Hong-Kong

We just did 6 hours of walking around Hong-Kong today. My feet are hurting but it was fun. My partner's mother took us on a "getting lost", wandering, meandering tour of places within the vicinity of her old stomping grounds (she was born and raised in Hong-Kong but now lives in Canada). I tried to find a few rare books I am interested in purchasing, but no luck. Definitely got a better view into the world that is Hong-Kong.What is delightful about being here is that it's very English-friendly; everything is bilingual between Cantonese and English.

I will write you a more detailed account with some photos of my experiences later. But for now, let me leave you with a very amusing lesson on Chinese-English.

The following is quoted from "The Ultimate South China Travel Guide of Canton", presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

"Canton, or Guangzhou as it's known today, was once known as London of The East.... This guide is designated exclusively for use from 1685-1839, i.e. from the opening of Canton as a trade port until the outbreak of the First Opium War. After the 1842 signing of the Treaty of Nanking, restrictions imposed on foreign visitors changed significantly, making it inappropriate to use this travel guide beyond the above said period."


"Don't know a single word of Chinese or Cantonese? No problem!... You must get yourself used to CPE (Chinese Pidgin English), because the locals communicate fluently in this distorted form of English composed of sounds that resemble English, but of syntax that breaks away from English grammar. This dialect is mainly used in trade. The word "pidgin" is thought to have derived from Chinese pronunciation of the English word "business"."

Common Greetings & Conversation

(in English first, then CPE)

Do you speak English?
You savvy Englishee?

How do you do Sir?
How dee do, Sir?

Very well, thank-you Sir. 
Velly wellee, thankee you, Sir.  

What is your name? 
What you name?

How old are you? 
How muchee olo?

What time is it now?
Justee now what time? 

Where do you lodge?
What placee you stop?

Where are you going?
What placee you go?

Are you sure? 
You savvy true?

I don't know.
I no know.


I can't understand. 
I no understand.


I am very sorry. 
My velly sorry.


Many thanks to you. 
Too muchee thankee.


Is breakfast ready? 
Breakfast t ee hap makee ready? 


There is no taste in it. 
No got tas (t) ee.


Give it to the dog.
Give dog chow-chow.


Tell the cook to make it properly.
Talkee cook man makee proper.


Give me a cup of tea.
Give me one cup tea.

Call the barber.
Callum barber.


Get ten coolies for me.
Long me catchee ten piecee coolie.


I am going out. 
My go out justee now.


What is this made of? 
What thing makee?


What kind of goods are they? 
What quality goodsee?


They are goods of the first quality.
Firs(t)ee quality goodsee.


What is the price of this? 
What pricee?


Can you reduce the price a little?
Can you chargee more lessee?


I fear I cannot reduce much. 
I fear no can chargee too muchee lessee.


Does that include the duty?
Duty hap got inside? 


I want this.
My wantchee thisee.


What colour do you want? 
You wantchee what colour? 


I don't want them.
My no wantchee.


Give me a receipt.
You give my one piecee receipt.


(the following is for emergency)


Help me!
Makee help my!


I am drunk.
Got tipsy.


I am sick.
My hap sick.


Go and call the doctor.
Go callum doctor.


He has  been murdered.
Some man killum him.


Get out of the way.
Go (a)way.

Last saturday...

Howdy! So the book signing & live face painting last saturday went well. I was set up in the window of the bookstore where there is normally a book display. The store,"Diamond Books",  is located at 5035 Sherbrooke, on the border of Westmount where it meets NDG. It's a cute little store that has been around since 1914.

They have alot of kids toys, kids books, as well as the usual spectrum of fiction, non-fiction, science fiction, religion and more. They have also been developing a good reputation for interesting, and unusual art books, as well as a collection of rare books. The store was recently bought by a vivacious young women named Emma Sindell, who specialized in marketing while at University.

Take a look at the event photos below:

International Contest - Win a poster or book

As announced on the video-journal "The Contest Winners", the International part of the contest has been extended until May 1st, 2010.

A minimum of 30 entries are needed for the prize to be issued.  Anyone, anywhere in the world can enter.

What  you need to do is send me a postcard by mail; please pick a postcard that is 4.25"x5.5". Please email me privately for my mailing address. Winners will be announced on this blog through a Youtube Video. Good luck!

Montreal Book Stores

So my new book, "The Art of April-Anna" is now officially available in 3 bookstores, with more to come!

Kidlink Livres Et Jouets: 5604 av Monkland, H4A 1E3. 514-482-4188

Diamond Books Store in Westmount (open since 1914) is carrying both my books, & greeting cards; 5035 rue Sherbrook O. 514-481-3000

Biosfaire Librairie Inc. 4571 rue Saint Denis, H2J 2L4. 514-985-2467

Photography by Michael Connors.

On Saturday, March 13th, 2pm,
Diamond Books; live event! I will be available to sign books, and will be offering Glitter Tattoos, Face Painting and more. There will be a soiree in the evening as well (6pm). Everyone is welcome!

Photoshoot winners!!!

At last.... prank calls?

At last, I am making time to update my blog. There has been so much going on, not all of it interesting in terms of blogging, but certainly enough to keep me busy and not always able to update this blog! It is my intention to get back into regular blogging, I quite enjoy it and it's a great way to share with friends, family and strangers interested in my adventures, especially once I head out on my next big trip; Hong-Kong!!

Last sunday, Feb 21st,

we did the photo shoot for the contest winners for the temporary glitter tattoos. I will be putting the video-journal together over the next few days from that shoot. The photos turned out lovely;
(photo by Pierre Simard) I am just going through them right now, there are over 800 photos! I will post a few soon. I just have to pick which ones I wish to use and do a little photo-editing (I figure cleaning up pimples is justified since we don't have pimples all the time, just sometimes).

I did a full head to foot body painting on friday, for a client that is a big sports fan. This contract was booked in the fall, so it has long been
 anticipated. The client wanted to have body painted jeans &; a hockey shirt; it turned out fabulous!

(Kiss Band Clients from Halloween)

Another set of clients I had over the weekend was for a family that wanted to be turned into the Kiss Band, based off what they had seen me do for another family back at Halloween, only this time it was for a masquarade. Turned out great! The family was happy and I must say the daughter was very good at immitating Gene Simmons tongue! 

