postcards to faraway friends

I've had a slew of overdue letters to write to friends in far-off places (not really though - they're all on the same continent as me), but lacking the time (tsk tsk) and attention span to sit down and write thoughtfully, I figured I ought not to write, than to write half-heartedly. This has always been a struggle for me, in many parts of my growing-up life, but I think it's worse to not attempt something for fear of not reaching perfection than to try, even a little half-heartedly, and churn something out.

Several nights ago I had a few scraps of bristol board left over from an ongoing project, so I cut them into 4x6 rectangles and began doodling. For some reason I felt compelled to draw eyes, which I haven't really done actively since what, high school? And upon finding a new favorite tumblr that same night, and seeing all these moody, contemplative landscapes scrolling right in front of me, I referenced many of those images as I placed enormous eyes all over them. These drawings were more like exercises, as I was switching from light-to-heavy hands or vice versa, realizing how much patience is required for GOOD stippling, and trying but not-trying-hard-enough to successfully render water. I have much to improve on! It was fun, though. After finishing a handful of these drawings I flipped them over and started dashing off thoughts and questions and updates to send to friends in New York, Connecticut, Texas, and good old California.

   

It's funny and sad as I realize that a few people I had considered close friends with here are ones I'm no longer on speaking terms with - whether that happened from unfortunate miscommunications/conflicts of interests/outgrowing each other, amicably or not-so-amicably. I remember having a conversation with one of these friends a year or so ago and it was so twisted, for we spoke to each other about how our best friendships or meaningful connections are scattered all over the country/globe and are everywhere except here in LA, right to each others' faces, haha. I guess by then I should have known that that person and I were hanging on for no real reason other than longevity/not wanting to feel alone. Anyway, my thoughts on that have changed - I maintain those meaningful connections outside of LA, and have a small but amazing handful of people I've been growing to know better, and hope to nurture lasting friendships with here as well. So I guess it is time for me to make more postcards, to send to these not-so-faraway friends, to remind them that I am thankful to have them in my life, regardless of how often I get to see them.

of my word

I try to be as much a person of my word as I can. With that being said, life totally, completely takes over at times, and promises of a letter, a care package, a phone call or a hangout extend into that grey area of 'it WILL get done, just not now.' I don't mean to sound like I'm flippantly rationalizing my habits of late; I'm just offering a (vague) explanation. Work's been busier, living situation has evolved, the nights are getting colder, and hopefully I will get back into my groove soon.

objects received

Don't ever drink and draw, kids. Just kidding! I highly recommend it. These are some love tokens that have come across my way, that I cherish and/or consumed right away.

1. Un-cracked geodes
2. A ripe mango
3. A bottle of carefully collected sand

Colored pencils & ink on scraps of paper I found at the paper cutter,

duodecim x II

drawn by A.M. Williamson

Good things happening, slowly. also, I'm two dozen years old now.

first things

Andy and I got pho on Friday before we headed over to the Pasadena Museum of California Art to see a friend who had some pieces showing there! I didn't actually get pho because I had gorged myself on pizza only a few hours before...and when Andy's bowl came out it was in a gloriously shiny stainless steel bowl, which the server braced himself for as he lifted and set it in front of Andy. On the way to the show, we contemplated presenting some flowers to our friend, and after plucking a small bundle from the sidewalk, we worried about it being tacky so we nixed the idea. Looking at all the curated artwork was inspiring and refreshing, and seeing our friend in a different light was fun and new.

Seeing different sides of someone you think you've known for a while is so thrilling, satisfying, intoxicating.

the starry night

You all know what Van Gogh's 'The Starry Night' looks like, hence just these close-ups. I had tears in my eyes as I approached this one at the MoMA (but to be fair my eyes were never dry when I was near a Van Gogh in New York) and all I could do was stare at and obsess over the brushstrokes as I could finally understand the murkier parts of the cypress tree and see all the real tones of the village beneath the sky and the glowing lines of the stars and moon in the sky. I texted a friend saying something ridiculous like "I just saw Starry Night in person, I could die happy now." and I meant it! But seeing how I reacted to a long-gone artist's magnum opus makes me want to stick around and see more, from more artists and creatives old, dead, and new.

the Museum of Modern Art

On Thursday I went to MoMA with Steph! After I got off the subway up onto the street I could see an enormous line forming and my heart sank a little, but what else did I expect? I got my ticket, dashed after Steph in the lobby as she passed me by and we embraced. Winding through the exhibitions was a little stressful because there were so many people, and I lost interest in photographing the art. No big deal though, as I have my own eyes! Not to say I didn't snap things at all, but the images shown here are an incomplete companion to the full experience, as I said in my post about the Met. Seeing a museum at such a speedy pace is a little harrowing but I guess necessary in such a busy setting as New York. Repeat visits are an absolute must.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Studies of hands by Rodin; three Van Gogh close-ups; Anish Kapoor mirrored concave sculpture with another installation to the right.

Everyone says you can't see the Met in a day, so what I'm showing here roughly sums up what I was able to see in two hours. Actually it's just a smidge because evidently I get strangely flustered when I'm in an exciting new place and as a result can't take a decent shot of anything. But now that I think about it the Met was PACKED (oh right today is Sunday) and most of my time was spent figuring how to navigate the labyrinthine gallery spaces...!

sunflower prints

I made these prints a few weeks ago while trying to get out of my post-grad rut. Two tries with a piece of linoleum and lino cutters and a test run with yellow ink got me thinking they needed something more so I layered red over yellow (hello USC!) and then did a red-purple gradation for the last handful. I've been sending them out as cards and want to make more.

close-ups to inspire

From my latest trip to the Norton Simon. I focused on the brushstrokes of the different artists and studied their styles all in preparation for an oil painting I started the next day.

printmaking with sister

This afternoon I followed my sister into one of the fine arts labs to watch the process of reduction printing! The concept is cool because you carve away from the block for the first layer, make several prints of it, then carve away more material for the next layer, print again, etc. so if you make a mistake, too bad, because you can't go back and fix it. SCARY. So I guess white was first, then yellow, then red, and so today I watched the application of the black lines. It was nerve-wracking, but amazing to see her pull away a print and have everything perfectly aligned. The big old printing press was faulty so it kept messing up her prints one way, so I think she ended up running them through the opposite way to keep the quality consistent. Observing was a lot of fun! I need to take advantage of being around the most creative part of school all the time! Jumping from one creative pool to another is really healthy and inspiring.

bronze casting, part 7

All done! My finished dog BB in all her bronze glory. I need to photograph her on a black background to make the details really pop and I'll do that at the end of this week, when hell comes to its slow-burning end. (Stressed much?) All the little posts that extended from her ears and the gate on her back were sawed off with a chop saw (scary!) and then I buffed, grinded, scrubbed and broke off any extra metal I didn't want, using the bench grinder, angle grinder and a dremel. 3 hours flew by so quickly - I loved getting absorbed into the craft and I can see myself doing this all the time... I'm so glad I took this class this semester. Favorite and most fulfilling, hands down.