Monday, October 31, 2011
Iowa Artifacts. 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
more souveneirs.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011
I found an arifact all on my own!



Here's a video on flint napping. Check it out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bvl9662aVc
Monday, October 17, 2011
va-voom!

List of gross stuff I found while cleaning:
1. deer skull
2. dead vole
3. underpants! ew.
4. too many McDonalds wrappers. People that eat there litter.
5. A rope that was 1 mile long.
6. porno!
I had a good time, though. I got some exercise, hung out with some nice people, and found this lovely piece of smut of the side of the road. Of course, I had to censor her a lil' bit. I guess all garbage isn't bad. Should I hang her on my wall?
Friday, October 14, 2011
Happy Friday!
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
sigh.

Well, guys...its Fall. Summer has come to a close and we've traded green grass for falling leaves. And for the first time in many years, I'm not mourning the loss of a season.
Unfortunately, the changing of the season also means its harder to find stuff on the ground. No more fossils and rocks until next year...they're hidden under crunchy leaves. I've scanned in some interesting objects I haven't gotten around to posting until now.
Left to right top to Bottom:
1. River Amber (such a strange rock. Its soft, see through and looks a lot like the amber from Jurassic park. I've only found two pieces. Both were found on the river so I named it River Amber....take that scientists).
2. A geode: Its the state rock of Iowa, check out this interesting and fact filled page http://www.igsb.uiowa.edu/browse/geodes/geodes.htm. Apparently, Keokuk (iowa) is one of the best places in the United States to find Geodes.
3. You can't totally tell but this segmented rock is also semi- crystallized and very beautiful. I can't figure out how to identify it. Its bumming me out. Help?!
4. Quartz with flakes of pyrite (fools gold). You can make out the pyrite on the left side of the rock. Cool stuff.
5. An impression of a shell on a flint like rock. Fossils!
6 and 7. I haven't been able to identify these either. I imagine they're volcanic or were somehow blasted with heat a long long time ago. At first glance they look grey and unimpressive but if you hold them up to the light you can see through them. When you jingle them together they make a beautiful clinking sound. Sort of like a wind chime.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
turkey nuts.
I'd like to consider myself an adventurous eater. Put a new food in front of me and I'll try at least two bites before I politely spit into a napkin while I pretend to cough. I used to be a semi-picky eater...that is, until Andrew Zimmern's show came out. Bizarre Foods opened me up to a new world of interesting tastes.
Deer, Bison, Elk, gizzards, poutine, scallops, squid, eel, octopus, goat, deep fried dandelions, pigeon, wild mushrooms, heart, liver, deep fried oreos (snickers, reeses peanut butter cups, and three musketeers...ALL DEEP FRIED AND DELICIOUS), oysters, clams, mussels, seaweed, vegan food, kibbeh...and the list could go on. I'll try anything.
My interest in new foods got me into trouble the other day. Big trouble. Bizarre food caliber. Almost vomit on my lap trouble.
I was at a barn party last Friday. It was good times. Lots of nice people, bonfires, and beer. Did I mention that someone brought turkey balls to the party? Yeah, a whole gallon of them in a large zip-lock bag. I was surprised by how large the testicles were...some of the bite sized snacks were longer then my pinky finger. And round. Ugh.
I was "cocky" and boasted...
"I'll eat those greasy bastards."
I shouldn't have said that. About ten minutes later Kevin walked up to me with two balls in his hands. I grabbed the smaller one and popped it into my mouth. I gave it one chew and swallowed. I also made the mistake of saying it wasn't too bad. I said it tasted like chicken. Kevin handed me the second testy. It was a big fellow and dripped oil. I popped the second turkey nut into my mouth and bit down. Instant gag reflex. For some reason the second bite was way worse then the first bite. It tasted like wet chicken fat mixed with organ meat. The hot oil that poured from the center of the morsel didn't help, either. I started to panic, I had a mouth full of balls and nowhere to spit.
I grabbed the nearest beer can and unloaded my palate. It was a horrific experience. Three other people tried to feed me turkey balls that night.
I told them to go piss up a rope.
Deer, Bison, Elk, gizzards, poutine, scallops, squid, eel, octopus, goat, deep fried dandelions, pigeon, wild mushrooms, heart, liver, deep fried oreos (snickers, reeses peanut butter cups, and three musketeers...ALL DEEP FRIED AND DELICIOUS), oysters, clams, mussels, seaweed, vegan food, kibbeh...and the list could go on. I'll try anything.
My interest in new foods got me into trouble the other day. Big trouble. Bizarre food caliber. Almost vomit on my lap trouble.
I was at a barn party last Friday. It was good times. Lots of nice people, bonfires, and beer. Did I mention that someone brought turkey balls to the party? Yeah, a whole gallon of them in a large zip-lock bag. I was surprised by how large the testicles were...some of the bite sized snacks were longer then my pinky finger. And round. Ugh.
I was "cocky" and boasted...
"I'll eat those greasy bastards."
I shouldn't have said that. About ten minutes later Kevin walked up to me with two balls in his hands. I grabbed the smaller one and popped it into my mouth. I gave it one chew and swallowed. I also made the mistake of saying it wasn't too bad. I said it tasted like chicken. Kevin handed me the second testy. It was a big fellow and dripped oil. I popped the second turkey nut into my mouth and bit down. Instant gag reflex. For some reason the second bite was way worse then the first bite. It tasted like wet chicken fat mixed with organ meat. The hot oil that poured from the center of the morsel didn't help, either. I started to panic, I had a mouth full of balls and nowhere to spit.
I grabbed the nearest beer can and unloaded my palate. It was a horrific experience. Three other people tried to feed me turkey balls that night.
I told them to go piss up a rope.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
smashed pennies.

