Sunday, August 30, 2009

i'd like to be

After coming home from church, trying to read, falling asleep on the couch for a couple hours, and waking up with a dry throat, I finally finished reading "The 21 Balloons" to Tyler and Luke. We started this book a couple of weeks ago as a part of camp. It is one my mom read to me when I was younger and I remember enjoying it immensely. I was quite pleased to find it was just as pleasurable, if not more, to read it now as it was then.


The book is written and illustrated by William Pene du Bois. It is the curious account of Professor William Waterman Sherman's unbelievable journey from a hot air balloon, to the volcanic island of Krakatoa, and then off the island in dramatic explosion. Along the way he is introduced to the unusual citizens of Krakatoa and their extravagant, unconventional mode of living. The story takes place during the popular balloon years of 1860 to 1890, and includes, "Just about every kind of free balloon travel known to man and...a few balloon inventions unknown until now."


If you have not read this book, I would strongly recommend it. It is quite accessible to children and adults alike. 


William Pene du Bois not only wrote this wonderful story, but also illustrated it. Here are some of Mr. du Bois' fantastic illustrations:











After delighting in these lovely, retro-balloon-contraption illustrations, I sat down to let inspiration take me where it would. My end result was less like these, and more like, well, this:
And the moral is.


Friday, August 28, 2009

my home is my oyster...?


Another hot day. A good day for frozen yogurt and shopping for air-soft pellets and birthday cards with my younger brother, Trenton. Thank you Jesus for making my heart soft when it didn't want to be, and for blessing my  time with my little (taller!?!) brother. Amen.


I'm home alone now? How strange. When ten people all participate in an exodus from the house, it is quite a phenomenon.  

Well, how will I spend this short space of aloneness? First by posting these pictures I took from my room.

Over the past year I have been redecorating my room (when you buy everything from craigslist and thrift shops it really does take that long). After a year of this, I am finally tasting the fruits of my labor. And so, I will share some of my on sale, thrifted, craigslisted, handmade, and hand-edited treasures and hopefully encourage anyone who reads this that a space can be transformed without spending buckets of the green stuff... but it does take a willingness to wait. 









Account:
embroidered artwork - thrifted
dear statuette - estate sale
konica camera - thrifted 
vintage dominoes - thrifted 
bottle vase - UO clearance
 wingback chair - craigslist
red pillow - UO clearance
 magazine rack table - furniture store clearance
 ladderback chair - thrifted
 white fold-out desk - craigslist (edited with my stencil design)

And finally, my favorite clock friend, hand made for me by my favorite Bree friend (www.theartcupboard.blogspot.com) for my sixteenth. I love you Bree!




Now off to enjoy the next little while of time alone. Perhaps reading, perhaps violin, perhaps drawing, who's to say where my mind will wander...

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

new slang


Today - one of those days where you go to sleep the night before with no plans, and you wake up at 9:30 am with no plans, and as soon as you step outside your door you realize there is allot more to do than you had imagined when you fell asleep. Most of these things were of the minutely exciting nature, such as laundry, cleaning up the garage, etc. If anything made these tasks less enjoyable, it was not their lack of flavor, but rather the 97°F weather. Praise the Lord for air conditioning. 


There were other parts of today that were more exciting than these. First was the re-discovery of a comfy yellow skirt that I have not worn in years, and the fact that it went well with my multicolored belt from salvation army. Second was a thrift/grocery trip, listening to The Shins in an uncomfortably hot car. Third was the finding of this lovely thrifted treasure from the local thrift store. Yarn embroidered flowers on pretty yellow canvas (70's? The colors suggest as much... at least the thrift lady thought so). It will look nice on my wall.





Fourth exciting thing was hunting for the least expensive 4% fat, ground beef at the grocery store (I found it eventually. Yay!). Fifth (and final, up to this point) was arriving home to a very encouraging email from a very dear friend that built my faith immensely. 


Today was a good reminder that God is faithful over ground beef, life plans, and everything in-be-tween. Moreover, he loves me steadfastly because of is son. And my failures today (they have been many) are as if they had never happened. Praise the Lord indeed. 
~

Here is the result of last nights mind milking with the assistance of the Long and Winding Road, memories of a beautiful summer, and hopes for a lovely winter.


