London Calling

My last view of London: from 200ft, in the snow, screaming my brains out

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 20:13:14 +0000

I love carnivals. I love the snow. I love this place.

Why do I have to leave again?

Here are some (pretty poor quality) pictures of the corset I...

Sat, 27 Nov 2010 00:17:00 +0000

Front

Back

Placket with jewels/embroidered feathers

Study Abroad newspaper and certificate!

Here are some (pretty poor quality) pictures of the corset I made! To really appreciate the craftsmanship you have to see it in real life, it’s got over 30 bones and steel pieces in it, it’s like armor! I also learned how to embroider.

The “newspaper” is a bunch of articles we wrote about London and they bound them for us. The graduation was really low key and wonderful: fashion shows/presentations/raffles/booze/cakes/singing/photos/laughing/crying, the whole shebang! I don’t know what I’ll do without this city…

It’s only half full and it already needs its own rubber...

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 13:11:58 +0000

It’s only half full and it already needs its own rubber band (yeah, I’m too poor for Moleskins)

This sketchbook is solely for the notes and doodles from museums and art galleries since I arrived in August. I’m really proud of my “Catalogue of Inspirations”

Finishing Final Projects + Adequately Enjoying London =

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 23:05:56 +0000

IMPOSSIBLE.

Don’t get me wrong, everything is turning out really well… but I’d rather be going nuts out in the streets of Londontown!

In other news: during my “class” yesterday I danced and sang with 30 other people in the middle of a park! It was super rad.

10 days….

We met this artist today, Charlotte Mew, and she makes...

Sat, 20 Nov 2010 20:21:27 +0000

We met this artist today, Charlotte Mew, and she makes narratives out of found objects, and she’s really interested in the journeys we take in every day life. She gave us these “SAW” tags that we tied to things as we wandered around east London.

So I’m stealing this idea and bringing it to Philly, to tag things you want people to take a second look at to realize how beautiful it is. It’s more conducive to a style of graffiti that suits me best :)

Listenin' the Avett Brothers.

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 11:13:58 +0000

Gettin’ really excited to come home, actually. London is incredibleincredibleincredible, but my best friends are better.

Just sayin’.

Last night I went to a Hip Hop club

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 15:39:58 +0000

Fearing embarrassment I clung to the wall until this big black dude gestured me to move into the middle of the dance floor.

I proceeded.

And this is the part of the story where I threw gang signs, learned how to “Dub Step” and yelled Beastie Boys, Ludacris, DMX, and NWA lyrics rull loud.

Definitely one of those moments I’m really glad I can’t re-watch…

Blake and I finally got all of our pictures up on the FB. Check...

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 22:29:00 +0000

Blake and I finally got all of our pictures up on the FB.

Check ‘em out for a taste of Germany, Czech, the Netherlands, and Spain!

Blake shot this one of me in Prague (the most beautiful city in the world)

I really really miss fall.

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 00:50:15 +0000

I just lived vicariously through Skype for my “Halloween” experience (video chatting with my mom while she answered the door for the li’l trick-or-treaters). They don’t really do Halloween in London, and obviously not Thanksgiving, so there’s no fall decor or cider or pumpkin bread and everyone has Christmas crap up already!

Not gunna lie, just because my other Halloweens have been so rad every year I felt a little homesick today.

My European Vacation: Abbreviated

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 09:06:19 +0000

So to give you an idea of these cities I will equate them to people that I left behind:

Germany- Leaving Cologne and Berlin was like leaving a really great friend and concert buddy. (Super punk rock, awesome art communes, brilliant graffiti)

Czech- Leaving Prague was like gut-wrenching feeling of leaving your first love. (Most beautiful city in the world, scenes like a Disney movie, it felt like going back in time)

Netherlands- Leaving Amsterdam was like leaving a stoner friend, you’ll look back and smile on it every once and awhile but they were kind of a drag. (Literally all there is to do is smoke and ride bikes, or window shop for hookers, but it’s super bizarre because it’s in a really cute little city with a ton of canals.)

Spain (Madrid)- Leaving Madrid was like seeing adulthood and running from it. (Beautiful, and some amazing museums but overall a city for older rich business people)

Spain (Barcelona)- Leaving Barcelona was like being ripped from an artistic muse before you really got to tap into it. (Beautiful, fun, wonderful, inspiring, I could spend the rest of my life there)

This trip was life changing: different languages/climates/delicious foods/forms of travel/geography/people to meet every 2 days.

Steph and I demonstrate that you must wear black to metal shows...

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 23:20:08 +0100

Steph and I demonstrate that you must wear black to metal shows and you must look displeased as you do so.

I promised the band I’d “spread the sickness” to the states… well here ya go world! God help you…

http://www.myspace.com/theragingsickness

I walked down Drury Lane today and did not find one single Muffin Man...

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 19:39:29 +0100

Myth: BUSTED.

(But fo’ realz someone needs to capitalize on this.)

Once upon a 1988 Vivienne Westwood made this really rad jacket....

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:34:57 +0100

Once upon a 1988 Vivienne Westwood made this really rad jacket. And I was all like: “Yo Viv, why you gotta be sellin’ this really rad jacket for $2,000?!”

Let project: Recreate-This-Into-Something-I-Can-Afford-And-Wear-Every-Day commence!

Corsetry:

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 20:28:02 +0100

The class where I’m deemed the “Sewing Machine Reeper” and constantly take 1 step forward and 2 steps back.

This damn corset better be worth all of this! I hate Tuesdays.

It’s probably really cliche’, but I severely enjoy...

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:48:44 +0100

It’s probably really cliche’, but I severely enjoy listening to this album while walking down the street…

…2 Free tickets to a metal show? Or, 2 invitations for...

Sun, 10 Oct 2010 14:38:51 +0100

…2 Free tickets to a metal show? Or, 2 invitations for adventure tonight!?! Yes, the headliner is called “The Raging Sickness” (we met them in the street last night)…

I’m 21. This is not the time in my life where I should be saying ‘no’ to things.

I just saw “Lilly Through The Dark” tonight, a macabre puppet...

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 23:13:42 +0100

I just saw “Lilly Through The Dark” tonight, a macabre puppet show with every second orchestrated by a guy on a mandolin, and it changed my life.

Obviously this is a promo shot because the set was entirely made out of books that different bits and pieces of the scenery came out of.

One of the most influential (to my own artistry) pieces of theater I’ve ever seen!

This was one of those...

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 16:44:35 +0100

This was one of those super-out-of-place-since-it’s-not-Halloween cross-city adventure was almost just as fun as the ball itself!

Today's Reflection: The Search for Love in London.

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 12:24:00 +0100

My goal this semester (one of many) was to get that European romance, that fleeting fling you see in all of the movies: meet a guy at an art gallery and then jump on the back of his Vespa and speed along the Thames… I tried to force it for the first month, and was let down when I either didn’t meet straight guys or they were all sloppy-club-playboys.

But yesterday when the sun came out for the first time in a week it lit up the train station; newspapers and used coffee cups from the morning’s rush hour rolled about the track in the fall breeze and Dr. Dog was on my Ipod, I beamed.

Life is pretty perfect here, with or without perfect boys. I’ve fallen in love with this city’s art, tastes, noises, and history, as well as its imperfections. I know when I leave here I’ll be sick to my stomach, transitioning back into a life without this place is going to be rough.

I did find love here. I fell in love with London.

Tonight (err, this morning since its now 6am) was in the top 10...

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 05:56:05 +0100

Tonight (err, this morning since its now 6am) was in the top 10 best nights I’ve ever had! I can’t believe this is my life…