bread and butter love

new neighborhood walk

2011-06-14T01:07:00.000-05:00

...

2011-05-21T01:08:00.000-05:00

I met a cherub the other night.

2011-02-17T14:05:00.000-06:00

his name is Cormac and he is perfect.

mending and cat

2011-02-13T19:05:00.003-06:00

Solitary evening

2011-01-30T01:35:00.000-06:00

(On the couch)

A study of silence and separation - Glendale News Press

2011-01-25T22:25:00.000-06:00

A great review of my work in the exhibition, Curious Silence, at the Brand Library in Glendale, CA.

A study of silence and separation - Glendale News Press

And here's an image from the opening evening of the show, with my fella and I standing inside the installation SUSTAIN/APART.

A strawberry grows on a porch.

2011-01-24T15:04:00.002-06:00

Porch strawberry.

Self Realization Fellowship

2011-01-06T11:02:00.000-06:00

A walk through the Meditation Gardens and a view of the ocean.

December 28, 2010, Encinitas, CA.

a project that needs kicking!

2010-12-14T17:41:00.000-06:00

Please check out my project on Kickstarter, and be a part of it if you can!

More info is also available about the project and survey at Jess Minckley's CANAL.

flight

2010-11-16T12:38:00.000-06:00

Somewhere toward Seattle with Heather, July, 2009.

favorite face

2010-10-12T18:47:00.000-05:00

Fritter Bastian, waiting patiently for her dinner.

Rhonda, she's leaving.

2010-10-05T19:29:00.000-05:00

So of course we spent the weekend with her in Las Vegas, celebrating the increase of her age and enjoying some quality moments before she leaves us for beautiful Italia.

Glorious Rain-set

2010-10-01T13:05:00.000-05:00

In the middle of our street. Earlier this week.

about ten years ago

2010-09-10T23:32:00.000-05:00

Brendon Massei, aka Viking Moses

Madison, Wisconsin, circa 1999

it's been a while

2010-09-10T00:09:00.000-05:00

hopping over a pond

2010-08-17T13:26:00.001-05:00

curled glass, cut paper

2010-08-05T16:12:00.002-05:00

Memorial Day Pastoral

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With two unexpected floating balls in the sky. Surprises!

A Rare Sighting

2010-06-30T00:13:00.000-05:00

Three cats, sleeping soundly, no fighting. A wonderful half of an hour.

We went to the ocean

2010-06-29T00:51:00.001-05:00

this morning

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This is where I work.

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Even in the June Gloom, it's the loveliest place.

LA Bizarro

2010-05-27T18:47:00.000-05:00

I just found out, courtesy of one of the fellows here at the Clark Library, that I have a photo credit in the newly released guidebook to all of the "obscure, absurd and perverse" places that Los Angeles has to offer.

It's called L.A. Bizarro, and there's a whole section on the Museum of Jurassic Technology, where I spent a bit of time working and living back in 2006. I documented most of their collection on display, and a few of those photos have been used in the LA Bizarro book! Here is my photo credit, on the copyright page:

You can see the website for the book here, and purchase it for a very reasonable price here. I know I'm going to! What a nice surprise. Now back to work and a million other projects.

I love our new neighborhood.

2010-05-26T16:50:00.000-05:00

Summer Dream

2010-05-25T13:33:00.000-05:00

We took an evening walk

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Through the new neighborhood. Found some treasures nearby.

Easter Sunday

2010-04-20T17:10:00.002-05:00

First Los Angeles Mint Chip, December 2008

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Before, and After (Cuter)

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Charlie

Charlie covered by Snacks and Blanket

postings I saw today

2010-04-08T16:40:00.002-05:00

Teacher Needs the Beach

How working in a porn store over a decade ago is a risk to anyone is beyond me

I put my soul in what I do

Swinger couple looking for a cool room mate

Former Porn actor looking for roommates

HELP, family need housing

Private room for Golf Pro

I am seeking simple accomodations for myself and Beagle

a visit

2010-04-05T23:16:00.002-05:00

Light stripes, old times

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San Juan Capistrano, CA 2006

Kendra's house

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Chicago, 2006ish

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"What Will I Be Like When I Am Older" & "Something About Me"

2010-03-17T13:45:00.004-05:00

"What will I be like when I am Older" by Jennifer Bastian and Laurel Bastian

I think Laurel was somehow more optimistic about the future. But it seems we were both pre-occupied with the negative impacts of aging.

