100th POST: Art Giveaway!

Mystery Prize!

Nelli and I can't believe we are almost to our 100th post on this blog of ours! It sure has been a fun ride watching our blog develop since the beginning to now. We have both definitely been motivated and inspired by this blog and we can't wait to bring you more good reads!

In honor of our up and coming 100th post Nelli and I will be doing our FIRST Giveaway to celebrate and to thank you our readers for your support! What are we giving away you ask!? A piece of my art!! I'm thinking about doing a watercolor piece, although I don't have a set plan just yet as to what the piece of art will entail...but I can tell you it WILL be awesome!

Not only will the prize be awesome, but it will be simple to enter to win! We won't post details just yet, as we still have a little less than 15 more posts to go until we reach that big 1-0-0 but be on the look out for details on how to enter to win in the coming week(s)! :)

Until next time friends...Cheers!!!

Clips from Noonie's Vine Vault

As promised I wanted to share a couple of my older Vine videos :)

Trinity Church Graveyard

My family recently came to visit and they requested to see Trinity Church (built in 1697), so we went.

The church itself is beautiful, but what caught my eye this day was the graveyard. I've always been intrigued by this grave yard. I tend to spend equal time between the church as the graveyard, but I had never experienced it with snow, which was beautiful!

On another note the people buried here are fascinating; two notable burials are John Jacob Astor (of the Astor family in NYC - Astor Place for instance) and Alexander Hamilton (Who was in the Continental Army with George Washington + the first Secretary of the Treasury).  

I often wonder what these people under my feet were like, where the lived, how they died... 

Dad's Chicken Salad

 [Insert picture of sandwich here! 

Ate it before I even thought to take a picture! Whoops! ]

I've been craving a chicken salad sandwich for the last 12 years. Sure I've had a few chicken salad sandwiches here and there over the years, but unfortunately none of them compared to the one my dad used to serve at his restaurant he had when I was a kid. Because my parents were split we'd go visit dad on the weekends, the meeting place often being his restaurant that was in downtown Sacramento. Mom would drop us off and we would hang out for a few hours and eat dinner while dad finished closing up shop. Now I'm the type of person that once I like something I stick to it, sometimes that leads to me getting sick of something because I get too much of it at the beginning. I wouldn't call it obsession but I just know what I like and I'm loyal to it. This was the case with that chicken salad sandwich, I would have it for dinner every single weekend, never growing tired of it.

When dad decided to sell the restaurant 12 years ago, he never made that chicken salad again. I guess it's somewhat of a process to make, but I think the main reason he hasn't made it since is he just never got around it. But that doesn't mean I forgot about it. It's a very simple recipe to make dad's chicken salad but I guess I was in the same boat as him and just never got around to making it all these years, that was until last night.

A few nights prior my boyfriend had picked up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store for dinner as I had been craving chicken for some reason. I don't normally cook chicken at home, I guess because I like the bone in chicken and my boyfriend likes boneless skinless chicken breast so that might be one reason. But I guess you can't beat the convenience of picking up a nicely seasoned  juicy rotisserie chicken. I made some rice to go along with it, and that was that. Being that it was just my boyfriend and I eating the chicken that night, we had a ton of left over meat still left on the chicken, and that's when I got the bright idea to finally make dad's famous chicken salad which had been in the back of my mind since the last time I had some all those years ago.

So that brings us to last night, when I put my plan into action. I didn't mention earlier but I always had my chicken salad sandwich served on a french roll, and last night was no different. Had the boyfriend pick up some rolls on his way home while I got down and dirty picking the meat off of the chicken. It did take quite a little time to get all of the meat off, but once I did it was pretty quick to put together after that. 

As I mentioned this chicken salad recipe is super basic, which is why I could never find a good chicken salad out there because they all are "over complicated" (for lack of a better word). The only decent chicken salad I could find out there was actually from Wendy's but I don't like grapes in my chicken salad so they were out. Here's what I did....

