#SecondhandSeptember My Local Flea Market

All hail the Santa Monica Airport Antique and Collectable Market!

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Sparkle on! At the Santa Monica Antique Flea.

A post shared by anne m bray (@annembray) on Apr 23, 2017 at 12:50pm PDT

I love this market and I could even walk to it if I got myself a granny cart to tote my loot home. Therein lies my problem. I ALWAYS find stuff to buy. I try my utmost to "shop with my camera" . but then I'll see some irresistible object. And then I have to impose a shopping ban upon myself.
Things. I hear their siren call.

The time I ALMOST successfully shopped with my camera. (1/2019)
Another time (2/2018)
Both times, bought things. I am so weak.

Another great find:

Ungaro silk shirt: $6.
link to post about it

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#SecondHandSeptember Decluttering Methods

Who out there is neat and tidy?

I fully admit that I am not.

Some might call it a "creative mess".
I know, in my soul, it's simply a mess.
I even put it as a disclaimer on my Instagram bio:

Let's talk Instagram decluttering.

You've probably seen an ad in your feed for making your Instagram "cleaner".
[I can't show you the actual ad because I ticked "See it too often" and now that I want to utilize it, it's not appearing. Watch, it'll return after I publish this post. Will add after I next see it].
Anyway, it shows example #1, a chaotic feed that looks much like this:

Next is example #2, a feed with a consistent color story and alternating images and blocks of text, like this (blurred to protect the innocent. I'm not dissing the IGer, I'm dissing the layout):

Personally, example #2 looks bland and boring and I don't want to read all that text.

[9/10] - here's the IG ad

I do agree that example #1 looks like my brain and is a bit scary. Here's another glimpse:

My personal solution (and let's all agree, it's YOUR feed, and you can post whatever and however you want) is to be more mindful and restrain myself to three posts a day. This then lines up like with like in the IG grid of three:

This I find especially difficult on the weekends because I'm usually not taking outfit photos and I'm doing fun stuff that I want to share! [See bottom row above].
So, I'm letting it all hang out on the weekends and reining myself back in during the work week.

We won't discuss the state of my house. It's not digital and less easily controlled.

Ha! Check out my 9/9 post -- the flat files got magically cleaned up!
Today (9/10), it looks even worse than above.
I got a new-to-me piece of furniture and chaos ensued.

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Fall into #SecondHandSeptember

It's the start of September and that means a new Link Up Party!
This was posted by a Facebook friend, and I think it's worth joining in.

1) Take the pledge

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S E P T E M B E R I know it’s still August! ☀️ And I promise I’m not wishing the time away, but if you’re on Instagram, whether you’re a blogger or not, I’d love for you to join in with @oxfamgb #SecondHandSeptember 📲 Lots of #UKMoneyBloggers are signing up to the pledge to #SayNoToNew for 30 days in September 👩🏻‍💻👨🏻‍💻We want to raise awareness about the real cost of #fastfashion 🌍 Please share this post and get more people joining in for a bigger impact 👊🏼 I promise you’ll save money whilst making a difference 😇 #oxfam #oxfamshop #fashion #fashionista #fashion #OOTD #Instafashion #vintage #secondhand #thriftstorefinds #thrifting #ThriftyFinds #Instastyle #LookBooks #wiwt #WIW #FashionWeek #outfitoftheday #ethicalfashion #ethicalclothing #sustainablefashion #savingmoney #sustainable #sustainableclothing #charityshopfind #thrifty

A post shared by ThriftyMum | Hollie (@thriftymum) on Aug 7, 2019 at 1:43pm PDT

 2) Reasons to buy secondhand
 3) Charity/ thrift shop of the week
 4) Fave secondhand piece
 5) Make money from secondhand
 6) Decluttering methods [gah!]
 7) This week's thrifty find
 8) Carboot sales [what is the US equivalent? Flea market?]
 9) Online secondhand shops
10) Charity/ thrift shop of the week
11) Secondhand music
12) Capsule Secondhand wardrobe
13) Charity/ thrift shopping like a pro
14) This week's thrifty find
15) £10/ $10 charity shop challenge
16) Secondhand books
17) Charity/ thrift shop of the week
18) Antiques
19) Vintage clothing
20) Secondhand homeware
21) This week's thrifty find
22) Tips for reselling
23) Secondhand party clothes
24) Charity/ thrift shop of the week
25) Secondhand accessories
26) Customization
27) Secondhand kitchenware
28) £10/ $10 charity shop challenge
29) This week's thrifty find
30) Autumn capsule wardrobe Thrifty friends

I took the liberty of customizing and Americanizing some of the prompts.
I'm also going to do this challenge with as little shopping as possible.
I will be mostly posting my responses on Instagram and will add the posts to the Link Party.

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Linking up with
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Shelbee's Spread the Kindness
Catherine's #shareAllLinkup

Summertime Goals: August Summery Summary

Daily Goals:
Do a Daily Drawing. (Fashion sketches count). 12/31

The fashion sketches are TOP SECRET
This, however, was a fun "Sunday Challenge" in my Facebook sketch group:
"Draw yourself as royalty in 3 minutes"
I used Procreate. [It took longer than 3 minutes!]

