Friday, January 08, 2010

New Year's Resolutions...and progress

Animals!
each piece is 6x 6 inches, acrylic on canvas, in a reclaimed wood frame, a selection of them are at the Press Club, you have to go there to get them

I did write a list, here it is, here's how it's going so far, these are of course in no particular order of importance.

1. Buy a ukelele, perhaps learn to play it (record ep): I'll buy the ukelele before the end of the month, I figure I can watch enough clips on You Tube to get up to speed pretty fast. I have small hands and carpal tunnel syndrome, so bar chording on a guitar would send me to the hospital. The ukelele will be kind to my hands

2. Dig out Spanish Language Cd Rom and get back at it: This is the resolution that I drop every year, I say I'll do it and then I don't, hopefully this year, since I spend so much time "listening" to movies, I'll be able to get back into learning Spanish.

3. Reduce Smoking 50% by April: Not too worried about being able to accomplish this, currently I've been reducing the amount I smoke signifcantly, most people I know have quit, I'm getting tired of being the guy going outside, it's bloody boring.

4. Go to Montreal for the weekend I think we'll do this in the early spring, it's been years since I've been to Montreal and I'd like to go there for a weekend and stay somewhere nice. I rarely travel, it's been years since I've been on a plane. I'm too poor and committed to painting to even think about vacations, but this year I am going to periodically leave the ten block radius that I exist in to see new things.

5. Finish One of Three Illustrated Books for Children: I've been keeping notes and sketches for years for a short series of kids books, sure there's no money in it, but when did I ever make money ? I am committed to getting three of them finished and published by the time I'm Forty.

6.Buy More Plants: Thanks to the Practical Pirate I now have TWO plants, so I'm well on my way, I have a spider thing, that looks terrible, so I talk to it all the time. Now I have added a lovely jade plant, you only have to water them every two weeks, so I may just buy eight of them at once and cross this off my list.

7.Reduce Clothes, DVD's and Books by 30% by the Spring: I've got a good start on this, already started folding the clothes and putting them into bags for the diabetes people to pick up. The DVD"s I'll just put in a box and leave them outside, they will be gone in seconds and I think a group of us are organizing a book swap, I'll let interested parties know when that's going to happen.

8.Spend More Time with My Friends Children:This is pretty self explanatory, most of my friends have one or two of the things, I should get to know them. What kid wouldn't want an "Uncle Shay" in their lives ?

9.DON'T Explain/Apologize for the shitty habits of others, not my job:Yes compared to the above resolutions this does seem to be coming from left field but it's important and something that I've felt for a long time. Let me explain, I know a lot of people, more than you do I'm sure, somehow in my life people have decided that I"m the guy to come to when they have a question about how someone else is acting. Yes, I am observant and wise, but guess what ? I'm not going to offer an opinion, that department of "Services Provided by Andrew Shay Hahn" is closed. If someone is acting like a dick, go talk to them yourselves.

That's pretty much the list, there were some smaller items, build wooden toys, blog more often, eat three vegetarian meals a week, but they didn't seem to need to be written in bold.

The Press Club show is up til the 30th of January, if you scroll down on the blog, you can see what is currently hanging there - even though I changed a couple of things.

A.S.Hahn
madcraftshoppe@live.com


Proof that just about anything fits in a cup.



A Cup of Rockets
A Cup of Siberian Huskies (commission)
both pieces 12 x 12 inches, acrylic on canvas
reclaimed wood frame
A Cup of Rockets will be at the Press Club on Sunday Jan 10.
Hello and Happy New Year, awhile back on fb I asked people to suggest things that might be put in a cup (see above, past posts, "A Cup of Wolves, Blackbirds, Crows, Falcons) two great answers from actor/playwright Marjorie Chan were Antique Keys and Violins, which I plan on doing some time in the new year. I came up with the above image and also "A Cup of Stooges", which just makes me laugh every time I think about it.
There is something interesting about the image, I began thinking about my relationship to coffee, the routine, the pleasure, the feeling when you drink too much coffee. I'm sure we all have stayed up late working on something with a pot on a realizing that it wasn't making us any smarter.
I have friends who are definitely connoseurs (sp) of the stuff, who travel great lengths for unique blends and concoctions, I'm glad they found a vice they like. Toronotonians seem to never leave the house without one in their hand, years ago in Now magazine there was a comic strip called, "The City" one memorable strip was "the Next Stage in Evolution" which depicted our thumb and pointer finger merging together into an ideal cup holder to carry our coffee.
I myself am satisfied with just about any brand, I don't often buy the stuff at coffeeshops, I think Starbucks tastes burnt/over roasted, The Second Cup tastes oily and Tim Hortons tastes dry and overprocessed. I also think that people who sit in cafes with their laptops need to get a life.
If you'd like to commission your own "Cup of..." for yourself or a friend, please feel free to contact me at the address below.
The show at the Press Club is up until the 30 th of January, so there's still lots of time to go and check out the work, you can also request to meet me there to discuss the show.
A.Shay Hahn