Self-Portrait and Avatar and User Pic

Synthetic Platypus by ~SyntheticPlatypus on deviantART

Not on the art list but I needed to create a user ID for several functions so I knocked one out finally.

So here is me, Synthetic Platypus in all my glory.

I wanted something simple but fun and poppy. This is the current style that I am using for the comic I am working on [link] (my stuff is not showing yet, but read it anyway!)

I am a big fan of wearing scarves so I thought I would incorporate the platypus into it for my pop of color. The platypi are nicked from my business cards sans the polka dots, I wanted it a bit more simple.

Now here is the issue. I desperately want this scarf to exist in real life!

Belongings

I wanted to title this blog post "Stuff" but opted for a better vocab word.

Why do we all own so many things?

Seriously, what is our need for all the many different things we have?

Hobbies? Interests? Results of boredom? Things we need to live such as cooking supplies and somewhere to sit in our living room?

Why do we need all of this?

I've been on a journey to get rid of many of my belongings. I read minimalism blogs and drool over bedrooms that have a simple mattress on the floor and one armoir for clothing. I long for clean lines and simplicity.

and yet...

there are things that I really just can't bring myself to get rid of. Things that have absolutely no purpose in my life but are there for the "just-in-case" and the "guilty" and these things are currently driving me up the WALL. I can't stand that I can't get rid of them and I just keep hanging on.

I have a bin. It is full of toys, dress-up clothes (that my grandmother made me), yearbooks, and misc. that I cannot bear to part with. My excuse is it is for my future children. But what if I have a boy? There is nothing in there but my Mr. Potato Head that would be of any interest to a boy.

What about my smaller bin of baby clothing that was mine? This was recently bestowed upon me by my mother. A box full of frou frou dresses with lace and long sleeves and velour onesies. I will never ever dress my child in these but I'm keeping them. Why? I don't know. The fabric is pretty...maybe I'll get a quilt made from them all. When? 20 years from now? Next week? I don't know and yet I'm keeping them all.

I have a bin of my sewing stuff (corralled from 2 bins and the floor) but I like to sew so I'll keep that, it's useful.

What of the giant mirror box in the back of the closet filled with old giant art? That I never look at? There's pictures that are framed that I'm not hanging up in the house and there is big watercolor paper that I will eventually paint on. So just a bit of paper could be saved and the whole box could be gone, but I can't.

This is currently frustrating me beyond belief. I've been cleaning and organizing the extra bedroom and walk-in closet and keep getting stuck. I'd like this space to be completely empty...we don't use it so why store things in it? We should live comfortably in the spaces we do use and not just put random things in this room. It's been a catchall since we moved in and a blight in my wanna-be-clutter-free soul.

This is also not being helped by my parents. My dad gave me part of a coin collection and my set of the license plates he has collected. I love the plates but what do I do with them? They are in the garage right now...I had an idea to hang them in there but I was looking at my garage and enjoy the bare walls we do have. The coins are already packed up to be sold somehow and eventually (they are worth the change that is encased in the plastic. I've checked.)

Then my mom just sent me a box of random stuff. Colored dividers, articles, a file bin and a noise machine. 20 dollars this cost her to send. I perused the articles and am going to truly read two of them (out of 20) I have no need for a file bin (we have file cabinets) and have no use for the dividers. The noise machine is a particular annoyance because she knew that I couldn't sleep with these...in fact I just got off the phone with her (literally) and asked if the noise machine was for Derek and his family and she said no it was for me and Evan and I reminded her that I can't sleep with those. She told me to save it! But then dad said to send it back in a box I need to send them. BINGO. Precisely what I'm going to do.

I feel thwarted right now though. Maybe I'm burned out on cleaning but I just feel like there is no winning against our consumerism and need for stuff. Le sigh.

Now off topic:



Random sketch from sketchbook. A party girl this is from a bit ago but I had gotten new markers and wanted to have some fun.

