End of March

Happy Solstice & Christmas

2011-12-24T13:04:00.000-05:00

(all images by Carl Larsson)

tracklist:
1. The Snowman // story by Raymond Briggs, words and music by Howard Blake, BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Barry Wordsworth, First broadcast on 28th November 1988 on BBC Radio
2. Sister Winter // Sufjan Stevens 3. Blood on the Snow // Horse Feathers 4. The Bells of Christmas // Loreena McKennitt 5. The Christmas Song // Nat King Cole 6. In the Bleak Midwinter // Paper Aeroplanes 7. All that I Want // The Weepies 8. Through the Winter // The Woodlands 9. White Christmas // Bing Crosby 10. Dream Dream // Masumi Ito

(The Blue Castle - Lucy Maud Montgomery)

(1,3.lomaev anton, 2. Raymond Briggs, 4,5. unknown)

tracklist:
1. I Saw three Ships // Wise Children 2. I Am Christmas // Laura Hocking 3. You Never Come home For Christmas // Caitlin Rose (with Kevin Dewitt) 4. Love in a Cold Climate // Fiona Bevan 5. Winter song // Sarah Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson 6. The Heartache Can Wait // Brandi Carlile 7. My Favorite Sweater (Happy Holidays) // The Mountains & The Trees 8. Green Trees Red Hearts // Nat Jay 9. Christmastime is Here // Rosie Thomas 10. Holly, Ivy & Rose // Tori Amos 11. The Little Drummer Boy // Sufjan Stevens 12. Song For a Winter’s Night // Gretchen Peters 13. Home // Kate Rusby 14. Candlemas Eve // Kate Rusby 15. River // Joni Mitchell 16. Wool Coats // Poema

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope your holidays are filled with joy, love and fun (and food)
Much love xxx

Today.

2011-12-03T23:33:00.001-05:00

It snowed yesterday, but today the sun was shining so bright that the snow almost all melted. No matter how much I want to see the ground sparkling white, blinding and stark, and can't help but love the yellow tones of this dry, dead grass against the clear blues of a winter sky, framed by the barren branches of the trees. There is something beautiful in a desolate landscape.

Also, I write letters (and postscripts) - EPISTOLARY SHIPS
a little writing project I started a few days ago. The goal being to write a letter or postscript a day for as long as I can stand it (hopefully most of 2012), just so I at least write something, every day.

I hope December is kind to you. The Holidays are coming and this makes me very very happy.

Tove Jansson & the end of November

2011-11-25T20:39:00.000-05:00

November has been quite a busy month. Been working hard on Christmas presents and some writings. SleepyBear and I will soon have to look for apartments since we are moving in January. Oh, I am getting so excited for the Holidays too!
I've been quite the magpie this month too, gathering inspirations and pictures, and words here and there. One of my biggest inspiration this month has been Tove Jansson, her art and words.
There is something so whimsical and magical about it all. An essence I wish I could grasp. Feels like a warm blanket to wrap yourself into on cold, dark, winter days.

It was so unbearably beautiful that I had to get away from the whole thing as quickly as possible, send it away, do something ! So I sat down firmly and placed both feet on the iceberg and pushed it as hard as I could. It didn’t move.
Go away! I shouted. Clear off!
And then the iceberg glided very slowly away from me and was caught by the off-shore wind. I was so cold that I ached and saw the iceberg carried by the wind towards the sound—it would sail right out to sea with Daddy’s torch on board and the ducks would sing themselves hoarse when they saw an illuminated bridal barge coming towards them.
[…] When I got to the steps I turned round and looked. My iceberg shone steadily out there like a green beacon and the batteries would last until sunrise because they were always new when one had just moved to the country. Perhaps they would last another night, perhaps the torch would go on shining at the bottom of the sea after the iceberg had melted and turned into water.
- from The Sculptor's Daughter

"I can dive", Sophia said. "Do you know what it feels like when you dive?"
"Of course I do," her grandmother said. "You let go of everything and get ready and just dive. You can feel the seaweed against your legs. It's brown, and the water's clear, lighter towards the top, with lots of bubbles. And you glide. You hold your breath and glide and turn and come up, let yourself rise and breathe out. And then you float. Just float."
"And all the time with your eyes open," Sophia said.
"Naturally. People don't dive with their eyes shut."
"Do you believe I can dive without me showing you?" the child asked.
Yes, of course", Grandmother said.
- from The Summer Book

As December approaches, much kinder than November, I find myself renewed with inspiration and enthusiasm for different projects and artwork. Though it will be a busy time, with the holidays and the move to a new city, I hope to have the time to indulge in a few favorite activities.
Hope you are all well dearies. xxx

p.s. if you want to see more of Tove Jansson's work, take a look at my inspirational board on pinterest.

"One summer morning at sunrise a long time ago
I met a little girl with a book under her arm.
I asked her why she was out so early and
she answered that there were too many books and
far too little time. And there she was absolutely right."
- Tove Jansson

For November

2011-11-03T00:06:00.000-04:00

Winter in her house of stones, on the edge of the coniferous forest, plays with my heartstrings, my soft little bones full of wanting. Been longing for snow more than ever, my heart might explode. It might, it shall. Leaning into her I wish and plead, even burned a spell in the chimney hoping that the smoke would carry my words, my desires, to the skies, to the North wind’s palace.
All I want to see is white, all I want to feel is cold, and never has it been more clear than when November speaks in pine needles, rotting apples and the lingering imprint of the ghosts sitting on its threshold blowing fog over the days.

(from Dream Work by Mary Oliver)

Oh November, be kind, and I shall wish on your stars and howl at your moon.

Giveaway winner!

2011-10-31T21:19:00.001-04:00

Firstly, I want to thank everybody who participated to my postcard giveaway. I am so so grateful for all of your kind words and enthusiasm.

Secondly, now for the winner: it is Nishat from the tumblr cleanteeth! Congratulations dear!
Please send me an email with your address and your choice of postcard set from the following:

Thank you once again to everyone who participated, and please remember that you can still purchase any of those postcards and postcard sets as well as prints in my etsy shop!
Hope you all had a nice Halloween! (check my previous post for some Halloween goodies and fun)

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-30T16:22:00.001-04:00

This is Halloween, by the residents of Halloween Town:

some of my favorite Halloween movies:

spooky Halloween music:

tracklist:
1. If I had a Heart // Fever Ray 2. Gallows // CocoRosie 3. Night // Tasseomancy 4. Warpaint // Warpaint 5. Kill That Clown // Sóley 6. Magic Rabbit // My Brightest Diamond 7. Red Right Hand // 8. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds 9. Tourniquet // Rasputina 10. Werewolf // Cat Power 11. Repos // Jorane 12. The Score // Sarah Slean 13. Under Ice // Kate Bush 14. Ghost Song // Patrick Wolf

fun and silly Halloween music:

tracklist:
1. "I got a Rock" // Charlie Brown (It's the Great Pumpking, Charlie Brown) 2. Anything can Happen on Hallloween // Tim Curry (The Worst Witch OST) 3. Beetle Juice Main Titles // Danny Elfman 4. I Put a Spell on You // Bette Midler (Hocus Pocus OST) 5. Friday the 13th theme // Harry Manfredini 6. Remains of the Day // Danny Elfman (The Corpse Bride OST) 7. Double Troubel // John Williams (Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban OST) 8. Come Little Children // Sarah Jessica Parker (Hocus Pocus OST) 9. Ghostbusters // Ray Parker Jr. 10. Monster Mash // Bobby "Boris" Pickett 11. The Addams Family Them Song // Vic Mizzy 12. Ding, Dong! The Witch is Dead // The Fifth Estate 13. This is Hallloween // The Residents of Hallloween Town (The Nightmare Before Christmas OST) 14. Dance of the Witches // John Williams (The Witches of Eastswick OST)

(movies in this post: Hocus Pocus, The Corpse Bride, The Witches, Sleepy Hollow, The Witches of Eastwik, The Addams Family (I & II), Clue, Casper, Ghostsbusters, Beetlejuice, )

Happy Hallloween! xxx

Shop update & Special Holiday offer!

2011-10-27T19:39:00.000-04:00

I've update my etsy shop with new prints and also a new holiday offer.

I’m offering 10$ prints of my literary character portraits in my shop. You can customize your own prints by choosing your three favorite characters. this offer will last until November 25th.

You can also purchase new prints of come of my drawings, individually or in sets. I really like the smooth slightly shiny and heavyweight paper on which they are printed, and I think they would be a wonderful present for Christmas.

Also, do not forget the postcard giveaway! It end tomorrow (the 28th)

Hope everybody is having a wonderful end of October and looking forward to Halloween! xxx

New postcards and a Giveaway!!!!

