Last night I dreamt that I found and took care of a young koala bear who had been abandoned by its mother. According to the dream dictionary: To see a koala in your dream, represents your link the physical world, the unconscious, and the spiritual realm. The koala also symbolizes security, nurturance, protection, and/or feminine qualities. You may be expressing a desire to regress back into infantile dependence and escape from your daily responsibilities/problems.
hmmm.

banana skirt.

Josephine Baker, Haiti, 1934. I love everything about it from the girls' costumes to the giant birdcage.

lady and the tramp

poshgirlvintage.com. These are real vintage and stunning.


I love color, but sometimes I think I could never love anything more than a really unique black dress. It turns you into a little black bird for the night. I also firmly believe that a blue dress makes you a blue bird.

What, this old thing?

I just googled vintage dresses and found the site www.unique-vintage.com. I pretty much can't afford any of their dresses, but they're so beautiful. The ones I found aren't real vintage, because you can get them in any size (but that's almost a good thing. It's so frustrating to find a beautiful vintage dress and have it not fit you, but so exciting when you find one that fits you perfectly!). The website seems to have some cheesy modern-day prom gowns (the cheesy ones that EVERYONE at your prom was wearing), but the following dresses make up for all that:


I've been working on a new painting. It will be up soon. :) Have a great new years! <3

collecting the works.

I finally down-sized these jpegs so they can be hosted on image sites! Here are some of my favorite pieces I created this fall! Leda and the Black Swan, a Refined Mythology. Acrylic on masonite.
Cecilia and Beatrice, acrylic on masonite.
Nancy Drew. Watercolor, acrylic, and ballpoint pen on coffee-stained paper.
Camera Lucida. Acrylic, watercolor, and ballpoint pen on coffee-stained paper.
and that's all, folks! So glad I can finally show you these. They've taken me in a whole new direction. I hope you all had a great Christmas and holiday! Have a lovely new years, too!

Thinking about mermaids.

Mermaid polaroid, Taryn Palmissano, last spring.

I don't sleep anymore. But when I do;

I was wearing glasses and a beige buttoned and belted shirt dress, the kind you only wear when you want to be some sort of outdoor bandit with a feminine mystique. I made my way through the meadow. I reached the tall grass. There was a defined path, the reeds shot down to the ground for unknown purposes. I set up my camera on the tripod. I set the timer. I ran as fast as I could with my arms stretched above the height of the grass. I may have gotten my dress in the multiple shots, maybe just my hands. The trees were giving birth to fruit. It was all underneath them, it was all over them. My feet were bare but the meadow ground was soft like feathers or, rather, went unfelt entirely. There were tree houses beyond but they were unfamiliar territory. I would not leave the outskirts of the wheat field. I ran back down the path, I disassembled my camera and my tripod. I sat underneath the tree. I ate a piece of fruit, and I woke up.

treasure hunting.

I am just about done with a painting I began before school let out. Camera girl #2, this time acrylic on masonite rather than mixed on coffee-stained paper. Thus far, she is untitled. She's some sort of safari snap-shot huntress. Or maybe she just happens to be a day dreamer trapped in a thematically wall-papered room.

Tonight Mom and I saw Atonement. I don't think I've ever liked Keira Knightly more, and of course I always love James McAvoy. The movie was very visually stimulating. Let me warn you, though - you will cry. At least you can distract yourself by looking at the beautiful clothing.
Something else wonderful: these pictures of my Nana that were found in an old box. I love everything about them. They kind of look like my paintings. My nana was the most beautiful woman ever, and coming across new pictures of her is always exciting.
It's been nice being home. Our house looks like a winter wonderland thanks to my mom. She always makes Christmas a great time to be here. In addition to the big tree, there are many small trees that are covered in vintage clip-on earrings and fake birds. Loverly. <3 I hope you all enjoy the holidays, and stay safe!

la mer.

My mom alerted me to the fact that I haven't updated in a bit. I was quite busy with finals which, thankfully, are all over now. I've been reading The Seas by Samantha Hunt, and it's wonderful so far. I also finished Ruby by Francesca Lia Block, and I think it was the best thing I've read in a really long time (if you are a girl or woman who loves animals and nature, you will love it). Let's see, what have I been up to...
A poster I created for Diane's natural history class, a fictional "museum of the sea". I really wish that museum actually existed.
Shelby and Kristen (sidebar!) invited Taryn, Em, and I to a winter cocktail party. I got to dust off this vintage gown I bought in high school, which was, of course, very exciting for me. I love dresses!
One of the guests brought their cockatoo, Lilly. Don't let the name fool you; Lilly is a boy. Here he is with Kristen.
And here he is making me laugh. It's snowing and beautiful out and perfect for reading, which I think I'll go get back to now. I promise pictures of our christmas tree later. I think it looks better than ever this year! Enjoy the snow. <3 Amanda

things I like right now:

the color yellow.
feist music videos. Romaine Brooks, even though writing a paper on her is terrible.
bikinis in the snow, and the polaroids to prove it.
Pencil skirts that will be mine come Christmas.
and the latest issue of Tin House.
I can't wait to go home for break. I hope you're all enjoying whatever snow comes your way!

Junipers, junipers, junipers, my love.

my favorite holga photographs, shot with kodak vivid color.


Since I had to scan all my art at such a high DPI, no image site will host them! I'll have to work on that before I can share. Hopefully this will be soon!

Tartan.

I am officially 22 years old. Yesterday was my birthday, and it was an entirely lovely one at that. My birthday started last weekend, when my mom made this cake:
My friends were all amazing. After spending two straight hours scanning at AIB, Kate took me to cheesecake factory for lunch at the galleria (where I also picked up my first ever role of holga film!). She gave me a necklace with my initial in type-writer key form and two mix CDs. Teo gave me a wooden elephant bead. Nicole gave me a beautiful blue scarf and a cupcake with a cow on top. Emily gave me Fantastic Women: TIn House, a women's fiction periodical. Taryn gave me two comics, "Dances With Cows" and "I am Paul's Dog" from the series 'Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children.' We attended Sarah Potter's opening at 601, watched her performance piece. Cathy, Shane, Aaron, Taryn, Em, and I ate dinner at Border Cafe where we drew a picture which impressed the waitress very much. We dedicated it to her and she hung it on the wall.
After that we headed to the Harvard Book Store, where much was purchased. When we arrived back home, Emily, Taryn, Adam, and I had our first ever Midnight Writers meeting. The rule is to either read something you wrote or something you wish you wrote. Emily read from Ben Marcus, Adam and I read our own stories, and Taryn read her in-progress mermaid artist statement, which is coming along beautifully.
After this meeting came to a close, Nicole came over for late night escapades and left around 5. We were up quite late last night. It was one of the best birthdays ever! A new post shall immediately follow this one, including scans of work you have not seen yet! <3 Thank you Mom, Dad, Courtney, and all my friends for giving me a great 22nd birthday.