Halloh halloh

Go grab a pen. Or a pencil. I’ll hang out here for a sec. Melted eyeliner is fine, so long as it writes.

Okay, have it? Lovely. Mark thine calendar for August 16, as the art show I’ve had under my hat for a while (pending fliers and further details, completed paintings, an oufit to wear, etc.) is now perfectly ready to be announced.

It’s a group show at Box 8 near downtown with some seriously talented fashion photographers and artists. Really, it’s a honor to be involved. I’ll be showing around 10 new pieces, some of which have been previewed here. So do make a note, and I’ll fill you in on further details as they come down the pike.

For now, a flier:

I’ll see you peeps on the 16th. Until then, back to the easel.

High fives,

It’s past midnight on a Sunday, which generally marks a dread that only a lurching, encroaching Monday can bring. I myself have a relatively bitchin’ job, so Sunday night presents only modest amounts of fear and dread, most of which are related to sleep deprivation.

Webmaster MC Dangerpants is sitting next to me pecking away at an identical MacBook–with the Smiths on iTunes–and we’re about to launch the new site. Our hair looks awful. Dangerpants is sporting an unruly, bratty afro, and my own has seemed to disband from its para-dreadlocked state into a web-like frizz. But the good news is that the site is almost done, which means we’ll make it live, which means I can sleep.

Despite our hair looking awful, the site looks radass. New paintings, new prints, a blog, a mailing list sign up…it’s like Christmas for me, only more like Hannukka because there’s a bunch of presents, some of which we’ll be rolling out over a few days. Also, not that you care, but I totally want to eat some of those chocolate coins right now.

Please rock on and thanks for checking the site, peeps.

Most sincerely,

Miss Alie Ward

Chief Curiologist

Me:”Hey Ward, you kind of suck at updating your blog.”
Me: “Which blog. We’ve got three blogs.”
Me:”Mehr. We do have three blogs. No wonder we suck.”
Me: “You know why else we suck? Because you ate 7 peanut butter cookies for dinner today.”
Me: “Shut up. You loved it. “
Me: “I did.”

I’m lying on my stomach on the floor of my Eagle Rock apartment/one bedroom sauna, wrapping up a rather lovely weekend: the perfect balance of cookies, running, lying in the grass, updating the CMS on the Curiology website, taking a vegan cooking class and working on an email mailer for a new set of prints. I also finally purchased a tube dress. (Georgia- we’ll discuss this later.)

I’ll keep y’all updated on the progress of the new batch of paintings, and the prints for the older ones. I’ll also keep you posted on my search for a reliable, pre-owned time machine. I think if I find a reasonably priced one and fix it up a little, I’ll be meeting my deadlines in no time.

Let’s hang out yesterday,
Von Wardenhoffer

The original purpose of this blog was not to muse on about hammocks–though my passion for them burns bright–but rather to keep folks up to date on some painting-related goings on. I’ve been a little lax on that front.

So in addition to tales of desperado cocktails, I also present to you, dear comrades, some recent unfinished projects to peep at. The first one will be scripted and titled, “Sure.” and the second one, called “Anywhere” is in the nascent stages. Forgive the highly unprofessional photography.

“Sure.” (unfinished), acrylic on wood

“Anywhere” (unfinished) acrylic on wood

My older archives are at Curiology.com, in case you’re all like “What, the girl from that website paints stuff n’ shit?” Yarp.

Thanks for taking a gander, and please rock on at all costs.

Most sincerely,
Ward

Nobody’s a stranger to the blues. I find myself, every so often, in a tear soaked jumpsuit, nursing a homemade “mudslide” crafted from sugar free Nestle Quick and vodka, wondering why the hell some days are better than others. Generally, this state lasts only a few hours, until I remind myself to think of 4 lovely things.

I’ve started to do this on a daily basis. Since then, things have been pretty sunny.

Today’s 4 lovely things:

1. Lemonade made with meyer lemons from my sister’s tree (I am presently enjoying this beverage)
2. Today is the first day I saw rosebuds on the bush outside my apartment
3. Hammocks, in general
4. The time my family posed for a Christmas portrait wearing fake mustaches

If you have 4 things lovely rattling around your brain, post ‘em, peeps.

I can’t begin to describe the experience of drinking a cocktail made form 100% McDonald’s ingredients*. Not to mention, it was my first-ever martini garnished with meat.