2011-10-19T12:27:00.000-04:00

I now have lovely postcards and postcard sets for sale in my etsy shop! To celebrate I am doing a giveaway of one 4 postcards sets of your choice!

I am very happy with how they came out. You can use them to send little letters to your loved ones, or just use them to decorate your walls.
You will be able to choose between the following sets:

You can also see the other sets offered in my shop. this include a lovely set of nine postcards of my Book of Ships series. You can also purchase the cards individually.

To participate in the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. You get extra chances for mentioning it elsewhere, on your blog, on twitter etc. (just provide a link), and for liking and reblogging the post on my tumblr

This giveaway will last until the 28th of this month, and I will announce the winner on Halloween.
Good luck!

printed-ink (part 1)

2011-10-11T19:47:00.000-04:00

A while ago I started a little tumblr called printed-ink. With the help of collaborators, I post pictures of the written word: scans from books, screen-grabbed quotes, fragments of poetry, etc.Anything that could be inspiring, because I can never get enough of stories, books & narratives.

Here are some of my favorite from the blog:
(click the above link for more)

(The Wood Wife, by Terri Windling)

(Ocean Sea, by Alessandro Baricco)

(The Lost Garden, by Helen Humphreys)

("A Scandal in Bohemia", by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

(The Book of Magic, by Neil Gaiman)

(The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath)

a new beginning

2011-10-08T21:37:00.002-04:00

I have a new layout! I realized I was getting bored of this place and didn't know quite what to do with it, so I changed things around a bit. I will also be blogging more, post more pictures of my art and post more of my words, as well as things that inspire me. It's is fall now, and I, contrary to certain animals, am coming out of my slumber. I am very much enjoying the season and can't wait for winter to be here as well (I might or might not have started listening to holiday music. I will not tell!)

yesterday was SleepyBear and mine's 4 years anniversary. It was a beautiful day filled with games, a movie and delicious seafood. I can't believe how lucky I am to have him in my life and to share something so special with someone.

I've also been working on some new drawings: lots of Harry Potter, some Jane Eyre and Pride &Prejudice, and my own little Trick or Treating ghosts (click on picture to go to my flickr)

I've also been working on a Yuletide short story which I hope to illustrate and post before the holidays. And I will soon have plenty of goodies in my etsy shop, so keep an eye open for that!

I've also been listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks (read by Stephen Fry). I wanted to make October the Harry Potter month, but I doubt I'll be able to finish them all before October 31st (it's about 125 hours!) I started on September 30th and am presently almost half way through The Prisoner of Azkaban.

things I love this fall:

colder weather; rain; bright crispy days; the sound of crackling leaves under my shoes; pumpkins; 90's and 80's nostalgia; blanket forts; the cries of wild geese going south; crossing path with deer; British quiz shows; getting ready for winter; building fires in the chimney; playing trivia games; Harry Potter; collecting keys, old pictures and bears:

hope everybody is having a wonderful fall (or Spring!). Tell me what do you like about this season. What inspires you these days? xxx

2011-09-19T17:55:00.001-04:00

Cassandra Mortmain / Alice / Wendy Darling

The March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth & Amy

2011-09-15T17:19:00.002-04:00

Lyra Belacqua / Sara Crewe / Mary Lennox

Violet Baudelaire / Anne Shirley / Lucy Pevensie

started a new and fun little art series. If you have favourite little girl characters, just let me know in the comments, I might get around to doing them. (tomorrow I might work on Cassandra Mortmain, Wendy Darling and Alice. Also possibly: the Sailor Moon gang, because I loved them when I was younger) xx

2011-09-08T16:57:00.000-04:00

2011-08-21T20:17:00.000-04:00

I do not have any pictures or art to show for myself. It makes me feel sad, but I hope that September will be kinder.
Thank you for all your words. Love.

p.s. above pictures are of my grandmother and other family members.

2011-08-14T13:55:00.002-04:00

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2011-08-07T22:15:00.001-04:00

Been collecting winter songs and pine needles. It’s easier than collecting snowflakes (tried to press some in my diary, they made the ink run and my thoughts disappeared. Have been thinking in blotches ever since). I wanted to preserve winter in a jar and lock it in my ribcage. Your voice tasted like holly and snow and sage.

(see pictures on my flickr: 1, 2, 3, 4)

2011-08-01T21:15:00.001-04:00

Her name was August and I had loved her since we were kids.
She had loved me too, I think, for a while. Until she found the sky and the stars and the infinity that lived inside of her. Then, she only loved her galaxies, nebulae, flights of wonder and fire, comets that burned your skin, and moons like silver dust on your tongue. Locked constellations.
And me, well, I could only live like a gnome stuck between the roots of a tree.

***

p.s. Thank you for all of your nice words, as always. the mean a lot to me xxx

(pictured: all of the books that I own but haven't read yet. worlds to be discovered.)

2011-07-27T17:36:00.001-04:00

(the first line to a story that I will never write. A ghost-line, for a ghost story)

I’m afraid that if I wrote a ghost story, you would bleed into it. And from the rafters over my bed, the ghoulish mist of the river would creep and crawl.
There would be no boat to cross over the great divide of the night, and I would die a bit between the letters, to see you haunt another one but me.

2011-07-09T21:59:00.004-04:00

So many things to tell. I've been living in a sort of dream, just going through the days and taking in all the beautiful things that surround me. So many projects. So many stories.

I've been working on a series of illustration for a story a friend of mine wrote. I'll visit her soon in Toronto so we can put it all together and make a little zine out of it (Also: see the new Harry Potter movie. Yeah!). This is a big deal for me, as I had never illustrated something before. It took me way to long to figure it out properly, and to do it in a way that I like, but I expect next time will be easier. It's a huge confidence boost for me to realize I can do that.

I also took a lot of pictures. I've been totally enthralled by the nature around me. The lush greens and the dragonflies have enchanted me, so much so I almost forgot to commit it to memory and on film. But one day, I took my camera out and set out to take a few shots. It does not convey adequately the beauty of it, but it's a start. you can see all of them on my Flickr.

I've made a new tumblr called A Witch's Spell. It's full of slightly dark, magical, witchy.
I am very happy about it, and it represents lots of things that inspire me right now: The night, stars, the universe, magic spells, fog, dark horses, candles, crystals, bones and feathers, bats, drumbeats, shadows, etc.
take a look if you want!

I've also made two new 8tracks mixes.

In a Treehouse of Our Own
10 songs by: First Aid Kit, Ane brun, Agnes Obel, johnny flynn & Laura Marling, Smoke Fairies, Mountain Man, Camera Obscura, Lia Ices, Alela Diane, and Blue Roses.

Wild Magic
11 songs by: Cilla Jane, Austra, Fever Ray, My Brightest Diamond, Vashti Bunyan, Sea of Bees, Tasseomancy, Warpaint, Bat for Lashes, Lykke Li, and Oh Land

More inspiring things: lost nests, feathers, birds, cricket songs, windy days, cold ice tea, strawberries, thunderstorms, riding in cars with windows opened, sleeping late, fresh mowed grass, eating outside, ice cream, rivers and lakes, reading books, daydreaming.

I've been unable to write for the longest time, but I think I'm finally getting through this writing block of mine, and shall return soon, possibly, with some words which hopefully will not make me ashamed of having written them.
Until then, dear ones xxx

2011-06-11T23:58:00.000-04:00

p.s. I'm sorry I was such a ghost. I have been bewitched by the beginning of Summer. More pictures and words coming soon xxx

2011-05-11T20:50:00.000-04:00

$10 unique original drawing for sale!

2011-05-09T17:15:00.001-04:00

For about a month, you can commissioned a $10 drawing or collage made by yours truly. You get to choose what paper you prefer (white Bristol, kraft paper, old book pages, and moleskine pages) as well as the subject matter, colour scheme, etc. Whatever you want!

You can browse my gallery on Flickr to see what I can do, but please do not hesitate to ask for somothing different if you feel like it. I enjoy the challenge :)

For more details see my etsy store!

