hopeless image collector

good-bye mardi gras*

alas it is ash wednesday, which always marks the closing of yet another mardi gras season here in new orleans. no matter how many parades you attend, how many costumes you throw together or how much fun is had, you always feel like you still missed out on something, then you remember that... there is always next year. a simple fact that seemed uncertain after katrina. but come mardi gras 2006, only six months after the storm, the parades did roll... and we didn't miss a beat.

so here's to mardi gras 2009 + many, many more to come. this year marked the start of a new mardi gras tradition, one that i hope will continue. 'titREX Parade: New Orleans first micro-krewe and shoebox processional, rolled through the streets of the ninth ward on valentine's day. i feel very fortunate to have been a part of this hopefully annual event. the parade's theme this year was tiny victories. parade day pics may be found here.

here are a few process pics of my 'titREX float entitled Your Never Gonna Take Me ... Alive.

first publication*

i have a sewing project in one of the new how-to-sew books, from lark books. my submission gives detailed instructions on how to make a double-snap pouch of your very own. below area few photos from the actual book. i suppose this could be considered my first publication. it is now available on amazon.

i made two double-snaps while working on this project.
they are both currently available for sale in my etsy shop.

artist of interest - madge gill*

this is madge gill. she was a self taught artist who began obsessively drawing mediumistic works after the death of her daughter in 1919. for the next 40 years she completed over 4,000 drawings. according to wikipedia...

She claimed to be guided by a spirit she called "Myrninerest" (my inner rest) and often signed her works in this name. The figure of a young woman in intricate dress appeared thousands of times in her work, and is often thought to be a representation of herself or her lost daughter. She drew this woman in various moods and appearances, almost never showing her entire body, and with her clothes interwoven into the surrounding complex of lines and patterns.

unfortunately i couldn't find much information on her, but i intend to continue searching. i did mange to find random images of her work throughout the internet, some of which are still being auctioned off to this day. according to one biography i read, she rarely sold or even displayed her works. she attributed them to Myrninerest and considered them belonging to her.

additional biographies may be found here, here, here, + here.

of interest*

i know i've been quite neglectful of my wee little craft blog as of late. no worries, my momentum has taken shape + loads of craftiness is on the way. in the mean time, here's the first of what will become an added element here on *baking with medusa* ....the of interest* post. consider it a source of random favorites, poignant research + for lack of a better word... inspiration.

today's selection is Cake Wrecks, when professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong. i stumbled across this blog a few months back. for some reason, most likely insanity, i forgot all about it. luckily i was re-reminded of it's awesomeness [thanks natalia]. i think i might actually start going to baby showers again, if it meant experiencing the hilarious absurdity of a darth vader - it's a girl cake. the world seems like a much better place, just knowing that a cake like this even existed.

be sure to read the cake wrecks commentary here.

no one like bix*

happy birthday Bill Bixby, january 22nd.

i plan to celebrate in the usual fashion, with a couple [or several] episodes of the incredible hulk. perhaps next year i'll actually bust though a brick wall. i've always wanted to do that.

new projects*

after i finish/start making x-mas presents, i hope to start a new drawing project. this lovely lass with the ringlets + curious expression [along with a few other intriguing characters] will be major contributors. more details in the near future.