Monday, August 24, 2009

coconut tea

This morning was nice. 

Waking up at 7:00 a.m. is quite a feat for me. But I did it. And I am glad I did. 

The only proper way to discuss the upcoming school year is on a comfy couch, in comfy clothes, drinking coconut tea with my dearest Mother. My Mom is one of God's greatest gifts to my life, and I was so grateful for that time with her this morning.

We discussed how to fill a year of school when there is no more school left to do. How is it done? By quilting, drawing, starting an etsy shop, planting a church, taking hip hop, and making dinners with Mom. I have made my plans, now it is for me to act on them and see how God will work. 



As I made this blog for my art, I will now share some. Enjoy.


The Future is Uncertain 



Hidden Dangers



We Are All Mad

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Totoro, Totoro

Last night was spent watching My Neighbor Totoro for the second time in four days. I love the sweet story-line, believable characters, and its genuine portrayal of the trials and joys of childhood. I most certainly recommend this. Totoro, I believe, has just qualified for the collection of films I can watch endlessly and not tire of. So far this prestigious collection is comprised of The Corpse Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Howl's Moving Castle, and Amelie. If you have not seen these films, you should. Their images are beautiful and their stories compelling. The things I appreciate most in quality films.




As for other news, God blessed this afternoon with getting to know new friends, eating much too much, and planning a church. He is good.

Also, the word of today is reticent and it is Barbara Eden's (I dream a Jeannie) birthday. She turned 75.

The things you learn on the internet.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

me and my art

It is Saturday. 
And I just made a blog. 

Finding a suitable name was much more of an ordeal than I had anticipated. Well, that is not entirely truthful. Finding a suitable name was a breeze. Finding a suitable name that had occurred to no one else was more difficult. After trying about twelve names and finding they had all been "stolen," I landed on moon shadow milk which I got from a poem I wrote a while ago - one of those "crazy dream thoughts" turned poem.


The Dreamer
By
 Lindsay Laliberte

Softly treading down old creaky stairs,
Carefully avoiding shadow shrouded chairs,

A miniature dreamer, awakened too soon,
Pulls back the curtains, stares up at the moon.

Wind whispering softly through a chink in the pane
Beckons the dreamer to dream once again.

A vessel constructed of cardboard and a spoon,
Is suitable conveyance for a journey to the moon.

Tossed on a gale of sweet moon shadow milk,
Wrapped in a curtain of rose petal silk.

Bottled-up star-flair held tightly in hand,
"Oh sweet little specter, where will thou land?"

"My bed floats beneath, God's pearl lies above
I have searched all between for the one they call love.

Have you heard of the one they call love?
They say he came down from the heavens above.

He crafted this moon with his unerring hands,
and with them he laid the wisest of plans.

It is him I must find for it is him that does save, 
With the salvation he bought with the blood that he gave."

"Faint little moon child, it is not you who must seek,
For love sought you and saved you, before you had lips to speak.

Starlight phantom, He asks that you only believe
That He loved you first and He does not deceive.

Rest now sweet child, return to thy bed.
Knowing He lives in thy heart, rest now they head."

Scarce had the moon sunk into the sea
And God pulled up the sun quite majestically.

Than silently the dreamer returned to this shore
Possessing the love that made waking worth living for.



My main reason for starting this blog is to share my art with the outside world. Along the way I am sure I will share other things that appeal to me. I will probably end up sharing things about myself too.

As that is the case, I might as well begin by warning you that I am a sinner in desperate need of a savior. That savior is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who lived a perfect life, and died the death of a criminal, bearing the full wrath of God, for me. And He has made me a child of God, covering my sin with his righteousness. Now I am experiencing the joy (often mixed with the trial) of being raised from death to life by the love of Christ.

I am by no means perfect, a fact which you would readily affirm (at least in your head) if you saw me in action, and weren't just reading my blog. Therefore, I will try to not give any false impressions, or at least to leave you with the impression that any accomplishments of mine are the result of something besides Christ's love at work in me.


Those are facts of me. Now for the art... of me.