Japan in August

The last time I went to Japan it was June of 2003. I was 16, naïve, stupid, and mystified by the entire experience. There was a lot of life to be lived, and the 3 week trip was like I was living my entire life at once. Every single thing was incredible no matter what, and I came back with this dream world in my head. 11 years later (way too much time between trips for sure), I was able to make my way back.

Nara was hot, miserable, and wonderful. I'd love to go back when it isn't a million degrees out.

I arrived on August 8th at Narita Airport. Two days prior to my trip, I was hit by a cyclist on the sidewalk and had emergency plastic surgery on my face. I began the trip hungry (I couldn't eat salty food, and that's all the airline was serving) and unprepared. The directions I had to get to Oyamadai station from Narita were not detailed enough, and to top it off, the guy I bought my ticket from gave me a ticket for the Skyliner when I had intended to take the NEX. As a result, I ended up at Nippori rather than Shinagawa, and spent my first evening in Tokyo in a near panic trying to find my way.

In the end, I made it to Oyamadai right on time. I arrived hot, tired, and sticky in the humid August air. I ate a fruit sandwich from Lawson for dinner, gave my good friend Dorothy (deedeeoho) some candy from home, and crashed for the night.

Life isn't complete without Sour Gummy Worms

Enjoy your only meal in 10 hours. Thanks, Lawson.

Despite all my anticipation and excitement, I had been so scared trying to figure out the trains that I almost turned around and went home. It's stupid to think to do now, but at the time it seemed like it might be nice. Looking back, this was a good to start to the trip. The expectations I might have had were stripped away in one evening, and I was able to start with a fresh look at Japan. As a result, my journey was entirely new and adult.

Jiyugaoka is a maze. I wanted to come back to this bar, but I couldn't find it again. Maybe one day...

I'm going to talk more about the trip itself later. See this as a prelude to future posts which will outline each leg of the journey. It might be in chronological order, but it might not. I don't have a full plan on what I'm going to talk about yet, but I have all these pictures to post and discuss.

I don't know if anyone is even reading this blog, but please let me know if you want to hear about any part of my recent experience traveling to Japan.

Hello Autumn

I know that it's been Autumn for a while now, but I haven't made a post for a while. I spent some time walking and shopping today, trying to forget the stress of work for a day.

We grabbed some ramen and sushi at Shigezo earlier today, and then eventually ended up at Compound. There's a really good exhibit going on there, and if you're in Portland you should check it out.

I had been working on NaNoWriMo, but I've had to back out. I have other things I want to work on that feel more important, as well as work stress, so I only ended up with about 8500 words before dropping it. We'll see if I want to try again next year.

That's it for now. Not too exciting, but I hope I'm able to concentrate on a project going forward.

Hey! How's it going?

Long time, no post!
Between the last time I made a post and now a lot of things have changed. Maybe I won't go into it now, but I will be visiting Japan very soon. I'm so excited! I got a new camera to take with me.

I took a few photos the other night to test it out:

I might revamp this blog and try to post to it more, but I know I can't trust myself on that kind of thing. So we'll see.

School is ending.

I'll be finishing school very soon. I'll be part of the Portland State University class of 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts: Drawing, Painting, Printmaking.
I'm really proud that I've been able to come this far, and I'm thankful to everyone who has been so supportive over the years.

However, this also means that I'm not going to have the access to tools I've had these last many years.

The Portland Art Museum has started allowing photographs, and I'm planning on making a post about their last exhibition. See you guys soon!

Winter coming to a close

I'm horrible about updating this blog. Seriously. I need to post more often. This is ridiculous. Anyway.
Winter has been horrible across the US this year, but we have had it pretty good in Portland. Blue skies and minimal rainfall this winter, which is odd considering we were supposed to have sticking snow and horrible weather all season. That doesn't mean it hasn't been cold...

We scoped out apartments this winter, but we ended up staying where we are. We love it here in the Pearl, and here we will be at least until I graduate from PSU.
Speaking of which, I only have a couple classes left to go before I am able to apply for graduation! The question is: Do I attend the formal ceremony or skip it?


Things are starting to warm up around here. I'm going out more often, which means I'm frequenting thrift stores and sales more often. My desire to wear something other than just jeans and a shirt is coming back as well...

I'm going to really try to take more fashion snaps this year. I'm really working on it.
That's it for now. More posting later. I promise.

Winter 2k10 and New Years!

I'm listening to the Les Mis soundtrack again, reminiscing over the last year. Overall, I was more than ready for this year to get here. I want to turn over some new leaves and make some changes.

