changes.

^this photo about sums up the night.
my best friend gets married today. i've been sitting here into the morning hours, mentally composing my maid of honor speech. going through photos of last night's drunken debauchery with a chuckle and a smile on my face, realizing how lucky i am. i'm down a sweater that was lost to a dark bar, there's glow-in-the-dark hot pink paint on my knickers and shoes, and i may have woken up at 6:30 this morning dehydrated and very much still drunk, but i'm carrying a load of memories and laughs.
i'm feeling sentimental as i think on my pals and the vows they will exchange with and for each other and my heart swells. i'm so happy that they both found someone that doesn't mind the run to the store for cold medicine in the middle of the night, or having dinner ready when one gets home just because they work late, or is willing to try ethnic and spicy foods despite an ulcer.
we should all be lucky enough to be able to find a devotion and cheeseball love like that in this lifetime.
^me and my bestest mid-pub golf.



more on the rest later.

early morning sounds.

i've been a big fan of The Sounds for some time. "no one sleeps when i'm awake" is from their album Crossing the Rubicon, released last summer. and it's good, especially if you're often awake at 3 a.m. and trolling for music to not sleep to. the vid itself is a semi-romantic view of the urban nighttime. my fascination with the magic of the night aside, i think one of the reasons i dig this band is that they're what Blondie would be today. and man, who doesn't love Debbie Harry?
this is one band i'm making a vow to see live. even if i have to fly to sweden, i'm gonna do it.

working for the weekend.

^i will cut you.

in yet another stunning "incident" involving the roommates' black canine beasts, i am sporting one chipped lateral incisor. first the broken backyard fence, now, my face. jumping up to meet my head unexpectedly, nearly knocking me over, London's teeth met my own in a powerful click. it took me a minute to notice as i rubbed at my teeth and stumbled to the bathroom mirror, bemoaning that their dogs were really too large to be jumping on someone of my size and stature.
when i discovered my loss, i shouted that their dog was gonna pay for me to get it fixed, to which Roommate 2 said that "it's really not that noticable," --(that's because it's not in your mouth)-- which i took to mean:
1. it's not worth fixing because, to her, it looked rather minor.
2. no one but me is going to pay for this.

when i saw my sister later, she immediately gawped at my dental hideousness and shrank away from my broken visage. we may or may not be acting over dramatic about this, regardless, puppy heads will roll. (my first eating experience since has thrown my mouth into upheaval in a confused struggle to deal with The Change, reminiscent of the time i was affixed with braces and had a near-death experience involving spaghetti noodles. it was all scratchy and jagged and this "minor" chip be damned- it shall be fixed if i have to pay for it in puppy blood.)

i'm immersed in the traffic box project for the DBA currently, so i haven't had any time to work on new art but there's an interesting article over on ISO50 on how creative types deal with the creative rut. it includes the advice of two of my favorite artists: Audrey Kawasaki & Deth P. Sun.
says deth:
"I don’t really get into ruts that often. When I do I just take a break from drawing and do whatever I feel like until I feel like drawing again. I try not getting into ruts by keeping my mind active with new interest or subjects, reading, watching DVDs, finding interesting podcasts. It’s also nice to hang out with friends who have other interests. I think the well of stuff I’m into is pretty low, so a lot of the things I draw about is stuff my friends talk about and the things they are interested in. Like I’m not drawn into Native Americanism, horror films, talking to the undead, or the magical healing powers of crystals, but I end up drawing that stuff cause my friends talk about it so much. But yeah, I don’t know. It's different for everyone, but this is the way I do it."

magical healing powers of crystals *mocks*.
humorous that the general consensus on avoiding The Place Where Creativity Goes To Die is to simply do something else. watch movies, drink beer, go for a run- though, not necessarily in that order.

it's early morning on a friday. thank you, weekend, for being ever so punctual. i'm including a bunch of songs you wouldn't think i liked. it's good weekend music. some're off my art-making playlist. some are off a playlist my roommates refer to as the "Pre Funk."
enjoy your weekend, kids.

