Water Dissolving

I found this totally by accident on itunes the other day and immediately went to investigate. I can't believe something like this existed for so long and somehow managed to pass right under my radar!! I'm totally getting it!

I got back earlier this week from a short trip to Ypsilanti. I stayed with my friends and it was an amazingly peaceful experience. I got to meet the mastermind behind Spiritditch, a blog that I've been reading religiously since I discovered it earlier this year. It was almost like meeting a celebrity!

I'll have to write a longer blog post about the ins and outs of Ypsi when I get the chance. Right now there's a lot of commotion going on in my house and in my head surrounding my severely water damaged bedroom closet. BOOOO.

Happy Saturday!

Stop Motion Extravaganza!

I caught this on the Sundance Channel a few nights ago. It's called Madame Tutli Putli and is a stop motion animation about one woman's surreal trip on a train across country. I was extremely impressed with the quality of the puppets and animation in general, though I'm sure a little CGI was used to smooth out the flow of movements. What I liked most were the expressive eyes of all the characters and the bumpy textures of their skin.




I didn't really understand the ending but I think it's worth watching for all of the creepy backdrops and colorful characters.

This is the moment where she meets a famous tennis player who is a very rude man! A man like that deserves a crisp slap across his face!

These two men are playing a wobbly game of chess while sitting in their suitcases. Another wonderful moment.

So this got me thinking that I have to plug two other favorites. I know I've mentioned this one before but it's definitely worth re-mentioning. Peter and the Wolf (2006) is a modern stop motion adaption of an old composition by Sergei Prokofiev.

"Boys like Peter aren't afraid of wolves." Awesome.

I've always had a fixation for wolves. The Bog Bad Wolf is my favorite fairytale villain and I've dated several guys because they were wolf-like (bad idea in the long run). The wolf from this tale will not disappoint. He's mean and scary and has a coat of beautiful, alluring fur.


Don't you just want to pet that lovely beast and keep it in your home as your companion?

Look at Peter's wonderful face. An example of some very fine sculpting.

This is an older live action version of Peter and The Wolf that I used to catch on the ARTS channel back in the day. It's narrated by Sting (as a puppet) and is a combination of Barnum and Bailey and nightmares from childhood. My favorite elements are the Marx brothers-esque hunters, the alcoholic duck, and the giant frightening wolf puppet with it's long, lolling tongue. To my delight the first chunk of it is available on youtube. Watch it and bring lots of joy to your eyes!

The past two weekends have been stimulation overload for me...but in a good SummertimeinChicago kind of way.

Trump Tower

I spent Saturday night in Trump towers with my good friend Sheena and my new friend Sam. We were on the 23rd floor in her deluxe suite and I couldn't fall asleep because I was deftly afraid of sleeping in a room so high up.

A king size deluxe suite at the Trump. Roughly what Sheena's room looked like.

I imagined the room splitting in half and me plunging 23 three stories below to a poisonous river death, clad only in my pajamas. I guess this means that I might be afraid of heights which makes sense considering that I've lived in 2 or 3 flats my entire life.


By the way, Artistic Liberties recently posted an extensive interview with yours truly. Read it to find out all about my humble beginnings!

Anyway, it's my bedtime. Happy Monday!

P.s - I saw a lady reading a book on the train today entitled Give Us A Kiss. I know that has to be some kind of sign. Just not sure what it means.

Fuerza Bruta!!

I apologize for my lengthy absence. If you only you had known what the past two weeks have been like for me. Nonetheless, I'm back and life has reached a nice calm plateau for the time being. But anyway let's get to it! We have much to discuss you and I.

I had the privilege of seeing Frueza Bruta last Saturday at the Harris Theater. My friend scored free tickets and very sweetly invited me along. For those of you not familiar with them Frueza Bruta (brute force) is a crazy spectacle/circus/dance/performance collective from Argentina.


The first performer (a man running on a treadmill on a flat, rolling platform) terrified me to the point of nearly having a heart attack. As he started to run, the music sped up and got louder until a loud gun shot rang out causing him to stumble and a giant blood stain to appear on his shirt. When he straightened himself out, he removed his white shirt and another (bloodless one) was underneath.

