nuze of laura mappin: February 2009 Archives

don't even Think about it

By laura on February 28, 2009 10:07 AM

I saw this squirrel scurry to its Guard Squirrel position when I was a block away. it never budged as I took pics.

the smallest animals can strike the fiercest poses.

my scariest time cycling was when I surprised a 5-oz chihuahua in his front yard. I was sure my ankle was a goner. if I had tried to kick this "dog", my foot would've swung too high to touch it.

of course, we could be wiped out by a virus. but I digress...

knitted poo

By laura on February 27, 2009 8:49 AM

radical cross stitch will save your soul. can't you just feel it?

and no, I don't mean that sarcastically. I'm with her! go see her stuff. political cross stitch as well as knitted poo.

what is it about these craft forms that when subverted really make me go "Yes!!!"? I combed the web for several years looking for this stuff to save my soul and found hardly any, which prompted me to start my first site, bauboroars.com.

my thoughts about what "it" is? many seem to be using these art/craft forms to cover things up, to make them pretty, to hide things they can't or don't want to see or talk about. this lends this form perfectly for subversive works to move hidden topics into the light. ahhh ~ relief.

so, if you don't want someone messing with your art form, just get real with it and we won't ;)

rape prevention devices

By laura on February 24, 2009 9:22 AM

I have pondered this idea for hours but never met anyone else who had. what could women wear to discourage rape?

all my ideas were worn internally so that all women all the time would be equally protected.

artmachines.com posts about Ira Sherman's designs that evolved from his discussions with women who had been raped.

is not that syringe size enough to stop any man? and yet there is a second one.

I'm still not done thinking on these things.

wanna knot?

By laura on February 24, 2009 8:33 AM

everytime I see these pine needles, I think of this cute story a friend told me.

he went skiing and was taking a bus (from one lift area to a hotel?) a little boy and his mom were taking the same bus. there was a delay. the little boy picked up these needles and tied them into knots and started giving them to people. for a full half hour while they waited for the bus. pretty much everyone got a knot.

penis balloon art

By laura on February 23, 2009 10:00 AM

the head on that root beer one is well crafted.

well ... on the top it's interesting. but now I wonder about the twisting underneath. reminds me of a mole I have on my neck that if I keep playing with it, it Will come off.

... can't you just see it ... strolling through certain parts of parks and cities the next morning, little bits of detritus every here and there on the ground ... ok, that's what I saw.

world's largest penis erected

By laura on February 22, 2009 8:03 PM | 1 TrackBack

at left is the world's largest penis erected, according to ananova. lovely.

a friend recently returned from Bhutan and reported that phalluses decorate houses, the tourists take pictures, the residents laugh at them. lovely.

I dream ... that someday in america on the sides of houses in suburbia we will be free to ...

... paint flying phalluses on our houses and no one will get sued or jailed.

I can too dream this.

and why would I want to? maybe it's wholly cathartic on my part but I have hope that it would bring a few guys who are so ... cocky ... back into the real world.

one of the startups I worked for had one VP for every 6 employees. the way they acted gave me the vision that everytime they stepped out of their offices, they were stepping out cock first, like drawing their sword to do battle with the other VPs. I wanted to tie little pink bows around their cocks to break this up, begging them to feed their egos off-hours, to get their work done so we could do ours.

but I digress. and maybe I delude myself.

but the paintings in Bhutan are quite pretty, don't you think?

scarleteen, where have you been?

By laura on February 21, 2009 9:17 AM | 1 Comment

Scarleteen, sex ed for the real world

your organization is 10 years old and I haven't heard of you till now?

this is a jam-packed site full of sane and real discussions about so many issues that come up for teens around sex. I SO wish I had had this site to go to when I was a teen! what a relief to see it exists now.

now, if I could find one addressing religious and spiritual beliefs, respecting healthy personal boundaries, understanding the inner life of humans ...

Nadya Suleman Octomom

By laura on February 20, 2009 8:53 AM

I tempt you with this thumbnail to go check out Gallery of the Absurd. this artist is so very talented in quickly and adeptly creating caricatures of people in the news. this one is so superb for a very sad situation, including money-grab, botox-shot, and that perfectly done nail on each tentacle through creating eight new lives.

gorgeous toilet paper artwork!

