When my grandma was visiting me this past week, I found out that she drinks beer out of a wine glass... So classy, so weird. That seems off topic, but my point is whether you sip from a brown paper bag or use your finest china, I'm raising my metaphorical glass to all the ladies out there killing it on the daily. Happy International Women's Day! Thanks for existing everyday in a world that doesn't always feel welcoming or kind.
I think most of the time we (as human beings) are thankful our nostrils point downwards so we can survive like, rainstorms and showers and snot, but I woke up this morning wishing (again) that I could flip my nose upside down and just really breathe in this storm that is brewing outside.
Does anyone know what I mean?
Anyways, someone posted this and I'll just leave it here...
Thank you, Tucson Gem & Mineral show for allowing me to bedazzle my alien fingies with lots and lots of weird rings. Everyone, please pay attention to my tight $ dollar sign $ ring. I think it ups my street cred, or something.
Also, I realize I bought like 9 black rings, but I'm like half goth so what did you expect?
Also part 2, maybe I should put my fingers to use and make some art soon? Instead of just decorating them like a gaudy grandma? Eh.
xoxo.
I might have bought a water bottle that had 24k gold painted on it... I mean, did I really have a choice? Hydration made classy.
I don't "get" superheroes and all of that, but I do have a really cool superpower! It's called being so fat that I hulk out of my shirts at work. Like just ripping sleeves off of a blouse because my arms are sausages and my shoulders are linebacker status. SUPER ATTRACTIVE, ask anyone.
I've heard that it's all downhill after you turn 25.
Like, one day you're a youthful 24 year old who is able to touch their toes and shotgun a beer with no adverse effects and the next thing you know you're 25 and in Urgent Care being told you have carpal tunnel. Awh.
(Side note: I have never been able to touch my toes and the one time I shotgunned a beer, I absolutely hated it... but hypothetically those are cool mid-twenty activities. The carpal tunnel part is relevant to my life currently though.)
My dad said this to me on Christmas morning after I opened some anti-aging creme I was gifted...
Subtle. Real subtle.
Granny Dani WAS my nickname (that people said behind my back) in high school so I'm not super surprised I have a soul of a 80 year old and the face of someone recently deceased.
Isn't it so beautiful, you kind of want to cry? Is that just me? Huh.
I'm trying to figure out how to stop time but continue to exist so I'm able to finish all these seasons before the weekend ends. Advice on accomplishing this is welcome.
Side note from a TV expert: Netflix's OA is pretty thumbs up. It's super bizarre and engrossing; I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I just know I couldn't stop watching. It's insane to me that there are still original thoughts left in this world.
I spent my New Years Eve with my best friends being a tad bit glutinous. Let's just say I was not feeling too hot January 1st... Oops.
NYE is my favorite holiday, which I realize is very girly of me... but hey. I like dressing up, glitter, champagne, fireworks and the idea of someone feeling obligated to kiss me. I also like the idea of starting fresh and bettering myself and leaving the past behind. New Year Eve is never as fabulous as I imagine it to be, but it has the potential of being so great that I just keep trying to make the holiday love me back as much as I love it. (Story of my life. It's not working out.)
Anyways, most people I know refuse to make New Years Resolutions because they know they aren't going to keep them. I like to give my future self the benefit of the doubt; maybe I won't be as garbage as I was the year before... You never know! I also think it's beneficial to enter the new year with good intentions. I don't think it's wrong to set expectations for yourself and I think posting my resolutions online every year kind of holds me more accountable.
The word I can't get out of my head is "resilience." It's one thing I am focusing on in 2017. I want to be tougher this year. I want to grow and bounce back and keep trying even if I really don't want to. I want to be nicer to myself and practice more self love and be more mindful of my mental health. I want to hate myself less and recognize how much I am growing.
I also like the idea of working hard and loving harder. Life is obviously more than a job and money. When I say hustling, I mean throwing myself (and my "art") out into the world. Creating more opportunities for myself and trying harder to make things that make me feel good. I want to try my best and allow myself to feel accomplished afterwards.
I also want to be comfortable and happy. My favorite feeling is the peaceful, warm safety of my bed. I want to create more restorative niches like that in my life this year. (And I want to cuddle my cats more. That cool?)
Here's hoping, right?
Major cheesin'
I listen to this song every year on New Year's Day and it makes me kind of sad and kind of hopeful too.
