Owl Clock

When I was younger, I worked at a Chinese Restaurant near my high school. It was one of the most pleasant jobs I've had. I really loved my boss, he was an older Chinese man who moved to the states when he was young, started a family, and was paying his kids through school with this restaurant. He was a fantastic cook who made everything with love and care. He also had mostly false teeth, and it would always surprise me a little bit when he would smile with the dentures.

During the few times that it was slow, I liked to watch the owl clock on the wall. It was always a couple minutes slow so that we wouldn't be "late" for a shift even if we were really were running late. I have no idea where he got it, and I should have tried to buy it from him when he "retired", coz I really liked the darn thing.

This drawing is in memory of my first "real" job, the owl clock, and Mr. Lin.

Sketches: Retro

I love doodling. These drawings are a few of my newest sketches. They're inspired by a pack of old-maid cards that I saw (But didn't get. Darn!) at the "Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market" a while back... The cat on the left is what I wish my Fat Cat would do after I give him a bath. :-)

Mason Jar pt. 2

Sorry that this photograph is a little dark!
Here is the framed version of my new Mason Jar drawing. I'll probably take it to the gallery next week! Let me know what you think!

Mason Jar

Not long ago I bought a whole bunch of Mason jars. I love them. They're the best thing for storing dried goods, flowers, little toys, anything! I only wish that they had a case of wide-mouth jars when I was shopping, I would have bought those instead.

This little drawing is inspired by my love of mason jars (and English Daises, which I am planning to plant in the spring). This is hand drawn and colored with ink and markers. I'm planning to bring this to the Handmade Galleries in a nice little white frame!

Mittenfest V follow up

Turns out they chose another design for the posters and T-shirts for Mittenfest. I was an "honorable mention" who "made the final decision very hard" as described in an email with the results from the judges. I'll take that! I really liked the design, It's okay.

Even though they didn't choose my design, you should still go to Mittenfest! It will be awesome!

Mittenfest V

I recently submitted a design for Mittenfest, a benefit concert coming up this December-January in Michigan. All proceeds go to 826 Michigan, a tutoring and writing workshop that I volunteered at a few summers ago. I went to Mittenfest last year, and it was really great. You should check it out, if you're in Ypsilanti or Ann Arbor, Michigan!

I also submitted a design for their T-Shirts, which will be available at the shows!
I will keep you updated when I find out which design they'll choose for this year!

Handmade Galleries pt 2

Now that everything is set up, here is a NEW picture of my booth. They recently painted everyone's booths a different color and replaced the peg-board with plaster. I like the pink wall better, it's much nicer.

Robot Friends Embroidery

This is one of my favorite new embroideries. I made a single robot for my BF's mom a while back, but I like this one a lot because it is MANY robots. Cross stitch lends itself well to boxy things like robots.

This piece is would make a nice accent to a home, I think.

Dream Car

Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted my very own Volkswagen Beetle. Living in California, where there is no snow and little rain to damage them, there seems to be an abundance of "vintage" VW beetles driving the streets, making me wish they were mine. I thought pretty seriously about buying a Beetle a while back, but then realized that, although I'm quite handy, I don't think I would be able to keep up with maintanance on a 40-year-old car. That dream is on hold for now, but my heart still skips a beat every time I see a Beetle or a VW Van.

That being said, that doesn't stop me from embroidering them, so this is the first in a series of portraits using embroidery. This one is my Dream Car, a yellow SuperBeetle.

Terrarium

I've recently tried my luck making miniature terrariums for the Gallery. I've always loved terrariums with real plants, but they are expensive, and I'm always afraid I'll kill them.

These terrariums are made with paper and felt... the jars housing them are recycled.

Mini Miniature Terrarium

This is my newest 3D creation. An itty-bitty terrarium made out of felt. It has one tiny mushroom inside. It's the perfect gift for someone in a small apartment, or someone that has a knack for killing plants.

This was a LOT of fun to make. It is all hand-sewn and made out of felt. It measures just under an 1.5 inches tall.

Miniature Terrarium

I've recently made a few terrariums for the Gallery. They have been a fun challenge to make. This one is made out of paper and fabric in a recycled glass jar. Everything was cut or folded by hand (by me!). It has two red Japanese cranes flying inside.

This makes a nice gift for someone with a small apartment, or a knack for killing real plants. The full terrarium measures a little under 4 inches.

Handmade Galleries

Starting this month, I will be selling my artwork in the Handmade Galleries in Sherman Oaks, California! I'm excited about this adventure! The gallery is really nice, because it is a space for artists to show AND sell their work. There are over 100 artists who each make something unique and different. My booth is in the canter isle, right when you come in the door! Check it out if you're in the area.

That's it for now! I've got to go and create more pieces to put in the gallery!

Small Embroidery

This little guy is on his way to the Handmade Galleries in the next few days. It's a nice message for the ones you love "Te Amo" means "I love you" in Spanish. This was fun and fairly quick to put together. I like working in "type" in cross stitch, but it gets a little daunting when you have a lot to say.

Fish

I just finished this piece! I really like how it turned out! I was trying to think of something that would involve the mat when it was framed, and this piece came to me. It's a pen and ink drawing of a fish with pencil colors in the rainbow/current behind him. As much as I love this piece, I will be bringing it to the Gallery next weekend.

Oh, and here's a detail shot of the colored part of the piece:

Lovebirds Embroidery

This is one of my newest creations for the Gallery (When I finally get my booth!). I really think I'm getting the hang of embroidery now...for a while I thought that cross stitch was easier/faster than "drawing" with thread like this, but I was quite wrong! This piece did take some time to put together, however it was fun enough that it felt like it went by quickly!

