52 Pick-me-up: Hero

"In our world of big names, curiously, our true heroes tend to be anonymous. In this life of illusion and quasi-illusion, the person of solid virtues who can be admired for something more substantial than his well-knownness often proves to be the unsung hero: the teacher, the nurse, the mother, the honest cop, the hard worker at lonely, underpaid, unglamorous, unpublicized jobs.  

          Daniel J. Boorstin, 1914 - 2004" [source]  

David Bowie's "Heroes" came up on my iPod during my commute last week and the above quote came in my "Quote of the Day" newsletter. Synchronicity! 

Celebrate your hero(es) this week for 52 Pick-me-up.
I have many, don't you?

I decided to feature the wonderful nurses of the infusion clinic at Harbor/ UCLA.
I sketched them on the sly over the course of my chemo treatments in 2010-11.

Gee, I thought I'd sketched more! I guess I took stealth photos, which I won't post.
Here's my last day in the clinic, 6/29/11

with Mariciel? (can't remember her name)

Bowie:

Who is your hero this week? Link and tell!

[Enid] Explained

ENID/ CREATED/ LINKS/

Enid's new guest posts will commence tomorrow.
Who is this Enid character, anyway?

She gave a reveal on her last post, May 1, 2014:

According to my calculations, Enid was 18 when Ghost World was published in 1997.
That would make her 35 in 2014.

[Amazon link]

What sort of career did Enid grow into after she left on the bus?

[from Ghost World, p. 80]

I figured that she worked in publishing and had wound up being Miz Bag of Vogoff's dogsbody. In the beginning of 2014, she had caused a few deadline misses, so Miz Bag "punished" her by sending her out to report on my road trip circumnavigating the US.

This year, Enid has been banished to Vogoff's scarf closet*.
(Enid can never catch a break.)
Even I don't know what she'll get up to in there, starting tomorrow!

*[it looks a lot like Lenny's. Well, maybe not THAT insane]

Lenny Kravitz's "scarf closet" [source]
Now I feel better about how my closets look.
Note human in foreground for scale.
[7/25/16 update -- NOT Lenny's, it's a scarf merchant in Marrakech. Discovered REAL source while repairing broken link]

Are You Ready for the Return of Enid?

CREATED/ GIFTED/ 

Enid's journal was left only half filled last year.

Leather-bound blank journal a gift from my brother (yay Randy!) 

Ducks in Paisley scarf a gift from Connie 

I'm doubling down and combining TWO April blogging events:
International Fake Journal Month 
and 
Blogging from A to Z 

I've been brainstorming during #myshittycommute

(this particular session was for my upcoming show at TAG)

and am STILL not sure EXACTLY what Enid will post every day.
(IFJM "rules" stipulate creating the fake entries on the actual day. Enid is a bit of a wild card).

I'm lining up her inspiration and I promise it shall be alphabetically entertaining!
All I can say at this point is, it will have something to do with scarves.
A dance of the 26 veils, if you will.

Miz Bag has granted her approval

It's not too late to join in the madness!

Read about how to join IFJM here.

Sign up here for Blogging A to Z (900+ blogs listed so far!)

ps: I had NO IDEA that this would be SCARF WEEK on 52 Pick-me-up when I wrote this post.
How fortuitous!

Quick Draw: FotoSensori

CREATED/ LINKS/

Some sketches from Saturday night.
Which reminds me -- I'll be taking Diana Vitale's Fashion Figure Drawing class at OTIS starting this Thurs. An opportunity to draw and make a mess! Oh my chalk pastels, how I've missed you!

Foot Fetish Friday -- Chinese Sandals Part 2

CREATED/

Yangtze Plastic Sandals
------
2004
Cat St.
Hong Kong China
------
I stocked up on more of these on my 2nd trip to HK.
Black, green, red, purple.
Black are wearing out
Need another trip to HK!

***********
Two weeks ago, I showed you my studio sandals. When I returned to Hong Kong in 2004, I grabbed all the black pairs and an assortment of the other colors from a vendor on Cat Street.

purple: 2004, 1992

I really wish I could find them in the states.

Foot Fetish Friday: Chinese Plastic Sandals

4.28.10
Yangtze Plastic Sandals
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1992  Monkok, Kowloon, China
------
I use these as my studio shoes. Some of the straps are broken. They [are] good for gardening too. 

*********
These are 20 years old? WHAT?

Here I'm standing on some studio garments.

