a quickie June 13, 2009

so i know.. shocking. i just wrote a blog less than a week ago, and here i go again!  ha. but i just had to share about the wonderful day i had the other day. i went to a farmer’s market in baton rouge, with my sis and bro-in-law. it was most amazing!!! especially after reading animal, vegetable, miracle, which talks mostly about eating locally as to encourage your local economy, local farming, better products, less fuel used, etc

Red Stick Farmer's Market

The book talks about the deception of “organic” produce and other items. Here are a couple of really good quotes. Hopefully it will encourage you to read it!

“A chicken may be sold as “free range” if the house in which it’s confined (with 20,000 others) has a doorway leading out to a  tiny yard, even though that doorway remains shut for so much ofthe chiken’s lives, they never learn to go outside. This is not a theoretical example.  A national brand of ogranic dairy products also uses confined animals- in this case, cows whose mandated “free range” time may find them at home in crowded pens without water, shade, or anything resembling “the range”.  The larger the corporation, the more distant its motives are apt to be from the original spirit of organic farming0 and the farther the products will likely be shipped to buyers who will smile at the happy farm picture on the package, and never be the wiser.- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, p. 122

“But “locally grown” is a denomination whose meaning is incorruptible.  Sparing the transportation fuel, packaging, and unhealthy additives is a complelling part of the story, but the plot goes well beyong that.  Local food is a hadnshake deal in a community gathering place.  It involved farmers with first names, who show up week after week.  It means an open-door policy on the fields, where neighborhood buyers are welcome to come have a look, and pick their food from the vine.  Local  is farmers growing trust.” Animal, Vegetable, Miracle p. 123

Marketing jingles from every angle lure patrons to turn our backs on our locally owned stores, restaurants, and farms.  And nobody considers that unpatriotic.  This appears to aggravate Tod Murphy. (a farmer) “We have the illusion of consumer freedom, but we’ve sacrificed our community life for the pleasure of purchasing lots of cheap stuff.  Making and moving all that stuff can be so destructive: child labor in foreign lands, acid rain in the Northeast, depleted farmland, communities where the big economic engine is crystal meth.  We often have the form of liberty, but not the substance. “

summer sweetness June 6, 2009

nothing says summer like sunflowers!

pesky pests...

So the summer is well on its way here in sunny, southern LA.  The humidity has yet to become overbearing, which is great.  I finished out this past semester with an A in my art education class and  a B in my special ed class, so that went pretty well.  The break from classes and homework etc has been most wonderful.  Gives me more time to do fun, random things that i’ve been saving up… painting,  crafty projects of hair feather headbands and the like, cooking, pleasure reading, trying to learn the guitar!, tending to my garden, swimming, working out. blah blah blah. ha. probably more than you wanted to know. but.. nonetheless. what i’ve been and hope to be doing, when im not working.  still at cafe des amis as a server, and great harvest bread co.

a few unexpected turn of events had happened in the last few months.  some were pleasant, some not nearly so much.  but.. one of the pleasant surprises was when my fellow GH co-worker/long distance cousin, Dallas Begnaud, told me he had nominated me for the Best Artist in Acadiana in the Times of Acadiana, a local magazine that is produced.  mostly focuses on local arts and culture/music scene etc.  every year they have a best of category for lost of different things. bakery, cajun restaurant, boudin, nursery, dr etc. lots of different categories. well there’s a couple of weeks where names are submitted, then after that the times selects 5 or 6 of the people, then people have to vote on who they think is the best in acadiana for whatever category.. so.. my name made into the finalists actually! i was quite suprised.. we will find out next week who won. the bakery was in for best bakery, and cafe des amis was in for best chef and best bloody mary.. i really dont think  won, but it was great publicity to get my  name out there and now… i get to display some of my artwork at cafe des amis because our owner realized i was an artist. so that’s pretty exciting.

im kinda coasting through the month of june and some of july doing all the above mentioned. ill also be volunteering with bridge ministry, a tutoring/ summer program in lafayette for a really poor area.  im getting the serious travel bug and hopefully will be visiting a friend in idaho/oregon in july and then the family vacation at the beach in august! cant wait for that.