By laura on February 19, 2009 11:42 AM | 1 Comment

is this not amazing?! and I think it's cut by hand although the artist's website doesn't say.

check out more of Yuken Teruya's work. he is trying to bring our attention to the beauty of things we throw away. I think he nailed it.

I'm still wanting to do some sort of collaborative art piece with empty toilet paper rolls. maybe there's a hint in Yuken's work somewhere.

I knitted grandpa!

By laura on February 18, 2009 11:00 AM

well, ok, not sure if it's grandpa or grandma. and I'm can't tell if it's knitted or crocheted. but it makes me wanna just stick my hands into that lovely yellow gnarly tangle. you too?

the intestine is a nice pastel yellow while the colon is a brighter yellow. nicely done. but it's all sitting on ... a bed of lettuce?

maybe this is a Halloween version of an Italian dinner.

go see a closeup of the face and an extended view at this angle to the left. getting representative angles and sizes out of individual stitches that are relatively coarse in size while also using medium weight thick-ish yarn is not easy. lovely work by Shanell Papp.

thanks, Reto, for the link!

teaser for Saturday night

By laura on February 17, 2009 9:13 AM

if you go for the edgy and eclectic, check out Climate Theater's Unseen Unsaid show this Saturday night, one night only. many artists, media, and messages.

I'll have three pieces there, including a new one no one has seen - not even me. well, ok, it's an onsite installation that just might bring you back to the 70's ... with a drippy twist.

knitted penis pants

By laura on February 16, 2009 10:03 AM

is this like those empathy bellies for men?

as a female friend and I were staring at a piece of art that looked like a scrotum, she turned to me and said, "imagine carrying those around with you all day!" I guess now she won't have to.

if you know who the artist is, I'd love to know. the photo references widelec.org which appears to be a Polish site which I ... um ... cannot navigate well enough to find source info on this pic.

close to these knitted pants is this family wearing knitted naked outfits that match their bodies (at least I think so).

thanks, Tanya, for the link!

clev er!

By laura on February 14, 2009 2:23 PM

you can't think of solutions like these if you're angry.

MAKE and starshipminivan at Instructables demo how to use a traditional old fashioned routine cupcake pan to create heart shaped cupcakes.

as I saw this, I just had this vision of us all walking around helping solve each other's problems with as little as a drop of a marble in just the right place at just the right time.

gee, maybe it's already happening. thanks for the marble, starshipM!

space valentine message from god

By laura on February 14, 2009 12:22 PM

one friend and I both use the daily NASA space picture as our browser home page because they are so beautiful and interesting. and sometimes the pics look like something else.

for this Valentine's Day pic entitled The Heart Nebula, I wrote to my friend: sure looks to me like the heart and dick nebula...

he: yes, you see, for some our heart and dick are cosmically connected. to touch one you must also touch the other. I think this is a message from God.

shattered banana peel

By laura on February 14, 2009 12:04 PM

shattered banana peel by LaserBread - and so much more clever stuff!

here's to happy shattered banana events this Valentine's Day ~

shirt service

By laura on February 13, 2009 8:22 AM

isn't it usually said the other way around? this IS a positive way to put it.

oh, it's a drycleaners ... heh heh.

no, I kid you not. I had never noticed this phrase before. of course, now I'm seeing it EveryWhere!

roll your own - yes you can

By laura on February 12, 2009 11:04 AM

oh, yes you can put your very own secret luv messages on candy hearts, chocolate, or heart red acrylic in time for Valentines Day this year!

for the g-rated valentinist as well as the r-rated or more.

I'll help you drive the laser in its unbridled fashion. it's so fun to make a CNC machine create these shapes and spell these words!

recycled cigarette butts clothing

By laura on February 10, 2009 1:06 PM

cigarette butts processed into yarn, then knitted into a garment.

that is truly cool, clever regardless of whether it can work for more than one or scale for a larger market. being able to imagine this opportunity and see it through to make a clean garment - with gauge ;) - wows me.

