor of the house (has it’s own staircase to get up to, theres a door closing it from the hall, it’s own closet that’s creepy and it’s own washroom that looks like it’s possibly from a scary movie)

Backstory: I signed a lease for a studio on Murray St. Super stoked. But then, a woman signed the lease for the studio beside mine (a bigger one which she is paying decent money for … As I often get reminded of everytime this issue comes up … which is another thing: Who cares if she’s paying more? We’re all paying rent according to sq ft and according to what we can afford, sorry I’m not an established artist and can’t pay more for a bigger studio. It shouldn’t make a difference with this situation. End Rant). After signing her lease, she mentioned that she’s allergic to oil… So now It’s been a back and forth thing with people trying to convince me to leave my studio for another one down the hall or stay in my desired current studio. The one I signed the lease for. First.

To be honest, although this room/space has everything one would want for their own place, it just really doesn’t feel right. You know how you can decorate your room and place everything so that, technically, it should function absolutely perfect? Yet for some reason you find yourself changing it around anyways because the more you live with that space, the more you realize that your original placement of things just isn’t livable for you? That’s how I feel about that new space. Sure, I have my “own” washroom, sure, I have my “own” closet, and, sure, it’s closed off so it is basically like my own little nook. But! It just feels so isolated more than it does like a home. However, my current studio I signed off on has high ceilings, wood floors, faces Murray St. and the light is shining through the window constantly.

You know what the catch is now, though? I need to buy a ventilation system for my space and I need to put a rubber seal on the top and bottom of the door. Okay, I get it. I will be in this space for a long time (if all goes well) and during the winter I’d want my own ventilation anyways, but, I feel as if this is something that I would have liked to have more time to figure out. Now, because of this artist moving to the room next to me, I need to rush this process to accomodate her. Her and he allergy she failed to mention to anyone. I don’t really see why anyone would sign a lease for a studio with 8+ other artists and think no one paints with oil. And now, because my friend and I are the only ones who paint oil on our floor, we need to deal with the stress of making this woman comfortable. Even so far as to possibly having to switch studios (which is obviously what is desired of us to do). I don’t want to be a brat, and I know I might sound like it now, but I just don’t know how someone could neglect to mention this information and I don’t know how I’m the one who has to be stressed out about this… It doesn’t seem fair, really.

Because I want to stay in my studio, I’ve been told that, if issues may rise later, that no one will know what to do. And that makes me feel a little shitty, ya know? Why is this sense of blame being put on me? Questions should have been asked and issues should have been pointed out prior to this artist signing her lease. It’s not my fault if I want to stay in my studio and “if any future problems arise”. I was given two options: 1) move studios, or 2) stay in mine with certain conditions. I chose 2. And now i’ve been told to look over the “Prohibited Materials” list like I don’t even care about my own health. I have never met this woman but I feel like I’m being pushed around a bit for something that I shouldn’t have to (but still kind of do) feel like it’s my fault for… But, I don’t know, I’m a little bit of a sensitive soul.

Anyways, I feel like I’ve been neglecting my tumblr so I thought I’d just write this as an update. Keepin’ it real, yo.

So I woke up one morning and was like “Hmm my hair looks a little yellow” and decided that I should go get it toned. Then my stylist and I decided that we should try a few shades darker. I like it a lot! I find it looks a lot more sophisticated but it’s light enough that it still remains edgy (IMO). Also, I figure that I can now wear more patterns without feeling overwhelmed (with the tattoos and the two-toned hair, it’s a lot!) It’ll be fun to have it fade throughout the summer. I was super happy with the blonde hair and if i’m in love with it darker then i’m confident it’ll still look awesome even if it gets lighter.

Oh yeah, I’m trying this whole maxi skirt business out. 

Like! 

Spent the day with my dog, Missy (I did not have a choice with this name, we got her named Missy already. I repeat: I did not have a choice with this name)

She used to be camera shy… I actually could never take a picture of her.

I don’t think she’s camera shy anymore, but 90% of photos I take of her are as rediculous is this one.

For the longest time I’d been telling my friends that my dog is three. Recently my mom called me out on it being like, “Krisha, we got Missy when she was three … that was 5 years ago …” Eesh! Reality check! Hah, time sure does fly by. For the most part she still acts like a puppy, but I guess she isn’t anymore. That would explain how lazy she’s gotten. She hardly ever wants to play.

