~TiliaLinden

Monday, my new sewing machine arrived. I'm so happy with it, before I had to use mom's old and very, very basic machine (which was impossible to find a good wire tension for). Now that it's weekend and I have a reprieve from school, I'm experimenting on the new machine. It can do so much! This afternoon I think I'll finally manage to finish the woolen skirt we had to make in school. I wasn't finished with it and we're no longer working on it in school. I couldn't finish it properly with the old sewing machine, but now it isn't a problem anymore.

Iraqi terrorists, I mean. You really have to be MONSTERS to use women with Down-syndrome for bomb attacks. Some of you know my sister is handicapped -not Down syndrome-, the thought that they would use my sister for such evil purpose and with no regard to her, fills me with rage.

I've been thinking about my ideal home and my fantasy home, I wanted to put it into words. Plus a question.

In most modern architecture I find privacy lacking. Why have all your walls windowed, if can't enjoy the views, because you feel like you are in a fishbowl? My ideal home gives me privacy, so no huge window panels (except for in the roof maybe). Also my ideal home hugs and comforts me. With that I mean it must have a cozy and intimate feel, it has to be homely. For that reason I will never desire a big house or a huge open loft, give me rather smaller rooms where I can hide in and be myself. Our Western dream, tells us that 'bigger is better'. The Americans made this their life motto, but even us Europeans think a bit like that. Having a big home is a show of financial status. I'd rather have a home than a show status. This is what I desire of a home.

My fantasy home does not take into account if it's realizable, financially possible, has the necessary adjustments to live in winter/summer climates,.... It's fantasy. Fantasy can later be translated into reality by making it fit with your means and needs, but that's not important when dreaming. For example the elven homes dreamed up by J.R.R. Tolkien, they are fantasy, not livable. Does it matter that they are not livable in reality? No. It you decide to make it reality and want to live in a tree like the elves, then only, you need to make it match your need and possibly make amends (in you lifestyle for example). What I'm trying to say is that for others it might be the house they dream of having one day (their dream house, for example: "I want to live in a big mansion", "I want to live on a houseboat",...), but for me a fantasy home is just that: fantasy.

So my fantasy home is on a peaceful lake, surrounded by a forest. It's a small wooden village on water. In a way, think of the floating temple in "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring" [link] . Architecturally I imagine small wooden rooms connected to each other by bridges. For the rooms I think of the treehouses of Orion [link] [link] . The lines and feel of Lothorien in LOTR intrigue me, so I want to corporate that into my fantasy as well. In this fantasy place you have to go to shore to grow crops and to keep animals, it's also quite secluded from the rest of the world. I know a lot more about this place, it's a fantasy world that is in my head and if I was a storyteller I would gladly share, but I don't have a talent with words. I have plans to make artworks showing this place though and that's where I need help

So, I was wondering if anyone of you know some good sites with wooden architecture (going from modern styles to historical buildings, all would be great), villages on water (like Venice, the slumps of the poor Asian people,...), elven styles (architecture, drawings, furniture,...), other fantasy architecture,...
This would help me give me a clearer view of how I want my fantasy to look. Right now I only have a vague view of how it should be, there aren't many details.

... a lot has happened since then. I feel as if my life turned up side down... in a good way!

I go back to school: Fashion Design
And I love it! It allows me to be creative, I'm learning Couture sewing finishes, I'm learning to draw up patterns for all clothes (which is incredibly useful since the system we use builds up the patterns from scratch and you can make literally every pattern with that system), ... Soon I'll post my designs for my end project here.

I have new real life friends
This was something I hadn't dared to hope for when I went back to school. Now I'm blessed with a good class and 4 of them I'm good friends with. I never had friends to go out with before (other than Gitte, my friend from childhood, who I see rarely), now I have! *happy dance*

I no longer hide myself
I cut my long hair short and it looks great, no more mousy hair. I got extravagant looking boots that I really love, no more giving a fuck about the reactions of others, like the other class in school who didn't even wait until I was out of hearing range to start criticizing them... at least my boots were noticed, in that class you'd think they have to wear a uniform, they all wear the same! Clothes are changing too, I'm much more daring to buy what I like.

