9.6.15 – 9.14.15 // Journal Pages

Aloha Borgs,

Another week, another collection of pages! So let’s just jump right into it, shall we? This week’s theme was definitely self-discovery, or in less complicated terms, ME. I threw in some beautiful self-portraits that I’m particularly fond of and added a just gorgeous collection of colors to make some of my favorite pages of my journal thus far. Also, I was inspired by something I heard while driving in the car. A woman said, “I just want to hear you say that I am yours,” and my brain just went haywire after I heard that. Anyway let’s get to the page by page descriptions, but first…

What I was…

Watching: Practical Magic (1998), Hocus Pocus (1993), U.S. Open V. Williams vs. S. Williams, But I’m a Cheerleader (1999), Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997)

Listening to: Lana Nicole Reiney discography, But I’m a Cheerleader soundtrack (OBSESSED!), Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion soundtrack, Dark Doo Wop (MsMr), Absolution (The Pretty Reckless), She’s a Witch 8-Track playlist (witchynbitdry)

 

This page was another experimental page. If you read my review on the DIY Alcohol Ink Spray, then you’ll know I made another two spray bottles of color and well…I let my creativity go wild on this page. I have to admit, I overdid it…a lot. I couldn’t really find a good balance between the colors. Maybe the paper is too thin or maybe it’s just me, but I created a really lovely color blend on an index card and I just can’t seem to recreate it on paper. It’s actually kind of frustrating.

As for the writing…I was watching Practical Magic. If you haven’t seen it, I’d definitely recommend it. Yes it’s a little corny, yes the plot is played out, but it has something magic in it (no pun intended). I just can’t get over how the women in the film are so close knit and really important to one another. You can immediately tell that the connection they have with one another comes before anyone else in their lives (besides their children) and I think that’s something you don’t see very often. Besides that, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are ABSOLUTELY STUNNING in this film.

The layout of these pages are pretty simple. As you can see the spray bled through the pages, but it created a really nice pattern so I’m not complaining. As for the picture, I just think it’s absolutely fantastical. It doesn’t even seem real to me, maybe it isn’t. I found it on Tumblr and could not stop thinking about it, so I printed it out and posted it in here. I used Sakura's Souffle pens to draw on top of it.  I think it blends well with what I was writing about since it seems like a scene from a dream. Speaking of what I was writing about…

I’ve been having dreams again. A lot of them. And I’ve been remembering them when I wake up, and one step further than that, I’ve been taking the time to write them down when they are still fresh in my mind. I really love looking back at the dreams that I had. It’s one of my favorite things about keeping a journal.

Now we move into a favorite of mine. For one, I love the way this pencil sketch came out. Will it fade with time, most likely, was pencil a bad idea, I’d say yes, but do I look lost in ecstasy, fuck yeah I do. And for that reason alone I will not be touching it.

As for the words…I was inspired by a YouTube video my parents were watching about the Corsican people (my dad’s family are originally from Corsica) and the video honestly broke my heart. They were conquered, their culture was nearly exterminated and there was war after war after war and to this day they struggle to gain control of their land. This made me think of my mom whose Native Hawaiian and how the Native Hawaiians were conquered, their culture was nearly exterminated, and they also struggle to gain control of their land. So with all this on my mind, I realized my existence is seriously a miracle and further I realized that I contain all the struggles of my ancestors. So what does this mean? That’s what I explored…

Moving on, these pages were pretty basic. I switched up the pen I used and splattered some gold oil paint on top the pages. Just a heads up DO NOT buy the Sharpie Paint Pens, yes they look amazing, but they will break within a couple uses. I swear I am seriously considering asking for my money back since Sharpie products are supposed to be satisfaction guaranteed and those pens weren’t cheap. Speaking of Sharpie products I used a Sharpie Calligraphy pen (which I love) to write the quote by Wayne Miller Landings. I found it on Tumblr and I have absolutely no idea what it means but I really liked it so I wrote it down.

Basically the writing is a bunch of scattered thoughts and more dreams. 

Okay things get a little weird with these pages, but first let’s move through the artsy part of these pages. I kept it basic with these pages and chose to paste a picture I took a couple months ago (I think…) of the clouds over my house. It’s actually a favorite of mine. Then I wrote over that with a fine liner Sharpie (wow I’m mentioning Sharpie products a lot, I swear I’m not sponsored by them. I only wish I was…).