Thank you very much xxx

2011-05-04T18:45:00.001-04:00

It's good to be putting my fingers to work again. I felt too anxious to do anything, convince it just wasn't worth it, that I wasn't worth it. Would never have the talent it takes to do anything. It feels good to be making something I do not instantly hate and that does not make me feel like a failure.

thank you little Plaid Girls.

p.s. I'm curious, what do you imagination tell you when you look at them? Are they Sisters, Friends, Lovers? Anything else? Tell me a story :)

2011-04-17T21:37:00.000-04:00

I've buried all of our secrets. I kept them all in boxes lined with cotton at the bottom of my closet. But they whispered through my dreams and filled them with longing. I could not bear the sweetness and pain of it all. All these voices filling my heart, a constant chorus, an unforgettable song. So they needed to be underground. The earth knows how to swallow, the earth knows how to preserve. I will plant a seed over them, so that it can become a tree. Tall and wide and strong. Its roots will wrap themselves around them and drink from them, and taste them, and lick at them until they are dry and empty. Then in the spring they will bloom for us to see and make crowns to wear around campfires, under the stars.

p.s. I have a Twitter now. Follow me :)

Etsy Shop

2011-04-13T19:52:00.003-04:00

I am selling some of my embroideries in my etsy shop. If you are interested, please take a look :)
http://www.etsy.com/shop/endofmarch

2011-04-05T13:05:00.000-04:00

In the days that came after, I pressed flowers in old books, and scratched lines in the dirt. I wrote words with blades of grass, and scribbled in fading diaries.
But if it rained, I only listened to the sound of the water hitting the roof and the slow beating of my heart, waking up from its slumber.

2011-04-01T14:53:00.000-04:00

It was my birthday on March 30th. I had such a nice quiet day with SleepyBear. We had a nice lunch and spent the afternoon reading in a patch of sunlight on our bed. And then we played computer games together well into the night. He made me dinner, and although there was no cake, I was so full of happiness and comfort, I did not even miss it. He had already given me my birthday present a few weeks earlier: a nice big drawing table with chair and lamp and adjustable legs and angle.

Now I'm one year older and I'm not sure how I feel. It's a bit of the same, but it's a bit different as well. I am anxious about the future and there are big decisions to be taken in the next couple of months. Ones I keep avoiding over and over again. But overall I like things the way they are, for now anyway. Spring is slowly coming and I feel inspired to do different things. Maybe this will be a good year.

p.s. the picture above is of my latest completed project. It is an embroidery version of my narwhal ship drawing. I think I am quite happy with it.

2011-03-28T23:04:00.005-04:00

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Waiting waiting waiting. I am so terrible at it. It gnaws at my insides, grows in my chest and becomes this monster that I have to extract. Between my clenched teeth, between raged breaths, in the middle of the night, so that it does not contaminate and eats at the throats of people and things around me. It poisons and scratches and burns.
I admire people and things that know how to wait. This quietness inside where there is only fury in me. It is often seen as a weakness, or passivity, to just wait. But it can be the most admirable thing of all.

I imagine that's what Sleeping Beauty did. Wait. Not sleep really, just a metaphor for a lifetime of waiting. And how strong would one have to be? To wait and wait, alone in a castle full of ghosts, unable to leave. To go about each day, with only oneself for company, and maybe words and maybe music, but no one to speak to and no one to laugh with. Just the deep knowledge that one day things would change, the eternal patience and faith. How strong would one have to be to not lose one's mind?
She would wait and wait. Maybe scream once in a while, through her burning throat, making sure no monster lived there to swallow her whole. And then just the soft settling of her bones, and her blodd, to remember and dream and hope.
And on that day, when the prince come, she would kiss him, because he's beautiful and he has come just for her, but really what she really wants is the world. Isn't that why she waited so long? She would smile and say her thank you and leave him behind, because now that she had learned how to wait, she would have to learn how to move.
And really how could one learn how to move properly, if one didnt't know how to wait for the right moment to do so?

I admire them all, those precious few who can stay still long enough for the right moment. To know when life is ready for them. And when they are ready for it.

2011-03-24T11:58:00.000-04:00

I have no words today. They sleep inside me and do not want to come out. It's okay though, because the sun is shining and the snow is melting. I heard birds singing this morning, and possibly the sound of geese coming back for Spring. It might be a few more weeks before I see flowers, but there is change in the air, and I feel like I am waking up from a very long dream. There are things to be done, to be seen, and to be loved.

(small project completed)

p.s. pictures taken with a Fuji Instax Mini. xxx

2011-03-17T21:35:00.001-04:00

from my ongoing personal dictionary. still needs an name. xx

2011-03-14T20:22:00.001-04:00

All precious words collected, like jewels. Amassed in a treasure chest, carefully stacked against each other, glittering, a comforting glow of colors and light. A soothing sound, whispers, like the wind in the trees on a summer evening. To be opened and read when the heaviness is too much to bear. A lightness.

thank you thank you xxx

p.s. new 8tracks mix

Sunshine
9 songs by:
Basia Bulat; Goldfrapp; The Ditty Bops; School of Seven Bells; Lykke Li; The Honey Trees; Pearl & The Puppets; Haroula rose; Au Revoir Simone.

Stories II
12 instrumental soundtracks from:
Les Choristes; Fantastic Mr. Fox; Ever After; The Secret of Roan Inish; A Series of Unfortunate Events; Stardust; Tuck Everlasting; Edward Scissorhands; Cracks; Penelope; Pan's Labyrinth; Hocus Pocus.

2011-03-07T02:03:00.000-05:00

(in my bag)

(new project: embroidery. click to see the whale)

Places to hide treasures: A List.

in a secret safe ; in a precious box ; under a pillow ; under the bed ; at the bottom of a closet ; inside a hollow tree ; in a locket ; buried in the ground ; in an attic ; in a sealed envelope ; at the bottom of the sea ; in abandonned houses ; between the pages of a story ; in plain sight ; inside a hollowed book ; in old coat pockets ; in Fairyland ; in a memory ;
between two hearts

For the Brave at heart only, and the daring souls mostly.
Maps optional.

2011-02-25T18:09:00.000-05:00

All these memories like ghosts. Haunting. Knocking on walls in the night.

Poltergeists of the mind.

She shivers and shimmers, crystals sparkling in the light, soflty dim under the blacksness of the sky. Eyes like coal in the dusk, gold trimmed, not black holes, but galaxies.

In a breath, clouds of dust move through the air, settle slowly. Nothing has changed. Paper planes and a sun drenched porch, letters written under an oak.

Acorn kisses

And all the knocking, pounding and banging of the world.

2011-02-18T23:49:00.000-05:00

Lion-tailed Girl doesn't want applause and cheers. She only wants the night, the stars and the deafening roar of the Big Wild Cat to make her heart soar.

2011-02-15T14:33:00.001-05:00

I am swallowing books. Gulping them down. Barely chewing. Words get stuck in my teeth and whole characters at the back of my throat. Sentences dribbles in my oesophagus. Too fast, I sometimes choke. Choke on whole worlds, tiny universes. It's all sticky pages and blinding synthaxes. Craving, craving more. They might go away, they might go away. Please, don't let them get away (tie them with twine, swallow them with honey)

I want only stories to fill the spaces between my veins, and a library between my lungs.

Book Blog!

2011-02-06T23:42:00.000-05:00

I've just made a book blog! It has been an idea of mine for a while now, and I have been working on it for the past few days (which is not easy on a dial-up connection). I am very happy with it.
It is a bit empty right now, but do not fear, I have several reviews in the work as well as plenty of ideas. It will be updated quite often in the next few days and weeks.

So if your are interested, please follow, or drop by for a visit. I hope to see you there and have plenty of bookish talk and fun! xxx

http://thewoodlandlibrary.blogspot.com/

2011-01-31T15:38:00.003-05:00

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2011-01-26T18:01:00.003-05:00

St-Rose's School for Lost Woodland Girls.
Class of 2011.

2011-01-10T12:56:00.007-05:00

From a conversation:
Him: How was it?
Me: It broke my heart in all the right places.
Him: There are right places to have your heart broken into?
Me: The ones that are meant to be mended with golden thread.
Him: Ah. Those.

p.s. If a heart can be broken and mended a thousands times, it becomes a castle of thread and crystals and glue and glitter. Sticky fingers. There are pieces made of silver and salt mines by the sea, turrets of cotton balls (for when it bleeds) and moats of crumpled letters to lost loves and enemies. I don't always know how to fix it. Keep thread in my pocket and a needle, just in case.
Maybe next time I'll use red tape, to make the seams disappear.

Giveaway winners!

2011-01-06T10:28:00.004-05:00

I apologize for my lateness at announcing the giveaway winners.
First I want to say thank you to everybody who participated. I was not expecting so many people to do so, and I wasn't expecting such wonderful writing and stories about your love of winter.
I would invite everybody to read the comments on the Giveaway entry, as they are so so wonderful :)
So thank you once again.

I put all the names of the people who participated in a box (twice if you mentioned it on your blog), and randomly picked two.
So here are the winners!

Minna at Minna's Dream &

Juliet at Dear Sweetlings!

