Online/reallife

[When Vonnegut tells his wife he’s going out to buy an envelope] Oh, she says well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope. I meet a lot of people. And, see some great looking babes. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And, and ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don’t know. The moral of the story is, is we’re here on Earth to fart around. And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And, what the computer people don’t realize, or they don’t care, is we’re dancing animals. You know, we love to move around. And, we’re not supposed to dance at all anymore.

I love this quote. I should really find some Vonnegurt books to read. It's kinda the same reason why I ENJOY doing even those most menial tasks sometimes. Grocery shopping at traderjoes is still fun. I don't care if I've been there 300+ times, you get to meet interesting people and maybe strike up a conversation or two. I even met the lovliest mom and daughter whilst thrifting about a month ago. (I always meet the most interesting people thrifting) Today there was a 3-4 year old boy who was running around with a horsie (ya know, the kind that's just the head on the stick?) and chasing his older brother. He exclaimed "dammit!" when he fell and frequently mumbled about how he'd never find his brother to me while walking past... Then there were the hoardes of thrifting newcomers, college students, the kind who prefer malls, looking for "ugly" clothes for their ugly sweater parties. They were at every single thrift store today, talking loudly about how horrible all the clothes were.

Malls were never this interesting and I have to agree, online shopping surely isn't. Let's all play around a little more and interact with the random people we meet.

It's amazing how similar laughing and crying can sound sometimes. Try to put yourself in a situation where you can easily hear both. I wish I could take a little of the laughter to ease the crying, but life isn't that simple.

Hiding and Secrets...

Things are definitely changing around this time. I've been sad about not having the time to work on my etsy shop between organizing my room and working full time.

So, the obvious choice to to start a second etsy shop? right?

Well, maybe not, but that's what I'm doing. Tangerined will still exist, and become a home for the brighter, wonkier things I create (uteri + boob earrings will stay with tangerined). The new shop is poppetry. Don't even look for it yet, because it isn't up. It's contents will be a surprise, although I might drop a few hints along the way.

The new job is great. It could only be better if I could manage to work 32 hours a week instead of 40 (which, in actuality is 42.5). Continuing with the theme of information and media-related jobs, I'm now a digitizer for very, very old content. Essentially, I turn pages. ;) It's an amazing job, although a bit tedious at times. I'm allowed to work with and touch precious and priceless materials, printed between 1777 and 1877 (generally). Most are the only known copy. The only down side is not having the time to read the material. The knowledge that I'm working to preserve this information, previously unavailable to the general public, for generations to come really makes it all worth while. (having a steady paycheck in this tumultuous economy doesn't hurt either)

Long time, no post...

Hmm... life, moving, losing a job, looking for a job and everything in between got in the way of updating this blog. I should work on that. Hopefully soon I'll actually have an integrated website, which will help many things.

StART on the Street is tomorrow! Or today, as it's almost 4am. Yup, I have a show, getting up in 3 hours and I'm not in bed yet... awesome. ;) I've been working hard all week preparing and will have quite a few new pieces, as well as the usual fare of horns, hemp and a handfull of hoops. This might be my last stART festival with horns though, I'd really like to move out of this niche and more toward conceptual/visual art again... but who knows. I love hanging out with kids all day at stART, and would miss their presence dearly if I didn't have such a kid-friendly table. Anyway, we'll see.

So, if you weren't already aware... Drop by stART today, 11am-5pm Worcester, MA on Park Ave. http://startonthestreet.org

Mention this post and I'll give you a little discount too. ;) Bring me food/coffee for eternally grateful love!

Wee little burnt dudes...

hello., originally uploaded by tangerined.

So I had the grand plan of finishing these little guys up for stART and eventually moving them to their own shop (maybe maybe!).

Yet, I made the mistake of failing to shelter them in the oven with tinfoil (as they're pretty large, for my toaster oven at least).

So they burnt, quite epically.

Oops.

stART in the PARK June 1, 2008

stART in the PARK June 1, 2008, originally uploaded by ctomt.

Art in the Park was a good time. I've developed a new kind of sunburn---FISHNETS! The waffle/baked ham effect on my arms is pretty cool. (yes, I used sunscreen.. just not quite enough) Folks really enjoyed the hoops too.

I managed to score a LOVELY blue volvo 240 wagon this week too, so moving has commenced. Or, er, is commencing today. In truth, I really suck as packing. It's a disaster. I've only moved 8+ times in the past few years...

I might have a little moving sale in the etsy shop, just to make my load a tiny bit lighter. The less to move, the better, especially as I'm a horrible pack rat.

Vertical Stepthroughs! (aka, coolest hula hoop trick)

Learned a new trick! Works a lot better once you watch the video and realize...

-cheat your hips and body TOWARDS the hoop

-hoop on your hand, not on your arm!

-that whole leg/hand motion thing...