Behold: the McNuggetini.

Hop over to Georgia’s blog for the full scoop, the recipe and the play by play, as captured by her lovely sister Leah, who happens to be a highly regarded professional photographer. Georgia envisioned a 50s housewife mood, which explains my ironically smug facial expressions. Except for when we start wretching. Those were all real, y’all.

Seriously, have a look. It’s revoltingly delicious.

Clink,
Ward

*To be factual, it was approx 15% Absolut Vanilla by volume. One cannot drink through a rim of barbecue sauce without some vodka waiting on the other side to dull the nausea.

There were many, many reasons to arrive Sunday night with nostalgia for the weekend just passed. Besides the the birth of the long-gestated McNuggitini (more to come on that), there were

1. People taking their trousers off playing Rock Band:

2. Articulating, through means of a size 000 brush, the affection of strangers:

3. Washing a load of stripes,

…plus: staying up until 3am talking to girlfriends I’ve known since I was 14, reading a book in a laundromat, some laps around a track, and eating really enormous shrimp.

All in all, it was a well-earned weekend, lavishly enjoyed. Did I mention that I ate shrimps the size of my fist? Duuude.

Enjoy your Monday, have a green beer and save a high five for me.

Over/out,
Ward

Happy Thursday morning, peeps!

Some things which are awesome:

1. Sleeping in my bed, instead of folded up on my loveseat with a book under my face

2. Waking up at 8 am and running (slowly) before work

3. Making ice blendeds at home, thereby avoiding the $5 latte that has come to exemplify American spending habits.

4. Going to artwalk tonight, and carousing around with pals that I wish I saw more often.

I’ll come back with pictures of my favorite art work laters, folks. I’m crossing my fingers for pho.

High five,
Lady Mc Wardelby

This weekend I got an urge to live like a mobster.

Squeamish about thrill killing, I decided my best course of action was to just open a speakeasy in my garage. I pictured a circle of my friends playing penny poker and sipping whiskey from mismatched glasses. Maybe a cigar would be brandished, and I would wear pinstripes.

But everyone wanted to go to Punky Reggae instead.

La Cita was a mess: festering, sweaty, dude-heavy. We soon split to Charlie O’s to find it empty, save for a ghost-y figure dancing alone on the parquet floor. One round later, we wandered outside to discover that MJ Higgins, an art gallery in the bottom floor of the ramshackle Alexandria Hotel, was far from closing up shop. Past a doorman with a fierce ZZ Top goatee, the gallery was a maze of work by downtown artists, and the hotel lobby was throbbing with men, disco lights, and remixed pop. A speakeasy, in full swing. But not quite the vibe I was looking for.

We heard a whisper from the bouncer about yet another speakeasy, six blocks away. “Look for some scary people loitering in an alley,” he advised. Duly noted.

We tiptoed past sleeping bags, saw rats the size of chihuahuas and argued about the order of the downtown streets until we found the alley, and the scary loitering people. It was dank, and smelled like the elephant exhibit at the St. Louis Zoo. Turning on heels, we started back to the car. “Dude, I know an awesome speakeasy.” Georgia said. “It’s called “Alie’s Garage.”

Until next time, comrades, stay safe, and watch out for rodents of unusual size.

Miss Alie Ward

PS- this post also went up on mah work blog, but absent from that entry are pictures of Sharpie neck tattoos, arguably the best part of the weekend.

F the LBC

…and Georgia and Katherine get Sharpied…and probably skin poisoned.

As I’m sneaking this post in during work, I’m just going to play the “If I could” game with myself:

1. Eat anything right now: it would be braised swordfish in some sort of fancypants wine reduction sauce with a side of some sort of really delicious potato item. And an iced tea, lightly sweetened with a bullshit hippy sweetener like stevia. Posh!

2. Be anywhere right now: I would be in a garage in a state other than California, with warm air at night, in a hammock, with some paintings drying nearby, and a crappy boombox playing Grizzly Bear’s “Knife.”

Rather, I’m still at work. But “work” today involved a long chat with the director of the Steve Allen Theater about a guy who was born in a carnival, then I ate some chocolate, watched a trailer for the movie “The Thing”(research) and am now re-writing a story about Bjork and some yaks. Not too shabby.

Deadlines loom, so I’m off to finish them up. Please tell no one of this egregious time mis-management.

High five,