Foot Fetish Friday -- Flashback Edition

CREATED/ LINKS/

Are you ready to go old school? Old school as in high school??
I recently found an old sketchbook, perhaps from sophomore year.
I found these two relics of my shoe past.

Kalsø Earth Shoes

Clarks Treks

Blogger Connecting at Lucky FABB

CREATED/

Here's a sweet little sketch that I did at Lucky FABB. This girl planted herself on the reptilian couch in the outside lobby where I was lurking. She was glued to her mobile for at least 30 minutes.

Foot Fetish Friday: Krizia Shoes

CREATED/

Seeing the film "Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's" brought to mind my own Bergdorf's memories. This was a shoe that I obtained in the late? (maybe the mid) 80s. I drew it from memory on my iPad and concentrated on the golden scrolled piping detail on the vamp. Long gone, I wore them to shreds. Designed by Krizia, I'm sure they were super expensive. Lucky for me, I had a secret source. Richard dressed the Bergdorf windows then, and damaged goods couldn't go back on the selling floor. He gave these to Patucci, they were too small, so I got them.
I have a Krizia ad from W with the shoes pictured in it. If I ever find it, I'll add it to this post. Same for a photo of me in them. Smart phones weren't yet invented and we didn't take pictures of our feet that much (or at least I didn't).

Foot Fetish Friday: Sanita Clog

4.21.10 while waiting @ Harbor General Hospital

Sanita Patent Mary Jane Clog
---------
2010
Lord John's Bootery
NYC
--------
Emergency purchase because all I took to NY was a pair of rubber boots that gave me horrible blisters. Store right around the corner from hotel.

********

The strap on the right shoe broke while I was at work. Sad day. I MacGyvered it with a ribbon. I'm hoping a good shoe repair guy can rehab them.

In better days:

with some Crazy Cat Lady socks

Now:

This year two pairs of favorite footwear have broken. I am not pleased with this trend.

Foot Fetish Friday: Converse Suede Sneaker

4.20.10
Converse Suede Sneaker
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when?
late 90s?
where?
San Pedro??
----------
A friend, John Borack, is doing a charity for the Boys + Girls Club of Stanton. He calls it Bucks for Chucks. It was actually this charity that got me drawing my shoes.

*******
first sneaker drawing + post
[link for charity is HERE -- scroll down to the bottom of the page]

*******

I wear these every Friday for Qi Gong class. Lately I've been wearing them to work and around town. They are padded and the most comfortable sneakers that I own (not that I own that many pairs). I wish Converse would reissue them. They're Jack Purcell style.

Part of my day involves jurying/editing student designs for the OTIS 2013 Scholarship Benefit Fashion Show to be held May 4th. This is going on today in the big room at The Mart downtown. (I know it has some other name, but it'll always be "The Mart" to me. #so_old). Because I'm too "thrifty" [read cheap] to shell out $12+ to park there, I'll need to have some good walking shoes to get from my favorite $3 lot at Pico + 12th. Can I concoct an outfit that'll run the gamut from exercising to a gallery meeting to a fashionable afternoon event, plus Syd Straw's gig at McCabes as a nightcap? Follow my Instagram feed for updates, now conveniently located in the sidebar.

...Went on the Converse site and found Purcells in leather -- kinda creepy -- and this canvas style with some padding that can be customized -- hmmmmmm, got me cogitating now, Converse... AND THEN I DID THIS: I designed this at Converse.com. Gotta go try these on at retail before I order, to see if they're as comfortable as they look!

Foot Fetish Friday: Fluevog

4.19.10
Fluevog Chunky Retro Sandal
-----------
1990ish
Sonnie's  So Pasadena
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These are so over the top crazy.
Designed in the 90s
Look like the 70s
Comfortable too.
=========

Time for another shoe sketch! Friday crept up on me like a stealthy cat.

I love these sandals. They have been sitting on the speakers in my hallway, waiting to get repaired. They have been there a REALLY LONG TIME! They have a minor problem - the rubber soles have come partly unglued, so they flap around (trip and fall waiting to happen). I even got some strong shoe glue from a student (two years ago?) who was also taking a shoe design class. Not doing so well on the DIY shoe repair, SpyGirl.

styled with my CMYK Happy Socks (this style no longer available)

"Anne the SpyGirl" Shop on Society6

I've opened a shop exclusively for my fashion sketches on Society6

[earlier iteration of sketch]
ISM Mode F/W13 Plaid Top
direct link to sketch on Society6 

A widget is now stationed on the sidebar, for your shopping convenience.