This winter has been a cold one here in Portland, but it's been reasonably dry and beautiful. The tree in Pioneer Courthouse Square had strobe bulbs this year, just like every other tree around. At the very least it wasn't a silver tree like all the others. Holiday Tree Trends.

My biggest goals for 2k11:
- Japan!
- (Hopeful fingers-crossed) Graduating with my BA degree from PSU!
- Putting together a wardrobe that has more "me" in it.

Also, a lot of clothing retailers are changing seasons soon, so keep a look out for Spring Fashion right around the corner! This includes H&M.
In the mean time, everyone keep warm!

Bonus: Now THIS is a music video

What's done is done.

My computer's harddrive died not too long ago, and I lost all my photographs and new digital art. Though this was a complete tragedy for me, I suppose this gives me a fresh start. Since I got a new tablet over the summer, I've been needing to do some more digital art, and I fully intend to. The last time I sat down and did that I had a lot of progress and some great images. In memory of all the files lost, I am going to post a few pieces I haven't posted here before. Sorry about the large image sizes, but I'm not shrinking these.
First, I want to post one of my digital works I lost the working file to when the HD crashed. It was the second one I worked on when I started, and my favorite, entitled Wrap its arms around me:



This one was part of my 50 Works, entitled I didn't do it on purpose :

My paintings usually have to do with some kind of childhood trauma, and what I was exploring at the time were my own traumas and personal symbolism.

This one came from the second series I did, though this is just a detail as the series was hard to photograph due to the shininess of the finish. This series consisted less of the personal symbolism and more of the universal implications of my own childhood experiences. The finished product consisted of 8 25"x25" painted and carved wood panels. Sadly, they were damaged when I put them into storage, and before I can properly document them I need to rework and fix them >:

And finally, I have a video of the class project I did with my Creative Sculpture class. We were working with the idea of large sculpture that could be broken down and set up anywhere. Originally, we were going to work with newspaper, but the prof canceled that and told us to work with plastic sheeting instead! We ended up making a haunted house.

Hopefully I'll start posting some fashion stuff in here soon. I've recently been dressing either in pajamas or work clothes, so I haven't had anything to really document there.
Later!

Events Upcoming, and general update!

This summer has turned out a lot more hectic than anticipated, but things are going far more swimmingly now, so here is an update! I made a new header for the blog.

I've been trying to figure out what I want this blog to truly be about, and I'm still struggling with the answer. I figure I will just post about art and fashion, as well as pop culture events as per normal blogs. We'll see. I've been taking pictures all summer, here is a small sampling:

I don't have an agenda with the photos I have taken, other than to document the things I see. They don't have to be technically sound to do their jobs.

Friends have come and gone this summer. One of my friends is leaving for Japan for a year. Her blog is over here. She'll probably be posting a lot while in Japan, or at least I hope so! It should be incredibly interesting to read, not that her posts now are at all dull.

Portland has a fashion week, and it's coming up soon! I'm hoping to actually attend some events this year, and if I do, I will definitely make posts about it. School is starting up again soon as well, and I have no idea what to take.

Not the most exciting of updates, but hopefully typing things up will help me find a focus for this blog.

Later!

School is out and has been out

Now that school is out, I really should update this blog more often with things I honestly care about, rather than making posts I don't really care about.
I've been going on a number of walks around Portland recently and taking pictures with a borrowed camera trying to accumulate ideas to develop. I was really suffering burnout after all that school stuff, and I want to feel refreshed when the new school year starts. Before all that, though, I am moving! Not far, but still moving. I'll be in the Pearl District now, right next to a number of parks and places to people watch. I think this will really spark my creative process.
In December, I am planning a trip to Japan with the boyfriend and possibly one of my other good friends to go see some of my good friends who will be living there/are currently living there! I'm really excited! I'm going to take so many pictures and get so many little kitschy items for people back on the state side.
While I'm here at this computer I would like whoever is reading this to visit two blogs by a couple of my good friends, all of which are excellent up and coming photographers:

Melodyhana Photography
Deedeeohho
FArts

Check them out and follow them!
Once my move is over, I will be posting more to this blog, as well as making it look a bit more spiffy and less generic. Bleh.

The End...?

Sadly, it is time for class to come to an end. Well, maybe not sadly, but it is certainly coming to that end.
This term I expanded on the ideas I had been exploring for the last year, and I think I made a lot of progress with my ideas. Between this class and the drawing class I took, my ideas were focused but exhausted, so this break is certainly welcome.
I expanded the materials I use quite a bit this term between the two classes. I did barely any painting and started moving more into mixed media. The one thing I'm especially excited about exploring more in the future would have to be the doll making and the sewing aspect. Its' something I have always wanted to incorporate into my work, and I feel like I'll definitely be able to more in the future.
All in all, the experience I had with my classes this term was difficult but productive. No matter how productive, I still need a nice break from all the work. I look forward to Fall term!