Now let’s talk about the writing. Is this about basic white boys, well one in particular but the answer is yes. And I am extremely angered and embarrassed by this at the same time. I just have some history (and by history I mean I was friends with this dude when we were like six) with my neighbor and part of me cannot let it go. You know how you like carry around all this useless information about people you’re no longer friends with. Well that stuff has just been on my mind a lot since I moved back in with my parents and I just needed to let it all out and tell myself to wake the fuck up. So I did.

Cyborgs and extraterrestrials, let me introduce you to my favorite page of my journal (that’s right I’m saying it). If you follow me on Instagram or Tumblr (shameless plug) you would have seen a sneak peek at this page a couple of days ago. I just love everything about this page. For one, I actually had a color scheme, which NEVER happens, and two, I just really love the way this self-portrait came out. Starting with the self-portrait, I used my set of Spectrum Noir Markers (I'll link my review), my trusty Sakura Micron fine liner pens and my piece of shit Sharpie Paint Pens to create this masterpiece. For the background I used a set of pastel crayons that I got years ago at a GoodWill for like $2 I kid you not. For the text on the next page I actually used acrylic paint and a teeny tiny paint brush and though I really like the way it turned out, I hated how long it took to fill in that negative space.

As for the writing…I think it’s kind of self-explanatory but I’ll elaborate a bit. I’m an emotionally closed off person. I don’t like disclosing things about myself to people, especially people I don’t know (weird I know since I’m posting pages of my journal for complete strangers to read online.) I don’t know why I’m that way, I just am. Unfortunately, this makes me difficult to get along with (which isn’t really a problem with me), but more than that, I think it limits me from being really close to another person (which is kind of a problem with me). I’d like to be more open with people and so I’m trying to be more open and honest about myself, and let me tell you that shit is not easy.

Here’s another set of my favorite pages in this journal. Another self-portrait, but this time I used colored pencils and Micron pens (they’re my favorite). I have to say the shading on this piece really is spectacular even if I don’t think it looks like me that much (not as much at the previous self-portraits). For the background, I used those trusty pastel crayons again.

As for the writing…remember in the beginning when I mentioned hearing the woman in the car say “I just want to hear you say that I am yours,” well here’s the page where I just went off. Personally, I’ve never liked the idea that people are only half of a whole looking for their other half in their soul mates. Maybe it’s the emotionally closed off part of myself, but I don’t feel like half of a whole, and I sure as fuck don’t want to be “someone’s.” It just seems so possessive, you know what I mean. I think of myself as whole and as my own. I don’t need anyone to need me and I don’t need to need anyone. I have myself and for me, that’s enough.

These pages were straight writing. I didn’t feel like drawing and I had a lot to talk about. Mostly this is about my impending job interview on Tuesday which I am terrified about and the funny story about the call I got from Kohl’s for the interview. And then I start talking about the mountains of debt that I will spend the next ten years of my life (I pray to God that it’s less) paying off. You know just carefree fun girly things to talk about in my diary.

So what did you think? Did you have a favorite page? Are you also going to complain about the travesty that is Sharpie Paint Markers? Let me know!

Journal On,

X

Review: DIY Alcohol Ink Spray

Aloha Borgs,

I'm back at it with a full review of my thoughts on the DIY Alcohol Ink Spray that I found on Pintrest.

Rating: 3.5/5
Pros: 
- Easy to make
- Fun to use
- Creates a beautiful effect on paper

Cons:
- Smells horribly
- Very, very messy
- Smudges ink when sprayed to close to the page
For the most part, I like it. All you need is a spray bottle (I suggest a 2oz. travel bottle which you can usually pick up at your local drug store for around a dollar), several packets of Kool-Aid which is used as the color, and a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

And from there all you have to do is mix the ingredients. Start with the Kool-Aid.

 

Add the rubbing alcohol.

Shake and voila!

I used 'Great Bluedini' to achieve this color

I used 'Lemon-Lime' to achieve this color. 

For the price, I think this DIY is amazing. However, I have never personally used alcohol inks so I can't really say how different this concoction is from the actual thing. Either way the colors look really nice on paper and they layer even nicer.

Great Bluedini, Lemon-Lime and Cherry layered on a note card. 

