The Canvas, Part VII

Riley looked around the room in awe. Emerson felt immediately at home with the paint-covered floorboards and her paints and paintbrushes scattered in the ground. A ray of sunshine was beaming through the window, illuminating the canvas in the middle of the room. It looked just like they left it--purple stream, pink sky, and a gaping black hole taking over half the canvas. Soaking in the sunshine, Riley became puzzled.

“Hey Emerson,” he said, “Wasn’t it dark out when we left? Weren’t there a bunch of candles lit?”

“Yes, I lit every last one of them,” she said as she started to climb down the ladder to the first floor of the treehouse. She ran over to her desk and pulled a small, golden pocket watch out of her drawer.

“Why, it’s 6:00 in the evening!” Emerson exclaimed as Riley lowered himself into the room. They looked outside to see the early winter sunset over the mountains.

“Look to the entrance of your house, that’s my mom and dad! And that’s me!” He said as he pointed to the three houseguests stepping out of a limo, entering Emerson’s estate.

“The clock—in the canvas—it reversed time! It must’ve been nine o’clock when we left, and now it’s only six o’clock. Do you know what that means?” Emerson asked.

“That we never hit that lady in the head with the goat! We won’t be in trouble when we get back!”

“Precisely,” Emerson agreed. She looked out the window and remembered seeing the scene from her bedroom window, right before her mom was to come in and tell her to change her outfit. She quickly climbed down the latter and Riley followed.

Running through the backdoor, Riley and Emerson hugged then split up to their respective spots. Riley raced through the many halls and rooms of the mansion until he finally found his family in the lounge, and saw his former self sitting on the couch. Riley decided to follow his instinct and sat right on his past self and took his spot in the present reality.

Emerson avoided her mother in the kitchen and tiptoed up the stairs to her room. She closed the door and ran to the spot where her past self was standing in front of the mirror. All of a sudden, Emerson was looking at herself in the mirror, feeling the heat of the crisp, just-ironed pink dress.

The doorknob turned and her mother entered with a smile on her face. “Oh honey, you’re wearing the dress your grandmother gave you! It looks so darling, oh you’re just so precious,” her mother said as she gave Emerson a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Tonight will be fun!” Emerson said as she thought of dancing with Riley. Emerson and her mother walked out of her room and down the grand stairwell to see beautifully dressed houseguests flowing in through the double-door entrance.

Halfway down the stairwell, Emerson caught Riley’s eyes.

“Hey, Emerson!” Riley exclaimed as he waved.

“How do you know Riley, sweetie?” her mother asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Emerson said with a smile on her face. She rushed down the stairs to a brand new night.

THE END!

Crustacean Crash

I created these images with this website
http://www.subblue.com/projects/guilloche





One time I had this vivid daydream about what would happen if a truck, full of crustaceans, got into a car accident right in front of me. Crabs and nautiluses flew across the intersection and everything was chaotic. Airborne lobsters and crayfish hit pedestrians with surprise. You can use your imagination. It gets whimsical fast.

 

Speaking of nautiluses, this is a nautilus house, and it's groovy.

Optimism is Contagious

I was busily working on glass art (see right) on my day off of school, and I came outside and my car wasn't there. I was extremely confused, and I kept looking around for it, as if it would randomly appear or something. But it did not. I resourcefully found out that my car had been towed for supposedly blocking an invisible driveway, and that I would need $95 to get it back.

Someone that I [kind of] know was truly altruistic and decided to drive me to my house and to my banks to get some cash. I paid the towing company, yet I also got two tickets for a sum of money that I can't quite pay yet.

Later I went to the Apple store, hoping I could trick them into giving me a new free iPod, but that failed like I realistically knew it would. My iPod, "Katy's Bud", is officially dead.

However, I thought today was fantastic! I realized that no matter how much money I'm required to pay and no matter how much I miss my iPod, these things are terribly insignificant to the greater scheme of things. The sky was still blue, the sun was still shining, and I still had the rest of the day to enjoy every moment of. It would be a waste of time to feel anxious about what I cannot control. I'm very grateful for getting to work on glass for a few hours, and I'm very grateful for the people I spent my day with. I'm grateful for free pie and I'm grateful for that friend who went out of her way to help me out.

That is enough to be happy about.

The Canvas, Part VI

Riley and Emerson followed the arrow far enough to escape the field of 5-foot tall daisies. Just seeing the horizon was a relief to both of them. The arrow continued for it looked like miles, running parallel to the purple stream that ran through the canvas. At the bank of the purple stream was a beautiful wooden sailboat with animals and patterns carved into the hull. The lilac sail was already rigged and luffing in the warm breeze.

