Hey everyone! How was your week so far? I'm so glad it's Friday. It's been a wild week for me. The little painting above was finished a while ago and inspired by Alexander McQueen's Fall 2009 collection.
My hubby took me to see the Studio Ghibli movie "From Up On Poppy Hill" today. I really enjoyed it! It was a very tender and heart wrenching film. If you live in Houston it is only playing at the Sundance Cinema downtown. You should definitely go see it before it goes away! I love Japanese animation so much. Studio Ghibli movies are some of my main inspirations for my art work.
From the legendary and highly celebrated Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, Ponyo, and The Secret World of Arrietty) comes From Up on Poppy Hill, the uniquely inspired and highly anticipated coming-of-age story from Goro Miyazaki and Hayao Miyazaki.
Set in Yokohama in 1963, this lovingly hand-drawn film centers on Umi (voiced by Sarah Bolger) and Shun (voiced by Anton Yelchin) and the budding romance that develops as they join forces to save their high school’s ramshackle clubhouse from demolition. The top-grossing Japanese film of 2011 and winner of the Japan Academy Prize for Animation, From Up on Poppy Hill captures the innocence of new love as well as the beauty of Yokohama’s harbor and lush surroundings. With its rich color palette, stunning exteriors, sun-drenched gardens, bustling cityscapes and painterly detail, From Up on Poppy Hill provides a pure, sincere, and nuanced evocation of the past, and marks yet another creative triumph for Studio Ghibli.
There is a list of the showtimes in theaters across the US on their Facebook. Don't miss out on a great film!
I was inspired to make this small painting by Christian Dior's Spring 2007 Haute Couture collection. His crane dresses reminded me of a famous story from Japan called "1000 Paper Cranes." It was written into a book titled "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes." I read this book when I was in elementary school and thought it was extremely profound. It was one of the stories that really touched me as a child. I will never forget it. This is the kind of book that continues to haunt you long after its put down. An old Japanese legend said that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes so pleases the gods, the folder is granted a wish. One of the well know story is Sadako and her 1,000 paper cranes. Sadako Sasaki (January 7, 1943 – October 25, 1955) was a Japanese girl who lived near Hiroshima, Japan. She was only two years old when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. As she grew up, Sadako was a strong, courageous and athletic girl. In 1954, at age eleven, she became dizzy and fell to the ground. Sadako was diagnosed with leukemia, the "atom bomb disease".
Sadako's best friend Chizuko, came to visit her and brought with her some origami (folding paper). She told Sadako the legend of the crane. It is Japanese legend that folding 1000 paper cranes (senzaburu) so pleases the gods that the folder is granted a wish. Sadako wished to get well. So, after hearing the legend, Sadako decided to fold 1,000 cranes.
After she folded 500 cranes she felt better and the doctors said she could go home for a short time, but by the end of the first week back home the dizziness and fatigue returned and she had to return to the hospital. Sadako continued to fold cranes. Even though she was in great pain, she tried to be cheerful and hopeful. Not long afterwards, with her family standing by her bed, Sadako went to sleep peacefully, never to wake up again. She had folded a total of 644 paper cranes.
Sadako's story had a profound impact on her friends and classmates. They completed her thousand cranes and continued to raise money from school children all over Japan to build a statue to honor Sadako and all the children affected by the bomb.
I recently sold this painting and never got a chance to take some pictures of it. It's inspired by ancient East Asian art. The dress is from Elie Saab S/S Haute Couture 2012. I am in love with this collection. When I saw this dress I knew that I had to create a painting for it. The dress itself is a work of art to me. I love the floral and spring themes in this collection. I'm so happy that now this painting will in hung in a loving home :) I love this collection so much that I plan to make some more paintings with the dresses.
I realized that I have not spoken about my experience as a grad student in the Master of Fine Arts program at Houston Baptist University yet. I think this program is wonderful and more MFA candidates should know about it.
This school was not my first choice. It was actually one of my last choices when I was applying for graduate schools. I had originally intended to study in California after I graduated with my BFA from the University of Houston. But I made the decision to stay in Houston because I did not want to be away from my then fiancé (now hubby). He was still going to school in Houston and I did not want to uproot him in the middle of his studies to be with me. When I was searching for graduate programs in Houston, my friend Mai told me about HBU's art program and its art director Michael Collins. She sang his praises and suggested I look on their website to see if they offered an MFA. So I went and looked. They did! It was a very small program, and super new so not many people were aware it even existed. I was impressed when I read Michael's biography and credentials, so I shot him an email with some images of my paintings, asking for his critique. He replied promptly and seemed to adore my work. He even set up a meeting with me right away! Unfortunately I was not able to find a time to meet with him before I applied, so I just sent in my application, hoping for the best.
