So hourly comic day was February first. I didn't find out about it until the fourth, but I did one anyway because hey, doodling all day! Who doesn't love that?
Links to the pages, because they are way too huge for this frame (also apologies for the narsty shadows, my camera is old)
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Showing posts with label arting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arting. Show all posts
February 9, 2010
November 5, 2009
exposed in public! O:
By which I mean, please to enjoying my arts exhibition pictures very much yes! ~/o/
First off, lemme just say that all the other exhibitors at the Nagoya Foreign Artists Exhibition are amazazing artists and superfantastic peoples. There is a core circle of folks who've been showing their stuff there since the first one 24 years ago - I heard a couple veterans marveling at the fact that this was the first year they had a few participants who were younger than the event itself (that would include me <.< but only by a few months!)
On opening day (Tuesday) it was a bit slow in the morning, but a big rush hit around lunchtime and a few of my friends showed up in the afternoon (it was a public holiday, so everyone was off work) Here are a couple Japanese ladies enjoying the artstuffs. Check out that wicked pencil portrait of Billie Joe Armstrong! And the pretty birds as well c: And the dood in back there is a German photo-journalist living in Nagoya who just started a new English-language magazine with his friend. How awesome is this show?! The answer is purty awsum, guys.
And of course, here is my stoof.
A bunch of people had name-cards next to their artist profile, so I decided even though I don't have a website or anything yet I may as well make my own. Y'know, for poops 'n' giggles. There were 14 left when I departed on Tuesday night, so we'll see how many are remaining on Sunday.
And finally, proof that I was indeed there. A lovely volunteer coordinator by the name of Jan kindly took some pictures for me, as well as chattin' with me during the lulls and gently funneling people past my panel (n___n)
First off, lemme just say that all the other exhibitors at the Nagoya Foreign Artists Exhibition are amazazing artists and superfantastic peoples. There is a core circle of folks who've been showing their stuff there since the first one 24 years ago - I heard a couple veterans marveling at the fact that this was the first year they had a few participants who were younger than the event itself (that would include me <.< but only by a few months!)
On opening day (Tuesday) it was a bit slow in the morning, but a big rush hit around lunchtime and a few of my friends showed up in the afternoon (it was a public holiday, so everyone was off work) Here are a couple Japanese ladies enjoying the artstuffs. Check out that wicked pencil portrait of Billie Joe Armstrong! And the pretty birds as well c: And the dood in back there is a German photo-journalist living in Nagoya who just started a new English-language magazine with his friend. How awesome is this show?! The answer is purty awsum, guys.
And of course, here is my stoof.
A bunch of people had name-cards next to their artist profile, so I decided even though I don't have a website or anything yet I may as well make my own. Y'know, for poops 'n' giggles. There were 14 left when I departed on Tuesday night, so we'll see how many are remaining on Sunday.
And finally, proof that I was indeed there. A lovely volunteer coordinator by the name of Jan kindly took some pictures for me, as well as chattin' with me during the lulls and gently funneling people past my panel (n___n)
April 26, 2009
intensity
For having "slept" about 3 hours during the past 48, I feel pretty okay. I really needed this kind of weekend, in fact. Friday I went home in a Mood and took a long and very satisfying nap. Yesterday at approximately 11:30 a.m. I was up at the northern end of Mie with eight other people, spread out between two apartments, beginning the 24-Hour-Comic challenge. 24 pages, one day to plot them out, draw them up, and put them all together. It's the kind of thing I would find myself doing in Riley Hall the weekend before a critique, the kind of thing I have been doing entirely not-enough of after getting my fake art degree that represents more of an afterthought to my English thesis than a double-major. Some ruminations along those lines were contributing to Friday's mood.
Yesterday, though, all the external constraints of my undergraduate studio work were gone - this project was almost entirely self-directed and wouldn't be held up for critique against standards that are only right for passing a specific class. The varied and loose-knit group of misfits was there, gathered by our common interest and encouraging each other by our mere presence, at times - didn't matter that the person sitting next to me was playing old-school Sonic on her DSLite at two in the morning, the important thing is she was staying awake with the rest of us, though all the sensible circuitry in everyone's brain was telling them to have a goddamn nap already.
