//BRYCE WYMER//

so i decided that i would take my interview skills from my zine project 50 to my blog. I still love doing my zine, but i am so busy these days that i don't have time to make another issue right  now. and doing it here on the blog is soooo much more efficient. (yes i will do more issues too, just later...) and lucky you, i have two exclusive interviews up.. the first....

About a week ago, i found this AMAZING artist called Bryce Wymer. The first thing i saw was  his time lapse drawings he had up on his website:








I was blown away at his technique, how he covers and covers and covers with layers...they are amazing, aren't they?!
Besides his trippy drawings, Bryce does installations, wood sculpture, pottery, concept art and little books which can be found on his website .I immediately contacted him about doing a brief interview, and he agreed.  Here are some of his works plus the little chat:

BRYCE WYMER  is an artist, illustrator and creative director living in Brooklyn, NY. 
Thank you so much for agreeing to let me interview you, Bryce! I'll be including lots of your work along with this piece.

I'm so excited about your work! I think what inspired me the most were your Flat Earth time lapse drawings. i love the layers and how some never get seen in the end.  do you use anything besides water color, gesso, (guache?) and micron pens?

The media listed above are what I tend to work with the most. Although when I travel I tend to use what ever is available. For a couple years I was only using collaged local newspapers and hotel ball point pens. Its sometimes interesting what you create when you limit you tools.

i love how you draw hair and do shading. how long does it actually take for you to do them? 

It really doesn't take long at all. Basically I just commit to something and if it doesn't work out I will edit it out later. 

who are your influences, early and now?

As far as illustration is concerned I would say everything from Charley harper to Henry Darger. p.s. This week.

I also really like the music you pair with each drawing. is the music on the videos what you listen to?  do you listen to it when you work?

Yes a lot of that music is the music I grew up listening to. I tend to gravitate towards older less known tracks. A lot of them encapsulate the way I was feeling about the narrative I was creating. 

I want to mention your Etsy shop. flatearthstudio.etsy.com . i'm so glad to see you there, and your stuff is so affordable.

Go for it! 

i love the "face front book" available in your shop and plan to give it to my son (who also draws) for christmas. i think my grandsons would also really like it. Is it geared toward children?

A majority of the work I create for  Flat earth studios has a child like approachability. It has taken me quite a while to realize that less is truly more. I try to simplify as much as I can but sometimes I cant help myself.

Thank you so much, Bryce! I have enjoyed talking to you and I'm sure my readers will as well. take care! 

Next up-an interview with a Project Runway winner...i'm going to keep you guessing until i post it hopefully this week! xxx

getting through

you know when you have bad things and good things happen all at the same time..it makes you feel so mixed up and confused. ever make such a mistake that you lose a friend...but have your candidate win...see what i mean? or your mother becoming more delusional but having the best idea you've had in forever? small t hings that get me through:

lotion that smells like oranges
good coffee
people that miss you
working on orders and being pleased with the results
a freshly vacuumed rug
crying and getting it all out
the yellow, orange, green and red leaves
working on interviews(more soon)
dying my hair a pretty red
always taking photos
pain medication
sleep
a newly thrifted hippie skirt
kitty cuddling

didn't sleep tonight. i'll catch up later today. i'll have new photos soon and pics of my samples and
some good news! i heard that time heals all wounds. xx

Walking On The Moon - The Police.

59 things part two//

11. lose another 100 lbs
12. have a garden(veg, fruit, and flowers)
13. own a house
14. reconcile with my sister
15. have at least covered chest and sleeve tattoos
16. visit provence and tuscany
17. be free of pain
18. learn how to crochet
19. to have been the best wife my husband could ever wish for
20. spend lots and lots of time with the people i love xx

//59 things part I //

i want to make a list of stuff i want to do before i am reincarnated into another being. Since i'm 59, i thought i could post ten at a time until i get to that number. plus, i can't think when the pressure is on. so here are my first ten :

*take my husband jeremy to disneyland(to california)
*go to morrocco (and get covered in honey and almonds x)
*have a great big photography show
*celebrate both my grandson's thirtieth birthdays
*make pique assiette all over our house
*get well enough to take nice long walks with jeremy
*print my own fabric
*meet a select percentage of my online friends
*grow my hair long
*find a way to help pay off my son's student loans

heavenly gardens and chairs

Mazzy Star - Fade Into You

I'm your boogie man - KC & The sunshine band

oregon xx

things i'm afraid to tell you-the aftermath

kidding, more like "the wrap up". I guess i didn't know if i should expect any responses. i don't want to be sorry i posted it or it defeats the purpose. this is who i am. love me, love my craziness xx  I didn't want to sound like i am not a happy person-i am! i am in a good mood 90% of the time or more.  i'm so grateful for what i have. and who i have. and what i do. and who i love. don't ever think that i'm not.  every day is an adventure! it really is. the littlest things make me happy and excited, like a kid. so, it's all good, as they say. hug yourselves for me. xx

THINGS I'M AFRAID TO TELL YOU

If you read a lot of blogs, no doubt you have come across this project initiated by Jess Constable , that became a challenge to other bloggers here .  I came across this whole thing on a blog that i like very much, who was questioning the authenticity of it. Because that is the way she  blogs. With her happy posts there will include sometimes spill all, with rants and whines and i'm-really-having-a-crappy-time-of-it-all entries. One thing i have to say is, i have always admired this blogger. I like how she is real, and people accept her for just being herself.  I have always been afraid my readers would be all "oh nooooo, i don't want to read anything depressing or too personal". Not that i want to tell you the details of my sex life or something but just to not be afraid to not hold things back.  and i do.