The continuous stepthroughs are doing me in, partially because I'm using new hoops that I just made an hour ago and haven't taped yet... so there's not much to actually hold on to. It's pretty intense on my knee, as I'm not used to lifting, bending and balancing like that. I think it's perfectly manageable though, just need a little practice. :)

Wanna learn?

Up and coming...

This coming Sunday is Worcester's StART in the Park. (PaRk not PAHK) Not to be confused with StART on the Street, our annual shut down, art up festival. This time it's in the park, not on the street... see? Huge difference!

Anyways, I have a table/booth, whathaveyou. I plan to bring hula hoops, some horns, ART and a smattering of not quite so blatant jewelry. Most of the oddments on etsy will be along for the day as well. Maybe even some surprises? ;)

I will be instituting a not so fun policy though. My hula hoops are handmade, I bring them to festivals for folks to have fun and enjoy. These are usually my personal hoops (that I use for practice, fun and performance). Most kids and adults have a lot of fun, but occasionally things get a little crazy. Playing tug of war with, yanking on, and otherwise doing things that obviously bends and kinks the hoops isn't cool, it's akin to messing with/breaking someone's art. It does actually warp and kink them, at which point they're rather useless for me or anyone else to use. This year if I happen to see anyone who seems old enough to understand a nice warning going about and actually breaking the hoops, I will be asking them to leave and for their parents to recoup my supply costs. I think kids are awesome and I WANT to provide a fun and interesting table... but I'm not a babysitter, or at least not when I'm at a show. I've paid for my space just like everyone else.

As assumed...

So, of course... my shop updates have been rather infrequent. It'll be much easier in a few weeks after I move (and no longer get home and go to sleep an hour later). I spent most of the past three days asleep trying to attune to this new, early schedule.

Before I move though, I need to find a car! A nice, wonderful eco-friendly (hopefully) vehicle to get me from place to place. Right now I'm considering purchasing a diesel to convert into a grease car, much more cost effective and somewhat better for the environment at least! I'll keep this blog updated in regards to what happens...

I just learned that my favorite craft store down the road is closing. All my life I've been blessed to live a short car-ride away from Wright's factory outlet. Seriously BEST DISCOUNT CRAFT STORE EVER. I've found ribbon as cheap at 10 cents a yard, knitting needles and crochet hooks for 33 cents... It's always limited to what's on hand, but still, awesome. I'm seriously going to miss this place. Apparently even though the store is doing well, the company is uprooting them and moving it to TN. You lucky folks, hope you enjoy it!

New Job, or why my etsy shop hasn't been updated all week...

So, after over a month of looking I found a job.

Somehow I managed to find something that actually utilizes my experience (bookselling) with my skills (internets!). I'm working for an online book distributor. The main job is entering the books into the system (at a rapid pace!), but my specialty is the wild-goose chases for the mysterious books and creating listings for books that don't exist in the system (gee.. kinda like what I do with my etsy shop!).

It's a little dangerous for me, because I can purchase the books we're listing directly from my employer. OMG BOOKS. I've seen so many that I want already, but I can't buy them all.

I'm hoping that my etsy shop doesn't suffer too much with this new schedule. Right now I'm just trying to adjust to waking up at 5:30 every morning to drive 45 minutes. Soon I'll be moving to an art-friendly location with a much shorter commute. Things will adjust soon. In the meantime, my etsy shop is business as usual, just with fewer listings.

Once in a while I make something without a uterus...

I've been wanting to make something like this for a looong time, but never could figure out *how*.

Until yesterday.



You like?

New Painting!

Well, it's very much like some older paintings, but only inspired by the same idea. :)



8 by 10, acrylic on board.

Man, I miss painting! I'm hoping to get back into it soon.

<3
tangerined

Sales or "temporary price adjustments"

So every once in a while something expires on etsy. It happens, listings are only up there for 4 months (renewing aside).

I just noticed that a handful of really cool things expired. So they're back, but cheaper!

It seemed like a good idea or something.

I feel like overstock.com, but with hemp necklaces. I love making them and buy the best quality hemp around in bulk. Every once in a while I sell them wholesale to the Hemporium in Keene, NH, but usually they just hang around until craft fair season.

Therefore, this one is now cheep. For you, little chickadees.


My cat and I just spent some time in the bitter outdoors. She sniffed things and meowed at me. I practiced ultra-cold hula hooping with a sweater.

A sleepy day for all...

Today was just one of those days I guess. Sure, some wonderful, weight-lifting things happened, but the majority of the day was so tiring. It seemed like very few people were having a *good* day.

Perhaps that's what happens when spring gets off to such a miserable, cold start? The wind has been destroying everything in it's path and most of us are hiding indoors from the bitter cold.

