Inspiration

your friend,

ava

Boris

Things that make sense in your dreams, don't seem to make any sense in reality.

 

Copyright Ava Alamshah 2011

your friend,

ava

Unexpected Treasures

While shopping for bridal shower goodies for my gal, Amber, I found this cute little picnic basket at World Market for 25 bucks! I had to treat myself to this little gem, and as you can see below, I was very excited.  It's insulated, comes with cute, blue gingham napkins, silverware (for two), and best of all, matches my outfit! 

I suggest you all make a run to your nearest World Market. I always loved going there when I was a younger, less responsible adolescent. I would buy candy, or check out their vintage toys (which, btw, would make great party favors). Now that I'm in my late 20s, I find myself looking at kitchenware, & pillows. There comes the realization that this place is a real gem. 

Later on, we found ourselves at the local mall. Here's Jeaux hanging out with his bored homies. Por Vida! 

your friend,


ava

Tattoo Ideas

So, this is my first & only tattoo that I got almost two years ago in October. I've been meaning to get more, but when you really think about it, they are super expensive, but SO WORTH IT. 

She needs a touch up. Le sigh...if only I could afford it. 

Here are some future ideas that I've been dreaming about. 

Darger

 The Red Balloon

 Matryoshka

I found this little gem while cruising google for photos. This lady lives in a magical place called New Zealand and makes things! Check out her blog site! 

One can only hope. I'll just have to keep saving. 

your friend,


ava

LA

I love this city

Copyright Ava Alamshah, 2011. 

Irina Werning's Back to the Future

While obsessively perusing the Vena Cava blog, I came across these photos by Irina Werning.  I've been wanting to do something like this after discovering super 8 footage of me as a little baby Ava.  An absolutely brilliant idea I must say. So, so glad to find out about this!  Let the photographs speak for themselves. Enjoy.

Love it!

This one made me giggle

This one's my favorite

Also made me giggle

There are more of these here.  

your friend,

ava

Mari Naomi's Kiss & Tell

I was first introduced to Mari Naomi's art through my good friend, Rio, who was curating a show a few years back at SomArts Cultural Center in San Francisco.  Mari's art stood out immediately.  They were large water color images of sumo wrestling clowns, softly painted with bright colors and simple white backgrounds.  Beautiful paintings with such whimsy and humor, depicting the clowns throwing up (..and farting?) a rainbow assortment of balloons!  I remember wishing I had money to buy every single painting of hers on the wall that night.  I truly admired her vision so much and it stuck with me. 

Some time later, I got to connect with her on the social networking extravaganza known as Facebook.  I would check out a drawing of hers every now and then, and left a comment about this one here...

Copyright MariNaomi 2010

I think I told her that this was my favorite image of hers, and to make a long story shorter, we ended up making an old fashioned art trade (her watercolor, for one of my photos).  I was so excited when I got it in the mail, along with one of her zines!  I finally got to hang it in my former apartment.  Thanks Mari! 

See it on the wall, to my right?! :)

I recently ended up cruising her website and found out that she currently has a graphic novel published.  It's called "Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume Ages 0 to 22".  This is what inspired me to write this post about her and about the relationships (romantic or otherwise) we come across in our daily lives. Before I reconnected with my man, Jeaux, I had an assortment of tales to tell about my dating trials and tribulations. The good, the bad, and the oh, so ugly.  I always wanted to write about these experiences, but never knew how to start.  A year ago, I finally created a small zine about my last break up, which was both cathartic and liberating. In order to truly move on, I had to jot down my feelings, like the pages from my diaries. I felt exposed, but it was alright because these are experiences we all go through. I have yet to pick up Mari's memoir, but it details her dating history up until her early 20s.  From those first loves, to scandalous rendezvous, to heart breaks.....

I always admired artists who can laugh at themselves and add humor to their creations.  I also respect when life imitates art. I am a huge fan of non-fiction. When artist's tell stories from their own lives, whether its through writing, or visual art. Lately, I've been getting into Bukowski.  I know he was the cliche, alcoholic, & womanizing writer, but there is something so pure and refreshing about his honesty. Believe me, there were times when I would read something from his novel, "Women", and had to put the book down because it was so blunt and outright misogynistic.  Though I can respect that, and commend his late ability to put it all out there.  

I love this kind of honesty, good or bad, it's relatable. How people come in and out of our lives.  Losing and gaining connections.  It's so inspiring. 

Thanks Mari, for giving us a woman's point of view and for being so awesome! 

I can't wait to see your memoir! 

Check out her site at www.marinaomi.com 

your friend,

ava

Vivian Girls

Copyright Ava Alamshah 2011

I had no idea about Henry Darger until Jeaux pointed out one of those ridiculously expensive coffee table books showcasing his abundant paintings. We were at that Skylight Books continuation next door & among the sea of books, zines, and knick knacks, there was the Darger book staring right at me. The cover alone was so beautiful and when I opened the book, I was confused as to why this guy drew little girls with penises. It wasn't until I saw "In the Realms of the Unreal" that I found out about this man, who was basically a loner all his life. His innocence startled me & I believe that was the only way someone could paint the way he did. There is no irony in his work. Its just pure, from the heart and it became his world. I envy that sort of creative freedom.  I'm currently thinking about my next tattoo, which would be Darger inspired. It would help if I had this.   

