Amsterdam: Dodge on Location

Wow, so I was not joking about not updating. I was half hoping that I would make a blog entry every night regaling my audience (hi mom) with tales of my adventures abroad. Alas, said adventures seem to be cutting ino the time I would have spent writing.

So, here is a brief, very abridged overview of the trip so far, more for my my sake than anything else. The ideal situation would involve me coming back and using this entry as a skeleton for a complete series of entries about my trip...

Hahahhaha, but seriously now.

-Barcelona-

Day 1:
See previous over-ambitious entry for the beginning. That night, I went out on the town with Sergio, a guy I met who worked at the hostel. He showed me around town, noting the less savory areas of town and proceeded to whisk me down alleys and into areas I would have never ventured into on my own.
Local bars with specialty shots for one euro and Estrella on tap pushed my already jet lagged body into a half awake state, shuffling down the cobblestone streets in my ill-advised high heel boots. He dropped me off at the Spanish equivalent of 8:30 at my yawning request; clearly I had some adjusting to do.

Day 2: I managed to wake up at a reasonable hour and enjoyed a cafe con leche at a local cafe, reveling in the beautiful weather I seemed incredibly fortunate to have been blessed with.

Do you see where this is going?

By my last sip, the rain was falling in sheets, unrelenting and ready to thoroughly soak anyone who dared step outdoors. A quick, frantic shuffle to the corner store (still in my inappropriate high heel boots, mind you) secured me a flimsy, yet effective paragua. (That's umbrella for those of you non-Spanish speakers.)

I figured out the metro system in a snap, and simultaneously learned just how terrible MUNI really is in SF, and was on my way to La Sagrada Familia. Rain be damned, I had Gaudi to experience! And experience I did, there was no way I could have prepared for the marvel that is La Sagrada Familia. Terrifying and beautiful, eerie and exhilarating, a maze of undulating, dripping, geometrically organic, ornately simplified madness. It was a series of beautiful contradictions that challenged everything you want to believe about beauty and architecture. Gaudi truly was just as mad as he was brilliant.

The rain blurred my vision as I craned my neck to see the looming facade, covered in stone that seemed to writhe with life, each figure eternally on the verge of escape. The chaos of the organic Nativity facade sharply juxtaposed with the paradoxical geometric and flowing Passion facade stole my breath.

After a long wander through the cathedral and a museum visit, my feet demanded I address my shoe selection. Ah yes, but it was siesta. Silly American. After a rest, I was off for lunch and to remedy my footwear dilemma.

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Alright, I must leave you here. The airplane is boarding. More later!

Dodge

Dodge on Location: Barcelona Day 1

Buenos noches from beautiful Barcelona!

In case you didn't catch my constant babbling bout this trip for the last couple months, I'm visiting Barcelona for the next two weeks (with a short field trip to Amsterdam in the middle.) I can already tell that the days are going to fly past, so I thought I'd update y'all via the blog.

Sorry in advance for bad grammar, inane run-ons that go nowhere and other written follies that occur after long periods of sleep deprivation. I have been up since 3:30 PST and have crossed over into the zone where I am no longer tired but feel hungover. That might also be because I am a little hungover.

So my flights were pretty standard, save for some of the worst turbulence of my life on the second leg. The plane jerked and shook as if it was a toy, clutched in the hand of a creatively devilish young child. More than once, I was jerked awake by what i could only assume was my certain doom, grasping at the grey plastic walls as if they were blankets after a nightmare. My seat-mate seemed not to notice the fidgeting plane, and worked feverishly on what appeared to be the largest packet of calculus homework I have ever seen.

Upon landing, I resisted the urge to kiss the scuffed airport floors and made a beeline for the tourist desk. Unashamed of my blatant "tourist" appearance (complete with sensible shoes and Lonely Planet tucked under my arm) I got as many maps and tips as I could ask for in my broken Spanish. The cherry on top was at the end of the exchange, I cheerily thanked her... In German. Why? Why is my brain the way it is.

Money changed.

Public transit to a cab where I leaves what a taxi driver looks like when the fare is €4,00 and all you have are €50,00 bils. Oops.

My hostel is decent enough, located very conveniently near La Sagrada Familia and many other Gaudi creations. I followed a Gaudi tour group for a while, absorbing what might have been the most complete history I have ever gotten from a tour group.

Lunch was a simple focaccia and cafe con leche, which turned out to be culinary bliss in that special way that only great ingredients, prepared simply can be.

I took a stroll down La Rambla, which was a rollercoaster of highs, being moved to audible bursts of emotion by the experience and lows, clutching my bag to my chest as a street vendor stalked me in an attempt to sell me his trinkets.

I sat down to sangria and tapas, both better than anything I have ever tasted in the states, and regained my strength and my buzz.

Next, I'm headed out for drinks and
maybe dancing with a hostel friend.

More as it happens!

Adios!

