Xuebing Du
Love Begins
trying on a metaphor
we're not kids anymore.
Fai_Ryy
No title available
Kiana Khansmith
⁂
noise dept.
Keni
occasionally subtle
🩵 avery cochrane 🩵
$LAYYYTER
JVL
No title available
No title available
untitled
Cosimo Galluzzi
Three Goblin Art
Andulka
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from France
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Türkiye
@kazencreative
Okay, this is pretty incredible. A 3D artist, consulting scholars and archaeologists, worked for a year and a half in Blender to create a reconstruction of pre-Columbian Tenochtitlán, complete with the surrounding landscape. It’s staggeringly beautiful, and—at least to me—gives a wonderful impression of the city as a place where people worked and lived and worshiped
W O W.
Mom Adopts a “Dog”
So y’all keep blowing up my notes with the various Family Lore stories I’ve been telling, so I guess I should tell one on my parents now.
My Mother’s Father was part of the United Auto Worker’s Union, and during the 50′s and 60′s, was on strike a lot. My point is, grandpa got himself an entirely deserved reputation for being a sucker who loved animals, so people would dump thier pets on him. Hence, my mother grew up in a house with pets such as Picket the one-eyed tomcat, Tweety the Bald canary, Dummy the cat, Stupid Son of Dummy, Spooky Garbage Dog and Chiquita the Tarantula. Eventually Grandma put her foot down when Grandpa brought home Gerta the Saint Bernard.
I say all this because it provides some context for how the following occured.
Mom and Dad had just moved in together (my parents dated for six years and were engaged for 13 days, driving everyone on both sides insane), and unfortunately, My mother’s German Shepherd, Cops, has just passed away due to bone cancer. After mourning for a bit, Mom and Dad decided to get a dog together, as a couple.
For context, my father had never owned a dog in his life. His mother had ‘Pretty Bird” the budgie as a child but parrots are alien life forms, not pets.
So they go to the Palo Alto Animal shelter to adopt. The year was 1987, and at the time, Palo Alto was… not a great place. Lots of drugs, gangs and poor civic managment. Mom told me that she learned to identify different types of gunfire while living there. They get there, and mom explains that she’s always had a preference for Big Dogs, and the guy’s face lights up. Oh Yes, he says, We have a Big Dog. For expirienced owners, yep, adoptable today, here we’ll give you a discount even-
Somehow my parents were not suspicious about this.
They were shown to the Animal in question, a Gorgeous blue-sable beastie with pretty golden eyes who immediately pressed herself against the fence and gave them the best PUH-LEEEEEEASE TAKE ME HOME puppy eyes 100lbs of canine can do. Mom and Dad fall in love instantly. They sign all the paperwork and take her home for $10, and name her “Mazel” as in “Mazel Tov.”
Within the hour, it becomes clear that something is amiss.
Cops had lived with his kibble stored in a plastic garbage can in the garage for six years without incident. Mazel figured out how to open doors and got the locking lid off the can in six minutes, horking down about four pounds of the stuff before my mother notices that it’s been weirdly quiet. Most dogs bark at or chase squirrels. Mazel stalked and caught one the second day, presenting it to my mother like an offering. Mazel knew all her commands but would clearly stop to consider before obeying, and trained my dad to give her good treats within a week. The locks on the side-yard gate were undone, and she took a stroll around the neighborhood, but always retuned home for dinner.
After a week of gradually realizing that Mazel was smarter than most of the professors my mom worked with, they took her to the Vet for a routine checkup.
Dr. Hamada walked into the exam room, dropped the clip-board and said “Where the HELL did you get a Wolf?”
After a bit of prodding and a very-angry-dr.hamada-calling-the-pound, they determined Mazel was a high-content hybrid, probably with a husky, but was going to be a lil shit her entire life. OK, said Hamada, I don’t like destroying animals and you’ve got a lot of expirience with dogs, so I’m okay with letting you keep her, but you should keep her away from small children because her Prey Drive could kick in.
Two years later, mom got pregnant with me.
Mazel noticed instantly, and reacted by digging a large hole in the yard and catching even more squirrels for mom, because she needed the protein or something. That what you do when the Alpha Bitch is preggers, right? Dig a den and ply her with food? On the advice of my grandmother, my mom stayed overnight at the hospital once I was delivered, and dad went home with a shirt that had moms and my scent on it. Mazel spent the whole night puzzling over it.
The next morning, when mom came home with me, there was the sudden and instantaneous recognition of PUPPY!!!!!! :D:D:D!!!!! PUUUUUUUPPY!!!!!! and Mazel turned into the most aggressively maternal being I’ve ever met. Playing with me on the blanket, sitting under my chair at meals (I was a messy eater), sleeping under my crib, teaching me to walk by letting me hang onto her fur and shuffle around.