"Some things about Me" by Jennifer Bastian

Mariah Carey! Boyz II Men! Who knew? I don't remember thinking most of these things, like loving Computer class. Why did I love it? God knows all I did was play Oregon Trail and learn to make a 7 movement animation of a seagull flying into a sunset. I am fascinated by my younger self.

some things to remember

2010-03-11T16:07:00.004-06:00

thank you notes for K & M
chevron
PP
butter
psychiatrist
wash towels
process film
order archival boxes
ikea lightbulbs
shells
parking tickets
cake
new phone
brush fritter

Near Cincinatti, near Chicago

2010-03-07T23:37:00.004-06:00

Things from Wisconsin in 2008

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Apples on Laurel's stove

Smokestack sunset

Package

Dad's office

Fritter on my suitcase

Polina's orange

Film Department T.A.'s Office

Ketone in the window

I was looking through some old photo scans from while I was in grad school in Milwaukee. I was taking a lot of photographs at home (or very close to home), since that was where I spent nearly all the free time I had. There were a lot of rather abstract pictures taken at that time, isolated images of windowpanes and sinks and things that made me feel, by their organization within the frame, calmer by having found and composed them. Then I could look at the photo as if I were meditating. That was how I knew I had taken a good picture, if I could stare at it and feel calm. And calm doesn't mean happy, calm didn't have a specific emotion attached to it at that time. I was very unhappy. Taking the photograph was something to accomplish in an immediate sense, to find a space that could create the feeling I wanted, and it also took me out of whatever my state of mind was at that moment. Then, looking at the photograph, I had something that reflected both the difficult state of mind and the calm I wanted to achieve.

Above are a few pictures that I didn't give much thought to when I first got them back, but over time, there's something about them that's really attractive to me now. There are still isolated subjects and not many people, but the connections feel more specific. I'm not sure how else to describe it, not that I need to. But I like looking at these now. Distance and time seem to help me edit.

I feel

2010-03-04T16:07:00.001-06:00

like this.

"The necessities for starting married life"

2010-02-22T18:40:00.005-06:00

This list was found by Eric Gill biographer, Fiona MacCarthy, in Gill's diaries here at The Clark.

Kettle
Tea pot
Small saucepan
3 chairs
Plate Rack
Double bed
Broom
Porridge saucepan
Sink dish

No Macy's or Williams and Sonoma registry for that young couple.

Place of Work

2010-02-17T22:29:00.008-06:00

I recently got my dream job.

View of The Clark from the back end of the grounds.

Last week was my first week as the Project Archivist at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, an off-campus library of UCLA. My job is to create a finding aid for the collection of Eric Gill artwork that we have here (one of the best collections of his work in the world...if I may be so bold), as well as document the work photographically to make it available in the online finding aids and on our website. There are some other things that go along with those tasks, but that's the bulk of it.

This is Mr. Gill himself. A bizarre man, but brilliant. He was a British Arts & Crafts movement sculptor and typeface designer (Gil Sans, Perpetua, Joanna...), and was creating works of modern line and concept before modernism was truly present on the scene.

Here is one of his drawings, an example of his elegant line quality.

Here are a few pictures of the interior and exterior of the library. So beautiful.

The front of The Clark.

A meyer lemon tree!

A portrait of William Andrews Clark.

At The Clark, I get to do almost all of things I love to do, besides sleep. There is a gang of feral cats that lives on the grounds of the library. I get to see them every moment I'm outside, and the least feral of the bunch has decided she likes me pretty well. Her name is Hannah. I had to take her outside twice the other day when she managed to sneak in behind scholars and piano movers. Everyone who works at The Clark is wonderful. We all have coffee or tea together in the morning, eat lunch together at noon, and have a snack break at 3.

Hannah.

I even get to enjoy food at The Clark. Most everyone loves cooking (or at least eating), and there are always snacks and treats that someone or other has brought in to share. They have agreed to be my guinea pigs for new recipes (hurray!).

