sketchy

I've had this affinity for art deco/art nouveau movement sensibilities - decorative motifs, clean lines. Here are a few of my initial sketches for a stamp I've been assigned to design, some random sketchbook doodlings and some period inspirations. Sources for the poster images are unknown - I picked them up from random places around the interwebs.

More Snow Snow Snow

I seized the golden opportunity to do laundry this blizzardly Friday. Snow can be a beautiful thing. We always seem to get more of it here in Brooklyn. Though since I left my wellies in Costa Rica to lighten my travel load this summer, I have been forced to wear plastic bags over my socks inside my boots to keep my feet dry. True story. I'll spare you pictures of any of that ;)

odds & ends & renard

... early morning sunlight is one of my all-time favourite things. it can make over the least beautiful objects (see: neglected flower plant) ... more favorites: vintage postcards with the perfect fairytale vibe acquired at the 25th street flea market for $1 and renard, the little doggie my roommate sometimes babysits at our place :)

the tents at bryant park

perry ellis show and other random shots

mike vensel photos

some of my photos from the off-site show on 38th ... FW10 line of mike vensel, designer/photographer behind kitten magazine, etcetera

r.i.p. alexander mcqueen

“Alexander McQueen challenged and expanded our understanding of fashion beyond utility to a conceptual expression of culture, politics, and identity. He was a provocateur and a raconteur who told stories through his clothes – stories that might draw from the past or other cultures, but were relevant to the here and now. He had the mind of a poet and the heart of an artist. He was a true romantic, in the Byronic sense of the word, who channeled the sublime.”

– Andrew Bolton, curator, The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

silkscreened bag/croptop

Did these last sem (silkscreened - the top is designed/sewed/silkscreened by me) - and yes, i have more and, yes, i am in fact a student and they are on sale. And how about the makeshift studio lighting? Thanks, IKEA :)

early morning blizzardshot

From my window - the sunlight is too gawgeous at 7:30am

eiffel tower interior at night

photos by me / july 2006

"I couldn't quite perfect that nonchalance" - CBR

A favorite of the moment ... 

Polly Mimi Commences

Greetings, latenight linkclickers! 

It's way past my bedtime since I intend to be up at 5 to get some work done. However, after doing my daily blogrounds catching up on the latest news and buzz in and around the aesthetic worlds, I realized how un-at ease I have been feeling without one. I've tried to start a few over the course of the past several months, but school-related busyness decided to get the best of me and yanked me away from the necessary maintenance. Hopefully this one keeps itself up (if I don't). Haha, if only. 

I've kept blogs pretty consistently since the tender age of 18 when I obtained my first xanga. Before that, old-fashioned composition books and sketchbooks held whatever I felt the need to unleash onto something tangible. I know the topic of blogs/bloggers can escalate into touchy territory considering their increased influence (regrettably to some), but I think it's becoming a very accessible artform that I don't think will go away for a very long time. In my opinion, the ones that do well do well for a reason - because most of them are actually good sources of material. I do enjoy the added bonus of a point of view on news and recent developments in fashion and whatnot which, to me, certainly is more interesting than straight facts. 

I keep mine as a record of my thoughts/general gist of my life at a certain point, to describe the things I'm doing to those who care, to exercise my writing, and to share interesting music/venues/la-dee-dahs I've discovered here and there (overzealous perusal of news-browsing leads me to make quite many discoveries in a day.) As far as the blogs that are just digital anthologies of emotional outpourings, for me, that stuff is better housed in private locations. Understandably, we sometimes must write these things down, but I don't think it's really necessary to tell the world. Especially when the first order of business of potential employers is to myspace/facebook/google you. My last blog, I Am My Filofax, ran for quite a long time but chronicled quite a different lifestyle than the one I currently lead - which I suppose would be best described as more personal creative exploration than urban/travel exploration. I think a blog (that intends to attract an audience) should display a theme of sorts. So I plan for this blog to be dedicated to good ol' aesthetics - art, fashion, design, and also likely two of my other greatest loves: literature and music. 

The name Polly Mimi was the catchy result of a 2-minute brainstorm that transpired in the jungle that is my mind. I wanted something personal but not cheesy, memorable but not obvious, yadda yadda. Polly Mimi is a compound of two of the several characters I admire and relate to in movies/theater. Polly from Along Came Polly and Mimi from the Broadway Musical, Rent (which I saw from the second row btw - one of the greatest moments of my life). Commonalities include a free-spirited approach to life, embrace of spontaneity and the occasional impulse and exploratory tendencies among other things. Most of all, I was inspired by the comfort with straying from the norm and self-awareness of these two characters. I feel that the greater sense of self-awareness one has, the happier he or she will be in life. You have to know what you love in order to channel that into some purposeful societal contribution. Because if you don't love something, how could you possibly become inspired to master that skill? 

I hope to present some cool stuff over the course of the semester - for now, it's a small collection of photos from the life I've been leading when a blog was not in order. All but the second last are taken by me (credit to Yuki for the fifth.) 

Photos encompassing a small fragment of my crazy life that has unfolded in the past several months, or at least since August: 

a) midday self portrait 

b) awkwardly taking photos on the subway

c) model tony triumph at a site thalita baccarin and i found in bushwick for a shoot

d) random shoe i found on bedford 

e) with good friends on a random saturday