Dr. Hamada thought mom was a madwoman, until he saw me holding Mazel’s mouth open and sticking my face in so i could look at her teeth. He gave up when my mom announced she was pregnant with my sister.
I’m making living with a Wolfdog sound awesome, but it did come with some drawbacks:
Mazel did have to be muzzled at the vets, because she had Opinions about having things stuck up her butt.
HAIR. One of my chores growing up was to brush her out every week and I’d frequently end up with more hair than animal.
the only way we could reliably get her to stay in the yard was with an overhead tether with a STEEL cable, which she chewed through anyway.
Do you like waking up by being hit in the face with half a dead animal? No? Wolfdogs may not be for you.
More than capable of opening the fridge and eating everything if you’re not watching
Will get into everything if not otherwise occupied. Including eating your tax forms.
Howls along with sirens at 4 AM.
PROS of growing up with a wolfdog, as a small child in the 90′s
I was afforded a degree of freedom normally associated with a pokemon trianer. It was no big deal for me and my sister to walk three miles through my not-really-good neighborhood to the Froyo if I took Mazel with us. People tended to leave us alone when we had 100lbs of overprotective Apex Predator following us around.
WINNING at Pet Day at school. There wasn’t actually a compettion but Billy’s hamster sucks in comparison to an animal that is perfectly willing to demonstrate how she can snap an oak branch in half on command.
PTA moms losing their shit because Mazel would walk down the block by herself to come pick ups up from school.
Grew up associating the word “Bitch” with teeth and the willingness to rip an asshole’s face off for being rude. Never changed the definition.
Learned the I-Own-This Strut and Murder-Stare from the absolute best.
When she was 17, Mom and Dad decided to add another room on to the house. They rigged up the overhead tether so she could be outside but not underfoot for the contruction guys. One morning, mom came out to notice them all milling in the side yard entrance, muttering worriedly. When mom asked what was wrong, one of them explained that Carlos forgot to bring the Hamburger. What do you need a hamburger for? Asked mom, and they pointed down the side yard to where Mazel was sitting, doing her best Viscious Alpha Bitch Stare.
Apparently they’d never realized that she was on the VERY end of her tether there and couldn’t actually get to them, and had been scamming them for a big mac a day for a month. Mom had my six-year-old sister pull her away to show she wasn’t dangerous and tired her best not to laugh but kind of failed.
Mazel ended up living to be 19 and a half, and except for some minor arthritis, remarkably hale until the day she passed away in her hole in the back yard while taking a nap. I maintain that Death had to wait until she was sleeping to get a crack at her, or she would’ve taken his scythe for a chew toy.
Day 6: part 3 of 3—these are what gingersnaps are made of. (These could be sweet on kitchen aprons. Yay or nay?) IG @typografiends
Day 5: remake of #2 in the set. You see where this is going, right? (TDIL the distinction between "remake" and "remaster," so) IG @typografiends
#TBT to some mod lettering from 2019 and recycling them into the digital pieces I told myself I'd do. 😅✊ IG @typografiends
Relearning my ABCs and using my friends' lovely names for spacing + flourish practice. IG @typografiends
Oh, just catching up from 2 months of almost no culinary projects... . First tests of Two-Ingredient Hazelnut Brownies 🌰🍫🥚 and a gluten-free, casein-free adaptation of Momofuku Milk Bar's Compost Cookies 🍠🥜🥨☕🍫🍪! . Plus a second go at Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread after yesterday's ... uh... attempt. 😬 🥜🍫🍌🍞 . . #glutenfreegoodness #glutenfree #dairyfreedelights #freestylebaker #catchingup #quarantinelife #quarantinebaking #thenewfatness #somanysweets #ihaveaproblem #halp https://www.instagram.com/p/CAmae_ZlmHF/?igshid=poh2hjjrzb5g
Finally on my last jar of the world's best "Bulgarian sauce" and remembering good times at Herräng Dance Camp. I specifically did not open this jar until I could make Swedish(-ish) meatballs. So. worth. the wait. I consider it healthier for using homemade sourdough breadcrumbs... #returnofthefreestylebaker #homemade #firstmealoutofsubquarantine #nostalgiafordinner #whattodowithsourdoughfails # (at Denver, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAb2RJvlCWt/?igshid=162kgxijt436a