herb drawer: onion tops and basil from seed

green beans! quite lovely how they climb

grape tomatoes!! yum. my fav

the garden is doing pretty well. pepper plants of all sorts, squash, tomatoes, green beans, onions, tomatoes, and hopefully the cukes and okra will pull through! been struggling with those. and of course herbs. i recently made a new flower bed by our house and lined it with wine bottles. it looks pretty cool..:) ha.

tabascos.. love that La!

the wine bottle bed

ive been reading “animal, vegetable, miracle”, a great book about eating and growing local food. amazing read actually. i highly recommend it.

April 7, 2009

the Royale's fleur de lis'

me and Monet’s waterlilies!

Charity and I

This past week i went on a trip to Missouri.  My cousin, Paul lived there for a few years and his wife, Charity, is from there.  They just had a baby, sweet, little Kyan Asher Trahan, so they wanted to go visit Charity’s family and invited me along for the ride.  So.. it worked out and i couldnt pass up a road trip!  It was a lot of fun and I got to see a lot of things while there. It was a great getaway.  Dustin, Charity’s brother, and I hung out a good bit and he was a great host.  He showed me around all of St Louis pretty much.  The first evening we went to/drove around a bunch of areas in St Louis. The Loop which had  this great record store, hippy clothing store,t and resale clothing shop, among other things.  We went to some other areas as well, but i dont really remember their names…   Then we went and ate at this place called The Royale, and they had fleur de lis painted on the sides of the building and their name is French. This was the first time I’d ever seen the fleur de lis anywhere other than in La.  Apparently, New Orleans and St Louis are quite similar, except St Louis is a little more family friendly, little less of a  crazy/party town.  The city was founded by King Louis XIV i think, and so it has a few French names and what not.  But no French people live there anymore.. Next day the whole family went to the St Louis Art Museum, which was amazing! and it’s FREE all the time!  It was huge and had a lot of great art, and the grounds were beautiful too, but unfortunately it was raining, so I didnt get to explore outside very much.  There are these great, large, grassy parks everywhere throughout the city. They were really nice and literally there was one every time you turned around.  Then Dustin and I ate at this cool little place called the Shaved Duck.  Its located in an older building with old brick walls like the cafe i work at.  We didnt actually eat any duck, even though it was on the menu in a couple of different forms.  The chef/owner would come and bring out the plates of food to the tables! it was so weird but really cool that he would do that. He  was from Scotland and seemed really chill and cool.

The Arch

The next day we went to see the Arch.  We ran out of time and were not able to go up it.   I also got to see the Mississippi River.  Just like in New Orleans, there were  horse drawn carriages and river boat tours!  Then Dustin took me to see this  huge wall that goes on forever that is full of graffiti.

the GiANT graffiti wall

The mayor allows it and its been there for a long time now, but people just come and paint on it/tag it and it was very colorful and huge! Really neat to see.  Never seen so much graffiti in one place.  Then we to REI, great place! Too bad we dont have them in LA.  Then he had to go to work so I went out on my own and checked out the Great Harvest Bread Co. in St Louis.  It was similar to ours, but different in some ways.  I met the owner, Steve, and he was very nice and generous, as every GH owner has been that I’ve met.  Sent me off with a bunch of free deliciousness.  Then I also went to Trader Joes! Love that place and got some of my fav pineapple salsa from there   LOVE IT.

Paul and I as tree people

Next day we started off the day with breakfast at First Watch, a local breakfast place. It was very good.  Then we  went to Missouri Botanical Gardens which were huge and beautiful! So many flowers in bloom and flowering trees. Tulips and daffodils everywhere.

this patch smelled delightful!

flowering cherry blossom trees. tres lovely

It was a lovely, sunny day as well.  It is really big, so we walked around some of the place, and the Japanese Gardens, but there was a ton that we didnt see.  Then we went and ate at a little place called Mom’s Deli, a sandwich shop similar to Olde Tyme Grocery in Lafayette.  After that we had frozen custard from Ted Drewe’s. It’s a really popular place. It was also really tasty.  After that we went to my favorite place of the whole trip…. The City Museum.  The name doesnt do it justice.  It was this incredible outdoor/indoor play place for adults and kids all made out of recycled/junk materials. Old firetruck, old planes, rebar, glass bottles, etc. SSSSOOOOO amazing. and FUN! i loved it. i unfortunately did not get any pics from this because we left our cameras in the car so we could play. but there’s a website. i totally want to build one in LA and like every state! it’s that amazing. http://www.citymuseum.org/phototour.html  you really should check it out.

