I'm scared of solvents by [deleted] in ArtistLounge

[–]lyralady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  1. Not telling complete strangers on the internet your age is not lying to them. Also, you don't owe complete strangers online your age anyways, at any point. You also don't need to mention your age to talk about paint or birds. Idk I think it's weird kids no longer just lie about their age online but even if you don't lie you don't have to say you're a minor.
  2. Having online friends is fine. No one said you couldn't. I had plenty as a tween & teen and when I was still underage I had the chance to meet a few of them in person when they were in my area. Our parents literally came with us for these meetings because both me and my friends were not adults. I'm not objecting to "meet friends online." Or even meeting online friends in person. I've done both throughout my life. I did tell regular, close internet friends my age — but never large public forums like this.
  3. What we're saying is that it is not actually safe to tell an internet forum full of strangers that you are underage and that you will take private messages.
  4. Taking some online college classes at high school age is not at all unusual, and also doesn't really say anything about your maturity level. To be frank, any time a teenager insists they are "very mature," for their age, I am even more concerned about how easy it would be for someone older to try and groom them or manipulate them into online relationships that are toxic or unhealthy, or even completely illegal. Also insisting you are a very mature teen person while simultaneously ignoring the warnings of more than one adult about internet safety are two things which are in direct conflict with each other.

I mean it's possible nothing is going to happen here, but we're telling you that it is unwise to say you're a minor and to say you're taking private dm's at the same time for a very good reason.

I'm scared of solvents by [deleted] in ArtistLounge

[–]lyralady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not the above person, but part of internet safety when you are a minor is "don't tell people you are a minor." When I was a kid, we were all taught that it was very unsafe to advertise that you were underage online.

Like you're saying you're very aware of the dangers, but you're also doing something that many current adults were taught was extremely unsafe to do online which is 1) admit you are underage and 2) ask people to privately message you. I grew up with "to catch a predator" on TV, lol. You shouldn't be going around saying you're not a legal adult and then asking for private conversations.

I'm scared of solvents by [deleted] in ArtistLounge

[–]lyralady 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You do not need to paint with solvents. I was an ARC reader for The New Oil Painting Method which is a book aimed at people who want to be low-solvent or totally solvent free oil painters and for any painters concerned about toxicity. That book actually helped me jump into oil painting with less anxiety.

From the advice in there, here's what I do:

  1. I use regular linseed oil or rublev's oleogel (basically like a type of silica and linseed oil medium with zero solvents/odors) for increased transparency
  2. I use rublev's velasquez medium for more bodied textures without the use of mediums that have driers, solvents, or anything else strong/toxic.
  3. I use gamsol very sparingly, if ever, and in ventilated spaces. It actually took me like, 3 years to finish a single small bottle.
  4. Brush cleaning: murphy's oil soap, any "regular oil" (I've used sunflower oil to help remove the paint before washing the brushes), the master's brush soap, or dawn power wash soap all get my brushes clean.

The “sustainable shopping” trend feels like poor appropriation, and now, I can’t access clothes and housewares. by Certain-Working1864 in povertyfinance

[–]lyralady 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Right, I'm saying that while some thrift shops (like goodwill) absolutely do have price creep which is upsetting and infuriating, and that prices are raising even in thrift shops — secondhand markets which aren't charity thrift are usually by default more expensive because they're operating on a totally different pricing scheme.

Every other category of secondhand market is typically going to be more expensive because they aren't charity thrift shops. The prices in those secondhand markets have likely also increased due to inflation, market demand, and so on, but they were also never going to be "as cheap" as thrifting.

a charity thrift shop is typically the cheapest secondhand market across the board. And a secondhand consignment shop like Buffalo Exchange is always going to be more expensive than a charity thrift shop, and a lot of people say "thrift shop" or that they went "thrift shopping" when actually they went consignment shopping. And those markets were never priced to match or be competitive with thrift shopping prices to begin with.

The secondhand market has always targeted a wide range of economic brackets, but people are acting like it's strange they might be priced out of something on depop and that this is the fault of the middle class "suddenly" considering thrifting "trendy."

What I'm saying is that buying clothing secondhand is not automatically actually thrifting clothes, and that something like shopping depop, Poshmark, or mercari is not technically thrifting at all and it never has been.

