Spring Break

Last year (in San Francisco) I discovered that the best kind of vacation is one where you don't have a schedule, but can just kind of wing it and go with the flow. My kind of vacation is also one where you walk around and see lots of different, but interesting things. So this year, I decided to go to Santa Barbara, CA. It's a small, laid back place, which is ideal for me (especially during Spring Break). There are lots of beaches, which is where I wanted to spend a majority of the time just hanging out, catching some sun. Santa Barbara is also known for it's Spanish Colonial architecture and has many historical sites to visit.

The first night, we went to the beach in Oxnard. We pretty much had it to ourselves, which was awesome!

There is something about just watching and listening to the waves that I don't think I will ever tire of.

There is also something infinitely better about throwing a frisbee on the beach compared to anywhere else.

The next day we went out and saw the sites of Santa Barbara. This is the Old Mission Santa Barbara...

I love the architectural style! The Old Mission was founded in 1786. However, it was destroyed in an earthquake in 1812 and the current building was rebuilt in 1820.

We then went to the Court House. This was built in 1929 in the same Spanish Colonial Revival style.

We climbed the stairs to the top of the clock tower to look out over the city. It was absolutely beautiful!

We headed to Stearns Wharf. There wasn't much to do there, but I did snap this picture looking back across the water:

 

The next day we actually decided to drive to Simi Valley to see the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. It was very interesting and Simi Valley is also beautiful.

They have the Air Force 1 that Ronald Reagan used there. We were able to go inside and look at it, but no pictures were allowed (LAME!!!)

They also have a room that is exactly like the Oval Office in the White House.

 On the last day, we decided to drive to Santa Monica Pier. It was really cloudy that day, but we still got some quality time in at the beach.

Again, I could sit and watch the waves all day long. But alas, I had to come back to real life, full of boring-ness and responsibility. Until next time California...

So, um....yeah.

Guess what? I finished my stained glass window of the Eiffel Tower. I feel like I kind of lost my motivation there towards the end so I'm not sure that it turned out as great as it could have been. But here it is anyway...

...and once again, the picture doesn't really show the colors very well. But you get the point.

Now I need to find where I left my motivation so that I can start on another project. I am going to get back on track and make a lamp for my brother and sister-in-law...that I promised them over a year ago. Oops. :)

Bonjour, Paris!

I apologize if that title was a bit misleading...No, I am not in Paris. I really wish I was, but alas! I have school and work and pretty much no money. So...(sigh)... here I sit on a cold, rainy/snowy night in January, typing away at my computer. Pretty lame, I know. On a brighter, more random note, that title makes me want to watch "Funny Face" with Audrey Hepburn really badly. If you have never seen it I highly recommend it. I especially love the part where she dances in that cafe! It is so funny! It makes me laugh just thinking of it.

Anyway, the point of this post is to give an update (as promised) on my stained glass window. This is the Eiffel Tower window that I started waaaaay back in the summer. So here it is:





It's hard to see the colors without any light shining through it, but right now I only have all the individual pieces finished. Before I can stand it up I will have to foil them and then solder it all together. You can still get an idea of what it will look like though.

Confession:

I know, I know! I've been completely slacking on my stained glass projects. And I know that I said

I was going to get some projects done by the end of the year and I didn't. So I guess I lied....school and work got a little out of hand and I didn't have as much spare time as I would have liked and then somehow I fell into a time warp because it is somehow already a new year. How did this happen? Where did the time go? I don't know the answer to either of those questions, but this year is going to be different.... starting RIGHT NOW! 2012 is MY year!

I don't really have control over how hectic school and work gets, but I am going to spend the spare time I do have more wisely (and watch my step for those pesky time warps). I am going to get serious about my stained glass and I am finally going to actually start painting. I'm just going to do it and that is all there is to it. Just you try and stop me!

 I have really started to notice Edward Hopper paintings lately and I think they are really amazing. I used to find them very plain and boring, but now I find them beautiful in their simplicity. Here are some of my favorites that make me want to pick up a brush right now and start painting on the nearest surface:

Here are some other paintings that I really love:



...by Adrian Wright

...by Karen Winters

...by Megan Andlars

So there you have it! I am inspired and I am going to do some serious stained glass-ing and some serious painting!



