new blog, uh-oh

yo dawgs (caleb and probably kath).  i'm setting up a new blog.  a tumblr to be more specific.  they look more websitey, which is more "professional" i guess.  anyways... i only have the "craft" section updated, but i'm planning the mother of all updates as soon as i remember to get my photographs from home.

okay whatever

http://iamnikiburger.tumblr.com/

<3 niki

A PACK FOR MY BACK

It's finally finished (well, mostly)!!!!  This here pack was made with the very last of my leather scraps!  It turned out fantastic!  There's still more things about it to consider, like that one buckle on the back that does not quite fit (not pictured), but all-in-all it is wearable, and I can even put things in it.  Which is all that I was asking.  The pictures were rushed because I was exciteddd!  But you'll see me with it around town, I am sure!

la-la

as my vest is now nearing completion (i am just scavenging the right tassels for the bottom) i am beginning to dream of bigger and better projects ahead (backpack).  this weekend i found the most loveliest of leathers, and i now have a good pile of beginner bones to pick from.  as a result, i made this lovely pen satchel for a friend.  andres, look away!

 

 

old poems from florence

Before the mount, there was the desire-
spectacular tastes of the tidy and gentle kind
where refreshing blows push against the winds of time and place
and i become whole, complete once again
but the folly is mine, because that cannot exist.
and here i am as i am...here
contrary to the salty dreams i once dreamt
this place is a hole, a mess to get buried in
i didn't escape, but i came back to what once was
buried in the fashionable heap.
but there is a way to find the desire of the refreshed
and it comes through with the effort of patients
the clock ticks 123 like the body it moves
and to develop into the complete once again 

I can't be because the glory has passed.
There are dreams, but, can they satisfy?
All hope lies in little pictures.
And ideas of the things that cannot.
Of broken jeans and leaves, and bark.
Cover me with that blanket. I see.
I am not right because I cannot be.
And I was raised by something normal.
Used to comfort, fuck it.
I'd take your woods if I could.
And melt your home away.  

Questions

and it's hard when you have them, to answer them, and realize
it's always the pit
you eat but it never fills, so you question
and you ask questions, or you don't and you wait
it's easy to think of things, to always think of them
and never change- that comes with questioning
over and over, the realizing plays
and you realize the potential of every possible way
and you question the outcome or the path of realization
thus the pit, and trying to fill

leather scrappy

i had a whole bunch of leather scraps and a brand new dress form, so i made a vest.  i still have big plans for this, pockets here, gold fringe there, basically the stuff sweater in vest form.

forgive the awkward photo.  and that eye-catching sweater does not do the vest justice.

leather

it's my new thing.  the way it feels, how many needles it can break, i just love working with it!  the button is made from an old cuff link i bought for 25 cents.  both of the photos made the leather appear a lot darker than what it actually is.  i tried to fix it but failed.  starting out simple, but soon i want to learn how to make designs into this stuff!  hopefully my dad doesn't look at this site, because this is his christmas gift.

for kath

i do hope she has already gotten this...

 tis' a butterfly wing i found during a spring jaunt through the forest.

how magical.

oldies

found these in the bowels of my basement last weekend.  these are from my very first semester of college, or should i say, the only time during my college career when i kinda sorta cared about what i was doing.  you can still see where i skimmed over stuff to "get a project done," but there's something about these that i like.  i regret my lack of a portfolio during the course of these years, but this has given me extra motivation now.  however, my current obstacle is my obsession with crafting and not of painting/drawing.  but i suspect that these will combine in my future. 

carte postale

pour un ami

ditties

what's happening on the stuff sweater

beachy symbol, tigerbow, star, cat, nice man picture, rose, (not seen) strawberries,upside down cross, patch, button.

for a little bird i met in memphis

IF YOU ARE KATH LAMB, LOOK AWAY!!!!

Because this is the post card I sent you in the mail

Just some scraps I found lying around.  After much deliberation, I have decided that this little number is just one big commentary on sex, in every way.  Which makes sense  if you compare it to the books I'm currently reading:

History of Mistresses: a history of the "other woman"

1Q84

and soon to start, The Windup Girl

Not to mention I just finished Narcissus and Goldmund.  

cold days, good books.

PILLOW

I MADE ONE

in my humble opinion, crafting is the best right now.

ETSY

Hey you!  YES YOU!  Check out ou Etsy store.  It's pretty cool.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/UncleCatsEmporium

kitty pin

as my adventure in embroidery continues i will find new and interesting ways to incorporate these stitches.  firstly there is a pin.  there was then a patch of a choo-choo train, but i gave that to my friend without taking a photo of it.  next, working it into paintings?

stuff sweater:
star from a star
cross found in the sands of montenegro 

postcard to a friend

some wonderful things have been happening.  wonderful inspirations, touching on all corners.  and i feel gentle, sound.

new on the stuff sweater:

taught myself how to embroider!

Another Cat

The wonderful thing about having such a nice frame is that it makes even the most simple of drawings feel and look somewhat good.  Anyways, I'm trying to catch up on my "one drawing a week" thing that I missed out on the last two weeks.  Whoops!  I guess simple drawings are a good way to do that.

What's next you may ask?  Learning how to embroider and sewing more things onto my stuff sweater.

So far on the stuff sweater I have sewed on:
a hood
a patch

a fancy pin thing

Artsy

Beachy and I are just about to put up our cat store on Etsy.  If I remember correctly, it will be called Uncle Cat's Emporium.  Here's a little sample of one of my dittys.

Also, cute drawing for a work poster...washed out againnnn...

Secrets

I like to keep things under wraps, but whatever.  Here's a bit of the cat fiasco that's happening in St. Paul.

Now that I can use my nice scanner at work, expect more updates...maybe. This little number was from my Italy days.  The colors didn't turn out quite like the real thing, but it never really does.

airport life

it's 2 am in thessaloniki.  we just bought coffee.