Three weeks since my last photo post, you say? Three entire weeks? Oh shhhh….let’s not ruin a perfectly lovely Sunday by talking about such frivolity, honey, it will only lead to an argument.
Instead, you have 21 lovely photos to devour. Since that will take some time – I will quit trying to deflect the attention from my tardy posting habits and leave you with the gallery…yes?
I’m currently listening to the White Stripes, kinda just imagining me and David Bowie in a White Stripes covers band. It could be a real money spinner. I’d have to be Meg, of course, on account of the fringe and fantastic drumming capabilities. Dave, well, I’ll carry him along on my sweet sweet beats.
Anyway, I digress.
Another two weeks down and what a bloody fun two weeks it’s been. We kicked that horrible little motherfucker, July, into the trash and licked the face of August – which despite often being the coldest month of the year, we get a bit more daylight and glimpse of “Hallmark Spring” you know, daffodils and lambs and babies in blossom trees.
As I upload these pics to Flickr each week (or two) I’ve almost filled a whole widescreen with thumbnails. Like, I look at it and go “whoa, it’s a proper bloody collection!!” – and at over 220 photos, I guess it really is.
Highlights of weeks 30 & 31:
Uh, Dr Sketchy’s Kanye night. Such a great night. Such great people. I won a Kanye badge and got to draw Kanye, dinosaurs and boobs. My subject, Willow killed it with her poses and I struggled to pick one shot of the many she gave me.
Last Saturday I went to Shop Eight, in new Regent St, one of Chch’s new breed of restaurants. They were hosting their first “light hearted social event” which is basically a dinner party with 16 strangers. The place is great anyway, but if you add to that amazing food, a little too much wine, like minded individuals, and some dancing – well it’s a good time, innit? If you’re in Chch and like beautiful food, or are inclined to take part in something like this, I strongly suggest you look them up. Even if hanging out with beautiful strangers isn’t you idea of fun, just go for dinner sometime. It’s well lush.
As a result I have a few gaps in my pics and captions especially from that night – I clearly had my phone out as I asked the questions…but useful answers, meh, not so successful.
Last Friday I went to a friends birthday drinks and who did I run into, but the beautiful Rebecca. If you’ve been following this project from the early days, then you have seen Rebecca before. She was my photo subject on 2 Feb. She was heavily pregnant, tying streamers to a large tree in the Botanic Gardens, look, HERE she was. Well, on Friday she was with her partner Alec, and that bump which I captured in Feb, is now a 6 month old baby boy called Archie. It was too good an opportunity to miss and I had to shoot Rebecca again.
Meeting Rebecca was another example of how doing this project leads to some weird and wonderful random connections and events. The reason I chose the subject of strangers was to take me out of my social comfort zone and to talk to people I would never have otherwise even made eye contact me. When i showed up at these drinks, I was aware that I would only know the host out of the whole bar of people. And yet as soon as I walked in, I saw Rebecca, and hey presto, I had a friend! We’ve since become Facebook friends, so you know, we’re official! Swooon.
It’s been one of those wonderful weekends where I’ve been hanging out, as a legitimate hermit, in my rad ugly Norwegian Dad cardigan, existing solely on tea and dodgy incense sticks, pursuing many creative missions, getting all smug and hypo on THE ART, MAN…do you find the creative river goes from nothing to all? I’m either at this point where nothing at all is happening and I’m struggling to even pick up my work, then *BAM* about twenty ideas hit at once and ICANNOTSTOPANDWILLNOTSTOPUNTILIHAVEDONETHEMALL … urgh, sadly I think I’m going to burn out / have to sleep and it’ll be Monday before I know it, but *meh* I guess i’ve started a lot of good, and finished off a lot.
Top on my hit list this weekend was to finish off a couple of stitches I’ve been leaving lying around half baked, frame up some completed works, and knock out another couple of new pieces. I have a market in three weeks, and yeah, in the words of our dear friends Fred and Dave, pressure pressure etc.
As usual, with my general works, I don’t really ever have a clue what I was gonna to stitch next. I really don’t like to plan ahead of time, as my moods change quite a lot and I only like to make what I’m feeling. Otherwise, it’s a chore, I get bored, twitchy and grumpy and it means the thing never gets done. I just end up lying on the floor listening to Leonard Cohen a bit too loud, y’know?
