GOYA Friday - Summer means Haircuts for ALL!

The start of summer means haircuts for all! Yes, that's right: I got my hair cut, and then the next week Maurice got his hair cut. Or, I should say, Andy and I cut his hair. I don't have any real qualifications to do this, other than I used to cut everyone's hair in college, but that was when we were all poor and for the most part car-less, and had no other options. Desperation will make a person do strange things, including allowing me to give them a mohawk. But I digress...

Step One: Prepare the Sasquatch
(This consists of putting him on a folding table so he can't run away.)



Step Two: Begin shaving the Sasquatch



(Note spindly little tail that hides beneath 5+ inches of fur)



Step Three: Trim Ears
(Note all the fur around the table... this filled an entire large garbage bag!)



(Note my intense expression as I try not to mess this part up)



Step Four: Pet dog as a reward for being so good for the last hour and a half
(I know it looks like I'm grabbing his scruff rather harshly, but he likes it, honest!)



And that, my friends, is how you go from Sasquatch to Spider Monkey in less than two hours!

And, finally, MY new haircut:



So now everyone is cool, comfortable, and ready to begin summer!

GOYA Friday - 7th Street

The other week I went to a meeting for Artomatic, which is a huge arts event here in DC. Since I don't get to make it down to the District as much as I would like, I decided to take some photos on the way to and from the meeting. This is right outside the Warehouse Cafe on 7th Street in Chinatown, and there were a lot of interesting textures and shapes to be found just within that block alone. I got a lot of photos that day, but these are my favorites so far.

Easter Fun

Over the weekend, I had a chance to visit with family, which is very nice these days since I only get to see my family a couple of times a year. We spent Saturday with my mom's side of the family at my cousin's house, and spent Sunday at my grandmother's house - that's her on the left. I thought these photos really captured her, since she's always the life of the party and fun to be around. She's also the family member I most resemble as far as looks go, so let's just hope I look as good as she does when I'm her age! In keeping with the tradition on both sides of the family, there was so much food. I think I went into sugar shock several times over the course of the weekend. Is my family the only one that serves an Easter lasagna, or are there others out there with some unique Easter traditions? My family is full of strange holiday traditions. The Antognolis play Bingo every Christmas Eve, and I think it may be safe to say that we are indeed the only ones who do that. My grandmother calls out the numbers, but she uses a mix of English, Italian, and some made up language so it makes it really hard to win (without cheating) : )

On Sunday, I also got to see my cousin, her husband and two daughters. They just keep getting bigger and bigger. They were big hams for the camera, so I got a lot of shots of them (see below).





And finally, what Easter would be complete without a sasquatch? It's getting warmer, which means Maurice will be getting all his hair cut off very soon. He just can't do much of anything with 5+ inches of fur when it's 90 degrees out. So if I want to make a quick buck by taking some blurry photos of him running through the woods and selling them to bigfoot hunters, I have to do it in the next couple of weeks!

GOYA Friday - The ArtDC.org studio

I'm posting this a day early again, but I have a good excuse - not much time to post tomorrow!

In any case, this past weekend, Andy and I made a trip down to the ArtDC studio for a meeting, and also just to check the place out. It's an awesome space, and I look forward to holding classes there and possibly teaching one or two of them! It rained the whole day, so it was pretty miserable out, but Jesse, ArtDC.org founder, was kind enough to pick us up from the metro so we didn't have to get too soaked.

A few of these photos were taken near the loading dock of the studio, and since I couldn't decide which one I liked best, I'm posting several! The exit sign is inside the building, and the crane is near the NY Ave. metro stop. Cranes are seemingly permanent fixtures here in the DC metro area. Something is always being torn down or rebuilt.

And for all you artists out there, you should really visit Artdc.org and consider joining. It's a valuable resource, and awesome for networking with other local artists. I've met some really cool and talented people through my association, and look forward to working with them to promote the arts here in DC.

For whatever reason, I can't post the other two photos! But I'll post what I have, and update when blogger is feeling better...

Edit: Haha... better!

GOYA Friday - Cherry Blossoms

(Let's pretend it's Friday... Ok?)

This week I decided to take some photos of the cherry tree in my yard, since this is the time they're in full bloom. There's a very narrow window of opportunity for this, as they only stay in bloom for about a week before the petals start to fall and the green leaves start to bud.

I realize these aren't the typical tourist-attracting cherry blossom shots that everyone would expect, but that's ok. I like different. This is my shot of the same cherry tree from this week last year:



Again, not the typical cherry tree shot, and very different from this year's photos as well. This is a self portrait, actually. I wonder what I'll think of to do with photographing this tree next year?