Nuit Blanche

Saturday was Nuit Blanche, otherwise known as "White Night". I love Nuit Blanche, it's one of the rare times in the winter when really the entire city is out and about, very much like New Years Eve but even better. All the art galleries, musuems, stores and other places of interest are open as late as 2am or 4am. It's the only time of the year I can go visit the contemporary art musuem at midnight! I love it! The city challenges people to stay up all night, they even offer free metro & buses all night! It's great! Most of it's free too. This year I walked for 6 hours around the city with my boyfriend, cousin & his girlfriend. We went to the Architect  Museum, the McCord Museum to see the "Irish in Montreal" exhibition, had a pint at the Irish pub around the corner, glimpsed a bit of the "underground art" on our way to the bathrooms, then headed towards Old Montreal in the hopes of going through the Labrynth but when we saw how nuts the line up was, we decided instead to just wander a bit, eventually heading over to the Hilton Hotel where we had tickets for the "Swimming under the Stars" on the top of the hotel in their heated pool. The pool wasn't as warm as advertised, it was just warm enough to make sure you weren't cold, but not so warm that you wanted to stay for a long time, at least not unless you are like me and decided to swim aggressively under the water, which I quite enjoyed, until the drunken youth nearby decided to start playing "marco pollo" in the pool. What I liked about this pool is that we were surrounded by trees that were planted at the top of the building, and the pool is much much deeper, if it hadn't been winter, and if the pool hadn't had drunk people in it, it would have been nice to do some diving. I had tons of fun and was completely delighted by the fact that I was swimming outside in winter until 4am. We ended our night by doing something completely unhealthy but very Quebecer, poutine!!

Prank Calls?
So to finish off todays blog posting, I am going to leave you with some prank phone calls by a young Irish girl, known as nine year old Rebecca Barry from Dublin, ‘Little Becky’ used to be a regular for listeners of Dublins’s 98FM breakfast show; from the internet research I have done, it doesn't seem that she is doing the show anymore. I believe at this time she would be around 11 years old, but at the time of the recordings she was approx. 8 years old.

Contest Winners Announced!!

Here is the official announcement for the contest winners as well as the official announcement of the International Contest being extended to May 1st (have a chance to win a copy of my new book, The Art of April-Anna or a Poster, see video for more details).



The winners are:
Jennifer Malo
Maria Fernanda Hernandez
Francois Miller
Diann Gonzalez
Sam McKenzie
Jessica Leduc
Allison Astridge & Daughter
Elissa Baltzer
Cedrik Lalonde

New Video-Journal: "All About Glitter"

Tips for Professionals!
In this video journal I talk about glitter and what you need to know if you plan to do professional face painting or professional body painting. I also gives advice about where to buy your glitter and what the difference is between crafter's glitter and glitter for cosmetic use.

Update on Contest Details.

Details:
If for any reason we do not receive a minimum of 100 entries, the amount of prizes available to be won will be reduced. If there are less then 30 entries, we will cancel 7 of the 10 prizes. For every 10 entries there will be one prize available to win.

CONTEST!

I am hosting a contest in collaboration with photographer, Pierre Simard. There is the opportunity for 7 people in the Montreal area to win as well as 3 people from the International community (yes, anyone, anywhere in the world can enter to win).

You have the chance to win:

- 10 people in Montreal will have the opportunity to win 1 Free Glitter & Shimmer Temporary Tattoo with 20 minute photoshoot. Winners will need to sign a model release form and be available on Feb 21st in order to participate. You will receive a copy on CD of the photoshoot. The "glitter & shimmer" tattoo will last approx. 1 week.

- 2 people from outside of the Montreal area (this includes the rest of Canada and anywhere else in the world) will win 1 fine art poster each out of a choice of 13 images. To see samples, please go to my Etsy Shop.

- 1 person will win 1 copy of my new book "The Art of April-Anna: 1996-2009 The journey from Fine Arts into Body Arts & Somewhere inbetween." Click here to see a sample of my book.


How to enter the contest:

You have to send me a postcard by regular old fashion "snail-mail"; on the postcard please write down your contact information, this includes full name, email and address. Please include the note "I want to enter the contest." as well as, please tell me what you like about my artwork and why you hope to win. Please email me privately for the regular mailing address: aprilanna@aprilanna.com

Once I receive your postcard, I will put it into the contest box. All entries must be received by Feb 15th, 2010.

Announcing the winners:

The winners will be announced by a home-made video-journal posted on my youtube channel and the link will be placed on this blog on Feb 16th for you to watch the announcements.

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment on this blog! Or you can email me at aprilanna@aprilanna.com

New Promo for my New Book!!

Happy New Year! ... 2010 has arrived.

My prayer for 2010.

"Thank-you for my bliss... I am filled with gratitude for my life, my abundance, my health, my love, for the roof over my head & food in my tummy... I will never take life for granted... I am so thank-ful for this life I lead, for your friendship, for caring... I wish everyone bliss, love and abundance in all forms..." - AprilAnnaBremers

I must admit to having mixed feelings about New Years Eve. Yes, I think alot, sometimes too much. I can't help it, it's part of who I am. So my mixed feelings about New Years Eve are derived from the fact that the holiday is a bit odd as in, how do we define that it is a new year? It's 2010 because we count 365.242199 days a year that begin on Jan 1st every year, but why does the year begin in January? To me it seems a bit odd, it's not aligned with anything that I can relate to. To me it would make sense to start the counting system of days and years from a point in harmony with nature, such as the longest or shortest day of the year.

A year is defined by wikipedia as: A year (from Old English ȝēr; symbol a or sometimes y) is the amount of time it takes the Earth to make one revolution around the Sun. By extension, this can be applied to any planet: for example, a "Martian year" is the time in which Mars completes its own orbit.

But regardless of these feelings, it is lovely to see something, some event in this modern age that brings people together to celebrate and have joy. It's interesting that around the world everyone celebrates New Years Eve, even if they may have their own idea about when the New Year begins (such as China).

So I will end this posting with a bit of history, quoted from Wikipedia.

New Years Eve is the day that is stated by the Gregorian Calendar to be the 1st day of the new year. The Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar.[1][2][3] It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582.

The reformed calendar was adopted later that year by a handful of countries, with other countries adopting it over the following centuries.The Gregorian calendar reform contained two parts, a reform of the Julian calendar as used up to Pope Gregory's time, together with a reform of the lunar cycle used by the Church along with the Julian calendar for calculating dates of Easter. The reform was a modification of a proposal made by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius (or Lilio).[4] Lilius' proposal included reducing the number of leap years in four centuries from 100 to 97, by making 3 out of 4 centurial years common instead of leap years: this part of the proposal had been suggested before by, among others, Pietro Pitati. Lilio also produced an original and practical scheme for adjusting the epacts of the moon for completing the calculation of Easter dates, solving a longstanding difficulty that had faced proposers of calendar reform.