SaraEvanWedding

Click here to view this photo book larger

HoneyMoon

Click here to view this photo book larger

Work Work Work

I'm trying to bust my butt to get my goals done for the month!

I finished my class, so I just need to get my paperwork done and turned in and I will be truly a Arizona certified teacher! Huzzah.

Lot's of good that it will do me if things go awry for next year. oy vey.

Anyhoo running has been going better. My goal for this month was 3 times a week but I did it twice a week so that's good.

Blogging has been pretty regular. Which is something I've wanted to work on!

I just finished my page 2 for Miss Connie's comic so I need to make a preview for that and post it.

I have the idea for my animation and Evan downloaded the software that I need so I just need to bust that out.

Money I wanted to save is saved.

Garage is cleaned.

I had an epic month apparently.

If I can just catch up grading artwork at work next week I'll have set myself up for a brand new February.

I'll post about my animation in the near future documenting the how to of everything :D



This is a mini-watercolor painting I did last year of Evan's parents for their card for their wedding anniversary. I want to start posting misc. art inside this blog that I don't put anywhere else but here.

Mirror World Preview

So I finished working on the first page and now am in the throws of inking the second page. I'm taking my computer to work today so we'll see how it goes (gotta love subbing wednesdays)


Mirror World Saga Preview Pg.1 by ~SyntheticPlatypus on deviantART

So here it is! I asked Connie if the preview was okay and she said that it was cool with her...I didn't want to give anything away if she didn't want.That's why there is no text showing. I didn't want to give away the actual story.

Page 2 is done in the same place with the same people. Page 3 takes us into the MirrorWorld and the bad guy's lair. My thumbnail for page 3 has been approved so as soon as I'm done with page 2 page 3 will be on it's way.

Still thinking about the movie thing. I do an "animation" project with my students, I may adapt that into something.

Trying to be active lately as well (can't be a lazy artist and sit on my bum all day) I've been running a lot again lately. Got up to five miles yesterday...I will be running on Thursday with my geek girls too.

oh I'm also going on a girls trip (not of the geek variety) to Disneyland. I've never been so this should be fun. Don't feel too bad about the lack of Disneyland for me...I've been to Disneyworld in Florida too many times!

I'm on my last assignment for my college class for my certification here. Which is good the last day is the 31st. I'm going to work on that during my prep tomorrow and Friday. If I can just get the outline of it finished on paper I can just type it up and submit it when I get home on Sunday...and hopefully run 6 miles that day too.

I'm a busy lady, but I'm feeling better now. So that's good.

Setbacks

Man...this week SUCKED BALLS.

I really can't think of another way more eloquent way of describing this week other than "sucking" and "balls".

But on the positive notes:

My computer was fixed for free. Apparently last generation MAC Book Pros have a faulty graphics card. I found that out the hard way this past week. But the new card cost nothing.

Except for missing one day of running and one day of gym I stuck to my good eating and am seeing results.

I don't want to keep revisiting it, but I am going to post happy things on my next post!

There is arting going on as well, I am working on my friend's comic which a preview of that will come in the next post and I did a fun trip around the area and that needs to be talked about as well.

I'm having trouble with my creative grab bag series right now. I picked another difficult card (make an animated movie!) and I don't know what to do. I wanted it done by the end of the month, but I'm not sure if I can do it. We'll see

X-mas in AZ

Things are freezing right now!

I know that New York is under like, 8 ft of snow right now, but I'm still cold.

So there.

Anyhoo, the New year is almost upon us and I'm almost done with my two weeks off (sniffle) so I thought I would random post about a few things going on and then actually get some stuff done around my house (homework, laundry, sewing, scanning).

So, since I was actually home this year and my parents did not rent a house, I decided to decorate a bit for x-mas. Not much mind you, but when I moved down here my mother sent me with a crap ton (an actual measurement I swear!) of boxes filled with holiday cheer. Which I went through and got rid of via a garage sale then a trip to ye ole Goodwill.