Here's a little something from a band named after those loveable little ladies.

your friend,

ava

More Madonna Inn!

  The very regal Madonnas (Check out the accordion to her right!  I would love to find out more about their life story.)  

I wonder if Jane Mansfield ever stayed here? She would have loved these pink booths as much as I did.

Flower Power (this is on the way to the hotel pool)

*Jeaux*

  

Sprinkle on some pink sugar & Voila! (I wasn't that impressed with the cake to be honest. It was really hyped up & then when we finally ate it after breakfast, I thought "meh..it's just a vanilla cake with really sugary frosting".  I think I'm just more of a chocolate girl. It certainly looks magical, but my polaroid does not do it justice. Here's a better view from Jeaux's camera. 

"Hey is for Horses, but better for Cows"

     

MOOOOOooooooo!  (I wanted to get closer, but Jeaux was frightened for my life!) 

  

Mellow Yellow

If you look closely, that's a lil sea lion peaking out from the ripples! 

Waiting for our fish & chips!

                                        

epic

Copyright Ava Alamshah, 2011

Tim Burton

Jeaux and I have a funny thing in common that I found out a year ago when we first started dating. Both he and I were what we call, "Half Ass Goth".  Basically, we were both into Goth culture: All black clothing,  dark ruby or black lipstick, black as midnight nail polish, The Cure, but we were too chicken to go all the way with our looks. I had the imitation Doc Martin mid-calf boots, long black sweaters, fish nets and rubber bracelets, though I worried about my parent's reaction if I even thought about wearing dark eye liner and black lipstick. I hung around some people who were in those circles, but after my freshman year, I thought about going more Granny Chic. 

Jeaux was way cooler it seems. He managed to draw a wonderful sketch of Edward Scissorhands directly onto a tee-shirt of his, never smiled in photographs and listened to much better music (while I was still growing up in the 90s and trying to get out of my awkward faze, he was already past that so I had some catching up to do I suppose).

With all that said, imagine how excited we both were to find out that Tim Burton was going to showcase his art at the LACMA!  We had tickets in advance to take a CalArts tour. We finally went this past Saturday, and it was, well, overwhelming.  We ended up losing the group, which was fine with me because we were stuck behind a middle-aged CalArts alum who kept telling us how "so & so" stole his ideas and how bitter he was. He also mentioned numerous times how he shouldn't have even said anything. 

"I've said too much already."

Yeah, it was a little awkward. Besides this guy, we had the pleasure of meeting a woman in her 70s or 80s who went to CalArts later in life. I found that inspiring (its never too late after all). She was funny and loved to talk about her installations of plungers and penises. I could respect that.

There were so many people, and heavy breathers, some of them. It was tough to catch every single piece, but I'm glad we got to see his old sketches. The ones that were very interesting were the random sketches he did while bored at his job at Disney. Another favorite were his models and original pieces from "The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories".

This was all good, but the most fun I had was when Jeaux and I got to mischievously touch the Angora Sweater from Ed Wood. That was our punk rock moment of the day and made me delightfully giggle. 

By the way, it IS super soft! Towards the end of the tour, it turned into the Hardrock Cafe, Universal Studios, in a way that was completely "Hollywood".

Copyright Ava Alamshah 2011

They wouldn't let us take pictures, so this is right outside the exit. They had these crazy balloon men dancing to Danny Elfman tunes. 

Later on in the evening I wanted to take Jeaux to Pizza Fusion on Sunset. I'm starting this gluten free diet and was excited to try their gluten free pizza, and pizza is Jeaux's favorite food. I have to be honest, the pizza was alright (this is coming from someone who has had the ultimate pizza from New York & Chicago). We got half pepperoni & cheese. Each slice only had a single pepperoni on it and overall the pizza was overpriced.  I'll have to come up with a good alternative or just create my own gluten free pizza one of these days. I'll keep you'll posted once I do. 

It wasn't all a loss though. I was, after all, in good company and we came up with this cute illustration while waiting. We took turns drawing each other. I'm happy with how it turned out. I can thank my boyfriend in encouraging me to draw again.

Copyright Ava Alamshah & Jeaux Janovsky 2011

your friend,

ava

Summer Stripes

This past Halloween, I decided to dress up like a stereotypical Frenchman.  I already had a beret, a scarf, my snazzy blazer....

What I really needed was a striped tee-shirt, but I was low on cash and extra low on time, so I decided to take an old white tee and have my lovely boyfriend draw some beautiful stripes with a black sharpie. 

I wore my costume proudly, complete with painted on mustache. 

(Notice "The Red Balloon" to the left of my chair.)  LOVE

Recently, I was cruising my favorite fashion blog, www.refinery29.com, and came across this:

http://www.refinery29.com/i-diy-how-to-spray-paint-a-breton-stripe-shirt?utm_source=search#slide-1

I showed it to Jeaux instantly and for a moment we felt pretty ahead of the curb (although, I'm sure we aren't the only ones who have made DIY stripe tee-shirts).  Anyway, theirs is pretty profesh looking. It gave me inspiration to start wearing mine out and about.

What do you think?

your friend,

ava