i made a little thing because i haven't made one in a little.
happy wednesday
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what's going on
what's goin' on guys? i've come here to say that we have T-minus 2 days left until the end of the school year. do you know how good that feels? that feels pretty great.
i've been taking some weird photos lately. like cool weird? alex says that they're cool weird. that means that they really are cool weird. that's good. i love flash now. to kinda celebrate these photographs, i made some weird collages.
- got a new shirt from my dear friend that says "matriarchy now!" i love it. you can buy one (and look at all of her cool projects) here.
- i painted my nails like i always do when i choose to do them once in a millennium
- a cool water-chemical stain that i found today waiting for the bus
- my kefir yogurt ice cream with rainbow sprinkles that i had for dinner last night
- a brownie cake with very sad decorating by me (for my friend's chinese teacher)
and because it's been awhile, here are some links that i've found from the last 12 days.
1/ all of the pretty colors
2/ this awesome wallpaper (yes, real paper that goes on walls)
3/ buy all of the patches!!
4/ OK.
5/ what are you talking about?
happy hump day, everyone
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color switch
john zabawa, cereal mag, liam stevens, manjit thapp, reidar pritzel, natalie tan, kanghee kim, flavie roux, sigmar polke, erik madigan heck, natalie tan
every couple of months, i make a new folder of images. i would sort of describe it as a mood board folder: there are images from pretty much everything that i visit. blog posts, illustrators' portfolios, tumblr, cargo, etc. i link this folder to my screen saver, so every time i leave my computer i come back to these images floating and folding on my screen. it's like a moving inspiration board... sorta.
colors are nice. i've been drawn to more pale colors recently. i like the way they complement more vivid colors. composition is nice too. i've always been drawn to simple shapes.
the pictures and illustrations complement each other. they work together to create a new thing and are great pieces of art because of that. i think that all good art is like that. it can be associated to other pieces and other artists regardless of style or medium.
i like art like that.
happy friday
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blanca
fresh pasta with carbonara
garbanzo soup with raspberry salt
apple with shaved macadamia
glass shrimp with kohlrabi
sweet potato chips with buttermilk
agnolotti with lapsang souchong tea
sunchoke and cardamom cake with cacao
fresh stracciatella with asparagus
dear mom,
thank you for everything.
enjoy your mothers and sundays everyone.
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my office
where i sleep and throw my clothes and sometimes watch a movie
i killed my plants
where i make stuff
where i keep the messy stuff
where R2D2 lives
where the only pictures i have with my friends are
where i keep a picture of them
where projects die and are born
where clips that don't actually work are #aesthetic
where i keep artwork from first grade
there's just a random donut on my desk
people always ask me what my workspace is like.
it's my room.
it's my creative space #PEACHYS
i live here, i work here, i sleep here. it's my space. there's a lot of art and design magazines and stuff. my mom printed out some of my own photographs so i could, you know, get some inspiration from myself or something. i look back on my 2006 self (aka that painting from the first grade) for sources of creativity. real casual.
my room is a balance of myself. there's a lot of graphic prints and minimalist stuff, but there's also an R2D2 on my pillow, a tardis on my desk, and pictures of planets in my closet. i'm very discreet with my inner nerd, but there are hints of it everywhere.
there are usually more plants in my space. i killed most of them. what a shame.
there are cracks on my wall. some are new, some are old. our building is shifting and the wall closest to my bed looks like it's about to fall apart. it adds character. yeah.
i have a whole turntable space on my credenza. the flash didn't really reflect well on it, so i deleted all the pictures. it's there though.
i think comfort fuels my creativity + motivation + productivity.
this is common comfort...
too much?
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let's be creative
an image by tim schutsky + other unknown sources
i look at a lot of stuff on the internet. i like looking at art (in all of its forms) a lot.
i'm constantly inspired. i've recently found a few "things" that i've really, really enjoyed + i've been motivated by. here:
1/ from sketch to screen
the other day i stumbled upon yours truly, a unit dedicated to telling the stories of artists (and more specifically, musicians). i found this piece they did on chaz bundick, an artist / producer / creative. i just loved everything about this.
image by bea policarpio
2/ the crossroads of should and must
i've loved elle for awhile now. i talked about the difference between "should" and "must", but i'm pretty sure you'd much prefer her explanation over mine. she just gets it.
