KimberlyMichelle » artsy

I wish I was cool enough to be Alt

Kim — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:42:00 +0000

This weekend, hundreds of incredibly cool people from the blogosphere and beyond are hanging out in Utah at a blog conference, Altitude Design Summit, that could be synonomous with the Sundance Film Festival in so many ways. Cool people who set the trends networking in the cool climate of Utah.

I’ll admit I wanted to go so badly. And when I saw others signing up, I pined in jealousy. And everyone I know that is there deserves to be. They’re that cool. But, you see, I’m not. And I’m ok with that.

I read a lot of those beautiful blogs. Most of them are read in a category in Google Reader labeled, “The Pretty Life.” And I love all of the pretty things that they share with me and the new and cute ways to look at plain ‘ol ordinary stuff. They’re artists and creators and visionaries. They make the Internet a big giant magazine that I never want to put away. They recreate pinterest every day with their content. And boy have they made the blogosphere the idyllic escape that we all want to climb into and play with. And they do it day in and day out with ease.

But I’m not a part of that blogging club. I’m in the more practical camp and still running with my blog in more or less the same place and voice that it started with over 5 years ago (~10 if you count my personal website days) and it’s still just regular me here.

And, I’m not really one of them. I’m not the girl posting hair tutorials, but rather the girl who really needs a haircut and a root-touch up but hasn’t found the window of time to make Christmas fully disappear yet let alone a trip to the salon. And I’m the one who still has mascara in her back pocket because she was going to put it on before she got to work… but totally didn’t.

I realized just how “not in the club” I was when people started chit-chatting on twitter about the anxiety they had over outfit planning. I want to dress as cool as “my style” pinterest board, but I don’t most days. I wear one of my six pairs of UGGs or dozens pairs of flip-flops on most days without worry that someone will discredit me as a grown adult. I fail at even implementing a sock bun because my arms fall asleep before all the hair is rolled and tucked and pinned. My suitcase would have contained my favorite outfits – ones that flattered but that I beamed in, but most definitely none of them would have been OOTD worthy let alone Alt-enviable. And if I asked Mr. M to take a photo of me posing in said outfits to share with you, he would giggle and take a photo of my knee or something or zoom-in on my cheek. That’s how life rolls around here.

I take photos, but they’re snapshots instead of gallery-ready pieces of chromatically adjusted art. And when I try to follow a “photo a day” schedule I usually remember to take one at 10:30pm when my only subjects are a grumpy dog who wants to go to bed for the night, a relaxing hubby or a sleeping baby, so I take a photo of an inanimate object in a well lit area. And suddenly my life is 365 days of still life fruit, books and random figurines.

And my blog card is a Moo card with my name on it. That’s it. They don’t have washi tape awesomeness or QR codes. And my handwriting was never enviable by anyone at any stage in my life.

If the blog world was my high school, I know exactly who’d be at Alt. The editor of the literary magazine who is now an award-winning journalist. The art director for the yearbook who is now a big city gallery curator. The future FIDM student who took classic nude pictorials of her best friend for photography class. The hipster actress who loved ballet as much as she loved English, and now gets to pretend that Zach Morris and Dawson are her boyfriends on TV. They’d all be there and would so fit in. Even without a blog. I, on the other hand, was the digital transcriber for the the literary magazine and the yearbook, and I was “random male sub-lead” in all of the musicals (all-girls school, remember?) who could dance and sing but was far from being the star. Funny how group dynamics can still be attributed back to high school personas, huh?

When people find out I have a blog, they ask what kind of blog it is. You know, a design blog. A craft blog. A food blog. A mommy blog. A ‘”lifestyle” blog. I tell them it’s a blog. What I like, what I don’t. What I did or want to do. What I think you’d like because you kinda maybe like me, so maybe you’re like me? My husband, my baby, our dog. Our families and friends. Food. And Disney stuff. Me.

I guess that makes it a lifestyle blog but not cool enough to be categorized as a “lifestyle” blog.

And sometimes I feel bad that I don’t “fit in” to a niche. I’ve felt some tinges of regret in the past that I didn’t try to push my journaling and sharing here into a singular direction. And then I remember that I just write and share and don’t run a business or a label or a brand. And I don’t work for someone who needs me to be seen as someone uber stylish or crafty or “in.” I’ve just always embraced what I liked rather than what should be liked. It’s mishmash and definitely not edited for perfection or idealism. But you know what? I’ve yet to figure out any sort of category to plop myself into, so I guess this blog doesn’t get one either. Most of my favorite blog peeps are the just great people who I want to be friends with, or they’re my awesome friends who I love being friends with who have blogs.

So I’m remaining the “outsider looking in” to the #altsummit world… and I’m enjoying looking through the window and content that way. Admiring the work of those in attendence and who fit into that group so well, but not with a jealous eye or a sad one. Just observing and enjoying and remembering I’m pretty darn cool as a non-member too.