Baby When the Virgins- David Guetta vs. Madonna
Superstar- PopCop
The Test- Chemical Brothers
Of Moons Birds & Monsters(holy ghost remix)- MGMT
Mindcircus- Way Out West
I Feel It in My Bones- Tiesto w/ Tegan & Sara
Sometimes(hook & sling remix)- Miami Horror
The Girl & the Robot(kris menace remix)- Röyksopp
All Nite(Don't Stop)- Janet Jackson
Throw Some Tik on that Tok- White Panda (w/ Rich Boy/Ke$ha)

BoiseHeartsHaiti.

just a heads up, i've got two artworks in the BoiseHeartsHaiti shindig tomorrow. if you're looking to bid on some good art for a good cause, some of my favorite peeps also have art available: ben wilson, erin cunningham, and sue latta. be there! (magic word: please!) see full press release below for info, and full props to lauren and jesse for organizing this.

Musicians, artists come together for BOISEheartsHAITI fundraiser Feb. 6

Steve Fulton, Matt Hopper, ReVoLtReVoLt, Bank to perform

Silent auction features original work from a dozen artists

Proceeds benefit Food for the Poor, Doctors Without Borders

Local musicians and artists will come together to raise money for Haiti disaster relief during BOISEheartsHAITI at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6, at the Linen Building, 1402 W. Grove St. in Downtown Boise’s Linen District. Admission is a suggested donation of $5 at the door. All ages, full bar (ID required).

Musicians scheduled to perform are Steve Fulton, Matt Hopper, ReVoLtReVoLt and Bank.

The fundraising event also includes a silent auction featuring original art and other items, plus a raffle with prizes donated by local businesses. Featured artists are Erin Ruiz, Ben Wilson, Allison Halligan, Jonathan Benton, Erin Cunningham, Sue Latta, James Calentino, Jeff Baker, Grant Olsen, Tim Andreae, Shasta Nash and Jenny Burdin.

All proceeds from the event will benefit two charities working on Haiti’s biggest issues: food and clean water (Food for the Poor) and medical needs (Doctors Without Borders).

For more information on BOISEheartsHAITI, contact Jesse Larsen, 208.863.5326 or fabujes@yahoo.com, or LaurenTweedy, 208.340.2583 or laurentweedy@yahoo.com.
For more information on the Linen Building, contact David Hale at 208.385.0111 or info@thelinenbuilding.com. Visitthelinenbuilding.com and interact with the Linen Building on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.

free stuff!

okay kids! free art edition. i've got four of these little mexican wrestlers up for grabs. painted in acrylic, and ballpoint pen.(the penny is for size. like i said, they're small. and pocket-sized. and free.) first four comments or emails to erin@erinruiz.com to win one. (if you win, you can also specify which guys you'd like most in your comment or email and i'll try to fill your request.)
have fun, and good luck!

ETA: all wrestlers have been claimed! i'll contact you winners tomorrow. and thanks for playing.

3 dollar wine.

eternal sunshine theme - jon brion
kettering - the antlers
frank ab - the rural alberta advantage
the sea is a good place... - los campesinos!
love dog - tv on the radio
black river killer - blitzen trapper
cascades - richmond fontaine
shiny - the decemberists
tales of las negras - mice parade
the death of us - the new amsterdams
the temptation of adam - josh ritter
signs(sayCet remix)- bloc party
ghosts - thomas newman
cymbal rush(live on kcrw)- thom yorke
atrophy - the antlers