In April 2012 I received a call from Michael telling me that I'd been accepted into their MFA program for the fall. He was so warm, welcoming, and caring, just over the phone! It was unlike any other school I had been accepted to. I did not receive a personal call from any of the faculty at the other schools. They just sent me a very generic letter saying Congrats, you got in. Yay, now make sure you pay up before you get here! If not, oh well we'll give your spot to someone else on the waiting list. So very dull and mechanic.
Michael invited me to meet with him and his colleague Jim Edwards (who is the curator of the HBU art gallery and graduate professor of drawing) later that week to tour the art facility and select my studio space. When I met them for the first time it was like being welcomed into the arms of two big cuddly teddy bears. Michael and Jim were so warm and gracious. They wanted me here and they would do anything to help me feel at home. Their two different energies played well off each. Michael is like a lovable rabid squirrel whose mind is always going 100 miles an hour and it's awesome. His energy is over the top and gets you super excited and pumped for art and creating. You can feel and see Michael's love for art and teaching radiating from his entire being. Jim is a kind, sweet gentle Santa Claus. He is just so lovable and laid back. One of the things I adore about Jim is that he always wear cute Hawaiian shirts, haha! Jim is from San Francisco and he is sooooo California :)
I love the diversity within my graduate program. Every student has their own unique point of view, and the faculty does not try to mold your view into theirs. Instead, they help you with YOUR point of view to create a strong, personal body of work. Michael and Jim will guide, nurture, and expand upon your unique vision. They love what each student has to offer and have never put anyone down for wanting to experiment or take a different path. That is why I love the faculty here. They understand you, care about you, and want the best for you. It is an extremely stress free environment.
At UH, I struggled with my first two semesters of BFA because I had two professors who did not understand my vision. Nor did they want to understand it. It was all about what they wanted me to be. My art was too illustrative and fanciful for their idea of what fine art should be.
Here at HBU I have the freedom to create what I want: my vision, my hopes, my fantasies, my obsessions. I can paint as many fantastical worlds, girls with sparkling eyes, and beautiful dresses as I want. We have a very diverse group of sculptors, painters, ceramicists, printmakers, and woodworkers.
As for Teaching duties, in this program we are not required to teach undergraduate art classes like other schools. All we have to do is TA a class or two. Right now I am TA'ing "Water Media" for Esther Delaquis and I love it. Esther is so nice and gentle. I think all of the faculty here are wonderful and really care about each one of their students. It is fun to be able to use my knowledge and skills to help guide the young students. I really enjoy helping others learn to paint and improve on what they already know. I hope to be able to have my own art classes to teach one day.
Esther doing a self-portrait demonstration for the class.
HBU has two art galleries. Jim Edwards is the director of the Contemporary Art Gallery and Laura Kreft is the director of the Fine Arts Museum. Both are very nice spaces that feature very talented artists. There are always new exhibits being shown at the Contemporary gallery. I love Laura so much! She is always so sweet and friendly and super excited about everything. She often peaks into my studio and always tries to show my work to other people who come by the school for a visit.
My studio
Ross's studio
Mack's studio
TK Ahn's studio
Deandra and Lakita's studio
It's been a blast and I have no regrets. I'm currently obsessed with Japanese art and mythology, so that is the direction my paintings are going toward this year.
HBU was not my first choice, but I am so happy it's my final choice. I made the right decision to go here. It's been the most rewarding and nurturing experience I have had in art school. If you are looking for a wonderful MFA program, HBU is a great choice. HBU's MFA program really is a hidden gem. The advice I would give to any artist is to be yourself and paint what you are passionate about. Do not try to create work to please someone else. That is the only way you can make truly honest and profound work.
Hi everyone! It's been quite awhile since my last update. I've been so bad with blog updates. I'm in my second semester of graduate school now. I shall have to post some pics of my studio soon :) This is a new painting I just finished today. It's inspired by "The Little Mermaid" and Japanese catfish paintings. She is wearing a gown from Christian Dior's Spring 2013 Haute Couture collection. It's one of my favorite collections for Spring 2013 because it has florals, which I love. I thought the dress would go well with this painting.
I am so happy that Marcus Kan of Draw a Dot has featured this painting on his website! Click here to check it out along with some questions I've answered about the piece :)
Anywho, I am officially back and will be blogging more often from now on! So keep a look out.
