"Summertime, and the livin' is easy" -Gershwin

This summer, in addition to my regular schedule of working out followed by waiting tables for impatient Israelis (where I was also fed heaping piles of shnitzel*, prompting me to work out again the next day), I worked on a number of art projects. Doing art in the summer is one of the easiest and hardest things to do. It's so much fun, because there is no pressure, no rules, and no real boundaries. On the other hand, you can do ANYTHING, which (for me, at least) means starting a million things and forgetting about them. In this post I'll be showing you my finished work, and maybe I'll whip out the in-progress stuff (which mainly exists at home or on paper in the form of half-baked ideas) another time.

*boneless chicken breast that has been breaded and fried to perfection (in this case, prepared in a pita with chummus**, matbucha*** and egg salad by yours truly)

**oh, just look it up
***really, look it up, it's amazing



My first major project of the summer, I like to call sidewalk shalk (get it, like shock, but spelled like chalk!) mostly because of people's reactions as they passed by my driveway. My brother, Yoni, and I spent an afternoon using up almost an entire bucket of chalk (not an easy feat!)

The drawing literally took up half of my driveway (note the car to scale) and by the end I was completely covered in chalk. I have to say, drawing on the ground is not as easy as it seems, and if nothing else I gained a lot more respect for Jackson Pollock.




I mean, it was summer, after all.











So, with fall rolling around any minute, I was getting increasingly excited to move into my apartment. In addition to upcycled Goodwill finds and vintage pieces, I wanted something I could completely call my own to adorn the drab space. I decided on throw pillows.

Gathering fabrics from garage sale clothes, scraps from fabric stores, and old craft projects, I plotted out my designs. I tried to make them versatile enough that they would match at least something in my apartment no matter what.



The musician cartoon/primary color striped fabric I picked up from my favorite vintage shop in Ann Arbor.








My mom helped me hand sew the
fourth edges to save on time.
Isn't she cute?













My friend Becky and I bought some 9 dollar (surprisingly comfortable!) sneakers from target and a huge pack of sharpies to decorate for a fun summer project. In the end I ended up making the shoes for Becky, and my friend Saul (her brother) ended up making mine.






I really wanted to keep them for myself at this stage, especially since Becky and I wear the same size.







I originally gave them to her like this, but she wanted more detail, and she wanted to wear them like slip-ons without the laces (these shoes are awesome. seriously: target.)



The bleed quality of the sharpies on canvas was really fun to play with, and the finished product came out pretty sweet. I finished them up with a coat of acrylic sealer. If you want some leave a comment and/or let me know! I'm currently working on my third pair, and I'll post pictures whenever those are finished.