Thursday, December 29, 2011

happy 2012!!!

SOOOOOO.... i might as well make one more post before the new year arrives.... lol! this time just keeps flying by me! i need to stop and slow down before i realize i am wrinkly and old. haha!

had a wonderful christmas with the fam and eric.  he came up.  and believe it or not... mother nature held out on the snow until that following tuesday. bitches.... well i'm glad she held out until eric came and left... but i really wanted the snow only on christmas day.... we did not have a white christmas. sadness. :( oh well.

eric and i are joining his buddies in nashville, TN to ring in the new year. this will be the second time i won't be home for the new year.  well here are some pics of my christmas cards that i made for a WHOLE lot of people.

above: the very first christmas card i made. it's kind of bland. boring. whatever. lol!

above: the second card i made. 

above: one of my favorites. i have to admit, i make pretty cute bows :)

above: one of mommy's favorite.


Well, that's it for now. I have more cards to come.  i made a total of 30 or so. so no worries. plus i need to have something to post about. lol! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY! <3 Have a safe and fun 2012!!!!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

what?! 11 days until christmas?!

WOW! just a week and a half until christmas! wtf?! where does this time go!?

I've been a busy busy busy bee! let's see:

November 20th: eric & i celebrated our 4 years of being together :) he came to visit me up in cleveland and we visited the grandparents at the cemetery & then went to the infamous Melt Bar & Grill.

Just a few days after, I went to Cincinnati to visit him for Thanksgiving weekend.  We ate at his Aunt Karen's house (we do every year) & then had a nice time relaxing at home on Black Friday.  It was super nice to just be able to relax.  We then headed back north to Toledo for his mom's side of the family's Thanksgiving/Christmas/Reunion.  Then I was off that following Monday & Tuesday.

Next thing I know... BAM! I turned 26! boo..... another year older. so that must mean i'm getting wiser right? juuuuuuuust kidding.  i'm still a kid at heart. :)

work has been pretty hectic and crazy.  *ps- i gave up on the capital letters* this week is finals week.  which means lots of students selling their books back for cash.

and next thing i  know... next weekend is christmas! and then the next thing i'll know... new years! jeez!

well anyways. that was my mini update... now, when i say i was a busy bee, i really was.  a christmas-card-making bee! :) i made so many! and there's still more to be made!


Above (left):  my very first christmas card. it's so blah. but it was my first one so i guess you'll have that.
Above (right):  the second card i made.  a little better. but not quite there yet.




One of my good friends, April, is engaged! And she's getting married over christmas break.  Her sister had come in contact with me via Facebook and wanted me to send a card to congratulate the couple.  She had a project in mind where she'll have a lot of people, who April cares a lot about, have them send cards and give taht to her as a gift. or something.  Well, i told her, since i've been into card making, i'll make mine.  and here is what i got.


I guess, since i've been making a ton, i need to find a better way to photograph my works.  but where?

ta ta for now.  my eyes are getting oh so sleepy!

more to come when i'm not going crazy.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

sauerkraut.....

so... i went and visited jenn, kim, and mackenzie last night (saturday).  well, upon arrival, jenn was smoking outside in their nook between the house and the garage.  so i stood out their for a while, till she was done. i had set my stuff down upon, what i thought to be a stand covered with a towel.  kim's mom came out and said hi but then immediately gasped.  she asked if i put my purse on top of "that" (pointing to the said stand) i said yes?! i looked down and it had sunkin in... it WASN'T a table covered with towel.... instead.... it was a TUB FULL OF HOMEMADE SAUERKRAUT!!!!!! well.... i wouldn't worry since my wallet isn't too absorbant and i just have my store keys and paper stuff inside.... but no... not only did i have that stuff in there... i had my phone in there as well... a place i rarely put my phone.  i normally put my phone in my pocket.... and of course the night i don't put my phone in my pocket, i put it in my purse.  soooo..... moral of the story... if you're going to put your purse on top of something... make sure to check if it's really a table, counter, or any other hard surface that won't make your purse smell like sauerkraut and ruin your phone.  and then this morning, my mother was trying to figure out what to make for dinner... as she was flipping through the recipe file, she states, "why don't i make golomki?"  for those of you who don't know... golomki's main ingredient is cabbage and sauerkraut.... she's so hilarious i tell ya.  anywho.... that is my crazy story.

NOW for some pictures.


