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!

I've wanted to do this for a while.

I am a little over halfway through my bachelor's degree in graphic design.

I have great teachers who really don't mind if we doodle in class. Some encourage it because they know it activates a certain part of our brain, therefore allowing more of our brain to be functioning and absorbing the lesson! ( Yes, this is true. )

Here are some doodles I made in class...

You can probably tell what my favorite things to doodle are. Here are some more that I used to explore some themes for the art shows I organized, last year.

Sorry! These are very rough because my scanner is smaller than my sketch book and not that great at capturing. Also, I didn't want to make the pictures too large because I don't want them to give away too much of what is to come! Be excited! I am.

Bobbles. i love hanging bobbles in my room. it's not 1/2 as impressive as my bestie's sister's bobble wall. but i just make like a fish and LOVE shiny things. also love juxtapoz page cut outs. I've got Killpixie, Seonna Hong, Souther Salazar and Audrey, right now. They are next to the embroidered Animal Alphabet J got me at a yard sale a few months, ago.

When Bestie came back from Japan I photographed a ton of her stuff that she brought back. Mostly kawaii things. Her parents were concerned at all the squealing from her room. haha... Michelle told them, "This is why Tiffany cannot go to Japan with us."
I photographed so much of her souveniers, her sister, who lived there for 7 years (?), came over to Michelle's room with two big boxes of more kawaii trinkets.
Ahh, heaven.

These dolls are from Michelle, for me. They are from a Japanese doll museum. I say Michelle is the one in the red, and I'm the one in the blue. They sit on my desk. Currently, they are looking at a sake nigiri replica keychain. They look like they plan to eat it. THey sit on top of a box that holds me light activated dancing chimp that Justin got me. That's another story.

This is a collaborative drawing by Kale Mendonca, Daniel Mendez and me. It's uh-mate-zing!


Though I will be curating two shows, I'm not showing any work this month... to prepare for my October solo show/ Birthday show!!!
My inspiration include:
the use of space and dimension in Japanese wood cut art
2D floral and damasks common in Persian, Indian and Arabian ornamentation
metallic lining seen in Islamic art
and the usual kawaii kids

I am also happy to say I finally got to read Yoshitomo Nara's interview in the September Juxtapoz. He's one of my most FAVORITE artists! If it featured more paintings from Blum&Poe, perhaps I would've bought the magazine and I'd have more art on my walls.

Last Day of my First Year

I have completed my first year at the Art Institute of Sacramento... actually my 5th term, but that's sort of like my first year.
Went out with a bang!

Started off with this.

Aldo Montijo did his usual Homer, this time sarcastically commenting on our visual recognition.

Daniel had nothing better to do, ofcourse, than hate. Which is cool, becauze I'm sure the kid is just jealous of my amazing skills (ha!)... As you can see, below, both my co-hordes just keep flattering me with their sorry tries at imitation.

The talented Mr.Grady -who never talks until after noon, at which point he only talks in contrary statements- joined in. I really want to stop by his art installment. Apparently, it kicked major booty.

Anyway, we had three hours on the board because our photo teacher let out class right after finals were done. I'm pretty sure Daniel took some video. Our friends who also had classes to wait around for were happy to sit back and be entertained by us.

During concept design, our teacher (who I am convinced really DOES think we're the best class ever) gave us a bunch of free food (yes, I did clean up) and we watched How To Draw A Bunny, after finals. The immediate comparisons between Johnson's Shelley Duval and my children ensued.

I think it's valid. We both had biba-styled makeup inspiring our drawings. Though I have to say that, though Ray Johnson and I both loved making hidden commentary through character-style art, my art is more kawaii-culture inspired and Japanese woodblock inspired.



PS: I love when people at my shows know exactly what/who my influences and inspirations/aspirations are...
PPS: I love when people ask me to draw them as one of my "children", "dolls", "asian kids", "angry floppy earred children with cankles".