So that was most of the trip, in a semi nutshell.  Charity’s family is very sweet and generous and I enjoyed myself. It was a worry free trip for me and now I must return to the normal daily grind…
More photos on facebook at :http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065679&id=68602654&l=64ca4a5879

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065697&id=68602654&l=c9ca3269c9

so it’s been more than a month… April 7, 2009

naturally, a lot has happened since my last post. i will write a couple of short posts so that it is not one GIGANTIC one that everyone gets bored with. general update: i am still working at cafe des amis and really liking it. i get to meet a lot of really neat people from all over the world and there’s live music and its just a unique place.  i am also still working at great harvest bread co and loving that as well. the people and products are still wonderful.  school is winding down for the semester. have about a month left and then ill be FREE to an extent, for the summer at least. to work a lot. and hopefully get some traveling/road tripping in.

lovely petunias. the veins are my favorite part

i also recently ran a 5K with Tigers Against Trafficking, an organization recently started up at LSU to raise awareness about human trafficking. it was a beautiful day and nice run around LSU, and for a great cause. i finished in like 27.5 min or so.  running another 5K at the end of this month for Festival internationale… woo hoo cant wait.

the new flower/herb garden

i have a summer garden started! there will be a myriad of delicious veggies, hopefully at least!   i started quite a few plants from seeds in my makeshift greenhouse aka my utility room.  i started jalapenos, corn, cucumbers, basil, artichokes, sugar snap peas, garden green beans, and i think that’s all. then i bought some other hot pepper plants and tomato plants, so.. should have quite the harvest if things go well. it will be kind of nice to actually be here this summer some and be able to tend to it and enjoy the fruit. last summer i left for CO, so never really took care of or ate anything from it.  i just love spending a day in the spring sunshine tilling the soil and getting a great workout. its so refreshing and rewarding. i also made a new flower/herb bed. its right by our house and looks much better than the half dead grass that was kinda growing there. i just hope it will get enough sun once the leaves on the surrounding trees come in. guess we will have to see.

Make shift greenhouse

well. that is about it for now. i just took a trip to missouri, but i will make that a separate post.

dom bomb

triad of green beans!

Excitement and uncertainty December 26, 2008

my Daddy and I

I am now an offiical college graduate!  I received my Bachelor’s of Fine Arts, concentrating in  printmaking and painting, from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) this past Sat.  It is still somewhat surreal.  The ceremony was very short and sweet. I enjoyed it and graduated with a lot of my fellow artist friends and classmates.  What’s next?  What are you going to do with your life now? I have heard every manner of that question a zillion times within the last year.  So.. for now I am going back to school.. i know… just cant get enough of it, very part time, only 3 nights a week, 2 classes, for this semester and the next.  I will be getting my alternative certification to teach K-12 art education.  It will not take very long and I will become a certified teacher after I complete the program at UL.  So, in  a sense I really do not feel like I am done with school, mostly because I am only done with my Bachelor’s…I am working at Cafe des Amis as a server.  It’s a really cool local restaurant, pretty small but also pretty well known. if you have never been, you totally should go. great food and on sat mornings there is a live zydeco band and dancing. its great fun. and there is live music on wed nights as well. www.cafedesamis.com  check it out.  i am also going to be working part time at great harvest bread co again! very excited about that. i have worked there for a year and a half and that was so fun. love the people, products, everything about it.  so tues, thurs am will be there and pm in class.  and the cafe is mostly weekends, nights etc.  they are both great. i have never worked in a restaurant before, but i’ve caught on for the most part to everything. we have to do our own drinks, so that is def the trickiest part. i dont know much about all that.. but ill bet in a month or so i will know quite a bit.  i am a people pleaser by nature, so i enjoy the interaction with people and all.  i have been training and this sunday will be my first day out there on my own! i will also try to substitute teach on a occasion as well, just to get out in the school system and everything, see how it is and *hopefully* find a great art teaching position while doing so. here’s the link to the rest of the pics via facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2059052&l=0137b&id=68602654

