2010 Resolutions!

1 - post something originally created by me, weekly. it could be a photo, a mixed media piece, a digital piece, a sketch, a doodle... etc!

2- post a small inspirational collage at least monthly! i miss doing that, when i had the time, because it really helped develop my own unique aesthetic eye.

X 3- eat a macaron (finally!).

X 4- make time for devotional reading, nonfiction reading, and fiction reading, again!

X 5- eat less meat!

X 6- frequent my sketchbook, again.

X 7- cook, more.

X 8- drive more.

X 9- journal, more.

X 10- work & play hard, at least once, every day!

Of these, I succeeded at 8 (w/ X).

I have had a lot of great memories, milestones, fun times, breakthroughs, achievements and lessons, this year. And I am thankful to God for blessing me.

This year... I have one resolution:

BELIEVE IN MYSELF, MORE.

Because, I've been told to do so by so many people during the year. I think it will really help me get places. And it opens up some room for unexpected adventures. Can't wait!

Things I Want to Learn in 2011:
- make homemade onion rings
- make homemade vegetable tempura
- make crispy fried chicken
- Tagalog fluency
(and hey, why not?)
- sail
- horse ride
- make latte art

-bake macarons

Things I Want to Do in 2011:
- bake more cupcakes
- make more sushi
- more guitar
- more violin
- go to Museums
- get a DSLR camera
- walk around SF in the winter with Starbucks in hand
- go out of town several times in my truck
- get my first Entry Level Graphic Design studio/firm job or Graphic Design I job
- letterpress & silkscreen
- paper art
- wear more vintage
- actually afford clothes/shoes that are not falling apart!

On a cloudy, rainy day

Oh, man. The rainy, foggy and cloudy weather is back. It's always been my favorite! It reminds me of happy, cozy memories of reading in the sheets and walking under the umbrella with my babysitter, growing up.

Now, these days consist of pumpkin pie, coffee and work.

I do miss the reading!

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Look what I got for my birthday from Justin! Aside from the routine 4 layer raspberry iced poppyseed cake he takes me for at Rick's Diner in Sacramento, he got me the Small Stakes Poster book.

Yay! Check that off my wishlist! I love it so much and droll on it so much. Jason Munn's aesthetic is abstract yet communicates the feeling of music. His work feels vintage and illustrative. Of course, I love it.

He has a true gift. And I thank my Justin for his gift!

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http://www.cottoncandyfriends.com/catalog/index.php

One of my favorite stores to visit, looking for concept inspiration!

Check these out. TOTALLY want these!

Polaroid Post-Its

These gorgeous, delicious, luxurious bookmarks! Would be amazing for all those poli sci books I still want to finish!

And, of course... this one is still being sold. When I first saw it, I freaked out.

It's gotten a lot of attention, since.

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Also, working on my design signature for my portfolio class (finally!). I can't wait to share my progress with you.

hmmmm

I want to layer all fall/winter.

These are the collections of Fall10 I'd like to mimic this year:

ANNA SUI

ADAM

BURBERRY PRORSUM

JCREW

TWENTY8TWELVE

Working on a lot, lately. Just finished another quarter with all As (I'm anticipating). My favorite was my branding class in which I had two awesome teachers (Holly Hadley and Joanne Tepper-Safren). They fed us well and taught us so much. We loved that class. I'm thinking about even pitching some designs I did to the actual places I fictionally redesigned for!

Also when it comes to branding, please stop by the wonderful Rockin' Cupcake Cafe in Folsom. I did the logo, menuboard, mission statement, product cards and shirts. I hope I get to do more because it is a fun system to design for! I mean, come on! Cupcakes, man! And music! I also helped a little with the environmental design. My teacher and classmates are already addicted. My classmates are addicted to the mocha, for sure! (http://www.yelp.com/biz/rockin-cupcake-cafe-folsom)

I am also working on three other branding projects... so this break I'm planning to go all bohemian: frugal, pondering love, reading a ton of books I checked out, writing poetry, traveling photoshoots of my friends, and art art art art art!!! I'm starting to go deeper into some really philosophical questions I have about my generation and I'm going to dip into collage.

Lately...

Lumographic Diana cameras. Love 'em. Want 'em. Or want some time to take pictures and MAKE them look like they were taken on one...

[ source: Photo Agency ]

ON THRIFTING:

I have a terrible itch to antique, thrift and go vintage shopping, again. I think I get it every fall. My boyfriend finally admitted that he wants to restore furniture. Match made in heaven!

