Tag: Art

Melbourne’s Street Art Scene

When I think of Melbourne, I think of street art and coffee. When we visited last summer, it did not disappoint! Today, I want to relive one of the best tours I have ever been on – the Melbourne Street Art Tour! This was a tour that I booked through AirBnB. If you haven’t explored AirBnB’s experiences section – check it out! There are always incredible adventures to be had that are led by locals.

This tour was led by a local artist who worked with Blender Studios in Melbourne. The tour was a few hours long and led us through alleys and streets I never would have known to go down. Not only was the art incredible, but so were the stories that accompanied the art!

The tour began in downtown Melbourne and ended at the Blender Studios, which was a treat in itself. We got a tour of the studio and got to speak to the artists and owners. Not only that but there was complimentary beer, kombucha, and snacks!

Now let’s get into the art!

Hosier Lane

Hosier Lane

We began in legendary Hosier Lane. Hosier Lane is a famous street in Melbourne, known for its ever changing street art. The energy of the area was high and the smell of fresh spray paint was plentiful. Not only was there spray painted art, but there was also object art (not really sure how else to describe it). The artist leading us pointed out the concrete art that lined the streets.

Hosier Lane
Hosier Lane

The creme de la creme of Hosier Street was a piece done by Adnate. This is a 23 meter tall mural of an aboriginal boy. The detail absolutely blew me away.

Hosier Lane

Flinder’s Lane

The tour continued down to Flinder’s Lane, where I got to meet my second Banksy piece. Excited was an understatement.

Banksy on Flinder's Lane
Banksy on Flinder's Lane

There were plenty of other spectacular pieces in the area as well! The first piece stood out because it extended to the floor as well! I loved how whimsical it was. The second one was just really cool looking, IMO. Perhaps it would make for a cool tattoo?

Flinder's Lane
Flinder's Lane

Pesgrave Place

The last stop on the tour before we went to Blender Studios was Pesgrave Place. The art we saw there was unlike any street art I had seen before. Lots of it was 3D and there was a fun section where the art was all under frames, as if it were a museum.

Pesgrave Place
Pesgrave Place

Blender Studios

Last, but not least, was our stop to Blender Studios. By the end of the tour, most of the other participants had left so it was just us and our tour guide. Honestly, this was my favorite part of the tour, and I feel like the others missed out! As I mentioned earlier, they had snacks and drinks. We got to see everyone’s studio and buy pieces from them directly!

Blender Studios
Blender Studios
Blender Studios
Blender Studios

If you couldn’t tell already, I loved this tour! If you have the chance, you should book it. It’s worth every penny and it goes back to local artists! If you’re interested in other posts about street art, check out this one from my trip to New Orleans!

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Five Thangs Friday Life Lately

Five Thangs Friday

Wowwee! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve posted on this corner of the internet, but I’ve been itching to write/create/speak so cheers to me bringing PseudoMidlifeCrisis back! The last year I’ve learned so much and one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is how therapeutic words can be. SO even if no one reads this, I know I’m healing myself a lil with each post.

Enough of that. I want to start light so here are five things this week that humored/amused me.

#1 This Kid

Real talk – she will probably always and forever be my #1 for any list, even 5 thangs Friday. But let me explain this picture. This here is my daughter, the thief. You see that chocolate on her face? She stole that out of my purse. This was her face when she got caught. Cutest thief ever.

#2 Goghing on a Date Night

Pun TOTALLY intended. My husband and I finally got out of the house after what felt like five million years to go on a date. We had tickets to see the immersive Van Gogh exhibit. Overall, it was super fun! The music and the animation of the paintings were beautifully done. Of course, the creme de la creme was the abundance of “Gogh” puns scattered throughout.

#3 A Potential New Hobby

School is officially out for the summer so that means I have more time for hobbies, like crafting. A girl I know posted an instagram photo of yarn art and I was immediately enthralled. *cue trip to Michaels* I tried my hand at it the other day, but it didn’t come out to my liking. I’ll be playing around with it more and hopefully, by next Friday, I have results to share.