Congratulations to you both! I left a little message on your blogs, so please send me a little email with your address :)

If you didn't win the giveaway, but still would like to own a copy of Little Haunted Houses, I still have plenty of copies left, to be purchase at my Etsy store (click on the banner)

Thank you once again, for all of your support! I hope you all had wonderful holidays, and I wish you a Happy New Year, full of magic, discoveries, treasure hunts and fun.
MJ xxx

2010-12-25T00:11:00.005-05:00

.

Merry Christmas!

snowflakes, fairy lights, candy canes, sparkling eyes, winter carols, silver bells, reindeer, red wrapping paper, candies, hot chocolate and tea, soft pajamas, woolly socks, bunny kisses, licking fingers, dancing toes, secrets whispered in the night.

p.s. I have a necklace with polar bears. It feels light and cold and if I close my eyes I can hear the sound of the wind and taste the cold of the air. I can see their prints in the snow.
I will follow you I will follow you. To the land of the Trolls and back. On the North wind. And the ice, oh the ice, will be blinding.
What does it feel like to carry the North around your neck? It feels like I am a Reindeer Girl and I am home.

p.p.s Do you hear the bells? Must not forget the cookies and the milk. xxx

Giveaway!

2010-12-16T13:42:00.008-05:00

I've finally reopened my Etsy store, and I am offering you my new little zine called "Little Haunted Houses". And to celebrate it all I am doing a giveaway!

The first issue's theme is Winter.
I chose winter because I love love this season. But also, while I was in Korea, and not so happy, for me winter represented home and Canada, and I wished with all my heart to feel cold air on my face, and see snow around me. Now that I am here, and that I can see those things around me, it really does feel like home and it does make me happy. Making winter the theme of the first issue of my little zine, seemed a great way to celebrate that.

GIVEAWAY DONE! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED!

For more info on the zine, or if you do not want to wait or participate in the giveaway, check out my ETSY STORE (or click on the banner at the top of this post). you can buy my zine there :)

Thank you all for your support and kind words, it means a lot to me :) xxx

2010-12-08T20:49:00.004-05:00

.
.

I love winter.
I've been drawing a lot and made a cute little zine. I'm so proud of it! I still need to fix a few things, but I will soon be able to share it with all of you.
It feels so good to be creating again.
I've also spent a few days in Toronto to visit a friend of mine. I had never visited Toronto before and it was quite nice. I went to the coolest comic book store and wanted to buy way too many things! I love comics and graphic novels, I really do. I wish there were cool comic book stores everywhere (and cool, awesome, bestest friends to take you to them and to lend you theirs as well)

But most importantly, I love winter. I love the cold wind, the cold air and I love all of the warm tea I drink and the warm socks I wear. And I love Christmas.
And I love that I love my life again.

2010-11-20T00:00:00.004-05:00

So many empty books, full of blue lines, black lines, even red lines. Full of white spaces, I do not know how to fill. I'm afraid my words might tarnish the unwritten secrets these books could contain. I'm afraid they might never be enough.

2010-11-12T12:19:00.004-05:00

.
.

the light pierced the horizon and I stood transfixed. It is hard for the heart to witness the birth of a day, and harder still to remember it. Thousands of tiny crystals bursting into light. sparkling sparkling in the morning air. My breath made clouds around my head and it felt like flying.
The hunters made noise in the woods and I had to run run run in the frosted air, shards of ice exploding under my steps (microscopic stars seeping into the dark solid earth). Like a deer, like a hare. To the safety of my house. My heart wanted to stretch and grow like a tree to reach the sky-roads, the bird-paths. I wish I could leave it behind, instead of wrapping it in woolly scarves, and putting it in a wooden box lined with cotton and feathers. But it is too fragile. Too fragile to witness the birth of a day that is bound to die too soon.

p.s. pictures taken with my new Fuji Instax Mini.
p.p.s. I've reopened my Formspring.

for Samhain

2010-10-28T22:55:00.002-04:00

NEW 8Tracsks MIX: Dark Witch
For Halloween. The night of the souls. The Day of the Dead
Eleven tracks by:
Rasputina, Fever Ray, My Brightest Diamond, Bat for Lashes, Jenn Grant, Emiliana Torrini, Charlotte Martin, Orenda Fink, Emilie Simon, Jorane and Tori Amos

p.s. I am finally going back home. Just in time for the Day of the Dead. Next time you hear from me, I'll be making friends with the sky and the trees and the fresh air of early November. I'll be home.

fly

2010-10-22T23:47:00.004-04:00

Bear Love

2010-10-16T13:31:00.004-04:00

p.s. There will always be the free-days and bed-days and let's-build-a-fort days. There will always be things unspoken but known, secrets and giggles and make-believe. There will always be you, me, and the flavor ice cream has on you lips, and the sound songs have on your tongue. There will always be always. A Neverland where our love never grows old. xxx

2010-10-09T12:08:00.005-04:00

.
.

(taken summer 2009)

(good) Memories of fall.
When I was young we lived in a big house with a fireplace (I miss you, I miss you).
Every fall, wood would be delivered in our driveway, to be stacked for the winter. We would put logs after logs after logs in the wheelbarrow and bring them around the side of the house and neatly stack them along the wall (I was always a bit scared to find a spider in the cracks). We would also throw some through the basement window, to be stacked inside. I liked the wood in my hands, but I was very careful not to get any splinters.
I would always get excited at the thought of the smell of wood burning, filling the air, wrapping the world in its aroma, telling you that even though it was cold, you were safe and warm and alive. I would get exited about curling up in front of it just after a shower, in my towel, my hair slowly drying while I watched a cartoon.
Dad would also rack up the leaves all over our big yard and, of course, I would jump into the piles and have a grand time. (I am a bird, I am a tresure digger, I am a wild girl and this is my bed)
We would empty the pool. It was always a little sad, to say goodbye. Goodbye to the water games and the mermaid-pretending, and the diving contests. Goodbye to summer days.
But it was okay, because school would start and winter was on its way.
Halloween was fun and always very lucrative. The best part was always dropping all the candies on the living room floor and sorting out my favorites.
There would be trips to the mountain (all in colors, all in slendor). And sparkle-watching on the lake. And apple-picking with mom. Warm food and the first hot chocolate of the season. Deer eating the apples in the yard, me, my nose stuck to the glass of the patio door reveling in their beauty.
The neighbor would bring vegetables from her garden, too.
And of course, as always, there would be stories and tree-climbing and adventures.
~~~

p.s. I've made some blog changes. At the top, under the header, I've added some new pages.

Me - Some info about me and links to other places you can find me on the web

Treasures - Links to some of the blogs I love

Melodies - Some musical tracks to listen to, and a favorite video. These will change from time to time so feel free to check once in a while.

Words - My writing/poetry finally in one place. Please, do take a look if you have the time. I haven't been very productive in 2010. I dislike most of what I've written, but there are some things in 2009 and 2008 that I like. Pick a favorite if you want :) I do not think you can comment on the page directly, but if you find a piece of wrting that you really like, I would love to hear about it.
~~~

Thank you dears, for your words and support and infinite kindness. It warms my heart, especially during these days where I am not at my best. I love you all xxx

2010-10-04T11:26:00.007-04:00

My Youtube Channel
~ I have no personal videos, but everytime I find something that I like I favorite it, so you can explore it if you want. Or share you favorite videos in the comments!

Plus, don't you love The Secret Garden? I love it so. It fills my heart with joy and appease my mind when it goes a 1000 miles per hour and doesn't seem to want to stop.

I'm slowly gettting excited for Chritmas. I can't help it. I love love love the Holiday Season. I just transfered some Chritmas music on my ipod so as to be ready when the mood strikes.
I'm also slowly getting ready to go back home (25 days!). We (SleepyBear and I) will leave Korea on the 30th, just in time for Halloween!
I can't tell you how impatient I have become. I long for my friends and family, but also for the countryside. We'll be at SleepyBear's house in the middle of the country. I'll see trees again, and stars and hear the wind in the leaves. Deer and porcupines. Wild geese. Peace and quiet.
Oh, how I long for all this and more. The slower life of small cities. For breakfast with family, drinks with friends. Walks in villages. Bookstores (I haven't been in a bookstore for about a year, can you imagine?). Soon, oh so soon!

I wrote this list in August and it is all still true. Except the longing is stronger and now mixed with excitment and impatience.