Hence the neglected teddy she left in the backyard …

:(

Haha. I was looking through some old archives in my computer of photos that I had taken and I found these. I think I was having a little too much fun and just kept taking wonky shots. I don’t even know where this is… It’s funny that photos are kind of meant to serve as documentations of a point in time yet I can’t remember where I was when I took these or why I had my camera, etc. etc.

The only thing I can tell from these photos (aside from the fact that there are cars) is that I had fun taking them. Haha I must have looked like an idiot waving my camera around like I must have done in the last photo. Hahahaha.

Derp.

Please refer to question ten (haha I just realized i’m “Dayota”)

It appears as my friend and fellow tumblogger Andy has mentioned me in a recent interview she had on the site ton petit look ! Andy is an amazing friend of mine who has always been there for me as a fan of my art. People like Andy really keep me wanting to make things! Click the link and see this stylish tumblogger’s entire interview. It’s in french!

Here’s the link to Andy’s own tumblr page.

Skulls & Feathers

So. Rad.

Thomas Hooper is a tattoo artist from Brooklyn NY who works out of the shop Saved Tattoo. I found him while I was looking up images of old skull etchings as I thought it’d be pretty cool to have as a tattoo. Man, I wish I had unlimited amounts of money so I could get amazing artists from around the world to tattoo me. Hooper is soo good at what he does. All of the dotwork he does and the fine lines must take forever. I wonder how that feels to have a tattoo that’s basically all that. I know that getting the outline done on my tattoo hurts way more than getting shading done, eesh.

I’ve got some ideas floating around the idea of skull etchings or old etchings in general. I think it’s such a neat way of drawing and it really makes you analyze the subject. I remember spending all class drawing things like that and you really get into the zone when you’re doing it. Even when I’m tired i’ve always found that drawing wakes me up like nothing else.

Oh yeah, Hooper has this cool Book of Skulls that I want to get. So neat!

Wooooooaaaah! And he has a Book of Lines! This is soooo cool! I’m so into this.

Haha can you tell I’m exploring his website as I write this?

EDIT: Wow, Saved Tattoo has sick artists.

Today I had a “Floater” shift. This means that you call between 11AM and 11:30AM to see if they need you to come in to work. Thankfully, I wasn’t needed. I had slept 12 hours (much needed) and was groggy and it took a lot to get me out of bed. When I finally did, I was feeling a little bummed out for no real reason. Actually, I’ve been feeling pretty crummy a lot lately. It’s only when I’m out and about and with friends that I don’t really feel it. Meh.

Anyways.

So I was like, “Hmm what can I do for myself? What does Krisha feel like doing?” So I decided that I should try and draw again. It’s funny because I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with art. I can never get into it without feeling a little apprehensive (especially if it’s been a long time since I last did anything creative). I think I mentioned this in a previous post where I’m just afraid that I’m going to suck and since art has kind of become a part of me, to suck at what you are would be pretty awful. But, I decided that I really need to grow a pair and get back into it. I decided that I wouldn’t do this for anyone else but myself and just do it for fun without the pressure of anyone telling me to.

Thus, my day began. I ran around trying to find a comfortable place to draw. I started off at a Starbucks but then I realized that I’d have nothing to draw but the typical sketches I’ve done of cars and coffee cups. Scratched that idea.

 I also wanted to go someplace where I would never think of going. 

So I was going to go to a place by the river and draw, but then I realized that there just wasn’t enough going on. I’d be drawing the fleeting moments of a cyclist going by or creepily staring at those taking a stroll. Other than that, there’s just water and plants. And I figured I, at least, had to surround myself with interesting things as well as going someplace different. So, I scratched that idea.

Ultimately, I ended up downtown. Instead of going to my familiar spots, I challenged myself to just walk towards those places, stop somewhere, and perch. Then I’d find myself in the in-between and kind of be forced to look around. And normally I don’t draw buildings or landscapes and whatnot (I hate straight lines) but I got this new pen brush from Wallack’s earlier (something different and new for me) and decided to take my creativity further than the familiar and just draw what’s around me … The in-between.

On the way to Chapters on Rideau St. Stopped. Found myself on Rideau Center roof.

On my way to the Laurier Building (the building where all my fine art classes were at the Ottawa University campus). Stopped. Found myself … In front of Arts Court?

On the way to Somerset Bridge. Stopped. Found myself in front of the Convention Center (It’s pretty!).