Procreate doodles (new) 19/31
This one got the most Likes:

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I messed up my “row of fashion sketches” so here’s today’s @procreate doodle. #digitalcanvas3 #patterndesign #annembray #100dayproject #findyour100 #procreate #100_amb 107/100. I’ve been posting the series on @annembray.art but maybe it belongs here. I confuse myself sometimes. Motif derived from my scarf.

A post shared by anne m bray (@annembray) on Jul 30, 2019 at 2:11pm PDT

This one I "donated" to the day job, I think it'll be good for Costco Canada panties if I change the colours:

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Today’s @procreate doodle. #digitalcanvas3 #patterndesign #annembray #100dayproject #findyour100 #procreate #100_amb 110/100. Motif derived from a bit on today’s tunic. Colorway from COTDstyle of the day: bold patterns and dirty sage! #COTDstyle

A post shared by anne m bray (@annembray) on Aug 2, 2019 at 1:12pm PDT

Weekly Goals:
Waterlogues from old road trip photos 19/4 / Post to Saatchi Art 4/4
Sew and/or repair at least one garment. 2/4

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Maiden voyage of my #memade tunic and new to me @Fluevog Moxie Magoo Magnums, captured on eBay. Woohoo! #vog_magnum #slowsewing #outfitjournal #outfitdiary #iwillwearwhatilike

A post shared by anne m bray (@annembray) on Aug 13, 2019 at 1:09pm PDT

List at least one item on Poshmark 4/4
Upload new art to Redbubble. 2/4
Sew one patch onto Crazy Quilt (new). 0/4 [sigh]

Summer Goals:
54 FASHION SKETCHES (new) 13/54 
Get taxes done. not yet
DeClutter the living room (again). started and needs more constant/consistent work
Get sewing machine repaired. (how many years has this been broken now?) not yet

Do you have any sort of "To Do" list? Or maybe a "Honey Do"?
I'll report back again at the end of the September, progress or not.

The SUMMER Link Party closes at 9/2, so get those summer things linked!

There will be a different sort of Link Party for September -- check back tomorrow!

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Linking up with
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Catherine's #shareAllLinkup

It's All About Me: Eleven Questions

1) Why blog?

My first blog was started for a drawing challenge. I was immediately addicted.

My first-ever blog post -- 5.26.2008

I started my seventh (!) to learn WordPress before changing my art website to that platform.

I really like blogging as a way to communicate. Pictures and words — win-win!

2. What is your favorite pastime (aside from blogging)

My creative endeavors are too weighted to be pastimes so I’ll have to say, doing things with my love Severo! Or eating. Or both:

3. How do you overcome your fears?

Powering through. But some? I have some deep fears (heights) that I can’t lick. It is what it is.

4. What motivates you?

Deadlines

My Top Secret project, procrastination is setting in.

5. How do you define success?

Feeling excited and engaged in whatever project(s) I’m working on.

6. Who do you admire?

All the people who follow their passion, no matter the cost.

7. What is beautiful to you?

Honesty. Nature. Lurid sunrises and sunsets.

Phoenix Sunset II, oil on canvas, 48 x 30", ©2001

8. What are two things you like about yourself?

I am a creative force!

I love my legs

Legs. Banned on Tumblr.

9. Favorite style era?

1920s

10. Heels or flats?

Clogs and Fluevogs (2” heel and under)

11. Favorite season?

Ramp season! “Ramps are a wild onion that grow during the spring in Eastern Canada and the U.S. They're sometimes referred to as wild leeks, and taste like a balanced mixture of garlic and onion. They're pungent, to say the very least.” (From HuffPost)

That time I discovered ramps in my mom's woods -- May 2014

This was inspired by the questions issued to Shelbee for her Sunshine Blogger Award

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Aloha, Glendale Style

It was another Movie Nite at Russ and Anita's house.

photo by Anita

Details:
Tiki cork necklace made by Susan West for her husband's 50th b-day party.
Grass skirt drink decor from same party, worn as cuffs.
Shell necklaces from a 2005 luau we attended in Kailua, on the Big Island.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Delicious!

Yes, we were going to see one of the Elvis in Hawaii films: Paradise, Hawaiian Style.

It's really bad -- check out this scathing review!

Russ and Anita introduce the movies

Nick and Will perform a poolside ditty

First short: Wackiki Wabbit

Dessert intermission before the feature.
I made Haupia (upper left above watermelon)
from a recipe provided by the Polynesian Cultural Center, where scenes from the Elvis movie were shot!

Closer look at Sarojini's Surfin' Pineapple Cupcakes. YUM!

Fun in the Tiki Shack

Under the Love Lobstah

One last outfit detail: Severo wore that same shirt at the 2005 luau mentioned above.
Where he danced with a Hula Girl!

HEY! Stop looking at her coconuts!

Previous Movie Nite escapades: Mildred Pierce [there are more but I can't find them].

You still have time to add a Summer link or two or three:

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Linking up with
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Tunic in Transit

Look what I made!

I hand sewed it during my voyage to my brother's wedding.