Gregory's bull does not ordain any particular year-numbering system, but uses the Anno Domini system which counts years from the traditional Incarnation of Jesus, and which had spread throughout Europe during the Middle Ages. That is the same year-numbering system that is the de facto international standard today.

The Gregorian solar calendar is an arithmetical calendar. It counts days as the basic unit of time, grouping them into years of 365 or 366 days; and repeats completely every 146,097 days, which fill 400 years, and which also happens to be 20,871 seven-day weeks.[8] Of these 400 years, 303 (the "common years") have 365 days, and 97 (the leap years) have 366 days. This gives an average year length of exactly 365.2425 days, or 365 days, 5 hours, 49 minutes and 12 seconds.

A Gregorian year is divided into twelve months of irregular length, with no regular relationship among their lengths.

Wikipedia goes on to tell us alot more interesting details about the development of the Gregorian Calendar, which I would love to share with you right now but for fear of loosing your attention span, I instead encourage further investigation on the wiki article itself, which you can find here.

I dream in puppets... and a Book of Ballads...

Ok, I don't really dream in puppets, if you are thinking that I am meaning the sleeping kind of dreaming. I often sit and ponder, I have my comfy rocking chair by my book shelf & faerie garden, facing the direction of the fireplace. It's lovely to sit there with a wee cup of mead, my book, the candles on, and watch the log in the fireplace burn merrily away. I will read my books for a while, then drift off in thought, eventually falling into day dream. This is where I dream in puppets.

I have this recent thirst to create giant puppets; and when I say giant, I mean the kind that are around 10 feet high. I have no experience building puppets, but I have a book from the Bread & Puppets society that has some instructions on the many kinds of giant puppets that one can build. Actually it was quite interesting because this thurst of mine started right before Bread & Puppets came to town. Not to say that I have not always loved puppets but the interest in building them is very recent.

Even though puppets are man-crafted and there is really nothing magickal about them except for the performer who brings them to life; I still find giant puppets to have a majestic presence about them that gives me a sense of magick. I can best describe this feeling being a sense of "anything can happen", there is more here then meets the eye.

I have a love of old traditional music from any culture, but in terms of my own singing, I am fond of singing Irish & Scottish traditionals. So I have been toying with ideas about how I can combine all of my interests & skills in one project. I also have alot of creative writing on the back burner, most of it abstract poetry that I keep thinking could make fun performance material. Often I have thought I would like to organize a performance utilizing my work, something with a touch of theatre and circus. But it is challenging to organize anything that involves more then one person and especially if it requires skill, and more so, especially if you want people to collaborate or volunteer. Most of my collaborators are very very busy and their focus, understandably so, is on paid contracts, which are often full time.

So the giant puppets open up some more doors. I have been thinking about doing a short piece to begin with, and there has been some discussion with my friend/collaborator, Marie Dietlin, about doing a stop motion-photography-film project together involving the puppets, body painting & 3-D art, but we have yet to settle on an idea & story. We want the final product to be around 2 minutes.

BOOK OF BALLADS
So I was sitting in my rocking chair in front of my fire reading one of my new books, the "Book of Ballads", it is a collaboration between some of my favourite authors and artists. Charles Vess spearheaded this book; his idea was to make a small comic book series based off of traditional folk ballads. The authors who have contributed to this book are Charles De Lint, Neil Gaiman, Jane Yolen, Jeff Smith, Emma Bull, Sharyn McCrumb and more. There is a historical introduction by Terri Windling that is extremely interesting, so much so that I could write an entirely seperate blog posting off that introduction alone (and perhaps at some point I will). Oh yes and there is this excellent list of musicians the authors were listening to while creating their part of the collaboration. The artwork that Charles Vess has created for this book is lovely and stimulating for my imagination.

PUPPETS ARE DREAMING?
The Book of Ballads is highly worth reading, especially if you love Irish music, and I do. It also got me thinking further about a pre-exsisting idea I had for the puppets and what direction I wish to head with those puppets. I had already been thinking to do something influenced by old mythology and legends, but it had never crossed my mind to base the puppets off one of my favorite old traditional songs, and this book has the wheels turning in my head that this might be a fun idea, perhaps even for the stop motion film... hhhmmmm....

Happy Solstice! Merry Christmas! Happy Yuletide! Happy Hanukkah!

.
I have some mixed feelings about Christmas. It started with the shock I experienced at the age of 10 when I realized I had been duped; Santa-Claus isn't real! All those years spent looking out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of good old saint nick flying through the sky with his reindeer! So sad was I when I realized Santa-Claus isn't real!!

One of my reasons for having mixed feelings about this holiday is I feel like it was taught to me out of obligation. It almost seems really fake because the public don't invent their own traditions, they follow, at this point, either a religious or commercial auto-pilot program. The idea of not filling the house with red/green decorations and either a fake or dying pine-tree, is not something most people consider. What with the pressures to "shop till you drop", often spending horrendous amounts of money on trying to express either one's love or one's duty through gifts. There is also the environment to take into consideration; on one hand, cards & wrapping paper is a lot of fun, but it isn't environmentally friendly.

For myself, I have had an interest in studying world religions since I was about 11 years old and it was about at that point that I declared I was not a Christian. I call myself a "non-denominational spiritualist".

I have decided at this point that what I like about Christmas, Solstice, Yule-tide, Hanukkah and any other religious celebrations that happen at this time of the year is what they have in common.

I now enjoy taking the time of giving thanks year round, but I do also pay some extra attention to gratitude during the winter festivities. I enjoy sharing both with strangers and loved ones alike. To give gifts that have meaning, often hand-crafted. If I decorate, I like to choose decorations that I personally identify with, often drawing from nature or old world influences. I love gatherings and I love music (however, the majority of Christmas music sets my teeth on edge).

Historically speaking, Christmas is derived mostly from 4 sources. A Germanic pagan religious celebration called Yule or Yuletide. Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year which celebrated the coming light as the days would grow longer again. A roman holiday called "Sol Invictus". Of course the birth (although some argue it's the conception) of Jesus and Christmastide.

Yuletide Arts & Crafts Fair!
This year I participated in the pagan community's arts & crafts fair at Melange Magick. Take a look at the video journal I created: (also includes brief history of Christmas)

Hitch-hiking...