New 8tracks mix: Softly Quiet

10 tracks by:
Vashti Bunyan, Rosie Thomas, Rose Melberg, Lavender Diamond, The Woodlands, Cara Dillon, Laura Gibson, The Postmarks, Haroula Rose and Gregory & The Hawk

Sorry, if this post seems scattered, there's just so many things going through my head right now. Change is in the air. I can feel it my bones.
Isn't it beautiful?
xxx

2010-09-30T23:41:00.005-04:00

.
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What are your little dreams?

p.s. thank you for all of your wonderful comments on my previous posts. I always feel so nervous about my writing. Your words warm my heart :) xxx
(listography)

2010-09-28T07:41:00.004-04:00

.
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I dreamed of a reindeer girl.
In a frozen world, glittering glittering, with ice and snow.
The wind spoke of legends and wild hunts.
It blows, it blows across icebergs.
We can all go to school, and learn our letters and numbers. We can discuss, dissect, study and debate. This wind will always know more.
There are secrets in the ice, it whispers and groans.
The strain that pulls at the seams, cannot tear the fabric. It is only a patchwork, a quilt.
(if you look at it carefully, piece by piece, like a puzzle, you will see a pattern, a story.
Not all stories are meant to be told, but all are meant to be heard).
They know, they know, about the schools and the books and the blackboards.
They know about letters and numbers, and maybe about crushes and first kisses.
But no school can teach about the language of the ice, the colors it takes (it shines, it shines) the songs swept away on the wind, buried inside snowflakes. The kisses of the cold as it engulfs your belly. The love there is in the starkness of the land.
The world that lives and breathes and cracks and dies.

So wrap yourself in furs, little reindeer girl.
It sings for you, the ice, the wind and the snow. It sings and screams your name.
Dreams are doors and door thresholds are meant to be crossed.
Dream of me, dream of the land that creaks and moans. Of icy expanses.
Swallow the world. Swallow it in big, large gulps.
Swallow it before it swallows you.
And then sing.

(image credit)

2010-09-20T11:58:00.005-04:00

I have an 8tracks account.
I usually make little mixes for myself, so when I like them enough, I figure I should put them online so that other people can enjoy them. I've found some artists while listening to other people's mixes, so it's quite fun sometimes.
I'm always shy about sharing my music, though, so please be gentle :)

So far I have three mixes up:
(click on the name of the mix to listen to it.)

SPIRITED / SONGS FOR THE NIGHT / STORIES

Spirited:
8 tracks by :
Alela Diane, Laura Gibson, The Weepies, Marla Hansen, Bon Iver,
Fleet Foxes, Ingid Michaelson, and Basia Bulat.

Songs for the Night:
10 tracks by:
Vienna Teng, Bat for Lashes, Natalie Merchant, Karen Elson, Azure Ray,
Sarah Harmer, Laura Marling, Orenda Fink, Tori Amos, and Sarah Slean

Stories:
12 instrumental tracks from 11 movies:
The Chronicles of Narnia, Fairy Tale: A True Story, Finding Neverland, A Little Princess,
Little Women, Miss Potter, Peter Pan, Practical Magic, Pride and Prejudice,
The Secret Garden,and Amelie

Now, please tell me. who are your favorite musicians? What music inspires you and makes your heart tremble and dance?

Fall

2010-09-17T09:57:00.009-04:00

I am looking for ghosts in every corners. I crave the smell of dead leaves on the ground, and the feel of a northern wind in my hair.
I want skeletons in trees, woolen socks on my feet and cold rain showers.
I slip into daydreams of nights filled with the aroma of wood burning, and the flickering lights of will-o'-the-wisps leading the deads.
Of candles in windows and magic circles.
Of dark stories murmured at night, and salt on windowsills.

Bring on the cold weather, and the changing of the Wheel.
Bring on the Day of the Dead.
The Season of the Witch.

(written Fall 2009)

Fall Magic

This year I will miss the apple picking season, and that makes me sad. Mom and I always go apple picking together. There is this wonderful orchard maintained by monks close to where I live. The apples are delicious and the trees are wonderful. Old wood ladders are dispersed in the lanes and all you can hear is the soft murmur of the other people around you, birds, the wind in the trees and, on occasion, the clear bells of the abbey. We take our time picking and choosing the apples, me more daring as I am not afraid of heights, mom pointing at the reddest fruits. We bite into the skin, a crunching sound coming to our ears and juice immediately filling our mouths. We slowly leave a bit relunctantly but full and satisfied, but not before buying some handmade apple jam, our bags full of apples, our hearts always clearer and more at peace than when we arrived.

Hopefully when I come back, while the apples will all have fallen, the cries of the wild geese going South will still ring clear in the air, announcing that I am finally home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I will be back soon with a more substantial post. In the meantime, tell me, what are your plans for the Fall? (or the Spring, if you live Down Under :) ?)
I hope eveybody is well, and thank you for all your wonderful comments, they are so appreciated. You are all magical xxx

2010-08-30T02:45:00.003-04:00

There is waltz, a dance. 1 2 3 1 2 3.
Feet, hands and twirls, around and around.
Dizziness is so easy to catch if your eyes can't stay still.
My heart thumps. boom boom. (never forget this sound, it might save your life. )
Travels are for those who knows the steps and when you forget you're a bird
without wings, a writer without words, a heart without sound.
Music can't be everything if you've forgotten that feet can move and hands can talk.
(fingers crossed, I love you, hello goodbye, remember)
No teacher will be there forever.
1 2 3 1 2 3

2010-08-09T06:30:00.007-04:00

I made a listography account and I'm having so much fun! I really do like lists :)
If you are interested do take a look (you can also leave a comment if you like) and keep an eye on it, I'll be updating it often.
http://listography.com/endofmarch

Do you have an account? Any suggestions/ideas for future list?
I hope you all have a wonderful day!
xxx

2010-07-21T12:43:00.002-04:00

(and now for something different i.e. I have no idea how I feel about it)
(clcik on picture for credit)

the season has come
gliding through time, through space
twisting, turning
it has come for us, my dear, for us for us

let there be music, let there be joy
let the gods pray to us
for we are more frightful then they

in our swan coats of gold
glittering in the sunlight
blinding, blinding
with whole universes in our bellies
and songs on our lips.
of earth and space
of walks on solar flares
of games and dreams and galaxies

there is only one castle for us to enter
my love, my love
and from the highest tower
forever shine like the stars.

2010-07-10T10:17:00.001-04:00

(click on pictures for original source)

I want to take green into my mouth and tuck it in my cheeks. Like candy.
Like acorns that will sprout between my teeth. Look at my smile! Look at my tongue!
Lapping at water between clouds, between fingers. Slurping.
Into root-straws wrapped around my spine. Like bows on present, except if you unwrap it I might die.
Presents are secrets until they are open, then they are only murmurs of what they were. Secrets are meant to be kept.
Feathery, leafy hair growing down my back. No scissors for you. No trimming in the night.
Feet in the ground, rocks are sharp against toes.
but rocks are the oldest friends, and the most trustworthy allies.
they know, they know.
That I am the giant under the mountain.
And that things that grow will never die, if there are spaces between our veins to breathe.

2010-06-21T12:58:00.002-04:00

There are places where I want to be. Places that feels like home. Places that breathe slowly in my chest. I remember them. I miss them so much, these ghosts places where I used to walk, where I used to breathe. I take them and fold them upon one another. Like candy wrappers and pieces of paper with the name and phone number of somebody you wish you could see again. Tucked away in the corner of your pocket, half forgotten, to be found again in the washing machine, all torn up and barely recognizable. Number faded, name erased.
All that is left are pieces of what you remember was there. Suddenly made more precious by its loss. I fold these places inside my mind and heart until all that is left are hazy memories of what they once were.
So I can absorb them into myself and morph them into inner landscapes.
So that, no matter the distance, I can breathe them everyday.
I fold them and fit them inside my chest, so that they can fill the dark corners of the places where I don't want to be.
So that they become worlds for me to travel in, never to have to feel the ache of their loss again.

2010-06-19T04:02:00.002-04:00

ice cold water, green plants in the window, fireworks behind eyelids, stories into the night,
whispers in the dark. ghosts. mysteries and magic, imagined gardens. fairies. never letting go.
fresh raspberries and watermelon, bunnies. books on rainy days, silly movies. photographs.
pearls in teacups and candles on windowsill. crispy white paper and colored pencils.
pressed flowers. music. dancing naked and morning light, card games and trivia. ice cream.

and laughter, and pleasure, and sunny days and rainy days, and songs sang into the dark of night,
under covers and stars.

2010-05-29T23:40:00.002-04:00

I few weeks ago I bought a lomography action sampler camera. Since then I've been having fun testing it out. The following pictures are some of the results. I'm not sure if I'm quite happy with them, but it was a good first experiment. I mostly just took random shots (without using the viewfinder) on my way to work. I think I mostly dislike the film I used. Unfortunately it's the only film they sell at my local store. I also think that the people who develop my pictures at the lab (in my local grocery store) automatically adjust the contrast and all. I can't really ask them questions since I do not speak Korean. But I'll keep the negatives and see if I can have them developed again once I get back to Canada.
SleepyBear also bought me a Holga, but I've been unable to find 120 films, so I think I'll just have to convert it to 35mm while, once again, I wait to come back.
The store where we bought them had a lot of lomography cameras. Next time I go I might buy a fisheye camera just for fun.
I like film. I like the random results coming from these cameras as well.

