in medias res

Mediocre Artistry and Unbridled Dorkiness

One of the things I love most about Tallahassee (yet frequent the least) is the bohemian artsy section called "Railroad Square." Just having it nearby makes me feel a little better about Tallahassee (and our phallic capitol building). Go south on Macomb over Gaines, past the All Saints Cafe - the coolest 24-hour coffee house ever, and over the railroad tracks. You know you're there when you see the yellow brick road and the mammoth metal sculpture/collages everywhere. And the art studios. And the first Friday of every month, they open all the studios and stores, play live music, sell wine and beer, and hundreds of people come out to wander, buy, and be inspired. I mostly did the latter.

[vintage poster prints matted on painted canvas------------->]

After some aimless wandering and really good sushi with Lauren, Amber, and Chris, the only thing I wanted this weekend was to throw myself into a few projects. Despite the birthday party at the Baba, church, THE game/lunch with a few new friends, and then more socializing with my church's 22-35 group (where I met more lovely new people), I got through a lot this weekend.

[<------------vintage postcards glazed into a painted serving tray]

I bought an electric (palm) sander (yeess!!), put all of my loose photos into albums, cleaned and organized my closet (by season, type, and fabric texture), and refinished the coffee table and end table in my living room. Tonight, after work, I glazed some vintage Florida postcards onto the bottom of a serving tray, cut a picture to adhere to a raised-tile picture mount , and mounted several pictures from a vintage calendar on painted canvases.
[vintage poster cut to fit tile - I may seal this and make it a giant coaster? Is there a need for a giant coaster?------------>]

I'm sick of moving half-finished projects from one apartment to the next. I didn't get around to the Seinfeld Days-of-the-Week underwear I was going to create for a friend about a year ago. I'm over those now. I'm trying to think of a new concept, since the last set of Days of the Week underwear I made for myself just aren't doing it for me anymore. (The celebrity-themed underwear used all old pictures from when they were in their glory. The set included: Patrick Swayze Sunday, Ralph Macchio Monday, Tony Danza Tuesday, Webster Wednesday, Ted Danson Thursday, Fonzie Friday, and Tom Selleck Saturday.)

I'm open to any new theme ideas. (Maybe an academic theme? Freud Friday? Edward Said Saturday? Spivak Sunday? Raymond Williams Wednesday? Too nerdy??)

The three problems with these underwear are that:

1) I have to use white Hanes to get the iron-on transfers to show, and I often feel very granny in these now and don't want to wear them.

2) I get so excited, I want to show everyone. But I can't. So then I get frustrated.

3) I'm the only one who actually gets excited, and I annoy everyone around me with my dorky enthusiasm and bad taste.

But I'll still do 'em.

This post is too long now, and I still have laundry to do. I wanted to do a brief update. But, like everything else this weekend, this started small and ended up a little hyper-vigilant.

Speaking of these tendencies (one last story)... I was desperate for some headphones for a student's tutoring session on Friday, so I ran all over the department and finally found a pair courtesy of my music-loving thesis director (and academic rockstar). He was hesitant at first because he had just used them when he worked out. I reassured him that I had anti-bacterial wipes to take care of them before and after use.

He just looked at me. "Oh my - you're serious? HA! Of course you do. Of course."

That's when I realized that maybe I have a problem. And maybe that's the one thing my hyper-awareness has failed to pick up on, even though everyone else has.

Sad thing is - I kind of like my problem. It's me - take it or leave it.


[<-----------grey-green distressed table BEFORE refinishing]




[refinished, newly distressed red tables, which isn't really as orange-y as it looks here---------------------------->]

posted by tara @ 10:51 PM