Dad's Basic Chicken Salad Recipe

Prep Time: 20 -30 mins or so
(or however long it takes for you to get 
your chicken meat together)

Whatcha Need

Cooked chicken

Celery 

(optional)

Mayo

Black Pepper

  French Roll 

 (optional, but not really in my book)

Method

*Get yo chicken ready! Pick it, slice it,
shred it (do what ya gotta do)

you want to end up with little pieces at the end of it all

*Mix chicken, celery, mayo, and black pepper in a large bowl

*Let mix chill for 5 mins or so if desired

(I do this so the mayo will have a chance to set)

*Serve on a toasted French roll with mustard, lettuce, tomato, and pickles

(Or whatever you want but that's what a true Noonie's chicken salad sandwich would have on it) ;)

Pretty damn easy right? I don't know why I waited so long to make this for myself but I know definitely won't be going another 12 years without one of these bad boys!! 

Until next time...Cheers!!!

Artist State of Mind: Joe the Metal Sign Maker

The idea has turned into reality, and I couldn't be more excited to present to you our first featured artist! If you missed out on my blog from last week it goes into further detail about these artist features..you best go check it here!! I'm so proud of our little ol' blog and I'm pumped to introduce you to a variety of "artists"! (if you read my previous blog you'll know why that's quoted).

From their inspirations, to how they deal with artist block, get ready to jump into the minds of artists of all levels and skills! Okay ready..set..GO!

Meet my friend, Joe...

Joe and his kids

His work...

Yard Art :)

His tools...

The wood template he uses to make these signs

"Where the magic happens"

The Process

When Joe made his first "Art" sign, he started out by sketching out the word on a piece of sheet metal. He then cut it out, along with a stake for the sign, with his new Plasma Cutter. He liked how it looked, but knew he wanted a more consistent look that was easier to cut out. That's where the wood template came in. 

Once he got the consistent look he was going for he began to make the sign you see above. To assemble the sign he used a welder to attach the word and the stake.

BSOM: Where the heck did you use a welder, and how long have you been welding for?

Joe: "I have a welder at home, and have been trying to weld for about 5 years. (I'm getting better now)

Once Joe had his sign assembled he painted it with Rustoleum, which he learned from trial and error was a must.

Joe: "Most I painted, but I did one natural it's rusting now. The next ones I want to powdercoat". 

A Few More Questions

BSOM: Why did you chose to cut out the word "Art"? Is there some significance?

Joe: "It's the word ART, and it's in your yard, therefore you have yard ART".

BSOM: Have you ever done any other type of art? Do you have any other creative outlets? 

Joe: "No not really (into) any other types of art. I am not that creative. I do like working with my hands which is why I play with R/C (radio controlled) helicopters, and why I like working on cars."

(He has 3 Classic cars that keep him busy)

Joe's other hobbies

Big thanks and shout out to Joe for his contribution to this blog!!

Would you like to be featured right here on BSOM?! Email us! We'd love to hear from you! 

Check out our Contact page for more info! :)

Clean Eatin' Cookies

Uhm..yes please!

I typically never buy premade cookie dough, as I'd rather make the dough myself. But when I saw "Immaculate's Chocolate Chunk Non GMO" cookie dough I just had to try them! What initially caught my attention about these cookies was the packaging to be honest, but what made me actually pick them up was the fact that they are GMO free. If you don't know GMO stands for genetically modified organism. The topic of GMOs is vast, and does require and deserve a blog all of it's own. Be on the look out for that one to come sometime soon!

Check out this awesome brand's website
for more information!

Okay so back to the cookies. As I mentioned what initially caught my mind about the cookies was the packaging, and as the cookies were baking I took a closer look.

This is an actual piece of art by....

Artist feature

Of course the fact that they have a piece of art, and information about the artist made me love this cookie brand even more! Not to mention the cookies were super delicious!! I do feel bad hyping these cookies up, as I forget to take a single picture of the finished product, but rest assured they are delicious!! You can find these bad boys at your local Raley's!

Until next time..cheers!!

Forgive Me Father, For I Have Sinned

Candy Chang's "Confessions" art project

Okay first things first. I wanted to give credit where credit is due. I'm an avid reader of the blog Frugal by Choice, Cheap by Necessity, hence the reason it's on our Blog Love page. The writer Sarah, is hilarious and always blogging about a variety of interesting topics. I really enjoy her style of writing and I highly suggest you check her blog out! I really enjoy her "Confession" blogs in which unloads what's weighing her down at the moment. I like the idea so much I decided maybe I'd try my hand at a "Confessions Blog", so here goes nothin'...