I made the mistake of laying down on a folded-up futon in the corner for oh-but-10-minutes. It was horrendously difficult to drag myself back over to the table where my story lay barely coherent up through page 14. I felt every junky munchie-snack I had eaten since waking up, actually every pseudo-food I had fed myself in the past week, and all the effects thereof. My head was fried. Then the endorphins kicked in and I was wired until six, just like this time last year. Crash for a couple hours, force down a banana and some cereal, head off to work morning shift at the library and then try not to nod off during a 90-minute lecture. Okay this morning was a little different, but still, same admixture of relief and relentless energy-drain alternately spurring you into the day with ambition or exhaustion, toward another accomplishment or just the achievement of making it home to your bed before you do a faceplant & pass out.
Probably thanks to four years of kinesthetic learning, I did not go kerplunk but instead carried on with normal waking hours and waking-hour activities up until now, bedtime. Along with the inevitable muscle complaints from stiff and scrunched drawring positions, I hope at least some of the intensity inspired by yesterday's arting marathon will remain with me when I wake up tomorrow.
Yesterday, though, all the external constraints of my undergraduate studio work were gone - this project was almost entirely self-directed and wouldn't be held up for critique against standards that are only right for passing a specific class. The varied and loose-knit group of misfits was there, gathered by our common interest and encouraging each other by our mere presence, at times - didn't matter that the person sitting next to me was playing old-school Sonic on her DSLite at two in the morning, the important thing is she was staying awake with the rest of us, though all the sensible circuitry in everyone's brain was telling them to have a goddamn nap already.
I made the mistake of laying down on a folded-up futon in the corner for oh-but-10-minutes. It was horrendously difficult to drag myself back over to the table where my story lay barely coherent up through page 14. I felt every junky munchie-snack I had eaten since waking up, actually every pseudo-food I had fed myself in the past week, and all the effects thereof. My head was fried. Then the endorphins kicked in and I was wired until six, just like this time last year. Crash for a couple hours, force down a banana and some cereal, head off to work morning shift at the library and then try not to nod off during a 90-minute lecture. Okay this morning was a little different, but still, same admixture of relief and relentless energy-drain alternately spurring you into the day with ambition or exhaustion, toward another accomplishment or just the achievement of making it home to your bed before you do a faceplant & pass out.
Probably thanks to four years of kinesthetic learning, I did not go kerplunk but instead carried on with normal waking hours and waking-hour activities up until now, bedtime. Along with the inevitable muscle complaints from stiff and scrunched drawring positions, I hope at least some of the intensity inspired by yesterday's arting marathon will remain with me when I wake up tomorrow.
February 24, 2009
Iko Iko
Taught my 2A girls the refrain from Sugar Boy Crawford's recording of "Jock-A-Mo" today in class. It was pretty much the highlight of my Fat Tuesday, since there is neither sassafras nor andouille sausage to be found in J-land, thus no way to make proper gumbo, and it was too rainy to have an impromptu parade with the Mardi Gras masks that we made :c
Today was mostly an I-don't-want-to-be-around-people day. Of course, an hour from now, I'm going to teach at the community center and get home just before 10. These phenomena seem to coincide a lot.
Be that as it may, here is something which makes me feel not-grumpy and less like a useless lump: Anteater stuffie pattern at last!
Click for make happy fun downloading time yes do
Rendered by the amazing Ku, with yours-may-look-like-this pic also from Ku!
Note: my firstborn arikui (Japanese for anteater) son's vestments look a little wonky because I hand-stitched them rather than using a solid piece of felt.
ALSO note: the tail is a mite bit tricky to reverse on account a' it's long 'n skinny. If you ttly rawk at edge-to-edge sewing I'd recommend that instead. Even if you don't, try it out!
Today was mostly an I-don't-want-to-be-around-people day. Of course, an hour from now, I'm going to teach at the community center and get home just before 10. These phenomena seem to coincide a lot.
