fifi’s graffiti

As if I don’t have enough stuff to occupy my time…… I finally got one of those tiny flip video cameras, so now I have to learn how to use it. I’ve always wanted a video cam, but couldn’t justify spending the money. This isn’t the best quality, but it’s a nice toy.

I’ve got too many projects going on. I just can’t seem to keep them straight and since they’re not straight they must be twisted, right. I know this is twisted: the evolution of the Jack in the Box clown from an evil leering head to an evil corporate head. Logos as a reflection of our culture. And of course our ability to mechanically reproduce our visions en masse. Larger photos of the two old jack in the box stores at http://www.oakcliffyesterday.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=160

“Banned” Jack in the Box commercial

Sometimes it’s a fine line between inspiration and despondency. I’ve been balanced there the last week or so. Have not given up this blog; just working on two others to satisfy the historical enquirer in my soul. Of course it’s still all about ME.

http://www.oakcliffyesterday.com and http://dallasmemorabilia.blogspot.com

I’m on my second moleskine, and I’m still infatuated with them. I’m infatuated with mine, anyway. I carry it with me most of the time so I can jot down notes, record names of songs, and generally keep track of stuff. Kind of like what I used to do with a checkbook to keep track of my money before there were ATM’s, debit cards, or online banking. It’s my equivalent of a palm-held device. (I’m waiting for the iPod Touch to include a Flip Cam before I buy one.) I thought I was brilliant yesterday when it occurred to me I could paste a tiny calendar for the month in the moleskine to further enhance its organizational capabilities.

One of my favorite uses of my Moleskine is for collage. I was unsure how the book would stand up to layers of glued-on papers overlaid with pen, pencil, marker or crayon, so I tried only a few fairly small collages in the first moleskine. Now I’m comfortable filling a page or even a whole spread with a composition. I can try out ideas or just create a stand-alone piece that will never move beyond its place in time. I’ve been inserting a few clippings into the mole’s back pocket; now what I need is a glue stick the size of a pencil that I can easily take with me.

I had a medical checkup a few weeks ago and did a little sketching practice while waiting in the exam room. These are some excerpts from a poster on the anatomy of the ear. I thought the individual parts strongly resembled interesting alien creatures. My favorite new word was “otoliths”.  I think they’re ballast for your inner ear. So when people say you have rocks in your head, it’s probably true.

I pick up lots of cigarette packs while walking around the neighborhood. I think they make great found paper for collage, especially Camels brand. I’m surprised at the variation of designs and colors just within a single brand name. How on earth do people choose their smoke? It’s more complex than ordering a coffee at Starbucks!

I wonder; if tobacco is so good, and people spend so much money for it, why do they leave so many remnants on the ground? You’d think they’d be saving all the fag ends and taking them home to roll more. Maybe it’s part of the addiction to unconsciously flick the butts onto the sidewalk, out your car window, into the flowerbeds, once you’ve got your high; the finger motion being the essential conclusion to the whole ritual.

I had an idea that one day I would pick up all the butts I came across on my walk and shake out the tobacco to see how much I got. Then I got to thinking maybe I should do an art piece. I could maybe use white glue to make a little pyramid of butts out in the front yard, and add to it occasionally. It would be in constant flux, changing with the weather.

It seems like there’s never enough money for all the things I want, but the last year has really been tight. I spend so much on computer & camera-related stuff and fixing the house there doesn’t seem to be much left over for new clothes. We have a dress code at work, so I can’t resort to wearing my still-in-good-shape t-shirts, and patches and stains on clothes aren’t really considered “business” attire. I’m just hard on things.

I’ve been visiting the local thrift store with less and less sucess of late. I don’t know why all the nicest clothes have to be a size 6! I had bought about a dozen sewing patterns two years ago when they were on sale for $2 apiece, and decided to dig them out and give home sewing another shot. I got enough fabric for two tops and have been working on the first one. It’s a “Kwik Sew” pattern, no buttons, no zippers, no darts. The hardest and most time-consuming part of the process is cutting the fabric, and that’s done. Yaay. I’m hoping the rest is truly a “kwik” process. And in the meantime I’m also satisfying my artistic bent.

Hours later: ta daaah. Here is the finished project. As usual I  underestimated the time needed for completion. oh well, the Star Trek movie can wait til next weekend.

I took the DSLR with me on my walk yesterday instead of the point and shoot, because the p&s only has a small memory card and I fill it quickly. I didn’t realize so many roses and wildflowers were blooming or I would have brought my macro lens instead of the 18-200. It was hard to get the close ups I wanted, so most of the small wildflowers went begging. I did get a shot of these tiny old roses (above) in a neighbor’s yard. They smell wonderful! I tried in vain to identify them last year. I love the many old roses that abound in this old neighborhood. I understand people plant those Red Knockout Roses because they are cheap and require little care, but there’s nothing really spectacular about them; they’re just a mass-production. They’re appropriate for McMansions, I suppose. Photos of these flowers don’t do justice to being in their presence where you can inhale their perfume and bask in their color. One house has a mass of white climbers in a shrub form which is at least 15 feet tall. The roses below are from a hedge of roses about 6 ft tall and at least 30-40 ft long. A single plant contained  pale pink, dark pink, and yellow; I  couldn’t tell if they bloomed that way or changed colors as they aged.

More graffiti from my brief shoot at the Chevy dealership. This was painted on some windows which remain unbroken, and they reflected the office buildings nearby. Image altered in Photoshop by increasing saturation on reflection and adding drop shadows to unaltered tags.

I loaded CS4 version of PS last Saturday and I’m getting to know my way around it. I’m not sure I like the way they’ve changed the menus to palettes. It reeks of Illustrator, but maybe it’ll help me learn that program, too. I’m finally going to start shooting in RAW sometime soon.

I drive by this old Chevy dealership on my way to work most days. It’s on the north side of LBJ freeway about midway between Valley View Mall and The Galleria. Valley View is one of the older malls in Dallas, and since Macy’s moved out last year it looks like it’s deserted, at least from where I can see it from the freeway or the frontage road. This area was once so brand new, so sparkly, and maybe The Galleria still is, but the rest of the buildings are deteriorating into that old abused look I was used to seeing in Oak Cliff or far East Dallas. About two years ago the dealership either closed or moved elsewhere and left this building behind. After about a year crews came and removed the signs, light poles, and whatever else they could haul away, and they left the shells of the buildings. I’ve photographed it periodically when interesting graffiti appears and I have time to stop and I remember to bring my camera, but yesterday was the first time I had seen the buildings vandalized with more than graffiti. Many of the plate glass windows were broken, and I suspect there may be people living inside. I only had my little camera with a small memory with me and it ran out before I got all the shots I wanted. As I returned to my car I noticed a very dirty-looking individual sitting on the opposite side of the lot near the freeway, apparently consuming something edible. He was so filthy his clothing and his face were almost the same color. I was glad I hadn’t run into him. I’m debating about whether or not I should return today with my DSLR.