* The neighbor kids drive me nuts!! I know saying that may be frowned upon, but this is my confessions. So there. I couldn't wait for Christmas break to be over with so they would all be back at school instead of running the streets like wild animals. Might have lost a few followers for that one. But hey I'm just being honest. It wouldn't be so bad if there was an adult out there supervising them so they wouldn't run such a muck. But a supervising parent is not something you will find on my street, which is a sad thing to say! As I said they drive me crazy but even I worry about them at times especially as it gets darker outside, we live on kind of a blind corner and people often come smashing around it a lot quicker than they should. It doesn't help that there are no street lights on my street either, or any "watch for children" signs for that matter. Although they do drive me crazy I will admit I'd rather have a neighborhood full of children any day of the week rather than a neighborhood full of even crazier teenagers, or even worse druggies, gang bangers etc.. So in a way I am grateful for those crazy kids, even if they often want to cause havoc I know how it is. I guess they came up with that old saying  "kids will be kids" for a reason.

* I hope this one doesn't get me in trouble with the boy, but I will confess I am glad he works a full time job as it gets him out of the house 5 days a week. Don't get my wrong I do love spending time with him, but I do enjoy my alone time to get my projects done, especially working on the blog. I have a hard time concentrating when writing, and I really do need silence to be able to focus on my train of thoughts. I have learned over the years to not even bother working on any type of writing if anyone is around, as I will lose my concentration which will then lead me to being irritable. So thank God for full time jobs, we are very grateful!

* Nelli already knows this confession, but I thought it would be a funny addition to this blog. I'll confess when me and Nelli and I met all those years ago I didn't like her at first. Lol. Maybe she didn't like me either..but I guess you'll have to wait to read her confessions blog to see. Who knew we'd end up being life long friends? Life is just crazy like that I guess.

Whheww I feel much better for getting that off my shoulders. Lol

On another note, I had to share a little something about the artist Candy Chang (whose art is pictured above). I randomly found this artist by way of Google search while trying to find an image for this blog. I took a quick look at her website and found she had done an art exhibit that was all about confessions, and highly suggest you check it out! Very interesting stuff!!

 I'd love to hear your confessions! Come on now don't be shy...What's your confession?

Until next time...Cheers!

Escaping to Sunlight

Chambers Street Station

Promote YOUR Work!

"Seeing Red"
Artist: Myself
Medium: Acrylic Paint

I tried a new breakfast spot today. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was all of the art work hanging on the walls, many of which was for sale. That little detail is what inspired this blog. As an artist one of the first places you would think to promote your art work would a gallery, of course. But there are so many different avenues out there that an artist may easily overlook as opportunity to promote their work. For this reason, I wanted to shed some light, inspire, and inform fellow artists out there. On another note I wanted to keep this list "local", and take the old school route which does not include online avenues.

Noonie's "Think Outside of the Box" Art Promotion List
Fun tidbit: I compiled this list of places as I was waiting for my breakfast to arrive.

- Local colleges

- Local library

- Farmer's Markets
(artists rarely promote their work at Markets so it's an ideal place)

- Local Businesses:
restaurants, coffee shops, art supply stores
A local art supply store in Downtown Sacramento, Art Ellis, features different local artists' work in their window display, which changes monthly. They can't be the only local art supply store out there that would do sucha thing. I feel as if smaller businesses such as mom + pop shops would respond positively if the opportunity arose. But I do know of one Starbucks that features different artists' work every month, so it just goes to show you there is not set formula for promoting your work. 

- Your Street Corner
No I'm not kidding. But I guess it depends on where you live. I know it's a popular place for artists to promote their work in big or touristy cities such as Santa Cruz, Seattle, etc. So hey why not?

What I really adore about the idea of promoting one's work at these venues is that many of them won't take a commission if you do decide to sell your work, and if they do it's very little. I'm sure nothing compared to what a gallery would expect in commission.

Hoped this help shed some light and inspired at least a few of you to go out into your community and show them your work! Not everyone who enjoys art has the opportunity/time to go to a gallery, which makes these venues all the better. I know I'm always excited to see a local artists' work unexpectedly when I'm simply going out to run errands, or going out for a meal or cup of coffee. Let your artwork be that little spark of light in someone's day to day, it'll make both of you feel good! That I can promise :)

Until next time friends..cheers!!