I am a very open minded sort of person and I enjoy connecting with people from all walks of life. Hitch-hiking is something I have a lot of experience with, which I feel is a bit of a taboo subject, which in and of itself, can make it more dangerous then it needs to be.

Old childhood friends, who are now parents, contacted me recently over the concern for the 18 year old brother who had not been heard from for a 24 hour period while hitch-hiking in northern BC on highways that have a reputation for people going missing. Those circumstances were unique and I won't go into those details, the brother did show up safe, but due to some of the folly that nearly cost him dearly, I felt maybe it would be appropriate for me to speak up as an experienced hitch-hiker.

Popular belief has it that hitch hiking is dangerous, and this is true, but it's actually a lot safer then what popular belief would have you believe, especially if you know the do's and don'ts of the road. Popular belief is largely based off of what we see on the news and is being perpetuated by the inexperienced, most people who teach their kids not to hitch-hike have never done it. Therefore it gives a very fear based slant with little information available about when hitch-hiking goes right.

Truth be told, I believe there is alot more positive stories out there that just aren't being spoken about because of the taboo nature of hitch-hiking. It might surprise you to know that it's very few people who actually have problems on the road compared to the amount of people who successfully hitch-hike without an issue.

I started hitch-hiking when I was 23 with the boyfriend I was dating at the time. Up until that point, I had always sworn I would never hitch-hike. But a family emergency came up for my boyfriend, and it became the only choice for getting from Kelowna to Nanaimo, BC. From that point forward, I gradually begin to hitch-hike more and more. Once I left that relationship, I started hitch-hiking small distances alone, mainly around the coast of BC but sometimes up around the Okanagan. Once out here in the east of Canada, I did quite a bit of hitch-hiking between Montreal and Toronto and one trip out to PEI from Montreal.

When I was 27, I did my 1st cross Canada hitch-hiking trip. First from Montreal to the Sunshine Coast, BC, then around BC and eventually back to Montreal. Going to BC it took 8 days and I was travelling with a tall Russian man, a friend of mine who wanted to ensure I would be safe. Coming back to Montreal I did half of the trip with a girlfriend, and the other half alone; this took a total of 3 days.

Why hitch-hike?
The trick is calculated risks. I have no regrets, but I also have entered each of my hitch-hiking experiences with the willingness to have full responsibility for my actions and whatever outcome there may be. The way I see it is everything in life can potentially be dangerous, we face danger on a regular basis, although I am sure we don't always realize it. I have hitch-hiked in the past because it enabled me to do something I did not otherwise have the resources to achieve.

Who picks up?
I have been picked up by families, old timers and single people. I realize it helps that I am a girl, many people view me as less threatening then a man so it opens up more options for me. The most common thing I have heard while hitch-hiking are the following comments:

"I couldn't bear the thought that you would get picked up by the wrong person."

"I used to do a lot of hitch-hiking back in the day, but now I am financially well off and want to return the favour."

"I have kids so I look at you as potentially one of my children, the more good people who pick up, the less likely a hitch-hiker will get picked up by a bad person."

"When I was a youngster, there were no buses, and hitch-hiking was normal. I want to return the favour."

"I have never picked up before, but I wanted to make sure you got safely to your destination."

"I am doing a long haul and wanted someone to talk to as it helps keep me awake."

"I have a long way to go and wouldn't mind some company."

How to safely hitch-hike:

1) Pick one person who will monitor your journey and keep in touch with that person as much as possible. Every opportunity you can access a phone (or better yet, bring a cell phone), phone and check in your progress, tell them where you plan to be hitching from, what highway etc, and where you are headed.

2) Try to have a friend to hitch-hike with, as much as possible, avoid hitch-hiking alone.

3) Know the environment, certain places are going to be safer then others. If you are hitching long distance, talk to an experienced hitch-hiker and find out what routes are more hitch-hiker friendly and avoid highways that may have an unusually high rate of missing persons.

4) Never get into a ride without talking to the driver first. Make eye contact. Ask them where they are going, why they have decided to offer you a ride. Anything to stall, so you can try to get a feel for who are dealing with and what their intentions are. Listen to your intuition; if it doesn't feel right, if you are hesitant, don't be afraid to say no. Saying no is ok and a good idea sometimes; just be polite but be firm. Someone who starts to be insistent that you should take the ride is definitely someone you should say no to, because someone who does not have ill intent will not care if you take the ride.

5) Learn to read people. I find that your first reaction/response, is the right one. Really good people you can feel that they are good people when you look in their eyes, you just know. But people who fit into the gray, there are many reasons it may not be clear. There are so many good people on the road that it isn't necessary to take a ride you are not sure about.

Bad people are obvious or will appear "grey", but a bad person will never appear to be a good person. If there is anything sketchy about a person, say no. I have seen alot of people make bad judgement calls that I saw coming, tried to warn the person but they didn't listen, largely because they did not know how to read people. Learn to read people.

6) Pick the right location. Ideally this will be somewhere public, near a gas-station, better yet, right in front of the gas station but this is only possible if the gas-station is really close to the highway as it will be the last stop for many travelers before they hit the road. If this is not possible, then go to the on ramp, just where the on ramp is about to merge with the traffic on the highway there is usually a large area appropriate for pulling over safely (remember safety must always come first for both you and the driver so think like a driver, where would you pull over if you were picking up a hitch-hiker?).

7) Have a large, bright sign painted/drawn that says the name of your next destination; this will make being picked up much much quicker then if you only use your thumb. Keep in mind alot people are not paying attention to hitch-hikers, usually due to their visibility, this will make you more eye catching but will also improve visibility for safety reasons (this will reduce the chances of being hit by a car).

Also wear light/bright colours for the same reasons as above.

8) Try to keep a smile on your face and look like you are having fun, even if it's taking a long time. People won't pick up if you yourself look negative in any way.

9) Don't hitch-hike at night. Good people generally won't pick up at night (unless you decide to be bold and stand in front of the walking traffic going in and out of a Tim Horton's near the highway) because they can't see who they are dealing with, so your chances of getting picked up by the wrong people at night is high. If you are stuck somewhere at dusk or nightfall, go pull an all nighter at a Tim Horton's, as long as you have a tea in your hand, they dont' care how long you are there and often they will turn a blind eye to a traveller (the big back-pack gives it away), even if you are sleeping with your head on the table. Or travel with a tent & sleeping bag and find a discrete place off the side of the highway to sleep.

10) Ideally try to have at least $100 emergency money on you as you never know what you might need.

