I think I'm going to include this in my portfolio, but I'll have to get Mr. Ganes' opinion.

This is my second linocut! It's for STAC LIVE, and hopefully I'll get it printed in turquoise, purple, red, violet, and green.

I ended up stabbing my hand with the tool in the process of making this, but hey, you give something, you get something. In this case though, I got blood..

I'm happy with it.

I'm working on my second linocut today for STAC LIVE posters! I forgot to take a photo of it for documentation, but I promise I will. I'm going to finish it up tomorrow, and hopefully print it or something. Woo!

Portfolio piece 2 - finished

Fools

you'd give your whole world
to me-
anything that i'd ask for
you'd do-

i love you more than
time the universe can buy

i care for you more than
red cross nurses can supply

what are we but mere fools
stuck on top this merry-go-round
circling the years of our life
finding the things to which we're bound

the same weight that keeps me grounded
is the same weight that sets me free
hope is all that's left for you
but who knows what we'll renew

maybe we're just not ready
to be loved
maybe we're just not ready
for what's undreamed of

i guess i'll just have to wait
and see the next fish that bites my bait
but what do i do now
knowing that you took the vows?

May

You've taught me how to love
How to-
Love
In such naive and simple ways

A force so gingerly touched
By the sun-
So strong
That the oceans ripple with the echo of
your name

In a place where I see all
But all is not what is seen
We lead the perfect-
A perfect
1, 2, 3

We'll play a game with time
A promise to sail both ocean blues
So maybe we will someday-
Someday like May

Update #3 on still life

I should be done with this in one more class!!

Mon Cher

I wonder if you've read the signs
For I may have spoke too soon
To want you to want mine
In order for you to blossom and bloom

We are as closely chained together
As a long, lost memory's past
Like old friends till forever
Our young spirits will dine at last

Your very flesh and bone
Will mix with dust alone
To be taken under the wing of time
Where it will reside in existence next to mine

Cherish this one final gasp for air
If you come, then I shall share
Maybe in our next lives well intertwine
Destiny and fate at its prime

Artist of the Week: Hikari Shimoda

She's a Japanese artist, and her subjects often circle around children. Her style is illustration influenced, along with the use of extremely vibrant colors. Mostly painting in oils and watercolor, her depictions are whimsical and slightly morbid.

I want to try and create a painting/sketch in her likeness. I tend to be afraid when it it comes to using color since that's not exactly my strong suit, which is why I want to tackle something that's similar to her style.

Sometimes I  just want to radicalize everything about myself. Dye my hair a crazy color, get a piercing, get a couple of tattoos. I want to figure myself out, differentiate myself from normality because I'm not normal. I'm a weirdo, and I'm okay with that. I don't know. This could be my stupid adolescent brain talking, of just because I was watching some "Die Antwoord" interviews. Die Antwood is a south african rave-rap group, who categorized themselves in the Zef conter-culture movement. I love them, and they are so delightfully bizarre and freaky. I admire them in the sense that the don't give a rat's ass about what other people think, if they think that they're freaks.

I wish I was rich and famous enough not to give a shit.

Finished!!

Finally finished with my sculpture.

Ganes Still Life

This is one of the three pieces that I am trying to finish up for my portfolio to apply to Pratt. I have another still life (the fruit) and the sculpture I have for Ganes.

It's about time I've started working on this piece; I've been assigned this project for a whole quarter now, and I haven't really done anything with it. I will hopefully have it done by the end of this month if I'm lucky.

This is an update on my project for Ganes. I still don't know what my final outcome with look like, but I'll figure it out in due time.

Birthdays

Aren't you technically one year older every day? I mean, one year older than you were on that same day one year ago?

Update on still life

Update on Pratt

I have talked my mother into letting me dorm over the summer at Pratt's pre-college program! It would've been draining and impossible if I were to commute. It's 4 weeks, and 3 weekends long. The course includes full work days from 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM.  Here's a calendar of the schedule:

As you can see, it's pretty jam packed (which I'm excited about!). In all, attending this program will run me up approximately $5,000, not to mention supplies. I think it will be worth it though.

Right now, I'm stuck between having to choose between what I want to have as my major at the pre-college program - Fine Art/Drawing and Painting, Illustration (traditional), or Sculpture.

I'll have to make up my mind eventually....but first, I have to freaking get in.

Sumi ink is always fun to work with.

Update on the STAC mural

I had some trouble stamping on the linocuts today when I tried to put up the barbed wire. I tried again, and again, and once more. It wasn't coming out right. So, is decked to thin out the paint to see if it worked better, and it did! I also touched it up with a brush. All the extra smudges and lines are totally by mistake; it's me slipping and tripping as I put the stamps up. Happy accidents, right?

Ideas

The possession of ideas- can you still call a piece of artwork yours if you didn't work on it? Even though you came up with the idea for the piece, can you still tack your name on it even though you weren't involved in the process of it? Does it now belong to the person/people that worked on it? When does it stop belonging to you and belonging to others?

Turn Off Your Mind

come with me and
turn off your mind
close your eyes and
leave your soul behind

release your thoughts-
into the universe they go
where ever they land
it'll be sure that they'll grow

take my hand, carefree and light
we'll play until dawn meets night
under the stars, our paths shall cross
together, we'll be at such a loss

so come with me and
turn off your mind
close your eyes and
leave your soul behind

Talent

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."

Talent is like a newly built well, brimming with water. When its recognized as a wonderful and convenient source, people will flock to it. People will rejoice and always discuss how wonderful it is, providing them with water to cook with, bathe with, to grow with.

However, like many other things in life, water is limited.

The well will eventually run dry, and when it does, people will begin to look for other means of obtaining water. But as simple as it sounds, it's truly a task. People will have to walk miles upon miles to have the same water they once had in their possession only a few feet away. And if they don't, then they will just whittle away into dust.

Much like water, talent runs out. Do not depend on talent, because in the end, it's not your talent that's going to get you places. It's the hard work you put in that'll really make the difference.

Picasso didn't become great over night, and neither did Mozart. Picasso did thousands upon thousands of paintings throughout his lifetime, each taking hours on end. Yes, Mozart wrote his first symphony at age 8, but it was great for an 8 year old. He didn't become famous until he composed hundreds of concertos, symphonies, and overtures. Why do you think we never hear from one-hit-wonders ever again? Because they latch onto their fleeting fame, soaking in the temporary lime light, praying that somehow, their hit will last. But eventually, they become burnouts, dedicating themselves as the butt of everyone's jokes.

Now, having talent will obviously give you the upper hand. But it's learning how to utilize and take that talent to maneuver yourself in a way that puts you ahead of others. And always remember to never let your ego get in the way of what you do. Praise is nice and all, but praise is also one of the main ingredients for becoming cocky. Being modest and humble will get you farther in life then you know.

What is Art? (An in progress explanation)

Art is the culmination of experiences one has when engaged in a piece,in conjunction with the immediate personal response. Art has evolutionary meaning behind it, and every time it is examined again, light is shined upon new things. Art involves effort, both physically and intellectually. Art is deliberate. Remakes of movies and such cannot be considered art, for they are simply revamped versions of things that are already great. Art is not something that can be produced within a certain time frame; only when the piece itself says its done, will it be done.

There's no such thing as finding the "perfect love."

There is only finding the one that you can tolerate more than others, and from there, developing the perfect love.