Banana-Coconut Oatmeal Muffin Tops

Some of my favorite baked goods are:

Banana Bread

Coconut Macaroons

Oatmeal Cookies

So when I stumbled upon this recipe over on Vegan Richa I couldn't help but give them a go. I modified the recipe a little as I do with most recipes I test, but they are never the less delicious!

Before you get started, keep in mind that these are not the consistency of a cookie, but are more like a muffin or muffin top. The banana will keep them moist, the oatmeal + flax seed will make them healthy, and the coconut + sugar make them delicious.

Ingredients:

2 tsp. flax meal

2 tbs. hot water

2 ripe bananas (mashed)

2 tbs. olive oil

2 tbs. raw turbinado sugar (or honey)

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tbs. orange juice (fresh)

1/2 cup oat flour

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup coconut

dried cranberries (as needed)

Directions:

1. Mix flax meal and hot water, let sit for 5 minutes

2. Make oat flour: out 1/2 cup of oats into food-processor and blend until it becomes a coarse flour

3. Mash bananas (in separate bowl)

4. To the flax add: oil, sugar, spice, salt, orange juice, and mashed banana. Stir.

5. Add the oats + flours to the mixture. Stir.

6. Add coconut +/or dried cranberries to taste. Stir.

7. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper (or grease sheet) and spoon on mixture to desired size.

8. Bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes

Yield:

I made these cookies the size of one spoonful, which made 16.

Tips:

The dough is very sticky when you're mixing, and they are dense (doughy) after baking.

I am glad I made them on the smaller size as they are quite dense, but they have a ton of flavor, and will be a great breakfast for me this week!

ENJOY!

6 Seconds

Vine. No not that kind of Vine. The app Vine. Have ya heard of it? I'm typically not into watching videos online or posting videos for that matter, that was until I found this little gem of an app. What drew me to this app initially was that my favorite rapper/actor Dirt Nasty aka Simon Rex had an account and I wanted to see what the app was all about.

Initially I was somewhat shy to post videos of my own onto the app but after some time I got used to the idea and so it began. What I really love about Vine is that the videos can only be 6 second clips (that loop over and over) this lack of time really brings out the creativity in people and I love to see what people can do with such a short period of time. I also really like the way in which one can record their Vines by way of "tapping" their screen. Every time the screen is tapped it records, this makes it possible for users to create awesome stop motion videos!! One can also just hold the screen down to record a full 6 second video rather than creating small clips, this type of recording method is similar to that of Instagram.The creativity that can be found on Vine is endless, and there are so many different avenues one can take using Vine. Whether it's used to promote one's art work, or to create stop motion videos you'll find all kinds of interesting videos on there!

One of the first claymation videos I've ever made

One of my favorite Viners, a Mr. Tony Oswald, an Internet comedian, has created an epidemic on Vine with how he has chosen to use this format. He has two + accounts on Vine, one with his "actual" life and comedy and the other one which he goes by Tony Besides. His "Besides" account has inspired many Viners to create their own Besides account. What is a "Besides" account you ask?? Well according to Tony "everyone has a besides", and by that he means everyone has another side to themselves which is often not seen, at least that's how I understood it. Internal thoughts for example, or internal monologues seen from a 3rd person perspective is what you will find on these Besides accounts. A typical Besides Viner often records themselves doing day to day activities, by way of telling a story, their story. Not all that you see is actual real life, some Vines are staged, or just plain fiction, a fiction story that is; although not all stories are fiction or staged. A lot of Besides accounts hold strong truths that most do not share with the outside world. It's very interesting to watch these videos as some contain deep dark secrets, fears, etc. Very personal and deep. I am continuously surprised by how much people really do open on on this app, it's quite refreshing and interesting as you really get to know people from watching their Vines, and you really do end up bonding with some of them as their videos are very insightful and often contain pieces of their lives. It's like peeping into the window of a stranger's house seeing personal moments. And as I mentioned before there are some celebrities with Vine accounts, which makes it all the more interesting!


If you don't have Vine yet you can check out some of Tony Besides' videos here, although I'm not sure all of his most recent videos can be found at the link. (You're better off just downloading the app!) He recently has really steamed things up on his Besides account which had me on the edge of my seat for about 4 days. I highly suggest you check it out for yourself!

Stop motion video view of the bridge in 

Old Sacramento I recorded using Vine

^^This video clip is longer than 6 seconds as I combined

2 of my Vines into 1 video using Instagram.