But the the Botanical Center had a machine. Thank goodness. I bought all four and couldn't be happier with the beautiful penny designs. But it gets even better. You may notice the penny on the top right has no design. Trevor made me a smashed penny...he laid some pennies on a train track and went back the next day to collect the cool objects. Old school smashed penny, not too shabby.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011


Friday, September 23, 2011
animal photos from vacation-time!
Labels:
albino squirrel,
animal,
Banded Tussock Moth,
road trip
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
the mall of america.

As for the fair, it boasted something I've never seen. A free, FREE smashed penny machine. The only problem with that is the line. A huge line full of children, inept at smashing, stood behind the machine. Of course I waited, they were free.
Friday, September 16, 2011
vacation pt.2
I'm still rolling along with the vacation blogs but am realizing that I'm not doing it very diligently. I didn't write at all last week, I blame stress and diet. But, I kept a sketchbook the entire trip and it's filled with a bunch of narrative. I plan on scanning in a few choice entries for a blog. But until then,
Peoria
Rachel and I were in Peoria for a few days. We had some adventures and were ridiculously social. Some highlights include: a visit with Juice and her puppy, letterboxing jaunts in various historic graveyards, lots of salivating over really nice road bikes. Steve worried about sewage in a basement, we all ate way too much ice cream (and Avanti's cheap Italian food, delicious), and rachel and I found a hilarious caterpillar.
Some Peoria Hot Spot Stops include: Avanti's, One world, Emo's, Co op Records, Mexican food, country road driving, pool, Blue, The Peoria Art Guild, Art Show, etc
Some people I saw: Rik, Juice, Erica, Gabe, Gabe, Bruce, Drew, Steve, Chris, Shannon, Christian, Bethany, Rachel's mom, Oscar, Ann, Sarah, Heather, Dave, Sarah, Eliz, Beth, Christy, Janet, oh man and the list goes on, I'll add to it...if I forgot your name it's because it's early and I still love you.
And in case you're wondering about the clown photograph, let me explain. This clown is the face of Peoria as far as I'm concerned. It's the Emo's ice cream shack marquee. I have countless memories of friends and I sitting on colorful parking lot benches while we munched on coney island dogs. Their ice cream is fabulous and the place does all it's math by hand. No fancy registers at that place (a math teacher opened up the icecream place many years ago. To encourage his young employees to be diligent at basic math he eliminated the register).
The first time I went to Emo's a girl named Dani brought her rabbit with us. The rabbit's name was Yishi Spudnick and I wanted to hold her while I ate my ice cream. Bad idea. The rabbit peed all over me and I dropped my cone. I learned two things that day: rabbits pee way more then you think they do and giant flying bugs like to land in cheese dip. Oh, I forgot to mention that right after a rabbit urinated on me a giant bug flew into my cheese fry cheese dip...rendering it useless. You'd think an experience like that would turn me off to Emo's but nope.
Needless to say (which I say a lot needlessly), I had to come back to Emo's at some point during my stay in Peoria. Rachel and I hiked over and were pleased to find out that they had lemon flavored ice cream...it tasted like a girl scout cookie. I got a cherry dipped cone and some cheese fries. It was good times.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Check out what I almost Hit on the way to work.