For anyone curious about starting their own business selling digital prints, I'm really pleased with the quality and service of Society6. I set up my fine art prints shop there in 2010.

I like the fact that you can add what profit you'd like to make on your work for the prints on paper.

[now you know my markups]

They also offer pieces framed, which I haven't yet sampled. (Almost did for my upcoming show, but then decided I didn't like the framing options). They fulfill the order and payments are through PayPal.

Sizing is dependent upon the size of your original jpg. If you're particular about color matching and output dimensions, then this wouldn't be a good place to use as a service bureau. I've had some "interesting" size issues happen -- especially with a cupcake image that I had to shrink and reorder because the first version was scary big (cupcakes the size of cauliflower heads? No thank you).
Other drawbacks are: not knowing who buys your work, canvas print prices are not adjustable (this one really irks me), and the paper is super heavy and rolled (how it comes for the printing process) so it's impossible to "float" your image when framing.

They keep adding new substrates and products that they print -- the latest is pillows.
I just ordered an iPhone case and I'll tell you what I think when I get it (soon I hope).
The site also has a whole "social" aspect, with "Loves" and "Follows" and all that.

Note: I was not compensated by Society6 for this post.
But if you buy art from me over there, then I will certainly make some money!

Foot Fetish: Cow Print Slides

4.18.10
cow print slides
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Summer 2000 Sacramento @ Macy's on sale while waiting for timing belt replace on van
----------
These are my around the house shoes The fur has almost entirely worn off and rubber soles are cracked

I've sketched these shoes a bunch of times. I'm part of a sketching group started by Karen Winters (who was inspired by Danny Gregory) called EveryDay Matters. The group has a weekly challenge and the first on the archive list is "Draw a shoe" I always return to this pair, maybe because they have so much character.

here is a more recent iteration, done with the Brushes app on the iPad

They are beyond worn out at this point, so far gone that I've stopped wearing them, even as house slippers. Maybe they want to be sketched one more time before I toss them.

They also have sentimental value. I bought them on the road trip I took before I moved in with Severo. We drove up to Davis for a Cockeyed Ghost gig, then he returned south and I headed East. That was the I-80 trip, July 2000. I saw lots and lots of cornfields.

When Blogs Collide

I have a confession to make. Maybe you already know.

I write FIVE SIX blogs.
Not ALL THE TIME. Heavens, no.

"Why can't you combine them all into one?" you ask.
I don't know. Somehow, I need the separation. There are times, however, when my worlds collide. This morning (VERY EARLY this morning) I got to thinking about the shoe sketchbook that I started three years ago. I dutifully posted the sketches over on my sketch blog:

this is the second to last one as of today

Then, life interrupted my shoe sketching flow. (Hello cancer). OK, THAT'S been conquered.
Onward.

There's a very dusty pair of rubber boots out on the back porch that I wanted to include in the book before they go in the rubbish. They recently resurfaced during a clean up session. Now that I'm sketching here, I'm going to repost the "In My Shoes" sketchbook and expand the entries with extra stuff.
"Foot Fetish" will be the series' title.
If you're seriously impatient, you can preview the entries over on the sketch blog. Then come back here.
Tomorrow, I'll start with the first page.

Figuring It Out As I Go

This year, I set an intention to sketch at fashion events. The two events hosted by the Los Angeles Fashion Council that I attended last week gave me a perfect opportunity to put intent into action. I've written about both already here and here, now I'll show you what I wore and what I drew with.

Wednesday night was an "on the way home from work" situation.
I chose the paisley shell because it has patch pockets.
That's why I took Elvis too. Well, that and Elvis has a built-in "wow" factor.

photos and "Food Fight" installation by Manny Castro

As soon as I got home, I wrote a list of supplies that I wanted to take the next day,
while my needs were still fresh in my mind:

I didn't have time to stop at an art supply store, so I "made do" with what I had on hand:

I created a figure template underlay to use as a framework to get the proportions right --
I just can't do it freehand

I put the same template into my iPad Brushes app and made a bunch of duplicates.
I ended up not using the iPad. Was happy sketching analog!

Day 2, ready to hit the I-10 to downtown -- Red Lips, people!!!

How the raw sketches look

Scanned sketch, added color in Illustrator

I'm happy with the direction these sketches are going. I like the loose "Mats Gustafson" look. [Look him up].
I've got many more to finish, and another event coming up next Thursday. WooHoo!

Checking in with Patti's Visible Monday. Click on over to see more Visibleness.