On Friday night I got sucked back into the GIRLS vortex and somehow ended up re-watching most of season one back to back without really realising…oops. I know the show pisses a lot of people off, but I love GIRLS. I adore all three seasons of it, though the last season was 100% more relatable than the first two.
However I then felt guilty about bingeing so bad, so I felt I’d better turn this whole thing into a “RESEARCH” exercise and make my next stitch a GIRLS themed quote. Yeah, totz legit, right?
In the end I made small, simple “All Adventurous Girls Do” stitch in this nice cursive script (which I have been needing practise on), on a rock and roll hot pink fabric:
It’s rather fetching and as per usual, I kind of want it on my bedroom wall, and not share it with anyone ever (but I will if you ask nicely).
“But all adventurous girls do WHAT?” I hear you ask.
Well, if you watch GIRLS you’ll know, and if you don’t, well I guess I’ll just let your filthy little minds run away with you. Go wild. Do I look like I care? In fact, send me an email or comment and the best may or may not win something (DISCLAIMER: you won’t, but I might stitch it one day / send you a Facebook friend request).
If you are into GIRLS and / or cute illustrations, a fabulous tumblr to check out is Girls Illustrated, by the amazingly talented Nina Cosford. You can even purchase some of her work as prints. I have the set of nine Hannah outfits, and I’m pleased to say that on my bedroom wall hangs a topless, ping pong playing drawing of Hannah. It’s so fucking good.
Okay babies – I’m shooting this joint as I still have about fifteen things to do, and that dog dude I employ is fuck all help to me.
Oh, and uh…*awkward shuffle*….remember that everything you see on this blog is available for purchase – just email me any enquiries / questions / commission requests…and also take a squiz over on my Pinterest board for the full stitch immersion experience.
Twenty weeks complete! 133 Days! That calls for some serious sharpie action on the ol’ hands…
*vanishes for several minutes, frantic clattering of pens and furious drawing action can be heard in the background whilst Rock Lobster plays rather too loud for this time of day*
At landmark points I get a little smug and over-excited, then five minutes later I come crashing back down to earth when I realise how long there still is to go…but, hey, in six weeks I will be half bloody way. Let’s have a party in six weeks. Invite your friends. 182 of your friends to be precise. I’ll bring my camera. Then we can polish off the year in a single, fucking amazing, gin fueled night (*YES. YES. BUT THAT WOULD BE CHEATING . I KNOW*).
Week twenty in summary:
I spent most of this week in Auckland, as you will see, for a work conference. It’s always nice to get out of town for the project – I just think you’re a little more open and observant to your surroundings in new cities.
I think I can say – after 20 weeks – that the project has become a habit. I’d define a habit as something you do unknowingly. Whilst, well of course, I know when I’m taking the photo at the time – later on it’s usually not registered in my head and I get to Tuesday and have a little freak out that I’ve only taken three photos for the week.
My favourite photo of the week is Ursula from the #BringBackOurGirls rally. I love that feeling that I’ve captured a defined subject of current importance. Let’s be frank (we’re been together long enough now, I feel I can be open) – I feel like a savvy and brave photo journalist when I get these ones. Hmm. Photo of the week, huh? There’s an idea. Shame I don’t have prizes. Maybe next year when fame, book deals and international sponsorship comes a knocking…haha uh…
Speaking of topical subjects – do you remember the photo of the gentleman I got about a month ago, who was protesting to Save the Majestic Theatre in Christchurch CBD? Sadly the battle was lost and demo on the Majectic is now well underway…so, yeah, sad, but satisfied I got to capture the cause and the building before it went.
I had three consecutive no-namers this week…which I get disappointed with myself about, but sometimes it’s just not possible…and other times I guess I probably should have just tried a littleharder. 😦
365 DAYS OF PORTRAITS: WEEK TWENTY
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Had your fill? Great – then pop this mad ditty on at full volume and lets dance our sexy lil socks off…GO!
You know…today is Sunday and I was actually up at 8am, peppy and enthused to knock out this post before 10am.
Then I opened Twitter (@loumagoo84 if you’re not already following, which you should, because whoa, it’s nothing but meaningful gold).
Everyone in my feed, all over the world – UK, USA, Australia, and NZ – were live tweeting the Eurovision Song Contest.
“Fuck the Eurovision” I mumbled to myself “it’s boring as hell” – as memories of a childhood full of Terry Wogan bumbling out facts and cheesy puns about each country came flooding back to me.
