Monday, October 31, 2016

Too Fly



  

Happy Halloween, you cuties! What's my go-to Halloween move? I just think of the dumbest thing I can possibly think of and then BE that. This year? Venus Fly Trap. (Or green tacos with teeth as some people at work thought...) Pretty dorky, but also pretty fun to make. Just got card stock and freehanded some venus-esque shapes, cut them out, painted them, added some super silly flies and then pinned them to my body/giant head. The key to a good costume is to not make any part of your Halloween costume sexy; try to be as repulsive as you can to the opposite sex. 

My second go-to move? Watch Halloween and eat candy and never sleep because I'm convinced Michael Meyers is coming for me. 

Enjoy your night! 


Thursday, October 27, 2016

Long Live Linen!


I got a box full of linen canvas in the mail yesterday. Oh! And it all just happened to also have some of my art printed on it. What. Thanks, Spoonflower

Working with textiles is my dream. There is something about seeing your work on cloth that just makes it feel... substantial? 

One week until my art show and I'm trying to not panic. I ran into a few obstacles with some of the vendors that I am working with but for now, I'm going to just drape myself in linen and pretend everything is going to be alright. 

I never want to be right.
Thanks linen for being such a breathable, classy fabric.  

PS. I have spent a lot of money getting fabric printed a lot of different places and honestly, Spoonflower KILLS it. With other print shops, the colors are way off, the images are grainy, the fabric is too wide of a gauge and eats the pattern up. Never have I ever had a problem with Spoonflower. Beautiful and accurate every damn time.

PPS. Baby Danielle from 1998 wants to wants to wish you a Happy Halloween!

Never not had chubby cheeks, crazy hair or weird glasses. 

My friend from forever sent me this picture randomly when she was back home visiting her family and I just wanted to share it because I see a lot of 2016 Danielle potential in there. Like, I feel like I make that same face at work every time I feel awkward and shy. Awh. Also, never was I ever cute. 

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Sweet Nothings




My favorite part of the weekend is the part where I spend the majority of my 48 hours of freedom sitting and doing absolutely nothing. I feel semi jipped weekend-wise because I have been super busy these past couple days. (Ugh, popularity!)

No, I had a good weekend filled with lots of art shows and open studios and my best friend's birthday party. I ate way too much good stuff this weekend too, like I ate an illegal amount of cake, I don't want to talk about it.

I went to the grocery store Saturday night and the cashier said the weirdest thing about my hair. I'm not surprised because almost everyday someone says something poopy about my hair, but I honestly had no idea how to react to this one...

Word for word quote. The young man had a way with the English language, that's for damn sure. 
A mullet?!? C'mon. No. 

Ugh. It's cool, you guys can keep calling me Amy Winehouse and asking if I ever done my hair "normally," I'll just be over here crying and keeping all my rude comments to myself because I'm decent and have manners. 


I must be sort of special to warrant constantly receiving the strangest, most honest observations about my appearance and/or self worth/character. Like, a bad kind of special, ya know? 

A random coworker said I should shed my current personality because it's much too high strung and stressful. Awh! Romantic. Will do. 

People are the BEST. Keep saying the weirdest things to me, guys. It's working.

The best photo background ever. The subject matter? Debatable. 

Monday, October 17, 2016

Weekly Briefing

Hi! I promised an update and I'm not known for breaking promises, so here it goes! 

I went up to Michigan a couple weeks back and visited my Nonno and Nonna and all my aunts and uncles and cousins and I got the chance to dive into some really hilarious photos. If you're wondering where I got all my good looks from, just check out the gene pool I'm swimming in. (Oh my god, I am joking. I look like an actual alien.) Style and big hair evidently runs deep in the DeLorenzo bloodline... as does male premature balding. (Sorry Nonno, sorry Dad.) 


I haven't seen many photos of my dad as a human baby child so it's pretty amazing to realize he had a life before I existed?! Like what? The world doesn't revolve around me? People's lives had purpose and meaning before 1991? Insane. 

These poster size pictures are hanging in my Nonno and Nonna's basement and they are priceless. My dad is the second to the left. Nonno cut all of his children's hair and I think that's very important to remember when looking at these photos. 

Anyways my trip was very ~emotional~ and sad and tough, but it was very much needed and I am grateful I was able to take some days off and make it happen. 

Here is a photo of baby Danielle and it looks like I'm trying to make out with my dinner.
This seems to explain myself more than words ever could.
A quick watercolor study of a jolly rancher. I eat way too much candy at work. 