Still, there are great things to look forward to! My life should change dramatically within the next few weeks/month. (don't even start thinking that I'm pregnant or something, nothing like that)

I'm holding a tiny promotion in my etsy shop at the moment... well the next 5 moments or sales to be precise. I visited hbml last week and purchased a small handful of really awesome handmade 1 inch pins. I'm not going to tell you what's on them, as that's part of the surprise! I kept one for myself though, it's pea-green and says "candy inspector". (I love it because I hate most candy... just give me dark chocolate or espresso beans wrapped in dark chocolate and I'm happy. Or pure maple sugar candy... Plus the pin is an amazing color)

So the deal is, free special, secret pin with the next 5 outgoing orders from my shop! The reason? I like supporting hbml! You should come to worcester and check them out!

Also, a artist-friend of mine might be stealing some shipping envelopes to decorate. I already decorate every single package that goes out, but these would be extra-special one of a kind original pieces. I'll be sure to update when I have more information regarding when this might happen!

Happy bitterly-cold spring time everyone.

<3

Sharkweek/Wet feet

V-day was fun, thanks to everyone who came out! Too bad it was pouring in providence, RI that day. I'd never really been to providence and was so excited to walk around, check out the local shops and eat some delicious sandwiches. (I love delicious sandwiches)

Unfortunately providence seems to lack storm drains, and one thing I absolutely HATE is cold, wet, sneakered feet. The roads were flooded up to 6 inches deep in parts, specifically the parts between me and the car. :( It was a sad, wet-footed day.

I'm hoping to return to providence soon on a dry day, because I got the impression it was an interesting place.

Since then I've been adding new things to etsy, crazy amounts of new things. Something like 20 new items? I'm not even finished yet.

My favorites are the new red uterus earrings and pendant.

I'm calling them "Sharkweek Red".





Yeah, definitely have to make more of these.

An Event! How Exciting!

Just a heads up, I'll be sporting my wares at the vagina monologues in providence (RI) tomorrow. Scroll down for more info...

Don't worry if you can't make it. I'll have plenty of CRAZY-NEW (the best kind of new) creations for my etsy shop early next week! Folks attending the Vagina Monologues get first dibs, but there's still a few etsy-exclusives. ;)

Show Info:

The Vagina Monologues
march 8 saturday Time: 1:00 pm

Join 15 Rhode Island women as they raise their voices and the roof at the Biltmore, in Eve Ensler’s ground breaking play about everything female. Gather the girlfriends for an afternoon out – and the guy friends too! Includes a yummy dessert buffet and cash bar, with lots of “vagina friendly” vendors and information tables.
Location

The Biltmore Hotel
Details

Fundraiser for RI Crisis Assistance Center
Ticket Info

$35.00 general admission ticket includes open seating beginning at 12:15PM and dessert buffet and cash bar.

$100.00 VIP ticket includes reserved seating in front of venue beginning at 11:30AM, dessert buffet and cash bar, plus a special gift

http://www.peaceprovidence.com/events2.html#march8


<3

(tired, gonna eat now)

I have too many blogs!

So I'm at work right now and loving it... which probably means I shouldn't be sitting here, relaxing, drinking coffee. (I work at a coffee shop, through next week at least) I'll continue sweeping the floor in a few minutes.

I've realized that i have too many blogs for any one person. I consider this my *professional* art one. Then there's livejournal, most of which is private/friends only. I also tend to update BOTH of the myspace blogs (personal + tangerined...). So I'm thinking.. why not just bring some of that over here? Some consolidation couldn't hurt!

The reason I'm sitting instead of busily tending to customers is due to this awful weather in worcester today. No one should be out in this. It's a decent snow overnight that changed to ice and now rain, causing a huge icy mess and mjor flooding. In 3 hours I've had two customers and the local dairy milk delivery. (It doesn't help that I rely on tips for income!) I was also 10 minutes late because there were lakes to ford on the way! The water had to be 6+ inches deep, if not 8... I didn't realise how deep it actually was until I was mid-way through this whole block's length of length. My only option was to speed up (less damage to the car hopefull) and cross my fingers.

Last night I was stranded due to the initial snow. Fortunately, "stranded" really means "awesome fun time in the snow!". We snow-skated and tramped through inches of powdery fluff until some ass came by and actually plowed. Seriously, the nerve of some people.

I am the greatest of mythical beasts!

Or, at least the weirdest...

My new carrot unicorn horn, first in the line of soon-to-come ultimate ridiculousness for my etsy shop.

Why do I only update when sick?

See... I'm really not sick that often. I just tend to forget to update things when I'm not sick. That whole period between november 21st and the early part of last week? Not sick. Since then? OMG teh flu!

The flu is an awful, horrible thing and should die a miserable death.

Ok, maybe it's partially my fault. I *did* just start a new job where I ended up working 11 hours one day, 9 the next with very little food and sleep. Ooops.

Why am I writing this? Oh yes. I wanted to let it be known that I'm sick and currently working a job away from my delicious little computer and studio. My new listings may be sparse for a small amount of time, my responses might take a little longer than normal. My apologies.

<3