Southern Exposure's monster drawing rally

By laura on February 10, 2009 10:05 AM

Southern Exposure's annual monster drawing rally is coming up - Friday Feb 27. imagine over 130 artists, each with their favorite medium, drawing for an hour - and you get to buy what they draw.

it's wild! if you've never been and you like art and the eclectic, check it out.

I'll be there helping out, not quite fodder for applying yet. if only I could draw with a crochet hook... .

drawing by Alison Pebworth - Alison, I love it!

my kinda crucifix

By laura on February 9, 2009 9:03 AM

a plastic banana adornment saved Eric Hansen's life, as he tells it in his book Stranger in the Forest.

as I remember the story, he was hiking alone in the Borneo forest, a place where no one travels alone. if you do, you're the devil or you will be gotten by the devil.

he runs into natives who immediately attack him to save themselves. he's lying on the ground with spears at his throat swearing he's not the devil.

"if you're not the devil, then why hasn't the devil gotten you??!"

"uh ...", he stammers. "because of ... this", he points to a banana pin which his playful friends gave him from a bubble gum machine to wish him well before he left for Borneo.

they drop their spears and ask where they can get one.

is it ever a straight shot?

By laura on February 8, 2009 9:30 AM

I recently led someone to a lunch place, driving in separate cars because our trips afterwards would be in different directions.

the restaurant was between one and two freeway exits away with a couple backstreet routes also possible. my friend followed me in his car.

I went a few blocks to the first main decision point - freeway or backstreets on the bay side. I hemmed and hawwed. oh, which one would be better. luckily I was sitting still at a red light (and had time to waste on this). as I was forced to turn one way or the other, I decided not the backstreets. he followed. I saw him through my rearview mirror glancing casually at the scenery.

now, freeway or backstreets on the other side? umm ... no red light to give me time to think ... gotta decide Now! freeway's moving ok. and we both have ... a ... chance ... to ... move ... over ... yesOkFreeway.

now, which exit. the closer one would give us a windier path down the side streets while the farther one would take a little longer, be straightforward, boring and more crowded.

I looked in my rearview mirror to see him gazing at the gorgeous noon sun on the low rolling hills next to the bay. I decided on the more straightforward exit so it would be easier for him to follow me.

why am I writing this silly story? as I laughed at the marked difference between his version of our trip and mine, I realized I'm often in his shoes, not seeing the decisions someone else fretted about as they achieved something. of course, the other difference is that Any friggin' choice I could've made this time would've been Fine. someday I might learn this. on the other hand, I am my own entertainment system.

an earlier version of myself would've put forth that I could've been in a serious accident on the other routes and it was good fortune that I decided to take this route this time and I would've been in awe at the external forces that had moved me to do so.

adult themed valentine laser class

By laura on February 7, 2009 11:00 AM

several fun loving couples joined me in my first adult themed valentine laser class last night at TechShop.

I ran the laser while they worked together to decide which shapes and messages to cut or etch out of chocolate or red acrylic. each left with a number of personalized pieces for themselves and to share with friends.

left: she was smiling big for a number of reasons - she just got accepted to go for her PhD in the realm of relationships and sexuality. yay for her!

you can join us next week as your last chance to prepare for Valentine's Day 2009 - adult themed or not.

I give you wood

By laura on February 7, 2009 10:11 AM

I ran into another laser artist as I was preparing for last night's class. He - Adam Hubenig - opened up an old suitcase to reveal tens of pieces of driftwood, each one etched with its own sayings and artwork.

Recently I've been noticing more people carrying old beat up suitcases around the city. Now I know what's inside them!