I definitely see myself reaching for these when I feel the need to add a little pizzazz to my journal pages and I've already utilized the Cherry color on some previous pages. I definitely need to work with them more and really get a hang of where to spray the colors but I am really excited about these.

Cherry used on a previous journal page

Oh also, I should mention, because these are made of Kool-Aid and rubbing alcohol THEY WILL STAIN YOUR CLOTHES, and your hands and everything it comes into contact with so be very, very careful. You can use gloves if you want but I would definitely recommend doing it outside on the grass or at least on a surface that isn't important.

The color stayed put even after I washed my hands.

Let me know if you try this out. I'd really like to see how other people utilize this amazing DIY project. I think it would look really good on thank you cards, or adding background to a painting. The opportunities are endless! Also, let me know if you've heard of any other DIY art supplies that I can make. I'm always into using thrifty alternatives when I'm working!

Keep creating,
X

8.29.15 - 9.5.15 // Journal Pages

Aloha Borgs,

I've been getting some questions here and there (I'm lying I haven't gotten any questions) regarding my journaling method so I thought I would just go ahead and offer a little insight into how I make my pages and what mood I was in and what I was listening to or watching. All that good stuff. If you're interesting in looking at my previous pages you can hit up my tumblr, because I'm not going to go back to the beginning of my journal and start this process. So without any further ado, let's get into it. 

Okay so my theme for this week (and don't expect there to be a theme every week because there won't be) was experimentation. I really wanted to try and get out of my comfort zone. I don't know about you but once I get too familiar with something I get bored and I stop doing it altogether. I'm an Aquarius, what can I say. So I decided to move away from my usual spreads and use some media that I'm not too keen on using. 

What I was...

Watching: Death Becomes Her (1992), Witches of Eastwick (1987), Extreme Weight Loss

Listening to: Signs (Beyonce), Amy Winehouse discography, Hotline Bling (Drake), Time of Our Lives (Pitbull), Don't Tell Dave (Dance Gavin Dance), Carl Barker (Dance Gavin Dance)

 

This page is one of my least favorites of the bunch. I was in a weird mood and on top of that it was page that I tested a DIY Alcohol Ink Spray recipe that I found on Pintrest. Basically all you do is mix a packet of Kool-Aid and rubbing alcohol and mix it in one of those three ounce travel spray bottles and voila, you have alcohol ink. There's a few things that I want to stress when using this spray, for one, it stink...really bad and two, it gets everywhere. So if you're planing on using it I would strongly suggest you use it outside or in a ventilated area and that you don't wear anything you don't want permanently stained. Oh and one more thing, if you use it there will be bleeding though your pages, unless you're using it on thick paper. Just somethings to keep in mind. 

As for the designs. I made these in my ART 101 class that I took freshman year at uni. I handmade them with an exacto knife and sticky velum (I don't know if that's redundant). It was probably my favorite thing I made in that class and they last a really long time as long as you keep the sticky side of the velum intact.

You can see how much that Alcohol Ink Spray bleeds through on this page. But, I have to say I really like the effect it gave. Without it, these pages would not have looked half as nice. I traced the eye with pencil then gave up half way and penned the rest. This week I was really feeling my blue Uniball Micro pen. It writes super smooth and, if you work fast, you can use water to blend the color out like I did on the eye.

I was battling myself in this entry. I had just watched Extreme Weight Loss and was feeling really shitty about my weight, but at the same time, I knew I couldn't allow a shitty show to make me feel like I needed to change myself. As you can see that battle definitely plays out in my writing.

 

This first page was a mess. I woke up and read some stupid article about how people are beginning to like poke (a raw fish dish that originated in Hawai'i) and I could feel my blood boil, so I hastily wrote this poem and posted it on my tumblr. Looking back, I think the only thing that wasn't horrible was the title, although I really like where I was going with the poem. I just need some time to flesh out the idea more and who knows, there could be an updated "A is for Appropriation" coming soon (don't count on it.).