Sneak peak at something I will be selling soon! Vinyl stickers!
Super amazing quality and color and I'm in love?! Like, so in love that I'm no longer interested in boys.
Currently seeking partnership with stickers of my own illustrations. Serious inquiries only. 

I have an art show in less than a month and I'm bugging out! I bought my table space back in May and I have nothing to sell but my own soul. I usually work well under the pressure of a deadline but I'm actually nervous. I'll be fine, probably. Maybe. Eh. We'll see.

xoxo.

Oh! And P.S.


Obviously I got my new computer! I was way excited and then I looked at my credit card statement and was way less excited. But my baby is bigger and better than ever and I'm so glad I spent so much money on a portable Netflix viewing machine. 


I also found a free Xerox machine on the side of the road!? It ended up costing me some blood (long story) but ultimately the owner was trashing a perfectly functioning copier. (This makes me sound like a weird street rat hoarder, but I have never gathered other people's garbage before... just a FYI.) I wouldn't say it was fate, but god damn, it was a very lucky coincidence that my eyes left the road briefly enough to see this beauty parked by the street. I go to Kinkos (or FedEx Office as the young people say) an insane amount of times to print art related stuff. Like so much so that the employees knew me and my life story-- it was weird. Now I can copy my face in the luxury of my own home. 

Rewatched one of my top TV show, Freaks and Geeks, and this has got to be my favorite quote. It applies to boys too, duh. 

Saturday, October 15, 2016

VOTE! Or die!

I just got my early ballot in the mail yesterday and I spent my Saturday morning changing the world by VOTING.


Well, I hope anyways. Voting is our opportunity to participate in the world we live in. Honestly, if you don't vote in this election, I'm not allowing you to complain about the outcome or any political problem for the next four years. Why? Because you didn't even try. It's like being pissed you have to have Chinese food for dinner when you're friends asked what you feel like eating and you said "I'm good with anything!" (C'mon, you know what I'm talking about, right? This is a relatable comparison.) Anyways, I don't want to get political here, but just vote. DO it.

My voting tradition? I go hang out with my dad and we talk our way through the ballot. We make it fun. We both get our phones out and read the pros and cons and look through articles and make informed decisions. We also laugh at how ugly some of our local politicians are, but hey, that's what comes with the territory. We vote independently, but it's nice to have a conversation about it and bounce ideas off each other. I'm not saying everyone should get an early ballot and hang out with their father, I'm just saying make voting something exciting and cool and rewarding! Go get a fancy coffee before you head to the polls! Eat an ice cream sundae after you vote yes on a proposition. Make the best out it. And then go hug your dad because he probably misses you. Like, duh.


Monday, October 10, 2016

World Mental Health Day

Pick Me Up
(But seriously, I have given up on knowing what is coming up next.)
Hey there! Sorry for the lack of updates, it's not because there is a lack to update you all about. Things have happened, promise. More on that later.

Wanted to quickly post about World Mental Health Day because well... it's important. To me and to a lot of my loved ones. 

A ton of people comment that I'm pretty open about "what's wrong with me" and they are usually surprised (that I am willing to talk about it, not that I have a disease. That's obvious haha.) Mental health has a stigma and it's so awkward and weird to talk about. Like, if you have any sort of mental issue, people assume you're a psychopath. My brain's not healthy, but it's not all bad. Anyways... after silently suffering for a long time, being open about the downs in my life has really helped me connect with others and more importantly, my own self and my own truth. That sounds lame, I get it, but I don't think there is a way to make that sound hip or cool, so I am just leaving it. 

Art has always been a therapeutic experience for me (duh!,) especially hand lettering. Even though I have recently lost a lot of motivation and I have been described by some to "be in a rut," I am still really trying to make things whenever I have the mental energy. 

Last week I got Adam J. Kurtz's new book, Pick Me Up and honestly... the man can do no wrong. I have been ~mildly~ obsessed with him since college and wow, him making a feelings journal is basically dreams coming true. I have been forcing myself to sit down and draw or write at least once a day and I have been enjoying myself. (Side note: wow, what an eloquent book review.) 


I also sat down and made this quickly. It's a random quote I read somewhere that I typed into the notes on my phone (sorry, no source?!) but I obviously connected with it. This is not a call for help, so don't freak out. Like, seriously, I'm cool guys. 

Anyways, let's all be nice to each other and smile more and also be open to talking about all the feelings that we're feeling. It's okay to not feel okay. It's okay to be sad. 

XOXO,
D


This is another quote I made real, real quick. It's from Shameless when that drunk professor schools Lip on life. He says "We only have two jobs on this Earth: to learn and to cope." Ain't that the truth?