New Home!

Hey hey!
I finally decided to get my own webspace. Finally.
http://www.marandart.com Yeah! My blog, this blog, will go to there as of now. It will hold my art, updates, a little bit o' everything.
This place won't update any longer! So go bookmark my new site, sillies!

(Photo is unrelated. This post just felt so empty without one... But isn't Zelda cute? She sits right on my lap.)

Virgil

In my last post, I promised I'd show you the new member of Maranda's zoo... Here he is!
This is Virgil. He is approximately 5 months old, half an inch thick, and about 2 feet long. He is a light grey and slightly pink corn snake. Don't go thinking that I went out and bought a snake, because I didn't. I have come to be Virgil's caretaker through some sad and odd circumstances.
My good friend lives with her parents while she tries to find a job. She also has a... pet problem. She tried to move out once and promptly got a little orange kitten, and only about a week later was forced to move back in with her parents. Her dad is EXTREMELY allergic to cats, so she could not keep the kitten. After he was rehomed and she was at home for a while, she, you know, bought another pet that her parents did not want in the house.
So one day she contacts me and asks, "Will you take care of my snake for me?" Of course I was stoked and totally cool with it. When I asked how long I would be the snake's caretaker, she basically said, "well, until I can move out", or something along those lines. Very vague.
I'm really grateful to take care of Virgil. He's a great little critter, totally cute. But I can't help but feel sorry for him. When I got him, he was in the grubbiest tank in the world. It was dirty and foggy and had worn-out duct tape stains. The old under-tank heater had what felt like sticky soda stains on it and I'm fairly sure it was the culprit of an electrical fire some time in its life. The tank was filled with sand. According to snake enthusiasts, keeping a corn snake in sand is the equivalent of keeping fish in a tank of root beer.
I did some research and changed his tank around.
I work at a major pet store chain, and sadly, I see a lot of irresponsible pet owners. People will come in and see the snakes or lizards and say, "Wow! What a cool animal! I know nothing about it but it's cute so I will buy it." And then they come in two months later and whine about how their pet was "unhealthy" or "sick", when they really were just slowly killing their animal by not doing research and not taking care of their pet properly. I once even got a phone call where someone asked if "we did de-clawing for dogs". Why yes, and while I'm at it, I'll rip out YOUR fingernails, too! Sound ok?
Ok, ok, I'll step off my soapbox.
All in all, Virgil is now in a happy, healthy home. He's a bit jumpy and is easily startled, but he's warming up to me. He also does this very cute thing...

The moss hut* I got for him has a hole in the top, and he uses it as a little peep-hole quite often. It's often too cute for me to handle and many gooshy oogly-goo noises seep out of my mouth.


*Moss hut= half coconut shell + clump of moss. Very difficult, I know.

The Owl and the... Pussycat

Funny animal companions always tickle me. How cute are these two?!
This article completely made my NIGHT! I love how the lion just... gives no crap. None at all. Apathetic lion is apathetic.



Next post: I'll share our new family member... ;)

Critters... Critters Everywhere

Hey all! Obligatory "I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while" message goes here!
Aside from that, I have some cute photos of my animals to share. :)

A couple days ago we had a break in the dreary pseudo-spring weather. The sun was out, birds were chirping, the wind was cool but not cold. Dad and I sat in the backyard with our coffees, feeding stale bread to the chickens.

Timber is the one being fed, Skittle is the small black one, and Zelda is the poofy cloud.

The thing I find interesting about chickens is that they have a very strict pecking order. Usually the strongest, bravest, and oldest will assume "top chicken". In our flock of three, Skittle is the boss lady. Timber, being close to eight years old (!!!) has taken second, and since Zelda is a pansy, she's last.

As you can see, Skittle needed to remind Zelda of her place. Timber blissfully chows on bread while the youngsters duke it out. (They don't really fight, really, Skittle just kind of jumps at Zelda, as if she's shouting "BOO!" and chases her around a bit.)

My pretty girls!! ♥
They're totally sweet. Skittle, even though she's Ms. Bossy-Britches, is a total love. She'll sit on my lap for hours, being calm and still. Perfectly relaxed and peaceful.

Love these chickens.
Spending time watching them forage, drink, dust-bathe... it's like meditation for me. I love watching animals because they're only existing in that moment with perfect efficiency. I can get lost thinking (and simultaneously NOT thinking). My world is beautified by the life within it.

Life is a Collage

Pick out all of your favorite experiences, memories, colors, items, images, and feelings. Adhere them all in a pretty fashion on a stiff piece of, well, anything. That's collage for you. The freest type of art form there is!
Here are some excellent collages I've found.



