This is a personal blog.
The majority of my posts are "friends-only" (restricted).


I don't add people back as friends if I haven't "met" them online or IRL before. More info here.

Art-related news will be posted here publicly. For updates on my jewelry and other artisan crafts as well as my online boutique, visit artofadornment.





Visit my Zazzle.com shop for posters, t-shirts, mugs, calendars & more featuring my original artwork.

Hey everyone, if you haven't already had a chance to, I hope you'll help me out with a "yes" vote (see post here). I've submitted three designs and am anxious to have at least one of them made. The stronger the yes vote, the better my chances. The voting period ends soon, hence my gentle prodding. ;)

Thanks!

And if you've already voted, super-duper thanks!!

All 3 designs are now up for voting.

Coat (thank you if you've already voted!) - http://www.chinatowner.com/community/designscore.aspx?idDesign=2361
Velvet Gown - http://www.chinatowner.com/community/designscore.aspx?idDesign=2376
Chiffon Gown - http://www.chinatowner.com/community/designscore.aspx?idDesign=2371

Sorry about the crappy drawings. Of all things, my skills at drawing clothing are a bit lame.

My first design is up at Chinatowner/ChicStar - I hope you'll help me out with a yes vote!

(I don't think you have to register on the site to vote, but could somebody let me me know for sure?)

Selected images from the many informal photos supplied by friends and family (this is by no means comprehensive - a more thorough collection is in the works).


Wedding Photo Gallery

[If you have pictures of the wedding you'd like to share, please let me know!]

October 17, 2009

Pictures are starting to filter in - stay tuned!


Also just wanted to say we had a FANTASTIC time!! The evening went by so fast I couldn't believe it. It was a bit of a squeeze but I have to admit, it made the evening so much more fun and intimate (just wish we could have accommodated more people since the guest list could have easily been 200-250 instead of 100, but that's the way things go unfortunately). The decorations looked postiviely gorgeous (many, many thanks to ladyvermath, grannygoth and drakeula for your help, you guys did a fantastic job!). Cheers also to drakeula for being the Gothiest usher and chauffeur ever, and copious thanks to kitsune_13 and langsuir for your help with so many things I can barely list them all here (although the couple of last-minute belts of Fireball whiskey right before the ceremony should get special mention, LOL)! The staff at Brock House were wonderful, the food was awesome, the music kicked *ass* (huge thanks to DJ's logik and gothiousrex!), and cheekydevil gets major kudos for MCing, DJing and keeping the pace flowing flawlessly all night long (I know it must have been like wrangling cats at times!). HUGE thanks are also owed to Mykl, who was at our side at every turn to capture the night in photos (and seriously, it must have been quite tiring!), as well as mediavictim for getting what were probably some pretty priceless moments from some pretty plastered people on video! We are very, VERY lucky to have so many talented, generous, free-spirited and hilarious friends, and we thank you all for sharing our special day with us.

To those who weren't able to be with us on Saturday, I hope you will enjoy "celebrating by proxy" via the many photos yet to come. Thank you for all your well-wishes and warm thoughts. :)

Vancouver (the city proper I mean, not suburbs) hit a record temperature yesterday of 33.8ºC (92.8ºF). The reading is taken at the airport however which is out over the water - I'm suspicious that downtown registers slightly higher because of the high concentration of tall buildings, people and cars (more pollution and less breeze). Regardless, it's hot and stinking humid.

For those of you who don't know, Vancouver has a notriously balmy coastal climate that rarely exceeds 30ºC. Good freaking lord, now it's no wonder I was cranky and half melted.

Just finished adding images to my C15 photo gallery. Most are my own and mbarrick's photos but a few have been grabbed from elsewhere & credited. If you know of people in an image that aren't credited (or credited properly) please comment here with details and a link to the photo(s) in question.

[For your amusement, a short factual story instead of the typical blogular account of my stay aboard the haunted Queen Mary. You will need about 20 minutes to read the whole thing. If you have a short attention span, little time left on your lunch break, or prefer to spoil the mood by skipping to only the "meaty bits", you can scroll down to Tales From The Ghost Ship and read from there.]



For those of you who may not already know, for 15 years now hundreds of 'net Goths from around the globe have been gathering annually under the banner of alt.gothic Convergence to meet each other face-to-face and generally share a few laughs. Though the convention predominantly takes place in the USA, each year brings a different host city with new adventures and new faces. The venue for 2009's event was the legendary RMS Queen Mary, one of the rapidly dwindling survivors from the golden age of decadent ocean liners, now permenently moored and converted into a full-service hotel in Long Beach, California. This was my 4th Convergence and I travelled with my fiancé Michael and two of our friends, staying on the Queen Mary excusively for 4 nights (July 16-20th).


RMS Queen Mary - A Living Legend

There are many things this great ship is famous for, but possibly the most fascinating is its reputation for paranormal activity. From her maiden voyage in 1936 to her retirement from active service in 1967, among many diverse travellers the Queen Mary has ferried Hollywood legends, royalty and political dignitaries, soldiers during and after the second world war, the nouveau-riche, and close to a hundred adventure seeking stowaways across the Atlantic and to other destinations. Since that time hundreds of stories have emerged about strange noises echoing down her many long, bowed passageways, spectral figures glimpsed dancing in the luxurious Grand Salon, and ghostly wet footprints appearing next to the now derelict indoor swimming pool from travellers long since passed on. There are many more such unusual stories, and your author is about to add one more.

( Things That Go Bump In The Night... )

I finished a necklace recently that I'd like to share with you. kambriel sent me some vintage crystal beads that I believe belonged to her grandmother (K can correct me on this); most of the beads were donut-shaped and pretty large. I wanted to make it in such a way that the crystal beads did not touch each other so as to avoid scratching, but also so the huge donut shapes (some almost 3/4" in diameter) didn't look odd on a relatively short 3-strand necklace. So I interspersed them with lots of different antiqued pewter beads & caps to give it a deliberate chunky feel, adding in a few small crystal beads in here and there where needed. Pictures really don't do it justice - the quality of this crystal is outstanding.

There were a few odd beads remaining that I made into a matching single-strand bracelet (no pics of that yet though because it's really hard to get a good shot).

( The photos are big so they're both behind the cut... )