12.14.2007

migration


this is my new tattoo.

12.11.2007

everyone but you



yesterday i got a new tattoo and a really bad headache. i decided to hit the sack early, but before i smooshed my face into a pillow i decided to give eric shiveley's two hour documentary a chance.
eric is an alamosa local. he spends a lot of his time in milagros on his computer and always orders a cup of coffee, a cookie and, oh ya, some ice water. when i first met him i thought he was probably just another jerk with a camera. he often makes awkwardly inappropriate jokes that i cant even be offended by cause he mumbles so much. but, like many of the folks in alamosa, eric has become a face i am fond of and i like when he comes into the coffeeshop to spend two dollars in five hours of free wireless. he's funny and he's cute. and he is just another jerk with a camera but a jerk ive come to appreciate. and it also turns out that his jerk of movie is actually quite good. call it a revisionist western as it pours viewers into the beautiful isolation of middle of nowhere colorado. eric sells everything he has to move to the desert of the san luis valley to live in a trailer while he builds a tin can of a house. he is lonely and ambitious; a lethal combination for any artist. while he builds his home he struggles to find himself as a musician and as a person searching for a place where he "belongs and knows he is needed". his documentary tells the story of a rugged individual searching for what every john ford cowboy wanted: freedom and happiness.
take a look at the trailer above. if you're interested in seeing the film or know of any festivals he could submit it to, let me know. because, honestly, the movie doesnt suck.

12.06.2007

la familia de la casa monterey


ghosts of smith college past

a couple days ago i was in an antique store here in alamosa sifting through a box of old postcards complete with messages and memories. as i flipped through i found a familiar image; after closer examination i realized it was a photo of none other than northrop gillet house, a dorm i lived in at smith college. i continued to sift and found another image of smith college. these postcards are from a woman named jeannette to her fellow smithie, gwen. the first one is dated 1950 and the other 1926. it seems gwen got married and moved to colorado springs.
what a crazy find - - the world is a small, small place.




the message here reads:
"dear gwen, remember our happy days here? having lovely time and enjoying driving to and from rochester. much love, jeannette and kate" dated 1950

this one reads:
"dear gwen, i've been here for a few days. have loads to tell you. miss bailey was married today. will write you a long letter very soon. love, jeannette" dated 1926


12.04.2007

sketches part deux

some more sketches, similar themes as before:



more fotoz

on top of the polariods in the post below i have a few other photo updates of life here in the san luis valley. this past weekend i was fortunate to have a three day weekend and while my travel plans didnt work out (first gallup, then denver, then santa fe) i was glad to have the weekend to relax and enjoy some time off. i spent most of the weekend working on my grad essays and sitting in my bed. my journey with katie on sunday was really nice. this valley is full of bizarre vistas. and with winter fully under way the mountains that surround this valley are extra beautiful. the view is almost unreal - like a painted backdrop in some theater. i am very fortunate to live in such a beautiful place.


the old drive in theater past monte vista, right before
center on route 285. i have a polaroid of the sign in the
post below but i also love this photo as it captures the
empty and forgotten frontier. the sign says 'entrance'
but there is nowhere to go.


crazy trees in the dead of winter. although i hear it is
january that is the most painful month here in colorado.


tink marvels at what appears to be a spotlight for her
mischievous ways.

the next two weeks will be crazy: this friday is the charity ball sponsered by valley wide health systems. basically it's a big fundraiser for la puente and there's a lot of work to be done to prepare for it. then, on saturday the 15th we will be having a christmas party at the shelter complete with santa and elves. the theme we have chosen is "christmas stories" including a variety of well known stories about the holiday season. all the volunteers are dressing up as different characters. i made it pretty clear that despite my height i'd truly prefer not to be an elf. so instead i think i will be tiny tim from a christmas carol. that means i get a crutch and multiple opportunities to say "god bless us everyone". then on the 18th i drive out to st.louis to visit polly and company. all very exciting.

sunday drive

this past sunday katie and i went on a short drive around the san luis valley. it was a really beautiful day; blue skies, snow topped mountains. here are a few highlight polaroids.







11.29.2007

sketches

here are some random drawings from the sketchbook. tombstones have been a constant theme lately. let me know what you think.





11.26.2007

the saddest unicorn

i have recently been exploring some new characters and ideas in my drawing, etc. i definitely have a lot of tweaking to do but i am really enjoying them. especially my newest friend, the saddest unicorn. he is actually a binicorn cause he has two horns. he's a social outcast and most likely a political prisoner. i'm still working on his background story . . .