So here is my "tree"



It was a tight X-mas money-wise this year so as I was undoing all the decorations I didn't know what I was going to do with all of my ornaments. Then I found this pretty star garland in a bag and knew it would be perfect around my bookshelf. I really liked how it turned out but I probably need to do something different next year. Three of my ornaments bit the dust. One while pulling out a book, another when I was taking them down, and another had death by helicopter (EVAN).

Then we had the decorations on the fireplace.



Before I talk about the nutcrackers I'll talk about the stuff on the bottom mantle below. I have a hand crocheted (not by me) set of carolers next to a light pole. One of my mom's friends made those YEARS ago (I seriously can't remember NOT having them) and I kept them cause they are some of my favorite decorations. Next to them is a sleigh with four reindeer that my dad made ages ago. Love them.

Then we have the Nutcrackers. Only one shelf on top of the mantle. That is it...compared to THIS:


Nutcracker Suite by ~Sarapuu on deviantART

so the insanity has subsided a bit. :)

My parents came and in my parent fashion they spoiled the hell out of the family. Just a short list of things I knew I had gotten even before Christmas morning: Lazy Boy Recliner, Ottoman, a promise to pay for fans to be installed, 15 month gym membership for the two of us,a kinect, Zumba for kinect, and a gift of money which payed for Evan's new laptop. Then all the stuff on X-mas morning.

I really hope the don't do this again next year, it was getting to be obscene. Evan and I felt bad.

I renewed the Netflix subscription for my dad (I got them a player and subscription last year) my dad LOVES the Netflix. It's like the gift that keeps on giving. Then I had gotten my mom an Arizona thing from the Day of the Dead festival. It was cut and artsy. She liked it. Then my brother and I went in together and did family photos. My parents didn't want to be in them but bull on that. We love them and made them.

Here is just the D family of 4. My brother, me, Dad, then Mom.



Then the WHOLE gang. My brother's wife, his step-son, my hub, brother, me. Then in front is my niece, dad, nephew, and mom.



My goodness we are a good looking crew of people!

Tarot

So a few weeks ago I went to a White Elephant party with my Geek Girls. Near the end of the night my friend Shauna got her tarot cards out and was giving little readings. We were to think of a question, shuffle the cards, then cut the cards into three piles, the past, present, and future.

My question was about my job. Major budget cuts to the education system are happening and I don't think I have ever really been so unsure of my employment for the next year.

Ah, the life of an art teacher.

Anyway as I was shuffling a card popped out, as I was about to put it back in Shauna grabbed it and told me, "It wants to be seen."

I continued to shuffle and cut the cards into the piles.

The first card (past) was the Two of Pentacles. The card for change. It makes sense, moving across the country, starting my career, meeting Evan, marriage, a house. My recent past has been all about change.

The second card is my present and it was the Ten of Wands, Oppression. Which with my job, this makes sense. I'm unsure of my employment so I don't want to get too attached, I am subbing a day a week which disrupts my life and teaching, but I do it for the love of the rest of my job. I am tired but I know I need to still work hard.

The third card is my future. While the card did not give me a definitive answer about my employment it did tell me that I would be okay. The card was the Six of Wands. Victory.

The fourth card, the card that popped out when I was shuffling, was the Three of Pentacles, titled "Works." The card featured an artist. :D

So, as long as I work hard and keep doing what I'm doing, I think I am going to be okay.

Massive Art Update

So there has been art going on.

Truly. So I posted a bunch of stuff over at the deviant art site and wanted to share it here!


Synthetic Business Cards by ~SyntheticPlatypus on deviantART


Emerson by ~SyntheticPlatypus on deviantART


Kiriban Kabuki by ~SyntheticPlatypus on deviantART


Mirror World by ~SyntheticPlatypus on deviantART

ENJOY!