Found Influence by the Olsens... which I was lucky enough to snag for only $2! (it sells at ten times that price, online). Justin got it for me. Almost got Audobon's birds, too, but decided I'd rather have a new copy, instead, someday. I also drooled over one of the best sets of vinyl record covers I've seen in quite some time. Some were silk screened and all of it was juicy! I haven't heard 80% of it but all the typography made my heart skip! I should have lived in the 60s.

[ source unknown. home-finding welcome! ]

ON LIBRARIES:

I am so happy. Lately I've gotten to be in libraries three times a week! I love libraries and use to be teased when I was a child because that was my "favorite place". It's heaven being back in them, again. I want to check out the entire place. Lastnight, I went crazy and photographed tons of old book spines because of the typography. Amazing! I took a ton in this one library that had rows of really old poetry and philosophy books. *swooon*! Lonely old books... I shall give you company!

Some random stuff

HELLO!

My boyfriend's little sister's son is half Peruvian. They call him little Inca. For his 1st birthday gift I made his mom this portrait since I am a broke art student. I really hoped she'd like it and she did =). It's the baby in his signature tongue-out pose with an Incan helmet on.

Maria Clara was the heroine of Rizal's Noli Me Tangere. As a Filipina w/ Spanish origins, I'm creating 5 paintings based on the Maria Clara dress. They will be sold at a Cultural Bazaar on Sunday with 25% proceeds going to my church children's program. They focus on the lacey panuelo and baro, the matching gorgeous accessories, the embroidered and paneled saya & the strawflower native to the Philippines. This piece in this picture is not completed as of now.

Here is one of the flyers of set I designed really quick for the event, with pictures from when I use to teach the children.

I'm also trying to start up a children's/baby's tshirt online store. It will be managed by spreadshirt and it will provide pocket change for me. I use to have a women's shirt line, but now that I've got better Illustrator skills, I'm relaunching this new store.

I have a long list of ideas! Here are some graphics I'm playing with:

http://rockmebaby.spreadshirt.com/

A hectic quarter just ended for me a few days ago! Now I have a 3-week break. I will then be entering my 4th to last quarter. Through all the energy drinks, memorization, obsessive kerning, persnickety rag-correction, angry brainstorming, botched print jobs and sleep deprivation, I'm actually super satisfied with lessons I've learned and the sometimes horrible ways I had to learn them. Overachieving never lets me down in the end.

The other day, as my teacher and renowned creative director of a leading design firm looked over a final for another class. In that over class, the teacher is more experimental. The notoriously expert teacher I like to call the "Big Guns" of our department staff was polite to say he liked how honest and conceptually strong the work is. But he indirectly paid me the best compliment I've gotten to date by comparing my means of presentation to his overachieving tendencies as a student. It was strangely flattering to think Big Guns had seen himself in me at some point!

I really have been working super hard out of fierce competition with peers and myself. It's frustrating coming up with just Bs sometimes in Big Gun's classes but his ability to push me actually makes my work a lot better than it would've been, in the end. I use to get a 4.0 but since he and a new dean entered the staff I've been falling to 3.5 and above though I work hard. After getting president's list so much, it doesn't feel the same getting less than a 4.0 even after butt-busting work. But no matter what I shall treat myself to frozen yogurt!!!!

Even my marketing class -which was super left-brained for me-I got a portfolio piece. For my Experimental type class, I am thrilled that all the teachers with different design styles like my final. Lastly, I'm happy that I got a few portfolio pieces from my corporate communications class. On the last day of class, when I was done with all my work and my boyfriend was embarrassing me on my webcam by showing my classmates his nipple, Big Guns came over and told me he was going to hang my work in the hall. I've had work in the halls almost every term in the first year of my schooling but having it up now -when it's become so hard to compete for the small graphic design wall realty- is encouraging.

On a different note, I'd be happy to do corporate design for a brand I love after school is done. It is a goal for me to sometime soon get a 2nd internship (this time I hope it's paid) and build my portfolio to be more impressive. I have also decided that for the first years as a designer I will also take classes to help me transition to a grad program by the age of 28. I want to go into either the highly competitive field of medical illustration or the promising field of art therapy.

This break has consisted of a lot of confused relaxation. It's always odd going from "Hell Week" to a nice break. Painting, naps, reading, InNOut at the park at night, reuniting with my Starbucks usual order and my bestie, a walk at Landpark... I'd say the break's off to a great start!

