9: ARTstravaganza Spring 2011

It was the first time I planned a student art exhibition and I must say, I underestimated how much time and work involved in putting together a successful show. As President of the Student Art Association, I put my hand in every aspect of planning the event--one because I was president and two because I guess some may call me a perfectionist. To get the show running, I put out a call for student artwork. It surprised me how difficult it was to get submissions. At times, I even had to personally reach out to my student artist friends. After reviewing the submissions with the committee, we collected and framed the artwork. For the actual event, I had to go reserve the space and work with the campus dining services to plan the dessert reception. Then, I created a poster, printed copies and hung them up around campus. In addition, I sent out advertisements on the campus message board. When it actually came to hanging the show, the night before the opening reception, our small club and our advisor looked at each other… it was then we realized that none of us had actually hung a show. Not only that, but we didn’t have all the right pieces and the setting in which we were hanging the show was strict about leaving the walls as is, meaning no nails and hammering. Womp womp. In my mind, I was thinking, OMG, I told so many people about the show and did so much public outreach. The opening is tomorrow. This show has to go up. However, there was light at the end of the tunnel. We did eventually figure it out and I gained experience on how to curate the show.

The ARTstravaganza Exhibition was a great success. There was a larger turnout than I intended, thanks to all our supportive staff, faculty and friends. The role of this event is to connect the art community to the rest of campus, encourage students from all disciplines to explore their inner creativity, expose campus to the world of visual arts and to stimulate dialogue and an appreciation for the arts. Here are a few photos from the opening!


The poster I made by playing with Photoshop and Illustrator. I borrowed some pop art from Lichtenstein =).

8: The Music of John Cage

As an experiment, I purposely waited three months before making another post. Okay, I lied. I just didn't keep up with it. I did the same thing when I was younger... I would start a journal and not keep up with it and then when I finally return to it, I make up excuses to myself like how I've been lazy and busy. Well, here we go again. I am currently checking out performance art videos for my final multimedia & installation project and I came across the work of John Cage, a radical American composer and artist. I am familiar with his compositional piece, 4'33", but it was my first time watching "Water Walk". I enjoyed the old film quality of the reality tv show back then as well as the interactions among John Cage, the host and the audience. Throughout the video, I just kept thinking about that one line that Cage says about music being the creation of sound, so therefore he believes that he is creating music. I hope you find it as amusing as I did.

7: Furoshiki Wrapping

Stumbleupon brought a video that showed a furoshiki wrapping demonstration, which comes from the Japanese culture. Instead of using wrapping paper, they use cloth, which is both reusable and creates a lovely presentation for the gift. How cute!


It begins with a piece of cloth like this...


and then you can turn it into all these cool wrappings!


some more samples =)


Try it yourself!

6: Tugboat Printshop

Sophy found this company on stumbleupon.com and sent it to me because I was taking printmaking classes in Florence. I loved it! I didn't actually get to try any woodblock techniques, but maybe I will get to this semester along with lithography.
Here are some samples of their work and here's their website for more samples: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/337GyM/www.tugboatprintshop.com/HOWandWHY.htm


"America the Beautiful"


"Bonfire"


"Golden Appletree" Work in Progress

5: B. Glee Lucas

During my First Friday Open Studios visit at SOWA, I came across the work of B. Glee Lucas and instantly fell in love with her paintings. Her signature still-life objects are a variety of drinking glasses and glassware. She paints these objects with such grace and skill. While the glasses are depicted flawlessly, the reflections in her paintings create an even more pleasant image. The colors also create a very relaxing mood for the viewer and guests. I think the best times to spend admiring her paintings would be near the afternoon/evening when the busy day comes to a close. Her paintings also remind me of a classic question: Is the glass half empty or half full?

Transformers II


Rowes Wharf

4: Petah Coyne

While I was at my internship today, I learned about this really neat artist named Petah Coyne. I'm digging her installation and sculpture work, which I would describe as dark, mysterious and enchanting. I admire Coyne's craftsmanship and care for detail. Her works are created from diverse materials such as silk flowers, chicken wire, feathers, ribbon, hair and wax (just to name a few). Her sculptures appear to be frozen in time during a period of decay and death; yet they are so beautiful and breathtaking to look at.

Buddha Boy

Daphne

Death in Venice

3: A Tiny Apartment Transforms Into 24 Rooms

Wow! Architect, Gary Chang is able to transform a dinky apartment into a variety of comfortable living spaces. Sustainable design has always been an interest of mine and seeing this video just makes me think about how there are so many ways that we could manipulate space in order to resolve some of our impending environmental issues. With the growing problem of overpopulation, space and urban development is such a critical subject. While it would be ideal to adopt some of Chang's ideas, not everyone is willing to settle for just an adequate living space.