crafty

the one thing i will never be able to deny about myself is that i will always be connected to the arts. someway somehow. no matter how jaded about the arts scene and/or industry i get or frustrated with all this 'must-be-creative' isms, i will always find myself inevitably drawn back into the arts, whatever form it may be in.

i will always love dance. i've been dancing since i was 3 years old (where i attended my first ballet class and sat in the corner and cried throughout the entire lesson). thankfully that wasnt the end-all story for my dance history. ballet will always be my first love. modern and classical. being in the studio, being on stage, rehearsals, trying on costumes for the first time, and finally actually being all up on stage doing ma thang. i love the rush the adrenaline that sense of control and confidence. brill. again. dance will always always always and forever, be my first love.

my first year in lasalle was, dare i say, possibly the BEST education year of all my life. primary school, hated it cuz even in school i had to see my mother. secondary school, hated it cuz everybody thought that i was beating myself and giving myself scars and bruises on purpose to get attention from my peers and i got picked on and bullied SO much for that i sometimes had to spend recess hiding in the bathroom. for some reason nobody believed the sweet gentle aunty crystal could do something like that to her own daughter. only the teachers believed but really, the teachers could do nothing to stop me being bullied so much i entertained dying. secondary school --> HATE. the after that was poly. biomedical engineering. need i say more? HATE. and then finally. my first year in lasalle was like a window a door an entire damn wall was opened for me.

i was happy and i discovered truly the things i loved to do and what i was happiest doing. and that was honestly, creating things. i loved the sleepless nights of painting, drawing, creating, sketching, cutting, pasting, taping, brainstorming, assembling, everything. i loved it. i had never been happier than my first year in lasalle. and then i went into management and the next 3 years of arts management of back to being miserable. it was my attempt at being a grown up making grown up choices with things that made most sense (and cents) for when i graduated and was starting to look into career options. arts management was my safest bet. i was glad to still be connected to the arts somehow through the learning and understanding of it. and while i loved learning about it, walking around college looking at all my other friends running about the place carrying their artworks with them made me ABSOLUTELY MISERABLE. because there i was, carrying a laptop writing bumfuck essays about sustainability in local music groups, or censorship in modern performance art films, or government funding for fine art groups when all i wanted to do was to be on the field creating art.

anyway, point is, that recently i started creating again and MY GOD why dont i do this more often?? it's almost like im scared to touch it because i know it will awake in me the desire to create more and more and more. the past month has seen me in Spotlight only a couple million times and walking down the isles and isles and isles of materials makes me so happy! i said to marco that it was like i was back in arts school and it honestly makes me so so so so so happy. my mind just really explodes with ideas and ooh-i-could-do-this(s) and ooh-i-could-do-that(s) and my heart just seems to flutter with joy....ok. i realize i dont know how to explain it. it just... makes me happy. simply put.

so....yeah.. not really sure the point of this post but well. so far i've made a statement necklace with felt sheets glass jewels and string, i've made a straw beach hat with a tiffany's blue ribbon detailing (which yes at some point i will actually get around to dip-dye ombreing the rim of it). i've made my own nail art stickers with a simple pair of scissors and mate tape, and im currenlty in the midst of 3 or 4 simultaneous projects ...

1-upcyling my old black shorts by completely sewing onto every inch of it black lace trimming to make my own black laced shorts (soon i will probably do white)
2-making my own beach bag with waterproof cloth and black and white lace trimmings
3-knitting my own circle scarf because dang! i saw that pretty little roll of seafoam blue yarn sitting in the lonely corner of the Knitting and Crochet corner and i KNEW immediately i wanted a circle scarf out of that. so, dig out the knitting needles and here we go. who cares if i feel and look like a retired grandmother sitting at knitting away.
4-remember that old black denim skirt sitting at the back of your drawer? well, im gonna take it out, bleach it so that it becomes white and then dip dye it to an ombre colour so that i will actually wear it again.

and here are the projects-to-come DIY To-Do list.

1-upcycling old tshirts and making them into bracelets with old stained grommets and links and knobs as detailing.
2-repruposing cork bulletin boards into jewellery and ring holders/hangers
3-spray painting all my bellabox boxes and glueing them together to make a storage sectioned drawer (that'll probs the most and longest time so i leaving that for last. note to self. mustafa centre. spraycans. white, gold, blue. GO.)
4-pearl statement necklaces. (note to self. materials. cineleisure. beads. pearls. GO.)

aaaaaaaand...we're done.
i am a little happy camper i am
i love creating
i love making things.
i love getting all down and dirty with arts and crafts.
i looooooove arts =)