Hello everyone! The past several days have been quite hectic. I left on Friday with Paul's parents for Ft. Sill in Lawton, OK to FINALLY see Paul in person - after 6 months! - I have not seen Paul since March and it has been so hard for all of us. I have missed him soooooooo much! He is the sunshine in my life :)
It was a little awkward at first when we saw each other again because we've been apart for so long. It was kind of like meeting each other for the first time again. But we quickly got back into our usual dynamic and soon it was "doki doki" and lovey dovey all the time, haha. I think being absent from one another has made our relationship stronger, because we are forced to really communicate and make the effort to sustain and grow what we already have.
The past 3 days have been amazing. It was wonderful, magical, and so much fun. I love him so much.
I cannot wait until he is back home in September. Only 3 more weeks! We can do this! :)
Paul with his roommates Costa and Fitzgerald. They're so cute in person!
My sexy soldier <3
I thought this sink in our hotel room makes a really funny picture because it shows our different personalities. Paul's side is on the left. He always puts his stuff back neatly because he is a super OCD neat freak. (Oh that flat iron on the left is mine, so I guess I took over his side too LOL sorry Hunny!) I'm a naturally messy person so it always looks like a tornado came through my area hahaha!
My love is so handsome! I bought him this yellow shirt for his birthday. I've convinced him that being matchy-matchy is super fun! Buahahaha XD
"'What is the use of a book,' thought Alice, 'without pictures or conversations?'"
How was everyone's week? My cousin Minh Tri and his family came over to visit our home this week. He has 4 little kids--2 boys (age 10 and 8) and 2 girls (age 5 and 2). I had so much fun hanging out with them. I got to experience what having four kids is like. Kids are expensive and a lot to handle, but having them is very rewarding and fun. I look forward to having some little ones of my own in the future. Since I am a kid at heart, it's going to be a blast playing with them and sharing all the joys of life ^_^
This painting today is inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. :) I will be working on some new paintings this weekend. Can't wait to show you!
Happy Wednesday!
I made this painting last December and never got around to photographing it properly. This painting has become one of my favorites because of the amount of time, love, and care it took to finish it. It was quite a challenge! I was inspired by Christian Dior's Spring 2009 Haute Couture collection and 17th century Dutch art. His collection was actually inspired by 17th century Dutch art, which is a big part of why I fell in love with the dresses. They are so gorgeous and you can clearly see the Dutch motifs in the dresses, from the tulips to the china. I copied the flowers from Dutch still-life paintings. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. :)
Hi everyone!
I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend so far.
I finally got around to photographing some new paintings. This 30"x40" painting is inspired by Asian art and Christian Dior's Spring 2007 Couture collection. It's one of my favorite collections because it's inspired by East Asian artwork and culture. I might do an entire series on this collection because it is just so beautiful. Fashion is very inspiring, don't you agree? ;)
I just started a new painting on wood. It's quite large: 48"x48"! I haven't painted this large before, so it's going to be quite a challenge. My love Paul is still in bootcamp for the Army National Guard and I miss him sooo much! He's been gone since March. Sometimes I can't believe it's been so long since I've seen him! Well, I have missed Paul too much so I decided to make a painting starring me and him as the main characters this time haha~ It's going to be super sweet like a fairytale. Since he's my Prince after all :) Can't wait to show you the process!
Today was my college graduation. It's about time! I graduated from the University of Houston- College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts - Painting+minor in Art History, Magna Cum Laude. I am so happy to be done with my undergraduate studies! It's been a long four years, which seem to have passed by lightning fast! I have already been accepted with a full scholarship + teaching assistantship into an MFA program and will be attending Houston Baptist University this Fall 2012 to pursue a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree. I'm so excited!!! I can't wait to start school in August and get my own studio again! :) I love pursuing knowledge and learning, so I will not be satisfied until I have earned my terminal degree, hehe.
The Hofheinz Pavilionwhere the graduation was held was PACKED with graduates and guests! I think there were about 2000 students graduating in CLASS alone today! The commencement began at 9:00 AM and ended around 1:00 PM! They lied to us when they said 11:30 AM was the end, hahahaha. My parents, little sister, friend Kim, and fiancé's little sister Nichole came to see me graduate. I was so happy they could all make it! :)
During her speech, Ruth J. Simmons, the president of Brown University, pointed out that all of the perfect 4.0 GPA graduates are women. It was very inspiring to see that women are the ones earning top honors! It shows that women are AWESOME! (But duh, you already know that) There were soooo many women receiving their Masters and Doctorates. I feel so pumped up and motivated to work hard because I want to be just as accomplished. Women rock! YEAHHHHH!!!! :D
So yes, girls. Education is VERY IMPORTANT! Don't ever let anyone tell you you can't! You are capable of anything when you put your mind to it and believe in yourself. Congratulations to all University of Houston graduates of Class of 2012! You did it!
