New Unfinished Illustrations

You Cut Me Once...Unfinished Illo by m.diaz Traget Locked...Unfinished Illustration ... m.diaz

These are done with black ink, white ink on Rives BFK paper that I distressed and they are meant to evoke the mood I've been in lately.

I'm off to San Diego this Wed. for this years Annual National Assoc. of Indep. Schools People of Color Conference. It is the first year in five years that I am NOT presenting and I am elated at the prospect of being at peace while there! It is going to be my 8th year attending and I suspect it may be my last for while. So stay tuned as I visit yet another awesome city and bring you some blog posts about it!

-Ciao Amarettogirl

A Special Stop Motion...

A year and a half ago my student Colin Alexander (now an alumni) developed this stop-motion for my hub and my Advanced Portfolio animation assignment entitled, The Zoo. Colin and I have often maintained a similar art aesthetic in our conceptual attraction to animal/human relations. And after so many other wonderful animations this particular one still holds a very very very special place in my heart. Colin has also just started his own portfolio site as he attends (the school that I attended for grad school) The Maryland Institute College of Art for his undergrad degree. After spending a treat overnight visit with Colin this Thanksgiving break I've decided to share all these wonderful and inspiring treats with you!

Some of My NEW Favorite Things

I had a restful and great Sunday this past weekend, which is slightly rare. My best weekender experiences usually fall on a Saturday, the day of the week that I would normally call one of my favorite things, but not this time. So I declare that Sunday is making the also-one-of-my-fave-things list.

So this Sunday I woke up early enough to do some morning reading. I'm currently taking a reprieve from my usual cerebral, booky, mystery fiction and I'm reading something that reads rather quickly due to my pressed time schedule this month. Since I am determined to be an author/illustrator combo some day, I'm now reading a fun young-adult graphic novel WONDLA illustrated and written by the author of The Spiderwick Chronicles, Tony DiTerlizzi. Best of all, this book has a phenomenal interactive website and it was one of my surprise b'day gifts from my hub!

Then I got to brew a whole tea pot of some of my newest addiction TEAVANA Rooibos Cocoa Praline Tart tea The ultimate zero calorie, caffeine free sweet tooth satisfaction! Try Haute Chocolate tea too- ooh la la is all I gotta say! Teavana Cocoa Praline Tart Rooibos Tea And thanks to that husband of mine I got to enjoy that tea in another awesome Bday gift- check out my new porcelain tea thermos from TEAVANAMy new procelain thermos

This Sunday Morning we also had a delicious omelette, a gift from my ladies and my hub:

our eggs my handmade ipad case by me

I made major progress (though I'm still not finished) with a daunting sewing project that I wanted to tackle now for a while, a handmade case for my iPad. I wish I could have done a tutorial for you all, but I seriously had no idea what I was doing! I just made it all up along the way and struggled to boot, which is something I usually don't do as an autodidact, but hey I can't always be sunshine and roses!

span class="full-image-block ssNonEditable">latch open openPropped up for viewing

Lastly this is going to be a GREAT thanksgiving week because my ART children are coming home from college and I get to see those fresh eyed babes who hold such a special place in my heart!

- Ciao Amarettogirl

On How to Be ALONE...

For all my creatively conscious readers, here's a bit of inspiration of a different sort. Folks often ask how I do much of all the things I tend to busy myself with. Well it is true that I am childless and while that certainly helps... I also know how to be alone with myself.

So my bro Orph just hooked me up with a video he knew was totally me and he was so right!

If you have only four minutes and thirty five second- this video is worth every iota of it.

A video by filmaker, Andrea Dorfman, and poet/singer/songwriter, Tanya Davis. Davis wrote the beautiful poem and performed in the video which Dorfman directed, shot, animated by hand and edited. The video was shot in Halifax, Nova Scotia and was produced by Bravo!FACT http://www.bravofact.com/

Enjoy! and Ciao I'm off to see the new Harry Potter Movie...wink wink

An Illustrated Message to My Inner Critic

So as many of you know I have been doing Nanowrimo this month and doing so along with many many other November obligations. Needless to say I am very behind and am beginning to lose the battle against my inner critic. One of the best Birthday gifts I got this month,(materialistically possibly in my whole life) is the Ipad. Now I've used the Iphone Brushes App before, which I love to make sketches with.