(also, as a side note, I had to include this pic as it has Michael Ball and something about Michael Ball always makes me smile – he’s like a human Teddy Ruxpin)
So I dismissed Eurovision and continued to trawl the internet, perving on $15million Greenwich Village Brownstones that are listed for sale. You know. Using my time real productively.
Then I rechecked Twitter.
And everyone was now talking about Austria’s entrant; Conchita Wurst. Famed for her diva-fab performance, drag persona, gorgeous looks and, yes, her beard.
She was doing really well and, well yeah, I decided that I needed to get in on this action.
Three hours, after I originally set out to write this post I’ve finally made it to my computer. But it was worth it as Conchita won. And I, like everyone else that was watching and Tweeting, was pretty excited and a real sense of pride to be living in these times. I know there will be certain cheap jokes, meme’s and stupid fucking comments on Facebook (which is increasingly becoming the redneck cousin of Twitter when it comes to matters of cultural awareness)…but it was a pretty great moment to bear witness to.
My friends and I were talking the other day about how the internet has stated that we have reached ‘peak beard’. Well I’m hoping that Conchita has given the beard frenzy at least another six months, as I for one, am not ready to see this trend die.
So congratulations Conchita, and congratulations Europe for being LGBT savvy and totally rad. Warm fuzzes all round today.
Which brings me, very nicely, to my latest stitch baby: Frida Kahlo.
Another strong, iconic lady, famed for her facial hair.
I always have certain pieces that I have stored away in my head, that I know I want to do, ready for action….but often when the subject matter means a lot to me, they just take a bit of time to work themselves out and come to fruition.
Frida was one of those.
She’s an obvious choice – my feminist credentials and her iconic strength, make her a personal hero, along with my love of Mexican culture, folk art, her style, beauty and her own art. All totally swoon worthy and exactly the kind of female that I feel young women need to be looking up to and educated about. She’s the ultimate example of how how you don’t need to be conventionally good looking to be remembered as great beauty.
Here’s a great Frida love piece from Rookie – if you want a refresher. Urgh – how brilliant is Rookie? I read it religiously and am only sorry that it didn’t exist when I was fifteen.
So the other weekend, whilst staring at my walls (this happens a lot – it’s very soothing) I decided that it was time that my “Little Mexico” wall needed the addition of a stitched Frida.
I had several images and other artists tribute works in mind that I knew I wanted to use as my inspiration:
In keeping with my usual style, I wanted the stitch it to be bold, bright and simple. By simple I mean, I suppose, clean. Not easy. Lots of block colour means that it was going to be a time consuming project, plus it needed a bit of thought as to colour layout – I didn’t want to limit it to three colours, but I didn’t want to confuse the piece with too much fuss. I also wanted it to be cohesive and tie in with my existing Mexican stitches and wall decor.
So I drew up my Frida, transferred her onto my fabric and got to work…
Outline only…
…plus black…
…plus red…
…plus magenta…
…plus fuschia…
…plus pink…
…plus greens…
…plus blue…
…plus yellow details…
THE END
I have to say that stitching Frida’s eyebrows was one of the most glorious stitching experiences…it’s strange that something so small in relation to the rest of the piece can feel so monumental and rewarding to stitch. It was very important to me that I didn’t downplay her eyebrows, nor exaggerate them to the point that it became a distraction.
And now, here is Frida, hanging proudly in “Little Mexico” along with the numerous other Frida’s and menagerie of Mexican folk/ Day of the Dead pieces.
The problem I have is that I get greedy. Anything I make that I love, I instantly claim for myself…so whilst this one is mine, I will be starting a second Frida to take to my next market.
As with all of my pieces, you too can purchase your own Frida from me – which I will make 100% to order, in the colours you desire. Please email me at : thequeenstitch@gmail.com – or message me over on my Facebook page. Yeah, let’s get a bit of Frida on walls everywhere!
Now – here’s some Conchita to bring a bit of oomph to your day . Don’t you just love how James Bond / Shirley Bassey she is?
My mum the other day was all “are you still doing THAT photo thing?” and I was, like, “YES, MOTHER,*sigh* I AM” (hi ma, you’re fab, never ever stop).
As you will see from this latest batch of photos – as diligent as I was in getting the shot every day – it’s just been a hectic, crazy and bloody fun two weeks. Whilst I have been out, mixing shit up, keeping my pics interesting for YOU (yes, I do it all for YOU), there simply wasn’t much time for tappy tap times at the computer.