my bro-in-law, Mike and sis, Mignon

brother, Jonah and I

my best friend, Cailah, who is living in Costa Rica. her parents surprised me and flew her in!

Senior Thesis Art Exhibition December 26, 2008

one of my prints, photo etching, "exquisite"

On Dec 6th, my graduating visual arts class at UL had our sr thesis art exhibition.  It went very well, with a closing ceremony that day that many friends and family came to.  I appreciate everyone who made it out to show their support of this crazy artist in the making.   It is hopefully only the beginning of me getting artwork into galleries and museums.  I love to create, but I feel less inclined to do so when I see so much of my past work sitting at my house, crowding up all the  tiny rooms.  I will include a few photos from the event and the link on facebook if you would like to see more. Sorry they are on this post so crazy. i am still not completely sure how to load pics on here very well. its’ confusing.here’s the link for the rest of the photos.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058186&l=da1f5&id=68602654

my exhibition painting

one of my prints "all the litttle things"

"leaves of grass", another print

most complicated color print, "setting sun on a warm autumn day"

the installation at the museum

here i am.. little artist

the monthly update November 21, 2008

my sis made this cute beanie for me!

I have noticed its been about once a month that I write my blog updates ,so… here it is here for the month of Nov.

little celery i almost gave up on

It’s been a busy month.  This past weekend I helped my professor frame all my prints that I will be submitting to the museum for my sr show.  They look really great all prof and matted and framed.  So strange because I feel as though I’ve always been watching other people do this, and now it is my turn.  I remember my freshmen year as an art major in CA.  I called home crying multiple times, unsure if this was what I was supposed to do.  I couldnt imagine ever being able to do a sr show. It seemed like the most daunting thing in the world.  But in the last three or four years or schooling i came to the realization that this is what I am supposed to do.  It is a gift and a passion that I possess.  If I do not use it, something inside of me dies.  The show is only a couple of weeks away, Dec 6th.  It will be so strange to not come to school every day, not have my own studio space to paint in and all the presses to make prints with.  It will be quite the adjustment, not to mention not having my classmates and professors to constantly get feed back from.  I am somewhat ready for this new chapter in life.  I am not sure what I will be doing… other than going back to school for 2 classes.  I am going to get my certification to teach K-12 art ed, so it will take 2 classes this sem and 2 next sem, then ideally a job teaching which would count as my student teaching.  So, I wont be going anywhere too soon, although after I get my credential, I will not be opposed to moving.  I ultimately want to go to grad school for art therapy, but that will be in a few years because I want to be a little more financially secure.  I will have to go to grad school out of state because there are no programs here.

arugula

not sure what this is! i compost, so its seeds from something...possibly pumpkin

onions anyone?

i love me some fresh herbs!

I recently planted a winter garden, from seeds, my first winter garden ever. Pretty exciting when they all started poking up out of the ground.  I had planted some seeds in containers, and others in the ground.  The container ones came up within a week or so, and I had almost given up hope on the ones in the ground.. but lo and behold, a few weeks later, they are now coming up!  I will hopefully have, onions, carrots, arugula, black seeded simpson lettuce, broccoli, radishes and cauliflower.  The celery I was really worried about, but just this morning finally saw some tiny little leaflets popping up! I love watching things grow, esp from seed.  It’s so neat.