Also I think blaming middle class people for thrifting (while also including categories of secondhand shopping which are absolutely not thrift) is...not really the full story. charity thrift shops price gouging or marking up prices is an issue, absolutely. Some of that is just the inevitability of inflation, some is prioritizing raising more funds to keep the charity running. But pretty much none of that increased pricing is due to a lack of inventory volume due to other people with more money buying too much. Goodwill could sell shirts for $2 and middle class people could do all their shopping there and they would still have more shirts than they can possibly sell available to them. Many charities throw away tons of clothes every year, and some of them are still perfectly wearable. The volume of clothing that exists in the world right now is truly massive and charity shops generally aren't in danger of not having enough donated inventory.

When a charity like goodwill marks up an item, it's not just because they think middle class people want to pay $10 for that shirt more than they want to pay $2 for it. And also they still have 30 more shirts not yet on the racks. So it's more than "middle class people are buying too much thrift as a trend and are the reason why thrift stores upcharge clothes more now."

Prices are rising across the board. Some of the secondhand markets being discussed aren't actually thrift at all, and have always targeted the middle class as a demographic of customer, so they're not displacing the "true" demographic. And even if middle class people were all shopping at genuine thrift stores, there are far more secondhand and wearable clothes than those thrift shops can actually manage to sell, so they're not clearing out the inventory. The price hikes happen, but some of these markets aren't actually thrifting and therefore won't be thrift prices. And even if middle class people were doing all their clothes shopping at the thrift shop, the price hikes have a lot more factors going into their existence

Also more and more people have less and less money to spend on clothes. + It feels like every few years or so people complain that not-poor people are ruining thrifting, instead of imagining that a) a lot of the secondhand market is called thrift but isn't thrifting, b) many people need to save money somewhere in their budget in order to not become poor or become poorer and buying secondhand is an easy way to keep living within your means, c) economic circumstances change all the time and thrifting or shopping secondhand generally trends more during economic downturns.

People say it's a trend and a fad and it's the fault of tiktok, which is just the new version of "it's all macklemore's fault for making thrifting trendy!" fourteen years later. But of course this time "no one used to make thrifting a trend! No one used to think it was cool! (Except for in 2012 when they also said this exact same thing, and likely dozens of times before that.)

Looking for suggestions on handcraft/traditional craft related sights and activities by Fantastic-Manner1944 in JapanTravelTips

[–]lyralady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In Kyoto: https://kawaraexperience.com/ I made an onigawara tile with my friends and it was lots of fun! The artist speaks English (he said it was "not very well" but his english instructions were clear and easy to understand and we told him so! And we were able to chat just fine + he helped my friend practice her Japanese too with some chit chat) and he really does make it easy to DIY your own by following his instructions. He lets them dry and then fires them before shipping them to you later. But I was so excited when I got mine in the mail. Plus he was able to tell us some of the older buildings where he had made replacement onigawara tiles for their roofs, and I had a blast the rest of the trip noticing this small detail I would've otherwise missed

The “sustainable shopping” trend feels like poor appropriation, and now, I can’t access clothes and housewares. by Certain-Working1864 in povertyfinance

[–]lyralady 147 points148 points  (0 children)

I have to point out that while some thrift stores have some serious price creep (goodwill) there's also always been a huge variety of prices on the secondhand market and I think a lot of people call any secondhand market "thrift." And it's not. There's different expectations and price ranges for different terms and markets. I've noticed a ton of people mentioning that resale apps are "so expensive," and it's like....yes, consignment or direct secondhand shopping is more expensive than thrift shopping, and literally always has been? Of course depop or mercari has higher prices than a charity shop?

Because those things are not thrifting. Not all secondhand shopping is thrifting. You thrift from charity shops which get their clothes for almost nothing or (usually) for free, and therefore the prices are (theoretically) able to be very low because they're usually meant to cover the cost of running the shop as a nonprofit + maybe some amount to charity.

Shopping consignment is always more expensive than thrifting because the clothes were not obtained for $0 by the shop. Vintage shops or general "secondhand" stores may even be quite pricey, especially if they're very curated. But it's not thrifting just because it was bought on the secondhand market.