Trimmed my hair, like, 3 inches??? and everyone at work had a hay day? It doesn't even look different, I don't understand.
My favorite interaction after a haircut is the classic:
Other Person: "Did you cut your hair??!"
You: "Yeah."
Other Person: "... Okay"
Like, that person is SO disappointed in your appearance they can't even say one nice thing. Or pretend to say something nice. Or be human and be compassionate. They just have to point out that you made a huge mistake and then walk away.
Got a tight package in the mail today (that contains some Christmas presents so I can't really show you everything right now) BUT look at how beautiful Eddie's art is!
I ordered a bunch of his movie icons that he designed and screen printed and they are just so good. Yellow is my favorite color so I'm totally heart eyes right now. I also got one of his enamel pins that is super X-File/Roswell-esque and I'm going to wear it on all my jackets so the aliens know I'm truly into them.
Side note: I was so pathetic in art school that Eddie felt bad for me for always sitting alone in our Typography class and he pity friended me. Isn't that the nicest thing? Now he lives in Austin and screen prints for a living and makes sweet designs like these on the side.
I have had a crappy last couple days and I really, really want to run away because that's my instinct and I'm embarrassed as all heck... BUT I'm trying to be tough so I'm just going to nap a lot instead. Don't be like me, kids.
I want to quickly say a big THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by my booth last weekend, said sweet things to me and purchased some of my weird, terrible art. It really meant so much to me. I'm truly lucky to have people care about me and to have sold so much stuff to so many nice human beings. I wanted to post a little something to show everyone who could not make it what it was all about. I plan to post my extras online to purchase. No future shows have been planned... yet.
This unflattering photo of myself looking super grumpy and chubby was posted on the internet. This is my ~true~ self.
Got some spiral notebooks made if you're a nerd and like paper.
At one point, a woman walked by my booth was was like "whoa, someone likes cacti..." and I was like, yeah I'm trying to appeal to a desert-based dynamic... and she laughed. I just feel like I need to clarify that I do like other things other than cacti... I am painting a lot of prickly things because one, you see cacti products EVERY WHERE and no one accurately represents them like I attempt to and two, right now if it has a cactus on it, people will buy it. It's like Portlandia's "Put a Bird on It" mentality. Put a cacti on it... and sold!
I love cacti though, so the woman was not wrong.
This is Emily and Spencer's cat, Opie. He seems to be a fan of my work, and heck, I'm a big fan of his.
After working at a stationery company for a year and a half and printing and assembling thousands and thousands of notepads, I of course had to sell my own.
I made my first run of "Crap to Buy," "Shit to Do," and "Bitches to Call" notepads back in college. They were all letterpressed and super time consuming. I wanted to make more for this show, so I found a pad vendor and ordered them... This is the only pad style they would print for me because my other designs were "too vulgar." Like, the company's CEO refused to. LOL. Okay!
I made this pattern so long ago but never had it printed and it is so pink and happy and thats so different from how I feel, but I really love it. Peonies, by the way.
Can I plug Ikea bags for a second? I use them for everything. Everything. I think I have like, 4 in my car right now. They are huge and durable and look, they hold a ton of pillows.
I made little dish towels with my patterns on them and they sold out the first day so I had to go home and sew up a bunch more! Who knew you guys like washing your dishes so much?
I also got to meet and hang out with a bunch of really cool vendors and they were all so nice to me and I want to hug them forever? Regina Lord was one of those talented vendors and I bought her cute little Frida mirror and this too true pin that I immediately put on my knapsack. Her illustrations are so beautiful and I can't wait to buy more.
So cool/so weird to see people like my stuff in real life. I'm very surprised to see my "art" making people happy, it's very surreal and wow. Crying.
Last thing: Emily Orzel, my dear friend, brought me these beautiful prints and I'm so in love. She is selling her work at Tucson's MOCA and that's a VERY big deal and I am so happy. Nothing better than seeing people you love doing amazing things.
Thanks again, everyone! ♥ ♥♥
Okay! Enough about me, let's focus on Childish Gambino and collectively count down to his new album drop in21 days!!!!!!!! Lemme just play this over and over until I go deaf.
I always feel super uncomfy asking people to come to my art shows because I'm essentially selling myself to a bunch of strangers and that's a pretty weird thing to come watch. I mean I'm fully clothed, but still. Anyways! I'm officially inviting you (the Internet) to my art show this weekend so you can like, uh, come buy my art.
