click on the image for a better view. Can any of you blogger people tell me how to make giant posts with giant images?

Happy Friday!

A real sign from the Iowa State Fair. Don't even think about using those butt fans you've been hiding...its not gonna fly.

Iowa is an acronym. People around here joke that Iowa stands for

I diots
O ut
W alking
A round

This is one of the more truthful statements I've heard about the state. But, really, people just kind of walk around and look for stuff. Bait for fishing, arrowheads, fossils, wild asparagus, wild mushrooms, wild game...its pretty impressive. Iowa has a treasure hunting culture...so, I fit in in that respect.

While I was an idiot out walking around I stumbled upon a piece of Native American pottery. I reached down to pick it up and saw a bunch of pottery chips scattered by my toes...they were probably all from the same pot. I grid walked the area and found well over 30 pieces of broken pottery in a 10 foot area.

Yup, that was my day. Not too shabby.

click on image for a better view.

wow, this is a large fossil.

People who suffer from mental illness or delusions should not hunt rocks. When someone believes books, movies, inanimate objects, music, or symbols are relaying special messages to them, they're going crazy. A good example of this : Charlie Manson and the Beatles' White Album.

Another good example of this...me while I rock hunt. I went to art school for 7 years...artists are trained to yank out all of the symbolism in an image. A rose is never just a rose. Everything has a hidden messages and hidden symbols. This skill is a blessing and a curse, I can't look at anything without over analyzing it.

Which is why rock hunting brings out the crazy in me. Rocks have shapes. Its really pretty wild how varied their shapes can be. I've seen animal shapes, phallic shapes, tool shapes, people, buildings...all sorts of stuff. And when you're in a particular mood the shapes can tell you things. They didn't tell me to murder slews of people or start a cult but one rock told me to keep looking.

We were in a ditch searching for arrowheads and fossils. It was buggy but nice. The only problem was that the surrounding trees had dropped their leaves all over every sandy patch in the ditch. A tree leaf looks exactly like an arrowhead, they trick your eyes. I was getting a wee bit frustrated, every time I bent down to pick up a nice looking rock...it was a damn leaf.

I was getting ready to call it quits when I looked down and picked up a rock that looked exactly like a human eyeball. I thought,

"why not just go crazy for a minute and assume this rock is talking to me?"

So, I did. And I decided the rock was telling me to keep my eyes open. I kept them open and around the bend I saw a large orange/pink rock. I picked up the rock and it was the best fossil I've ever found. Period. Good thing I allowed myself to go schizophrenic for a brief moment or I may have walked past this bad boy.

some finds.

The Des Moines river is running low. Rocks and indian artifacts have been under water are exposed...fossils that have been hidden for millions of years finally make their way to the surface.
Yesterday, Kyle and I took the boat out and went on a fossil hunt. It was a successful hunt, we found a handful of wonderful fossils (seen above in the photo).

found: horned coral, colonial coral, brachiopods, and foraminifera! I'm in hog heaven.

And since I'm on a fossil kick I decided to post the fossils I aquired 5 years ago. I was at a gas station in rural Wyoming (wait...I think all of Wyoming is rural) and right next to their candy isle was was a fossil isle. Trilobites, Pleistocene horse teeth, shark teeth...all sorts of fancy rocks. Right next to the candy isle. Needless to say, I bought them.

We're going out to hunt on Saturday. Hopefully, I'll have some photos to post. Ta-ta.

penny time.

I went to Adventureland park over the weekend and had a damn fine time. I rode some roller coasters, drank a warm beer while eating an overpriced Phili cheese steak, screamed a lot, almost threw up on a spinney ride, and did some excellent people watching. I saw three people with one leg, two people with one arm, one woman who was covered in warts, and I observed the obesity epidemic while waiting in line.

My one beef about the park is that they didn't have a smashed penny machine. Its an old, historic park...it should have had a smashed penny machine. Well, since they didn't have one I decided to post more of my collection.

p.s. I just found a comprehensive list of all of the penny smashing machines in the united states.

http://pennycollector.com/

This is my beta fish, Meatloaf. This week was our one year anniversary. We made it, Meatloaf! I've kept your bowl clean and you haven't kicked the bucket (knock on wood, knock on wood!).

