Spring Reflections

There is a quote by Pablo Neruda that goes "I want to do to you what the spring does to the cherry tree." I have always thought that this was one of the most romantic things I have ever heard. It's the fact that someone loves you enough to want to help make your dreams come true, make you bloom. Spring is such a wonderful season of renewal, growth and hope.

And this year I feel like I'm missing it. I've been waiting for spring to come, and somehow I feel like I've missed its arrival, and I will wake up one day and it would have come and gone, and I would have had no time to see it. For various reasons, I haven't been able to go out much, and it's been bothering me, more than I though it would. I am also itching to go out with my camera. So far I have mostly snapped a few shots from around my house; it's still something, I guess.

I hate how I have become a complainer. I try not to do it, but I guess I'm just tired. My mom gets annoyed with me a lot whenever I tell her anything that would hint at me being tired or a bit sad. She keeps scolding me, saying that I have nothing to complain about when compared to other people, and that I am being over-dramatic. That just makes me sadder. I don't know how to explain to people that I am just really deeply tired. I work hard, and often my work day goes beyond my official work hours, and after I go home, I usually study, and then go to bed. That's my usual schedule, apart from a dance class here and there, and perhaps lunch with friends once in a few weeks or the occasional play. And while I'm doing that, I feel like people are living their lives, actually living them - being outside, having fun, going to the movies, partying in clubs, traveling during the weekend. I just don't want to miss out on life, and right at this moment, it feels that way.

I do know that I am lucky in many ways; I have not been saddled with debt, I own my home, I have a job, I am pretty healthy, I am in a good relationship. I am deeply grateful to fate that I have been gifted with these blessings, but sometimes, after an exhausting work and study stretch, I still feel cranky. I guess that this master's degree is turning out to be way more of a challenge than I expected when coupled with my job. It's not that I find the act of studying or the material itself hard. It is that I find the lack of any free time hard when out of seven days I can barely scrape half a day to myself or to spend with the people I love. I am at the final stretch, and I am trying not to get discouraged. Clearly, I am not always successful :)

To those who read this blog (even though you are not that many) sorry for all the whining. I promise a happier topic next time. Maybe I should write post about the 10 great things about working towards an MBA degree. It might help me stay positive :)

Rainy Afternoon and Homemade Popovers

After the beautiful weather that we had yesterday, it's been pouring down rain all day today. It's the kind of day where you are better off staying inside and cuddling with a warm blanket and a book, or perhaps seeing a friend over tea and treats.

Back when I was graduating from Colby, I went to Acadia National Park with my parents. We spent a couple of days on Mount Desert Island touring Bar Harbor and Acadia, and it was gorgeous. I remember we were almost done with our tour of the park and we were about to head to Jordan Pond House when it started raining cats and dogs, so we hid inside and enjoyed some lobster stew and popovers with tea. Everything was so delicious, and it was nice to enjoy the rainy afternoon in such a cozy and pretty place.

So this morning when I saw the rain I thought back to that afternoon in Acadia National Park and decided to try and make some popovers. I used a recipe on marthastewart.com, which turned out pretty great. Check it out here. It is for about a dozen popovers, which is quite a lot for me, but they are truly delicious. I had them with butter and French apricot jam, as well as with my homemade quince jam. Yummy!

Kaleidoscope Heart Original Painting: Coming Soon to My Etsy Shop

Here is a sneak peak at an original oil abstract painting called Kaleidoscope Heart that is coming soon to my Etsy shop. It is very much a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors that is fiery and unique.