1: unstrung65.deviantart.com | 2-3: doyveyant.deviantart.com



This one was done by my old drawing instructor, Sarah Dillon. On the older version of her portfolio website (http://www.sarahdillonstudio.com/) she mentioned me in the description of this piece. This is because I brought in a HUGE box of antique photos, newspaper clippings, papers, notes, and letters. ($10 at an antique store-- SCORE!) I shared the materials with the art class for our warm-up activity. Everyone was pretty jazzed about the whole thing, and even Sarah was pretty excited about it! Then, to my surprise, years later, I find this piece on her website. I'd remember that silly baby with the widow's peak anywhere. It warms my heart to see that a great artist such as Sarah Dillon would be so inspired by my gift to the class. :)

Here's one of my newest collages as well.

White bats are one of those critters that seem to follow me around. One of my oldest pieces that I still treasure is my albino bat, done in about 2007. Then, at Emerald City ComiCon (amazing as usual) I bought a handmade Honduran white bat figure!I was so captivated by the artist's skill and appreciation for such an obscure species of animal. (More of her cute dolls here: skinhorsedolls.deviantart.com) And then Pokemon Black/White came out, and the new pokemon Woobat and Swoobat are totally Honduran white bats and I don't care what you say.
So, I couldn't ignore the white bat's encroachment on my life. I needed to paint him. And thus it was.

It feels so good to be doing art again. For a while, my art block was miserable. I feel like I'm slowly picking my way out of it. :)

Hey, Cricket

So I was eating dinner one night, ok? Home made salmon burgers and broccoli. Delicious. I set my burger down for 30 seconds, look back, and this is what I find.



Cricket eating my sandwich! How rude!

Ever since we got Jomo, crickets have invaded our life. I find them everywhere: next to the tank, on the floor, on the cushions of our couch, even on the wall near the ceiling. They get everywhere! Mom and dad have even walked in with cupped hands bearing half annoyed and half amused faces. "Maranda, we got another. It was in our bathroom." They seem to like bathrooms.

That's all for now. I mostly just wanted to share the funny photo. :)

Birthday Fish

Well, as of February 18th, I've been on this Earth for 20 years! Neat. To celebrate with friends, I took them to the Seattle Aquarium. Fortunately, it was Octopus Week! Unfortunately, it was a Sunday and packed with screaming, smelly patrons (and their children: equally as ill behaved). Despite this, however, I still got some good fish time in.
One fish in particular was excellent. We all associate fish with pretty unresponsive, boring animals. They just swim around and, well, swim around some more. But this guy was tons of fun.

I whipped out my pencil to start sketching him, but when I noticed he was watching me, I stopped.

I wiggled my pencil in front of the tank to see what he would do. I turned my pencil to the right, he leaned to the right. I shifted it to the left, he leaned left. Back and forth, back and forth-- he just kept staring at the pencil, mimicking it!

Stark took over the fish conducting so I could get a good sketch in (with my pen, of course). All the while Stark was moving the pencil uuuuup and dooooown and side to side. The fish was almost hypnotized by it. We even got him to turn upside down once or twice.

I've never had a fish at the aquarium be so... interactive! It was quite a treat. He is without a doubt my new favorite.

The sketches I did aren't anything special, but once I paint them (if I paint them) then I'll post them. In the meantime, have some more fish! (Ok, well, more fish and a sea anemone. And a wolf eel. Mostly fish though, I promise.)

I'm Forgetting

You know how when life gets labyrinthine, so grainy and messy and confusing... that you just want to hide? And then you forget yourself, what it means to BE yourself, and you just act on instinct. This is the story of me lately. My future is uncertain, as it always has been. This does present a lovely way to appreciate the paths that life takes us down. As Shreve Stockton put it in her book The Daily Coyote, "The jewels in this life are the events we do not plan". To an extent, I love this idea. Last April, I would never have guessed that one of my best friends would become even more dear to me. I would never have guessed that I'd be working at a pet store surrounded by animals and animal lovers, which led to my buying of a mountain horned dragon. (more on this later) Life is unexpected, and our willingness to accept changes and roll with the punches, to me, is a great way to judge one's character.
Lately, my character has gone to "optimistic adventurous" to "fearful pathetic". Being strong and confident for those around me is just a front. Inside, I fear the future. When I move to a college, how will I survive? Sure, tuition and my savings will pay for college itself, but what of living? Food, rent, insurance, gas, pets, medicine...



When I get this way, my art takes a strange turn. I've noticed that the less stable my life is, the lazier and more emotional my art is. I no longer have the patience to do pieces like "Banishment" or "The Hath'Kann Moth Rider". Now my art is sporadic, emotional, and frankly, not as good. It is more confusing and more spur-of-the-moment, and results in that odd situation when I have to fudge an explanation for confused viewers, because I don't even know why I do the paintings I do. My art is as confused as I am.



On a more positive note, I've been able to cope with much of this because of Jomo.



