If you are interested in painting, especially in painting BIG, and art journaling, chances are you know Connie of Dirty Footprints Studio. And if you know Connie, you must know her beloved Hansel. This is his Link Love Friday.
I think this was the first time we got to see Hansel, at the end of this video:
And then there was this one:
Hansel is an amazing self-taught photographer, who has a great eye for the beauty in the city as well as in nature. His work is so full of colour you can almost taste it!
When I first stumbled across The Main Meal's Youtube channel, I could not help but laugh. Guy Francis, as his real name is, does 'Tourette's Karaoke', singing songs while letting his tics get the best of him. This was one of the first videos I saw of him, and needless to say, if you are in a work environment right now or are sensitive when it comes to swearing, do not click play:
Lately, Guy has been doing some more serious videos. He's still ticing away, but answering questions any viewers might have about the Tourette's and Asperger's syndrom from which he suffers, and if you try to not listen to all the swearing and not look at the movements, he's actually a real funny guy who is making the most of a rather poo situation.
Here he is talking about his tic cycles:
And here is THE question: can you still have sex when you've got Tourettes or do the tics get in the way of it all?
I think Guy is doing a wonderful job in being open and honest about his syndroms, and has a great sense of humour about it as well. I hope he keeps up the videos not only for entertainment value, but also to make people understand what his tics are all about.
I know this blog has become all about the puppy lately, but I can't help it she's just too cute not to talk about her.... I'll get back to art again, I promise!
Even before we had Keesha and I was trying to work with Luke who refused to learn anything new at his old age, I've been following some cool dog trainers on Youtube and learned quite a bit about how to get your pooch to walk on the lead properly, what clicker training actually is and how you can use it, and even how to get your dog to do cool tricks.
Here are some of my favourite dog trainers on Youtube:
Yeah yeah, I know, I'm a day late with my Link Love Friday.... but here it is...
This last week has been about Loving Kindness, as you may have spotted on Twitter, Ustream and Flickr. It has been about being true friends, and not standing for those friends being attacked. It has been about art and coming together as a group. It was about getting to know new people and making new friends.
So this Link Love is about those who made this week possible, who participated in the Ustream-a-thon or just watched, who posted their Loving Kindness art work on their blogs or the Flickr group dedicated to this cause.
I know this is an incomplete list and I apologize if your name is not on it because there have been so many of you who have made this week a brilliant success and one to never forget. But please know that I have loved every minute of it and that I appreciate you being part of it.
The week may be over now, but The Loving Kindness Project is something that will only grow bigger and better, so please keep posting your art work.
Now the last couple of Link Love Fridays have been serious stuff. Diseases are no fun, but getting some awareness going is a good thing and that's what my Link Love Fridays are for.
But, to balance things out a little bit, I HAVE to show you this..
OK, so the kids are on the annoying side, but still.... can you believe that!! Who knew you could train a goldfish to play fetch? I mean seriously, a goldfish!!
When I first moved out of my parents' house I had some hamsters because my then boyfriend used to have them when he was little. I did not take to the hamsters at all. Sure, we bought them the Sam cage and the labyrinth and the ball, but still.. Not for me.
I did have a few fish, those black ones with the huge eyes, and yes, they are relaxing to watch and I used to sing to my one fish because his name was Mickey and I could never pass the tank without singing 'Oh Mickey you're soooo fine....' but had I known that I could have trained him... mannnnn!!
I wants a goldfish now. I wants one I wants one I wants one. And the training kit, of course...
I don't normally talk about the subject here on my blog, but up until about 12 years ago, I had an eating disorder. I suffered from binge eating disorder (BED), which meant that I was addicted to food like a junkie is addicted to drugs.
Now because I know most of you who read this do not speak Dutch, I want to give my Link Love this week to Something-fishy.org, a website where you can find an incredible amount of information on different eating disorders as well as healthy coping mechanisms, online support and links to sites and organisations that might be able to help you deal with your problems.
If you are suffering from an eating disorder, or know someone who does, please check out the site. And remember: you are not alone!
For a while now I have been following the Vlogbrothers on Youtube. John and Hank Green send each other videos of under 4 minutes (if not they will punish each other!) in which they talk about the nerdy things in life. They are highly entertaining and have a great following.
So this Link Love Friday is not about them.
It's about Samantha aka MakupCrazyArtist, a 13 year old girl who posted ta video response to them. She suffers from a rare skincondition called EB (Epidermolysis bullosa) which causes the skin to blister, tear and even fall off at the slightest touch. Blisters can also form in the mouth and throat, making it difficult to eat, drink and even breathe.
Samantha talks about how difficult it is to be in pain, how it's so easy to take things for granted like being able to pick up your iPhone but how she can't do that because she can hardly bend her fingers anymore. If she doesn't wear special gloves, her skin disease can cause webbing.
All she wants is to do is tell people about this disease and hopes that some day, there will be a cure.
Here is Samantha's video, but please watch it on Youtube so you can see all the links to other sites as well:
One of my jobs on Art Journaling It's All Good, our art journaling 'zine, is to come up with the link love page. So I get to look all over the internet to find new sites that I think everyone should know about.
As much fun as that is, sometimes I come across amazing sites that just don't fit in our 'zine. Because they are not about art journaling but photography, or needlework or other forms of art. Or because they have nothing to do with art at all.
So I decided that every Friday, I will give some link love to a site that for whatever reason does not fit the 'zine. Or maybe one that does and has already been featured but I feel deserves a little more link love anyway...
Here is the first one: A Girl's Guide to Homelessness. Bri, a young woman who became homeless through no fault of her own, keeps a blog about what it is like to not have a roof over your head. You can read how in 2009 she became homeless, and follow her story of how she and her biiig dog Fezzik try to keep going strong. It is an amazing story that makes you wonder if you too could do it, if you too could make it out there on your own.
Connie of Dirty Footprints Studio is one of the guest curators over on Crescendoh (I have to keep checking the spelling, I keep messing it up, thinking it's Chresendoh, but nooo.. Crescendoh! Riiight...) a place to find tons of inspiration, book reviews, an amazing gallery with how to's and lots and lots more. Well worth checking out, especially today because...
Connie was sweet enough to post my last Art Journal flip through video as her link love for today! How amazing is that! When she told me I was over the moon, so very very proud!
As Nanowrimo is approaching, writing and thinking about writing consumes my time. I keep my notebook on me at all times (even in bed) so I can write down anything I can think of. Oh, and of course I changed my mind. Yes, the story will still be 'about Little Red Ridinghood', but I'm going to use more fairy tales, and the MC (Main Character) is not going to be 'Red' but the biiiig bad wolf. Or someone who thinks he is, anyway. And the art journal? It's his.
And then there's blogs on writing. I'm currently in love with the wonderful Alexandra Sokoloff, who explains what structure your story should have and how to get there. I'm thinking of using the index card/PostIt notes technique that she explains in this post.
Mur Laferty has been keeping a blog called I Should Be Writing for years now. She combines a regular blog with a wonderful podcast, which is beyond cool. Not only does she have an 'easy voice' to listen to, she's got a great down to earth sense of humour that I love. Great stuff for procratination, but in the end... You should be writing!
You know how the other day I was saying that I want to embrace being a messy journaler, and that neat and tidy just isn't my thing? Guess what I stumbled across the other day:
How coooool does that sound? And her enthousiasm is killing me, it's great to see! So hurry on over to the Spill It workshop page to sign up, and have a peek at Carmen's blog too!
Hansel is an amazing self-taught photographer, who has a great eye for the beauty in the city as well as in nature. His work is so full of colour you can almost taste it!