This is my office. There are several tables for me to spread the Gill work out on. I'll be putting some pictures of Fritter and Ketone on the walls soon.

My second day of work it was raining all day. This was the view when I left, and it's pretty much how I feel.

This one like the last

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Milwaukee, WI, sometime in January.

Sometimes,

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the way that objects are arranged in a place of business makes me want to purchase everything in sight.

Chinatown, Los Angeles, January 11th.

CUSTARD

2010-02-12T12:15:00.003-06:00

I would just like to note something that I learned today.

To quote from Archives, Personal Papers, and Manuscripts:

"In 2001 the Society of American Archivists received a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, which was augmented by the Delmas Foundation, to embark on a joint U.S.-Canadian descriptive standard project called CUSTARD (Canadian-U.S. Task Force on Archival Description)."

CUSTARD? Really?? I can't believe no one told me I was meant for archiving earlier in life.

sad and joyous

2010-02-06T13:56:00.007-06:00

A day and a half in January

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Along the Reservoir

2010-01-22T16:21:00.000-06:00

Glendale, Silver Lake

2010-01-22T15:22:00.003-06:00

Golden Hour

2010-01-21T22:23:00.003-06:00

1998, 2009

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new dress

2010-01-10T22:51:00.000-06:00

great thrift find

2010-01-05T15:51:00.004-06:00

I don't normally post about things having to do with shopping on this blog, I prefer to keep it to photos and experiences and collections. But when I found something that I sort of collect, for such a great deal, I felt the need to share. I love UK designer Orla Kiely, and have tried to acquire some of her wallets, bags etc., when they have been within my reach (and somehow within price range). Normally I've only been able to find them cheaper by working at a boutique, or waiting until the very end of a season for the things that simply didn't sell well. But those chances are few and far between, and ebay is still too rich for my blood. Needless to say, I was overly ecstatic when I found a bag that matched a wallet I still own! It's a lovely print, in canvas with a little tie-close top.

The pattern is the same as this wallet (which I have used to death):

And the bag is of this shape:

Excitement!!

cold to warm

2010-01-04T00:30:00.004-06:00

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Fox Point, Wisconsin. Encinitas, California.

Christmas, 1985-ish

2009-12-25T03:12:00.001-06:00

At the home of Jane and Robert Clare, in Milwaukee, WI.

The Oak Street NEWS

2009-12-15T18:20:00.002-06:00

I found this treasure--and evidence of a confidence had and lost--in a box brought out here from Wisconsin. I think it probably dates from about 2nd grade, since we were starting cursive at the time, and I can't imagine any elementary teacher of mine aside from Ms. Mateer being very encouraging of this kind of plotline. Why I needed to use our actual address and phone number, I don't know. I also don't know why Laurel was listed as 23 years old. Does that mean that in my story I am 20? I'm pretty happy to have found this.

BY BY !

multiples

2009-12-08T02:41:00.003-06:00

Antique mall in Carlsbad, CA

somewhere, recently.

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I wasn't buying it.

Santa Clarita Park

2009-11-14T00:55:00.004-06:00

November 8th, 2009

Sometimes Missed

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hello darling

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My new friend Mouse. He was rescued from the gutter along with his brother, Randy, and now they live with Elena, a lovely photographer that I work for. Soon I will get to spend lots of time with him, cat-sitting. Luckyyyy meeee.

water painting

2009-11-02T16:44:00.000-06:00

light that looks like home

2009-10-28T20:32:00.001-05:00

in plastic in water

2009-10-28T20:25:00.001-05:00

Poolside Las Vegas

2009-10-26T22:07:00.000-05:00

more things without pictures

2009-10-24T15:16:00.000-05:00

1. leaves like pieces of glass on dirt

2. been dreaming about about car crashes with mustached, bespectacled goats running out and away. hotels with strangers hiding under piles of glistening fabric. old friends walking through the brush together.

3. looking at water at night

Things without Pictures

2009-10-09T14:07:00.005-05:00

Somehow I've been without my camera for about 36 hours. I'm not even sure where it is, which is starting to concern me. But I'm too tired to do much about it at the moment.

In the past day and a half, I've seen several things that I wish I could have taken pictures of and would like to remember, so I'm listing a few here.