SWEET!!!

So today I went onto the internet to check out the news and there was a crazy story! It was about how IKEA had displayed a family  photo without permission. This woman has a blog and posts pictures of her family like many people do. Apparently, there are stock photo companies, along with lots of other people I'm sure, who will go and steal your photos. Someone just happened to see the photo and recognized the family and alerted them. So I googled how to prevent people from being able to do this and found this awesome code:



< script language="JavaScript">
< !--

//Disable right mouse click Script
//By Maximus (maximus@nsimail.com) w/ mods by DynamicDrive
//For full source code, visit http://www.dynamicdrive.com

var message="Function Disabled!";

///////////////////////////////////
function clickIE4(){
if (event.button==2){
alert(message);
return false;
}
}

function clickNS4(e){
if (document.layers||document.getElementById&&!document.all){
if (e.which==2||e.which==3){
alert(message);
return false;
}
}
}

if (document.layers){
document.captureEvents(Event.MOUSEDOWN);
document.onmousedown=clickNS4;
}
else if (document.all&&!document.getElementById){
document.onmousedown=clickIE4;
}

document.oncontextmenu=new Function("alert(message);return false")

// -->
< /script>



So if you have a blog and don't want people to be able to steal your pictures, just copy this code. If you are on blogspot.com, just go into "design" and then "add a gadget" and select "Java script/HTML" and paste the code. Save your blog and Voila! people can no longer right-click on pictures in your blog and copy them. You can even test it out by going into your blog and trying to right-click on a photo. A message will pop up saying that it has been disabled.

I thought this was pretty cool and important, so I thought I would let anybody know who would like to keep their family photos, artwork, etc. safe.

P.S. I am still working on my Eiffel Tower window. I know, I know! It is taking me FOREVER! But I hope to be posting some pictures soon!

A Little Inspiration

As an excuse to not do my homework and to look at something beautiful, (since I wouldn't exactly describe the inside of my textbooks as "beautiful") I decided to post a blog about SOME, and let me emphasize that a little more - SOME!!!! of the things I would like to do or see before my time on this wonderful Earth has expired.

I want to see the tulips and windmills in the Netherlands...

To watch the sun set from a beautiful beach....

To see the Mona Lisa in person....

To see the Northern Lights...

To go to Japan and see the cherry blossoms...

To go to London...

To go to Italy...

To see Van Gogh's "Starry Night" in person...

To go to Jodhpur, India and see the blue city...

To look out onto the Mediterranean Sea....

To ride a bike around New Zealand....

To look up at the Eiffel Tower in Paris...

To ride a camel and see the Egyptian Pyramids...

To walk barefoot on a black sand beach...

To ride a horse in Monument Valley...

...And to have a kitten so adorable that you can't look away...

Still Alive...

I thought I would put out a message to the blogosphere saying that I am still here. I have managed to survive this crazy, stressful summer. In accomplishing that I have sadly neglected my art, and consequently my blog.

I have one more week of freedom before school starts up again and hope to make some progress on the Eiffel Tower window and post some pictures.

My time will be sparse once school starts, but I hope to find a little time each week for my art. My goal is to have a couple more projects done before the end of the year, but as we learned in "The Story of the Lamp," I can sometimes be impractical.

In the meantime, here are some beautiful pictures from oh so long ago, at the beginning of summer, when life was carefree!

The Palace of Fine Arts

Enormous and beautiful

Nearing the Golden Gate Bridge

Fort Point

"The Painted Ladies" at Alamo Square

Going to Prison (Alcatraz)

The view from prison

San Francisco from Alcatraz (So close, yet still so far)

The Golden Gate Bridge while leaving Alcatraz

Lombard St. "The Crookedest Street" (could also be "The Steepest Street")

I don't know why, but this makes me think of the Yellow Brick Road...only it's red

Entrance to Chinatown

Chinatown

Saying goodbye to San Francisco :(