“Look Riley, a boat! Oh, how I love to sail!” Emerson exclaimed, running towards the river bank. She attached the mainsheet to the painter and hooked the rudder onto the stern. Like a pro, she pushed the sailboat into the water and hopped on, purple water splashing up against the hull. Riley hesitated at first, checked the temperature of the water, and upon feeling its tropical warmness, he rolled his pant legs up and carefully stepped into the cockpit. Within seconds, the boat was slowly moving down the river, the sail tightly full of wind.

Captain Emerson navigated the boat down the stream all the way past the field of daisies and into the horizon. Riley sat on the boat and dropped his feet into the water as they cruised, enjoying the warm water and relaxation.

Soon enough, Riley and Emerson were able to see the mountains in the distance, the technicolor bubbles, and the blue tree that Emerson wanted to climb.

“We’ve arrived!” Emerson said as she unhooked the sail and hopped out of the cockpit. Riley followed her lead as they pulled the boat up to the river bank and stepped onto the cool, green grass. Suspended in the air were dozens of basketball-sized bubbles. Inside of the shiny bubbles, multi-colored liquids swirled and twisted around each other, like magic.

Emerson grabbed a bubble out of the air and looked at it closely. Mesmerized for a few moments, she stood with the bubble in her hand and looked into it as if it were a crystal ball that would tell her the future. However, Emerson did not want to know the future. So she licked the bubble instead.

Suddenly, all of the colors in the world switched: the sky that was once pink turned green, the purple stream turned a bright yellow, and the green grass turned light blue. Emerson was elated! Not only did it morph the world around her, the bubble tasted like a mix between the best fruits and candies in the world. It was a delicious morsel that she had never experienced or imagined, a surreal taste that begged her to have more. “Try some!” She told Riley, who picked up a bubble and sampled it for himself.

“Whoa!” Riley exclaimed as he took another lick and gazed at the world around him. “Does it change the colors for you too?” he asked. Emerson nodded. The two kids sat in the grass until they each finished a bubble. Almost immediately, both of them grabbed another bubble and sat down to have some more.

“Hey, Emerson,” Riley said, licking a bubble and looking behind him, “do you see that huge black spot in the sky?”

Emerson turned around to see almost half the sky covered in black paint, a gaping dark hole that was engulfing their canvas as they spoke. With each lick, the black got bigger and bigger. Emerson threw her bubble as far away as she could and smacked the bubble out of Riley’s hand. Her beautiful world was being taken over by darkness!

“Riley, these bubbles are evil! And it’s all thanks to you, who put that black paint on the canvas to begin with! Now it’s growing uncontrollably, and there’s no way to stop it, you fool!” she exclaimed angrily as she started sprinting towards the blue tree. Riley chased after her, but there was no way he could climb the tree as swiftly as she.

Emerson was already at the top of the tree by the time he got to the trunk. As she sat hugging the top branch, a tear rolled down her face and CLANG! Went the giant clock in the sky. The hands of the clock switched from counterclockwise to clockwise, making Emerson even more upset.

Riley climbed as quickly as he could and finally reached the top of the tree where Emerson was sitting. He grabbed her hand and looked in her eyes.

“Emerson, even though darkness is taking over half of the canvas, there is still that other half that’s beautiful,” he started to explain.

“But it’s ruining everything!”

“That’s not true. It’s only ruining half- and I think it’s stopped growing after we threw the bubbles away. Either way, Emerson, beauty wouldn’t exist without ugliness,” he said, “It only makes the beautiful side look more beautiful.”

Emerson looked around and tried to focus on the beautiful half. The cool grass still oscillated in the wind, the purple stream still flowed with grace, and the field of daisies was still colorful.

“You’re right Riley. Look at what we’ve created!” She said as she took in the breathtaking view from atop one of the highest trees in the canvas. She was so upset about the darkness that she forgot to take a look around, and acknowledge what she truly went up there for. It wasn't to escape, it was to appreciate everything around her. With great emotion, Emerson embraced Riley tightly and squeezed her eyes shut. Her tears of sadness turned into tears of joy as they rolled down her face and dropped onto the tree branches. CLANG! Went the clock.

The two opened their eyes to find themselves embracing not in the tree branches, but in Emerson’s treehouse.

The Canvas, Part V

Attempting to get Emerson back on track, Riley asked, “Where are we headed, anyway?”

“To the blue tree I painted. It’s painted on the left side of the canvas, by the mountains and the technicolor bubbles,” she answered, looking around for where it might be. Emerson looked to the left and right, yet was discouraged when she did not see the tree anywhere. Reassuring herself, she added, “You know, it doesn’t really matter where we’re headed, it’s about where we are right now!”