11) Be grateful with your rides as they are not obliged to pick you up; you want this to be a positive experience and so be careful to leave a lasting positive impression. Be sincere, honest and take an interest in the person who picks you up.

12) Understand you are taking a risk and be mentally prepared to take full responsibility for that risk.

13) Make sure your intentions are clear with yourself, IE "I choose to be safe and reach my destination safely". This will program your psychology which in turn will help you subconsciously make a safe choice. If you are scared, don't go to the road until you are calm and ready to face this challenge. Like is attracted to like and hitch-hiking will show you this. When I have hitch-hiked scared, all the people who stopped were people I ended up needing to say no to. When I have hitch-hiked confident and happy, the people I attract are usually very positive people who it has proven to be safe to take rides with.

14) Set your intentions. Listen to your intuition.

Be wise, Be Safe!!
That's all I can think of for now to share with you about how to hitch-hike safely; I have been very successful as a safe hitch-hiker. If I think of anything else, I will update this post.

If you are planning to hitch-hike but have never done so but have any questions I have not already answered, don't be afraid to leave a comment as I will be happy to answer your questions.

New Years Eve - Body Art

Book your private appointment now to get some face or body art done for your New Years Eve celebrations!
$1.50 per minute

Conveniant Location, close to Lucien L'Allier Metro or Guy-Concordia Metro.

Email to discuss details: aprilanna@aprilanna.com
or 514-243-4315

New projects...

Howdy folks...

I have been so busy over the past two months, while actually life is like that regardless, but it's been intense enough to not allow me time to keep my blog as updated. One of the projects I just recently finished is for a friend of mine, Gillian Pritchert. Her mother is a talented poet, Milly Leonara, in England who has recently published her first book. Take a look:

Group Art Exhibition & Sale

Friday, Nov 20th & Saturday, Nov 21st I participating in a group art exhibition and sale at Hotel Europa on Drummond, downtown. I will be showing my work and selling merchandise that includes Greet Cards, Posters & my new book. I am very excited! I hope you will come down and say hi!

NEW BOOK!! (this is my 1st)

long over due update...

Hey so just signing in on a sleepless night to say that yes, it's true, I have been neglecting my blog.... However, I have a good reason! Life got nuts!! Well actually, it's mostly that I have a compulsion to fill up my life with as much as possible... So of course it was a logical choice to spontaneously decide to full fill a life's dream by creating my first book, giving myself a deadline of one month to create.... Good thing it's an art book and not creative writing... Well, actually, I do have quite a lot of creative writing finished... Many books on the future horizon!

Despite being an art book, this book was alot of work and while I know it's logical to normally take at least a year to make a book, I of course, decided to try to challenge myself (not that creating a book isn't challenging regardless of deadlines)... I have been working around the clock, literally, for the past month, sometimes 12 and 16 hour days on this book and I made the deadline by the hair of my chinny chin chin.... There is some poetry in it, and writings about the images, but mostly images...

I can't believe I have actually created my first book! I will see my second proof today; hopefully I don't have more edits to do (fingers crossed).....

PS
Despite all my run on sentences and lots of ..... that I lean towards when writing informally; I do make the effort to use proper english and sentence structure in this book. The book is well written and thanks to my awesome friend Allison Ryan, it's been edited and approved by said editor! Yeah!

Now I shall try to sleep....

Halloween Make-Up: Oct 30th & 31st

Bookings still available in the afternoon of Oct 30th, and some appointments still available on Oct. 31st.

$1.50 per minute, 10 minute minimum.
Conveniantly located 5 minutes from Lucien L'Allier Metro or 10 minutes from Guy-Concordia Metro.
514-243-4315

News Article about an Italian Eccentric who built secret temples under the country-side...

Eighth wonder of the world? The stunning temples secretly carved out below ground by 'paranormal' eccentric
by HAZEL COURTENEY
Last updated at 09:58 22 November 2007

Nestling in the foothills of the Alps in northern Italy, 30 miles from the ancient city of Turin, lies the valley of Valchiusella. Peppered with medieval villages, the hillside scenery is certainly picturesque.
But it is deep underground, buried into the ancient rock, that the region's greatest wonders are concealed.


Hall of the Earth: An amazing room built on the 'supernatural' visions of its creator Here, 100ft down and hidden from public view, lies an astonishing secret - one that has drawn comparisons with the fabled city of Atlantis and has been dubbed 'the Eighth Wonder of the World' by the Italian government.
For weaving their way underneath the hillside are nine ornate temples, on five levels, whose scale and opulence take the breath away.

Constructed like a three-dimensional book, narrating the history of humanity, they are linked by hundreds of metres of richly decorated tunnels and occupy almost 300,000 cubic feet - Big Ben is 15,000 cubic feet.




Few have been granted permission to see these marvels.
Indeed, the Italian government was not even aware of their existence until a few years ago. But the 'Temples of Damanhur' are not the great legacy of some long-lost civilisation, they are the work of a 57-year-old former insurance broker from northern Italy who, inspired by a childhood vision, began digging into the rock.

It all began in the early Sixties when Oberto Airaudi was aged ten. From an early age, he claims to have experienced visions of what he believed to be a past life, in which there were amazing temples.

Around these he dreamed there lived a highly evolved community who enjoyed an idyllic existence in which all the people worked for the common good.
More bizarrely still, Oberto appeared to have had a supernatural ability: the gift of "remote viewing" - the ability to travel in his mind's eye to describe in detail the contents of any building.

"My goal was to recreate the temples from my visions," he says.
Oberto - who prefers to use the name 'Falco' - began by digging a trial hole under his parent's home to more fully understand the principals of excavation.
Scroll down for more...

Breathtaking: The miles of tunnels enable air to circulate



House of secrets: Below this house is the Damanhurian temple which is one of the largest temple complexes in the world
But it was only as he began a successful career as an insurance broker that he began to search for his perfect site.

In 1977, he selected a remote hillside where he felt the hard rock would sustain the structures he had in mind. A house was built on the hillside and Falco moved in with several friends who shared his vision. Using hammers and picks, they began their dig to create the temples of Damanhur - named after the ancient subterranean Egyptian temple meaning City of Light - in August 1978.

As no planning permission had been granted, they decided to share their scheme only with like-minded people. Volunteers, who flocked from around the world, worked in four-hour shifts for the next 16 years with no formal plans other than Falco's sketches and visions, funding their scheme by setting up small businesses to serve the local community.