Just Some Stuff

Great Packaging

http://www.mashdesign.com.au/

MASH

http://www.sociedadanonima.info/

SOCIEDAD ANONIMA

http://www.voicedesign.net/

VOICE

DREAM JOBS

1)Domestic goddess

2)Children's Bk Writer & Illustrator / Art Therapist

3)Elephant reserve owner

4)Marine Biologist

5)UNICEF ambassador

6)Antique collector

7)Art Historian

8)Travel Photographer

9)Vinyl Toy Designer

10)Cupcake Photographer

DREAM VACATION SPOTS

1) India (for the colors and culture)

2) Santorini (also, for the colors)

3) Africa (for the elephants)

4) Italy (for the art)

5) Paris (for the food)

6) Alaska (for the wilderness)

7) Jordan (For Petra)

8) Egypt (for the history)

9) Japan (for the kawaii)

10) Philippines (for my heritage)

Experimental Type (TYPE III at the Art Institute of Sacramento)

I will be featuring some of my favorite assignments which are results of an experimental type class.

We start with my type designer, MORRIS FULLER BENTON. If you know nothing about him, here's a quick wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Fuller_Benton

The identities of the fonts used in these posters shine forth in recipes that are characteristic

of a culture that uses them.

Forms of gothic letterforms, such as News Gothic Bold, are used in the Star Wars’ opening crawls. Here, the font designs the recipe for Wookie Cookies. The clarity of New Gothic is juxtaposed with the wookie-like foreign appearance of Wingdings.

The font, Century Condensed Bold dominates the journalism

world through newspaper headlines. Here, it used to communicate the properties of a Journalist’s Cocktail. The boldness of this font is compared to the emotionless and bland font, Arial.

Two other posters communicate the core essence of each recipe.

Hard times

It seems that me and everyone I care about are going through a lot of tough times, loss, confusion and pretty jolty turns in the road.

Let's remember the beautiful things in life - the favorite things that make moments a little easier to bear.

Let's remember how this big world is full of wonders... and so much bigger than the dark we might encounter.

Let's grasp life.

I could not have read this beautiful article at a better time:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/04/06/DI2007040601228.html

If you were busy walking off to your daily routine, would you notice that the man on the corner playing the violin is one of the most famous violinists in the world -who just sold out a concert at $100 a seat- playing one of the most difficult violin solos in history?

MSA member, Justin Dator

http://apartment514.tumblr.com/

Did a few shoots with my boyfriend and MSA creative partner, Justin Dator. Here's his blog. Keep checking to catch them!

The most fabulous computer by Schultzeworks Design!

I want!!!

http://www.schultzeworks.com/

Reminds me of the 1930s Remington I just acquired from an uncle's garage! Oh my.

The Playground

This playground, Mahany Park, in Roseville has got 2 things going:
1. It's behind an awesome library. (I love libraries.)
2. It's got an adorable park that was built accessible to all children- able bodied and not.

ALMOST SPRING BREAK

The quarter is almost done!

Always.

I got that triple shot of Espresso in the usual Caramel Macchiato to do some work. I wish I didn't sleep... I could get so much done! haha... Justin tells me there's a book about a world with no sleeping and that I should read it.

My days are usually dedicated solely to homework. I haven't worked a part time job in some time because I tend to be ambitious and spread myself thin over volunteer work, hobbies, work and school. At this point, I want to concentrate really hard on making my school reputation a great one before I graduate. That way I can graduate earlier and hopefully get a better job straight out of school so I can save for a few years before I go into my intended Master's program (art therapy- ATR).

Anyway, things are so much more quiet and forcefully solitary at night. That makes for wonderful creative time. In the daytime, I'm getting more restless. I seem to have less discipline when it comes to self initiated projects I know I want to do when things are livelier in my surroundings.

It helps to be in a coffee shop- partly because coffee seems to be like my aphrodisiac for working! Maybe it's a placebo effect but I feel my focus sharpen with coffee in my system. If I had a MAC laptop I would be the epitome of the hipster art student.

PS} My hand lettered/cut forms weren't used at the concert they were intended for. This makes me a sad Tiffany because I spent so long to get them right. They were my small way of donating to the cause without being able to attend. *tear

Angel Hologram.

And more.

Takes my breath away.... the first line I ever saw of his.

My friend told all the Alexander McQueen fans he knew to post new profile pictures on facebook as their favorite McQueen piece... it was too hard for me to do. I like 3 entire collections. I also like an amazing set of clutches! So I posted a picture of him and his mother looking happy, with him kissing her cheek. It looks weird to people who don't know who he is but I don't care.