WARNING: THOSE WITH SECOND HAND EMBARRASSMENT ISSUE BE WARNED:

As for the second page...it's about these guys who've lived on my street forever who grew up to be GORGEOUS and I am just going through some SERIOUS WHITE BOY THIRST. Like f I see their outside hanging out, I'll legitimately get dressed and do my hair and makeup to get the mail...like you have to be fucking kidding me with this. So I wrote that note to remind myself to calm the fuck out and not listen to the voice in my head that tells me that white boys are the shit. Instead I need to listen to the other little voice in my head that say 'white boys are shit' and everything should work itself out. Anyway, I filled it in with some pastel crayons and called it a day.

And now...we have made it to my hands down favorite page of this weeks spread (and arguably my favorite page of my whole journal. Just look at it, isn't it beautiful? Don't you just want to print it out and hang it on your wall, or put it in your binder, or wear it on a shirt? No? It's just me? Whatever. This beauty was made with Micron pens ranging from an 003 to an 08, acrylic paint (it's the background of the eye and the lips, colored pencil (to color in the lips) and pastel crayons (to shade in the eyeball).  The patches or red are from using the Alcohol Spray on the next pages. Damn, I'm good!

Okay...I gave the spray another try on these pages and failed miserably. As you can see in the top right hand corner, I used to spray too close to the page and it totally smeared the ink on both sides of the page. The opposite side was totally ruined so I had to paste something over it, as you can see on the left hand page below.

On this page, I was suffering from a lack of creativity and a desire to write, so I went online and looked up some questions to answer (which is a lot harder than I thought it would be. I might have to compile a good list of questions in the future). I would definitely recommend this method for those of us who go through writers block. You get to continue writing without thinking too much and in my experience the questions eventually spark something and you can get back some of that momentum that you lost. Also, it's always fun to look back at the way you answered certain questions and see how much you've changed over the years.

And bringing up the rear is this beautiful last page which started out horribly and ended pretty nicely if I do say so myself. I found this picture while browsing through tumblr and it really caught my eye so I printed it out and boy did it come in handy. I was (and still kind of am) in the process of reorganizing my room to optimize my journaling work space. That means I had to pull out all the crap I didn't need and replace it with the crap I do need. I got a lot of inspiration from this picture because it's not overly neat, yet it seems like everything is easily accessible, you know? So I thought what better picture to put next to my entry about organization.

And that's it. Hope you all liked this...whatever it is, journal explanation? I'll come up with a better name for it later but let me know if you have any questions or suggestions on how to make this better.

Journal On!,
X

Films in Slow Motion!

I guess I should start this off by saying I know next to nothing about film. I took a film course in college which consisted mostly of my professor showing up late to class, and then begging us not to give her a bad end of the year review. As you can imagine, not much learning happened in that class. One film habit I did pick up during college as a way to de-stress before my big exams (I’m looking at you midterms and finals), was binge watching movies. Something about lying down on a comfortable bed with a pair of industrial strength headphones and some snacks, really takes the edge off the intense horrors of whatever impending test may lie before you. In the process of indulging this habit, I found myself drawn to certain scenes throughout the films I watched, namely, slow-motion scenes. I mean, come on, slow-motion scenes are the coolest. The director can use them to slow down a fast moving sequence, they can use them to highlight something important, they can even use them just for the hell of it. The possibilities truly are endless.  

                All this being said, I thought I would recount some of my all-time favorite uses of slow-motion in film. Fair warning, I have a very, let’s call it eclectic style so these film range from highly acclaimed to dismally bashed by critics. So let’s jump into it.

Drive (2011)

                One of my all-time favorite films is Drive, directed by Nicholas Winding Refn and starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston and Oscar Issac. The film is a crime/drama centered on the life of a man referred to as the Driver. I could go on and on about the various aspects of this film I find absolutely brilliant, but for our purposes I’ll move straight to the hands-down best use of slow-motion in any film I’ve ever seen. Let me set up the scene. The Driver (Ryan Gosling) enters his apartment building elevator, joining Irene (Carey Mulligan) his neighbor who he has fallen in love with, and a burly well-dressed man. The man presses the ground floor button and the elevator doors close. From out of the corner of his eye, The Driver notices the glint of a handgun in the man’s inside pocket. Protectively placing a hand around Irene, the Driver guides her to the corner of the elevator. The lights dim, triggering the slow-motion, the Driver turns to face Irene. Their eyes lock in an extended stare before they move in for a passionate, unexpected, truly beautiful kiss, every movement captured in breathtaking slow-motion. The lights brighten as they pull away from one another, casting them in an almost ethereal glow. Their eyes meet again, a shy smile creeps to their mouths. The elevator rings and the door open snapping the world back into motion.           