------
INFO ABOUT MY LAST ART SHOW TO COME SOON. sorry it's so late. My photographers are droppin' the ball on relaying my photos! =(

-------
Yay... summer! I am halfway done on my illustrations for the book I've been hired to illustrate. It's fun and zany to research and challenges my imagination to draw. I really have been putting a lot of hard work into it. This last week, the show, my finals and double illustrations (I am going on vacation, hopefully, next two weeks) have been really pushing my limits. It's great, I actually enjoy the challenge of seeing how far I can go. However, my eye veins keep popping (??!?!) and I need rest... so... haha.. why, yes I am happy for the 3 week summer break! I also want to see if I can fit in some more time for more detailed and engrossing paintings.
A project in my photo II class has taught me I'm more of a motivated goal-meeter who knows what she wants than an overachiever. We took pictures of something at the same time of day, for 40 days, and I photographed 1/2 my desk at the end of the day. It included my to-do-board list (which people noted had no defacements on it!). When I went through them I saw that I made an effort to play hard just as much as work hard, moving blocks of work around to make sure I had that real and personal fulfillment of social activity. I knew what would make me happy and I made sure that things were lined up for it.

<3>

swamped in work

its finals week and i'm also taking on double the illustrations for my current job to make up for the vacay i'll be taking after the semester is over.
also! omg. my show is in 2 weeks! aaaaaaaaah!

LOVING these pics by Karen Inderbitzen Waller of Zippora 7
... i took a pic in that frog hat just a few months ago! at michaels.. haha
also. that floral wallpaper and Hello Kitty...? Amazing!
The styling is soo cute!


Dry Erase Defaced!

Guess what was on the quiz. Anyway. the panda didn't have a bite in it until someone asked if the strawberry or the panda were delicious. then my classmate Devon drew a bite in the panda's head. very hannibal lecter. if you remember, he drew a bite in one of my girls' heads in another feature of Dry Erase Defaced and I named her Sarah Bella.

More crazy antics from my Design concept class with Joanne Tepper-Saffren.
ps- i think i was the only student who was DYING from happiness and excitement when this week's lesson and slideshows were dedicated to woodcut, letterpress, and metalcut dingbat images... O... MY...GAWD. i embarrass myself.







contributors: Grady Ficke, Daniel Mendez, Devon Clouttier, Aldo Montijo

where else do you make Domo Kun out of spam?

DEFACED DRY ERASE

What people say to me a lot:
"Is that another one of your floppy eared Asian kids?"
"She's kinda scary, don't you admit?"
"Your kids have thumb-toes."
"They have toes on legs."
"They have man hands."
This one, all the time: "That is SO YOU."

I am proud to say that I have accepted a contracted work for hire that fulfills a childhood dream for me! =) I am currently beginning illustration for a delightful written work that I will be absolutely and happily engrossed in for the next three months ! Yay!

In the meantime, I have come up with a nice new feature for you all.

I always draw on white boards when they are free and there is nothing to do. I recently started taking pictures of them. Usually, if it's at school, some of my sketchy classmates add to it and it gets fun, crazier and humorous.


Chicken. Pot. Pi. mmm.
featuring: Demetrius and Kale Mendonca

I overheard my classmates wondering very seriously if gangsters eat muffins. This is before Trixie added a blue headband and cleavage to my poor lil girl. THOSE ARE CROSSED ARMS ... not tatas! She's like 6.


featuring: Aldo Montijo and Daniel Mendez.


In my design concept class (you can only imagine!)... our teacher loves us all.
Aldo Montijo, Daniel Mendez, Devon Cloutier, Kenny Starks, Tim Kim, and Demetrius.

My girl was supposed to be sad, having cut off too much of her bangs but... but Devon added some brain damage. So I named her:
SARAH BELLA


This one was not at MY school. I drew it in Justin's computer lab at Devry a week ago, apparently it is still standing. Someone erased" love" from spread love but another person added something more...:

=D