Today was very busy. Let's just say:

"Responsibility gravitates towards

the ones who can best shoulder it."

After homework, I worked on hand lettered and hand cut letters for a Haiti relief concert my church is doing. I usually cut hanging letters but I like these the best.

I'm sorry my parent's camera is not good.

The letters are pretty big so the picture shown is a bit skewed because I had to take it from far up.

The Hibiscus is the national flower of Haiti.

And another little thing I did, for fun at school, today.

I so badly miss doing self initiated work!

A girl's bestie.

Jimi, the sun and Amaretto flavored coffee... the morning is off to a good start.

I am fascinated with drawing things like gems, right now.

Here's a tiger gem thing... and dahlia. (I am also loving dahlias, right now.)

Also fascinated with:

-Native American photography (by: Edward Curtis)

-still life photography of assembled collections of objects

-dahlias, dahlias, dahlias...

-mustaches on anything and everything

-eye patches on anything and everything

And always:
-cacti

My boyfriend got me these for Valentine's day because I want to start a cactus menagerie!

He got me a Mammillaria Spinossima and an Espostoa Ritteri...

(AKA: "Redheaded Irishman" & "Peruvian Old Lady" )

Fitting, because I already named the Redheaded one Conan.

As for the one wrapped in "webs" (a cactus I've loved since I first saw it in the fall of 2007), I named her Marie. Marie Antoinette is not Peruvian but she had big white wigs. I think. I wanted to name it Peter (like Cottontail) but Justin gets bad memories when I mention Peter Cottontail (I don't know why!).

I want to put them in little white tea pots or something!

wow.

rip

One of the best, ever.

Droopy-eyed.

New Goal:

Be so passionate in my classes that I bring up the competitive quality of any classroom I am in.

Anyway.

Here are some doggies.

I have been on a doggie drawing kick.

Also, an illustrated-list-making kick.

"You ever find buttons on a jacket & you can't find their homes & it just DRIVES YOU CRAZY? BUT! Then you do? (aha!) And then the jacket looks that much prettier on you? Buttons are like hearts in life's jacket!"

My classmate read my hand lettering doodle in class and kinda laughed.

I like being ditzy in my art, sometimes- as long as I'm professional when I need to be.

I feel it's a more honest and fun way of infusing visual creativity with humor and whimsy.

I want to post some of my illustrates lists and hand lettered quotes when I can get them to be of nice digital quality.

GOOD READ:

Seven Days in the Art World

Sarah Thornton

The different arenas of the art world, as revealed in this book, are intriguingly and in some cases starkly different. It's a journalistic piece with little gems of facts, insider knowledge and lots of engaging narrative. I really am enjoying seeing how different people value art. The writer seems very perceptive, eager, and thorough. I do not like putting it down! I cannot wait until the chapter that observes one of my favorite Japanese Contemporary artists, Takashi Murakami!

and....

this boy, this boy.

Sketchbook for class.

We sketch in a sketchbook for my illustrative concept class. We sketch in that book 15 minutes, a day. I like duplicating typeface charts and ornamentals by hand, the best. Out of all the typefaces I've tried, so far, Cooper is the hardest. I did like making the Cooper numbers, though. Rockwell was the easiest.

It's fun homework, but it got a little tiring and redundant since I was doing 30 pieces a day (about that many), last week, for my show. That's like over 60 hours summarized. Plus, I was sketching a lot of ornamentals in my other sketchbook, for my internship (about 9 pages dedicated to a water-like crest, now! but it's fun!). However, I always like changing up my illustrative style so I won't get too use to drawing the usual "fat babies with cankles".

This is Justin getting totally absorbed in his new game, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare2, which he talks of, endlessly. I don't mind, though. As long as he's finally having some fun!

This is a caricature. I want to do more of those, since I haven't done them since high school.

Oh! And for you! Here's a great read called The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman.

I watched her speak about the book at TED.com at this link:

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/maira_kalman_the_illustrated_woman.html

and have alway's been interested in reading the book! Which I have! In my school library.

This book is a novel made of illustrations that tell the story of Maira Kalman's life through paintings and hand lettering. Yes, it is like a picture book for adults!

I love all the texture, color and emotion behind her journalistic and documentary type illustrations. They are treated with humor and class. I also like the personality behind her handlettering and subject choices!

Her blog is also wonderful!

http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/