I had fun. It was nice to just go for a walk with my sketchbook and camera. I ended up drawing how I like to draw: shaky little lines with a gestural feel … Kind of like how I paint. Sometimes I try too hard to get things a certain style or a certain way because it just seems “right” according to the textbook (especially when it comes to buildings I often feel all the lines have to be straight and proportions a 10/10) which gets me in a rut. But not this time. I also tried not to play around on my phone or anything on my little adventure. I’m on that thing way too much and need to lay off it. Next time I just won’t bring it at all!

I think I may have ruined my pen-brush already. Can’t quite get the lines as thin as I had them in the first drawing. Woops!

EDIT: I should probably take closer photos of the sketches at some point. This will serve as my reminder to do so.

Scary dog ft. cupcake jammies.

She really scares me sometimes … 

Travis

Cory, Mitch and Trav.

Hi, Adam.

The Richardson Band ft. Instrumental Swap.

_____

These guys played and Cafe Nostalgica last Friday.
Super great show, sweet music, equally sweet guys, and patio smokes and brews.

What more could you want?

Good job, guys.  

So i’m a little drunky drunk right now. But! I made myself a nice sandwich and am getting ready for bed. All I feel like I really have to say right now is that I very much appreciate all of the friends I have made this past year. I was taking the 95 back to whOrleans and was like, “how the hell did I get on this bus and why is it almost 3am?” and I was like, “oh yeah, I had one of the best god damn nights of my life with close friends and newly made friends and fuck, I love my life!” I didn’t even do anything wild, just had some beers with some cool people, talked about real things that are relevant and aren’t just drunk babblings and made new friends that I strongly appreciate (even though it’s new, it all matters! Ya know? You only grow from the relationships you make!). Good night, good night. A great trek from earlier today with the stress of work that almost made me want to cry… Almost, but not quite. My soul remains in tact.

I need another sandwich!

God, normally a post like this takes 2 mins but it took me a good ten. Gotta love the Pabst! Although I grew up a little and had another drink … Bowes? I don’t remember. But good to know I have pals looking out for my well-being and street-cred.

Brrap Brrap!

EDIT: My lungs hurt?

A previous post brought me into this one.

Where would I like to live? Now, my Europe trip was extremely accelerated. I had one month to travel and I just wanted to go to as many places as possible with the absolute “musts” being: Florence, Rome, London, Paris, and Santorini. It’s funny because back in … 2004? 2005? I had gone on a Europe trip for nerds in high school …

Side Note: Actually, I had to make a bristol board presentation on a country in Europe and I picked Italy. There was a prize for best presentation and I won. HAH! You know what I did? It’s embarrassing. I painted the whole back of the bristol board with a nice Italian landscape (shocking, I know) and then embedded lights into the bristol board to make spots light up… Oh my god, now this is public.

… And we had gone through Italy, France and Spain. So, I had already been to Florence and Rome. But I LOVE Italy! … This is foreshadowing to my list.

Onward!

Where would Krisha live?

1. Florence.

Why? Because I probably had the most amazing memories of Europe in Florence. In my high school trip for nerds, I had gone with two of my other best friends and we had an absolute blast in Florence. The second time around, my ex and I did a wine tasting in the Chianti region and it just added to my love for Florence. Gelato’s as well! Yum!

2. London.

Why? It’s so busy! It’s so big! There are so many people there and SO many things to see. Although, because it’s so busy it’s a bitch to get around anywhere in central London. You have to battle tour groups and it gets a little tiring. But the wonderful little nooks and crannies and flea markets there are just amazing. Another reason, too, is that I got to visit my good friend Weiyi in London. We used to work together at Aritzia and she left me here in boring Ottawa back in February 2009, got her work visa and booked it. She is actually the reason why I wanted to badly to do my Europe trip. I really wanted to see her, and, again, the memories really made me love London.

3. Berlin

Why? It feels like Ottawa but bigger and better. There’s a million times more culture there (yeah not that hard to top Otts in terms of culture). The history is just so deep and so tragic but so uplifting that It makes me really love the city. Everyone there was super friendly and attractive. Rawr.

4. Rome

Why? Again, memories. I’ve had nothing but fond memories of Rome the two times I went there. The art and architecture makes my heart melt. The people, although a little aggressive, were kind and willing to help. Another thing that made me feel so comfortable there was the fact that there were so many tourists! So many different kinda of people going in and out. That place (for obvious reasons) was highly accomodating to visitors. I guess they’re all used to it there. The food was excellent everywhere I went (although I’m easy to please as I absolutely love Italian food of any sort) and Gelatos! I guess the only reason it isn’t #1 is also the fact that it’s so busy. The streets are very crowded there and there were a few obnoxious kids that I came accross. Actually, I remember the first time I went, my friend and I got chased in our hotel by a group of younger boys because they thought that was acceptable. Kind of freaky but I laugh at it now. But still unacceptable … Not to taint Rome or anything. It’s still top 5!

