Expensive Mysteries to Glitters

I didn`t take this pic, but my computer crashed this weekend (I`m on the school`s computer now) so I have no choice but to find pics on the internet. That said, this is a pic of the castle in Matsumoto and it is cherry blossom time so this is what it looks like (or will in a few days, anyway). Beautiful!

About computers crashing: We have a genius friend who knows way more about computers than I could ever learn. And, like all geniuses should do, he is able to explain it in language that a 7-year-old can understand. Therefore, my Apple went from being an expensive mystery to a DIY project. I even know where the hard drive is in the computer now! It will probably take a while for us to get the parts but it will be worth it if we don`t have to hand it over to Apple and pay gazillions of dollars for work we could do ourselves. In the end, we may have to hand it over, but we won`t be any worse off than we are now and we would have given it our best. (Strange that I am suddenly working on basic electronics AND computers...nerd or cool?)

I spent a good part of the weekend hot gluing treasures to my Landscape of Enough and starting to figure out the lighting/shadows. It`s going to be magic! Mikel and I spent a while hanging out in the dark watching the shadows move on the wall and sculpture literally saying "Ooooh! Aww!" (possibly it doesn`t take much to entertain us and we all know now that we were computer-less and thus music-less etc...) Anyway, we enjoyed it. I`m very excited for this show.
That said, I do want to add that I did start the weekend with a much needed pep talk from myself. I had reached a point with this piece where my manic excitement simmered down (because I finished what I wanted to in my initial manic stretch) and so I felt a bit of a loss of what to do next. This always happens when I make things, even paintings. It`s a good time to leave my studio (I went and sat by the pond) and give myself a list of what to do next. My list for the weekend was something like this:
1. Add more glitters and reflective bits.
2. Have fun with color.
3. Play with shadows.
4. Pay attention to parts that are boring or dead and make them interesting.
5. Have fun.
Not to bad for a to-do list, right?