I slam my car door, buckle up, turn on the engine, drive down the alley and turn onto the country road that heads towards work. Driving 80 feels great at the moment. I'm living dangerously and crack the windows to feel the morning air. My mood improves.
At the bottom of a hill I can see large shadows loitering in the road. I have no idea what they are. I'm going 80 mph and these shadowss are huge! I brake as hard as I can, the car begins to swerve and there are SEVEN horses right in front of me. I finally stop and need a paper bag to breathe into. I'm 10 feet away from the horses that almost did me in. Jittery as hell and barely able to hold the steering wheel I try to gain composure but all I can smell is burning rubber.
I honk at those stupid horses until they start running, I follow them with my car into the area where I assume they came from. And I drive to work.
Stupid fucking morning. I was so happy I didn't hit them I brought doughnuts to work.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
That was Quite a Vacation. Day ONE!
Hey guys. My blog hiatus is over and, unfortunately, so is my time off from work . However, it was whirlwind of a vacation and it felt like Rachel, Matt and I didn't stop moving the entire time.
The trip began with a lovely jaunt to the Des Moines airport where Rachel landed at the ungodly hour of 11:15pm. It was too late to drive to Peoria and too early to settle down. We decided to have a couple coronas at a nearly abandoned bar then get a room at the Super 8. We made the mistake of ordering Papa John's when we got there. I haven't eaten that stuff in well over a year...I remember why. The horrible food coma and ridiculous BLOATING.
The morning came soon enough and we hit the road hard. Peoria was only 4 hours away but I had a lot to do. The reason being...2 freakin' art shows! The second we got into town we were greeted by Steve, Chris, Shannon and their entire gang. Steve and Chris live in a home that houses traveling musicians, wayward bike riders, and good people all around. It almost feels like a hostel. But it was a quick Hello followed by a quick goodbye. Shannon, Rachel and I had some errands to run
1. Hang the salon style show at Blue
2. Buy 90 beers and drag them to the Peoria Art Guild
3. Set up the cheese tray.
And I don't like to brag but the show looked amazing. Ryan Nelson, of the Peoria Art Guild, totally rehabbed the first floor gallery. It was a beautiful flowing space and all of the artist's work hung together like it was always supposed to hang together. Jillian's work was immaculately beautiful and delicate, Chris's work was humerus, complicated and multi-layered, and mine...my work looked OK too. Shit, it must have looked good because someone bought two pieces at the show. They wanted to remain anonymous and I'll never get to know who they are (but I hope they know me and Chris appreciate their generosity)
There was a constant flow of people through the gallery. I saw my old professors, my old school mates, Erica came in from St. Louis, Brian came in from Chicago, even Rachel's mom was there (i was worried she thought I was drunk but I was really just nervous). It warmed the heart to see so many close friends in the same room together for the first time in a dog's age. As a matter of fact, I felt warm and fuzzy the whole night...or maybe it was that cooler of 90 beers that helped everyone feel warm and fuzzy that night.
The evening continued until 2am... the after party was at the Peoria bar called Blue. My friend, Shannon was nice enough to help me plan the whole event. Damn, it was a party and I smoked too many cigarettes and drank too many beers but at least I got some quality time with quality people. I even sold some t-shirts (with my drawings on them) and wow did that help pay for my trip. Eventually, the night ended with Erica and I in Steve's basement...we talked about art and boys.
Tomorrow, Day 2.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
We Interrupt This Hiatus
This is Jane's old pal Rishika. Hop on over to my blog I am in South Korea to read about my recent travels to Shanghai!
Happy reading! ^^
Happy reading! ^^
Thursday, September 1, 2011
one week hiatus.

As for me, I'm going on vacation today. I'm excited. My buddy Rachel is flying in from Eugene, Oregon to join me this evening. we'll order some Chinese food, bullshit, and leave for Illinois in the morning.
...And if you happen to be in Illinois tomorrow, I curated and am participating in a show at the Peoria Art Guild (along with Christoper Hutson and Jillian Ludwig. Its on 203 Harrison street in downtown Peoria. Free beer and handshakes for all who come and are of age...so, I guess handshakes for everyone!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Happy Friday!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011

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.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
wow, this is a large fossil.

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.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
some finds.

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.

We're going out to hunt on Saturday. Hopefully, I'll have some photos to post. Ta-ta.
Monday, August 15, 2011
penny time.

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/
Labels:
collection,
found object,
road trip,
smashed penny
Friday, August 12, 2011
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.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
art show.

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.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
lost and found.
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.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Happy Friday!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
muscatine mayfly.
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.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
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.
Monday, July 25, 2011
why, hello. you're an eagle.
Friday, July 15, 2011
poem for a porch.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
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
Monday, July 11, 2011
wow, another fantastic trip to Des Moines.
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.
Friday, July 8, 2011
its been a good bird week.
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