the state of things October 24, 2008

well, it’s been quite some time since i’ve written down the happenings of my life.  its been a very busy, productive semester.  my senior thesis art exhibition is looming around the corner and will be here in only a few short weeks.  i have been in the studio working on printmaking and paintings literally every weekend and countless hours during the week for the past couple of months. i feel as if i live there and only go home to sleep.  but, most times it is not too. i’ve grown accustomed to it, although i will enjoy when i can have a little more free time to do whatever i like.  it has gotten a little bit cooler here in the last couple of days and it feels like winter, for la anyway.. but in like a day, it could feel like the middle of the summer again. so… hard to really get into the winter weather mode. i cut off all my hair about a month ago now, i guess.  it was quite liberating and i very much like i short. i dontated to locks of love, an organization that makes wigs for children with diseases that makes them lose their hair and they cannot afford wigs.  short hair is so much easier and it was much cooler when it was blazing hot and sticky here. in a few months i will be graduating from college.. weird, scary and exciting. i am unsure of what exactly i will do. most likely go back to school… just cant get enough of it apparently   and get my credential to teach k-12 grades.  that will probably take a year or two depending on how many classes i take. ideally i would love to get a great job in my field in the area… but well see about that. as of now, nothing is available that i am aware of.  i am currently working very part time for a glass artist in a nearby small town, breaux bridge. her name is ginger kelly, she’s originally from seattle, wa, moved down here couple of years ago.

some of the bracelets i make at gingers

i help set up her shop and run it when she is away at festivals or making work in seattle.  its a cool place with her blown glass pieces of jewelry, vases,etc.  check out her site, www.gingerkelly.com  she’s really sweet, very laid back and i get to make bracelets and earrings with the glass beads she makes. she’s kind of my art mentor as well. she’s a bit older, probably in her fifties, and very helpful and encouraging about getting my art out into the public and wants to help me make connections.she’s great.  i look forward to the next couple of months and all the changes that will take place… and i also dread it a bit as well. bittersweet.  it will probably be a while before i post again .. sorry, just the nature of the time of my life right now, so.. till next time

db

me (with my short hair) and my sis, mignon

home, hurricanes, and college once again September 4, 2008

I have been back home in louisiana for a couple of weeks now.  I enjoyed a week or so just hanging with family and friends, looking for jobs, getting ready for school, etc.  school started aug 25th.  i really enjoy all of my classes and am excited about my last semester of undergrad in visual arts at UL.  at the end of our first week of school there was talk of not having school the next week due to an impending hurricane, Gustav, that was in the gulf.  well… it came. was a category 4 in the gulf, hit la at a cat 2, thankfully! i went to my sister and her husbands house in baton rouge and watched the winds blow. it was very strange being

i was ready for the hurricane! kinda...

in la again during a major hurricane. the last one that i was arround for was in 1995, 13 years ago… so i was only 10, but i do remember it.

huge bank sign, on the ground after the storm

it was the strangest thing to buy canned goods and food and water, batteries, gas, anything you might need after the storm hit because up to the day it hit, the weather was sunny and warm, no hint of a storm at all.  it felt like a joke was being played on us and we were going to be made out as idiots.  i began to feel some of what noah must have felt. god telling him to build a HUGE boat? (what was that?) for rain… what’s that? all they had ever seen was sunshine… a flood? What?  so i kind of felt like what he might have felt in some degree.  thankfully there was not too much rain, so minimal flooding in our area, but in baton rouge, millions of people lost power and they are saying there are some people who will not be getting it back until maybe up to four weeks!  crazy. we take so many things for granted. the winds were 90 mph in baton rouge and SO many HUGE old oak trees were just pushed right over.

playing cards with my sis.. we loved this headlamp! (she usually looks much better than this:)

the grass looked like carpet just pullled up. roots and all. and many trees snapped in half, some fell on houses, crushing them and killing people. so many roads were closed. it was so strange to have  no… lights, air conditioning, internet, power of any kind to charge phones or laptops or anything like, no hot water… we sat around and played cards and watched the shingles fly off of the roof hoping and praying no large trees would fall and no major damage would be done.  thankfully all of my family was fine. my sis’s house only had a little roof damage and we had some branches in the yard at my dad’s house.  so.. Gustav did not harm us. praise jesus.  so.. i head back to school tmw.  i wasnt even ready for a break as we had only been in it for a week!, so i’m mostly ready to go back.. i hope these last three days of not being in school did not put us back too far. i will be working on my senior thesis art project.. basically at the end of the semester i have to have 10-20 pieces that about 2-5 will be selected from to put in a gallery along wiht all my fellow graduating art major classmates.  its pretty exciting and a big deal, so your prayers for inspiration, patience, and dedication during this semester would be greatly appreciated!  ill include a couple of pics of some pieces i was working on last semester which is in the vein of what i will be doing this semester.

