Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from July, 2008

One Inch Painting

I will be including some original art pendants in my August exhibition. This is from my first batch of wooden pendants. I haven't attached the bail or cord yet. I love how she came out, so I wanted to give everyone an early peak at her. I never thought that I would be able to do a one-inch portrait! She reminds me of the 70's, so this one is called "Remembering the 70's Pendant". 1" X 1" (25 x 25mm) How she was born: First, I turned one of my jpgs into a line drawing and printed it. I used gloss polymer medium to glue the print onto some shiny old book paper. The shiny side of the paper accepts the image well. Once the transfer was finished, I tore away the print paper and rubbed off the excess paper with a bit of water. What remains is a very thin piece of paper with the image. This was then glued to my pre-sanded, pre-gessoed wooden support. After layers upon layers of glazing acrylics and pencil, I varnished and sealed the paint

3- Column blog html and Website Development

I spent the last two days trying to get my JuanaAlmaguer.com website finalized. I am happier with it. There is still more that needs to be edited but it is showable. I use the freeware Alleycode which requires that I manually put in the code. There is no dragging and dropping with that program, and wysiwyg is minimal, so I needed some basic html to know how to format my website. I used the HTML Code Tutorial website to help me with basic html code. Last month I changed this blog from a two-column blog to a three-column blog. To make the 3-column blog, I used the tips-for-new-bloggers website tutorial. It was pretty easy to follow. This particular page link is geared toward blogspot users. It has been a busy week for me. I am thankful that I got a restful sleep most nights and had the energy to get alot of work done. This morning I got a call from the local newspaper about my up-coming exhibition. I have a meeting with the reporter on Monday, so I hope something frui

Anxiety, Iwate earthquake and Italian Food

My anxiety level continues to rise the closer I get to my solo exhibition. I have been existing in a sleep-deprived body for the last three weeks. Sleep comes only when my mind stops racing or my cat settles next to me. Lately, I have been getting into bed by 11:30. It takes about an hour for me to wind down and let go of the day. Since last week, Sputnik, my siamese cat, has been waking me up around 5 a.m. It is not that she needs anything, as I've checked all the possible problems: food, water, playtime, litter box. I have tried ignoring her, but she just becomes more determined to wake me up. She just wants me up and working. Once I am up, she settles next to me on the couch and goes to sleep! She usually picks up on my feelings, so perhaps she is helping me out afterall. I have gotten a lot of work done with these early morning wake-up calls. We've had a few earthquakes lately! I wonder if this is why Sputnik's behavior has been odd the past w

Some Firsts

I have heard from others on the Etsy forums that they love their moo cards. I needed business cards and a painless and economical way to order them. I could have ordered business cards here in Japan, but it would have cost more and been trickier to get full color cards of my art. So, I finally decided to order Moo cards. The cost for 100 small cards plus international shipping only comes out to $26, cheaper than a full color card in Japan. Granted they are smaller than a business card, but the weight and color quality of these small cards makes a strong impression. Another point that sold me is I could use as many images as I wanted for the 100 moo cards. In my order, they included a Moo Cards 15% discount code to pass on to first time buyers: 2RB2Ck Today is my first day of my quasi-vacation. I teach ESL part-time at two companies. One is a private English conversation school and the other is a Language Vocational College. The College started their summer vacation ye

Green Thumb and Natto

I don't have a green thumb but sometimes I get lucky. I have one houseplant which I've had for about 3 years. Since my cat refuses to leave it alone, the houseplant sits on the top of the fridge. I can't admire it from that height. So, every morning, I take it down from the fridge and place it on my desk. If I am gone for any extended period it goes back up on the fridge. I don't know the name of this plant, but every so often it will bloom. It has two flowers now. The past week I have been busy putting together a press release for my upcoming show. This week, I need to get the postcards printed and the press release sent out. What is Natto? Certain Regions in Japan eat Natto. It is a popular dish for any meal in the Tohoku region where I live. Natto is a fermented soy bean dish. My husband likes to eat it sometimes for breakfast. The Japanese say " neba, neba" to describe the gooey, slimy consistency of natto. It also has a very distinct aroma