Artist: Misaki Kawai

I don't know why I haven't posted a Japanese artist yet, since I'm so influenced by modern Japanese art.
I was recently introduced to the work of Misaki Kawai and her colorful sculptures and paintings. I don't really care much for her paintings, but her sculpture installations are incredible.
I am really drawn to how colorful and child-like her work is, as well as how intelligently the spaces are utilized. When I look at pictures from her exhibitions, I feel the desire to learn how to better use paper maché.
"Space House" '06-'07
"Airshow" '02-'03

Event: Drawing Critique

Tonight, I had my final critique for my drawing class. I arrived early and installed my work, and was eager to start at 6:30pm. A number of students showed up only minutes before the start of class, delaying the beginning of the critique.
The critique felt like it was one of the better ones we had in class. However, that isn't really saying much. It seems like every critique we've had in this class has devolved into talking about politics or society rather than about the work in front of us. I feel like I did a lot of work in this class. However, the only reason the quality of my work was so high was because of the freedom of materials. It was really nice to see what everyone finished with, though.

Event: Disquieted Fieldtrip

A couple days before the last day of Disquieted, our class took a field trip to see it. I was very interested in what the exhibit had to offer me, but I hadn't made the time to go before then. I regret that now, since I was only able to go once because of my hesitation.
I didn't know before I showed up at the show that two of the artists were Japanese artists whose work I had been looking at for a couple years: Takashi Murakami and Chiho Aoshima.
Of all the work on display, these who artists' work were the ones that effected me the most. I didn't realize that Murakami's work was so incredibly large. The metalic shine on the larger of his pieces made me think that it was printed on metal. I was shocked to read that it was actually just really carefully painted canvas.
A while ago I bought a book on the art of women from Japan, and Chiho Aoshima was a featured artist in it. I was very impressed by her work, and on occasion, I still go back and look at it. I was amazed when I went upstairs and found two pieces by her. The first was a sculpture, and the second was a very long print with a shiny surface on it. It was amazing.
I wanted to leave and go work on my own work after I looked at the work of the artists featured in the show. It was very inspiring.

Moi: The Writing On the Wall

Of all the decisions I made when working on my project, I think writing on the wall was the best.
When I started the installation, I was just going to have a lot of framed pictures and the wall was either going to be painted a color or left blank. While brainstorming for the project, I was using a large piece of paper attached to the wall. In our first critique, someone remarked that they missed my drawings on the wall, and that I should try to incorporate them into my final project. After some thought, I decided to run with it, reducing the number of frames, and buying some wallpaper to draw on.
I decided to write as well as draw on the wallpaper once it was up on the wall, referencing my old diary for ideas. I ended up writing a number of things that sounded like they could have been things I would have written in my diary at the age of 11-13. Actually, a couple of the things I wrote are very similar to actual entries I made. The drawings are mostly based on the things I wrote, but are also stand-alone images.
The end result is a clusterfuck of words with a few drawings, and five frames on the wall to break up the images. I'm very pleased with this decision.

Moi: Making the Doll

For this class, I have been working with a few items that I haven't worked with before. Though I have a lot of experience with sewing, before this class I had never made a doll. It was a large motivator for this project to figure it out.
My idea was to make a life-size rag doll of the character I was illustrating. I searched for patterns for ideas for making the doll, and in that search I came across tutorials made by a Japanese dollmaker. Using her patterns as a jumping off point, I started on making my doll.
I used a thin ivory-colored cotton and stuffing. I sewed the large parts together with green and red thread on a sewing machine. After stuffing the parts, I hand-sewed the openings shut and attached the parts together. I chose to leave the joints exposed with the exception of the legs, which I covered with a pair of children's opaque tights.
The hardest part of putting the doll together was by far the head and the hair. Initially, the head was too small for the size of the doll, so I had to remake it. Sewing the four parts of the head together proved to be a tricky thing on the sewing machine, but once that was done, it was pretty easy to stuff. I used almost an entire ball of yarn making the hair. The yarn was hand-sewed onto the head in multiple pieces, and then cut for styling. The face was drawn on with fabric markers.
I finally found the shoes after going to about three different Goodwills, and the dress was hand-drafted and made by me.
Making this doll got me sparked on making smaller ones for friends. I made this doll as a going away gift for a friend. Everything on it is hand-made or customized. These are incredibly therapeutic for me, since they take a lot of concentration to complete and make perfect. I'm planning on making a lot more of these in the future.