transcontinental

Where I Can Reach the Sky | Xetobyte

Wow. 

Art and music possess a special kind of enchantment. They are akin to catalysts in a way; they have the power to cause bonds to form rapidly in a purposeful way. 

The more I look, the more similarities I find in myself and others. Now, I can't deny that we have our differences - one of my biggest struggles is relating to people in a meaningful way. Yet, despite that fact, I've found a piece of me in the art of a lonely someone who lives in the Philippines. Bizarre; amazing. There's something about the solemness of it - his bowed head, the black suit, black sky; it reminds me of death. I'm sure the piece above would mean very little to most of my friends and family. I know that I have different tastes than them. But to me, it is meaningful. And that is all that counts. 

The music complements the art. I recomend listening to it while gazing at the piece.

Xetobyte

Break of Reality

b+ee.1

This is the beginning of a collaboration between my friend Becca and I. She loves to paint landscapes and fill in outlines of animals and such with doodles. She's got some pretty sweet patterns. I drew that tree on Sunday, and gave it to Becca yesterday so she can fill it in. I can't wait to see what it looks like afterwards:) Future plans: a chameleon.

beast

Fiona's blog

bones & ashes

The past few weeks, I have failed miserably - as a person, student, friend, leader - you name it, I've failed it. I don't think I've turned homework in on time for a month. I've acted rashly (and been labelled a complete idiot by some people for it. Not that everyone's good opinion is terribly high on my list of priorities-I just rather needed to be on those people's good sides). I've barely been making it out of bed in the mornings. My commissions have been completely neglected. And what do I have to show for it? A D- on a test I thought I was completely prepared for.
To top it off, I just broke my phone.
Sad day.
So I sit in my room, listening to quiet post-classical cello,  intermittently playing 2048, watching the life in my phone flicker on and off. It'll die by the time I wake up tomorrow. Maybe it will pass into the Isles of the Blessed, or be reincarnated as a smartphone.
I have another important homework assignment due tomorrow. It'll be late.
Sad day.

I find it rather lovely

The Day After My Funeral | Natalia Drepina

They remind me of Red Jumpsuit Apparatus:)

planets and such

Urmas Sisask is an Estonian composer. He derived a "planetary scale" from the number of seconds it takes each planet to complete one revolution around the sun. Each planet had its own pitch (at that time there was nine of them), but four of them were repeated in different octaves, ultimately reducing the scale to five pitches. The final scale is C#, D, F#, G#, A. Although originally each of the pitches have their own specific octaves, they are at least 20 octaves below middle C, and are hence used in the reduced pentatonic scale in the habitual octaves.
This piece, "Voices of the Universe", is so far my favorite by him. I believe he used his planetary scale, but don't know for sure (though it certainly sounds like it, doesn't it?).

You can read more about Sisask and see his calculations here.

boundaries

"The world is only as big as our bodies

As small as we let ourselves be.

The more we take in, the borders extend

Yeah we form our own boundaries."

From "Boundaries" | Sun Culture

link

burgers & fries

"Away, move on, we'll carry on to new horizons" (from Chariots by Future of Forestry)

I am always on the prowl for something new. I love to fall in love with art and music, and completely consume everything I can by the artist/musician (but they're kinda the same thing, right?). I keep it close for a few weeks, until it's been completely absorbed into my being. Then, I move on and absorb something else. Thus, I have decided it is a complete waste of money for me to buy music; albums usually don't last more than a month.

That said, I fell in love yesterday. Twice.

The Chamburger | Aquasixio (Cyril Rolando)

 Rolando is a digital artist from France. He's never taken an art course; he simply "..work[s] with intuition to compensate for [his] lack of knowledge..."
You can visit his deviantart page here, or his gallery here.

From top to bottom: "Dandelions", "Blowing Bubbles", "We were Humans", "Mana Tide", "Pursuit of Happiness", "Technicolor", "Swamp of Soap" | by AquaSixio (Cyril Rolando)

Alot of his artwork accompanies short poems; if you go to his deviantart they're in the descriptions of the pieces.

A little while ago I stumbled across a solo piano ep by a band called Tighe. Unfortunately, it's nowhere on youtube, so I can't link a video, but you can check it out here.

Lee Lozano, among other things

Have you ever heard a new song and thought, "hey this band is really good!", but when you listen to everything else they do you realize they're not all that fantastic?
I saw this series of paintings by Lee Lozano in the Wadsworth Atheneum. All together, there is eleven of them. I don't know if it's the lighting or if she was just a genius with lost edges, but the way each wave is implied and almost lost at parts is so interesting. They're really cool to see in person. Turns out, Lozano wasn't so serene or simplistic. A good chunk of her career she spent painting old, strange tools, like wrenches and three-headed hammers, with rough, angry, nervous lines. One article describes her as "punk before punk".
Each of the eleven paintings was done using steel combs and wire brushes, applying tiny strokes of paint one at a time, during one sitting so that the paint would not dry out. The eleventh one took her three days. "It was as if the emotional intensity of her artworks - at least the physical ones - had shifted from the content they depicted to the way they were produced."
click here to see the article

As for the other things, I have decided to save every single letter that colleges send me over the next couple years, and turn them into a giant sculpture. I got seven today alone.

The Silk Road Ensemble

The Silk Road Ensemble was formed by Yo-Yo Ma in 2000 (he's the cellist in the clip). The performers come from over 20 countries, including Iran, the U.S., Lebanon, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia. They combine instruments and musical styles from different cultures across the globe, the result of which is unique, entertaining, and very well done. Each of them has mastered their instrument, and they join together into something really amazing. Don't be scared away by the length of the songs; they're worth their while. Enjoy!

They are  just so flippin good at what they do.

origami #1

After midterms, I succumbed to extreme boredom. My go to: origami.
The past 72 hours of my existence were thus spent folding pieces of paper and gluing them together. The result:

90 little diamonds 

glued into various stars 

glued again into one half of the spiky thing, then done all over again to make the other half

then all put together to make a super awesome three dimensional thing!! :)

First time using a tablet

My first time using a tablet to draw on my computer.

A little something Sam Hunter showed me the other day....

...and a little something along the giants theme.

"The Jabberwocky"

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves 
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; 
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun 
The frumious Bandersnatch!

He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought- 
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood a while in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, 
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went gallumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brilling, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.



"The Jabberwocky"
by Lewis Carroll
From Through the Looking Glass

propaganda

This is Propaganda. He's a super cool hip hop artist. If you like him, you can get his album free on humblebeast.com

the third

"The presence of good art will unconsciously refine a community, and poor art will do an incalculable harm." -Propaganda

      "Mind Blowing"

        Lhianne

the second

Some of my favorites--