Other Stupid names I've given my Beta Fish.

1. Vanillaroma (named after a car air freshener, the name rolls off the tongue)
2. Beef Wellington (Mr. Beefy for short)
3. John Fredrick Esq. (named after my English boyfriend...I think it freaked him out, I was 18)
4. Opie-Fish (he creeped me out. I think he was an albino)

Happy Anniversary, Fish. May we celebrate again next year...but i won't hold my breath.

art show.

Image: Love Whoopsies, Jillian ludwig.


I put together a three man show. Its called Gurgle Growl Gulp.

http://www.pjstar.com/entertainment/x1510863111/ARTSplus-Art-guilds-latest-exhibition-takes-on-playful-tone

The Peoria Journal Star put together a nice article. Have yourself a read. Maybe I'll see you at the show.

www.jillianludwig.com

www.chrishutsonart.com

www.janeryder.com

Check out our work.

lost and found.

I rent an old, creaky/creepy apartment. It has a creepy basement, a creepy coal shoot, a creepy shower, and a couple of creepy neighbors that scream for no reason (no one knows if they're married or siblings but I'm pretty sure they go through my mailbox and steal my coupons). Its the kind of place a young child would love, it has hidden nooks and crannies everywhere. It would be an excellent apartment for hide and seek.

I was "cleaning" up my hide and seek bathroom the other day and found a hidden shelf. I know its not a good idea to put your hands into dark, random holes (insert "that's what he said") but I was curious and reached deep inside. I pulled out a small vintage box. The photo pretty much explains what I found...but its so odd. Oh so very random. Oh so entertaining. I wonder what else is hidden throughout this creepy place.

Happy Friday!

which one of these things doesn't belong?...click on the image for a better view.

(but isn't it the coolest duck on the block?)

muscatine mayfly.

Well, isn't this disgusting? Hoards of winged insects plastered against tavern glass. Kyle, George and I recently visited Muscatine, Iowa and this is what I remember...mayflies.
Because these bugs so thoroughly grossed me out I had to do a little research bout' em'...what did I learn?

1. Male and female mayflies have two sets of genitalia.
2. The larval stage lasts for over a year.
3. The adults live anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours. They are a short lived creature and their primary function is procreation (which happens mid-air with double genitalia, interesting).
4. The insects have mouths but they are vestigial...their mouth serves absolutely no function. Why does it even exist?
5. They are related to dragonflies and damselflies.

Overall, I'd say that the mayfly is a silly creature. I don't understand why they exist, they kind of scare me, and they come out like a plague. I hope I don't run into them again.

everything is so small.

http://www.herpnet.net/Iowa-Herpetology/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=43

While I walk, I stare at my feet...that's why I find so many things. I found this guy by my big toe. He was about as big as my thumbnail. What a neat lil' specimen for my photo archives.

why, hello. you're an eagle.

It was a bright, blue, crisp day. Buzzards, Herons, Kingfishers, and Cormorants were ubiquitous but not easy to photograph. My bad luck was beginning to frustrate me until we spotted a giant eagle nest deep/high in the timber. Sadly...it was too deep in the timber to get a good shot. I was about to put my camera away when I heard an ear piercing shriek. The eagle in charge of the nest decided to make her presence known. She did not want us near the nest. I've never seen a bird make such intense eye contact with humans before. She was flapping, shaking her head around, and vocalizing her distaste for us. I snapped a couple shots, apologized to the bird for disturbing her peace, and we got the hell out of there.

poem for a porch.

Her plastic body, filled with dirt
just birthed a baby flower.

The summer sun she bathes upon
gets brighter every hour.

A brittle vessel, filled with seeds
that never feel cool air.

This lucky one, born of a thumb
will wait for solar flares.

My marigold garden is looking pretty fine.

