autumn walking

Happy Halloween!!

My camera has decided to not let me upload photos and I don't know why, so until I figure it out, I'll be finding things that are already on my computer to show you. :) Here are some pictures I took on a really beautiful walk around some Brighton neighborhoods.

Have an amazing and safe Halloween, everyone!!

where I work

glittery painted bluejay ornament by mom! and bird drawing (oiseau) by my friend Becca.

Abe

Halloween postcard by Sarah!

Vivienne Leigh (Blanche Dubois in Streetcar) and beautiful red leaves.

I hope you're all having a great week!

what I love. (and a dog named Joey)

patron saint of pigeons sketch

xoxo Amanda

(EDIT Oct. 28th: Joey has been adopted!!! Both dogs now have homes. :)

P.S. - Neko Case posted about these two dogs on her website: They're located in Seattle, Washington and need to find homes asap (they're unfortunately at a kill shelter, from what I understand) - Here's  Joey's adoption page, and Henry's page (though it seems he has been adopted already!). The original owner had not wanted the two dogs to be seperated. I'm posting this because I hope and wish and pray so much that someone will adopt Joey before anything happens! Thank you, my fellow animal lovers. :) Below is a picture of sweet Joey.

visiting authors

Today, my mom and I visited Concord!

We visited the Colonial Inn (allegedly haunted), the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery (where all the authors are buried), the diner, Orchard House, and some antique stores.

We've been a couple of times in the past, but I think this is the perfect time of year to visit!

The Colonial Inn, where the haunted room lives. :) 

The ladies working at the inn let us visit the room.

We ate at the main street diner.

A 19th century Amanda!! :)

At Authors' Ridge in the Sleepy Hollow cemetery.

Henry David Thoreau. Pens, fruit, and a pumpkin have been left on his grave.

Giving a pine bough to Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Writing down my favorite quote by him.

"every word was once an animal."

Louisa May Alcott's grave: covered in pens, pennies, and pink glitter.

and also a bird's nest with a brooch placed in the middle. I thought the things that people left for her were very sweet and personal. I remember when I visited Emily Dickinson's grave in Amherst, people had sprinkled glitter on her grave as well. I like it.

At the Alcott's house.

the barn/school in the backyard.

Things from Concord today: swan spelling cards from the 1800s and wooden blue jay (early birthday presents from mom!), old brass pin-backs, and 25 cents-a-sheet stickers from the Alcott gift shop. Yay!

I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. The Brown project has been taking up all my art time, but beginning with November I'll have more art to show you! Enjoy the fall weather!

Love, me

collodions and an orange grove dress

My friend Kristen Hatgi asked me to come pose for a one-day wet plate (collodion) class she was teaching at AIB. I love her photography and was so excited to do so! Above is one of the collodion photos she took of me. Wet plate/collodion is an amazing process. If I had the time, I'd learn it myself. It reminds me of when I made a pinhole camera in high school - the light develops the image instantly onto a surface. In the case of collodion, a sheet of tin metal. Ok, maybe it's not as instant as a pinhole (with wet plate you do have to place it in developing chemicals as with regular photography!), but it still went much faster than my 11th grade darkroom days.

This is (my favorite part of) a collodion by Liz Affa, one of the students in the class (she had awesome ideas and I loved posing for her!).

My friend Molly was also in the class, and here is a collodion of us! Kate said this reminded her of The Grapes of Wrath (I love that book, so I loved hearing that - Rosasharn is one of my favorite heroines of all time! My high school friend and I wanted to start a band and name it Rosasharn), and I agree - we look dirty like we were in a dust bowl.

Liz drying the globe collodion on a heater.

drying

For the occasion, I wore this beautiful orange dress I got from the lovely Veronica of Decades of Baltimore! 

I hope you're all having an excellent week! I like the weather lately.

xoxo Amanda