Above (left):  graphite on paper.  i drew this off of a photo that was taken of my friend.  
Above (center):  permanent ink on paper.  i drew this for a gay friend of mine who was infatuated with lady gaga and this japanese characters called toki doki.  he wanted to somehow turn this piece into a tattoo.
Above (right):  permanent ink on paper.  because i started the one in the center, i created another.  except this isn't for anybody in particular. i drew this for myself.  :) 




above (left):  graphite on paper.  i drew this for an employee of mine.  her girlfriend is an aspiring musician.  she's been playing at local bars for quite some time and well, my employee decided to help her on her way.  so she wanted to surprise her g/f with hard copies of her cd.  she's a fan of whiskey and smokes a lot.  and here you have it... the drawing. 
above (right):  here's the actual cd draft.











above (left):  the birthday card i made for rachael, my coworker.  any time we hang out it always involves fun and food. and i saw this sticker and immediately thought of her.  
above (right):  the card's envelope i made her.

ps- emily... i have trouble with the formatting.  every time i want to add a picture, it goes down in a single file line.  i like how yours is set up where it's going across... but i'm having trouble, in that it sometimes doesn't want to move. (if this made any sense, let me know) :)

Thursday, November 10, 2011

sick...

So, i'm kind of sick.... have had a soar throat all week and coughing.  meh.....

i'm going to make this short so here's some artwork :)


Above (left):  Drawing paper on wooden panels.  This was a collaborative piece.
Above (center):  Ink on paper.  I was flying out to SF a couple years ago and was obviously bored on the plane.  
Above (right):  graphite on paper.  i was bored one night and drew a picture of my brother's dice.


Above (left):  Colored pencil on graphite.  aunt stella works for a shelter and her organization was holding their annual event and was in search for an artist.  i was picked.  it was a lot harder than expected since we had to do everything via email & phone. but we did it :)
Above (center):  i drew this for my roommate karrie.  we were inseparable in college.  i knew her from day one of our college days.  i first met her at our minority of affairs meeting & knew that we were going see each other quite often.  i considered her to be one of my best friends.  one day, shortly after the new year in 2005, i believe, she received a terrifying call from her younger brother.  we were about to head out for the night, but did not see this coming.  it was one of the saddest things i have witnessed.  her mom and suddenly and unexpectedly stopped breathing and was not able to be resuscitated.  her mom & brother were her only family.  her dad was not in the picture, at least not favorably.  i will never forget that night.  i called my mom that night and told her what happened and told her i loved her.  this picture was a gift for karrie in tribute to her mom.  in the past few years, i have lost touch with karrie.  certain circumstances just didn't allow us to be the same as we were.  but i will always be there for her no matter what.  despite our paths going in different directions, they will some day meet back again.  may not be now, not tomorrow, now next year... but some day.  i'll always value our friendship and she'll always be my party partner.
Above (right):  permanent ink on paper.  something i created when i first moved back with my parents.  i took being away from eric pretty hard.  to go from seeing him almost everyday and being able to see him whenever i wanted to limited weekends a month.  i drew this and sent it to him. he loved it.  


 Above:  graphite on paper.  i created this piece for a friend of mine, whom i met at the bookstore when i was in college.  we worked together.  she was, then 17, a unique person.  not to mention, young.  she had many aspirations for her life.  after i moved back, she had moved to chicago to pursue a degree in comparative human development.  she seems to be doing extremely well and making a name for herself in the communities of LGBT & others.  she asked me to design a tattoo for her and both her and i worked together to create an idea.  she mainly told me how she wanted it to look (guidelines) and i put it on paper.  this piece can be found on her right lower leg (calf area). 

hope you enjoyed it.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

what a day!!!

Well, it's technically 12:33 AM Sunday.  But... i'm still running on Saturday :)

it was mackenzie's 1st birthday party! i can't believe she's a year old already!!!! this year has flown by soooooooooooooooo fast!!!!!! anyway... the party was a great time! she didn't smash her cake like any normal one year old would... it was quite hilarious!!!

also... i'd like to also add:

MY BUCKEYES PULLED A REALLY GREAT WIN!!!!! beat #15 wisconsin with a clutch hail mary play! it was a little bit of a nail biter but it was great!!!!!! =D

anyway... i hadn't posted in a while.  i still feel like i've been moving at high speeds and haven't gotten time to myself... well not much time.

here's some art to view and enjoy :)

 


Above (left):  Oil on canvas.  Self-portrait in monochromatic.
Above (center):  Oil on canvas.  By far my most favorite painting.  The pair of legs on the left was my friend brittany's and the pair of legs on the right are mine.  we were sitting in class critiquing and i snapped a photo.  Then thought this could be a really great painting. :)
Above (right):  oil on canvas.  a painting of ben's car stereo.