Be that as it may, here is something which makes me feel not-grumpy and less like a useless lump: Anteater stuffie pattern at last!
Click for make happy fun downloading time yes do
Rendered by the amazing Ku, with yours-may-look-like-this pic also from Ku!
Note: my firstborn arikui (Japanese for anteater) son's vestments look a little wonky because I hand-stitched them rather than using a solid piece of felt.ALSO note: the tail is a mite bit tricky to reverse on account a' it's long 'n skinny. If you ttly rawk at edge-to-edge sewing I'd recommend that instead. Even if you don't, try it out!
January 29, 2009
Complexity
It makes me indescribably happy to know that there is more than one other person in the world who thinks about things like this.
January 20, 2009
Miscellany
Oh, the world is full of words that I love ♥
Such as "vertiginous," 「ときどき」(tokidoki), and "recherche"
I played a word-game with my second-years today that's like a cross between hot potato and musical chairs, only English words are the potatoes and the music is from the original "Batman" TV series. The penalty for being the one caught out is they have to answer a conversational question in English. I have questions of varying levels, from "What is your name? What is your quest? What is your favorite color?" etc. to "Do you think there are aliens on other planets?" Can't wait to get to that one.
Also can't wait to get to Ise this weekend - LaLa Park, woooo! Just like all the other hojillion Aeon shopping complexes in J-pan, except I've actually bought stuff at this one and it's called "LaLa Park" XD
Unfortunately I have not watched it yet, as my laptop has just run out of DVD region changeovers, but I'll bet it's CRAZY AWESOME FUN TIMES WITH PENGUINS.
Speaking of crazy awesome animals, meet the newest addition to my menagerie (another good word, but I just can't love it like I love mélange):
Who's a sciatic little Tamandua? Yes you are! (somehow the seaming on his back made him curve a little to the right...I like to think it gives him character, though)
I sent the pattern to Ku to be all digitechnofunkisized, thus why I am not able to share it at the mo', but fear not, soon all y'all crafts-inclined type persons can make your very own army of southern / lesser / vested anteaters.
Sorry for springing that on ya, Ku, but many thanks for the postcard. And yes, you can start building that joint USPS - JPS shrine now, because your Vegasoid-monstrosity-card DID get through them both and here's proof:
And now it is HIGH time I started making dinner, 'cause there's gonna be a busy day of inaugural events taking place around midnight my time. GUESS WHO'S STAYING UP TIL 2 AM ON A WORK NIGHT I'll give you three chances and the first two don't count (.__.)a
Such as "vertiginous," 「ときどき」(tokidoki), and "recherche"
I played a word-game with my second-years today that's like a cross between hot potato and musical chairs, only English words are the potatoes and the music is from the original "Batman" TV series. The penalty for being the one caught out is they have to answer a conversational question in English. I have questions of varying levels, from "What is your name? What is your quest? What is your favorite color?" etc. to "Do you think there are aliens on other planets?" Can't wait to get to that one.
Also can't wait to get to Ise this weekend - LaLa Park, woooo! Just like all the other hojillion Aeon shopping complexes in J-pan, except I've actually bought stuff at this one and it's called "LaLa Park" XD
This is either another instance of "Japan is weird," or "goddamn I'm getting old already" - remember when you used to sometimes find Cracker Jacks or little plastic toys in the cereal box? Guess what I found in mine. Go on, guess.
ok i'll tell you, jeez
ok i'll tell you, jeezUnfortunately I have not watched it yet, as my laptop has just run out of DVD region changeovers, but I'll bet it's CRAZY AWESOME FUN TIMES WITH PENGUINS.
Speaking of crazy awesome animals, meet the newest addition to my menagerie (another good word, but I just can't love it like I love mélange):
Who's a sciatic little Tamandua? Yes you are! (somehow the seaming on his back made him curve a little to the right...I like to think it gives him character, though)I sent the pattern to Ku to be all digitechnofunkisized, thus why I am not able to share it at the mo', but fear not, soon all y'all crafts-inclined type persons can make your very own army of southern / lesser / vested anteaters.