So, what the hell have I been up to for two weeks? I hear you ask:
Massive rain! (*groan* again)
Zombies with Briar!
Egyptian themed life drawing!
Auckland!
Wellington!
Not one, but TWO, yes TWO Arctic Monkey concerts! *squarks like an excited honey badger for three minutes*
…all whilst holding down a day job and being a smothering and doting mother to the Beast Bear…meh, maybe I’m born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline (it’s not).
Yeah, so my dream of seeing the Arctic Monkeys came true. It was everything I hoped for and then some. I am still very much a 14 year old fangirl who falls at the feet of her bands. So I found it a little startling when I interviewed the Auckland girls at the show and they very wisely advised “Alex Turner is a douchebag”. When I was that age I would have lost my shit at the thought of seeing the singer of my favourite band live, and disregarded their behaviour…whereas these days, on the verge of turning 30, I am much more restrained and well balanced – I mean, I keep things low key by simply flying up and down the country to see a band on two consecutive nights, scream until my voice expires, and cry twice in each show. So sophisticated. So mature.
Annie and Becks at the Wellington gig were just gorgeous, and hello Annie, if you’re reading this – thanks for the page follows! …eh, don’t think I don’t ever notice when someone follows one of my pages. Yup, I know you all: where you live, what music you like, what taco fillings you enjoy and what you’re wearing right now (you look good btw – but you have ketchup or something on your chin).
Winter is going to be tough for photos. It’s cold, it’s dark and last week it rained for several days straight. Let me tell you, when it’s 5pm on a wet Tuesday night, and you’re driving around the abandoned, flooded CBD looking for a shot…well it’s nigh on impossible. There just are. Not. People. ANYWHERE. Meh…I guess that’s the challenge, isn’t it?
Hmm…sorry for the blurry as photo of Johnny on 24-04…I took three photos of this lovely gent, and all of them utter balls. I blame the camera…nothing to do with the beer at all.
I’m over a third of the way through my project! *air punch* That’s a little exciting.
Oh! I almost forgot – I’ve started using Instagram over the past fortnight – and am totz in love with it…please stalk and follow to your hearts content HERE… uh, you’d just better like Mexican food and dogs, I suppose?
So that was week sixteen. That went a bit fast, didn’t it? Let’s probe into what feelings I’m feeling about week sixteen…
It was Easter weekend which kinda threw me out of sorts and made it a little harder to get photos. For what I gained in time, I lacked in motivation to leave the house and interact with the world because ARGH crowds. I mean, I was having a LOT of fun watching all of those versions of Jesus Christ Superstar, napping and experimenting with combinations of tea and hot cross buns…
It felt good to save the lovely Mai from the storm last Thursday night. Of course we must always do these things to be good and kind people, however I do hope that it’s put some good Karma in the bank. I hope that one day, if I’m in a bad situation in a strange and foreign place, someone kind will help me out. Poor Mai…as much as I am a huge Chch advocate, I wouldn’t wish being lost in the CBD, in a storm, late at night, on anyone.
A lot of people I ask are always hesitant when I ask them to be part of my project – but I get a yes 95% of the time. I try to be very polite and non-creepy, but I don’t push them and respect their feelings. Therefore I’m always particularly grateful for these camera shy people when they do take part. I had a few cagey subjects this week, but the thing is that they often make the most interesting photos. Awkward, shy and uncomfortable is where it’s at.
One of my reluctant subjects was Liselot, who was someone I met at a friends party and was talking to for quite some time. She was so beautiful, strong and independent with a great story – so it was a surprise when she told me she was shy and didn’t enjoy having her photo taken.
And…I feel like I’ve missed something – but I got seven photos, so can’t have done…meh, that’s long weekends, short weeks and too many DVD’s for you.
365 DAYS OF PORTRAITS: WEEK SIXTEEN:
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With all that talk of the reluctant and shy – I feel it’s time to feast on the King of Social Misfits, and husband #2, Jarvis…
Another week down. A crazy, fun and WOW SO BUSY week:
I bloody love every single one of my subjects this week. Of course I always love them all…but these were quirky, funny, well dressed and vibrant individuals.
As you will quickly figure out, these photos were taken over two days . However before you scorn me and throw your coffee all over the screen, remember that I still had to find and approach the same number of folk. Well that’s what I tell myself anyway.