I noticed my flower's proliferation yesterday. Little, tiny marigold greens are popping up all over the place. I was clumsily weeding when I saw the marigold babies. I yanked a few (by accident) before I realized what they were...in my defense, I am not a gardener.

A list of things I like about marigolds.

1. they smell odd.
2. I've heard they attract bees.
3. orange, yellow, etc!
4. Nirvana wrote a song about them.

enjoy the song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zqhh9Vvi0mA

wow, another fantastic trip to Des Moines.

Des Moines is never a bad time. When you live in a rural area you learn to appreciate all those things you took for granted. . . Like bars that make drinks in Tiki cups. This is a photo at the bar in Fong's pizza. One day I will drink out of this monkey's head. Jeez, it seems like everything I think/talk about is Fong's pizza. I love that place. This time we had the Thai Chicken pizza. It came with cilantro and peanut sauce. Delicious.
Nice little addition to the sign, skateboarders. Good work. Now all the roller-blader folk are going to be offended/hurt.

Wall DRAGON has captured my imagination. I've been thinking about dragons a lot, I don't only think about Fong's pizza. Too bad the wall dragon bar wasn't open, I would have enjoyed sitting with a tiki drink under the beast. That damn place is never open.

its been a good bird week.

This Robin, named Bandit Rodchester, has a zip tie on his ankle. My only guess is someone hand raised him before he flew the coop. He's been hanging out at the campsite for over two weeks. I can hand feed him mulberries.
These are the turkey vultures of Buzzard Island. I don't know why they hang out on the wood pile but sometimes there's as many as 50 turkey vultures walking around. It's pretty gruesome.
Cranes from the wall of Fongs Pizza.
Iowa has pelicans. This still shocks me. Why are you here? Why?

i drew. i was a kid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gz1DIIxmEE

the truck sunk.

A couple weeks ago this truck sunk in the DesMoines River. After a few days of submersion, car help arrived and the wet truck was yanked out of the muddy depths.
The debris looks nice wrapped around the hood ornament. It looks like the eagle is making a nest.
The interior was filled with silt and dead fish. Notice there are no human bodies present, no one was hurt when the truck sank. Lucky ducks.
I don't know where it came from but there was a deer skull laying in the truck bed. It couldn't have been in there before the truck sank, a skull would have floated away. Did someone throw it in there after the accident? I wanted to take the skull home with me...but I'm pretty sure that would have given me bad luck.

Small brown bat. Photographed on the hood of my Honda by the DesMoines River.

Animal specimens helps inform the content of my work (no animals are ever harmed by my hands and have died natural deaths). I am able to get an up close encounter without all the hassle of harassing small mammals. The photographs are often incorporated into complicated paintings or drawings. Real observations of real animals are important to my work and its more personal then picking an image to draw off of google image search (not that I don't do that occasionally).

cute guys.

The toad has a natural defense mechanism. Urine. Noone likes to get peed on. He tried to pee on me but only managed to pee all over the porch. His natural defense didn't work on me...but I'm pretty sure his skin secretions gave me a mini-rash.
This slug was about 4 inches long. Brag-able? nope.

poor baby.

I noticed a lot of bird chatter. Oriole bird chatter, to be exact. Frantic and concerned oriole chatter. I couldn't figure out why two adult birds were so upset with me...until I almost stepped on their reason. A tiny baby bird was sitting, scared, next to my big toe. I knew I couldn't do much for the baby bird but I could at least keep him from becoming a dog's breakfast or a mess on someone's shoe.
I put the lil' guy a tree and he scooted up the bark like an old pro. He was safe for the time being. Little baby oriole perched himself on a branch and began to sing at his parents. This went on for over three hours until he lost his balance and fell into the bushes. His parents, who were never far away, began to freak out...again.
We all know there's not much you can do for a baby bird, it's the circle of life. I picked him out of the bush, set him on a tree branch, and let nature take it's course. He sang to his parents for the rest of the afternoon.

a gift from the dog.

We own a puppy now. I am constantly yanking objects out of his curious mouth. Bottle caps, paper goods, rotten food, underpants, pennies. All sorts of fun things.

