Never too old or cold for a popsicle

So I'm currently writing an article for the magazine I work for about gourmet popsicles, and by writing I mean inventing flavors and eating them. This is my Cucumber Lime Peach Mango Pop. Popsicles are so versatile, you can make cocktail flavored ones, savory ones, herb infused treats, anything! And I apologize for being negligent lately, work has been crazy crazy!! But I will be catching you up to speed on my projects :)

Dang it, another estate sale

I know, it's a sickness sometimes. In celebration of my birthday my mom, aunt and cousin met up at an estate sale. Needless to say I bought more than I should have but it was very useful stuff. My loot included an entire box of vintage pyrex for $6 (most of which I will be keeping because I actually cook with it), a vintage globe, a bar mixing set, another bag of weathered baseballs!, and a cocktail book. My cousin and I broke out in a fit of giggles as we postulated the fact that one day someone will be rummaging through all of our treasures/junk and taking it home with them. We then proceeded next door only to find more treasures, particularly in The Junk Room, it was dirty and full of miscellaneous debri which one was forced to dig through. My buy of the day had to be this little bag of random Star Wars ephemera, which included 3 original figures from the first movies. The child inside leapt with excitement. I GOT ADMIRAL ACKBAR!!! IT'S A TRAP! Yes Admiral, thrifting is a trap indeed.

Yesterday was my birthday...

So I turned another year older, age truly is just a number, I will never be content with becoming an adult - parts of me simply refuse to give in. Some days I feel exactly like I did when I was eleven, other days I'm expected to take lead on projects or in family matters and my experience, knowledge, and sense of responsibility rise to the surface, tucking away that childlike sensibility back into its perpetual toy box. There are some childlike attributes that I'm beginning to notice a decline of in some of my peers, ones that I believe they will sorely miss once they are truly gone. Things like wonder and awe, belief and abandon. It irks me to know end when people are so jaded, unimpressed, and ever ready to contradict and counteract all that surrounds them. So on this birthday and all going forward, I'm going to choose to be whatever age I want this year :)

P.S. Here are a few things that I received on my 11th birthday:
- The Barbie Post Office Playset
- A Robin Hood Lego Set
- Wet 'N' Wild Nail Polish
- Fimo Craft Clay
- Shave 'N' Fun Ken

What was your most memorable birthday present?

Happy Halloween, All Saints and All Souls Day

This year I decided to throw a Halloween Party! It was a lot of spooky fun and my guests were creative with their costumes, I hope to make if an annual event :) Decorating was a big part of the fun!! By the way, don't use that colored hairspray, ha ha, it took multiple washings to get it out. We had a rousing bonfire with hot dogs, s'mores and of course our special family Cheese Dip!

What I'm listening to...

I haven't been listening to very much new music these days, I'm more the type of person to savor and live in my songs for a while, but this new, bombastic gem kept me satiated for days. I'm a big Muse fan, they are an acquired taste with their over-the-top style, roaring guitars, and Matt Bellamy's thrice octave voice that both melts my face off and makes me laugh when I hear it. I know girls who cannot reach some of the notes he does, and I'm in a Catholic Church choir, so that's saying something. Let me take a stroll through the tracks...