I got the pieces cut right before leaving for the airport and started sewing about one hour before landing. [no photos]

A few hours later, I continued working on it on the bus en route from Port Authority in NYC to Springfield, MA.

We are at 10th Ave x 52nd St. 10:43

I-87 x Cromwell Ave, the Bronx. 11:27

Finished in Katonah at 12:13.
That went super fast. I will be sewing more!

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Saying Goodbye To Miyoshi

We all miss you very much.

Miyoshi in 2014 at her opening reception at Luis de Jesus, "Feel Better"

Her memorial was on 7/11, and we were asked to bring a succulent or cactus.
Here is my choice, nestled amidst other contributions:

I thought the shapes of the plant resembled her piece Rainbow of Tears:

[source: http://www.miyoshibarosh.com/projects_tapestries.html]

I added the border treatment to the container, which I finger-drew in Procreate:

I wore my golden clogs and the scarf that she gave me in 2010, when I started chemo treatments:

And I've begun a small collection of succulents for myself:

[Miyoshi's is in the upper left]

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Repair and Design Futures at the RISD Museum

Repair and Design Futures at the RISD Museum [ended 6/30/19] was a great show about mending.

A quilt display in Cafe Pearl

Repair is the creative destruction of brokenness.
—Elizabeth V. Spelman, Repair: The Impulse to Restore in a Fragile World

Repair, a humble act born of necessity, expresses resistance to the unmaking of our world and the environment. This exhibition and programming series, Repair and Design Futures, investigates mending as material intervention, metaphor, and call to action. Spanning the globe and more than three centuries, these objects reveal darns, patches, and stabilized areas that act as springboards to considering socially engaged design thinking today. Repair invites renewed forms of social exchange and offers alternative, holistic ways of facing environmental and social breakdown.

On display in this multiuse gallery space are costume and textile objects from the collections of the RISD Museum and Brown University’s Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology. In Café Pearl (at the Benefit Street entrance) and the Donghia Costume and Textile Gallery and Study Center (sixth floor), related exhibitions investigate additional approaches to repair. Through this informal, expansive format, we hope to encourage engagement across a broad spectrum of perspectives.

Kate Irvin
Curator, Costume and Textiles Department
RISD Museum
[all text in brown from RISD Museum website or exhibition checklist]

The exhibition was divided into several sections. There were also displays of relevant books, some of which I've listed at the bottom.

Wounds, Sutures, and Scars
We mend. We women turn things inside out and set things right.
—Louise Erdrich, Four Souls
The visceral presence of flesh in objects crafted of animal hide is amplified here by the visible sutures
that suggest a tending to and eventual healing of wounds endured. This material’s spiritual resonance
prompts questions of how the wound, crack, or fissure might provide an invitation to respond not only on a personal level but also within civic and collective arenas.

Repair as Value Added
Repairs that are not only unconcealed but celebrated serve as reminders of the rich life an object has
led, adding meaning, calling attention to its stories, and enabling a new path forward. Weathered
garments with evident and various repairs encourage us to appreciate the worn and imperfect as entry
points to understanding objects as material and practice, and to identifying holes (evident in patch
repairs) as important signs of history, time, emotional investment.

Ghanaian Man’s Robe (Fugu), mid 1900s Indigo-dyed cotton plain weave, patched
Museum purchase: Museum Works of Art Fund, by exchange 2017.5.2 

Textbook Repair
Well into the 20th century, mending and sewing skills were part of women’s education. Neatness and
precision were considered key indicators of skill and a girl’s eventual management of her household.
However, despite meticulous textbook instruction and training, many historical repairs combine
systematic skill with improvisation and creativity.

Broken-World Thinking
Broken-world thinking, as conceived by scholar Steven J. Jackson, presents breakage as potentially
generative and repair as a space for creative solutions to ruptures in the fabric of society. These pieces
speak to repair as a way of making something—perhaps even a broken world—functional again. These repairs acknowledge use, abuse, accident, and error. They insist on not forgetting the thing or its history.

Assemblage
These pieces reflect the value of assemblage in communicating and sharing mutual respect and
perspectives. Notions of cultural purity and ownership have no traction here. These items instead
recognize the emotional labor of dialogue and repairing relationships by reaching across imposed and/or imagined boundaries.

Patchwork
Patchworked items manifest repair by promoting collaboration. They celebrate the dialogue of the old with the new and illustrate the ways anyone can intervene and give dysfunctional material new life. The coming together involved in the practice of patchwork quilting has traditionally provided communities with moorings of exchange, communication, and shared traditions. Repair, in this case, is a way to reconnect fabric and people and engage with cultural and material history.

Additional reading:

• PDF checklist of exhibition
• Mending Matters: Stitch, Patch, and Repair Your Favorite Denim & More by Katrina Rodabaugh
• My Life with Things: The Consumer Diaries by Elizabeth Chin
• Fray: Art and Textile Politics by Julia Bryan-Wilson
• The Subversive Stitch: Embroidery and the Making of the Feminine by Rozsika Parker
• The Geometry of Hand-Sewing: A Romance in Stitches and Embroidery from Alabama Chanin and The School of Making by Natalie Chanin

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