3/ ok gO!
you all know that okgo is my favorite band. this is also my favorite concert opening. i get chills every time i watch it (also like post-concert sadness). it just makes me want to make something awesome.
images by yours truly
4/ wet
don't wanna be your girl. creative processes + art + music + everything that happens in-between. this is the story of wet (the band, if you didn't know).
4/ our solar system
a group of friends recreated the solar system in real proportion because they wanted to. i just found this whole things insane/cool/beautiful/wonderful/thought-provoking. there's a new perspective that i had formed.
night
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okay so
i kind of don't know what to say.
i've been resting my body a lot. i've been eating well. i'm learning in school. i'm trying to take photos every day. i'm reading. i'm waking up at six o'clock every morning, except on the weekends. i walk home every day at around five. i read the news sometimes. i write sometimes. i'm listening to new music every day. i do my homework. i like to look for new shoes even though i don't need them. i smile. i go out with my friends. i brush my teeth twice a day. i play piano every monday and get out of school 15 minutes early on fridays. i try to walk more because it's nice out.
i'm doing well.
i feel like i don't keep up with writing here enough. i know, i know, i'm sorry. but i'm going to change that within the next couple of weeks. i have stuff in store to share, but i'm not exactly quite sure what it's going to be yet. #coolcontentcomingsoon. promise. i'm hoping to get some videos out pretty soon... i just haven't gotten around to it because you know, school and projects and all that fun stuff. but i promise that cool things are underway.
so i turn this question to you all: what kind of content would you like? more recipes (which would be in summertime)? more film stuff? graphics? art? life stuff? writing? do tell. (seriously, i'd really like to know).
i'll leave you with "cool things that i've found in the last 22 days" things. haven't done one of these in awhile.
1/ floating record? could you imagine this in your bedroom? yes? yes.
2/ my favorite little video (i found last week). it's not really about pizza
3/ this pair of very minimalist earrings that i adore
4/ a really intriguing short film on "fangirls"
6/ i forgot about this piece + have been listening it for the past week
7/ my favorite human being doing my favorite human things
have a lovely saturday, everyone.
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i'm so happy
i'm home. the past few days of spring break have been the most relaxed. there was a moment when i actually thought that it was summertime.
i'm happy. i'm so happy, and being so is one of the most askdfklj feelings. it's hard to explain, but i'm sure you've felt this way before. when i'm happy, i get creative. i've made so many little things (including a 'california' video!!!) in the past week alone.
i even made a little playlist about it. cool.
enjoy your spring everyone. i'll hear from you soon. promise.
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on film
still from 2001: a space odyssey. my favorite film.
i've spent a lot of time watching films in the past few days. short films, long films, films of my own, i've been watching them. we're on this weird road-trip-not-road-trip trip in california right now, so i've queued a list of little films for the rides.
i love film (i'm talking about motion pictures here, but i love actual film also). i love the ability to tell a story without words. i hope by now you know that i like to understand things visually, so it shouldn't be surprising when i say that i love movies.
i wanted to share some of my favorite films that i've found and that i'm currently watching during our car rides. some of them are weird, some inspiring, some cool, some beautiful, but all incredible. they are all worth watching, promise.
i love film.
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1/ the sound of film . robert marshall
the sounds that often are missed when we replace film with digital media.
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2/ michael cina – a century of artifice . VSCO
a short film on the life of one of my favorite graphic designers.
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3/ august in paris . sage
an eccentric music video with lots of legs and no faces.
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4/ can you read my lips? . little moving pictures
i come back to this video a lot– it explores the difficulty of lip-reading in a world of hearing.
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5/ opening titles to semi-permanent design conferences . marx
a really beautiful opening title to a conference (?). cool. here are the behind the scenes.
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6/ greenland . tim kellner
tim + travel films = awesomeness.
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7/ the uses of envy . lara lee
bold, graphic animations with a bold narrative.
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8/ casey neistat, words of wisdom . jack harries
casey neistat's words of wisdom. what's better than that?
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have a great thursday, everyone.