5. Barcelona

Why? I wish I could tell you specifics. This was part of the trip that I had gone on with my two best friends (yeah, the trip for nerds one) and it was a bit of a long time ago. I just remember really having a great time. It was busy but not too busy and the streets are all just so interesting. Lots of fun places to shop and nice parks to eat at. I don’t know, really, what else to say. But I can just say that it deserves to be number 5 and that I plan on getting a closer look at it in the near future.

6. Pisa

Why? Basically all of the reasons mentioned for Florence and Rome. Can you tell I love Italy? It’s such an amazing country! The reason for it being 6, I guess, is because it isn’t busy enough. See, Florence is the perfect mix of quiet and hustle. Rome was a little too busy but redeemed itself through that same busyness (as well as art and architecture). Pisa, on the other hand, is beautiful. Absolutely stunning. But too quiet for me. I need a little bit more action and more interaction. It was a nice quiet place to go to though. Weather = amazing.

7. Santorini

Why? Actually, it is a little unfair for Santorini to be so far down this list because if it were a “Favourite Places in Europe from Best to Worst” It would probably rank top 3. But, this list is about places I would like to live. Emphasis on the live. I loved Santorini. It was small and full of fun little nooks and crannys composed of knick-knack shops, sandy and pebbly beaches and bakeries. It is actually the perfect getaway location. Rent a car for 20 Euro or an ATV for 15 and you can get a wonderful island experience from one end to the other. The thing that made it the most amazing for me was the kindness of every single person I met on that island. Not once did I meet anyone who was rude or in a bad day. And how could you be, really? I remember losing track of time when I was there! Almost missed my flight out of Greece! But, as quiet and calm and beautiful as it was, I couldn’t live there. There isn’t enough for me. There actually is just enough (with the beach two blocks down, the 24hr bakery around the corner, convenient store down the street, what more do you need? well …), but I need a little more than what that little island paradise could offer. I need someplace a little more grungy.

8. Paris

Pourquoi? Meh. Paris was alright. The Louvre was amazing to visit (actually visited it twice!) and the Musee D’Orsay was also very exciting to see. I had gone up the Eiffel Tower just to say I did and visited the Champs D’Elysees. All in all it was a beautiful city. The problems I had with it were the lack of places that I found to eat (grocery store, anyone?), the dirtyness of the city (don’t you know how to pick up after your pup?), the metro, and the confusing roads. Maybe if I were comfortable enough to speak french then I would have had a better time. The language barrier there was moreso than anywhere else I had visited in Europe. It was almost frustrating. Also, too, I had only spent 4 days, 3 nights there. I feel like if I could spend at least a week there then it’d have the chance to grow on me. Maybe next Eurotrip!

9. Munich

Why? Well, it really isn’t fair for me to put it on the list because I only spent two days and one night there (not even). But from what I saw, it was beautiful. My aunt and uncle actually live there, but they were off in Dubai at the time being lovely and vacationing as per usual. Well … They have a really nice airport!

10. Athens

Why? Because it was awful. Dirty and uncomfortable. The people there were very sketchy. The only place I felt safe was the airport. We had actually planned on being there for 3 days but then shortened it to two days (not even, because we arrived at around 2PM and didn’t leave our hostel until the next morning to go see all of the cool relics and then caught our ferry at 7PM). The Acropolis was great to see. I really do respect ancient Greeks for being able to walk all the way up there day after day. Dear God the weather is like, a million degrees without humidity! It was so hot! I’m sure Athens has a lot more to offer but from what I saw (even on the bus from the airport to hostel to ferry), I was not a fan. At. All.

_____

Well there you have it folks! I was debating adding a photo for each place but I thought it might be a little too much. Also, I post a million photos of Europe a week so maybe I should cool off. Anyways, I love planning trips! It was so stressful at first, but once I got into the swing of things, it became a lot more fun. I feel like I became such a confident individual after the whole planning and backpacking process. If anyone needs help planning their own Euro-experience, then let me know! Not saying I’m a pro or anything, but I enjoy doing it and have a lot of resources saved from my travels.

Brrap! Brrap!