I am really excited to take more pictures this summer.

I want to thank all of you for your wonderful comments. They are precious and nice and they make me so so happy. I am really grateful for them, so thank you :)

Note: If you ask me questions in the comments, I will answer in the comments as well. I'm sorry if I didn't get to it sooner, but I'll make sure to answer your questions in the next few days, so make sure to check the comments if you want. Also you can always send me a questions through my formspring in the sidebar.

2010-05-24T09:37:00.001-04:00

Sleeping Forest

“All our land was enriched with my treasures buried in it, thickly inhabited just below the surface with my marbles and my teeth and my colored stones, all perhaps turned to jewels by now, held together under the ground in a powerful taut web which never loosened, but held fast to guard us.”
- Shirley Jackson (We Have Always Lived in the Castle)

2010-05-09T22:21:00.002-04:00

Penelope. Bouncy bouncy Penelope.
~
tea with too much sugar. I like to hold my books open with my toes while I eat rice crackers and peanut butter.
There are words floating in the air.
the sun comes in the window and I think I've killed one of my plants. I didn't mean to, really. I wish I was as good with them as I am with daydreaming.
There is a bunny in our bathroom, I saw her in the sink earlier.
~
Last night I woke up sweating and feeling like I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe. It felt like all the heat of my body wanted to get out and all the heat in the room wanted to get it and they both collided against my skin, who was just trying to keep one in and the other out. It was too much, too much. I stumbled around the room, half asleep, trying to find the remote for the AC. I couldn't find it. I was panicking. You woke up, grumbling and slightly annoyed, but you found it right away and we went back to bed. As I slowly cooled down, I put my forehead against your shoulder and fell back to sleep. I could breathe again.
~
I have notebooks with tons of empty lines in them. I wonder what I should write in them, I wonder what words would be adequate. Maybe these ones would be. Maybe it's that simple.
I think I have to go now, there is a story waiting for me.

Shop!

2010-05-08T05:05:00.002-04:00

(click on the banner to go to my shop's page)

I built a little shop on my website.
I now have 5 prints sets of my Book of Ships for sale.
If you are interested, please head to my SHOP now :)

If this prove popular, I hope to add more things with time. What do you all think? Also, is there anything you would like to see in this shop for sale?
Thank you so much dears
xx

2010-05-06T12:14:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, SleepyBear and I went for a walk on the other side of the river on the edge of town (only 15 minutes or so from our apartment) to see the yellow flower fields bordering the water and also the new park the finished building and opened a few weeks ago.
The sun was shining bright and even though there was a slight tinge of cold in the wind, the weather was soft and comfortable.

View of the park from the bridge crossing the river. The mountains are beautiful these days. there a re so many shades of green.
I find it very comforting.

the main fountain.

this was a great feature. Music started playing from loud speakers and the jets of water started sprouting in tune with the melody. Sometimes high, sometimes low, alternating to the rhythms. And the children and their parents were having so much fun. It was great to watch. It was full of happiness and laughter and screams of joy. it was also very beautiful, the sun making the water sparkle as it moved.

the fields of yellow flowers bordering the river. Gosh, I love this color, an I feel happy every time I see it.

There are a lot a flowers along the walking paths and around the apartment buildings. All those bushes of white flowers reminded me of snow and seemed so pure and almost out of place. I love them instantly.

I'm really trying to take more pictures and see the beauty in the city. It's hard for me as I am not very at ease in big cities and have a really hard time seeing the beauty around me if I am stuck in one.
But I found that focusing on details and not wholes help. that you can find places that remind you of what you love. And that everything looks better bathe in sunlight.

2010-05-01T04:06:00.001-04:00

polaroid 600
view from my window. Yangsan, South Korea.
I actually do live in one of those big apartment buildings. They are everywhere.
the whole thing has a sort of beauty to it, especially when the sun beams on all those windows.
And it's amazing how everything looks better when photographed in polaroid :)

2010-04-23T21:48:00.002-04:00

You tasted like the sun, piercing the clouds after a Summer rain. Sparkling and fiery. I wanted you to stay beside me forever.
That's when you walked away.
There is only one sun in the sky, although there are thousands of rays. Diamonds might fall from my mouth, and tiny flickering lights, soft like candles in the dark, tumbling tumbling out, might light the path from here to there. Where light doesn't hurt your eyes, and the air tastes like wet grass and dirt.
We played games we don't know how to play, and tricks we should have known better about. We painted the sky the color of longing and the clouds the color of wishes.
But you always outshone everything.
And so, I'll stay here with the Erl King and wait for the dawn.

( image credit )

2010-04-16T23:06:00.000-04:00

I tried to take pictured of my daily life and environment. I quickly realized that I sucked at taking indoor pictures. not only that, but on the way to Korea, the little light in my camera that used to tell me if something was overexposed or underexposed broke, and I am left guessing most of the time. When taking pictures outside, I am not so bad, but I definitely need to practice indoor photography.
some of these pictures have light leaks, because my camera fell on the floor. Luckily it didn't break, but the back of the camera opened and some light got inside...I guess it's not too bad though. I like light leaks.

This is Russell. He is our flying baby blue whale. He likes to give you kisses by smashing his face against yours. It's SleepyBear who convinced me to buy him at the store. We tend to give whole personalities to our toys. Such children we are :)

This is Gladys (yes, I give names to pretty much everything). SleepyBear gave it to me, but I'm afraid I'm slowly killing it. Although it has lasted far longer than I thought. I really want to become better with plants. One day I want to be able to tend to a garden without killing it.

A collection. some stationary given to me by some of my students for my birthday (Koreans have the best stationary), my new wallet and a pink plastic yoshi. Just because :)

Yup. Indoor shots...also I have difficulties taking pictures with my glasses on, but sometimes without my glasses I think things are in focus when they really aren't...oh well.

Birthday breakfast. Scrambled eggs, tea, pineapple, cherry tomatoes, yellow melon and grapes. Yum.
Also the Winnie-the-Pooh cup was a Christmas gift from SleepyBear. Piglet is on the other side.

crossing a bridge leading out of the city. I will go back there later when more plants have grown.

One of my favorite thing to eat: Traditional Korean porridge. I always take mine with crab meant in it and SleepyBear takes hi with shrimps. It's tasty and healthy and we love the side dishes (except SleepyBear doesn't like kimchi, but I do).

SO this is it. I'm really trying to take more pictures, but I feel really uninspired by our environment. I look at the city and the buildings, and I don't feel like taking pictures. But maybe I should anyway, just to document my stay.

I hope everybody is well.
Love you all
x

2010-03-20T08:36:00.001-04:00

To celebrate Spring and my upcoming birthday I have decided to do a giveaway.
Please click HERE if you are interested :)

EDIT: Comment on this entry if you do not have a flickr account.

2010-03-14T11:14:00.001-04:00

Dark waters and deep oceans. water pachyderms and deep resounding bellies.
Otherworldly songs and echoes.
If you find the heartbeat of a whale you will hear it sigh. Thunderous longing.
Consumed universes, spit and hanged into the sky.
Look at them turn turn turn and get swallowed again.
Lie here in cavernous darkness, let the waves cover you.
sleep, dear, sleep
there is much to learn in the abdomen of the world.

In order:

Non-Cetacea:

Manatee (of the Sirenia order)

Cetacea:
Whales:

humpback whale
grey whale
blue whale
beluga
narwhal
sperm whale
bowhead whale

Dolphins:

common bottlenose dolphin
orca (killer whale)

2010-03-08T09:43:00.001-05:00

(click picture for link)

I just finished my website. Okay, there are a few things here and there that are not perfect and I still need to decide if I want to include my poetry or not on it, but otherwise I am quite happy with it.
I'm really really nervous about putting my writing on it. I don't really take it too seriously, so I don't want it to look pretentious or something. I don't know.

Anyway, I was aiming for something simple and clean.
Please, please, tell me what you think?
Oh, and should I put my poetry on it?
Is there anything more you would like to see?
Do you have problems seeing certain things on it? Is there anything missing?

I'm happy and incredibly nervous, I don't know why. I feel very self-conscious.

