i know, i know.

you may be wondering where on earth i went.
well i redirected my blogs into two different things, well three, rather.
to read and see what's going on, what i'm working on and my biz partner, KB, is working on go to
thecommonrat.com
to see what's happening in art land for me:
kbaergen.com
and for personal life stuff/how i manage to stay sane:
hueandthread.com

love to you, miss you dearly. come visit me at those three sites.

a growing up, of sorts

i've always been a dreamer. my head is mostly in the clouds, and i've always figured i'd rather shoot for the moon or an entire galaxy than settle for anything less. the upside being that i, more often than not, cross over the line into optimism, the downside is that i am too often disappointed. expectations are a bitch. it's best to do away with them, and remember that if you want something done right, you should probably do it yourself. if you're looking to have a good time, be content staring at a wall, that way, anything better is incredible. part of being a dreamer is playing tricks on yourself.

it also means that you can't quite settle for less. which is sad when everyone around you is finding their perfect companions, getting married and making families. the hope in it, is that we want more out of life. there's an entire world around me that i want to explore, and i want to push myself as far as i possibly can.

in the past year or so i've grown up a lot. more like, i've become more myself.  a bit more calm, cool, and collected, a little bit weirder, less sensitive, and i've cried a whole lot. everything has hurt deeper, but i've laughed harder. fair trade? right?

so as i change and reinvent, it's about time for this blog to move onward and upward, and grow to it's fullest potential.

in order to give it the accurate attention, i needed some help.  i decided to merge with KB, fellow artist + genius + mad scientist, to make The Common Rat it's own entity.  keeping the things you've said you loved, and adding some things we think you'll really enjoy.  in which, we hope to bring attention to great artists, cultivate a healthy competition among artists, and continue to share life with you. most importantly, i want to continue what you and i have. which means, you have the freedom to critique and suggest, because i value your opinions.

we'll be launching at the beginning of March. i'll keep you updated along the way, and once it's live we'll post primarily through there (which will also host our personal blogs). i think we have a lot of great things to share with you.

i like you a lot.

k

found : document (chicken scratch)

all you need to recognize is where it says "taco's ecclesiastes". 

it's all merely chicken scratch, and i can't make sense of it. 

the profanity is underneath the folded part, but for the sake of my dad reading this, i figured i'd leave it out. 

-k 

hands & patterns

i have a strange obsession with hands.
a few years back i made it my personal goal to be able to draw the most beautiful hands... probably after i had seen an illustration or painting by audrey kawasaki (which if you haven't seen her work, you should probably take a few minutes).
last year i stumbled across the illustrator, Sandra Dieckmann, who i've been trying to keep up with since i saw her work.  she has incredible use of design and patterns, and it's pushed me to incorporate and explore that world a little more.

hands and patterns. here we go.

big things are happening. be ready.

-k

found : poem

try on the red

now try on the blue

now take it off baby let me see you

again

give that smile and that beautiful

skin

- k 

birthday presents

my birthday is one week away.

exciting, because, well, birthdays are fun. and completely unexciting, because it's just another day... and, this year, falls on the eve of thanksgiving. 

as i've gotten older presents from people gone from expected to now, totally unexpected. which i'm  okay with. presents have become the thing you're going to splurge on for yourself. 

so i've complied a list. a list of things i want. 

i'm trying to decide which of these ten things i will give to myself for my birthday. sounds lame, but i know you do it too. 

1. a new chair for my studio

2. subscription to The Week magazine

3. more plants / hanging plants

4. yellow industrial drafting lamp

5. right angle ruler / t ruler

6. cutting mat

7. new matte knife or a quality exacto

8. new tattoo (either mother mary or my sugar skull)

9. easel

10. watch. for everyday. to lessen the distraction of my phone while i'm in the studio. 

your thoughts???

and ideally an outfit like this:

again. thoughts?

- k

ps. if you're in town tonight, David Ramirez is playing at The Basement & at Mercy Lounge. come. hang. it'll be fun. promise.

where'd all the free time go?

baka baka bear head (this was supposed to be a bear winking, but it actually looks like a one-eyed-bear. so there's that). 


it seems that as the school semester is coming to an end everything is taking longer and there are ten times more things to do.

blah.

coincidentally it's the same time that i'm thinking 'wait. why am i writing a paper about the suburbs post wwii?'

oh, you had that question too?  well i'll tell you.  if you remember, i didn't really decide to go back to school until the week before-ish.... thus i had to choose a handful of classes (literally. one handful) just to fill my schedule, and tried my hardest to make sure they were things that i needed... and it just so happens that the only class that would fit into my schedule was a class on urbanization (and i don't mean gold chains and 37" rims).  so while my supposed "free time" is there, it's actually filled with library visits (which i love, but for the enjoyment and self-education purposes), and staring at my computer screen hoping that i can get that introduction paragraph out.... because, let's be honest, the introduction is the hardest.

also, coincidentally, my work days are filled with hopes that a friend or lover (i don't know, it sounded right) would (lovingly) kidnap me and take me to mexico to have some pan... or an island to build a swiss-family-robinson-esque-tree-house.  (dreamy, right?)

obviously, i live in my head.

all this to say, somehow, i've found time to do some creative things on my own. and when i say somehow, i really mean that i made time during my prime creative hours to create and feel free, forsaking my other obligations.

in other news, ellie is living it up in ecuador. it's almost my birthday. i made a badass butternut squash sweet potato soup. the juice fast is happening again. my car broke down (again). annnnnd. i'm still a bit in love with st. vincent.

- k