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found arists: gabriela "hansolo"
what's happened in the past 23 days
(images by me + awesome video on windows/light/shadows that i adore)
i'd forgotten to write here. i'd forgotten i have this space.
i've been so busy with school and the given exhaustion that comes with it that i'd forgotten to write + share. i wanted to let you know that i am well. i feel good. i am happy amidst the chaos that is exams and tests. i don't know how it came to be this way because i certainly wasn't like this last year.
i still care. i'm just more carefree. i've been thinking about it a lot: how happy i am now because i've cut this limit that has restrained me for so long. this tense, hard-on-myself mindset that kind of just itches at the back of your head. i don't know how i did it– how i learned to disregard it, but i don't think i've ever been so sunny during such a "stressful" time.
other than that, life is good. i've been reevaluating my perspective on things as a whole, which is good i guess. i don't really know how to explain. i'm growing up? i feel like i've grown up already, but maybe this is just my last bit of maturity kicking in.
casey neistat retweeted me. that was cool.
we saw troye sivan last tuesday. less cool but still A+
it's okay.
tgif
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hideaways
1/ room 304 at the michelburger hotel in berlin
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it's like a modern, live-in cubicle. which is incredible .
love: neutrals, wood + concrete details, "secret" doors, geometry
2/ azukashi house in japan
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(some) antiques x modern details- swoon. although i don't know what that bird's doing there
love: plants (+), wood details, house-silhouettes, open
3/ watt rooftop apartment in belgium
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okay this is what i've always wanted my bedroom to look like: bed, dresser, mirror, PLANTS.
love: PLANTS PLANTS PLANTS, focus on plants, green from plants, completely open space, that antique ladder, exposed light fixtures
4/ 5th floor apartment in copenhagen
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okay and this is what i want my house to look like: minimal, simple palettes, midtone oranges, blues, and greens.
love: natural light, leather detail, exposed books, plants, open
5/ artist's studio in amsterdam
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this was built in a renovated tower and is pretty much the epitome of what a hideout/hideaway is.
love: bareness, tall ceilings, neutrals, spiral staircase. so minimalist.
/
ever since i was a kid, i've had this obsession with "hideaways" or secret passageways in houses or between rooms. i still have that obsession, but i've matured it a bit.
in 2006, we took a vacation to amsterdam, berlin, and paris, and i remember that the most memorable part of our 2 week-long trip was this / this (we stayed there two different times). my favorite part of our entire trip was our hotel room(s). yep. that's also the only part that i remember and reminisce about now: the interior design. i cannot describe to you how much i loved those rooms. i was/am fascinated by small, modern spaces (i have a folder of pictures dedicated to the them).
i'm pretty sure that everyone shares this fascination with eclectic, homey, minimalist, cozy, visually-appealing spaces, or at least i hope they do.
"i wish i could retreat to one of these small safe cozy havens and never come out. like a hermit crab. bye." - alex
happy wednesday
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#blizzard2016
1. 30+ inches of snow in the city
2. i went out at 9pm on friday to explore
3. i took pictures + made a video
4. i froze both my cameras + almost cried
5. a guy danced for my video
6. we didn't have a snow day today, and i'm incredibly upset
7. i've been away from home for 7 days and on 2 trips in the past week
8. it's now the final stretch until spring break
happy monday
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found artists: tyler spangler
this is tyler spangler.
some of tyler's work caught my eye whilst scrolling through tumblr (as one does) and i thought i would share it with you all. i was definitely drawn towards the really vivid color palettes he uses. a lot of his work includes cut-outs and collages + it reminds me of a more modern, matisse-like style of art.
i think what i love most about tyler's work is its simplicity– the ability to create a minimalist, simple work of art while still being eclectic, i guess. it's hard to explain, but, i think you get my gist. it's sophisticated, but not... there's definitely a lot of stuff going on in his graphics, but not to much that it's too ornate. there's a perfect balance, and i love it. i love it. i love it.
also, his gifs are a plus. gifs are always a plus.
have a great rest of your week everyone!