There are people from all walks of life and from all over the world on this little app, it's quite amazing! I myself follow close to 400 Viners all from different parts of the world, and it's amazing all of the sights you get to see on Vine. Definitely not your average type of videos you'd find anywhere else on the web. Not only are there videos of sights and landmarks from all over the world but you can also see comedy videos, videos of nature, "magic" videos, the list goes on and on.

I highly suggest everyone check out this app at least once! The videos and possibilities are endless, and the creativity of the users of this 6 second video clip app will really blow you away!

For some reason I was unable to share my Vine videos on the blog before, but miraculously today I was able to post one!!! So be on the look out for more videos of mine to come!! :)

Until next time..Cheers!

Tour de Jewelry Boxes

As Nelli and I are quite opposite from one another (in a variety of aspects) I thought it would be fun to collaborate on a topic that exemplifies our differences,  perhaps at the smallest detail. So, what better than our jewelry boxes, the things we use daily to personify our ensemble, simple and fun. We have yet to see each others jewelry boxes, so fun for one will be fun for all!

Let the blogoration begin!

NOONIE:
I have had a jewelry box of some sort of another ever since I was a kid, it was constantly evolving as I matured getting more sophisticated, you could say, as I got older. I still have every single one of those jewelry boxes, although I did have to dig pretty deep into the back of my closet to find them!

I dare to say this was my
first jewelry box ever

Remnants of sticker residue, my "Joke Stuff" drawer, and random Easter stickers. I was always a prankster as a kid which explains the "Joke Stuff" drawer. It's crazy how long that taped up piece of paper has been on this jewelry box.

The butterfly jewelry box was given to me as a gift for Christmas one year, I think I was about 12 or 13 years old.

This more "grown up" looking jewelry box was also given to me as a Christmas gift after I had outgrown the butterfly one. I think I was about 15 or 16 when I was given this one.

I bought this crown jewelry stand when I was about 22 or 23 years old. It was originally a shade of light pink when I first bought it, but I painted it to suit my taste a little better.

 But enough of the past let's talk about the present. Here is it....

I bought this jewelry box for myself last year. I use it in addition to both the crown stand, and the wooden jewelry box as I have my jewelry somewhat sorted into different types, that and none of my jewelry boxes are large enough to hold all of my jewelry. It's kind of a nontraditional jewelry box, as I don't believe it was "intended" to be used as a jewelry box, but it has worked out nicely for me! Not only is it unique but I love how it's made of glass, and how the design shimmers on it.

Let's take a closer look..

Love the designs

My treasures :)

As it is kind of a smaller box, I only keep jewelry that I wear often in it as well as a few other odds and ends which I will get to in a moment.

Thought I would share my favorite, frequently worn pieces :)

These are a few of my favorite things <3

If you can't tell I'm somewhat of an anchor collector! Top left is my favorite watch of all time which I purchased at a flea market, as well as some silver stud earrings I got from Target, and an anchor necklace my mom bought me a couple years ago for Valentine's Day. Top right is my favorite gold watch that my boyfriend bought for me a year or so ago, some gold stud earrings that I purchased years ago, and my favorite bracelet of all time a metal skull one that Nelli gave to me last Christmas :) Bottom left is an anchor ring and earrings set my mom gave me earlier this year. Bottom right red sparkly earrings my boyfriend bought me, a watch I bought in Reno last year, and as ring I purchased at the State Fair last year :)

Okay so the little odds and ends I was telling you about earlier...

Few handy things I keep in my jewelry box..a silver polishing cloth, fancy hair pins, a ring snuggie, safety pin, and extra earring backings..caz you gotta stay prepared! I like to collect old dollar bills and coins, which I also keep in my jewelry box, as well as a few keep sake souvenirs from trips I've taken :) It's the little things that count. But enough from me for now...Nelli...

NELLI:
Unlike Miss Noonie, I have my jewelry scattered all over the place.
Everything in my life is typically clean and tidy so jewelry is the one place my life deviates from that.

I keep my necklaces clean and tidy (organized by length) on my wall. Its a simple clean design for your necklaces. I took 6 nails spaced them equally beside one another and lined them up with the top of my mirror. This way when I'm getting ready in the morning I can throw on a necklace easily + they don't get tangled.

