Worried About This Blog

(...printed these two images out - 20" x 30", click to enlarge...)

Can't seem to find the energy for long format blogging anymore - maybe it will come back again later? Many things have happened - in my own life (nothing major) and in the outside world (very major), but I just can't seem to find the words for everything. On a brighter note I have accomplished #1-#5 of that list a post or so ago of things I needed to get done. So at least that is something! Maybe I am slowly getting somewhere even though I feel like I am just treading water.

Mira Nair's So Far from India and India Cabaret

(...image from here...)

Watched these two great early documentaries by Mira Nair the other day - So Far from India and India Cabaret. Wish I could find them on youtube or somewhere online but no luck. Both totally have what I love - vintage footage, family dynamics, sensitivity to the role of women in society, and cinéma vérité. You should check them out if you get the chance.

Also got 2 library cards recently - one for Brooklyn and one for the New York Public Library system. So stoked!! I just took out a stack of dvds that include a bunch of Chantal Akerman and I also put this one on reserve. Libraries are right up there with thrift stores for me. A total easter egg hunt for hidden gems that don't cost you anything (or not that much). Now all I need is another snowstorm to hit so I can stay in all day and watch them...

2011?!

(...click to enlarge and/or go here to see more new photos...)

Uh hello? Anybody out there? Ugh. Sorry to be so...not really here at all. Having a majorly tough time keeping up with anything not you-know-what related. Oh well - maybe it will get better later? Looked up time management the other day and it suggested I make lists, which I already do in a very OCD manner so no go there...

So speaking of lists here is one to keep 2011 on track:

1. make photo prints: exhibition size!
2. fabric printed with ipod drawings
3. shop? might make this finally happen this year...
4. reset flickrs and photo portfolio tumblr to zero - is that crazy? I can't tell. I just really feel like I need to make some sort of break and start fresh.
5. new header and links purge of this blog, very long overdue!
6. make posts on this blog more quick and dirty - is this possible? I always have a lot to show and tell...maybe I just need to loosen up.
7. bored yet?
8. this post is starting to feel a lot like my last post...


Okay - so anyway - I had better wrap this up before it gets even more of a snooze. Will try to get things done this year! Must keep moving forward!

Happy 2011 friends.

XXXB.

ipod drawings

So I got this ipod touch over the summer which is the first ipod I have ever had, and I am totally new to this app businesss, but in a weak moment I purchased the Brushes app - mostly because David Hockney said it was worth it.

It is actually really fun to play with - good for when you need a little time waster. Sometimes I do them just before bed. Trying to think of what I could do with them - maybe make a textile pattern?? Print it out with Spoonflower? Or maybe use them in a print design or something? Or maybe they could just be sketches for colour and texture combos...at any rate, I love the idea of using the ipod or iphone to make something...

...was tipped off that Trippingfest is another good drawing app (more examples here)...

...others using the iphone to make drawings: Ryan Lauderdale and Travess Smalley...

x

Trying to Get Back on Track

In the same vein as my last post, I have been kind of sweating my other tumblr for awhile - There Exists There Does Not Exist - and I have finally figured out that maybe the problem was that I was being to picky with what to post. I think I am going to try to do a post a day for awhile on there to try and kick it up a notch.

So maybe just a random dip into my photo archives or something new or just whatever I have going on as long as it is primarily photographic. It was meant to be my "semi-official" photo portfolio but the whole thing is just starting to feel a little dead and not fun anymore so it must be time to kind of bend the rules a little. We will see if it gets things moving again.

. . .

So here is my online breakdown:

main portfolio: strongest work - 6 month updates
flickr 1: photo dump - digital/film/pola/scans/videos
flickr 2: experimental digital work - mostly photo based
tumblr 1: collect and share - on the fly inspiration
tumblr 2: photo portfolio

- - -

blogspot: babble like this - deeper thought inspiration
shop: ?? working on it forever...
bookshop: would love to add something new here, hopefully one day...
delicious: OCD bookmark collecting (267 "checkout" tags?? Who am I kidding??)


This also reminds me of my sad vimeo account. Should get that streamlined and bring it into the fold...I have a few videos that are too big for flickr to handle plus now we have flipcam! (big HD files)...

Is this so boring? Sorry! Ending this NOW.

Sometimes Strange is Okay

So my satellite flickr site, Flower Delivery New York City, although it hasn't got much action lately, is still kind of a sweet spot for me. I always have a few photos that I really like but I just can't figure out where they fit in. It is like they are not good in the traditional sense, but I still get an interesting feel from them.

Sometimes they are straight up misfires, or just plain weird, sometimes I do something to them like turn them upside down or make them black and white or duotone. I always enjoy this - taking the photo to another level, giving it more dimension. The only problem is I start to feel a bit split-personality. What do I want? A good solid regular photo, no questions asked, or these more ambiguous, mysterious images?

*

Two Films

Chantal Ackerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

and

Federico Fellini's Le Tentazioni del Dottor Antonio


So normally I would post the whole damn movie but Ackerman's film is in 19 parts and I couldn't find the Fellini movie with subtitles. Bummer! Anyone out there speak Italian? Hopefully someone who reads this blog can still appreciate it.

So three months later right? Wow. Sorry sorry to be gone so long! No kidding about spare time. Hm. But maybe it is a summer thing too...hope so.

Anyway my brain is pretty much fried these days but at least I have these movies to report on. So great! So entertaining! Famous directors! The aura of antiquity! Hope you enjoy them as much as I did. The titles link through to the youtube videos and the director's names link through to their wiki pages...

Happy Dog Days!

xoBree