But this time with a bigger screen I decided to draw a message to my inner critic with my fingertip on the app Sketchbook Pro for Ipad. You can guess at which finger I used and please 'Warning', excuse the humor as I do generally maintain a rather 'clean' site, so this piece may be considered a bit too graphic. It is also a dummy mock up sketch for a piece I'm making with ink on paper right now too that I will show you next. I've been pretty sick for a week now so this has kept me distracted.Here is the result:

A message for my Inner Critic- digi art made on Sketchbook Pro Ipad by marisol diaz

Considering an Etsonian Sleep and a Night of Fiction...

Come with me to my imagined bedroom...a night full of fiction and design delight with objects coming all from ETSY!

So lets start with full immersion into the fantasy- money is not a factor! Now, that the fictitious story is established, lets dream- since that is precisely what I do most in my bedroom. And I need to do that on a bed so the most important aspect of my room - the bed...say one had, oh say $10,ooo. to spare on a hot new bed...well I'd say this one is Sizzling! Check out this handmade wood tree bed by Attila Designs. Phenomenal Wood bed by Attila Designs from Finland on Etsy!

Then some tree pillows handmade by HomeCentric, and ooh a cozy cozy armchair slipcover by Biscuitscout who knits with multiple strands of wool and huge needles to create giant over sized knitting...whew now that is hot.

Wish tree Pillow by TheHomeCentric on ETSY!Hand Knitted Cream Aran Armchair Slipcover by BiscuitScout on Etsy!

Now its time for some art on the wall...

Watercolor painting of two turkey feathers by AmberAlexander on Etsy!

And every bedroom needs a self-portrait and in this case I think we need one to keep our wood theme going... So check out this wolf portrait cuz like I said its a fantasy night of fiction and I'm the wolf and them there feathers are all thats left of my dinner! Also a romantic bedroom lamp to inspire the secret- super unique by Creative Pal.

Beautiful Winter Wolf by Firewriter on Etsy!Shadowland Slumbering Nigtlight by Creative Pal on Etsy

Lastly my paws are going to need something soft to step on and all while maintaining the outside/in theme...

Pebbles Wools Felt Rug Carpet handmade by Krita in India available of Etsy

Dead Birds

My dogs love to bring me gifts. They truly leave these gifts for me to find the second I walk through the door from work. Mind you they have a spot and window they sit at every day to wait for me to come home. They have internal clocks and know when I should be home. When I'm on time they are filled with abnormal joy at my arrival, when I'm late I find wicked behavior like chewing on my table legs. Regardless, they are cognizant of where I come from and when. The gift they are most proud of was perhaps my worst...a dead squirrel that they left on my living room carpet right at the entrance for me, fully intact I might add. All my pups lack are opposable thumbs, wrapping paper and ribbon.

So last week I arrived home from work to get a new gift. I screamed out in complete bloody agony to find a dead little limp bird laying on my living room carpet.

Then just as I got acclimated to the reality of it, and as I was trying to figure out how to pick it up, I walked outside my back door to let the chickens out into the yard and in horror there was another dead bird at my feet. My stomach turned like if this was all a bad omen...a rain of dead birds. However as I faced being home alone and having to address these birds, I gathered courage and began my usual twisting, turning, bloating and wringing of a problem. I couldn't help but to see them as dauntingly beautiful, fragile and spiritless. So on a week where I would have paid to have an extra hour in the day, I proceeded to spend the next four hours photographing dead birds. Here is just one of the results:

my two little dead birds photo by m.diaz

Some Personal Style from Etsy, Vera Wang and H&M

Some folks have mentioned liking my style...but to be honest when it comes to fashion my taste are so eclectic that I really don't see myself as having a sense of style. I mean some days I'm all about a western look and other days its lacey, somedays its a racoon hat and other days it's a cheetah beret and I tend to like one piece pajamas and that cannot be stylish! However, in the last few years in the blogosphere personal style has also become another aspect of female expression...with quite a few style blogs popping up and even online classes on developing and exhibiting your sense of style. Certainly online toys like Polyvore have helped that!

So inspired by my cousin TAI and her style Genius (one of the most knowledgeable fashionistas that I know)and awesome artist blogger Elsita's Style Blog, I will now (every once in a while) post about some of my fashion style love. For links scroll down to the bottom of the post.

remember as Lainie's Ladies say,

"Be Yourself Everyone Else is Taken!"

Here I am wearing some new threads- I call this ensemble Black November: A style post Background Art is a Collaborative Glass Piece by Me and my classmates in Catherine Newells class

Shirt- H&M

Silk-Screened Leggings- Etsy- Pretty Penny Designs

Shoes - Vera Wang Lavender Covered Wedge Clog from Nordstroms

MY Vera Wang Wedge Clogs from Nordstroms Click to see