Finished a round. Sometimes creativity needs to flow through totally random avenues to generate further motivation. I hope seeing this idea to completion pushes me through the backlog of Super Necessary Things To Finish Yesterday... 😖 #processingoverload #creativelife #thisismybrainonstress . . . #polymerclayjewelry #polymerclayearrings #experimentsincrafting #workinprogress #newmediums #explorethespace #momentum #minimalist #geometricstyle #istillhavenoideawhatimdoing https://www.instagram.com/p/B20pSeaFCR7/?igshid=uouorqvz3frh
I might be making jewelry...?? #polymerclayearrings #workinprogress #experimentsincrafting #ihavenoideawhatimdoing https://www.instagram.com/p/B2sk3GpFXkx/?igshid=1cg8i72ckcc1
When your life is art, baking, and being a nerd, this becomes one of your #goals. . . . . #pokemon #gottabakeemall #bulbasaur #boulebasaur #designerbakerlife #sourdoughgoals #breadgoals #doughgirl #dragonfrog #itsreallyme #doodles #makemoreart (at Stellas Coffee) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2r2YLdlzCY/?igshid=rxmintj93k2p
Yep. Officially feeling the feels on my way back to the States. I don't know precisely when or in what capacity, but I will come back. Very will come back. Super extra definitely back. Best believe I'm coming back. ✌️😊🦉🎐🍡🥗🍑🍣🍈🍱🌰🍛🍜🥟🍙🍧🍶🍦🍫🍵☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕ . . . . #🌸 #osakacastle #jetsetter #leavingonajetplane #japan #心が広い #tokyo #arttravellife #💔 #somanyfaces #dajorney #turningthepage #cantthankyouenough #さよならじゃない #butmaybenotsummernexttime (at Ichinoe Station) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1nR_FDFZjJ/?igshid=1x34e7uspw7p7
I took a break from posting about my time in Japan in favor of taking it in. I've been snapping plenty of pictures, sending postcards, and documenting my adventures, but trying to "stay current" on social and make everything Instagram-ready took a backseat. I will share soon, but this trip has been about two decades in the making, culminating in this artwork which Ben so graciously designed and permanently attached to my skin to commemorate the very real and important achievements I've made in recent years. The central theme of the past year has been "healing," but I think the theme going into next year will be "一期一会"; "one life, one opportunity." All focus on the things that matter most and the achievements I have yet to make. All energy for the people and places that indicate to me the best method of living. 門前の小僧習わぬ経を読む. I leave in two days... But I hope not to be gone for long. ☺️🌸♥️ (at ICHI TATTOO ~Japanese Tattoo~) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1jSc_jlvpG/?igshid=wflszl7tym1b
Day 058-059... Well, I've been doing a lot of internal/professional creative work lately and any leftover time is generally spent just feeding myself. Once again, I've almost completely failed at #The100DayProject, except I've been as creative as I can muster, when I can muster it. So that's why I jumped at the chance to have a bake-off with my CEO: working in my kitchen is more compelling than working in my sketchbook. When design and dance stop calling, baking answers (and vice versa vice versa). BEHOLD. The world's first gluten-free (dairy-free option) Calamansi + Cream Cheese Swirl Cake. It went up against a beautifully executed lemon drizzle cake and I think it held its own. Especially given that I invented it last night... And I penned a couple of cute signs. I guess it's #100DaysOfExperimentation now. #glutenfree #glutenfreegoodness #dairyfree #dairyfreedelights #freestylebaker #calamansi #bundtcake #cakecakecake #handlettering #experiments #workinprogress #designerbakerlife #ontothenextone (at Montbello, Denver) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByGVPdqJv_k/?igshid=fksy076r26ga
Day 017-018: the theme of yesterday's (significantly delayed) feast day festivities... #100DaysofINK #The100DayProject #handlettering #blackletters #blacklettering #calligraphynovice #gothic #gothicscript #wonkyA #fixitinpost #butfirstchocolate (at Omaha, Nebraska) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwkv_2VH3Fs/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=vaw82z1j901
Day 010-015: catching up with Easter dinner. ... It's been a busy time, yeah?? #100DaysofINK #The100DayProject #handlettering #penandink #glutenfree #dairyfree #bakerontour #badatposting #freestylebaker #freehand #dayslatergram #adventuresinaunthood #easter #Χριστόςἀνέστη #buonpasqua (at Omaha, Nebraska) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwigmNRHhC_/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=12xc5286kv3jh
Day 008-009: pts II & III of the Adorable Nieces Lettering Series. Taxes and moving got me like 💀 #100DaysofINK #The100DayProject #estelle #lily #bug #calligraphy #handlettering #blacklettering #brushlettering #blackandgray #catchuptimetothemax #dayslatergram https://www.instagram.com/p/BwTZyE8nkuB/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=13eq1daotx8v7