I feel positive again, I feel good about my live and myself.

I feel I owe you all an explanation on why I have practically totally disappeared on dA.

My emotional trouble (depression, anxiety disorder, low self esteem) are overwhelming me and every part of my life is suffering for it, so also for my dA account.

I'm sorry to have disappeared on you, but I don't see me quickly being active on here again. I'm incapable of making art at the moment so no submission to be made soon either.

I hope everyone on my devwatch is doing okay.

Has anyone else been having trouble with dA the last few days? Yesterday part of the afternoon I couldn't get onto the site, instead I got messages like: 'couldn't connect to the database/server'. Other than that the site is back to loading super slow (like it was before they got those new servers installed). Often my browser simply times-out because they can't connect to dA. It's been a real nuisance. Oh and I can't full view or download certain devations. That's odd too.

I wanted to learn painting as a child... going to art school changed that because painting something I have no feeling for. It doesn't change the fact that I see beautiful paintings and which I could do that too. Possible solution: 'Digital Painting'.

Some of the disadvantages of working on a real canvas and with real paint are gone when you paint digitally. No fear for ruining your paper by using to much water for example, which I often did while trying to fix mistakes. So with some of the things I had problems with gone and the fact that I can fix mistakes more easely, I'm trying to paint digitally. I don't want to get discouraged by trying to run before I can walk, so I'm trying simple subjects first: Hands! (and I'm thinking of painting apples next)

I posted 2 exercises in my craps:



Stock-images by *faestock

Please let me know what you think of them (tips are most very welcome, pointing out my mistakes is unnecessary since I'm already very aware of them)

Right now I'm enjoying exploring digital painting. I'm even buying the newest Corel Painter version (the X version), I have paid for it all ready, but the product isn't available here before begin march, so it'll probably take at least a week to arrive here... I'll waiting for it... impatiently...

Ok I'm being very into the digital painting thing, but that doesn't mean I'm any good at it! Really, I need to keep reminding myself to take babysteps or I get very disappointed. *Manshi has a digital painting workshops and I entered it, but now we are already supposed to have started on the second subject of the workshop and I'm still trying to get the first to look nice enough. Oh well... slowly but surely I'm improving, just don't expect me to get very good.

I bought a new cd. 'It all leads to this' by Scala. Scala is a youth choir that performs songs by popular artists. They sing songs by U2, Depeche Mode, Radiohead, the Kaiser Chiefs,... and many others. I love most of their music. It's a Belgian choir so it's probably unknown outside Belgium, so I have put one song on YouSendIt:

[link]

The song is 'Enjoy the silence' originally by Depeche Mode, here performed by Scala.

Following my friend *Iardacil's example I want to form a birthday list of those who watch me, so that I can at least send my birthday wishes to you all on that day. So please, I'd appreciate it if you reply to this post with your birthday.

I wanted to learn painting as a child... going to art school changed that because painting something I have no feeling for. It doesn't change the fact that I see beautiful paintings and which I could do that too. Possible solution: 'Digital Painting'.

Some of the disadvantages of working on a real canvas and with real paint are gone when you paint digitally. No fear for ruining your paper by using to much water for example, which I often did while trying to fix mistakes. So with some of the things I had problems with gone and the fact that I can fix mistakes more easely, I'm trying to paint digitally. I don't want to get discouraged by trying to run before I can walk, so I'm trying simple subjects first: Hands! (and I'm thinking of painting apples next)

I posted 2 exercises in my craps:



Stock-images by ~faestock

Please let me know what you think of them (tips are most very welcome, pointing out my mistakes is unnecessary since I'm already very aware of them)