Thanks, Adam!

godless bus

By laura on February 6, 2009 2:06 PM

in the UK, atheists advertise on buses in response to previous ads by religious groups. religious groups counter with more ads on buses. and now a bus driver is refusing to drive his "No God" bus. it's all here and here.

for how many pounds? I can't help but think of communities that could've been better served with that ad money.

what would be really neat to see is pics like zefrank's 52 and 48 but revealing people's spiritual practices and faiths while they work together to serve a community need. I think it's happening so much more than we see. and stories like this advertising one only serve to derail my mind and forget - for just a few minutes - that more and more people are giving others room to believe whatever they deem fits them best while incorporating "do unto others" into their lives that resonates with all(?) religions and spiritual practices.

if I imagine myself in my happy place on a planet far far away, this is a pretty funny story. oh, those earthlings ...

too much of something

By laura on February 6, 2009 8:13 AM

got too much going on in your head? check out this drawing of Laura Lee Gulledge.

I immediately resonated with this drawing by seeing the little people in the boat symbolizing So Much Advice I often get that just doesn't fit me.

she's posted some other very interesting drawings. check out her blog.

which holiday is it?

By laura on February 5, 2009 9:35 AM

Valentine's Day? Easter? I'm so confused.

I was etching valentine candy hearts earlier. then a fellow laserist gave me a dozen raw eggs he was done etching and I played in the open spaces.

I tried to put my face on them but it didn't come out so well. (I'm sure the crack was there beforehand!) out of 6 tries, this was the best.

so I reverted back to simple text (above). what to say on an egg ...

for the curious, I first tried setting the egg on a little round indentation of acrylic but the indentation didn't keep the egg from rocking back and forth as the laser moved quickly so closely above it. of course I'll have to investigate this later for inspiring specifically laser-blurry printing options. but for now I wanted to recognize my face.

so I arranged small heavy pieces of steel right up against the egg and that worked. I also brought the speed way down (as well as the power) which I think helped as well.

my fellow laserist used the egg carton as a jig. that's usually fine if the carton material is safe to get hit with the laser (some materials like this will flash fire.)

his etchings looked better than mine. but since I started out close to his parameters, I suspect, as has been the case before, that my artwork needed to be modified. but by the time I'd done enough samples to conclude that, I was out of white spaces.

god is signing

By laura on February 3, 2009 8:19 PM

Allan Hough over at missionmission captures new ways that god is talking to him. this is lovely, Allan. maybe I should look for a sign language course.

for the slightly more adventurous, non-gross-tending artistic and curious types, I couldn't help but think of this ... ahem ... very personal tea leaf like mechanism.

are we missing a dirty word?

By laura on February 3, 2009 9:31 AM

while discussing sex in our culture with a couple friends who had been in marriages that had very little sex, I heard my one friend who has a knack for Steven Wright-like statements wonder this:

friend: "fornicate" only pertains to marriage. it's sex without marriage.

... some time passes.

friend: is there a dirty word for marriage without sex?

peeps have lives too

By laura on February 2, 2009 11:20 PM

I tell ya, traipsin' thru the internet, one knows not what one will squish or be squished by.

peeps

and be sure to check out Night on the Town. I dunno about you but that pole dancer looks just a tad impaled.

and how disgusting ... even in Peepland, the "sitting down ones" have these huge peep beer bellies.

laser cut paper ginkgo leaf

By laura on February 2, 2009 12:23 AM

with her permission, I post a picture of a laser artist's work, one of her ginkgo leaves to be favors at her wedding. she fed the laser hand drawn vectors that outlined the leaf and specified each vein.

she preferred that I not post her name lest she be inundated with requests for these and have to change careers to provide the world with billions of these gorgeous items.

my photo does not do it justice. pixel-based displays and lines going every which way do not mix. cut out of finely decorated cream and light yellow-green papers, each leaf fits into about a 3-inch diameter circle and feels like an ethereal fan in your fingers.

scottish bar stool

By laura on February 1, 2009 11:07 PM

yes, supposedly for kilt-wearers. I dunno ... dontcha want some felt or terry cloth on parts of this? ya know, once during winter camping I ... oh sorry ... tmi.

this is very cute. I couldn't find the originator of this piece although admittedly I didn't click on all five thousand caulktillion links that showed up.

I wonder if they do custom work, taking plaster casts 'n such. would be neat to see a whole row of 'em. ah, the variations in the human form.

February 2009 Archives