peace

dominique

everyone, including my profs loved this one. it was my first one of this kind of print, called a photo emulsion etch

the love/hate relationship August 19, 2008

On the drive home, I pondered all the things I’ll miss about Colorado and Camp IdRaHaJe… and all the things I wont miss! ☺ So…thought I would share a few. ( a dear friend Kristie blogged a similar post about her time in India… not trying to copy her, but i found it interesting,so… kudos to Kristie)

I Will Miss:
-beautiful mountains and scenery
-rushing rivers with fresh snow melt (aka not brown water)
-my narrow way family/ co-workers
-all the wooden cabins with amazing views and huge windows
-the quiet and lack of tvs and other noise
-the pretty much perfect, cool, dry weather
-showers
-the amazing environment- encouraging notes and words, hugs, smiling faces, living life with other people seeking after Christ
-going somewhere just about every weekend and seeing an amazing part of CO and having a good time

-always traveling and making plans with 11 other people

-being able to hang out and do adventurous stuff all the time

-hanging with kids and hopefully impacting their lives in a positive way
-the smell of the woods and vanilla trees
-incredible thunderstorms with the most beautiful lightning imaginable
-weather changing every 20 min

-incredible sunsets

-people who love the outdoors and doing stuff outside all the time

I will not miss:
-my uncomfortable plastic mattressed bed
-walking 50’ to the shower
-dust being everywhere and my skin being dried out all the time
-not being able to take a bath and always having dirty feet
-not being able to cook whatever I want whenever I want
-driving 20 min to the closest grocery store
-paying $3.75 to wash a load of laundry… but it never came out very clean
-always traveling and making plans with 11 other people
-fearing that I will get eaten by a mountain lion or bear every time I walked out of my cabin at night
-eating meals on a tight schedule

-required lights out at 10:30pm.!!!… that’s just when the creative juices start flowing! ;0 at least for me…

So, for the most part the good outways the bad. Nothing was ever unbearable… just not the best at times. But i’ve been reading this book called the Irresistable Revolution by Shane Claiborne. It’s an incredible book that i highly recommend that you read if you have not already. It’s very thought provoking and calls us as Christian to live lives of true love, to everyone, not just the people we like or are comfortable with.  Its a call to a different kind of life, especially challenging for the typical, comfortable American Christian.  But such a good thing.  I’ll include a quote here just to give you an idea of what the book is like.. hopefully it will encourage you to read it for yourself.

“We need converts in the best sense of the word, people who are marked by the renewing of their minds and imaginations, who no longer conform to the pattern that is destroying our world.  Otherwise we have only believers, and believers are a dime-a-dozen nowadays.  What the world needs is people who believe so much in another world that they cannot help but begin enacting it now.

Then we will start to see some true conversion vans- vehicles that run on veggie oil instead of diesel.  Then we will see some converted homes – fueled by renewable energy- and laundry machines powered by stationary bicycles and toilets flushed with dirty sink water.  Then we will see tears converted to laughter as people beat their swords into plowshares and weld their machine guns into saxophones, and as police officers use their billy clubs to play baseball.”

Conversion is not an event but a process, a process of slowly tearing ourselves from the clutches of the culture.

I just watched Moulin Rouge last night for the second time.   It had been a while since I had seen it and in some respects the Bohemians reminded me a little bit of Shane Claiborne and this counter-culture lifestyle… only he encourages a lifestyle that’s maybe a little less experimental.   “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return”. -Moulin Rouge quote

I want to a revolutionary.