Check out my store here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/kosebose

Original Oil Painting Lilly Pond Now Available on Etsy

The abstract painting Lilly Pond is actually one of the first works that I painted after I came back to Bulgaria, and it is probably one of my favorite abstract works. I like the fresh liquid and floral feeling that it conveys, and I enjoy the gentle colors reminiscent of springtime days. The painting is now available on my shop: KoseBose's Etsy Shop

New Oil Paintings Available on My Esty Shop

After close to a month since my last post (wow, long time), I finally found the time to add a couple of oil paintings to my Etsy shop. I have added my Nocturne paintings, which consist of Nocturne: Ocean and Nocturne: Woodland. Here they both are:

I have always loved nights and the specific kind of quiet they bring about, which is not even quiet at all, but a kind of chorus of crickets, rustling of leaves, and the movement of the clouds. I am not an early bird, and I am rarely ever wide awake enough to enjoy early mornings properly. I am more of an owl, and I have often found myself wide awake at the wee hours of the night marveling at the feeling of peace that it can offer. Indeed, a lot of my artistic inspiration comes at night, perhaps simply because the world is asleep, and I can think without the phone ringing or without worrying about all the errands I have to do right now. These paintings were a way of trying to put these feelings on paper through color and stroke. I named them Nocturnes  after Chopin's nocturnes, which are some of my favorite pieces of classical music ever. They are beautiful, and even though I used to listen to them a lot while I was going through a rough patch, they don't necessarily carry a sad feeling. Instead, they are like an embrace, rocking you to sleep.

I hope you enjoy my art, and I also hope that some lucky person would buy the pair and enjoy these pieces of the night in his or her home.You can purchase the paintings here at my Etsy shop.

My Etsy Shop

Hey everyone! This is just to brag a bit at the fact that my Esty shop is now live at http://www.etsy.com/shop/kosebose. Right now there are only five items, but there are more coming soon, in fact as soon as the end of this week. I have matted and photographed some of my larger oil abstracts, and I plan on uploading them to the store by the end of this week if all goes well and I can spare some time from Financial Management and Business Strategy assignments.

Here is a sneak peak at my upcoming works for sale:

Photos for Surva Festival of Masquerade Games in Pernik

Way back in 2011 when I was blissfully schoolwork-free and going to photography classes I went to the annual Surva International Festival of Masquerade Games in the nearby town of Pernik, and I wrote about it here.  This event is truly one of the coolest and craziest festivals happening in Bulgaria, and now that I have a car and I am actually not terrified of driving, I could drive my cousin Tsveti and myself to this year's celebrations over the weekend. 

Bulgaria has a rich folklore tradition, which is incredibly interesting, quite varied for such a small country and also filled with fairly tale creatures that rival some of the best fantasy series out there. One of the most famous customs, apart from the live ember walking  nestinari, is related to the kukeri, people dressed up as scary monsters and making an insane amount of noise with the huge bells on their costumes so as to chase away evil spirits and usher in the new season of prosperity and happiness. Depending on the region, the kukeri look different - some have many heads, some are literally covered in bells, some have masks the size of a person, some are all covered in feathers, others in sheep skin or horse hair, and yet others have goat horns and painted faces. Their purpose, though, is one and the same: to scare away sickness and bad luck and bring in health and a good crop. 

Nowadays the festival is not just for the kukeri, even if such groups are predominant. Today the festival features masquerade groups from all over the world that bring their own unique costumes and customs to the event, making it a tapestry of cultures and traditions. There are also groups that are more modern in their costumes or have a decidedly humorous twist, like that one group of people that included a bunch of guys dressed up as doctors who would "kidnap" people from the audience and put them down on a gurney, spraying the local grape alcohol rakia in their mouths from a toy syringe as an "anesthetic." And since I got my hands on a badge that allowed me access to the roped in area where the parade of masquerade groups was passing, I was one of the lucky (or not, depends on your point of view and your  taste in rakia) girls kidnapped and put on the gurney. That was quite a laugh, let me tell you. 

Their vibrant colors, the richness of the textures and variety of materials used in making the costumes make the kukeri a dream to photograph. This is the third year I have attended the festival, and it never disappoints. It's so much fun to see all the costumes, all the people laughing and dancing, and all the adorable little kids dressed like kukeri.  This year I went a bit earlier during the day, and that was a great decision, because it was pouring down rain in the afternoon in Sofia. Here are some of the photos I took of the event, while I enjoyed my insider pass :)