shrines, shrines, shrines

Today was the first day of intense sightseeing. Destinations: Nijo-jo, Ryoan-Ji, Kinkaku-ji, and Ninna-ji. "Jo" means castle and "Ji" means shrine; therefore we went to one castle and three shrines. whew!

This trip entails soooo much walking.

Nijo-jo. Pretty cool because most of its buildings are laid out diagonally, which is a defensive move because back in the 1600s in feudal Japan, you didn't want to be open to enemies attacking you! Also the floors in all the rooms are built specially to squeak when anyone walks on them, therefore they're aptly named "nightingale floors."

For all the shrines we had to remove our shoes and we couldn't take pictures in some parts. I took this picture right before I found out about the no photo rule.

Close-up on part of the zen garden at Ryoan-ji. This shrine was under some construction, and therefore was kind of boring, since we couldn't visit the more tranquil parts of it.

The Golden Pavilion at Kinkaku-ji. It is completed covered in gold leaf, wow! This shrine was the most crowded of all, swarming with local schoolchildren and tourists like us.

A girl tossing coins for luck towards a statue of Buddha at Kinkaku-ji.

A girl tying a wish on a line at Kinkaku-ji. Note her face mask to protect herself/others?

Wishes at Kinkaku-ji.

Wishes at Ninna-ji.

Ninna-ji. I'm going to take a guess and say these things are prayers on wood that you burn and send up to the heavens. hehe.

Kind of a boring/academic post today, my apologies.

brief stop in Tokyo, en route to Kyoto

So Japan is 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles. It is after 5 am on Tuesday the 19th, and this post concerns events that happened Monday the 18th etc. So maybe I will always appear to be a day late!

A delicious Suntory drink, it tastes like Propel. I love the bottle cap ♥.

Wee little wooden owl key chains. Way too expensive at 1260 ¥ ($1 US dollar = 96.06 ¥)!

Once we get to Kyoto, we are free to roam around for the evening. Train ticket means exploring with less walking!

Lanterns along a busy commercial street.

A kitty (neko!) in an alleyway in the Pontecho. Pontecho is a tiny street that is famous for its bars I think. We ate there for dinner but didn't do any drinking. Next time!

A sign outside a park. The puppy makes me miss my own poopies. :)

Today (5/19) we visit a bunch of shrines in Kyoto! more updates to come...!

flight to Japan

Studying abroad in Asia this summer! First stop, Japan. The flight was 11 hours exactly and it was long and fantastic. Mmm Korean Air.

This is the amazing leather fanny pack my sister picked up for me for $3. The contents: passport, wallet, sketchbook, eyedrops, Burt's Bees, Smith's Rosebud Salve, international cellphone, hankie & two pens. I had fun setting up this shot.

I kept myself occupied by sleeping, listening to lots of music, and journaling/sketching. Oh and watching some movies on the plane.

Welcome to my islands of clouds! I had a window seat, AND no one occupied the seat next to me, what luck! It was pretty sweet.

done.

Some pages from my portfolio for spring semester. I'm finished!

suddenly, summer

L to R: me, my sister, my uncle Tony

Dear goldforever,

I remember this photo, and although the circumstances are hazy, it must have been shortly after we went to the (Monterey Bay?) aquarium, because I'm holding Humphrey, the humpback whale I got as a souvenir. I'm wearing my favorite t-shirt at the time, a crazy cat, painting & making a mess! I just remember it was me, you and Uncle Tony running through the waves, as the other adults stood on the beach out of the water watching. For once I didn't care so much about finding shells, I was just happy to be running in the waves with you and our favorite uncle.

This was a glorious time, thank you for sharing it with me.

I love Mom

My mom when she was about my age (20).

Things I like love about my mom.

1. How she hates how I call comic books "graphic novels."
2. Her strange, passionate obsessions - of late, Pyrex vintage glassware & vintage dresses.
3. Her unrelenting, persevering, hardworking person.
4. How she is always straightforward with me; I know when I ask her a question I will get her honest opinion/thoughts.
5. How she embodies everything I want to be - an amazing artist, mother, and person.

Thanks Mom.

I love grapefruit

One of my favorite family pastimes is eating grapefruit. Funny huh, because it wouldn't seem so much a pastime as simply going through the motions of eating fruit, but with the unique construction of a grapefruit, it becomes this great ritual. The thick rind of the fruit forces the group to sit with bated breath as they watch the person peeling it. Sometimes when it's really thick we score the skin with a knife before hacking away the great pithy rind. Then, peeling away the bitter white fluff to reveal juicy ruby (or yellow) sections is the kicker! That, or we eat it breakfast-style, cut in half with the sections scored out for spooning into mouths. yum yum yum. grapefruit.

reasons I love home #4

It's more exciting to boil water for coffee or tea in vintage vessels.

charrette starts...NOW

inspiration board.

Namibia desert | snakes | bird spikes | Air Force Academy Chapel | Corten steel | armadillo lizard | Sandra Backlund - Ink Blot Test | Frank Miller's Sin City | Lucy & Bart Exploded View

working on getting my semester-long studio project done. it's due May 1st, so less posting for now, unless I manage to squeeze in some quickie posts (which I usually end up doing).

FREEDOM(ish) in 7 days.

reasons I love home #3

There's always orange juice in the fridge.

light study - fins

Some abstract (and rough) renderings of light and shadow studies for my studio project - a civic building in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. Skin system composed of pre-fabricated louvers of corten steel and glass. roof not yet resolved. yum?

reasons I love home #2

flowers, flowers everywhere.

edward muybridge

Edward Muybridge, an English photographer from the late 1800s, is most well-known for having captured the movement of humans and animals, thus allowing people to truly understand how these things move. He also invented the zoopraxiscope, an early device that could display motion pictures, which was just the next step after his pioneering of sequential photographs of movement.


So I bring this up because this sort of cinematic storytelling, this sequential line of views, can be taken into architecture, especially with the project I am working on. Vague and unhelpful, as I don't have photos of it to explain what I mean, but anyway, just wanted to note a current inspiration.

Oh and apart from all that other stuff he became famous for, look at how freaking beautiful this is. Edward Muybridge. Innovative and freakin' talented.

reasons I love home #1

Waking up to the smell of homemade meatball soup in the morning.

hummingbird adventures

In the middle of our project reviews there was a commotion - a hummingbird had fallen out of a tree and was frantically trying to take flight and return home. I don't think the flock of students trying to get a better view of it was helping, and after some time it tried flying again, when it flew into my face then crash-landed on my canvas bag. So a friend and I took the hummingbird away from people and tried "feeding" it a hibiscus flower. In the end we were able to get him back into his tree. Hope all is well, little fella.

an alphabetical list of things in my room

Things in my room starting with...

A: autographed Hellboy headshot
B: books (graphic novels, architecture, leisure)
C: cup of chamomile tea
D: dust bunnies
E: embroidery floss
F: flannel
G: giant bouncy ball
H: hand sanitizer
I: I ♥ Jim post-its
J: Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski
K: keys
L: Land Camera 230
M: moleskines
N: Netflix rentals
O: old slide film & polaroid
P: Polaroid SLR 680 SE
Q: quilt (slightly worn, thanks to dogs)
R: record bowl
S: Sennheisers
T: Tera Melos poster
U: USC plush pillow
V: V5 & V7 Precise Rolling Ball pens
W: water bottles
X: X?
Y: yesterday's socks
Z: Zicam