The rest of my jewelry resides in a drawer. The pieces I wear most often are thrown in there for easy access (along with my sunglasses, gloves, makeup, wine key, and other odds + ends). The jewelry I don't frequently wear are inside of these small aluminum tins. I acquired these tins when I was about 10 years old from my aunt. They had super-heros on them, and I being a little girl was not a fan. My dad helped me spray paint them black, then I decorated them with nail polish. Each day when I look at these I remember the creative little girl I once was.

Junk Drawer

Necklace Wall

Childhood Creation

Favorite Pieces

1. Silver Rose + Amethyst
2. Puka Shell Earings
3. Vintage Gold Avon Ring
4. Gold + Navy Skeleton bracelet
5. Black Pearl Necklace
6. Pearls

Until next time friends..cheers!!!

The Next Generation

I've often wondered if I'll ever have children, and then I wonder what I will do with them, what they will be like, will they be good people, will they be smart, will I like them, will, will will.....

But beyond my personal relation with the future I wonder what the next generation will be like, how they will change the world, how they will be different from us. I recognize that my generation is barely coming into maturity and we're not sure what is going to happen with us yet, but I still cannot help but wonder how to help the kids and what they're going to do next. Our generation is so different than the generation before us, growing up with the internet made a major impact on our lives and children today have so many more resources than we ever did I can only dream of the implications and pray they will be good ones.

Watching this TedX talk by Logan LaPlante, taught me that kids these days are intelligent, thoughtful, and brighter than I thought. When the resources are used well the possibilities are endless. This young man gives me hope for the next generation that they will be bright and thoughtful, hopefully more-so than we.

The young man above refers to Ken Robinson, so of course I had to watch his speech next. And what as speech it was! Children are so creative, so free, so full of life; and we adults kill that. We steer them towards learning skills to get a job rather than learning skills to be creative and enjoy their lives. Children are not interested in learning math, they're interested in learning dance, painting, singing, playing in nature, things like this. So why must we be so literal, why must we kill their dreams, why can't we simply support their desires and allow them to blossom on their own?
It is up to us to shape the lives of the next generation, so why not get up and make it happen?!

"All children are born an artist, the problem 

is to keep the artist as we grow up." 

-Picasso

Until we meet again...

New Piece + My Inspirational Sources

In keeping with my New Years resolution to commit to finishing all projects I start, I have done just that with a piece that I've been meaning to finish for the past 2 months or so. Turned out even better than I had anticipated, which is always a plus! :)

Laying the initial sketch down
with pencil.

Sky is complete. Time to perfect the girl's figure.
She was tricky.

After much tweaking I'm happy with how she turned out.

Untitled as of yet.
Medium: Oil Pastel

I already have an idea for my next piece, and have decided upon using water color rather than oil pastel for it. As with the piece that I just completed above, I got my inspiration for my next piece from beautiful photographs taken by photographers such as Unggul Santosa and Christer Olsen, whom I follow on my Instagram account. I highly suggest you check out their work, it's amazing!  (Hit their name for a link to their Instagram account)

Until next time...Cheers!! 

Activism | AIDS

The other night I attended a film screening at the New York Public Library (The famous one on 42nd Street) on AIDS Activism in the early 1990s. It was astonishing to see these early videos of such candid moments. Each of the 5 videos witnessed were created by independent film makers who attended events, witnessed interviews, showed up at rallies, chatted with friends, and the like.
The people in the videos were so touching, they fought for their cause, they fought for their life, they fought for others, and they created a safe community for one another.

The evening got me thinking about modern society and my generation, and our lack of community and communication on the human scale. For as much as I enjoy technology I have to agree with the old folks in saying that technology is grossly inhibiting our ability to communicate with one another. When was the last time you went out in public and said 'hello' to a random stranger? You went to a bar and greeted the person next to you? Think about it, in a bar you can spend 3 hours sitting inches away from someone and never speak to them, am I the only person who finds that odd? Or the preverbal family in a restaurant and all 4 of them are on their phones conversing with people outside of their immediate vicinity when they have perfectly acceptable humans in front of them. I know this topic has been preached over and over, but there is much truth to it. The people involved in the AIDS rallies were a community, they called each other, they had a support system, they met up and fought their cause as a group. Medium's like Facebook could be great at bringing more people together, but the question lies in how do we use it to improve our communication and communities without allowing it to divide us on that intimate level?

Act Up, Fight AIDS

Art-scapde!

