Tag: 2011

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Year-End Tally

damn, its been a good year. :)

I’m a big list-maker, its the virgo in me I guess. Anyway like most virgos I have a running list of resolutions and at the end of each year I like to cross things off and see how I’ve stacked up, only recently (like the last 3 years or so) have I actually been able to cross off 50% of my resolutions which is huge for me, so lets see how I did this year.

  1. Buy that film scanner I need.Purchased in November!  :)
  2. Get a domain & get serious about doing this blog (consistent posting) valeriefigueroa.com thankyouverymuch
  3. Donate a couple prints to charity for an auction.
  4. Participate or have my own (that’s pretty ambitious) gallery showing of my work for a Second Saturday event.Participated in the Sac Vox Second Saturday art show in March!
  5. Get my goodsie.com print store up, running, & prints into peoples homes! it was up until goodsie imposed a $15 dollar monthly fee, my only purchase was outside of the website anyway so I decided to close shop until I could afford it…
  6. Work on my portfolio (this is on my list every year it seems)Well its nowhere near done but I did make a few key decisions about my portfolio, at least the academic one, the real work begins when my Portfolio Development class begins in January. 
  7. Make some serious progress on my book project!

Well 5ish out of 7 ain’t so bad!! :) I feel like I’ve accomplished so much more that wasn’t on that list, lets hope the trend continues in 2012!

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Flashback Friday, 2011 highlights

image
taken on my droid 2, on xmas eve

You’ve probably read a ton of these type of posts by now but I like lists and I like reflecting. What better way to do that than to highlight the best and most memorable moments of my year!

    • Joining VOX, the very first artist collective I ever belonged to.
    • selling my first print
    • stepping outside my comfort zone and going to dubstep shows
    • wearing shorts for the first time in years (since i was a teen) all summer long
    • summer dresses too!
    • hitting the 5 year single & still working at sbux mark- it was bittersweet, ha
    • saying “goodbye, i deserve better” to the fucked up situation that was my lovelife for the past 3 years.
    • seeing The Kills and having an amazing birthday month filled with drinks, family parties, a trip to my favorite city in the bay (Berkeley), and best friend time.
    • crossing sutro baths off my “to-shoot” photo list
    • taking tamale day into my own hands this year and making it a success!!
    • gaining some pretty awesome followers
    • celebrating the little victories in life…

What have you done or experienced this year that deserves a mention?? Leave a comment, I’m curious to see what you guys have been up to.

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Detour: Fallen Leaf Lake

During my Hot August Nights weekend in South Lake Tahoe some friends and I decided to head up towards Emerald Bay and take a nice drive on a warm Saturday afternoon. On our way back we saw a sign for Fallen Leaf Lake which I had never been to and in true Valerie fashion we (and by we I mean I was driving and took a very fast turn without my passengers knowing what the hell I was up to)  took a little detour not knowing what to expect. This is when I learned 2 lessons.

Lesson 1: Sally (my sentra) is one hellova beast of an off roading vehicle…that is for being a 4 door compact sedan. The potholes and lack of proper pavement on this very twisted road to Fallen Leaf Lake were amazing. I could only go about 15 mph the whole way because I kept having to swerve to avoid potholes, because lucky for us we had no cell service that deep in the woods which means no roadside assistance when I pop a tire.

Lesson 2: know how wide your vehicle is, and learn how to drive long distances backwards. About a third way into our drive in the road went down to a very VERY narrow one lane road. One lane. Sometimes paved, sometimes not, windy, ridden with potholes, one lane road. In the woods. At some points the assholes coming the opposite directions would seriously mob down these windy roads and we had to pull over multiple times into the bushes, into dirt ditches, into dirt hills, or as close to the edge of a small cliff without losing my car to the hill. Other times we had no choice but to back out until we could find a spot to pull over safely so we could both pass, which require driving backwards…near trees and a steep hill. IT WAS REALLY FUN GUYS.  So seriously, know your cars limits if you want to get into Fallen Leaf Lake safely in your little 4door compact sedan.

With all that said, the lake was pretty, very wide open and clear as hell. We ended up parking on someones wooden driveway on a hill and walking down to the lake and checking it out. On our way back though we passed this clearing which looked straight out of some movie, it was beautiful and all I wanted to do was prance around in the field singing the hills are alive with the sound of music…but I held myself back and decided to take a couple shots instead. This ones my favorite. :)

this is totally my desktop right now, if you want a desktop res one let me know and Ill put up a link to a hi-res photo
Posted on by — 7 Comments

Sutro Baths

For years I’ve always wanted to visit the Sutro Bath ruins in San Francisco. I had read about them, a couple of my friends had done modeling gigs out there, its in the bay area, old and run down… just my style. Over the summer I finally got around to visiting and to be honest, it was cool but I guess I had built it up for so long in my head I was a little underwhelmed when I got there. For some reason I thought it would be off the beaten path more, and boy was I wrong. Negativity aside, it was a pretty sight and somewhere I’d totally go just to hang out and relax at.

note to self, pack a lighter camera bag next time, walking up that hill was a bitch…i’m so out of shape lol
i love the weathered paint

The whole time I was here, I was trying to imagine it in its heyday, people running around, kids splashing, modest womens bathing suits and swimcaps, with a view of the ocean just a sheet of glass and steel away.

definitely not water I’d want to play in, but it looked peaceful enough.
on the other side of this wall…about 3 different brands of tall cans in the sand
i’m a sucker for well placed graffiti

I had a nice time there at Sutro, and judging from google maps pictures, it seems to be a popular stop for tourists since its so close to the Cliffhouse. Its definitely somewhere you should check out if you feel like getting away from the city for a little bit.

Posted on by — 2 Comments

I love a good paint job

I love classic cars, there is no denying it. One of the things I love the most is that the owners of these beauties take the time and care to creating really amazing paint jobs, whether its restoring it to its original color and luster, or creating a whole new identity through sparkles and ghost flames. I love ghost flames. I love glitter. And I LOVE a good paint job.

exhibit A- sparkles
and exhibit B- ghost flames, thank god for polarizing filters, right?