By 1991, several of the nine chambers were almost complete with stunning murals, mosaics, statues, secret doors and stained glass windows. But time was running out on the secret.

The first time the police came it was over alleged tax evasion and still the temples lay undiscovered. But a year later the police swooped on the community demanding: "Show us these temples or we will dynamite the entire hillside."
Falco and his colleagues duly complied and opened the secret door to reveal what lay beneath. Three policemen and the public prosecutor hesitantly entered, but as they stooped down to enter the first temple - named the Hall of the Earth - their jaws dropped.

Inside was a circular chamber measuring 8m in diameter.



Hall of mirrors: The hall has a classical Greek feel
Egyptian wall paintings: Damanhurian art is greatly influenced by both Egyptian and Celtic sytles

A central sculpted column, depicting a three dimensional man and woman, supported a ceiling of intricately painted glass. The astonished group walked on to find sculpted columns covered with gold leaf, more than 8m high. Stunned by what they had found, the authorities decided to seize the temples on behalf of the government.

"By the time they had seen all of the chambers, we were told to continue with the artwork, but to cease further building, as we had not been granted planning permission," says Esperide Ananas, who has written a new book called Damanhur, Temples Of Humankind.

Retrospective permission was eventually granted and today the 'Damanhurians' even have their own university, schools, organic supermarkets, vineyards, farms, bakeries and award-winning eco homes.

They do not worship a spiritual leader, though their temples have become the focus for group meditation. 'They are to remind people that we are all capable of much more than we realise and that hidden treasures can be found within

Bread & Puppets!! Tonight!! Montreal!

I am so tickled pink with excitement!! Tonight "Bread & Puppets" are playing only two blocks from my house!! Free show tonight (Oct. 17, 2009) at Concordia University's D.B. Clark Theatre, in the Hall Building at 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W. at 8 p.m.

I love Bread & Puppets, they are historic, utilizing old world arts, giant puppets, and other theatrical & circus skills, they come with a message. During the 1960's they were a group of artists from many disciplines who banded together to stand up for our rights, to bring awareness and promote change. Through out the sixties they were at many major protests and other activist efforts.

"The name Bread & Puppet derives from the theater's practice of sharing its own fresh bread, served for free with a strong garlic aioli, with the audience of each performance as a means of creating community, and from its central principle that art should be as basic to life as bread. Some have heard echoes of the Roman phrase "bread and circuses" or the labor slogan "Bread and Roses" in the theater's name as well, though these are not often mentioned in Bread & Puppet's own explanations of its name." (Quoted from Wikipedia)

History

"The Theater was founded in 1962–1963 in New York City. It was active during the Vietnam War in anti-war protests, primarily in New York. It is often remembered as a central part of the political spectacle of the time, as its enormous puppets (often ten to fifteen feet tall) were a fixture of many demonstrations. In 1970 the Theater moved to Vermont, first to Goddard College in Plainfield, and then to a farm in Glover where it still resides. The farm is home to a cow, several pigs, puppeteers and chickens, as well as indoor and outdoor performance spaces, a printshop, store and large museum showcasing over four decades of the company's work. The Bread & Puppet Theater has received National Endowment for the Arts grants and numerous awards from the Puppeteers of America and other organizations."
"Our Domestic Resurrection Circus - Mid 1980s"

"Until 1998 the Bread & Puppet hosted its annual Pageant and Circus (in full, Our Domestic Resurrection Circus), in and around a natural amphitheater on its Glover grounds. In the 1990s the festival became very large, drawing crowds in the tens of thousands of people who camped on nearby farmers' land over the summer weekend of the pageant. The event became unmanageably large and less and less concerned with the theater's performance. In 1998 a man was accidentally killed in a fight while camping overnight for the festival, and director Peter Schumann subsequently cancelled the festival.[2] Since then the theater has instead offered smaller weekend performances all summer long, and traveled around New York and New England, with occasional tours around the U.S. and abroad. In New York City, Bread & Puppet annually performs at Theater for the New City during the holiday season." (Quoted from Wikipedia)

Experimental pages from my new book....

"From Above"... "there's a murder of crows..."

Music feeds my soul, but so also does silence but I have been in the working buzz so I thought I would share a little of what I am listening to these days.

I love the music of Jess Hill. I originally was listening to "Tarran the Tailor" on myspace, but then needed new music and found Jess Hill. I really love this song and the video is extremely interesting.

New Book! ...Updated Oct. 17th...

This is my 1st book and it will be a small run of books printed off as orders are placed (either by the person or a store), or if I have an exhibition or show.

Do you want to order a book?

Early bird special: $25 if you pay for your order before November 1st, that's $10 off and it will be numbered & hand signed.

Early Release for the book is Nov 1st, 2009
(tentative; will let you know when I get the confirmation from the printer, right now the printers are processing my posters, postcards & cards,so I have to wait until that is finished before I can hand the book in).

Official Release is Nov. 20th, 2009

You will be the 1st to know when the books are printed and in my hands!

About the book:
52 page saddle stitch book, full colour and glossy; approx. 9"x12".
This will be an over-view of my work from the past 13 years, including both my fine arts and the transition into the body arts. There will be small stories about each artwork, or related poem or thought. There will also be an interview included, along with information about my collaborators such as the photographers.

A very unusual flight...

This is awesome.... I wish this guy would be the flight attendant when I go to Hong Kong! Why aren't all attendants as awesome as this guy?

Old Photo Projects....

In October 2005, I did a photo collaboration with photographer James St.Laurent and a local clothing designer, Sandra of Gypsy Circus. I never received a copy of the photos from that shoot until recently.

I love editing photos, partly because I love having perfect results, but also because it's good practice for me and helps me to build my portfolio for photo-editing/image manipulation. I have created another "Before" & "After Editing" photo for you to see what has been changed.



In body art, the person is my interactive canvas.
When I do the style of body painting that I did on Sandra, it's more of a dream of archtypical mythological charactors blended with the present and super-imposed onto the person who gives the painting life & movement. It is a form of story telling, even though it is sometimes extremely conceptual and sometimes vague with abstract results.

The Utter Madness of students....

We live rather close to Concordia University, so every year when the welcome back celebrations begin, it is complete utter madness for two weeks; very overwhelming...

McGill University just had their "frosh" about a month ago, total drunken debauchery; it is quite impossible to navigate the cycling path that goes right through the McGill campus. Normally this part of the cycling path is very pretty, except for when you are trying to get out of the way of students who seem totally oblivious to the fact that there are high speed bikes coming their way. I had so many near accidents even when I was going slow.