Cynthia Haase's "Bright Idea"

(very fitting right?!)

I might have already mentioned this, but I'll say it again. Ever since Nelli and I's New Years "Resolutions" blog I have been diligently working on sticking to my resolutions, especially the one to create more! I have been brainstorming up a cloud over in here Cali in an effort to bring this blog new ideas and material and there have been a couple of "Eureka" moments including the one I'm about to divulge.

I follow quite a few different blogs, all varying in subject matter. Although they do vary in topics a few of them do have something in common that is, they often feature fellow bloggers, artists, etc. I love the idea of featuring other people's work as I know it really inspires me as I'm sure it does others. I truly enjoy these features and interviews because you get to learn about the different processes people use to create their work, or what inspires them etc. Getting a glimpse into the minds of other artists and people has always fascinated me which is why I'm drawn to these features and interviews. As I am an artist, they inspire me artistically as they push me to think outside of the box from trying new mediums, to experimenting with ones I have used before. I just can't fully describe the inspiration I do get from picking other people's brains, especially artists.

Up until now I have satisfied my urge to learn about other artists (and people for that matter), and their processes through other people's blogs, movies etc. Besides talking to friends of mine that are artists, and on one occasion interviewing a few artists for a school project, I have always just read about individual artists' processes through other people's eyes never my own. But that my friends, is about to change.

It's time to do the groundwork myself. I want to share other people's work through my eyes, and share my twist on things as I too would like to inspire someone else out there in the world. We here in Cali have some talented artists, and I want to share them with you. For this reason we here on BSOM will begin to do features to showcase other people's work! I'm not just talking about people who specifically call themselves artists either! There is art to be found in many things, whether it's an awesome photograph someone took, or a delicious meal someone cooked, there is an art element to! This is why we will not only be featuring people who call themselves "artists", because anyone can be an artist in my book, even if they are hesitant to call themselves one.

I can't begin to say how excited I am to start this series of features, and I welcome any and all feedback! There are so many different avenues I can see this going, and I welcome you all to join in on this adventure! We are looking for "Artists" of all kinds to feature on our blog! Whether you're an artist, cook, etc. we want to see your work! As I said we are looking for all kinds of "art"! Take a cool photograph of a famous local sight? Send it to us! Maybe you saw some cool graffiti on the walk you took today, take a picture and send it our way! Cooked a delicious meal or have an old family recipe you want to share? Send it to us! 

We can be reached by email at bicoastalstateofmind@gmail.com

We are open to any and all ideas, and look forward to see what you have to show us! 

We are still working out some details of these features. As of the moment I am creating a set of interview questions which I plan on using for all artist features, although we will be mixing it up from time to time. I like the idea of set questions as it's always interesting to me to see how different people react to the same scenario, and I think it really brings out the personality of each individual. As I mentioned we are planning on featuring a variety of different people and works but still have a lot of legwork ahead. As of right now I will be mainly focusing on featuring a few artists I personally know, and will be expanding the features to others and their work as soon as I've got the hang of this.

I just notified my personal friends, as well as a few fellow art bloggers of this new venture of ours last night, and I've already gotten some positive feedback, as well as a few interviews already lined up!! In fact you've already seen 1 piece of art (look up) by artist Cynthia Haase, a fine artist, whose going to be featured on an upcoming blog of ours! Please go check out her blog here, and be on the look out for her upcoming interview and artist showcase right here on BSOM! 

 I know people are just as excited about this new adventure as we are and we can't wait to show you what we've got! So here goes nothin'!! Things are heatin' up over here at BSOM and we can't wait to show ya what we're cookin' up!!

Until next time friends!! Cheers!! 

North Bay

Bon Voyage

For Christmas this year, I made my annual trip home (to California) to spend time with family and friends and soak up the sunshine. However, this year I wanted to spend more time in + around San Francisco as I am scoping it out for a potential move in the next year or 2 (Below are photos). 

My trip home lasted 10 days, 3 of which I spent in SF, the others I spent with loved ones + + + Noonie and I took a road trip to Bodega Bay (Photos Below)!

Unfortunately I don't have much to say for this post aside from the fact that SF and NYC are quite different and this venture definitely gave me some concrete food for thought.

I hope you enjoy the photos!

Featuring Noonie!

Nelli + The Seaweed Print

Until we meet again!