i've been posting songs from my winter playlist for the last month, and i've just now gotten around to shortening it down for a decent list to share. typically, my winter tunes are like a warm musical blanket of depression.
however, do not fret. i counter it with a list of songs peppered with 80s and 90s pop sensation. (seriously, what ever happened to c+c music factory? i thought those guys were destined for longevity..) it keeps me humble.
i've been dealing with a maniacal pup who was gifted a paper-thin rawhide from Roommate 2 earlier, and she flies into a pupils-dilated puppy rage when anyone dares near it. after chewing off a small corner of rawhide with her tiny, razor sharp teeth, she promptly passed out at 3 AM and hasn't stirred since. i think the proper term in this instance would be "coma."
the roommates made pizza for dinner, then forced me to drink off the rest of their $3 wine because Roommate 1 was tanked and Roommate 2 feared 1 would not make it to see 11 o'clock. we popped "earth girls are easy" into the dvd player while Roommate 2 frantically searched the house for a small tube of vaginal tightener(do not ask). by the time jeff goldblum and geena davis have golden showery alien sex, Roommate 1 had passed out and i was the last one standing.

i'm planning on the free art for sometime monday. good idea? i'll post it 'round abouts my internet spaces, so if you want your shot, keep a sharp eye out. i promise, it'll be worth it.

blud.

^from the savannah archives, my roomie shawna.
i made an appointment to give blood next monday. the funny part about it was my hesitancy to do it when i've never had a problem with either needles or the drawing of my own blood before. i chalk this up to my last, horrid, blood-giving experience in savannah years ago. i haven't been able to give blood since.
it started innocently enough. naomi, shawna and i were traipsing about the town and we saw that there was a blood drive so we decided, "fuck it. let's do this." it had been a year or so since my last donation back in idaho, so i figured it was nigh time to drop another bag of blood for a good cause. as we three sat there filling out our medical history, the nurse informed us that we would be the last donors since it was "nearing 4pm." it seemed to me to be a bit early to close down shop, seeing as there were people waiting in line to give blood and don't they, like, need all the blood they can get?
whatever.
shawna went first, myself directly after, and we giggled at each other from our respective chairs as her already pale complexion turned a surprising two shades whiter. she stubbornly persisted with the squeezing of the stress ball though and powered through. my nurse had trouble finding my vein, stabbing me twice. (which was a bag of lies. every time i've had to give blood, barring this particular Incident, i've gotten compliments on my vein prominence. 'a beginning nurses dream,' they called them. i beamed with pride. i have awesome veins, lady.) once the tube was connected, my blood being drawn from my body, naomi sauntered over to tell me she was "a reject" because she was iron-deficient. she looked like a kicked puppy. later, she would be thankful she didn't partake in the madness that was The Disasterous Savannah Blood Drive of 2003.
my bag is halfway full of the most precious commodity next to money when the nurse decides i'm "taking too long." it's four o' clock and they want to shut down. she disconnects me from my bag and quickly applies a cotton ball and some tape and ushers my posse out the door.
i was pissed. i felt robbed.. cheated of my own blood, and for nothing but a Solo cup shot full of electrolytes, a free cotton swab, and a scarred stab wound on my right arm. the situation soured my outlook on giving blood for a long time, and only recently have i started the recovery process.

what else? oh. the basement gallery has "Noise in the Basement" up on a slide show. you can see some pieces of mine that aren't on my flickr page here.

and!
i'll be running another little competition for some free art in the coming week, so keep posted. i'll have more than two this time, so more of you should have a shot at winning something.

the status of my fingernails is more interesting than your conversation.

anglophilia.

my adoration for all things british has hit a high this month with the imminent return of Skins fourth season approaching debut on january 28th (for uk viewers). for those who know me, know it's rare that i gush with excitement for anything-- especially any tv program-- but Skins is my exception. it's well-written, honest, and makes no apologies. i've tired of the american reality tvs, or win-a-date-with-another-rich-loser, or hospital/crime scene investigative dramas. it's fresh, and the adorable accents don't hurt.

see what i mean?

annnnd. tickets for the Burning Man Festival also went on sale today. if you're itching to go, and i recommend it, hurry and buy yours as the two lowest price levels have already sold out. then, you should leave your ticket at Will Call so you can come and say hi to me at the box office this summer. word? in honor of this year's BM theme of "Metropolis," i will build for you a city full of industrial revolutions.