Just as Emerson said that, a whiff of the sweet scent of flowers tickled their noses and made them giggle once again.

Emerson closed her eyes and focused on the candied smell of flowers and the wind blowing through her hair. She was sure it smelled better than any cake her mother had baked, or even any pie. Looking at Emerson, Riley closed his eyes as well. The two became lost in the heavenly smell until they found themselves blindly walking through the field. Using the fragrance as their guide, they walked to the beat of the tikking and tokking from the giant clock in the sky.

One step at a time, with their eyes closed the entire trip, Riley and Emerson finally reached the origin of the smell: a field of life-sized daisies. They became engulfed in a sea of 5-foot tall flowers, each with a different color and pattern. The two silently trekked through the forest of daisies, climbing over roots, pushing leaves aside, and brushing up against oversized petals. The attractive, sweet scent was ever so strong inside of the forest, as if a cloud of smoke were consuming the entire field.

“I’m beginning to get very drowsy, Emerson,” Riley said, panting. “Would you mind if we just…took…a…break?” Riley said as he lay down between the flowers, closing his eyes and drifting to sleep. Emerson watched as he fell asleep and a feeling of adoration came over her. Is this what love feels like? She thought. Nah, can’t be. That’s only for adults, she assured herself.

Emerson lowered herself to the ground and took a seat. She used the nearest stem as a backrest as she slowly found herself in a world of fantastical dreams, all the while holding Riley’s hand as they rested in the protection of the flowers.

Emerson’s dreams were filled with rollercoasters and cute, talking beavers. She dreamt of happiness under the sun, friendly aliens visiting her whereabouts, and of flying through the sky accompanied by a beautiful rainforest bird. In the middle of her flight, Emerson was awakened by a loud CLANG that sounded from the giant clock. Riley suddenly awoke and sat up, sweating violently and white as a ghost.

“Thank goodness for that wake up call,” he said, “I was having the most terrible nightmare!!”

“The clock must’ve known. Why else would it have gone off like that?” Emerson said.

“You don’t think it’s magic, do you?” Riley asked.

“That’s precisely what I was thinking, actually,” Emerson responded with a smile on her face. She stood up and remembered the sweet scent of the flowers. “Let’s get out of here though, before we fall asleep again,” she suggested as she began to trek through the flowers again.

The two journeyed through the field for it seemed like an hour, but it seemed as if there were no way out. Incessantly climbing and walking, Riley and Emerson eventually became frustrated. The flowers towered over them and they could not see the horizon. It soon became obvious that the two children were lost in a maze of flowers with no end in sight.

“How in the world do we get out of here?!” Riley said with fear in his voice. Riley’s lips were trembling as he looked around and saw no reassurance. Emerson realized the terror and hopelessness in Riley’s eyes, and she began to weep. With the first teardrop that hit the ground, a large CLANG resounded in the sky. Emerson looked up to see the hands of the clock switching directions, now going clockwise and moving forward instead of backward. Emerson was overwhelmed with sadness.

Riley grabbed Emerson’s hand and looked into her beautiful blue eyes, glazed with tears. He gently raised his hand to her face and wiped the tears off of her rosy cheeks. Riley brushed the hair away from her face and tenderly touched his lips to hers. Emerson squeezed his hand and passionately kissed him back. A magical feeling overcame the two, a rush of inexplicable ecstasy throughout their veins.

CLANG! Went the clock, and Riley and Emerson looked up to the sky once more. The hands of the clock had switched, now moving counterclockwise once again. A grin spread across Emerson’s face as she embraced Riley with as much love and strength as she would her favorite stuffed animal.

While looking up at the sky, Emerson noticed that a giant multi-colored arrow had appeared. It pointed to her left, twisting and twirling as far as the eye could see.

“Look, an arrow! We must follow it!” Emerson explained as she began running through the flowers in the direction of the arrow. Riley, used to Emerson’s spontaneous wandering, chased after her.

Welcome, Grandfather

Today I went to a Native American sweat lodge ceremony. The purpose of this ritual is self-reflection and purification, as well as connecting with nature.They had 20 of us sit in a 15 ft diameter tent surrounding a pit of fiery hot stones. There were 4 sets--one for each of the seasons and cardinal directions--and with each set they added 7 more stones to the unbearably hot tent. With each stone that entered the tent, we had to say "Welcome, Grandfather" in unison. The stones represent the old, wise men meanwhile trees are symbolic of femininity. We were supposed to communicate with the stones to find wisdom in our mind, body, and soul. Every few moments the group leader would pour water onto the rocks, which would hotbox the canvas tent with scorching steam. The tent was pitch black, so many ended up undressed by the end of the sets.