He's already proving to be a perfect little addition to my life. He's easygoing enough to not need constant supervision, but active and interesting enough to be a great pet. He's gotten used to taking crickets from me (with tongs or from my fingers), and he's fond of perching on heads. He's decided that his favorite spot to hang out at in my room is a lanyard hanging from my lamp. He clings to it with his uber-sharp nails and has even fallen asleep on it-- hanging completely vertically. When I talk to him, he looks me in the eye and tilts his head, trying to understand. He's exactly what I needed at this stage in my life. A personal little friend to relate to.

That being said, Jomo is a distraction. He can't solve financial issues or decide what sort of living arrangement I should get when I move. But he helps me cope just by being a complex little being who I can hold and admire. I'll get through this with personal dedication. I have to, therefore, I will.

Civil Rights

Thanks MLK, Malcolm X, and all the other courageous people who fought the odds. You're cool.

That aside, my life has been NUTS.
Stark moved in. Let's just say that his old house was unfit for living and he moved in with me and my folks. Not only am I amazingly happy to have him around all the time (more happy that we're not sick of each other!) but I think he's a lot happier not living in that old memory-prison. My tiny room is more cramped than ever, but I don't mind it really. Stark is my other half. I'm willing to compromise some of my "precious" space previously occupied by my "precious" things. (My "Donate to Value Village" bag is overflowing...)
Next year I'm leaving for college. Probably at Western Washington University. Small, cute, liberal, artsy, (hopefully) cheap rent. Tuition shouldn't be an issue, books I can find cheap, it's just the cost of living that is worrying me. Also, more heart-wrenching, Stark. Can't afford school and the job market isn't his friend. I'm worried he cannot come with me and we'd be separated by 2 hours of highway driving... One night, though, at a moment of strain, he reassured me that he will follow me anywhere. I believe he will.


On a more fun note, I have bought myself a mountain horned dragon. Because of the guys at my petstore calling him "Joe Montana", we have called him Jomo. It's punchy, cute, and perfect for him! I am coming to find that animals have a more spiritual effect on me than ever before. An example... last night I spilled hot beeswax all over my sketchbook and rug, ruining the better part of both. I was upset. But holding Jomo and seeing his beautiful little mug, his skinny legs, the undeniable life that ran through him, the un-human qualities of a different sort of living being... I couldn't be upset. Especially after he jumped from my hand and onto my shoulder. Feeling, holding another creature has a meditative effect. I can't focus on anything but them, they're my responsibility and I have to keep them safe. "That which you tame you owe your life." Animals are always going to be a major part of my life. Always.

That is all at the moment, work is soon.

Thought Vomit

"I haven't been HERE in a while...!" the blogger said with the joyful awe you can only get by visiting an old, familiar place. She decided to dust the shelves and start writing.

Lately all I've been drawing are Neopets. It is silly how much these made-up creatures mean to me. I love them.
Phinble and Saaburu. The effortless painted-no-shading-black-outline style is wonderful.

My boyfriend and I's small business is now a legitimate business with a legitimate website. Much work is ahead for us.

Speaking of Stark, things are hard for him. Somehow I feel that my easy-ass life thus far has put me in a great position to help him. What I mean to say is that I feel like this moment, this beautiful human being, is my reason for being here. His hard life balances my one that I've coasted through. I, being the stronger person (in some aspects), will support him. I see his potential. I see the fire in his eyes. I love him and will help him always. Feeling this way feels like being alive.

Here are some random tidbits from my new "Random Poetic Thoughts Journal". I often have little poetic rantings or bouts of colorful language. I decided to buy a journal to write them down in.
"It's one of those futile feelings. When you're searching for something, even though your rational brain knows where you left it and that is isn't there. Your hands still sift through your pockets, purse, backpack. Maybe it's just the principal of the thing. You feel like you need to look for it anyway due to its importance. Such is the stubbornness of the human habit. "

"Someone honked at me while I was driving today. It was dark, raining, the light was red, I stopped to look to turn right. There it was: a car's horn behind me. Distant and cruel, something that demands angry attention. Car horns were designed for letting other cars know about potentially dangerous things... 'Don't back into me,' 'stop', 'watch out'. But we have turned them into on-road, language-less curses... Angry and anonymous yelling. Whenever I hear a car's horn, my mind snaps into frantic and guilty thoughts. What did I do wrong? Am I not doing what I'm supposed to? Even if the noise wasn't meant for me, it gets me on edge. That person had an ISSUE with me. After that, my mind tricks me into thinking everyone's got a bone to pick with me. The man sitting in the parking lot booth is displeased with the speed I'm going. The person parked next to me thinks I am too close. Right here: the embodiment of a common paranoia. I hate driving. "

"The sound of rain is absolutely different every moment you hear it. Technically, every drop is different and hits a different spot on the ground, the plants, the umbrellas, the cars... So it should logically make its own special sound. The really beautiful thing about it is that it doesn't."

I hope you got something out of them. :)
Be safe everyone.