(there is a new video coming out soon)
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2015 + a video
photograph by austin schmid
i hope you all have had a wonderful holiday. i celebrated mine with a trip to the west village (shot in the video above). there's been a lot of resting, reviving, creating, and laughing in the rael household. it feels great.
as 2015 nears its close, i decided to share a few of my favorite things:
1. favorite songs that i've listened to this year
2. favorite photographs taken this year
3. favorite youtuber that i found this year
4. favorite video that i found this year
5. favorite music video that i found this year
6. favorite blog of the year
7. favorite tumblr post of the year
8. favorite shop of this year
9. favorite source of inspiration of the year
10. (one of many) favorite photographers of the year
you can listen to the playlist of my favorite-songs-that-i've-listened-to-this-year below.
that's all i wanted to share this week.
have a wonderful day everyone.
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found artists: joji baratelli
this is joji ('s work).
joji is a teen photographer with a great eye for detail and contrast and texture and color. last summer, while i was in LA, we met up and traveled around santa monica and photographed what we saw. what resulted were various hues of greens and blues–– typical for los angeles.
i wanted to share one of my favorite projects of his: paper. this series (which completely caught my eye) was shot entirely with an iphone and processed in VSCO. i think what really drew me towards these particular shots was light in contrast with shadow, two elements that i like to play around with in my own work. his high-contrast photography is my personal favorite, but all of his other photos are taken just as skillfully.
i also really respect joji's street photography. i've always been a little discouraged when asking to take people's pictures, resorting to taking faceless portraits instead. joji is pretty dauntless in this field, and for this reason (and many others), i really admire him as a photographer.
you can take a look at his work on his VSCO, his vimeo, or his instagram.
joji is definitely a creative to watch out for.
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a sonnet
By and by we find ourselves afraid
of losing that with which we contemplate:
our mind, our form, our soul, our self, our shade
So easily set free with time and fate
We are the gale that crashes to the rough
Distressed that our opus dissolves beneath
We are afraid our time is not enough
to breathe our breath through lustrous tempest teeth
From technicolor hues to black and white
Our minds do wilt as herbs do in the sun;
Why is that what we fear what we not bite,
For our mind's end we wish not know undone.
We must exist as though we have none left
If time is of the essence, then time bereft
a shakespearean sonnet (capitalized and everything!!) for my romantic poetry unit at school (+ a new-ish video that i thought kind of embodied the sound of the poem).
have a lovely thursday, everyone
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what i'm thankful for + VSCO
i have a lot of things to be thankful for. i am thankful for my family, my friends, my home, my education, and my entire life thus far. i'm thankful for VSCO.
how i got became involved with VSCO is too long of a story to even begin to explain; but, i think what i wanted to point out in this post is how far they've driven me into the art universe. (and for this, i am eternally grateful).
the relationship that i have with the people at VSCO are ones that i hope will continue for a very long time. they are kind, intelligent, fashion-savvy, honest, and all-around brilliant people. they've opened so many doors for me in the photography world that i would never have the chance to open myself. i'm doing projects with other awesome companies, i'm helping design things, and i'm being introduced to all of these exceptional opportunities. i have no words to express my gratitude other than "thank you." VSCO helped me get here. their message as a company and as a community helped me form my own ideals and morals about life and creating art.
i am honored to be a part of such an inspiring body of creatives. to know that i have the support of all of these people is such an amazing feeling, and i often forget it. believe me when i say i am thankful for VSCO because i really mean it. truly.
have a wonderful, joyful, and extraordinary thanksgiving, everyone.
with love,
izzy + the raels
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q's birthday
if you're an old reader of mine, then you know that i have a brother. his name is Q. i like to tell people we're pretty close, which isn't a lie, but i think as the years go on we'll continue to grow closer.
two days ago, the 19th of november, my brother Q turned thirteen years old. it's going to be a big year for him. he's going to have to learn to be more independent, to keep himself motivated, and not completely break down from stress (like i do).
he doesn't really know it because i don't tell him ever, but i love my brother a lot. he's a cool kid with a lot of talent, but he's shy when expressing it to people. we don't really fight unless it's over who has to set the table, but other than that we're pretty good siblings.
in honor of his thirteenth year of life, i made a short little film and/or vlog (because it's not that good) about finding him a gift and celebrating his birthday. i hope you enjoy.
have a wonderful weekend, everyone.
happy birthday, q.
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