#4 Good Ole Thrift Shopping

Nothing puts me in a better mood than a good deal! Today, I found I had some spare time so I hit up a Salvation Army. I recently got rid of the majority of my clothes because they didn’t bring me joy (or more likely they didn’t fit as I would have liked) so I have space in my closet that obviously must be filled. I found a few super cute pieces today! Score of the day was deffo the brand new Lululemon windbreaker that I scored for $4.

#5 My New Job!

Last but not least, I found out I secured my dream teaching job this week. Starting in August, I’ll be starting a new cluster program for students with moderate disabilities. It is my dream to start from scratch and to have complete autonomy over the program and I AM FLIPPING JAZZED!

So that rounds out my five thangs for Friday. After writing it all out, I have to say I had a pretty great week. On the downside, I am on my final taper of Lexapro so my brain feels like mush and my face is number, but things could be worse! I’m excited to be back in this space and hopefully you cannot wait for more word vomit from yours truly. XOXO.

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Sparking Joy

On Blank Canvas

My husband and I are very systematic people. We thrive on routine and schedules. When we’re on vacation, there’s an Excel sheet that goes along with our days. Letting go is difficult for us.

A few months ago, we took a trip to Texas, which included a few days in Austin. While there, we were inspired by the creativity of the park, and decided that when we got home, we would dabble in creative things.

When we returned, I went to Michaels and bought canvases, water colors, acrylic paints, too many paintbrushes, a pack of oil pastels and some chalk. This bag of supplies remained hidden in a closet for the next three months, as we were always too busy, or not in the mood to do something creative.

Last night, we took the bag out of our hiding space, lined our dining table with paper and cut a cardboard box up to use as our palette. We sat there with our supplies and our blank canvases. We hesitated. There was no system or rules to follow for painting. It felt uncomfortable.

We each picked up a paintbrush, and poured some paint on our “palettes.” We didn’t know what we were doing. We didn’t know proper technique. We mixed acrylic with watercolor, and I’m still not sure if that was kosher.

We painted last night, and it was scary in the strangest sense of the word. It reminded us that we need to do things like that more often. We thought about how silly we would look to children – how can these adults not know what to do? It’s clear – you just pick up a brush and you paint!

Last night was a good night. We may not have made masterpieces, but we rediscovered what it means to let go and create. We turned those blank canvases into something, and that felt pretty damn nice.

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Five Thangs Friday Sparking Joy

Five Thangs Friday

It’s Friday… I mean, Friyay! Here’s a rundown of how my weeks been, courtesy of iPhone snaps! Happy weekend, pals!

#1. NOLA


If you read my post earlier this week, or you stalk my Instagram, you’ll know I was in NOLA this past weekend and had the best time! One of the highlights for me was all the art, especially meeting this Banksy piece. It was amazing to see the sun for a bit and to not wear pants.

#2. THIS gym shirt

You know those girls who look cute AF when they go to the gym? Yeah, that’s not me. I’ve been loving this shirt lately – which happens to be my husband’s shirt from high school. Who doesn’t love tie dye? I swear it works like pre-workout. I push harder when I wear more colors to the gym.

#3. These punny towels

I am THE queen of puns, or at least I think so. This was a sweet gift from a sweet friend of mine. These towels speak to me, ya’ll.

#4. These broken headphones

I pulled up to the gym Wednesday afternoon, pumped to get a pump in (see? told ya I was the pun queen)! I opened my bag… and found this. Guys. Why do they make things so poorly? The hinge was completely supported by plastic, so obviously it was going to break. I looked on the internet for a bit, and found that many people had had this issue with Sony headphones. Insert sad face.

#5. This magnificent dinner

I am so grateful for my husband you guys. While this may not be the prettiest photo (I told ya it was all shot on my phone), it was delicious. I am lucky to have a husband who isn’t just hot, but cooks too!

#6 (BONUS). This petty song

No words needed. This song is so petty and I love it!

So there ya have it! My week in photos. Lets get the weekend started pals!