2010-02-25T08:48:00.001-05:00

My Little Garden
(Sometimes I just daydream about gardens and what mine would look like. It would be wild and full of herbs and flowers, rocks and birdbaths. It would be small and free, and surrounded by little walls, so it feels like a secret place, a quiet place, a honey bee place of vibrant colors and wild games of laughter. A place for fairies and rabbits to play together, with twinkling lights to make it shine at night)

2010-02-20T01:45:00.001-05:00

Last night I dreamed. Of melting ice and dying polar bears.
Bare feet in the snow, frost bitten.
And the air was filled with the cries of the seals with no place to land.
I wondered about the selkies. Will they have to shed their skins?
Forever doomed to roam the earth, forever longing for the sea.
Will their bones collapse under the weight of the wanting?
The frozen ice crackled, and I woke up with a vision of blood on the snow
and the taste of loss in my mouth.

2010-02-08T08:44:00.003-05:00

I want to get swallowed by the Earth, digging my toes slowly in the the wet dirt, slowly pushing it under my nails, into my skin. I want to relish the smell of it, the smell of the leaves and of the trees, of insects buzzing, of sprouts growing.
I want green to fill my eyes and the sky to answer my call.
I want a little garden to make my own, with flowers and fairies and mushrooms and herbs. I want it to be drenched in sunshine and see it grow grow grow.
I want no more of this concrete, this steel.
Just a little place to sleep, to create, to grow up. Filled with stories and the quiet length of the days. Filled with tales and secrets and whispers and peace.
I want a place where I can feel the Earth breathing.
Slowly.

images found at NIBS

2010-01-29T13:29:00.006-05:00

Back from slight hiatus. I am still feeling tired and my bones are screaming because they want to sleep. They want ghosts-less nights and little soft dreams.
But the hours tic-tic away, and still the Sandman has not come. No worries though. Tomorrow is a do-nothing day. A bed-refuge day. A let's-see-how-soft-we-can-whisper-and-how-loud-we-can-laugh day. I'm smiling just thinking about it.

I've decided to try and put the poems I've written together in some sort of coherent whole. Just to see what it would feel like. I don't think they are that good or special, but I still do like them and I like writing them. If you have the time, please do read them and tell me which one is your favorite :)
~~~

The Night

Winter

The Woods

Magic

Love

Of Oceans and Shipwrecks

Of Girls and Memories

The Morning Crocodile

Misc. Musings and thoughts and stories...

~~~
Also, new layout. Thanks to seafarings for the codes. I don't know if I like it or not, but I spent too much time on it to change it now. It'll have to stay this way for a while. What do you think?
And I put a box in the sidebar that links directly to my formspring if you want to comment or ask me questions, I'm always happy to hear from you :)
love you all,
xx

2010-01-19T03:21:00.002-05:00

Just a quick word to say thank you to you all, who read and comment on this blog. I value your words immensely and I am always happy to hear from you. I am so sorry I've been quite elusive this month. I haven't commented anywhere and I feel really guilty about that. January is our intensive month where I work and I am usually so so tired when I come home. I can't seem to focus and I can't bring myself to find meaningful words to tell you all.
Fortunately, the month is almost over and I plan on starting to read your blogs again and on commenting on your entries.
I feel like a bad online friend, and I hope you will forgive me for my absence. Please do not think I do not care anymore. I do. I really do.
I hope everything is fine for you. I hope you are all happy :)
Love, MJ
xx

In the meantime, I usually update my Tumblr and my Formspring since they requite little attention and focus :) you can find me there and feel free to ask me anything on formspring is you feel like it.

( image credit )

2010-01-14T21:12:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we went on the coast to see the sunrise. It was so so cold, but beautiful. We also visited Shilla Millennium Park, in Gwangju where you can visit the reproduction of the royal palace of the Shilla Dynasty. Gwangju used to be the capital of Korea, before Seoul.
(film 35mm)

sunrise, cold, ocean, sparkles on the water, windy, boats and fish markets, bamboo crabs, lighthouses,
there is magic and peace in the way the wind blows on the water, in the biting cold, in the boats going
in and out of the harbor.

bamboo crabs: the best thing one can eat in this season.

Shilla Millennium Park:
(digital)

2010-01-09T01:55:00.000-05:00

So, I spent most of this week working on SleepyBear's birthday present when I wasn't working at my job. I changed my mind a few times and finally came up with the following. It's simple and quite cheesy, but I think I like it, but, most importantly, I think he will like it too :)
What do you think?
Now I'm off to try and catch up on what I've missed.
Love you all,
x

2010-01-03T06:39:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year!

I hope everybody had a wonderful time during the new year celebrations. What did you all do?
I stayed in with SleepyBear and we cuddled while doing the countdown to 2010, then we watched Stardust and went to bed. It was quite nice and peaceful.
I even made some resolutions that I am very determined to keep as best I can.

less computer
more art making
more reading
more poetry and at least one short story
More email sending and responding. And answering in a timely fashion.

I should probably add the usual of being healthier and exercising and whatnot, but those I'm pretty certain I won't keep, so I won't set myself for failure. Plus, I don't really care. Why spend hours doing something that I hate?
Have you made any resolutions this year?
I've already well started on the reading and making art part. I've read lots of comics (Fables) a novel (The Book of Lost Things) and I am one third into another (A Map of the Known World), I have a goodreads. Do you have one? You can add me there if you want HERE
And I started a new series of drawings/collages.
I've made two so far :

I have to put this little series on hiatus for a week or so though, because I'm planning to make a little simple book for SleepyBear's birthday on the 11th, but I shall resume after that. The sketchbook in which I'm doing it has 15 pages and I am determined to fill them all.
Hope everyone is well.
Love,
MJ

2009-12-29T09:35:00.001-05:00

I finally bought a scanner and got a roll of film developed.
All of these were taken not long before I left for Korea at the end of October.
All are film (35mm)

Also scanned two little drawings I did to distract myself at work. I think I will put them in the little journal I'm making for myself.

If I don't write before this weekend...
Happy New Year everyone!!!
And as only Neil Gaiman can say:
"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself."

with love
xxx

2009-12-15T12:05:00.006-05:00

There is a little galaxy over my head, in a little corner of the bed. It feels nice here. I can curl up with books on my knees and words in my heart and it feels comfortable and quiet. It feels a little like Christmas too.
I miss winter. I can feel it stirring at my heart, calling me over an ocean and continent. my canadian winter filled with snow.
I try to close my eyes and imagine there is a storm raging outside, and when I'll wake up tomorrow morning everything will be white. It's the best thing, you know? I remember when I was young, a morning mommy would call me and wake me up from my delicate slumber, I would stumble through the kitchen, half asleep, half awake, and I would smell it, before even seeing it. The snow. I would run to the patio doors, stick my nose to the cold glass ans smile and smile and smile. Take a deep breath. Snow. Snow! Covering everything, the pool, the trees, the yard, the forgotten toys. It is the best kind of magic.
But instead I cuddle with SleepyBear, and he reads me Pooh stories. I like the ones with piglet best. and I always cry at the end.
I want to write poems to.
I was just thinking earlier, all warm and cozy, and the most beautiful little poem popped in my head. It filled my heart with joy and wonder. But by the time I got a pen and a paper, I had forgotten half the lines, and then it just wasn't the same.
So I took some pictures instead.

I feel very self-conscious about self-portraits. It's very hard for me not to delete them. I feel silly and ridiculous. My digital camera is not very good either for that sort of thing.
I will go to bed now. The stars are calling.

A crown of stars to light up the way

When I am scared and insecure and feel all fragile and small and breakable, he always tells me: "Be brave, little Piglet"
And I am. And I am.

I like to lie down in milky ways.

I hope you all have a wonderful night
xxx

(p.s. some people asked me about why i didn't like 500 days of summer, you can read my answer...okay little rant, HERE. Just scroll daown a little. also, if you feel like leaving a secret, or story or asking me a question, don't hesitate. It makes me ahppy and keeps me company. I promise to answer. I do. I do. )

2009-12-10T13:07:00.000-05:00

i've been thinking a lot about the stars. about supernovas and galaxies. about infinity ever expending. bigger and bigger and bigger.
what does the universe swallow to grow so big?
maybe it swallows worlds and spits them back out all shiny and new while the stars watches, their dust covering planets dancing with each other.
waltzing waltzing waltzing (little planet with little planet. twist twist turn. turn jump. and bow)
and when somebody makes a wish thousands of mouths take a breath.
and when the universe blinks galaxies collide. it is so dark when the lights go out.

i feel really small when i think of it
(like the little planet hiding in the corner too scared to take part in the dance).
but i feel brave too
my feet are hurting and my knees are scraped, but i'll keep on spilling and spilling in the milky way
and if you swallow me, i'll be star dust
i'll be the glitter that shines in the dark
and who would dance with me when the music stops?

