Cleanse myself with vitamin health, but I'm already gone

Had an amazing drawing day at college today! We covered the room with webs of coloured wool, which I sat beneath and drew for hours whilst listening to the above album. It was kinda dreamy. xx

http://grinandbearitzine.tumblr.com/

He pulled the mirrors off his cadillac,

cause he doesn't like it looking like he looks back

Tame Impala Elephant

Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour, Blue Jay Way

photo by Ira Cohen

Well I had a lovely day today. I picked up the latest issue of Oh Comely, found an interesting book by A. Alvarez about suicide, and got some new film for my camera. I took a walk around where I live, without direction, purposefully disorientating myself. Sunflowers, stone, white on grey, windows and volkswagens, directions, accents, lingering shadows, keep the engine running, missed opportunities, lips parted, unusual quiet, head against the pane, breeze on my cheeks.
This week I have been on a magical mystery tour of the wonderful world of psychedelia. Seeing the afformentioned Beatles film was a revelation! It was brilliant. I loved the freedom of the camera, the prism-like distortions, the projections and layering. My favourite scenes were probably when they actually performed songs, particularly George Harrison's Blue Jay Way, which was enchanting. I'm also listening to Tame Impala's album Lonerism , which is pretty Beatles-esque in parts. The video for Elephant is probably the best music video I have ever seen. I usually find music videos quite tiresome, I'd rather just listen to the song, but the video for Elephant, directed by Yoshi Sodeoka is so visually arresting, I can barely look away. There are loads of comments beneath it on Youtube about how it is/would be great/scary/trippy to watch whilst high, but I think it works perfectly well instead of drugs, experiencing it sober seems powerful enough to me.
Perhaps my eyes need a rest. At college we've been doing life drawing all week, which was amazing and tiring. I think it's true what they say about how drawing teaches you to look differently, properly, critically. I catch myself paying much more attention to forms and volumes and negative space. I was sat on the bus the other day, daydreaming and looking at the soft curve at the elbow of some stranger, imagining how I would draw it. I could almost feel the shape. It was strange. Unexpected, but welcome.

x 

Elephant

Baby can you see through the tears?

 

I'd never really understood why people kept cacti. As a child, they seemed like the sort of plant that I would only ever encounter dust-covered and cobwebbed on shelves, in the musty sitting rooms of old ladies you were obliged to visit with your mum. Bobbly curtains, saccharine lemonade in yellow glasses,  ancient murray mints. But now I totally get it, they're beautiful! I especially love the flowers, the juxtaposition of silken petals and bristly pines and the rings of blooms like crowns. They look strangely succulent, sumptuous, almost. I think I'll go do some cacti drawings now! 

The next week of my art foundation course will be focused on textiles, specifically screen-printing, which we need to prepare drawings for. Wouldn't a cactus print be amazing?! 

Speaking of art foundation, I've been horribly busy lately, so sorry if I promised you a zine that hasn't arrived! I've pretty much scrapped issue three of Grin and Bear it, as I'm considering taking it in a new direction...

Today I've been listening to the song below non-stop, I love it. It's making me want to go out dancing...but in a sultry, slow motion kind of movie-way. Does that make sense? It does in my head.  I will love you till the end of time. I would wait a million years. Promise you'll remember that you're mine, baby cam you see through the tears?

raindrops in my eyes

Summer of Love

Seeing as it was lovely and sunny today, I've created a playlist of summery songs and songs that remind me , personally, of summer. It's quite short because 8tracks was being stupid, but I've written out the full list in issue 3 of Grin and Bear It zine. Anyway, follow me on 8tracks! My username is grinandbearit (as you can see) xxx.

Summer of Love from grinandbearitzine on 8tracks.

L'Espace d'une Fille

oui oui oui

Homeless

Did anyone see the Imagine documentary on Paul Simon's Graceland last night? It was so perfect. I'd never heard any of the songs before and now I'm definately gonna go and buy the album.

You can watch the documentary here.

This song had me blubbering all over the place:

Sonic Youth

I just want to wrap myself up in this song.

In the cool of the evening...

We don't live anywhere

All that's left of the dreams I hold

I can't stop listening to this song! I'm not really one of those people that are really into marriage/weddings or anything, I don't fantasize about it and never have, but I just love this song.

Totally dancing around my room right now, as per...