Home – Even Better

I was just alerted today that my new favorite song… Home

HAS THE MOST AMAZING COVER POSTED ON YOUTUBE ALREADY!!!!!

Sylvia ~ Inspired

One of my absolute favorite authors is

Sylvia Plath

 

I started reading her poetry and her novel, The Bell Jar, while in college. I was instantly hooked. Especially after listening to her read… her voice is haunting and sounds the way I imagine all poetry should sound when spoken out loud.

There are so many beautiful quotes of hers… my favorite is

“I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited.”

I want to create SO many prints inspired by her. Here is the first of many

Society6 @ Dr. Lukas Brezak

I am part of a really neat artist community called Society6.

I sell most of my own art on this site.

There is an AMAZING collection of artists from around the world.

One of these artists is Dr. Lukas Brezak – Surgery Minor

One of his pieces got featured on the cover of my local paper

The Portland Mercury

So this is a shout out to his work and so he can see what the copy looks like!

Ocean Beauty

Thank you beautiful friend for sending me to Hawaii to take your wedding pictures. 

Thank you for being a little reckless, sidestepping “Danger – No Trespassing” sings to get the shot, for scampering up and down cliffs in your wedding dress, getting soaked by a rogue wave, and throwing yourself into the experience.

What an amazing adventure!

The Boss

Music is a relatively new phenomenon for me.

Growing up the rules were Amy Grant or Beethoven.

When I started college I adopted the musical tastes of my first close friends.

The music? Springsteen, Dylan, Rolling Stones, Elton John…

These artists will always have a special meaning to me.

Those friends will always be special to me.

When I met them back in 2005 – I knew NOTHING about music.

When I learned how important music was to them I thought I should learn something about it. Like a true nerd… I researched. I tried to read as much as I could about the bands so I could feign that I was a fan all along.

However. I got caught.

I made a mix cd with an assortment of songs that I was sure was to impress them. The plan was to leave it casually in my car and next time we all took a trip somewhere to casually slip it in – and then they would hear how cool I was. I even thought that I would be extra clever with the fallback – “Oh this cd? Yeah, this is a mix I made back in high school,” in case one of the songs was lame.

Everything was going according to plan. The lame song I included (I don’t even remember what it was) was forgiven based on my high school excuse… but then… a Bruce Springsteen song begins to play… and a voice from the backseat says,

“HEY!!!! This album was just released two months ago!!! You just made this cd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then proceeded the awkward giggling on my part for being caught is such an awkward lie. Luckily all of those guys are such great sports, maybe flattered them a bit at what great lengths I went to impress them, and yes – will ever give them ammunition in the future to make fun of me.

Anyways – here is Badlands by Bruce Springsteen. I chose this song because it contains the lyrics that this site was named after.

“Talk about a dream; try to make it real.”

+ Here is my new art piece inspired by the Boss!

“Home”

Over, Under, and Through.

I can tie my shoes.

Things are a little hectic and I feel a little frazzled at the moment, so decided to reflect on one of my accomplishments.

Hit me up with them digits, baby.

Oh High School Leah. 

There are so many things I wish that I could tell you.

But that will be for another time. Now? I will share one of my proudest high school moments.

I was a little… awkward. Home school kid going to public school for the first time… Somehow, cruelly, I was not only thrust into high school after being home schooled my entire life and travelling the country like a gypsy with my insane family… I was transferred in the middle of the semester… and a year ahead.  My thirteen year-old self was to say the least, ill-prepared. 

But hey. There is one.. one golden moment that I can be proud of for the rest of my life.

Freshman year – 2001.

I am a smart kid. In 2001 my mom decided it was time for me to go to real school. We met with academic counselors. They said, “here, now!” and I went. School was easy, always has been, but the social aspect – completely, utterly lost. One of the most vivid memories I have was leaving the locker room after P.E.

Because there was Ty. He was a senior and one of the popular crowd. He and a few friends every day, stood waiting in the gym for their class to start. After changing back into my school clothes I would step out of the locker room and immediately get surrounded by five or six eighteen year-old douche bags and hear, “Hey baby can I get your number,” “Yo, just give me your digits baby!”

(Remember I was thirteen and terrified)

Every day. They asked for my number and I stared at the floor and walked as quickly as I could out of the gym.

Weeks. Months.

Meanwhile. My mom worked at the indoor soccer arena that I played at about every day. It was a second home. One day I was helping go through paperwork when I happened to see a roster… that had Ty’s phone number. I grinned.

The next day, walking out of the locker room, the familiar chorus started, “Give me your number sexy!”

And I replied for the first time, “You want my number boys? Well, get out a pen!”

Their eyes widened with disbelief and they raced to their backpacks and readied their weapons.

“(360) 555-1234″

They squealed and scribbled the number down with delight. I batted my eyes and told them to call real soon and we would have some ‘fun.’

I glanced over at Ty who stood, jaw open, and holding his motionless pen.

zoooey

This is a new piece inspired by one of my favorite people, Zooey Deschanel.

I love her music – check out She and Him!!!

Legit.

This piece will always hold a little, special place in my heart.

This was my first big success as an artist

It blows my mind that Urban Outfitters picked up my art.

Let me repeat that. I sell my art at Urban Outfitters.

Since September I have sold 121 prints.

It is so mind-blowing to think that there are 121 people who either have this on their wall, on their phone, their laptop…

It has only been a year since I started trying to put my work out there. I can’t wait until I can fully commit to this venture. When this will be my only job. Job isn’t even the right word. Where I will be blessed to be able to live, breathe, be this cool artist person every single day.