1. "Supremacy" - A classic Muse romp about overthrowing big government with all three players in full force, personally my favorite moment of this song is Matt singing the word "fantasy".
2. "Madness" - This song is the chocolate ice cream of songs, so hot, and that wonky bass, yes please.
3. "Panic Station" - Well hello 1985, fancy meeting you here, slap that bass and give me another dose of horn section.
4-5. "Prelude" "Survival" - This was the official song of the Olympics and I was enraged when the American media chose to ignore it and play their own stuff. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!??!! This song is amazing, it makes me want to punch someone and run a marathon!!! Simultaneously!!!
6. "Follow Me" - This is the sweetest and most uplifting song, Matt recently became a father with Kate Hudson and that strange beat you hear at the beginning is his son's heartbeat. I think any child would be thrilled to hear that when things get tough his father wants nothing more than for him to follow him and be brave.
7. "Animal" - This sounds like Muse's attempt at a Radiohead song to me.
8. "Explorers" - A cry out for freedom, in the end we all cry out for someone to save us.
9. "Big Freeze" - Loud and fun.
10. "Save Me" - Chris (the bass player) would seldom talk in interviews up to this point then low and behold he volunteers to write and sing a few songs, a huge smile spread across my face when his soft voice started. Beautiful, and a reprieve from Matt's power.
11. "Liquid State" - Another from Chris, very good.
12. "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable" - Awww yeah, throw a newscaster, an orchestra, and a dash of dubstep and voila!! Now let's go save the world.
13. "The 2nd Law: Isolated System" - a fitting cool down from all of that awesome, and some quick-change choir moves!

I love my job

So, once in a while my boss is too busy for some of the minor photo shoots for our magazine, so I get the pleasure of taking charge. We recently acquired a new client, an antique store/appraisal service business. They obtain some really unique items including this original Matisse, he would lithograph the lines on the paper and then paint atop that. It's not everyday you get to view a real Matisse, unless you work in a museum of course. I didn't even ask the price but it probably equaled my salary ha ha! Check it out along with other cool items at Sparrow Studio Antiques on Prospect.

Media junky

I don't watch every new movie that comes out and I rarely go to the theater, so I get them as they trickle down to our local library, but I almost always have one playing while I'm at home working on projects and such. I savor my cinema. Last night I finally watched The King's Speech, it was fantastic. Though I geeked out a little when I noticed that the original Mr. Darcy, Ms. Bennett, and Mr. Collins were on screen-- it was like a mini Pride & Prejudice reunion. The acting was spot on, the cinematography was uniquely gorgeous--the backgrounds were almost as interesting as the actors, and the portrayal of London in the 1930s was delicious. I would recommend this movie to anyone who has ever felt embarrassed by their shortcomings.

Back from Cali

Sorry about my absence from the blog, I spent the better part of last week visiting family in California. It was a wonderfully luxurious trip, and I feel really spoiled by my aunts and uncles. Santa Ana is beautiful and it was a lovely extension of summer! Lots of thrifting, eating, laughing, and walking along the beach :) When was the last time you have been in the ocean? It had been 12 years for me.

Stocking the Shop

My mom recently unloaded some new treasures to put in our Etsy shop. I'm kind of a sucker for collecting jewelry, it's small, and sparkly. Need I say more? My vast collection can be confined to a few shoeboxes without completely overrunning my house. Jewelry is so interesting to me, because rather than something that someone owned and had in their house, they wore it. It lived on them, went with them to glamourous parties, remained with them day-to-day to commemorate a loved one, celebrated a special occasion, perfectly completed an outfit, or left them aghast after receiving it from an eccentric aunt. Jewelry boils down the essence of an age and tells a story. And I collect it all, from Victorian lockets to art nouveau lavalieres, kitschy pins to garish clip on earrings, Rosaries to cocktail rings.

Boom! Done

BAM! I finished the chair and I didn't even have to reupholster it. Surprisingly enough, I fabric painted it with that t-shirt paint, it's still a little stiff but I figure that it will soften a bit with time. It is going to look great with my basement redo. True it has its little flaws, like the three holes in front, but i just painted over them and the paint magically sealed them ha ha! And actually they aren't as noticeable when you see it in person.

I love my Mother...

I love my Mother, she is the epitome of generosity and she has the finder power to boot. She can't resist picking up things or giving people oddities from her own personal collections. Almost every time I visit home or she stops by she drops something off. Yes. The big-eyed cat, owls, locket and bracelet were left on my counter just the other night. The chair, well she took me to Teen Challenge, this hole in the wall thrift locale where if nothing is priced then you name it. I got this awesomely ugly chair for $5 and I've been nearly unable to bring myself to sit in it but I couldn't help but like the form. It's my fixer upper project of the month, and it's nearly done, just wait until you see the transformation!!!! I will definitely be sitting in it now :) Let's turn this Ethel into Edna Mode.