- a pile of tvs (2 red, 4 black, 1 pink) in a loosely stacked pile against a wall across from an elevator. reminded me of Max Headroom.
- a man dressed as Jesus who actually looked like a painting of Jesus
- rows and rows of creamy cupcakes and tiny baby ones too
- cookie sandwiches served from a tiny pink truck, the ice cream flavors were named after architects
- a creepy person on stilts
- Eddie Vedder's name on my friend's building's intercom

That list is short and doesn't look nearly as impressive as all of those things (and a lot more I've forgotten already) were in real life. I guess it's a good thing I use a camera instead of just my memory. :-/

Now here's a picture that I took a while ago that makes me feel kind of good:

Los Feliz Goodwill, Los Angeles.

deflate

2009-10-09T13:57:00.000-05:00

animals that I love

2009-10-09T12:09:00.002-05:00

blue cast

2009-09-29T02:50:00.000-05:00

things with angles

2009-09-28T00:43:00.001-05:00

Fritter, playing and wheezing.

2009-09-18T13:46:00.001-05:00

silhouettes and light spots

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favorite map smoke sunset sandwich

2009-09-11T01:36:00.001-05:00

At the Burbank AmWay Thrift

2009-09-03T20:55:00.000-05:00

Golden Hour

2009-08-31T01:34:00.002-05:00

Zuma Beach, August 29.

Fire in the Hills

2009-08-28T13:18:00.004-05:00

Looking at the Angeles Nat'l Park fire from the hills of Silver Lake. Last night at dusk, at midnight, and then the smoky view out my window this morning. Those are real, actual, terrifying flames.

inside and out

2009-08-23T20:24:00.001-05:00

August 19, 2009. Las Vegas, NV.

summer dusk

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weekend.

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The yard on Pierce Street.

2009-07-26T23:33:00.007-05:00

Milwaukee, sometime in 2007.

some things I collect

2009-07-18T12:04:00.005-05:00

The first plate is one I've never seen before or since. I love the stylized asymmetrical trees leaning over to the left, floating just above the edge of the plate. The plate on the right--I used to have three of them, it has nearly worn off silver edging at the lip. And again with the asymmetry.

But these....these are my pride and joy and the pattern I want a full set of one day. The pattern is "Gold Crown" and it was made by Lifetime China, in Alliance, Ohio, designed by Homer Laughlin. That Laughlin really got around - he designed so many lines, including Fiestaware. I love almost everything he's ever done, especially this pattern. The delicate gold scroll overlapping the turquoise border really gets me. And the teacups are different - the gold portion is on white! Way to mix it up! You can see what more of this pattern looks like here. But don't buy them all up because I will cry.

dinner plate

salad bowl or fruit berry bowl

Lifetime China did several other patterns around the same time that I really love. Here's one that I have, there are many more I want and will be keeping my eye out for in the future.

I don't remember the name of this pattern

I also have a few glassware patterns that I'm obsessed with. Only one pattern enough to seek it out consistently over many years. No one that I ask about it ever knows what I'm talking about, and there are no identifying marks anywhere on the one glass that I had, other than the excellent series of guns all over it. It's pictured below. Well, this is a different one, seeing as how the one I bought at Value Village on Kedzie and Irving Park in Chicago in 1999 was broken by someone a few years ago. But I continued my search and last summer came upon a group of 5, like a beautiful oasis-mirage in the distance, in the Waukesha Antique Mall in Waukesha, WI. I sure did buy those babies up and wrap them in the most bubble and paper I could muster for their move to CA. Oh, and I also have another 2 that sort of match the gun pattern - but they are carriages! So strange that I can't discover where they come from.

gun glass!!

carriage glass.

There are a lot of other things I can't stop collecting but these are a couple of favorites. If you know anything about the gun glass, let me know!

Mother - Ena H. Smith & 3 daughters

2009-07-14T18:50:00.003-05:00

My grandmother, pictured with her mother and 2 sisters. Ena, her mother, is rowing. My grandmother, Helen Blood, grew up mostly in Shorewood, Wisconsin and apparently spent time in Madison in the summers. She had 2 sisters, Enid and Jean. Jean died at a very young age (6?) and I believe it was something tragic like scarlet fever. I wish my grandmother was still around so I could ask her what it was like to experience that. My great-grandfather Osmore Smith was not the kindest man, so it was a bit of a troubled growing up for all of them. Helen was quite the tomboy from what I gather.