Above (left):  oil on canvas.  self-portrait attempt at impressionism.  not really but it's some sort of impressionistic painting.
Above (center):  oil on canvas.  self-portrait ummm abstract? lol!
Above (right):  permanent marker, graphite, & acrylic on paper & matte.  our assignment was to layer.  so here ya go :)
 

Above:  oil on canvas.  Still life.


GO BUCKEYES!!!!!! <3 <3 <3

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Back in Ohio... SF overview

WARNING: this blog is very long and may contain pictures that may not do the trip justice.  carry on at your own risk.

we are back from san fran... i had a GREAT time! i want to go back.  :(  i am not ready to go back to work.

we did so much while we were there! here's what we did (for a 5mp camera phone, my photos turned out quite well):

Saturday (day of arrival):  we ate dim sum (eric's favorite), walked around chinatown & wandered into downtown.  visited Westfield mall and let's just say, it's MORE intriguing than the one in strongsville.  then went to kirin (spelling?) chinese restaurant for dinner.  eric enjoyed the fried smelt there. even though we've been together for almost 4 years,  it still surprises me about what he likes as far as authentic chinese cuisine.  he loves fish, but i never would have guessed the smelt.  :)  glad he enjoyed it.  well, since we only had 2 hours of sleep the night before, we turned in for the night early so we can rest up for the next day's activities.
 
above (left):  standing directly in the middle of the floor where the spiraling escalators were.  love this photo :)
above (center): the dome at the mall
above (right):  a drawing i did on the plane.  i drew it from the American Way magazine cover. had to throw an artwork in this blog to make it complete! :)    



Sunday:  we started our day with the golden gate bridge.  that week was fleet week, so over the course of the day the blue angels and some other aircrafts put on a show over the golden gate bridge and bay area.  they're so fun to watch.  i don't know the last time i saw an airshow (probably when i was no older than 13 for the labor day or memorial day holidays).  it brought the inner child back out again. :)  after taking a numerous amounts of pictures we then headed to the ferry building, where we met with jun yee.  for those who don't know, the ferry building marketplace is located at the embarcadero.  we visited the food shops and cafes.  i enjoyed it a lot! you know me, i LOVE food!!! :) we got lunch from Boccalone Salumaria: salted pig parts.  eric and i shared the italian sausage sandwich and then we also grabbed an empanada from a stand i don't remember the name of.  the food was SO gooooooood!!!!!! oh my goodness, if i did live there, i might end up fat. after the ferry building, we walked back towards downtown and eric and i rode the cable car back up to chinatown.  it was our first time.  while waiting, across the street were a huge group of protesters... and well, i saw my very first naked protester.  ew gross....... as soon as we got to chinatown, eric and i proceeded to buy more souvenirs for people.  so many cute things!  for dinner, eric and i went to oyaji, a sushi restaurant.  ben and i went to this restaurant a couple years ago and LOVED it.  our service was kind of terrible, but the food was still great! :) it was still a good ending to our day.
Above (left):  view from the first post.
Above (center):  view from the cables holding the bridge.
Above (right):  view from the walk to the first post.
Above (left):  the ferry building marketplace entrance.
Above (center):  the cable car ride up to chinatown.
Above (right):  picture of Oyaji's menu.

Monday:  it was a very rainy day, and we were originally going to go visit my grandparents.  but because of the weather, we needed to switch activities around.  So, since the Academy of Sciences was an indoor activity, we went to that instead of wednesday.  we had a lot of fun.  we took so many picture of the aquarium section (as usual for me). :)  after the academy, we went and walked around ling yee's neighborhood.  we visited the used bookstore that she loves and then we tried this one crepe place that she loves.  i got the banana, caramel, and custard crepe.  it was SO good!!!!! perfect for dessert. except we had it  before our dinner. lol!!! then we also visited a tea shop to get tea for my grandparents.  only to later find out that they don't drink tea!  oh well.  for dinner that night, we stayed home and ordered thai take out and watched "howl's moving castle".  they had the best duck fried rice i have ever tasted.  also, my aunt made "rice crunchy" which i have NOT had in SO long!!!! it was soooooo good!
Above (left):  a couple of sea dragons.  they were beautiful creatures, i want one!
Above (center):  some sea anemones.  i love the colors in this photo :)
Above (right):  eric and i waiting for our ride outside of the academy :)

