Final Day

{ May 2, 2009 @ 8:07 am } · { Artist Books }
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Is it just me or did it seem like this semester went by REALLY fast?  Personally, I’m still trying to get over how fantastic the book turned out!  It’s better than I expected it to be.  It just makes me so happy to see the book here, in my hands and not just on the computer screen anymore.  Furthermore, I’m amazed at the fantastic quality the images and book itself turned out to be.  Everything about the book makes me happy:  the pictures, the writing, the cover.  I was just so overjoyed when I saw the package outside and greedily grabbed it up and rushed back in the house, giggling like an idiot!

I had a fantastic time in the class, it was so much fun.  The project was fantastic, the people were friendly, and I even made a new friend.  This was one of the best experiences of my life!

Museum of Making Music

{ April 28, 2009 @ 4:34 pm } · { Artist Books }
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On March 31, I attended the Carlsbad Museum of Making Music. I had never been to this gallery before, but I greatly enjoyed it and hope to return soon. This was a new experience for me all together; it was so interactive and informative about musical instruments throughout history and how evolved through time.

I just happened to have gone to the museum during the last day of the slide guitar exhibition. There was a wide assortment of slide guitars starting as far back as ancient Japan with the Ichigenkin, a one-stringed zither of unknown origin, up the more modern Hawaiian steel guitar. 
Aside from the featured slide guitar exhibition, there were many other instruments and sound samples to listen to, starting as far back as the late 1800s all the way up to the present. There were a variety of real antique instruments, such as the player piano and the phonograph. One very interesting instrument I came across during my self-guided tour of the facility was the Theremin, first created in 1918. I had never seen nor heard of this strange-looking musical device before that day. This was extremely fascinating to me, that this odd little box and metal bars could control radio oscillator frequencies with the use of the player’s hands over the bars in various positions to create electric signals, synthesizing musical notes.


I must say I was skeptical at first about going into a music museum, but this was probably one of the most fun exhibits I have ever attended.

MiraCosta Jazz Festival

{ April 28, 2009 @ 4:30 pm } · { Artist Books }
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On March 27, I attended the MiraCosta College 3rd Annual Oceanside Jazz Festival. The performing artists included Frequency and the main attraction of the event, M-Pact. Both groups were very unique and had fun, catchy tunes. However, M-Pact, and their human percussion/beat-boxer, Jeff Smith, stole the show with their pop-jazz vocals.
I never thought I was a fan of jazz, but M-Pact changed that entirely. I won’t bother getting into Frequency since they were shortly lived for the beginning half of the show. One thing I thought was most impressive about them was that they had no instrumental backup or additional vocals aside from their own. Both Jeff and Trist Curless provided the intense backbeats to lay down the foundation for the entire group. Lead singer Britt Quentin supplied the main pop vocals for ensemble. M-Pact performed a lot of popular songs by famous artists including Stevie Wonder, Motown, and various musical hits. Some of the songs included “Have A Talk With God”, “Baby I Need Your Loving”, “My Favorite Things”, and many others. They concluded their performance with a medley of various musicals and popular television show themes, such as “Cheers”, “The Jettsons”, and, possibly one of The Beatles greatest hits, “Come Together”.
I rather liked this show very much. It was rather relaxing just to go out and listen to some live music for about an hour and a half. I even bought one of their CDs afterwards, so now I can enjoy their music whenever I want to!

Getting the book!!

{ April 24, 2009 @ 8:22 pm } · { Artist Books }
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“Transformation” has been ordered and it should be sent off either later today or tomorrow.  I am looking forward to this book very much.  It was very time-consuming, but so much fun.  I had a wonderful time creating the images, manipulating my own photographs, and turning this into a very special keepsake that I can share with friends and family.  This was a very fun project to create and I am most pleased that I got so much freedom to let my creativity just take over.  (Although, I must admit, my creativity held me back a little on one picture I never got to use, or finish to say the least)  Aside from that, the whole experience has been so much fun and quite pleasant.

I’ve been exposed to new image ideas, tutorials, and so much more!  AND, to top it off, I think I’m finally getting the hang of the Pen Tool!  (but I have to make sure I use my tablet otherwise I just might kill myself!!!!!  …….  Just kidding!  I promise I won’t do that.)

There has been so much going on this semester but, somehow, I managed to get some more personal art done, which I even incorporated into my book.  So, for now, I am heading off to bed and I look forward to getting my books when they get here!

Just a few more!

{ April 20, 2009 @ 3:50 pm } · { Artist Books }
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Well, I’ve got maybe two or three more pictures left!!  I am so pleased to finally be almost done with this book.  I have put my blood, sweat, and tears into finishing this book, and I am VERY pleased with it, if I may be so bold as to admit it.  At times, I fell in love with this book, but at other times, I have hated it with all my being!  It was so much fun, yet so much work to put everything together.  My problem is that I always have SO MANY ideas running through my head, but than I usually put too much emphasis on one certain image that I tend to forget about the others and stop myself and trash that one image.  But afterwards, I feel bad; I put so much into making that one picture, that I feel bad about just leaving it to just take up memory on my computer.  *sigh*  Oh well…

But, yes!  I AM almost done!  So, I will give you all a teaser tomorrow with a few more of my pages that I made.  I am very pleased with one I just finished…  It’s supposed to be of myself in a kimono, dressed up as Sae, a ghost from the popular Japanese game series, Fatal Frame, brought to you all by Project Zero.  The image is a simple stark black and white picture of Sae amongst a pile of dead bodies, but I superimposed myself over Sae’s image and spotched some red over my kimono, like really, REALLY fake cartoon-ish blood  (think Sin City colors).