My Great Aunt Enid was great. I remember when I was very young being confused by all of the questions she asked me and how many stories she had to tell, but she was very sweet to us. When my grandmother was becoming affected by dementia and alzheimer's, I remember times that we would bring Enid up to see her in West Bend. Although they were both trapped in varying levels of senility/dementia/whatever, they could easily sustain conversation after conversation about everything in their shared history. There was no confusion as there was with recognizing children and grandchildren. It was nice to watch.

Aunt Enid had a beautiful home near Lake Michigan in Milwaukee with a room upstairs that was wallpapered with boats and giant sea swells. I remember that the most.

Angora Rabbits

2009-07-14T18:14:00.003-05:00

I can't stop looking at pictures of them on the internet today. Emailed them to my coworkers to distract them and have google image searched everything from "fluffy bunny" to "ruby-eyed white English Angora." But there's something about them that also makes me incredibly sad - how can they enjoy themselves when bogged down with all that fur? I need to learn more about these babies. But for now, I will concentrate on the sheer joy that is the following photo.

Little Tokyo, July 9

2009-07-13T14:49:00.000-05:00

pictures I took yesterday but cannot show

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a newspaper on the ground with a photo of a cat with the caption "BUNNY"

a parrot talking to me from far away

two balloons waving together

yellow blossoms on a tree

a record in a thrift store thanking god

things recently

2009-07-12T01:13:00.004-05:00

-all of the books from the gallery disappearing-only paying for the small size of juice-being let into heavy traffic-getting frustrated-not getting frustrated-working stove-playing with a dog almost every day for a week-nice man washing my windows for free and discussing humidity-rubbing a childhood friend's pregnant belly-beautiful views-feeling feelings-baking party-taking care of business-work-work-work.

I'm excited about the carnival tomorrow.

sometimes, I just can't breathe.

2009-07-08T17:07:00.003-05:00

hospital

2009-06-26T22:59:00.004-05:00

Mom was in the hospital while I was home for my cousin's wedding last weekend. She was struck with something called Transient Global Amnesia, and it was frightening (as well as fascinating). I've never experienced someone I love going through such a confusing and mind altering experience - except for my grandmother with Alzheimer's, but I was too young to be fully affected by and understand the gravity of that situation. I'm glad my mom's brain waited until I was home to pull this stunt on her, so I could be there in person to see her recover.

For more information on Transient Global Amnesia, visit the mayo clinic's website here.

Thunderstorm on Lake Michigan

2009-06-25T12:58:00.001-05:00

Milwaukee, June 19.

Rosemead Flea Market

2009-06-12T20:50:00.002-05:00

Rosemead, CA June 7, 2009.

801 people

2009-06-12T00:41:00.002-05:00

have looked at this photo on flickr.

Participation needed!

2009-06-02T12:51:00.000-05:00

I am working on a project. If you have the time, I would love to have your responses to the following three questions. The responses will be used as source material for an exhibition I will be a part of this summer in Seattle.

1. What causes silence?

2. Does silence affect relationships?

3. Can you give an example of how silence functions in your life, literally or metaphorically?

Thank you for your time, you're the best.

2 things that made me feel better about a 12 hr red-eye trip, one at the beginning and one at the end.

2009-05-28T11:01:00.003-05:00

milwaukee visit

2009-05-26T01:01:00.000-05:00

things I'd like to keep

2009-05-12T11:25:00.001-05:00

Griffith Park

2009-05-09T23:01:00.002-05:00

route 66 to the 15

2009-05-07T00:27:00.003-05:00

Missed a turn

2009-05-05T12:35:00.002-05:00

found a view.

Victorville, CA, May 3, 2009

some things I saw yesterday

2009-05-03T23:39:00.003-05:00

a man walking up his driveway with a dog on his shoulder

gusts of sand in waves across the highway

a forest of shiny bottle-trees

a giant duck on top of a sauna shop

two waffles sitting across from each other

piles of colorful fabric on the tiles

Last night

2009-04-28T01:28:00.003-05:00

I saw a license plate that said "100 EYES."

?