Give me your money and I'll give you stickers, pillows, tea towels, notepads, notebooks, postcards, art prints, and other stuff too.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Or even a really poopy Sunday doodle! Being without a computer when I mainly edit and produce all my crappy art digitally is really, really frustrating, embarrassing and discouraging.
Normally when I make patterns, I paint whatever, scan my pages, fix it all up in Photoshop, rearrange the pieces until I'm satisfied and then play around with the background color. Obviously not possible when I'm putting color straight down on paper, but hey, I'm trying to get better at producing art on the spot. And... I got a long way to go.
This older guy at work stopped me last week and sweetly said "I don't mean to be forward, but have you been dieting? You look quite slender." And I have been celebrating that compliment all week with junk food galore! Slender?! Me?! Okay! I doodled some puffy Cheetos and Cap'n Crunch because that's all I have been eating lately. It's a super healthy new diet I am trying out called IDGAF.
Anyways, it's okay to not produce awe-worthy art all the time (or any of the time in my case.) Drawing the shitty stuff forges the path to drawing the less shitty stuff which in turn pours the foundation for drawing the mediocre stuff! It's all a process and being transparent and vulnerable during that process is key.
For my birthday, my best friend sent me a package filled with babe stickers, SO DREAMY! A bunch of dudes I had a crush on when I was little and also when I was not so little. Not pictured: Macaulay Culkin (judge away.)
(Clockwise from top middle: Jonah Hill, O'Shea Jackson Jr. playing O'shea Jackson aka Ice Cube (to be clear, I love Ice Cube, but feel like OSJ Jr. would be more appropriate age wise,) Adam Driver, Jemima Kirke (girl crush, so sue me,) Evan Peters, Jason Schwartzman, Ben Haggerty aka Macklemore (swoooooon,) Johnathan Taylor Thomas with kittens (duh,) Jeff Goldblum, Young MJ and Andy Samberg.)
Decorated my work water bottle with a couple cuties to keep me company.
I think it's safe to say I have no type. JK. My type is famous people who don't know I exist. Also, my type is mostly anyone funny and who can make me laugh and make me not sad and also they have to be passionate about something important (but not something like racist or douchey.) Anyways, luckily I got these stickers because these are the only babes I can get to hang out with me.
Boom. Roasted myself.
Also, this framed JTT picture really makes you think. For example, why is he holding so many trumpets? Does Johnathan play the trumpet? Should I be holding more trumpets in my future selfies? Who was the creative director that came up with this idea? Did he/she have a successful career? Did their career suffer after this photo was released? And just plain, why does this exist and why does JTT hold so many props in all these early 90's photos?
We might never know the answers to these questions, but that's inspiring in itself, isn't it?
Now I'm gonna hole up and watch the Olympics for forever and be upset at my parents for not pushing to be more athletic and/or successful. Bye!
Sorry, the real question is when am I not blushing?? I heard a boy asking another coworker about this (regarding me) and I'd like to clarify: I'm always embarrassed and I'm always blushing. Especially when I am talking to dudes.
It's perpetual.
I think the sad thing is I literally didn't know people could see me blush until a couple weeks ago? I thought my skin had my back and was hiding all my wishy washy feelings but... Nah, I'm a beet. With acne. My skin/body hates me.
Ugh. Excuse me while I go hyperventilate.
Let me change the subject right now to something way more interesting. My sweet, talented, so perfect ex-employee/friend from DC reached out to me the other day and wow, I really missed her?! Just talking to her and giving her my two cents about ~life~ was really nice. She posted this shout out afterwards and I was just floored by how thoughtful that was? Not bragging, but very grateful for having sweet people in my life, no matter the distance. Karina is currently in Chicago kicking ass as a designer and photographer for a cute start up company and I'm very proud of her. Her styling and design aesthetic is truly impeccable and I highly suggest you check her out and follow her rise as a successful artist! I mean, look at her hand lettering! My eyes are heart shaped right now, no joke.
Usually my general presence makes peoples day way more sucky so... this is surprising.
Side note: according to my stats lately, my blog is very popular with those who live in Russia? Hey Russians! Thanks for looking at my crappy art, I appreciate you. Not stoked that you guys kind of tried to cheat the Olympics with that sketch drug test situation, but... we're cool.