Camille (Yes, they are getting names now)

Meet Camille. Skeptical by nature, she is hesitant to trust and quick to throw up walls to protect her fragile heart. Her lovingly restored antique lamps sell for a premium at posh trinket stores in neighborhoods where she could only dream of living. A lifetime of dedication to her craft has left her hands flecked with scratches and scars, making them look as if a story was scrawled on them, then hastily erased, leaving the shadows of broken letters behind.

Thursday Night Sketch

Sketching in bed is always fun...

I like the hair in this one.

Sunday Night Sketch

Watching movies and sketching usually go hand in had for me. This evening, it was the melancholy and thought provoking, Lost in Translation, featuring an innocently lost Scarlett Johansson and a less innocent, but no less lost Bill Murray.

This is one of those movies I could watch no matter how many times I have seen it before. My reaction is always the same, a twist in the stomach, the flutter that comes from taking steps into a world where the ground isn't nearly as solid as I had supposed it would be.

As I journeyed through Tokyo and life transitions with the quirky, yet believable characters, I played a little more on my tablet, still in search of my artistic voice. I'm still looking for a way to say that without sounding pretentious. It isn't even about taking myself too seriously as an artist, it is about choosing a style and running with it. In the past years, I have done a lot of exploring with different styles, media, and influences, only to settle on the simple fact that at the end of the day, I'm going to draw what comes the most naturally. Every time I feel confident about the direction I'm heading in, I get nervous that it isn't "right" or that there isn't a place for it, or that it simply is a frivolous act. Strange that this is the way I feel about the most genuine pieces that I create.

In a way, my journey to accept myself as an artist is a little bit like the identity crises that overcome the characters in the movie. Even writing this feels a little silly... But sometimes writing it down helps to stop the spinning in my head.

Here are some of the sketches from during the movie.

Outa Dodge #1

Monday Night Sketch

Hello, and welcome to another exciting Monday night.

I'm doing a little bit of practice with my inking. I usually do all of my inking in Photoshop, but saw this tutorial on Cartoon Snap. The funny thing is that I've always considered Illustrator to be my forte, however, it never occurred to me to use it to get those nice crisp vector lines in my Photoshop paintings.

Hello captain obvious...

The Cartoon Snap tutorial videos are easy to follow and provide a very thorough step by step process.

Here is one of my sketches.

The Missed

Editor's note: This was such a good idea that it turnes out someone already had it! A friend of mine pointed out that Sophie Blackall has already explored this. Check out her work, its pretty awesome.

Cragslist's Missed Connections fascinate me. The idea that someone can touch another person's life without realizing it enough to motivate that person to continue to think about them is both peculiar and and amazing.

Missed connections are one side of a two-sided exchange between people, sometimes where one of the two are unaware it even happened. Or, maybe they are both aware but the experience was drastically different between the two people.

"We locked eyes and you gave a shy and mysterious smile..."

Obviously the "shy and mysterious smile" was enough to embed her in his thoughts, enough to motivate him to chase the chance that she might want to share another smile, maybe a different smile, or a variety of different smiles with him. What about her? Maybe she was remembering something that caused a momentary and subtle smile to dance across her mouth. Maybe the song, unheard to others, that came from her earbuds had a series of notes so beautiful that it moved her to expression. Or maybe, he captivated her in a way that made her smile.

The Missed is a series of my interpretations of these "missed" women, sent to the men and women who missed them.

The Missed #1

Stay tuned.

My Plea to The Moth, Come to SF!

I just sent the message below to The Moth, after listening to another one of their podcasts, and wondering for the hundredth time why they do not have events in San Francisco. Maybe, it is because no one has ever offered to make it happen. I'm not exactly sure what I could do, myself, however, I do know that I can't be the only person who wants this and that we can make this happen if we work together!

A.

____

I grew up in the suburban sprawl of San Jose, just an hour south of the cultural wonderland that is San Francisco. For about twenty-five years, I existed, spending my young, curious years trying to sniff out the artistic and cultural pockets of what seemed to be the culturally barren landscape of San Jose.

Luckily with some perseverance, and a good network, established through years in the economically-painted, orange art building at San Jose State University, I was able to find my place in the tiny, yet active San Jose creative scene.

Now, I am finally up in the little seven by seven nest, perched at the top of the peninsula, and crowned by the iconic golden bridge that draws the eyes and awe of residents ad tourists alike. I am finally in the center of all things cultural, creative, and covered in sparkles, whether they be from a guerilla art project, or the foil from a discarded burrito.

The only thing that is missing from the city I love so much is the Moth. How is it that a city like mine has not had the privilege of hosting a Moth chapter or event?

I would like to most humbly offer my assistance in any way that would be helpful if this is in the works, or to get the ball rolling. I'm not exactly a writer, but a storyteller all the same... and if you could not already tell, love to explore the English language through writing... or rambling.

What can I do to make The Moth, SF a reality?

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you have a story-worthy week.

Audrey Akin

408-348-2623

audreyeakin@gmail.com

Fact of Life #11

Fact of Life #10