2009-10-19T19:13:00.002-04:00

Ghosts hide in
salt circles and hollow trees
Bones hang
in dark forests and damp caves
Haunted cemeteries
and the sound of dead leaves
crackling, crackling
under dancing feet,
under pounding steps
dark earth
light moon

Sweep the ground
Draw a circle
light the candle
and cast a spell

crackling, crackling
in an infinite night

*****

(click on pictures for sources)

see also my gallery on Flickr HERE

Inner landscapes

2009-10-01T17:51:00.003-04:00

( image credit )

I believe we all have our inner pantheons and deities and spirits. living in the inner landscapes of our being.

I have a Morning Crocodile that lives in the moments between sleep and awake, in the last breath of dream before the day starts. He plays with my eyelids and rides the dust suspended in rays of light. He is like gold dust. He has a deep laughter and a crooked smile. What else to expect from a crocodile? He's only with me when my love is near. I suspect He belongs to him as much as to me. Maybe he plays yo-yo with our mids as we sleep, mingling our dreams and our hearts. He is a Trickster.

I have an Old Mermaid that lives in the Woods. She doesn't have a tail anymore, been away from the sea for far to long. Her breath still smells like the ocean, though, and when she laughs you can hear the sounds of waves in the distance. Briefly. Like a faint whisper. We always sit on the veranda of her cabin, facing the lake. She smokes her pipe, I slowly eat cookies and pieces of fruit. We drink tea. She's not a guide per say, she's not there to answer my questions and send me on my path. That's not for her to figure out. But we talk, and we observe the light change on the lake. She doesn't say, but I know that she misses the ocean sometimes. But she is rooted in the Earth now, she has dirt in the crevices of her skin as deep as her bones. At night she dreams of sailors and seashells, of deer people and pine trees. She dreams of the day where the Earth will fold Herself and where land and sea will finally meet in a thunderous embrace. Till that day, I will sit with her in the Woods, facing the lake and eat fruit and smoke pipe and talk until the sun goes down over the horizon and the stars are high in the sky.

I have a Deer Girl that won't show herself, as elusive and fast as a sudden gust of wind. Ever changing, never the same. She comes and goes. Bare feet, naked, dressed, tall or small. I don't know what to make of Her. I wish I could kiss Her, make her stop running so fast. Take a breath, sweetie. Take a breath.

There are others. Oh so many, some have past and are gone. I put on my boots and shoulder a bag. There's a Lady, I know, on the mountain top, Her arms full of feathers, her necklace made of keys. A Lady of Secrets and Flight. I think Her son is a Lord. Of what I have no clue, but I would like to meet Him. I would like to know Her.

Some are light, some are dark. All are ours.
An inner landscape of endless adventures.

Part 3, paper stitch, and polaroids, Oh My!

2009-06-28T23:33:00.001-04:00

I finished my little series today. I am quite happy with how the whole thing came out. It was fun and stress-free to do and I enjoyed it immensely.

7.

8.

9.

I also scanned some little stitching I did on paper a couple months back...

I love the stars and looking up at constellations. Making up stories and pictures. I love thinking about the infinity of space and the immensity that surrounds us. I think my next project shall involve the stars and the moon and the planets.
To look down on us. To shine over us. Maybe to swallow us. Us, floating in the belly of the universe.

And finally, two new Polaroids. I think green is becoming a theme in my Polaroids. I like it. I think it's evident that I like working in series and themes. Well, the Summer has just begun, I predict many more to be added.
I just want to crawl inside of them and surround myself with the greenness and the shade and the streaks of sunlight. I want to lie there and drink in the smell and sounds and the rustling of the leaves.

Well, good night :)

Part 2

2009-06-26T21:08:00.001-04:00

4.

5.

6.

An artistic Thursday

2009-06-25T20:32:00.003-04:00

So today I started making art again. At first I was all excited and full of ideas of big projects. Fortunately I know myself pretty well and knew that if I started on something big right away I would become frustrated really fast and would stop everything.
so I decided to start a project of 9 collages, all simple and cute and fun to do just to get back in the mood of things.
Here are the fist three that I did today.
(Note: The background paper should be more yellowish than what you see now, making the white of the lined paper stand out a little bit more. Stupid scanner.)
My Flickr

1.

2.

3.

Also, I (finally) understood the best way to use my Polaroid camera to have the best results (after many botched pictures). These are the ones I took in the past two weeks and are my bests so far. I really really like them, especially since I am so obsessed with green these days :)

And lastly. Rest in Peace Mr. Jackson. Rest in Peace.

Elephant Castles

2009-04-24T16:28:00.004-04:00

A new little series.
I had fun doing this. I love elephants :)
I'm not sure I like the little girl, but I did fall in love with those little clouds. Making them made me happy and it added something to the picture. What do you think?

"He-Who-Leads-the-Way"

"She-of-the-Mountain-Clouds"

"He-of-the-City"

"He-at-the-Center-of-Things"

"She-Who-Carries-the-Clouds"

"He-Who-Lights-the-Way"

Book of Ships

2009-02-02T16:30:00.002-05:00

Last Christmas I made a little book/journal for my boyfriend. I had never done anything like it before. I loved it!
I never thought of journaling before, because I don't find writing down my emotions satisfying enough. It doesn't work for me. I found that making little "books" though, works.
So I started a little project. I called it the "Book of Ships". It was made to deal with my overwhelming longing for things I do not have right now.
I like working with themes/ideas/concepts. I don't know why. Anybody else is like that?

Anyway, here it is:

In progress...I always work on my bed :)

So. I do not know how to bind thing together (yet), so I decided to make an envelope to hold the pages of my book...

So there. I hope you liked it!
You can see my previous post (the Boyfriend book) HERE

SleepyBear's book

2008-12-17T22:14:00.000-05:00

These are scans of the little book I made for SleepyBear. I would like your opinion.
(my scanner was slightly too small, so the the real-life pages are a little bit longer than what is shown)
I am rather happy with it. I think.
It mostly has pictures of us and things I love with quotes from songs and poems...

cover

page 1

page 2

page 3

page 4

page 5

page 6

page 7

page 8

page 9

page 10

page 11

Ships: Part 1

2008-12-09T01:10:00.000-05:00

I love ships. I am fascinated by them. They make me dream of trips and discoveries, of adventures and exploration. To me they also represent courage and fearlessness. Always going towards the unknown. Never afraid, always daring. They are they ocean's eyes.
I want to sail one through the waves, to the edge of the world where the waterfalls roar and into the stars.

(From my Flickr favorites. Click on the picture for the original source)

These were made by me. Little collages and paintings trying to explore the shapes and imagery of ships sailing through my mind and imagination. The last two you can buy as prints in my Etsy Shop.

What do ships represent for you?

Fairytale: A True Story

2008-11-17T14:37:00.002-05:00

Ah, the Cottingley fairies photographs! They did make a stir when they came out, didn't they? Only years and years later did Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright confess to faking them.

When I was young I watched this movie and thought that, since the two little girls were seeing the fairies, the photographs were real. I realize now that it is clearly shown, in two scenes, that the girls faked the pictures. When we see them outside on their way to taking the first photographs, Elsie has her brother's fairy drawings with her, and in the scene where the journalist finds the drawings and arrange them exactly like in one of the picture.
I was disappointed.
But then I realized that the movie made an even more wonderful statement.
It seemed to say that the fact that the photographs were fake does not mean that fairies don't exist or that Elsie and Frances couldn't see them.
It seems to say that it is possible, that fairies can be real.

Of course, now, my vision of fairies, tinted by hours of reading myths and folktales, does not corresponds to the Victorian idea of them, wearing flowers and drinking morning dew.
It is still a wonderful movie to watch. And oh, how I want that house and room and garden! How I want the beck to explore and daydream in!

So tell me: Do you believe in fairies?

More stills HERE

The Cottingley Photographs:

Things to remember when I feel gloomy

2008-11-10T10:09:00.002-05:00

The wonderful glass_orthodoxy at livejournal made a small list of things she likes to remember when she feels the autumn sickness creeping upon her. I decided to do the same thing.
Just a few of them, because once I had started, I realized I could have gone a long time with things that make me happy and/or feel better.

° Dance alone in my living room/bedroom to music that makes my toes curl.
° Warm bread with butter and cheese.
° Books about words and stories and adventures on high seas and underground caves. Or colleges.
° Drawing and painting and finding that it doesn't matter if it's not pretty.
° Late night talks with a SleepyBear
° Playing video games with said Bear and finding delight in the utter patience he shows me.
° Feeling loved
° Having my breath taken away by simple things, like the way stars seem to sparkle.
° Movies that remind me how to be a kid
° Tucking my feet in my pajama pants to keep them warm.

What about you? What are your favorite things when you feel morose?

by sparty_lea

° And sheep! (and deer, rabbits and polar bear....oh my!)