*I have a mental illness. i may have  mentioned it very briefly, but usually talk about my physical illness only because i think it's too much. Too much hardship nobody wants to hear about. I've dealt with this since around age 21. Been on and off of a million meds.  Have frequent panic attacks. Have instances of fear of abandonement, paranoia, and irrational thoughts. They have caused me to lose a lot of friends.  This is why i didn't want to bring it up, i thought i'd lose some more. (i am mostly managed thru meds, h owever, and haven't lost a friend in quite a while).

*That i have icky, not-what-i chose furniture in my bedroom.  You know, the bedroom that we live in (until May). It's bad enough that i have to live in a little room, but it's like i have trained my brain to not notice the furniture in here was chosen by my in-laws in a thrift. you know i LOVE thrifts, but this is not  my style. i have great stuff in storage, in sutherlin, oregon that i will have again soon. but when i look at other blogger's photos of their spaces, i always feel that no matter how much i try to make this space me, it isn't ever going to be.  and i'm embarassed to admit that.

*I don't want to be this fat. This is a big one. Why? because where i'm from, there is a big supportive fat acceptance movement. i love this movement. i love the people i have met from it, and i DO think they are beautiful!! But i never want to admit that for me, i feel that this fat that i carry around is hurting my health and chances for living a long time. I know within this group or movement, this is not the popular consensus. I'm afraid i will lose my FA friends. It just boils down to this. i don't want to die. I am losing weight (60 lbs) but almost am afraid to celebrate it, or certain people  might get offended.

*I want validation. I want acknowledgement for my work. my clothes, my shops, my art, my photography. i want others to see what i see in it, a really good job. a really good photo. i'm the first to be saying"i'ts not that good" about many things that i do. but the things i really do think i'm good at, i want other people to tell me they think so too. it seems so shallow. i DO get really good feedback on etsy. i guess i just can't take it to heart.

*I'm having a real hard time getting older. I'm 59. I don't look 59, but my body feels 85. I'm afraid to lose "it", whatever "it" is. I do have bits of inspiration tho. I have admiration for women of a certain age, who aren't afraid to be themselves and have tons of confidence. When i put makeup on, i almost cry, i am so unhappy with what i see. i don't like what my skin is doing. my fifties have been the hardest decade bar none. i'm not accepting the changes well. I do have high hopes this will get better. Although, i  just recently decided i WOULD like to have grey hair. i think it all just means, the more i age, the sooner i'm going to die. and i already said that i'm afraid of that.

MAN, i feel so much better.  maybe i don't have the coolest space-that-i-would-have-if-i-just-had-my-stuff. maybe i do have to take a bucket full of meds every day. maybe i'm not as known as i wish i were.  i'm not one of the BIG bloggers. as a matter of fact, i often wonder if anyone reads this blog at all.  despite these little bumps in the road, i still see my glass as half full.  so many things make me happy.  i still wake up being thankful for another day to enjoy=) i'm excited for my shops! and i love doing this blog. no  matter what. thanks for listening xoxoxo

//This just in//

NEW in my fiveorsixgirls shop! Cool paisley jersey. I love this fabric! xx

WOBBLE

so, apparently i'm having a hernia or some other sort of painful thingy. so, i'm having a wobble. i really hate, hate surgery, i get so anxious and freaked out. just scared to death. but it's quite painful so i want to have it done soon.  my torn rotator cuff has gone from bad to worse as well, and i'll have to wait till the hernia is sorted and i've mended good and proper before i can even think about my NEXT NEXT surgery. as my mom used to say, "OOOO LA LA LA LA", shaking her head.

Waiting for orders on my new shop. i know, i know the competition is much more fierce than ever now, with so many people on etsy. i also think since there is no feedback, people are interested (because i have almost a thousand views) but waiting for someone ELSE to leave feedback. sigh. but it's a good shop, it really is.  i'm very proud of it.
so come over and check it out again, and there is 20% off the first two orders! that's going to be like
10-15$ on most of it, so, a nice savings. coupon code is "summertime". i can't say enough how amazing this fabric is. i do yoga and sleep in it!

Monday Playlist

PUNK GOES THE WORLD
some of my all-time faves. put your feet up and enjoy! xx

THE PRETENDERS - Middle of the road (ALBUM VERSION)

Motorcrash by The Sugarcubes!!!

X - Los Angeles

Talking Heads - Psycho Killer

And here are some

from my third model, jessica:

The new phone books are in !! the new phone books are in!!

ha ha, actually my new shop is up! yes, mylifeinviolet is opening all this week, and will be fully up by the weekend. Hoorayyyy!!! It was a lot of hours, days, weeks and months. A lot of hard work. But all that preparation really paid off. Go have a look! And remember to go back after the weekend to see all 30 pieces. I'll be adding more designs, and more colors in the fall. So far, my models are: Sarah, my cousin, the dark haired one. Then there's Lesley, the blond. She's my friend.  The third, not up yet(shoot is tomorrow) is Jessica, also my friend. It's custom for all sizes up to 3x. Although, I would do a 4x and above, but would have to charge additionally as the fabric would have to be doubled. But it's all good. I have I think 8 colors...(is that right?!). Do go check it out, and tell me what you think, right here. you can also link to it on the right side of this page. Here are some sneak peeks: