Etsy Finds: Art Photography by Darla Winn

Art Photography by thePhotoZoo © Darla Winn

qwerty dreams

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24529490

you can fly

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20553097

simply kissable

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30363882

all i've undergone

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=38072320

i heart photography

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24581054

Art Photography by thePhotoZoo © Darla Winn

- - -

Helping Haiti: even if we have little...

anyone who's watched the news on tv or on the internet lately, has heard of the Haiti disaster for sure.

map of Haiti

we've been so flooded (sorry for the expression) with images and reports with all the "latest" unfortunate details on the situation, body counts, the anger of surviving locals, lack of aids from their government, problems with foreign aid reaching the country, etc etc.
for some strange reason i've been watching the tv news about it, over and over again in the last 2 days, like a strange (morbid?) fixation. i surely agree this isn't the best "subject" to become obsessed with, just since the past month i've been trying hard not to let myself be taken into the dark depths of depression.
i think many specialist would claim that watching these terrible events is too overwhelming and might make people feel depressed. well, if i was already kinda depressed, i guess this isn't gonna make me feel that much worse...

but i couldn't stay indifferent to the aid appeals all over the media for too long, so yesterday i donated to the Portuguese Red Cross, a Portuguese NGO* [*Non-governmental organization] called AMI-Assistência Médica Internacional* [*International Medical Assistance], and to UNICEF* [*United Nations Children's Fund].
still, i was remembered about the situation of the animals in the area... i remembered when hurricane Katrina happened and i got emails from animal welfare organizations. so i decided to visit the IFAW* [*International Fund for Animal Welfare] website, since i was on their mailinglist for quite some time, and i ended up not "resisting" making a donation to them.

i'm unemployed right now, have been so for over a month, and i'm currently trying to put my life together, as i need to do this in order to get my mind "straight" and start looking for a job more seriously/actively. luckily for me that i have some savings from the time when i had a steady job, but i try not to spend so much on "extras" since i'm out of work of course. i've wrote about my spendings on "extras" in previous posts: zines, that's what makes for most of my so-called extras.
and luckily for me, i have a home, i have food and water, i have clothes. i have family and friends. and those people in Haiti don't have much, if any, of these things. and animals don't have anyone to help them either, not to mention that this crisis increases the outbreak and spreading of diseases between animals and people.
i don't have much [money], but they have so little. my donations are perhaps a small grain of sand to the Support Disaster Relief.

in the next months much more money and human resources will be needed to help Haiti recover. it might even take them years to recover. but my small grains of sand made me feel a bit better about myself. to know that even miles away i can still help, even if it's a very small help...

if everyone did the same, just donate 1 euro, 1 dollar, whatever! 


even if we have little, it's easier for "us" to help out those who have nothing.




here are some useful links:

Portuguese Red Cross:
http://www.cruzvermelha.pt/

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
http://www.redcross.int/  --or--  http://www.icrc.org/

AMI (International Medical Assistance):
http://www.ami.org.pt/

IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare):
http://www.ifaw.org/

Google crisis response:
http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/

A life without books...

full article here:
Motivate Me - The daily dose ezine - A life without books is no food for thought

an excerpt:
« (...) can you imagine a life without books?

no?

Then ask a person who can't be bothered to read

When you consider that the worlds greatest thinkers have put their thoughts, opinions and ideas into a format that we can access - isn't it a shame that most people don't bother to read, to explore the contents and to see how those thoughts, opinions and ideas can change their lives. Well I think it is.

We have a chance to have a few hours of intimate discourse with people we would never have met otherwise. How lucky are we?

You could argue that you don't have the time to read all there is to read - and you know what you are absolutely right - There are e-books, free books, printed books, articles and websites - which is why you have to be discriminating about what you read - because there is a lot of "rubbish" out there. Which is why you should also try to safeguard every precious moment you have that you could consider "spare" and put it to better / other uses.

1. Of all the books you have read - which would you consider to have made the biggest impact on your life?

2. What was the last book you read - why did you choose it?

3. What is the next book on your list of MUST read books? Why that book and not one of the others?

4. What book would you recommend to someone who is struggling - financially, emotionally, spiritually?

5. Do you give books as gifts?

You don't have to answer these questions of course, but perhaps you should take the time to do so, if you want to be a serious student of life and living. (...) »

Copyright © 2005/8, Elle B - Motivate Me! All rights reserved.

....................................

something for you (and me!) to think about ;-)

Heart Handmade Holiday Zine

" Heart Handmade Holiday Zine: "It may be the ultimate cliche, but there truly IS something special about the Holidays.

And for those of us in the handmade community, this time of year brings an extra layer of excitement as we see an incredible explosion of creativity from the artists and designers in our world.


It's that sense of creativity energy that inspired me to put together the Heart Handmade Holiday Zine - which is available...

(1) as a preview (via issuu.com/hearthandmade), split up into three parts: part I, part II, part III or...


(2) download the zine in three parts: part I, part II, part III
warning: the files are kind of large, but I promise it'll be worth the wait!!

The Zine includes an inspiring collection of stories, wishes, tips, recipes and gift ideas from some of the talented people who've contributed to Heart Handmade in 2008. Plus a few of my personal favorite artists have donated print-your-own art prints and gift tags!!! Yay!!

I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had putting it together. Let's raise a Holiday toast to the Handmade Community!

Best,

PS. I'm taking off for the rest of the week!!! I'll see you back here on Monday - a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating this Thursday and Friday!!

"

Pikaland's 9 Tips to be More Creative

"
Pikaland's 9 Tips to be More Creative:


Amy Ng, Pikaland blogger and artist collaborator extraordinaire, has many a helpful article on creativity, business and life in her zine, The Good to Know Project. Amy hosted a Virtual Lab as part of our Holiday Workshops for Sellers series on Getting Out of the Box (you can find the recap here). I asked Amy to share more tips on sparking the creative process with Storque readers. Here they are...


About fueling creativity:

1. Creativity is fueled by experiences, sights, sounds and smells. Sitting still won’t bring new ideas in; experimenting and trying new things will jog your creativity.


2. I maintain a certain pattern to the day, with my morning bath signaling to me that I am starting my work with a fresh mind and spirit. After breakfast is when my day officially begins — I turn on the radio and look at my to-do list (see #3).


3. I jot down notes every night before I go to bed about what I need to accomplish the next day. This way, I’m actively placing my worries onto paper so I can go to bed not fretting about what needs to be done.


4. I have a box labeled for each different project I’m involved in, so I don’t worry about misplacing things or ideas. (This one was inspired by The Creative Habit.)


5. I also keep a different sketchbook for different topics and ideas. I have one for business, one for random sketches and another for my writing. And in these sketchbooks I sometimes allocate different sections so that my thoughts don’t get messed up too much (there isn’t a search function on them, like a computer has!).


6. I throw these sketchbooks all over the place, so when I have a thought I scribble it down quickly.


7. I try and find the pattern between things, and connect the dots between random things just for fun when I’m stuck in a rut. For instance, when I see the color yellow around me, I start to focus on finding yellow things — stuff that I didn’t notice before will show themselves to me. I’m heightening my sense of awareness because I’m narrowing my focus to one thing.


8. Doing things differently helps. I love calligraphy, but sometimes I seem to be stuck in a rut — it seems that I could only write in a certain way! So I stop, and see what others are doing, and try to analyze what I could do differently. A little more pressure on the downward stroke? Or how about adding more flourishes to that letter? It took me about a week of constant practice to free up my hand. If you’re stumped for ideas, have a look at Keri Smith’s 100 ideas to get you started.


9. Practice, practice, practice. Creativity is like a muscle that you need to flex regularly. I dread staring at a blank piece of paper, but everything begins with that first stroke. I’m a perfectionist, so I train myself to not use erasers at all when I’m drawing. And if I do make mistakes, I start on a new piece of paper — that way I let new ideas in and not just dwell on what I previously did.

Here are some books in my collection that I pick up whenever I need a boost:

1. The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp: I love this book. Twyla is a dancer and choreographer, but a lot of the things she has to say cuts across all disciplines.


2. How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Life Museum by Keri Smith: Keri reminds everyone to put on their explorer goggles and look at the world with new eyes — I did a review of her book here.


3. Living Out Loud by Keri Smith: Although the book is a little girlish for guys, I love the article she wrote about how to find what you love to do.


4. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho: This is an amazing book that I pick up and read again and again. The message is simple — you won’t find what you’re looking for until you follow through on your dreams.


5. How to be an Illustrator by Darrel Rees and Nicholas Blechman: I like how they talk to illustrators and get their feedback on running a creative business.


6. Lines & Shapes by Lena and Mav: Amazing artists and beautiful, beautiful pictures. I have volume no. 5 and I treasure it.


7. The first issue of the Good to Know project: I like keeping a copy on my bookshelf so I can read up on what my friends have to say about being creatively stuck.

 | More Posts on Creativity |

"

DA Coloring Book, Vol. 1

DA Coloring Book, Vol. 1: "

This is it, it's real. In three weeks time we put together a coloring book like you've never seen before. It features the drawings of 29 artists from around the globe.

I am so proud of this project and want to thank everyone who submitted a drawing. Now you can get your hands on it and fill it in with every ounce of ink you have lying around.

See the inside and all participating artists by clicking here or buy a copy today (while supplies last) with a portion of the proceeds going to the International Child Art Foundation.

Doodlers Anonymous Coloring Book, Volume 1

32 pages printed at 8.5'x11'

Left: Welcome Letter by OKAT
Right: Stacey Walker




Left: Conor Finnegan
Right: Josh LaFayette




Left: Nate Williams
Right: John Malta




Left: Abigail Daker
Right: uberkraaft




Left: Max F.
Right: Gemma Correll




Left: Tuomas Karkkainen
Right: Natsuki Otani




Left: Bony Bünz
Right: Simon Mills




Left: Lisa O'Hara
Right: Vaughn Fender




Left: Chris Piascik
Right: Kylo Coughlin




Left: Will Bryant
Right: Cassie Hester




Left: Pierre Antoine Thierry
Right: Liquidpig




Left: Emmi Ojala
Right: Jamie Tao




Left: Laura Alvarez
Right: Kate Ferguson




Left: Jolby
Right: OKAT




Left: Melissa Jones
Right: Hayley Warnham + Artist credits





Cover (front + back) as spread

Doodlers Anonymous Coloring Book, Volume 1

32 pages printed at 8.5'x11'
"

"Make One Hundred Somethings" project

i saw my first refernce to the "Make One Hundred Somethings" project at
http://fraeuleinzucker.blogspot.com/2009/03/germanys-next-role-model.html

wich had a link to the original inspirational idea, from
http://tollipop.typepad.com/tollipop/2008/12/making-one-hundred-somethings-an-open-invitation.html


the following text is an excerpt from Tollipop's blog post (in December 2008) about this project:

make one hundred somethings: an open invitation

«(...) I am extending an invitation to join me and others who have expressed an interest in the Tollipop Hundred Dresses project.  What one hundred somethings could you make?  It doesn't need to be elaborate or worthy of virtuosic skills.  Trust me.  It doesn't even need to be one hundred, for that matter.  But you might enjoy the challenge, the outlet, the deep sense of satisfaction that comes from making something exist that wasn't there before. 

For example, you should check out the lovely Belinda of Witchetty. She is creating her own one hundred wide-eyed, long-lashed girls with delightfully detailed dresses, and stories to go with them as well!  And I've already told you about the talented Louisa of Picture Book Studios. Her little mouselings have me altogether charmed!

So just think about it.  Your one hundred somethings.  One hundred somethings that didn't exist until you created them.  The thought alone brings good energy, a light in your mind.  You may as well get busy and follow it--there's just no telling where you might go! (...)»

..........................................
although this post/project is a bit dated by now, the idea resonates me... i don't know why, but it does.
maybe it's the art-making/creativity/obsessive-compulsive in me hahahha!
yet, at a first glance, i don't know what i could make 100 "items" of, so i'll just leave this project aside, maybe sleep over it and perhaps i'll come up with something... Maybe i'll combine it with some other project(s) that have been in the back of my mind in the last couple of months, when i started getting into the zine "thing".


[mental notes:
europe; europe's countries - there are 48 countries in europe, according to my research on Wikipedia; while the european union itself as only 27 countries...; 
one contributor from each country (rests the doubt: EU countries only or not); two-pages at least, 4 at max; maybe the theme can be divided into 2 parts, being part 1 «my country» and part 2 «europe/the rest of europe/what i think about...»; etc, etc...]

Links: Zine libraries/archives online

first of, let's start with my latest find in the Internets:

http://zinelibrary.info/


and then move on to another cool archive website on zines:

http://punksishippies.blogspot.com/

both these websites have hundreds of zines available for download - for FREE!! 
(no shit, it really is free. well, except when they have files hosted on some servers like megaupload or rapidshare, and there you have to wait a while between downloading multiple files from their servers, unless you buy a "premier account" and stuff like that)


they are on PDF file format or plain scanned image files on zip/rar files. some zines are ony available for reading them online, but you can't have it all, can you?


either way, i'm sure it will guarantee you hours and hours of fun :-D

The Unemployment Game Show: Are You *Really* Unemployed? - From Mint.com

The Unemployment Game Show: Are You *Really* Unemployed? - From Mint.com: "

From http://Mint.com - Are you *officially* unemployed? The reported rate actually excludes millions of jobless Americans.

To learn more, visit: http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/unemployment-rate-video/

"

--- actually, this is a funny (ok, sarcastic humor though, i know!) coincidence that i found this on Google reader's postings this afternoon...

LINKS: Zines & Distros

from the idea of the blogger gadget - the links list i called "IN THE MAILBOX LATELY" - that's on the right side of my blog, i decided it was time to compile a list of the zines i've been buying outside "major" distros (i mean Microcosm), and specially linking them to their authors.
i noticed i had edited those links list and had removed some people and that's not fair because they all really deserve to be known!


ZINES @ etsy & other websites
[note: i know many of you zine-lovers are not much into the commercial side of online shops like Etsy. i'm posting links to etsy shops because that's where i'm able to buy these zines from their authors. either way, most of them mention their personal website/blog on their etsy shop, so you can always contact them for finding alternative ways of buying their zines directly from them]

Chantilly [One Shot Zine] (country: Canada)
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/chantillys

Pinchdog Press (Kate Andres-Toal) [Riot Wife zine, Cultivator zine & more] (country: Canada)
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/okate

Alex Wrekk [Brainscan zine & more] (country: USA)
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/brainscan

Erin Partridge [Anon zine] (country: USA)
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/2littlewings

Filka (E J Zyla) [Haich zine & more] (country: Australia)
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/Filka

The Ephemeral Mailbox Museum (Niku Arbabi) [Polaroid-Celluloid zine & more] (country: USA)
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/niku

Tiny Paper Hearts [ Epitaph for my Heart zine, Shy Like A Punched Pie zine & more] (country: Australia)
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/amandapandajapanese

Ayun Halliday [The East Village Inky zine] (country: USA)
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/Ayun

Missy Kulik [Kneehigh mini series zines & more mini comics] (country: USA)
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/sugarcookie

Katie Haegele [The La-La Theory zine & more] (country: USA)
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/thelalatheory

Eleanor Jane [Girl Photographer zine & more] (country: Wales/UK)
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/eleanorjane

Lamesha [CocoaPuss zine] (country: USA)
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/CocoaPuss

redguard [Absent Cause zine & more] (country: USA)

-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/redguard

Amber [Culture Slut zine, Fight Boredom zine & more] (country: Canada)
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/helloamber

Maranda Elizabeth [Telegram Ma'am zine & more] (country: Canada)
-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/schoolformaps

Sandy [Marbles zine & more] (country: Australia)

-- http://sandylovesyou.com

Tom Hendricks [Musea zine & more] (country: USA)
-- http://musea.us/

Pippa [Rebel Grrl zine, 50:50 zine & more] (country: UK)

-- http://rebelgrrlzine.weebly.com

Clementine Cannibal [Licking Stars Off Ceilings zine & more] (country: Canada)

-- http://sites.google.com/site/clementinecannibal

Laura-Marie [Functionally ill zine & more] (country: USA)

-- http://dangerouscompassions.blogspot.com

Nicole Harris [Introvert zine] (country: USA)

-- http://www.myspace.com/introvertzine

Chris Mikul [Bizarrism zine] (country: Australia)

-- only known contact by email -- cathob@wr.com.au

Keith Rosson [Avow zine] (country: USA)
-- http://keithrosson.com

Cindy Crabb [Doris zine & more] (country: USA)
-- http://www.dorisdorisdoris.com

» last updated - 2010/01/01

well, these are it for now, as far as i can remember and as far as my research through etsy & paypay emails go ;-)

if you sent me your zine and i forgot to mention you here, please leave your comment on this post!!
»» also, there are many more zines i really like that i bought in bulk orders from distros. in time, hopefully i'll add them to this list too ;-))
just a short list of these zines: Doris; Ker-Bloom!; Avow; You Don't Get There From Here; anything by Corinne Mucha; Black Carrot; Rocket Queen; ...]

DISTROS @ online

Click Clack Distro [by Nicole Harris, of «Introvert» zine]
(country: USA)
-- http://www.clickclackdistro.com

Small World Buttons [by Alex Wrekk, of «Brainscan» zine]
(country: USA)
-- http://smallworldbuttons.bigcartel.com

Microcosm Publishing (country: USA)
-- http://microcosmpublishing.com

Riot Grrrrrr Distro [by Cindy Crabb, of «Doris» zine]
(country: USA)
-- http://www.dorisdorisdoris.com/zines.html

The Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies

click here to visit:
http://www.drawger.com/?what=shows&show_id=32
(hosted by Lou Brooks)

i found this interesting museum through About.com: "How many of these rulers, plastic templates, gauges, bottles of goo, and pens have you used or still use in your art or design projects?" 
and what's also really cool about this webpage, is that you can submit your own pictures of art supplies to add up to the museum's collection ;-)