This is a moment of pure happiness, a moment unrivaled by all other moments in this film. A moment made even more important by the events following it. Once the elevator reaches the ground floor, the Driver shoves Irene off of the elevator and proceeds to brutally attack and kill the well-dressed man. Irene watches in horror as the elevator door closes. Can you say brilliant? No matter how many times I watch this film, I can never get over this scene. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

Electrick Children (2012)

                This next film I stumbled upon after a night of watching independent movies on Netflix and it immediately captured my heart. Electrick Children, written and directed by Rebecca Thomas and starring Julia Garner, Liam Aiken (think Klaus from Viacom’s A Series of Unfortunate Events), and Rory Culkin, is a coming of age story about a young Mormon girl who believes she is pregnant as a result of immaculate conception. Picture this moment, it’s late evening, the sun hangs just below the horizon electrifying the air in an almost neon blue glow. A group of teenagers, some on bikes, others on skateboards, ride through an empty alleyway. In the front, Clyde (Rory Culkin), the unofficial leader of the group, pedals his bike, his long wavy hair blows in the wind as he moves towards the camera. Behind him Rachael (Julia Garner) rides on his pegs wearing a pair of bright red heart-shaped sunglasses. Her hands rest on Clyde’s shoulders, a mixture of peace and apprehension blankets her face. As the pair moves closer, the camera blurs into a haze of fuzzy shapes and figures. The sound of the ocean, waves pushing and pulling, can be heard. Now imagine all of this captured in a 30 second slow-motion shot. No fancy editing, no artistic lighting, just these teenagers in this empty alleyway riding towards the camera. The mix of Rachel’s expression with the undeniable energy of the air around the teenagers makes this scene so breathtakingly beautiful.

                In context of this movie, I think this scene really shows Rachael claiming control of her body. She’s fifteen, she’s pregnant with a child who she believes to be the son of God, and she’s finally doing exactly what it is she wants to do, even if she’s not entirely sure what that is yet. 

Sucker Punch (2011)

While Drive and Electrick Children use slow-motion sparingly, Sucker Punch gloriously overindulges in its slow-motion shots. From what I’m told the director Zack Snyder, think 300 or Man of Steele, really, really loves his slow-motion shots and he is not shy about using them. A little bit about Sucker Punch, it’s an action/adventure/fantasy/psychological thriller/neo-noir mashup that follows the story of five girls desire to break free from the oppressive world they live in. This film has everything you want in a movie. An amazing kickass all-girl gang, an interesting plot, complex internal struggles depicted through a series of badass fight sequences, I mean does it get any better that that? For these reasons (and also the fact that I have a horrendous crush on Emily Browning ever since she played Violet in A Series of Unfortunate Events), Sucker Punch is one of my all-time favorite movies.

                Getting back to the slow-motion though. Because this film is filled with fight scenes, and I mean deliciously filled, and Zack Snyder can’t help himself in the editing room, you can find slow-motion EVERYWHERE in this film. For this reason it’s hard for me to narrow down just one sequence that I really love, but for the purposes of this list I’ll focus on the opening scene. Unlike the simplicity of Electrick Children, Snyder pulls out all the stops for this film. There’s stylized lighting, highly gimmicky costumes, and an eerie soft music that grows into a loud orchestra/rock hybrid. Also unlike Electrick Children, this slow-motion scene lasts five minutes. For the sake of time I’ll focus on the opening fifteen to thirty seconds. The camera lands on a young woman (Emily Browning) with platinum blonde hair and heavy costume makeup on. She’s been crying, streaks of mascara run down her ghostly white skin. Outside it is dark, rain pours down from ominous grey storm clouds. A man appears in the doorway shaking his head. The young woman runs out of the room desperately making her way to the end of the hallway where she bursts through a door and falls to her knees at the foot of a large bed. Her mother has died. Intense right?

Now, I don’t want to give away any spoilers because this movie really is too good to pass up, even with its scantily clad female fighters which some took offense to. There’s something so very Xena: Warrior Princess about this film. I really dig it. I will say that this movie handles some really heavy topics that may make some people uncomfortable and as I said before Snyder isn’t afraid to go out these topics with all he’s got.