Food Poisoned = Fun with Branches

Yep. I've been home, puking, for the past 3 days thanks to some VEGAN tuna. It's been horrible. I slept in the bathroom. So I haven't been very adventurous as far as productivity goes.

Anyway, I've always liked these coral hooks they sell at Anthropologie for like $20. If you're like me, your jewelry box is just a mass of chains, charms and tangles. So I thought a hook would be perfect to hang my tanglemass on. The hooks at Anthro are organic shaped metal with a red coating, formed to look like coral. I hummed and hawed about buying them for months, because $20 is a bit steep for a hook. Plus, I didn't really like that they were red. So, sticking with the idea of organic shapes, I found some branches that reminded me of the coral. I'm no tree expert, but these had a waxy finish and tiny budlets. I found a small branch that could easily be pinned to a wall, having some flat parts. Use your judgement, hold it against the wall, etc.
I painted the branch with spray paint and let it dry overnight. Then I coated the branch with clear varnish to protect the paint and reinforce the branches so they may hold weight better.
After another 24 hours, I mounted the branch on my wall with a hook screw, then hung my necklaces on it. It's pretty sturdy. I'm really into this branch thing, I see more projects to come with them.

Drawing Inspiration
I love spotting street art. I don't mean simple grafitti or tags like in this dive bar (which I AM a fan of as well), but simple to complex stencils, paintings or wheat pasted art. I like the idea the artist doesn't know its state of permanence... for example I took the picture of the robot only 2 days ago, and the door is repainted already. Other things have been up for years, I like not knowing what the city chooses to keep and what is considered vandalism. I also like to imagine the creation process, do they go in the middle of the night? Do they have to work quickly in order not to get caught? Are the painted ones finished? But most of all, I like the idea of art in unexpected places, like the photo "exhibit" on the fences surrounding Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. Seeing art outside of a gallery/museum setting adds inspiration to my everyday life, when I'm on my way to work or out running errands. I love it.

I decided to use my digital camera to collect photos of street art from around the world. Maybe when I'm done I'll make myself a little book of it. Or a calendar. Or a thousand other projects.


Oh, and by the way

I went to the Whitney Biennial on Friday in Manhattan. I was much more impressed with the museum's permanent collection, but saw a few interesting things including a man dressed as some sort of early 19th century butcher, giving speeches into a small megaphone while being filmed. He kept getting kicked out of each room. One of my favorite pieces was Francesco Vezzoli's faux movie trailer for the remake of Caligula. Completely over the top, with togas by Versace and stars like horror legend Karen Black, Mila Jovovich and Benecio Del Toro. Anyway, my point here is that on Fridays from 6-9, the Whitney is pay what you will, aka FREE. I donated $2 for good karma.