Concordia students aren't quite as wild but still they completely congest the streets around the campus and they were just as happy and hyper as the McGill students. It also doesn't help that there is major construction going on right around the heart of Concordia's downtown campus, it's really overwhelming to navigate through the throng of excited students.



Normally during the welcome back celebrations I try to hide out and avoid the student congested streets until things calm down, but this year I was really excited to have two contracts for the Concordia Student Union; one for face/body painting on Sept. 16th, and the other was to decorate & tear down said decorations, at Reggies, Concordia's student pub. I will add some photos later on from the decorating contract.

Chitty chatty distant thoughts...

All photography by April-Anna Bremers

Summertime on my porch....





NEW ARTWORKS

In the beginning of August I decided to make this painting for a friend of mine who moved down to Arizona to be with her now husband; they have had a beautiful baby girl since being there. I considered doing a drawing by hand of the photograph but did not have time since I was trying to send the painting down with friends of mine who were flying to Arizona for conferences. So instead I used the photo-transfer techniques I learned with Melanie Mathews in her class at the Westmount Visual Arts Centre last spring. This is the results of the final painting.

Final Painting...


Earlier stage of the painting...



September and the Autumn is coming..... oh humm....

I have been rather busy lately, yes also with art but that has not been my focus for this summer and this past few weeks; I have become absolutely driven with trying to get into the state of health and physical condition/training I desire to be in. My thyroid went under-active when I was 12 and I gained alot of weight from this, that combined with some other factors as well as personal challenges in my family life, lead me into a way of being & living that was not really ideal. Ten years ago I was a size 18, 4 years ago I was a size 16 and now I am, as of the past month, a size 12 but I am starting to realize I must actually be quite petite, because while I am much much healthier, I still have more weight to loose and more muscles to tone. I am guesstimating that maybe I am a size 9? I am not sure since as an adult I have never been my body's natural healthy weight.

I have, as I have mentioned in other postings here on my blog, practicing a form of internal martial arts called Bagua Zhang for the past two years. But I have certainly had my good weeks and down weeks; but this past year, particularly this past three months I am making leaps and bounds compared to where I was at ten years ago. Now, as of this past week, I have officially begin the very slow process of learning traditional chinese medicine. I dont' want to pressure myself, as I choose to go with the flow, but if I can make it through the process, I would like to eventually become a practitioner of traditional chinese medicine. Not because I have any intention of changing careers, believe me, I will always be a career artist, but I wish to volunteer to help people in need as well as to just volunteer at the Gong-Fu centre to help my teacher because, well, just as a thank-you to life for all my blessings. I am so grateful for this life that I lead and the love and support I am surrounded by.

Story of Stuff

I found this amusing and thought provoking...

Neighbours
Norman McLaren, 1952, 8 min
In this Oscar®-winning short film, Norman McLaren employs the principles normally used to put drawings or puppets into motion ...

In this Oscar®-winning short film, Norman McLaren employs the principles normally used to put drawings or puppets into motion to animate live actors. The story is a parable about two people who come to blows over the possession of a flower. Film without words.

Halloween Video Portfolio

Little birdie...

This is the little birdie that my cat decided to sit on after it had flown into the window and sat there totally stunned. The photo was taken after it had been sat on (my cat did not seem to be able to see the bird, it was very strange).

"I will work on myself, since the work that I do on myself is going to be the highest thing I can do. As we 'up-level' or raise our own consciousness, we see more creative solutions to the problems that we confront."

-Ram Dass

Before and After Editing....

I am just going through some Halloween photos from a contract I had last Halloween (otherwise known as Samhain in the Celtic calender) and I decided to start editing those images. I am using GIMP which is simular to Photoshop.

The mighty amazing porch of natural adventures...

I am glad my life is interesting; I would be so bored if strange things did not continue to happen to me.

When I got up this morning, (well morning is relative) I opened my back porch door at the exact same moment I hear this "thud" and see a little bird fall down from having accidentally flown into the window. I immediately close the door so my cats don't go onto the porch and discover the stunned little guy who was sitting rather frozen on the wood where he landed.

I am cooking and my boyfriend arrives home for lunch. I tell him that there is a bird sitting stunned on our porch and not to let the cats out. He goes outside, does not see the bird (I admit, it does blend in rather well with the wood) and immediately let's our large male out. I suddenly realize what is happening (our kitchen faces the porch) and go running out there to stop the cat.

Well my boyfriend tries to stop the cat also. The cat gets confused as to which direction he is being herded and instead goes towards the bird. I wasn't sure if he could see the bird though because he seemed to only be paying attention to me and my boyfriend. We are still trying to catch him, he is getting closer and closer to the bird. Suddenly he flops onto the wood and proceeds to lay down on the bird!!

My cat laid on the bird! He sat on the bird! He did not know the bird was there! I quickly and gently lifted my cat, who wined at me, and move him onto the other side of the plants where he just sunk down into the porch, not even noticing the bird! This went on for over half an hour and meanwhile the bird just continued to sit there in shock, but I could tell he was aware because he kept blinking and was watching us. At one point the bird tried sleeping. Eventually the bird flew up into the tree and watched us for a while before flying off into the sky where ever it was he was headed.

My cat used to be almost a hunter; ie, he is known for enjoying hassling the birds and making them fly but I have never seen him try to catch or a kill a bird, but I have seen him hunt dogs. He has brought me living gifts before.

I will post a photograph of the bird later on.

Dream a little dream...

I love dreaming. Dreams come in many forms. They come in day dreams. Waking dreams. They come in passing thoughts. Fleeting images, stimulated by sometimes totally unconnected events. They come when we sleep, sometimes to be remembered, sometimes not. Dreams feed us. They feed our spirit, our soul. Dreams can lead to great folly, or to great deeds. Dreams move us, one way or another. When we block our dreams, we become stagnant, unmoving, or moving very slowly collecting dust.

I just finished reading a book by Neil Gaiman, called Stardust. Yes, it is the same as the movie, however, it must be said that while the movie is very good, it is extremely different from the book. This comes as no surprise I am sure. I imagine the movie likened to an alternative reality, another possible way that the story could have happened, but in the end, I still prefer the book (although I saw the movie first and surely I will watch it again with great joy).

Having quite a feisty passion for old folk lore, mythologies, legends and modern spins working with the old into the new; I can say that this book certainly stirs up my dreams. This book has fed me, such as food does for our bodies, it has reminded me of my own inner light and the light that is within all that is part of this world.