This piece is inspired by nautical tattoos and is completely finished (with a layer of felt and fabric over the stitching) in the back and ready to hang. I think it would look nice in someone's living room or bedroom.

PS- I'm going to Disney Land tomorrow, so I probably won't be posting for a day or two! YAY!

Calavera Embroidery

I love skulls, there's no denying it. We all have one, and I was raised knowing about Dia De Los Muertos early on in my childhood. I love Calaveras, and this is my first attempt at making on using embroidery. I think it turned out fairly well. I like the idea of using a skull with wings, I was inspired by the "Bubble" enemies in the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. I plan on making more of these, since I like them so much.


Here's a detail shot of the embroidery:

New Painting

I've been working a LOT lately on new artwork.
This small painting is one of my newest pieces. Among other things, I am trying to expand my portfolio. I've felt in a digital rut lately working on so many digital pieces. I just needed to get my hands covered in ink and paint. Many of my new paintings are inspired by love and nautical tattoos.

Another reason I am painting and sewing like crazy is that I am trying to secure a boot at the "Handmade Galleries" in Sherman Oaks, California... It's a gallery that has all "hand made" artwork. I think my stuff would fit in nicely.

Keep checking back for more artwork! I am working like crazy.

Beast of Friends

So, My boyfriend got me a screen-printing press for Christmas. He is amazing! It's a 4-color press that came with 4 screens. It's gorgeous. After I got home after New Years, I got a little kid's desk from IKEA and bolted the press onto it. It's a great set-up. I've slowly gotten my process inks and my emulsion and screen cleaner, and I'm in business!

I've been a little slow to get into working on everything, but I've finally got some screen prints together. I think they look pretty good.
These prints are going to be part of the "Great Arthouse Print Exchange" later on this summer. Let me know what you think!

The biggest downside (other than the time it takes to set up and clean up everything) is that my Fat Cat really likes to sit on the Platen. He thinks it's his little perch. He even tried to get on the thing when I was printing! It was annoying, but cute because it turned his little feet blue. Dummy.

OLD Artwork pt. 3

I'm trying to keep these blog posts managable in the off chance that someone out there reading them is on a slow connection... It also makes me feel more productive to have many posts with a few drawings on each one. These ones are more character based than some of the other "Old" drawings posted.

I've always had a fondness for sock puppets, paper dolls, fish, deer, and dogs. I combined all of those together in this drawing. It's a fun little doodle with a lot of character. I think that I need to expand on this drawing

"Explorer" is a pen and ink drawing of a scuba man in a strange world. This is mostly a sketch, I think it has good potential to be a nice bigger piece.

What do you call an owl made out of punctuation? A "punctuowl" This drawing was made after a tutoring session at 826 Michigan in 2008... the kids were learning punctuation and sentence formation, and I just couldn't keep from drawing this.

OLD Artwork pt. 2

I've dug up more old artwork for your enjoyment. These ones are all black and white, pen and ink drawings.


This piece is one of my takes on a "world map." It was originally an assignment for school that I took into completion. I really like this piece. I think that if I lived a few hundred years ago, I would have enjoyed being a cartographer. Maps fascinate me.

"Balloon Man" is one of my favorite drawings. I'm not sure, but I think it might have been inspired by the "Candy Man Song" in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory... but maybe when he is older...and possibly diabetic, which would be why he gives out balloons instead of candy.

This drawing originally was called "Horse", but I am not sure what to call it now. Either way, this piece formerly known as "Horse" is one of my first attempts at using some "Rapidograph"pens that my friend Kate gave me. The pens are generally lovely, until the ink gets stuck, or won't stop flowing.

This Panda drawing was my first attempt at making a full piece of work in etchboard. I think it turned out pretty well, although it is a little crunched because I read the instructions wrong for the project. Working on this reminded me of the "Magicolor" scratching paper I used as a kid.

This drawing was a fun attempt to convey color with just black and white, with no wash. I might re-touch this one to make the tones and values a little clearer, but I really like the image itself. There's so much to see!

OLD Artwork pt. 1

I thought it might be a fun idea to unearth some of my old artwork. The next couple pieces are some artwork that I made a couple of years ago.

This painting was for my mom. I really like teeth, and she is a dental hygienist-maybe that's why. This was done in acrylic on canvas board.

These monsters are all drawn in crayons on brown paper.

This one was drawn by hand and colored using the computer. It features some cool animals.

Robot Cowboy

Today I colored my "Robot Cowboy" drawing I really like it :-)

Cats

This is a pen and ink drawing of my cats. I put it together the other night when I was working over at David's apartment. I think it captures their personalities quite nicely.

Bicycle

I love bicycles. It's only fitting for me to make some sort of artwork about them. This piece is actually part of a larger piece of artwork (From my 2009 BFA Thesis project).

I think these would make a nice postcard... Check back, maybe I'll have some available in my Etsy shop sometime soon...

Postcrossing

I joined "Postcrossing" today!
http://www.postcrossing.com

Postcrossing is a new-age pen pall correspondence with people around the world using postcards! I was told about it by a few people who have purchased some of my postcards online. They used my cards to send to people around the world. How cool!

I'm really excited to get started. I have a LOT of postcards from adventures I've taken, and I'm looking forward to sending them to people. I will also send some postcards with my own artwork.

Happy Postcrossing!