The running man breaking through a wall.

This sequence continued possibly two or three more times and included him breaking through walls and trying to run while holding on to tables and chairs. In addition to a mild case of agoraphobia I am also very deeply disturbed by loud noises, particularly gun shots. I didn't realize that I was hunched over covering my ears until my friend stroked my arm reassuringly and tried to distract me by calling my attention to two aerial artists doing a very graceful routine against an aluminum "wall".


The second time I nearly lost it was during the water choreogaphy. Out of nowehere a giant pool appeared above us with a woman gracefully splayed out in a minimal amount of water.



More women entered the pool as it lowered over us and the crew members encouraged us to raise our hands up to touch it.

The pool being lowered over the audience. My favorite experience from the show but also the most terrifying.

The women at first interacted with the audience by pressing themselves and their hands against the pool. Towards the end of the routine, they began jumping and slamming their bodies against the pool as hard as they could!



I imagined the entire thing collapsing, leading to a bloody, watery death for us all but fortunately it was over before I reached my breaking point. But just when I thought things were once again safe, the running man appeared shortly after.

The running man again- this time with some friends!

The show ended with lots of loud music, flashing lights, and a smiling audience, soaking wet and dancing in damp confetti remnants. I had a great time. Go see it if you're in Chicago and in no way bothered by death-defying feats!

On semi- related news I got hired for my first non-Redmoon Theater related puppeteering gig! I am now a puppeteer for a sci- fi comedy web series entitled Human Resources. It's written by a sister writing duo (Kozi and Kyra Kyles) about alien abductions in the work place. You can read a little more about it here.

Also my friend just finished interviewing me for her Artistic Liberties series. I will post a link as soon as the interview is up and running!

Aside from that I am now two years shy from being a quarter century old and aerial classes start next week! Yay!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and Updates Galore!!

It's almost finals guys so please bare with me. I'm hoping I can get all of my projects done this week and then: SUMMER BREAK! Which will hopefully include:

- A pilgrimage to Ace Deuce to visit some lovely vegans and vegetarians
- A birthday evening spent on the beach!
- Lots of hugs and kisses!
- Aerial Classes at the Actor's Gym!!
- A successful craft experience at the Gold Coast Art Fair (see bottom)

Aside from that, here are some things that have been going on:

- After nearly losing my mind at Artropolis (I don't care to talk about it) I attended a monthly Peace Concert at the Chicago Culture Center for Soka Gakkai International. The performance was put on by the Buddhist youth of the organization and was centered around gun violence in Chicago neighborhoods. It primarily consisted of short dance- related vignettes that told various gun violence narratives, which was bookended by a surprisingly good spoken word/ slam poetry piece performed by a teenage boy.

Chicago Culture Center, a building I never knew existed.

Afterwards, me and my newly made Buddhist friend (the one who brought me to the event) attended an informational meeting/ chanting session. I left feeling a little overwhelmed what with the youth performance (that reminded me so much of highschool, it was unnerving) and with the steady stream of people who shook my hand and informed me on the benefits of Buddhism. However, everyone was very welcoming and pleasant and it was a wonderful way to end a pretty humdrum week. I like making new friends.


- My school recently hosted a lecture/ round table discussion with Allyson Mitchell. Allyson is a Canadian fiber artist who uses crafty materials (faux fur, rugs, crotchet, and knitwear) to create sculptural pieces relating to female sexuality, the female body, and queerness.


She spoke a lot about using these universal materials as a way to communicate to a broader audience (those outside of the academic institution). It also seemed to be a way to tackle complex and loaded topics while not making people feel stupid or defensive. I really enjoy her Lady Sasquatches.

Big Trubs 2004 (This sculpture is about 13ft high)

Midge 2006


Various Sasquatches 2006



Squassdog 2005

Something that came up during the round table discussion was the idea of "queering" craft. To "queer" something means to simply change its expected meaning and thus make the meaning more complicated. I was surprised by how personable and funny she was during her lecture and roundtable talk...but really anyone that refers to their work as "pussy art" kind of automatically gets a thumbs up in my book.