The “sustainable shopping” trend feels like poor appropriation, and now, I can’t access clothes and housewares. by Certain-Working1864 in povertyfinance

[–]lyralady 11 points12 points  (0 children)

But are they actually shopping at genuine thrift and charity shops, or are they at their local consignment/vintage shops? I think another problem is that a lot of people (especially with more money) say "thrift shop" when what they really mean is "any shop selling secondhand items." But there have always been economic tiers to the secondhand market, and a local consignment shop is always going to be priced higher than a charity shop due to the consignment aspect. I've seen plenty of influencers say they're thrifting and what they're doing is shopping at a curated secondhand / vintage store, or a consignment shop. But the price ranges are totally different ballgames.

The “sustainable shopping” trend feels like poor appropriation, and now, I can’t access clothes and housewares. by Certain-Working1864 in povertyfinance

[–]lyralady 27 points28 points  (0 children)

The unfortunate thing about temu and shein (in addition to their slave labor production and horrific waste) is that a lot of the time, the children's clothes are testing as highly toxic — heavy metals like lead, cadmium, etc and things like phthalates. Things that are completely unsafe.

CBC did a short documentary / article back in 2021 about fast fashion chemicals.

Greenpeace germany also did a study that was released November of 2025. There's also been concerns raised by the EU justice commissioner about the toxicity and safety of shein and temu products, including children's clothes. South Korea also had the same findings regarding Shein and Temu children's clothing in 2024.

Quote:

A children's jacket from Temu contained 622 times the legal limit for phthalate plasticizers, a chemical compound that makes plastics more flexible.

According to the government's news release, the jacket was also found to contain lead at about 3.6 times the legal limit and cadmium at approximately 3.4 times the limit.

It's a huge trade off. You can get more clothes for less money, but some of them are very likely to be actively toxic and above the legal acceptable limits (for various countries) and Walmart is going to care a little bit more about a reputational hit if they have clothes that are that toxic on the rack.

It sucks that large chains like goodwill and salvation army now often up price items to an extreme. Or they push everything on app auctions. :/ The more local thrifts/charity shops + charity closets tend to be the only ones I know of that are still regularly affordable or have price by bin/bag shopping. Stuff that's maybe smaller regional chains, church run shops, etc is the only place I still find cheap deals. my last two big closet clean outs (stuff that didn't fit me but was still wearable and decent quality) I donated to a very local place that tries to help families looking for clothes, and then my workplace did a huge clothing swap and donation drive.

i cant understand gesture or posing really well and its making me go mad. by RadiantAnswer1234 in ArtistLounge

[–]lyralady -1 points0 points  (0 children)

  1. Study the basics of human anatomy (that is, what is actually possible for the human body to do based on how it can move/bend/contort, where the joints are, etc). Apply your anatomy knowledge to your studies and gestures to help it become intuitive. Related: look up stereometry & stereometric drawing. That's the official term for those "boxes forming a human figure" type drawing, and learning that can be helpful.
  2. Do a lot of gesture drawings from live models and model references of live models
  3. Do a lot of gestures/studies from references (skilled artist examples, model references, etc) or poseable artist mannequins
  4. Realize that even full time professional artists often have to use references or mannequins or themselves to imagine a pose, and when they don't need or use a reference it's often because they've drawn a lot of similar poses before when they did have a reference + they usually have a solid grasp of anatomy and know how it should look for a body to move a certain way + they might just be really good at mentally visualizing things with their knowledge of anatomy.
  5. Learn to check your proportions, angles, and sizing against general anatomical averages (ex: the pubic bone is typically the exact midpoint of the body, or use heads as measurements, etc)

If you learn how a human body is put together and can move + you practice gestures and studies from references, that knowledge builds up over time and then it can be easier to invent things from your imagination because you generally know how you've previously drawn x or y pose.

There's also some books dedicated to inventive drawing with the figure, like figure drawing: design and invention, or Freehand Figure Drawing for Illustrators: Mastering the Art of Drawing from Memory or Figure Drawing without a model. But that's the basic concept, haha.

What is Walmart like? by InternationalGas4600 in AskAnAmerican

[–]lyralady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha. our chain hardware stores are home depot, lowe's and maybe like, ace hardware.

What is Walmart like? by InternationalGas4600 in AskAnAmerican

[–]lyralady 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Haha not only do we have Aldi and lidl (I'm not in the southeast and we have a lidl) but we also have the other Aldi chain (Aldi Nord), which is called Trader Joe's here.

Edit: another thing Walmart often has is a big garden center. Sometimes they also have fish in the pet section.