I think what inspires me most about this book, is not in the story itself, but in Neil's gratitude, which also reminds me of a little paper book I found in my couch cushions while finishing up reading the book. But first I must share Neil's gratitude.

"Acknowledgements."
Neil writes, to us, the readers: "First and foremost, my thanks to Charles Vess. He is the nearest thing we have today to the great Victorian fairy painters, and without his art as an inspiration, none of these words would exist. Every time I finished a chapter, I phoned him up and read it to him, and he listened patiently and he chuckled in all the right places."

I know who Charles Vess is and truly his art is inspiring. But really what touched me so much about this statement is the idea of inspiring someone so much that that person should share each leg of the journey as it occurs in the creative process. The creative process can be such a vulnerable and private process. Such an honor is that. It leaves me with a feeling of awe that a great story teller should draw his inspirations, finding his dreams stimulated from the many images produced by the artist.

After reading this book, which I have not been able to put down for days, I am already feeling the build up of energy, the inspirations, my inner muse, waking up, and dreaming, preparing to use this new fuel to help push along my own creations. I always find the creations of others as well as the gratitude expressed from one person to another, helps push me to push myself to try my best to produce my best and see where I can go next within my own creations. I love the experience, the journey that it takes to hone my own skills. My goal is to wake up inspirations in others, such as Neil Gaiman has woken in me on account of what Charles Vess woke in Neil.

Interesting, isn't it? The process that is...
Where would we all be without each other?
I have such gratitude that you exist.
Whom do I speak?
Why you! The reader!
Because as I said, where would we all be without each other?
I have such gratitude for the process, the journey, and I can't wait to see what happens next in this adventure we call life.



Magic Words

"In the earliest time,

when both people and animals lived on the earth,

a person could become an animal if he wanted to

and an animal could become a human being.

Sometimes they were people

and sometimes animals

and there was no difference.

All spoke the same language.

That was the time when words were like magic.

The human mind had mysterious powers.

A word spoken by chance

might have strange consequences.

It would suddenly come alive

and what people wanted to happen could happen--

all you had to do was to say it.

Nobody can explain this:

That's the way it was."

- - after Nalugiaq

Edward Field, 'Songs and Stories of the Netsilik Eskimos
Quoted from Green Man Press

Totally hilarious....

Ok. So recently, I have come to recognize exactly how geeky I am. I guess I should have known since I am dating a computer programmer and that sort of says it all. What tipped me off is how every so often, in the middle of the night, I get totally hooked to the DVDs my boyfriend brings home such as Doctor Who. At first, I was really anti-doctor but then, it sucked me in, like the vortex it is. This could be said about a few shows. I have always been a fantasy buff, with a leaning towards sci-fi, but usually more in the novel format (I adore reading) and often movies. Of course, I am totally obsessed with an on again off again ongoing research that I do of old faerie lore and world mythologies; very inspiring for my own creations.

What I am leading up to is "The Guild". I totally love this bizarre and quirky internet mini-show. I also relate to it. I went through an obsessive gaming phase as a teenager and into my early twenties. This is proven by the fact that I once failed a university course due to this obsession. I guess maybe it was a bit of an adiction. Failing the university course was a really good reality check. But something valuable I learned from going through that gaming phase is that I realized at a certain point that everything I learned in game, if I were to apply it to life, I would probably find life alot more interesting and alot more engaging. So I swore off gaming because I did not seem to be able to find the middle ground with it all. What I learned from gaming was perseverance, stamina and how to successfully face my challenges in life.


Today, while I can appreciate it, I have no interest in participating in gaming because I just have way too many career related and other activities that absorb all the time I have. I love how productive I am with my time, now that I don't play video games. However, my boyfriend is still a gamer and one night I caught him watching "The Guild" and quickly found myself adoring it. It's totally freaking funny and reminds me of a few people I know.

Having a voice to speak with....

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

Having a voice to speak with, I choose often to first sit in silence and watch, to learn and to try to observe how I can best assist in creating positivity. Ideally, when I speak, I don't want to waste my energy, so when I speak, I speak with the intention of being aware of the needs of my listener, I try to speak when I will be received, when I will be heard.

I don't know if I will be heard, but right now I choose to speak. I hope that in speaking, I will contribute to a domino affect of positive and healing change.

A few months ago during a midnight research session, I became aware of an upcoming documentary that aired tonight. I was privileged to have a promo-ticket to see the premier of The Cove. I believe everyone should see this film. It's so tragic but very important that we be aware of what is happening and to do all we can to create change for the better.



This film really struck a chord for me, maybe it's because of the graphic nature of the film footage, but truly, I could not stop crying through out most of the film. I was so upset when I left the theatre, that I accidentally twisted my ankle in a hole in the sidewalk I did not see. I knew these things were happening but to see the footage, it's very devastating. It's horrifying to think that this isn't just happening in Japan, it's happening everywhere pretty much to all species, including ourselves.

We all know this song and dance; why do we just keep falling into the same cycle of harmful actions as a human race?

Before and After....

I have been doing more and more photo editing and graphic design for myself and friends. I use GIMP instead of photoshop; I used to use photoshop but then due to my boyfriends ethics and my sense of privacy, I decided to go onto a linux system on my computer along with all free software.

It was at first difficult to adjust from photo shop to GIMP, and the only thing that GIMP doesn't do is CMYK, but that easily rectified by going to see a friend with a legal copy of photo shop.

What I like about GIMP is that it's co-created software by computer programmers who believe that software should be free and easily accessible for everyone. Free software is a constant evolution created by volunteer programmers on their spare time outside of their day jobs.

The photograph you see is a sample of my most current editing work in GIMP. The clothing is designed by Advika Clothing on 100% organic fabric.

Artist's Life

By Kern, Kite, Bandit & Lisa 12-06-07 drowtales.com

Artist's Life:

Monday Night, 5am
"We have to start going to sleep earlier."
"mmhhmmm"

Tuesday Night, 6am
"We really have to start going to sleep earlier."
"mmmmhhm"

Wednesday Night, 7am
"We REALLY, really have to start going to sleep earlier."
"mmhmmm *snore*"

I borrowed this comic strip from another website called Drowtales: Moonless Age, it's a fantasy comic that has recently peeked my interest. At the end of each chapter they have cutsie humorous parodies. Hence where "Artists's Life" came from.

When I saw this comic and what it is depicting, I was just laughing and shaking my head because this was such a typical day for me. Oh the artist life!