Sorry for springing that on ya, Ku, but many thanks for the postcard. And yes, you can start building that joint USPS - JPS shrine now, because your Vegasoid-monstrosity-card DID get through them both and here's proof:
And now it is HIGH time I started making dinner, 'cause there's gonna be a busy day of inaugural events taking place around midnight my time. GUESS WHO'S STAYING UP TIL 2 AM ON A WORK NIGHT I'll give you three chances and the first two don't count (.__.)aDecember 25, 2008
ニッキーサンタ / Nikki Santa
It's already tomorrow in Japan, but I am on 100% Midwestern Uh-murr-ican time right now, and there are still about 50 minutes to go 'til Christmas day. Most of you probably already know I'm back in the States for the holidays, since the majority of people who read this blog are probably immediate family, or those whom I consider family by now.
Anywho, making a quick post, in the dark, waiting for my parents to zonk ou-- I mean, Santa to come to our house. So Happy Christmas, Merry Yule, Festive Saturnalia, and a belated happy birthday to Emperor Akihito, who turned 75 on Tuesday.
An early X-mas present from one of my first-year students. Drawn on the back of a half-finished listening exam :b
Anywho, making a quick post, in the dark, waiting for my parents to zonk ou-- I mean, Santa to come to our house. So Happy Christmas, Merry Yule, Festive Saturnalia, and a belated happy birthday to Emperor Akihito, who turned 75 on Tuesday.
An early X-mas present from one of my first-year students. Drawn on the back of a half-finished listening exam :b
October 12, 2008
ARTery
From the second class got out on Friday, this has been a wonderful weekend for arting :D
During the school festival, AJ and I visited the Ikebana club in the meeting room next to the teacher's office. Apparently my predecessor had gone to their after-school sessions last year, so the instructor had asked AJ to introduce me to her and see if I was interested. Of course, the instructor is an impeccably polite, darling old Japanese woman. And you just don't refuse impeccably polite, darling old Japanese women. It is plain and simply impossible.
Thus, on Friday afternoon around 3:30 I was up on the 4th floor in a cozy little traditional tatami room I had never known existed before that day, sticking flowers in decorative ceramic holders and hoping I was doing it right. The instructor dutifully praised my first efforts, and then added a few more cuttings & rearranged the others a bit to make it look up to standard. This is exactly the kind of reaction I had been expecting, so I took it to mean that I wasn't completely hopeless but could learn a lot from watching her fix my fumbles. But she also actually went out of her way to remark on my sense of balance to another teacher who came up to chat, and that I consider a bit unusal even taking into account the extra politeness afforded to me as a new class member and a foreigner. So here's the arrangement that got me started on the right foot (or right flower, as it were):
On Saturday, I took a train into Mie's capital, Tsu, to meet up with several other JETs for a Stitch'n'Bitch. We gathered in the Mr. Donuts store right next to the train station, scarfed down delicious pastries, sewed and knitted and crocheted, and talked some trash about whatever was bugging us at the mo'. That is, in a nutshell, one of many possible iterations of a Stitch'n'Bitch, and if you are at all inclined to either passtime, I suggest you see if there is a venue for crafty crafters & sharp-tongued wits in your area :3 I made some progress on an anteater stuffie pattern I'm trying to put together. Sorry, no photos yet; it's under wraps until I can get the whole thing assembled and draw up a proper pattern to share with the world.
After Stitch'n'Bitch was done, me and a couple of the JETs from Iga (birthplace of the ninja! Man, my prefecture rocks so hard) went further north to the town of Komono, where we dined at a family restaurant inexplicably called "Tom Sawyer" and went to bed early to rest up for the town's half-marathon.
No, I didn't run. But I DID paint the faces of just about every child in the area. The lovely lady JET who works as Komono's coordinator of international relations (CIR) was running a face-painting table for one of her favorite charities; we asked for a 100-yen donation from people in exchange for our artistic services. I had volunteered via e-mail to help out, because it sounded like tons of fun.