Having said that – I did actually get an individual photo each and every day. This is the first week where I had an excess of photos that I had to edit down. I ended up with a total of 11 photos this week – which can only be called progress, baby. I just happened to like the ones from these two days the best – they were the most interesting for me, and captured some very fun days:
The first set were from last weekend’s Lost and Found Market at the Pallet Pavilion where I had a stall. Chch does have a culture of quirky, individually dressed people, but they are often hard to come by. I always look at Humans of New York and a little bit of me is “gah, where is MY fabulous drag queen. I want a girl with green hair dressed as a unicorn!” Well the market brought some of these individuals together and I managed to get me some wonderful fashion.
The second was a beautiful, long, sunny, wine laden Sunday at the Waipara Food and Wine Festival. I love how these photos look as sun and booze soaked as the day itself – the early evening light really captures that “end of summer” vibe. Everyone was having so much fun. At the end everyone was pissed on good wine and dancing like crazy on the sunny grass – it was like some fantastic hippie festival from the 60’s.
I’m getting better at just annoying people mid-task – interrupting them whilst they try to do productive things. People like Daniel. Once I found out that an entire street of offices were waiting for him to reinstate their phone lines, I felt a teeny bit bad for making him stop to talk to me.
Last Monday I was a little stumped as to how I’d get my photo, however I’d completely forgotten that it was St Patricks Day. My work took us out for a St Patricks day pint at lunchtime, and when I looked over, there was the fabulous Andrea in her Guinness Hat, perched at the bar…I’m curious as to how the rest of her day went.
365 DAYS OF PORTRAITS: WEEK ELEVEN:
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Browse and follow my entire project here via Pinterest.
Now…I think we need a video…
*PAUSE WHILST BRAIN VIDEO ARCHIVES ARE RUMMAGED THROUGH*
…Please enjoy this video of some cute dogs getting really fucked off by Close-Up magic. Poor, adorable, bastards.
NB: Project is not taken on a lomo Diana Mini – haaaaha – but that would be WONDERFUL if it was!
I’ll tell you what – I’ll go get a beer and let the dog out so that you can take that time to figure it out…
*INTERLUDE*
So – have you got it?
Give up?
Well, you little punks – the correct answer is that, for this week, we all share the number TEN.
We did it!!! We got to double digits!!! It’s such a shame you’re not here because I would totally pash you right now out of utter joy…
I am a little shocked with myself that I’ve stuck with this for so long. I guess I have YOU to thank for this. If I hadn’t told the whole bloody internet about it, and if I didn’t know that actual real people are following me (which they must be as they keep asking me about it) then it would have been a lot easier to have quit at around the week five mark. But, you know, accountability, it’s a bitch.
To date the biggest revelation in this project, and I know the thing that I harp on about here and to people who talk to me about my project, is this whole social aspect. However this week, as I edited and sorted my photos, a glaring new aspect came to light…
This week I captured a lot of Christchurch that is very much of the here and now. I mean, duh, every photo taken anywhere in the world is doing that – but you know what I mean. The whole ‘E’ word. It’s crossed my mind every other week too, but I guess not in such a huge extent.
This week saw my subjects standing in front of backdrops of rare events like the aftermath of the massive storm we had, as well as a number of temporary structures and sites in town; the Re:Start Container Mall, a staff member of a make-shift bar that won’t exist soon, fuck-off massive pits in the ground where huge hotels once stood, and my dearly beloved Pallet Pavilion which will be dismantled completely in a little over three weeks. These strange and distinctive places in our city are temporary, like so very much else. Everything is shifting on a weekly basis. Whilst I might not realise it at the time of the photos, for these are just the places I pass by and go to out of instinct and routine, I feel that when I look back on this project in five years,I’ll be astonished at how drastically these backdrops have changed and will be un-recognisable from how I captured them…just as they are currently unrecognisable from how they were five years ago. So yeah, I feel like I’m not just documenting the people, I’m documenting a year in the life if this magnificent evolving beast of a city. That fills me with a huge amount of pride, and shifts my perspective on what, most of the time, I consider to be a petty and insignificant personal project, to something with a much larger scope.
Fuck me – that got a bit heavy didn’t it? Anyway…enjoy, kittens!
P.S. Thanks, as ever, for following and for your feedback!
365 DAYS OF PORTRAITS: WEEK TEN…
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And don’t forget that you can follow and review my entire project to date via Pinterest.
Now, let’s all get back to reading about the True Detective finale… or whatever else it is you crazy kids do these days.
THE QUEEN STITCH 