A New Jewelry Collection coming to Relics...

I've been making jewelry for the past 7 years, maybe even longer, I haven't stopped to think about it in a while. I still love making it, it's therapeutic, something about taking these beautiful little shards of chaos and turning them into something even more beautiful and hopefully functional. Recently I met with Deb Opyd from Relics, the hottest little gift stop in Peoria. Deb has serious good taste and travels all over to find just the right selection of unique items, and I would be broke if I were allowed to spend a lot of time there. I showed her my jewelry and said that I could have a trial at selling a special collection there. Relics is having an Open House this weekend Sept 14-16th, so if you are in the mood to see the rest of my unique wares, feel free to stop by, I will be there on Saturday helping out!

A night out on the town

Jared Bartman and Friends is my favorite local band, they span genres, perform amazing original music and a cover here and there, they have the occasional string section and a six month old baby that wears noise-canceling headphones - what's not to love about this band?! I met the lead singer and his wife through Numéro and I've designed two album covers for them. Friday night they played at the Contemporary Art Center downtown and they were fabulous, if you ever get the chance to see them live, do it. I'm partial to their version of "Paperback Writer" by The Beatles and "Born Too Late" by the Ponytails. After the show I hopped over to May Street to visit another new artist spot as a part of CIAO first fridays--local artists open up their galleries for viewing and sometimes showcase live music and food. CIAO first fridays reassure me that Peoria is moving in the right direction as far as the arts go. Some people wonder why some of us artists stay in Peoria, given that the scene is not as developed as the bigger cities, but to that I say, if no one stays then nothing is going to get any better. There is a lot of diversity here, you just have to put forth the effort to support it.

Back to Painting

I have not completed a cohesive body of artwork in a few years now, but I'm slowing edging my way back into painting. My art and hobbies go through phases and lately I've been more into writing lately, as well as jewelry making and maintaining my Etsy shop. This painting I recently did as a gift, was a pleasant exploration of acrylics. What artistic hobby have you explored lately?

Butterfly Effect Album Design

The man who used to occupy the office across the hall from me at work was a videographer and rap artist. He asked me one day to design an album cover for his new music project titled "Butterfly Effect". I still haven't heard any of the music on his album but he had a vague direction and so I came up with this design, he loved it, assignment complete in less than an hour. Those jobs are a blessing because you never quite know how your taste is going to mesh with someone in a completely different field. I should probably do a critique of my favorite album covers, what's your favorite album cover? Or if you have a band (or always dreamed of being in one) I'd be happy to design you an album cover :)

I have several exciting projects in the works for this Labor Day weekend that I will post after the weekend is through but for now I thought I'd post my whopping $6.99 splurge at the Goodwill yesterday. For those who don't know me, I have a shoe fetish. I'm not usually a fan of animal print but I couldn't resist and I think I'm going to wear them to work just for kicks, life is too short for boring shoes. The sun is shining here in Illinois and today consisted of Mass, lots of singing, visiting with friends, and lots of painting. I hope your Sunday is an uplifting one :)

Shades of Grey (not what you're thinking)

So last night I finally finished a book that I've been reading for a year, one of the most complicated and just plain weird books I've ever read. I "reviewed" the book for the Gray Matter issue of Numéro but never actually read the whole thing until now. It's set in a totalitarian, dystopian world 500 years in the future where society is ordered by your color perception, the higher perception, the higher position in society. And everyone's name tells you exactly what sector they are from. The Greys are those in society with basically no color perception and they are the workhorses, forced to serve. The interesting thing that I find about science fiction literature and films that I think the general populace fails to notice at times is that often it exists not just for expressions of imagination and whimsy but for social commentary. They are like parables, revealing more about the way we think and act, and bringing those uncomfortable topics to the forefront in the guise of the unbelievable.

Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura on Star Trek all those years, after reading a few scripts she began to notice some common thread in the stories. She went to Gene Roddenberry, the director and creator of the series, and said to him, "I know what you're doing, these aren't just space stories, these are morality plays." Gene looked at her, put his finger to his lips and said, "Sshhh," with a smile.

So under the blanket of the colortocracy, killer swans, man-eating plants, smuggling of colors, and dangerous romance, Shades of Grey has a thing or two to say about social prejudice, hierarchy, government control, fear, and original thought. A very interesting read with more twists and turns than a yateveo tree.

Unusual requests

You never know what kind of request you are going to get, when you are in the design field. Recently I've been commissioned to design coffee bags, particularly for Thirty-Thirty Coffee Company. This bear is for their bear claw coffee, if you've ever been to Thirty-Thirty, then you will get the joke. Also in conjunction with Dream Center Peoria, an inner city youth outreach company, I designed a logo and bag for the coffee that the kids roasted as part of an entrepreneurship program. Bags cost $13 and all proceeds go back to benefitting the programs.

Speaking of extra projects, I've been working with a local shop in town to design a line of jewelry, but more on that later!

The Mother of All Estate Sales

Growing up, I was obsessed with pirates and buried treasure, Pippi Longstocking, Peter Pan, and The Goonies were no doubt my roll models, and I'm sure my jewelry collecting mother had a lot to do with it as well. At 26, that pesky obsession has never really disappeared, it has simply taken on a different form. I now deal in vintage goods and jewelry in my shop and striking "gold" has a different meaning. My cousin will concur that many people give us strange looks for our unusual picks we define as treasure. Last weekend we happened upon the mother of all estate sales, the kind that come around every few years that are unbelievable. These people saved everything! 17 rooms chock full of "treasure"! My cousin and I shook with excitement and I began filling our arms with amazing bits of bric-a-brac that either we "had" to have or stuff that we knew others would take into their own collections. It was like something out of a dream, and no joke, I dream about estate sales-probably latent memories of all of the ones that my mom took me to as a toddler. All in all, I obtained a Polaroid camera with film still in box, a bag of antique baseballs, a piece of Victorian mourning jewelry, a fire popcorn popper, a clear dome umbrella, a plaid umbrella, a 1958 home design magazine, 7 vintage books, a Bakelite cake cutter, a Vietnam War ammo pouch, stackable German drinking glasses, a wind-up Pac-Man toy, and the "gold" a bag of vintage Halloween masks including original C-3PO and Chewbacca masks from 1977. One man's trash is this girl's treasure.

Now that's what I call a canvas

I wear many hats in my job and in life in general, which I love, as they stack higher and higher it can be a real balancing act and once in a while I have to shelf one or two. Today at work I finished up painting a canvas backdrop, I left the paint cans in the pic for scale, its 11ft tall after all. I can't wait to see my boss use it for photography and it's got me in the mood for painting again. I don't think people understand what it is to be an artist, to have a swarm of bees in the hive of one's mind from dawn until dusk and the only way to calm them down is give them a window to be set free and come to fruition. I will be posting many of my upcoming projects soon. In the mean time tell me what are your favorite hobbies? 

A welcome to wanderers of the web...

Lady Popeko is a place where I may take the illustrious liberties of expressing my artistic and design related tastes and endeavors as I try to navigate this glorious God-spun web which we all inhabit. I hope you enjoy! I will attempt to post often, I promise. For now enjoy this Miss Peregrine portrait that I constructed during my free time after work, when I was most likely supposed to be doing something else. If you have not read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, I highly suggest you read it before some Hollywood studio ruins it for the imagination.

With love and peace,
Nicole Blackburn
Graphic Designer + Illustrator
www.nicoleblackburn.wix.com/main
coleblk.etsy.com