Once word got out amongst the girls that I did Disney characters, though, it became like an assembly-line of bright, smiling faces all begging to have Stitch painted onto their left cheeks. I was moving too fast to stop and take pictures myself (sorry, Jenni! I know you would have been so proud of me!), but I think maybe one of the other JETs working the table snapped a few photos during the lull in her commissions (I felt really guilty at times, like I was hogging all the adorable kids, I consoled myself with the fact that I got a metric ass-ton of moms to toss in their 100-yen coins for our charitable cause) Here's a group project I did for four girls who wanted matching flowers on their legs:
And the best part about this weekend is that it continues through tomorrow. Yay Health & Sports Day! . . . Ironically I will probably spend most of it in bed. But I feel entitled to that, really, after running around all weekend, and the weather has turned cool again so it's going to be great day to lay around & do nothing more physically taxing than putting a needle & thread through felt or pencil to paper.
During the school festival, AJ and I visited the Ikebana club in the meeting room next to the teacher's office. Apparently my predecessor had gone to their after-school sessions last year, so the instructor had asked AJ to introduce me to her and see if I was interested. Of course, the instructor is an impeccably polite, darling old Japanese woman. And you just don't refuse impeccably polite, darling old Japanese women. It is plain and simply impossible.
Thus, on Friday afternoon around 3:30 I was up on the 4th floor in a cozy little traditional tatami room I had never known existed before that day, sticking flowers in decorative ceramic holders and hoping I was doing it right. The instructor dutifully praised my first efforts, and then added a few more cuttings & rearranged the others a bit to make it look up to standard. This is exactly the kind of reaction I had been expecting, so I took it to mean that I wasn't completely hopeless but could learn a lot from watching her fix my fumbles. But she also actually went out of her way to remark on my sense of balance to another teacher who came up to chat, and that I consider a bit unusal even taking into account the extra politeness afforded to me as a new class member and a foreigner. So here's the arrangement that got me started on the right foot (or right flower, as it were):
On Saturday, I took a train into Mie's capital, Tsu, to meet up with several other JETs for a Stitch'n'Bitch. We gathered in the Mr. Donuts store right next to the train station, scarfed down delicious pastries, sewed and knitted and crocheted, and talked some trash about whatever was bugging us at the mo'. That is, in a nutshell, one of many possible iterations of a Stitch'n'Bitch, and if you are at all inclined to either passtime, I suggest you see if there is a venue for crafty crafters & sharp-tongued wits in your area :3 I made some progress on an anteater stuffie pattern I'm trying to put together. Sorry, no photos yet; it's under wraps until I can get the whole thing assembled and draw up a proper pattern to share with the world.After Stitch'n'Bitch was done, me and a couple of the JETs from Iga (birthplace of the ninja! Man, my prefecture rocks so hard) went further north to the town of Komono, where we dined at a family restaurant inexplicably called "Tom Sawyer" and went to bed early to rest up for the town's half-marathon.
No, I didn't run. But I DID paint the faces of just about every child in the area. The lovely lady JET who works as Komono's coordinator of international relations (CIR) was running a face-painting table for one of her favorite charities; we asked for a 100-yen donation from people in exchange for our artistic services. I had volunteered via e-mail to help out, because it sounded like tons of fun.
Once word got out amongst the girls that I did Disney characters, though, it became like an assembly-line of bright, smiling faces all begging to have Stitch painted onto their left cheeks. I was moving too fast to stop and take pictures myself (sorry, Jenni! I know you would have been so proud of me!), but I think maybe one of the other JETs working the table snapped a few photos during the lull in her commissions (I felt really guilty at times, like I was hogging all the adorable kids, I consoled myself with the fact that I got a metric ass-ton of moms to toss in their 100-yen coins for our charitable cause) Here's a group project I did for four girls who wanted matching flowers on their legs:
And the best part about this weekend is that it continues through tomorrow. Yay Health & Sports Day! . . . Ironically I will probably spend most of it in bed. But I feel entitled to that, really, after running around all weekend, and the weather has turned cool again so it's going to be great day to lay around & do nothing more physically taxing than putting a needle & thread through felt or pencil to paper.
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