Knitta Please.

Today I figured out exactly what I want to be when I grow up: a graffiti artist. Knitting graffiti. This really is the most wonderful concept I've heard of in awhile. There's a group of renegade knitters called Knitta Please who tag cities with their yarn! How cool is that?! I'm going to start a local Knitta chapter if anyone else is game. I can't wait! This summer I'll get a ton of colorful yarn at Joanne's and go to town. Watch out Columbus.


"Knitta began in August 2005, when the soon-to-be-Knittas were discussing their frustration over unfinished knitting projects: half-knitted sweaters and balls of yarn gathering dust. That afternoon, they knit their first door handle. Then it dawned on them… a tag crew of knitters, bombing the inner city with vibrant, stitched works of art, wrapped around everything from beer bottles on easy nights to public monuments and utility poles on more ambitious outings. With a mix of clandestine moves and gangsta rap — Knitta was born!"
Watch the video clips on their website of the Knittas in action. It's awesome, they even have a lookout man and a getaway car.

www.knittaplease.com

Exploring.

Yesterday was sunny and 80 and beautiful and perfect in every way and it smelled like spring. I went for a walk with my camera and sketchbook, exploring every side street that I happened upon that I'd never been on before. I sat and watched a man in the park play the bongo drums for awhile. He didn't seem to mind me, but I didn't want to take his picture. There were ivy covered houses with little gardens (I can't wait to have a garden!) and cats in windows and dogwood trees bloomin'. Every time I found a lovely old decrepit building that would make a great painting, I thought, "This is what it must feel like to discover a country. Or a new species of fish." Very exciting. Next time I go exploring I'll venture out further and I'll wear walking shoes, not $2.50 Old Navy flip-flops.

Spring Alarm Clocks.

These guys sit on my bedroom window sill and have been waking me up every morning for the past week. And I don't mind.


"One of the things that is soon noticed about Mourning Doves is the peculiar noise made by the birds in flight. Aside from that, the Mourning Dove makes no noise other than its long-drawn, maoning coo that is heard more frequently in the spring. This is the mournful sound that gives the bird its name. Sometimes the Mourning Dove will lay its two eggs in a mere depression on the ground but in general it builds a skimpy nest of twigs or moves into an old nest left by some other bird."

I Want One.

Pillows by Alexandra Ferguson. I like 'em alot.

alexandraferguson.etsy.com

Picnicking.

The first picnic of spring. Meaghan, Kaitlyn, and I had mint tea and heart shaped peanut butter & jelly sandwiches in the park...the best way to spend a Saturday. We met this kind man who shared with us his fascination with yellow magnolia trees and declared our picnicking spot under a weeping cherry tree as "perfect". I regret not asking him to join us. He had a scholarly voice and I would have been happy to have heard more of his knowledge of botany.

A fierce game of Scattergories ensued.

Easter.

You're never too old for an easter egg hunt!

Tina Newberry

Last week I had lunch at the Columbus Museum of Art with visiting artist and painter Tina Newberry. She teaches at Indiana University and is quite enthralled with all things Civil War. We talked grad programs and her advice was to take a year or two off after CCAD (thank goodness!) before considering going back to school. No hurry. She also gets a kick out of decapitated barbies, swimming, hates pantyhose, and has an overall wicked sense of humor.

From The Philadelphia Enquirer:

"Tina Newberry's painting is autobiographical, but it looks
inward. She's a traditional figure painter who casts herself pictorially in a
variety of roles... These include being a professional golfer, a competent
musician, and a goat herder."

I'm Thankful For

1. Magnolia trees
2. Homemade strawberry jam
3. Letters from home
4. Jimmy Stewart movies
5. Little round city birds
6. Sleepovers with Meaghan, Megan, & Kaitlyn
7. Bluegrass music
8. Post-It notes
9. Recycling
10. Sunday morning breakfast

In the past whenever I'd hear someone say "live life to the fullest" I'd be like, yeah, okay I'll try. Being at my 15 year old cousin's memorial service last weekend really made me aware. Not only that I am not immune to loss, but that I've spent twenty years being happy and healthy without giving it a second thought. Why do I get to have this time that he didn't? There are so many people and experiences that I love which I don't stop to appreciate. Why did it take twenty years for this to make sense to me? Lot's of things had showed me how to be alive: American Beauty, Amelie, and Walt Whitman for starters. But now everything feels overwhelmingly relevant. There were hundreds of people there, and perhaps that's why we all knew Martin, we needed him to teach us how to slow down and enjoy every single day. I've found myself making mental lists like this recently. And hugging my family alot and frequently saying 'I love you'. And I will continue to do so often.