And be I’ll be thankful for all these eyes reading these words and being virtual & real friends with this pretty darn not-so-sparkly girl.

<3 kim

girls in muppet dresses

Kim — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:13:00 +0000

Kermit, Gonzo, Fozzie

How absolutely sweet are these mini dresses by Anna Chambers in the spirit of three beloved Muppets?

From the Jim Henson Tribute Exhibition – “The Lovers, the Dreamers and Me” by Nucleus.

p.s. if you haven’t, you MUST go see “The Muppets” NOW… and your heart will be singing all the way home.

there is just one moon and one golden sun

Kim — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:10:55 +0000

At some age, probably around the tween years, it’s a small world starts to loose its appeal and just becomes a bunch of singing dolls repeating a song over and over and over again. But all it takes to reignite the magic is a small child sitting next to you on the ride. You suddenly see all of the colors and brilliance again and you realize the strange artistic genius behind 4 little words.

Nucleus is at it again this month, with a gallery exhibit in tribute to the ride that turns 45 years young this year! It opens on Saturday night and continues through October 3rd!

Some days I really just wish that I lived inside of Gallery Nucleus…

[Limited Edition Poster Print of 23, Chris Turnham, $60]

the bare essentials of characters

Kim — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:01:00 +0000

Modern pop culture characters, reduced to just their colors and shapes = pretty awesome

Bare Essentials, the art book by Dennis de Groot, debuts today and features 50 iconic characters.

His art tumblr is also a great spot for fun new works…

happy fun kawaii art

Kim — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:03:54 +0000

Jarrod Maruyama’s art just makes me happy… I follow his flickr stream and he never fails to amaze me with his Kawaii art cuteness. His online store has some pretty adorable items in it too….

Here’s a few of my favorites:

get your Harry Potter art here…

Kim — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 22:34:32 +0000

One of my favorite spots for contemporary art, Nucleus Gallery, is holding an amazing Harry Potter tribute exhibition this month. It opens on Friday with a reception from 7-11pm, if you happen to be near their headquarters in Alhambra, CA, but you can also view and purchase the art online!

The Trio Take Flight – Giclee poster by Ben Zhu ($25)

Hogwarts at Night ($50) and Quidditch World Cup 2014 ($50)

In addition to purchasing the art from the show in a normal “first come first served” manner (I seriously missed a piece by seconds a few shows back), they’re having an exclusive auction online through July 12th!

Like this AMAZING papercut from one of my favorite artists that I follow in the blogosphere, Brittney Lee. (check out her awesome art available on etsy!)

Or the cuteness that is Hagrid Holding Harry by Scott Campbell.

I can’t wait to see the rest of the art from the show… this brings back so many warm fuzzies from reading the books in college with friends, visiting the red carpet in Westwood for the opening of The Sorcerer’s Stone our senior year, and dressing up to opening night for the movies that followed!

on this rainy day…

Kim — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:29:10 +0000

These saying works on so many levels today….

[Dance in the Rain, 11x14 print – $24 – from etsy seller pennywishes]

[Bring your Own Sunshine, 8x10 print – $16 – from etsy seller pennywishes]

wookiees for a good cause

Kim — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 03:00:00 +0000

Mr. M asked me the other night where the “Wookiee the Chew” posters were that I ordered oh so long ago. (See the insanely adorable illustration above and the link for why he was so upset) I told him I had forgotten to order them, mainly because I couldn’t decide which one was cuter. So I went to the website today to follow up on my promise, and unfortunately found a sad story along with all of that cute art at JamesHance.com:

Hugs For Maddy!

Hey, friends!

I’m usually very private about my private life, but I really need your help right now – I have a beautiful 6yr old daughter who lives with her mum in Palm Coast, FL. She’s the most imaginative, caring, hilarious little girl I know and she’s on her way to a Children’s Hospital in Boston for specialized diagnostic testing for a rare intestinal disorder she has suffered with since birth.

The medical bills are astronomical – I’m asking that, if any of my ridiculous doodles have made you smile, please consider donating a couple of buckaroos to help Maddy get back on her relentlessly cheerful feet? Let’s show her how many friends she has

For more info and to learn how to help, click here: http://www.giveforward.com/hugsformaddy

In the coming weeks, he’ll be releasing original paintings and prints for purchase just for the cause… but he’s also asking for extra donations in her honor. With his prints so reasonably priced at $10 each, maybe all of his fans could chip in a little extra on the donation site to help with the cause to raise the true value of the art he’s providing.

I know that every time I visit his website to see new artwork, whether it’s Wookie the Chew, the Fraggles or the Muppets, I’m always reminded of how wonderful childhood was. I can only hope that all of these fundraising efforts can help his little girl have the childhood as wonderous and fun as he depicts it!

veiled geekiness by steve thomas

Kim — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Steve Thomas’ 2nd set of vintage-inspired sci-fi travel posters is absolutely wonderful! I love having art in your house that references your true geekiness is a veiled manner! (available to $89 each at ACME Archives Direct)