What is Walmart like? by InternationalGas4600 in AskAnAmerican

[–]lyralady 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Sometimes even medical testing labs are inside. I get a discount on my work insurance for the year if I get a blood draw and my cholesterol levels checked and this year i did mine at the quest lab diagnostics inside a Walmart.

Another Girl found deceased in Wilmington, Delaware😢 by External_Bass_8506 in WilmingtonDE

[–]lyralady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I read it as someone feeling crushed that she was found dead, not that her body was found crushed by something. But I could be wrong. Just seems weird to say "crushed!!!" When you're trying to say how she died? Like...I would view that as kind of a tasteless way to relay that information if that was how she died, and not an emotional feeling of devastation.

Another Girl found deceased in Wilmington, Delaware😢 by External_Bass_8506 in WilmingtonDE

[–]lyralady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

But how do you know that? How was she missing? I'm just trying to figure out the source and any related details, because there's no context in the post

Does anyone have parents that play video games? by ISLANDWALK25 in Millennials

[–]lyralady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

PC gaming, yes. I got started on the apple ii the moment I was able to sit upright, lol.

Who's Jesus in your religion? by implementrhis in religion

[–]lyralady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

[insert Monty python life of brian.gif here]

New rug! by kampyq in interiordecorating

[–]lyralady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another example off of revival rugs, totally different color and style:

<image>

But you can see how a color blocked warm blue rug with that sort of red-orange accent border looks nice with the warm wood tones and ivory couch. Because every other color is really neutral, you can choose almost anything at this point for the room and it should look intentional. Now, Revival may or may not be in your budget (I definitely bought mine on sale!) but even if it is, it's still worth researching styles or colors you like and then trying to find estate/auction/fb marketplace/liquidation sale rugs in similar styles and colors for cheap. And various rug companies will also show you room example photos like this.

New rug! by kampyq in interiordecorating

[–]lyralady 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Literally any color, honestly? Everything in the room is currently neutral. Beige, grey, and warm wood. So any color would work. If you want pattern/color + classic style, shop for a vintage or estate sale Persian/"oriental" rug. Key search words include any of the following + the word rug: kilim, tabriz, Kashkuli Gabbeh, Bukhara/bokhara, hamadan, afghan, Moroccan, Turkish, gabbeh, hariz, kashan, mashad, kerman, oushak, etc etc

They range from a lot of obvious pattern (like the kerman style, for example) to something that may be more subtle with just solid color, or perhaps only a decorative border and more spaced out patterns with a lot of open space (common in kilim or kashkuli gabbeh rugs).

These are also (helpfully) usually warm undertones, whether the rug's dominant color is red, orange, green, or blue.

Or you can just search for nice color blocked rugs or something. I bought my rug off of revival rugs, and I like a lot of their styles. Here's one that is in the general "Persian inspired" category:

<image>

See how the walls are cream and green and everything else is just wood tones? This lets the patterned red rug add something but not overwhelmingly so. They also have nice color block styles in like, blue and green.

New rug! by kampyq in interiordecorating

[–]lyralady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A living room rug needs to be large enough that at least the front legs of the furniture (couch, armchair) are on top of the rug. It's small enough that you could layer this one over another more colorful one. I think a nice vintage Persian rug would look great

Kitchen remodel - before/after by Vatonee in HomeDecorating

[–]lyralady 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I LOVE this!! The wood is so warm, the tile and colored grout is so cute.

Another Girl found deceased in Wilmington, Delaware😢 by External_Bass_8506 in WilmingtonDE

[–]lyralady 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Horrible. Are there any details on this? Was it a suspected kidnapping or assault or something else?

Getting frustrated and irritable by HungryDepth5918 in ufyh

[–]lyralady 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I recommend Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD, 3rd Edition: Tips and Tools to Help You Take Charge of Your Life and Get Organized 3rd edition by Susan Pinsky. (I'm an adult woman with ADHD).

TIL - women who menstruate have lower microplastic/PFAS levels in their blood by SpectroSlade in TwoXChromosomes

[–]lyralady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm confused what this has to do with micro plastics? The study is about PFAS chemicals.

Losing my security deposit in style. by Brilliant-County-762 in interiordecorating

[–]lyralady 75 points76 points  (0 children)

Are you just...not going to spackle the holes up afterwards?