While camping, Mudd pranced up to me like he'd found something good, something super good. his tail was wagging.

"drop it, Mudd!" yells jane.

Mudd droped his treasure. A flattened and dehydrated leopard frog. Good eye, dog!

We went out arrowhead hunting but ended up as fossil hunting. Check out these beauties.

(Brachiopods)

These shells are among the most common fossils found in Iowa. Brachiopods lived inside the protective cover of two hinged shells, attached to the floor of warm, shallow seas that once covered the state. These eastern Iowa specimens are about 375 million years old (Devonian).

lovebugs. click on the image for a better view.

Also, I just caught wind of a great blog. I was in a print exchange called "Leftovers". The exchange was put together by Wingtip Press and encouraged artists to use their "leftover" paper to make a 20 prints. I silk screened hog on kitikata paper...because everyone likes leftover bacon. You can check out all the clever art from clever artists at the blog:

http://leftoversanyone.blogspot.com/

penny. penny!

I'm a collector. I collect rocks, bone china, books, fossils, postcards, nick-knacks, and basically any other small (and interesting) souvenirs. People know this about me and when my friends travel around this beautiful country they'll make me smashed pennies. I love smashed penny machines, they're classic Americana. Any good tourist trap will have a penny smashing machine. They're cheaper then anything(51 cents), even a postcard. So, why not get one? I'm planning on making a giant shadow box frame to display my amazing collection that would only partially exist without the help of my worldly, road tripping, pals.

i captured his essence. click on the drawing for a more accurate viewing.

fortune cookies that should exist: don't eat Cheetos for breakfast.

he's cooler then we are.

A Challenge for Jane.

(first drawing I've made in awhile, they'll get better. let's observe progress)

Confession: The puppy made me complacent until about a week ago. I got heady and cranky. I was upset because all of my drawings looked shitty. To feel better: I'd start a new drawing, work on it for 10 minutes, get pissed off at the sophomoric proportions, tear the drawing apart, throw it in the can, and play with the puppy to make myself feel better.

No more! I am not going to let myself get into the habit of not drawing. I took a hiatus. The hiatus is over.

My goal: a drawing a day. (I can't post on weekends, no inter-web access).

Wish me luck!

This is the best coaster I've ever seen.

A wild eyed, rearing, black stallion BLASTING outta two cans of delicious Busch light.

Three cheers, Busch.

I'm Hijacking This Blog.

Just when I've figured out how to get my way in Korea, it's time to leave.

Sigh.

And not in an "I'm an American. I'm entitled!" sort of way. Not in a way to take advantage of people. But a way to make my life easier.

I've learned my role in society and how to use it to my advantage.

Before, when my phone got stolen, I ran around yelling at everyone and demanding that I not have to pay because it was STOLEN AND I'M FROM AMERICA. This did not work because

1. I did not speak Korean
2. My translator was too embarrassed to translate my angry American demands
3. I didn't understand how Koreans work.

Now, I think I do.

Now I've figured out how to make my day easier. For example:

Yesterday, after working out, I went to the grocery store. I bought ground meat. Next stop was one of my favorite soup places for lunch, but was worried about letting my meat sit out. (ha)
But, since I frequent this place, and Koreans view foreigners that eat alone as lonely, sad souls, I knew that the ajummas* would maternally grant my request. A simple request. Woman to woman. I showed them my meat (ha) And woman to woman, they understood I wanted to keep it in their fridge.**

And thus, my day was much easier. In the past, I would have fret about going home first to refrigerate the meat and then go to the restaurant, but by then, I'd be STARVING...etc...

Now, life is much easier. And the ajummas love me.

*married Korean woman. Usually older with short, permed hair and mismatched floral clothing. They wear visors year round and when encountered on the subway, have elbos and shoulders made of cement.

** this post is not a metaphor about banging the ajummas at the soup place.

You can read more of my adventures at I am in South Korea.

meet mudd.

This is why I've taken a blog hiatus. Meet Mudd. A little rat terrier that has stolen my heart and my time. Dang, he's cute.