Categories
Travel

Texas Highlights Pt. 3: Austin

YOU GUYS. Get on Google flights. Find yourself a flight to Austin. GO.

Austin was easily the highlight of our Texas trip for myself and my husband. Austin made us think. Austin showed us some pretty sites. Austin was legit.

After two days in San Antonio, we drove on to Austin, which was our final city to visit in Texas. Read on for what tickled our fancy there! (Hint: pretty much everything).

Austin Stop #1: Platinum Ink Tattoo

I’m a big souvenir person. I got back from a weekend trip and brought home 3 mugs. My husband promptly told me to stop doing this. We’ll see! My husband and I had been talking about getting tattoos as souvenirs (primarily because they don’t take up kitchen space), which is exactly what we did in Austin on our first night! We stopped into several tattoo shops before finding Platinum Ink. One dude said he didn’t like doing linework. Second dude, instead of telling us how much the tattoo would be, instead asked what our budget was (redflag alert guys), then proceeded to tell us that the images we liked would make terrible tattoos. We finally came across Platinum Ink Tattoo and they had two openings for that evening. The artist who did our tattoo, James, was great! He was able to take our ideas and make them something beautiful. The healing process was really simple as well.

Prototype of my tattoo (Is prototype correct terminology for tattoos?!) I studied exercise science in college and always thought that anatomically correct hearts were beautiful. SO NOW I HAVE ONE ON MY BACK.

Austin Stop #2: Hamilton Pool

On all of our past trips, we’ve always seemed to find that our most memorable moments weren’t in big cities, but rather when we were able to find a beautiful spot in nature. Hamilton Pool did not disappoint. It was a half hour drive out of Austin that made you think you were in the country side. The drive was stunning! In order to get in during the weekend, you need to make reservations online. I’d never made nature reservations before #exclusivenatureclub

While we were there, we learned that Hamilton Pool was formed when a grotto collapsed thousands of years ago. The pool was beautiful. The water was a green I had not seen before, and there were very few people around that day. Coming from Chicago and our concrete jungle, we basked in the leaves and trees and soil.

Austin Stop #3: Mount Bonnell

One thing Austin does not have is mountains. We thought we were going for a hike when we got to Mount Bonnell. However, all we did was climb a few flight of stairs. AND HERE FOLKS, is the highest point in all of Austin, at a whopping 775 feet. Make sure you bring your oxygen masks. Mount Bonnell was crowded with tourists, who also wanted to feel on top of the world. Stop by if you want the world’s easiest hike guys.

Austin Stop #4: The Contemporary – Austin

I have the attention span of a 2 year old bird when it comes to museums. Which is why I love modern art museums. We had heard that Austin had the reputation of being weird, and wherever there are weirdos, you know there will be dope art. The contemporary art museum in Austin has two campuses. They have an exhibit in downtown Austin, which had work from three artists up. They also have an outdoor sculpture park, which I highly recommend.

Admission was $5, which gets you into both campuses. The Contemporary was great. It got our creative juices flowing, and before we left, I proclaimed that I would be pursuing the arts when we got home. (Update on that: I went to Michaels after work last Friday and bought 6 canvases, paint, some oil pastels, and too many paintbrushes)

Apparently some people didn’t think it was as great as we did

Austin Stop #5: Hope Outdoor Gallery

This is the spot to go to if you want to gain a respiratory condition as well as inspiration. The Hope Outdoor Gallery was magical. There were people everywhere spray painting. There were artists selling their work. There was Jeanette, choking on the fumes.

Going to the Hope Outdoor Gallery made me think about the idea of permanence in art. There were artists out there, working hard on making a piece on the wall, knowing damn well that there was a good chance that piece would be painted over the next day. It made me think about their intention. They must know it’s not permanent right? Why do they do it? Probably because they love what they do. I have mad respect for that.

Me, posing in front of stuff I didn’t make.

So there we have it folks. This post concludes my review of the state of Texas. Conclusion? It’s cool. Austin is dope. San Antonio has some old historic stuff. Houston has Beyonce and a space ship. Go visit guys!