With every set of stones came a different theme:

1. Leaving things behind you and wishing/praying for your future (i.e. "I want to let go of my childhood and accept responsibilities with optimism")
2. Making wishes/prayers for other humans (i.e. "I hope my cousins experience life with an open mind")
3. Making wishes/prayers for the earth and non-humans (i.e. "I need humanity to appreciate nature so they will stop destroying it")
4. Saying what you are grateful for (i.e. "I am grateful for scented flowers and my ability to love")

The conversation was a free-for-all, when anyone could speak when they felt compelled, and everyone would say "Aho" in unison when one was done speaking. Not only did I find extreme honesty and compassion for those who I shared the experience with, the natural body high that we all felt after we exited the tent was fantastic.









I feel as though the Native Americans are the closest [in our dimension] to understanding what life is all about.






This beautiful artwork is done by Inka Essenhigh


















This is fantastic artwork by Xavier Nuez. I particularly found his artist statement significant because of how uniquely his art is produced:

"These images are extreme close up photographs of chinaware that I’ve re-glazed and repainted.

I select plates that already have designs on them (usually floral). I then apply a crackle glaze and different colored paints, which give them extraordinary textures and colors. They are less than an inch across and are extremely fragile due to my unusual process.

The tiny designs break down and flake away just days later, but with care, my photographs allow their brief but beautiful lives to be captured forever."

Happy Holidaze!

HAPPY HOLIDAZE!

Links in honor of our friend Mary Jane:

• Stoner Dash
• Put this to your own music and enjoy full screen!
  
• Simple and amusing
• Marijuana Myths

I'm too lazy to write anymore.

The Question

You may have noticed my poll on the right side of the page.

"If you could hang out with one mythical creature, which one would it be?"

I tend to ask this to every person I meet- whether they are a peer, a grandparent, a stranger, or a school administrator. Why? Because your answer says a lot about who you are. If I want a judge of your character, this is inevitably the question you will get.


I would personally hang out with the Keebler Elves because they sit in a treehouse and bake cookies all day.


Is there a wrong answer? Yes. And because you are taking the time to read my blog, I will tell you that if you ever say unicorn we probably won't get along well.
-Unicorns are probably the first thing that came to your head. If you took my question seriously, you wouldn't have settled for the first creature you thought of.
-You could truly hang out with ANY mythical creature- that includes ones that you design or make up yourself. They can have whatever powers you want them to have. Why the hell would you settle on a unicorn?


UNICORNS ARE THE ANTI-CHRIST
Don't fall for their pretty horns.



The only acceptable time I heard "unicorn" was when my friend David explained that if you hung out with a unicorn, you could potentially make it into a huge money making enterprise. You would probably make national news because everyone would want to see the unicorn.







My friend Ryan has never had a brain freeze. Can you imagine what life would be like without brain freezes? Furthermore, can you imagine trying to explain how a brain freeze feels?

On the same day I learned this interesting information, Ryan and I ran around with swords and told the neighborhood children that there were dragons in the area. We told the kids to holler if they saw one so that we could slay it.

The best part was that the kids believed us.

My Anti-Boredom

Here is some of my 2D artwork from the last year. Click for a larger image. Enjoy!




"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." ~Henry David Thoreau




"Boredom is a vital problem for the moralist, since at least half of the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it." ~Bertrand Russell





"Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind." ~Anonymous




"We live in illusion and the appearance of things. There is a reality. We are that reality. When you understand this, you see that you are nothing, and being nothing, you are everything. That is all." ~Buddha






"The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday - but never jam today." ~The Red Queen















Also, today I got a cool new toy. It's a caterpillar that lights up and stuff. The guy at 711 was really excited to sell it to me. I can't imagine why though, I figure these things are probably pretty popular. Wouldn't you want one for $5?












Maybe not, but Fiverr.com shows you what people would do for $5--anything from writing your child a personalized fairy tale to eating your soul.

For the record, I would do either free of charge.

Nonsensical Reality

To say I hate math would be an incorrect statement. I hate math class, I hate math homework, I hate using mathematical concepts in everyday life. However, these fractals are the reason "I hate math" is dishonest; for these mathematically generated images have an artistic quality to them which I enjoy. It is an interesting duality--math and art--because we often think of a mathematical mind as logical and rule based, and an artistic mind as free-flowing and limitless. Here, we see the two qualities collide, and the results are outstanding.
































Fractals (video)











By the way, I dyed my turtle purple.


Ace has been more confident ever since his change. He used to spend all of his time under his log, hiding from everyone, but now he is on the prowl, wandering his cage, more often.