that said, this little blogbaby has meant so much to me over the last two-and-a-half years (yes, it’s actually been that long) and i feel its only fair to thank WordPress, all those who supported and followed me over the years (pun fully intended,) the incredible talent and friendships i found here, and of course, both my monsters and my mazes.

on the dawn of my 22nd birthday it’s become evident just how much i’ve grown and changed since starting this at 19. i graduated from AUB. i figured out what i stand for. i developed my body of work to a graduate school level (forgot to mention! i’m off to New York this summer to get an MFA,) and overcome immeasurable obstacles. i started teaching art. i fell in love, and have been for two years and three days.

ITS BEEN WILD GUYS! but change is necessary and i feel like it’s time for something different. the monster and the maze will stay up, so i can keep in touch with everyone and stay updated on your work and thoughts. but i will no longer be posting.

i’m going to miss this!

much, much, much love,

Lara

آخ

آخ

Leila – Gabrielle Duplantier

check out http://wearedumb.com/ for more teen angst, poorly drawn not-so-popular-anymore media, and lots of hashtags.

many thanks to superstar betterthanme bigbrother for sending me that glorious link. watch him talk about his epic new Arabic programming language, قلب (Arabic for heart,) exploring code as a form of self expression. HE IS THE SHITS.

http://animalnewyork.com/2013/arabic-programming-language-at-eyebeam-%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A8-opens-the-world/

albertus seba – illustrations from The Cabinet of Natural Curiosity

medium: Acrylic

size: 100 x 100 cm

description: Map of light in relation to another person. Phases are outlined in translucent layers to create gradients of an organic graph of intimacy.

FOR SALE :):)

letters by Emma Hauck, a schizophrenic mother of two writing in vain to her husband. found after her death the letters speak of dementia in extreme longing. the precision of her print confronts her mental illness; obsessive repetition forming a heartbreaking textile of need.

live public painting and mixed media:

materials:

Acrylic, ink, yarn on paper; crate and jacket

size:

Painting: 200 x 200 cm

Found object sculpture: 66.5 x 66.5 cm

description:

Live painting and cutout assembled at 2-hour El Yafta public arts festival. Male behavior, specifically that of Arab men, is parodied as one feeds off of another. The second man reflects Beirut’s skyline and clings to the objects that tie him down in an intimate spatial intervention.

applying to graduate school is a FULL TIME JOB, and has effectively consumed my life as of late.  by the end of the process, a 16-image portfolio maximum was tough to meet, when at first it seemed a ludicrously low quota. i’m excited. i think i am ready for this.

what i’m not entirely ready for is being a female outside of my cozy social sphere. WHY DO WE COMPETE LIKE BABOONS? and why do we try so unbelievably hard? elevator eyes, unnaturally high-pitched greetings, false compliments and self-serving storytelling. like, ewwww. i had the misfortune of working “freelance” under a woman a little while ago. she went out of her way to humiliate and take advantage of me. was i a threat or is she just a massive bitch? is it a Lebanese thing? i can’t for the life of me tell.

the trend in female aggression is covertness, to which i can testify. i will privately wipe a booger on someones sketchbook if i don’t like her, and laugh about it with a best friend. but recently i’ve noticed females trying to one-up each other by looking better, and it is fucking bizarre.

examples |

you are meeting up with old friends. claiming to have a big night out afterwards, one is dressed to go to the Oscars.

your friend has tagged you in a photo on Facebook. she looks like a model. you look like Richard Simmons.

the list goes on. male-kind, i envy you in your hairy low-maintenance.

social media is a catalyst here, transforming a platform for communication into gallery of free-spirited creatures who just want to live life and be crazy and YOLO all the way home, with effortless (shhh, 2 hours-in-front-of-a-mirror, sshhh) beauty.

like this asshole, delicate but likely damaged, with her faux wistful smile.

this has been my inconsequential grumbling of the week: ladies, be nicer, and no one really cares too much how you look.