So, to finish off, I am just so pleased with the way the book is turning out.  It’s fun and interesting!  I’m not only writing about my images, but some are narratives that go with the images, just to enhance them more with a short story to go along with them.

1000 Journals (final video entry)

{ April 14, 2009 @ 6:57 pm } · { Artist Books }
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I came, I saw, I saw the guy get the journals back….  The end.

 

What else is there to write about?  Aside from the super-short ending, I must say I that this was a very interesting, dare I say, documentary (?)  of following the “lives” of these journals, how they got passed around, what was added, who else got them, etc.

Well, I’m feeling pretty bad right now, my ear is bothering me, and I’m coughing so much my throat hurts, so I’ll finish up my pictures and be off for now.

Sick but still at it!

{ April 13, 2009 @ 1:27 pm } · { Artist Books }
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I recently caught a nasty cold on Thursday and was stuck in bed for the good part of three days.  I’ve been coughing my lungs up and spitting out mucus for the last two days, but apparently Mucinex is a miracle.  I haven’t been coughing up anymore gunk, but now I just have an annoying little cough.  At least I managed to work on another image for a while, that made me feel a lot better.  I had been having a lot of trouble with the angel statue, but after I retook the picture in a different angle, it seemed to go a lot smoother.  I was so much happier with the pose, the picture, and now I just have to add a few more finishing touches and then it’s complete.  I’m going to have to work hard one the last few images (one  a day) and then my book will be complete!  I am so excited about this.  It’s really going to be a very fun book that I can share with my parents and friends.  I am quite proud of how it’s turning out so far; all the images seem to have surpassed my expectations.  I am greatly looking forward to finishing up this book and having it in my home in a few weeks.

So for now, take care, and I need to go hack up my lungs (for the 100th time this afternoon!) and get to class in about an hour.

Slowly but surely…

{ April 8, 2009 @ 7:27 pm } · { Artist Books }
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I am progressing along with my artist book.  I still have several pictures to take tonight then I’ll begin manipulating them tomorrow morning.  One idea is of re-creating the famous Weeping Angel statue/tombstone in Glenwood, Texas.  I have often admired the sorrowful beauty of this image on the cover of the Nightwish album ‘Once’.  It’s so captivating and sad; simply gorgeous.  I have also admired the works of musical artist Nox Arcana.  Their albums covers are simply gorgeous.  And one of them, “Grimm Tales”, actually inspired me for another of my images I’m working on.  Aside from my love of angels, I love wings!  I think they are a very fascinating creation, that they are capable of lifting from the smallest hummingbird to the great and majestic golden eagle into the sky.

Anyhoo, I will finish up one picture I’m working on now and maybe post it up tomorrow after I get more pictures taken.  Until then, take care!

Special Post! (Artist features)

{ April 5, 2009 @ 6:00 pm } · { Artist Books }
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I know I promised pictures, but I will have them up on Wednesday.  I promise!  (seriously)

But for now, I would like to share with you all three of my favorite and most influential artists that have inspired my works.  First up:

Camille Rose Garcia – I first saw a book of hers when I was on a fieldtrip to the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park.  It wasn’t until recently when I  was shelving some books in my library when I saw that same book!  So, as the little nutcase that I am (I mean that in a good way), I grabbed up that book before anyone else could and checked it out.  I simply love all her pieces.  They’re so cute and creepy at the same time.  Her main influences are Walt Disney and Philip K. Dick (author of A Scanner Darkly, Minoroty Report, Blade Runner, etc.).

Erlend Mørk - I love his dark imagery, since it makes me think of H.R. Giger’s Alien and other imagery.  And I absolutely LOVE Giger’s works Mørk’s art reminds me a lot of his own.  It’s very dark and surreal.  (I’ve been in love with surreal imagery ever since I was first exposed to it during Anna O’Cain’s class during an art presentation I did for Leonora Carrington’s art)  Mørk uses a lot of textures and, I’m guessing, layers for his images.  


Now, brace yourself for this incredible, fantastic, super awesome, wonderful, and GORGEOUS artist up next!  The one, the only:  SPOOKY-CHAN  (aka Chandra)

Chandra Free - I don’t really remember how I found her art, but I must have been when I was watching The Venture Brothers one night and they were doing a promo of her fanart of that show and when I saw it, I immediately fell in love.  I especially am in love with her comic, “The God Machine”.  Sadly, she’s had some difficulties with the publisher, Archaia Studio Press, but hopefully her comic will be out sometime this July.  So when that month hits, I’ll be calling up comic books stores left and right!  I’ve followed her comic for a long time and I even got a signed print from her at Comic-Con last year.  I actually hope to go back to CC this year, get a bunch of free goodies and maybe actually buy something this time, since I’ve got the money piling up in my checking account!

So first up, I am sharing three of my absolute favorite pieces from both artists, so enjoy!

 

 

 

 

(haha!  The last image makes me laugh)

 

 

Photo shoot tomorrow!

{ April 4, 2009 @ 5:23 pm } · { Artist Books }
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Well, finally, me and mom are going to do another photo shoot for my self-transformation book.  Man, it’s sad.  I haven’t even come up with a title for the book yet.  I’m excited about finishing up my book and getting the pictures tomorrow and start work on them again.  I will be back soon when I get the pictures and post some up ASAP!  I’m going to bed for now, so I’ll see you all on Tuesday, or earlier if I have something done that day.

Take care!

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