11.20.2007

stud



ironically, with all the work i've had to do on my art school application i haven't had a whole lot of time to just focus on creating more art. but here is one item i've mustered.
homoerotic cowboy with watercolor on wood.

penitente canyon and kittens



so sorry for the vastly overdue post. i am embarrassed to see only one other post for november. things have been pretty busy with not a lot of down time with internet access. i also like to spend a lot of my down time sleeping/sitting in my big wonderful bed.
that being said, let's dive into a random assortment of photos from the last month:


at the beginning of the month montrose
got a much needed bath. kate made the
valiant effort and was quite successful.


one saturday katie, charis, ben and i went
to rainbow's end monte vista and picked up
these sweet sweaters. i also managed to find
a polaroid camera, a skateboard and a radio.
all for less than 25 bucks! what a steal. this
photo was taken right before katie and i
went to see across the universe, now one of
my favorite movies ever.


a couple weekends ago kate and i brought
montrose to penitente canyon, northwest
of alamosa, along the san juan mountains.
the three of us had a blast jumping around
the rocks, enjoying the sun and the view.



we've had a few family dinners recently including
multiple soup nights and this evening of tortillas.
will is a master with a rolling pin.


two new additions to the monterey menagerie
came a little over a month ago when a couple of
mangy alley cats found their way to my heart.
above is tink. she is tiny and wily and meows
a lot. below is taco or taquito. i love him so. he
is an adventurer, explorer and trash chaser.


so thats really all i have to say about my life right now. ive got a few adventures lined up including a balloon fest in gallup, new mexico and a winter journey to st.louis, missouri.
with my grad deadline fast approaching and big thanksgiving and holiday events lined up at la puente i am pretty busy, crazy and excited. more updates and hopefully more art to come.

<3


(two kissy faces in one post. how obnoxious is that?)

11.01.2007

all hallow's eve

last night we had a little get together at the monterey house to celebrate halloween. it was fairly low key with a few interesting costumes. here are some highlight photos.


michael wore a pretty hideous mask.



amy, ben and charis of the voldemort house dressed in a
rockies theme. amy was a dead rockies cheerleader, ben
an umpire and charis a world series loser. oh, i mean,
rockies player. sorry rockies, but the sox are it.


katie and annie claimed to be in costume
but im pretty sure they were just HOT.


andrew was a zombie cow back from the dead
to eat the flesh of his own. that's why he had
mcdonald's wrappers attached to him.


much of the party was devoted to mastering
some hot dance moves. here charis shows
us the money.

10.19.2007

montrose and me

monterey house has turned into a bit of a menagerie. it originated a little over a month ago with our dear puppy montrose bearpaw. his name is a combination of a monterey house joke and the fact that he has giant paws. see him pose below:



he's definitely a handful but more than worth it.

things are going well here in alamosa. i'm loving the valley more and more every day. i am more than confident that i made the right choice in moving out here and working for la puente. some weeks are harder than others with long days and little alone time. but all in all there is a balance of work and play. and the people i live and work with are amazing.
im working on putting the safari press paper zine together. i'd like to have it out before the holiday season sets in. if you're interested in submitting to the zine shoot me an email. im looking for articles on anything, short stories, poetry, etc. just holla at me.


heartz from alamosa. <3

10.17.2007

albuquerque balloon fiesta


last weekend kate, katie and i took a day trip down to albuquerque for the world's largest hot air balloon festival. the albuquerque fiesta has been on my to do list for a couple of years now. i was so psyched to go down there and see the greatest balloons from all over the world.
the festival itself was a little disappointing - because of wind none of the balloons went up in the air. they were blown up and lit up (what is known as a balloon glow) but no lift off. if we had decided to stay the night we could have gotten up for the 7am ascension, but we decided to gun it back to alamosa instead. im hoping to go to at least one more festival this season.
anyway, here are a few highlight photos and polaroids.




balloon glow


the kates enjoy each other's company.


waiting for balloonz.

10.16.2007

drawings

i have been having a blast with my new prismacolor pencils. they are amazing.
lately, my favorite things to draw are trees and onions.
por ejemplo:


my favorite trees have hearts for leaves.

these onions were for my friend nora, who
recently had a birthday.

10.12.2007

day trips with allison



both last week and this week allison and i were able to escape the office for a little day trip adventure time. last week we spent about an hour at city ranch, an abandoned ranch in alamosa that has since been turned into a nice trail. there are some old barns still on the property which were fun to explore.

here allison explores an abandoned barn. a
left-behind arm chair looms in the foreground.

if you know me you know i love wrecked vehicles
left to the mercy of earth. here, an old car is
eaten by weeds.

the next week we went on a long drive through the spanish peaks. we saw the towns of la veta, cuchara, trinidad and walsenburg. below are some highlight photos.

we took a detour up some mountains to see the
mysterious bear lake. we found it and fell in love.
this little lake is seriously hidden and serene.
allison collected rose hips while i took photos.

and last, on our drive we came upon a dense
aspen grove on the side of the road. it was
one of the few roadside vistas that was not
guarded by barbed wire or fencing. we took
the opportunity to nestle ourselves amongst
the trees and stare at the sky. aspen trees
in autumn are amazing; blindingly bright
and towering.