Hungry Purse 2006 A scented, fibrous, secluded room that's an obvious reference to the female anatomy. Looks like it would be a nice place to take a nap.

Hungry Purse 2006

Look at more of her stuff and let me know what you think!

- Lastly, just found out that I got into the Gold Coast Art Fair which will take place August 20- 22 in Grant Park!!! I'm a little overwhelmed with the thought of how much inventory this will require but I am blindly excited none the less. If you'll be in the area, swing by my table and say hello. I'll be the girl with the bow in her hair and a table full of lovely adornments!

Happy Spring everyone!

p.s - Did you know that Tina Turner is Buddhist??

Mucca Pazza and weekend mayhem

This past Saturday I had the privilege of watching Mucca Pazza perform at Martyr's.
For those of you who don't know who they are, Mucca Pazza is a 30 piece circus punk marching band based out of Chicago, Illinois. They are always a blast to watch! Saturday was my second time. There isn't much actual marching going on except for when they are coming out on to the stage. They disperse through the crowd, playing their instruments and interacting with the audience. I turned around to find myself face to face with Mark Messing, blowing the sousaphone and smiling at me!

Mark Messing, the creator and head conductor of Mucca Pazza.

I probably shouldn't have flashed in this dude's face.

Half of the members playing away!

Mostly they do semi- synchronized movements and interact with each other. They even have a group of cheerleaders that do routines with frightening amounts of energy. After a powerhouse set of songs, the band somehow managed to do an encore of four additional songs!! My favorite moment was when the "junior conductor" came to the front of the stage and directed the audience and the band in an original piece.

The junior conductor doing his thing which was in my opinion, the highlight of the show.

The Mucca Pazza cheerleaders in the midst of their "Hand Signals" routine. I recognize some of them from various Redmoon events.

The reaaallly intense fiddle player. Doesn't he look like he's about to battle Darth Vader?

I danced the entire time! My cotton dress was clingy and sweaty when all was said and done. I was right in the front and even though my ears were ringing by the end of it, I didn't care. My knees hurt a little from all the jumping up and down but surprisingly my voice was not hoarse, despite all the screaming and yelling.

Go see them when they come to your home town and tell me how much you love them!

Aside from them, my weekend has been peachy! I went to an art opening Friday night and danced awkwardly to some reggae music and today I had my first couple Etsy sales (yay!) followed by a nice Easter potluck at a friend's place. Now back to school tomorrow to try to diminish the huge workload that I keep putting off. Yay me.

A small portion of Easter dinner. And yes, that is a chocolate cake with strawberries on it. In case you're wondering, it was dense and amazing.

Happy Easter!

All is love.

It's days like this that make me wish it was raining instead of snowing and that I had a vintagey apartment to cozy up in with a locked door. Wouldn't you want to curl up in this apartment?? Bad floral pattern and all. I listen to Aikea Guinea almost non stop.



Anyway, I had a great weekend celebrating my dear friend's birthday and it was filled with vegan food and loooovvvvveee and nearly nude female performers with pasties over their breasts.

Varietease Cabaret is located at the Lake shore Theater which is kind of an old shit hole with an awful opening band (think middle aged men playing hair metal) but the actual cabaret show was phenomenal! One woman stripped out of her undies while hula hooping with various parts of her body! I cheered and clapped and tried to hide my red face!

We also made our way to Soul Vegetarian which is a soul food/home cooking vegetarian/vegan restaurant out by 79th street. Everyone was stuffed and sleepy by the end of our meal. I ate a metric ton of kale greens and heavenly vegan mac and cheese!

On Sundays everyone is served the same meal, which is pretty much the above picture save for the BBQ tofu and the glazed carrots. Instead there was Seitan roast with gravy, glazed sweet potatoes and cornbread stuffing. Dinner was followed by the most lovely Apple pie. Stop by there and experience it for yourself!! We all walked back to the train very slowly....

All is love.