Tuesday:  we toured alactraz.  ling yee has lived in SF for a long time and has never been to it.  so we had her take us there.  it was great! we took SO many photos!  it would have been cool to tour it at night.  this took most of our day.  after the tour, we went and got lunch at pier 39 and fisherman's wharf area.  we ate at Boudin Bakery Cafe.  I had the turkey avocado 1/2 sandwich and a bowl of clam chowder soup.  it was delicious!! :)  mmmmm so good! to top that off, we grabbed a macademia nut ice cream waffle cone.  that was SO good as well! we then took eric to see the sea lions.  it reminded my aunt of the time when ben was about 2 years old and how he mimicked them.  we laughed :) we headed back to the apartment to relax.  then eric and i had dinner plans around 7:30.  we had dinner at bushi tei.  a japanese-french fusion restaurant.  we don't get to go to a nice restaurant very often, so we took the opportunity to do so in SF. :) it had pretty good reviews , 4 out of 5 stars.  and we enjoyed dinner very much!  loved it!  

Above (left):  the "entrance" to the island.
Above (center):  the staircase by the penitentiary social hall.  love it.
Above (right):  the morgue.  so eerie it's awesome.
Above (left):  the entrance to the prison.
Above (right):  near the end of the tour.
Above (left):  the sealions at , they're so cute!
Above (right):  dinner at bushi-tei.

Wednesday:  our last full day in the beautiful city.  it was a gorgeous day out! so we took pictures at Legion of Honors.  that place is beautiful.  eric's an architecture major and he wanted to really go.  then we toured the castro area.  yes i took eric to the gay district.  i love that place.  i bought a few things for myself and other people.  then we headed to my grandparents apartment.  i was so nervous.  i don't know why.  i just was.  when we got there, i  never realized how bad my chinese was... i struggled.  but all in all, the visit was good.  eric got a drawing from my grandfather.  my grandfather received an honorary degree for chinese calligraphy. he teaches both in a class room and one on one.  he's a really talented man.  he can speak: cantonese, mandarin, french, vietnamese, a little japanese, english, and possibly one other language that i can't remember.  he's 89 years old, soon to be 90, and aside from a recent cataract surgery and slightly losing his hearing, he's still got a sharp mind, almost perfect health, and still moves very well.  plus, you can't tell he looks almost 90.  i don't have a picture, but believe me, he dosen't look as old as he does.  :)  and then you have my grandmother who only has high blood pressure, is 85 and doesn't have any other major health problems and also teaches dancing at the senior community center.  they are truly talented people.  now you know where we get our artistic side from.  not to mention, the more i talk to my grandfather in person, the more and more my dad looks like him (just a younger version of my grandfather).  after the visit, we headed back to chinatown for dinner.  we went to R&G Lounge.  and treated ling yee to dinner.  we were very sad that jun yee couldn't make it, but we brought back leftovers for her.  we then visited jun yee at her apartment to say goodbye.  

So this pretty much concludes our first trip together.  we both love san francisco and thank both aunties for everything they have done for us.  they helped make this trip memorable and we couldn't thank them enough.

we will try to make this an annual trip.  if not to san francisco, then to the other west coast cities.  let's see what airfare is like next year :)







Friday, October 7, 2011

quick post!

So i should really be cleaning and packing... but i feel the need to make a quick post... ahhhh! i'm so excited!

anyway.... here's some more shtuff :)

Above:  wood sculpture.  So... here's a picture of that process i had to go through for that body extension project.  i used almost every c-clamp and spring clamp i could get my hands on... and then i had to wait till the glue dried enough, so that when i put the next layer on, the pieces won't shift.  fuuuuun.....

above:  morning of critique and i was not done.....

above:  plaster and wood sculpture.  
So this was our final project of the class. and my final sculpture of my college career.  even though it was my idea to create a piece resembling both an egg and a woman's pregnant belly.  i didn't think it was that great of a concept/piece.   well, i was wrong.  the lady in the green (who is standing on the steps) is a coordinator of the art program.  she came out and had the highest compliment i have ever had from a teacher.  
my piece was the last to be critiqued and before we even started, she voiced her opinion.  she absolutely adored this one and started to describe how she felt about it.  
before she found out that it was me who created it, she said this person should definitely consider sculpture as their focus, this person has a real talent for sculpture.  well too bad i wasn't an art major.  haha! 
still, to this day, that was one of the best compliments i have ever gotten in my life.  i was absolutely saddened when i couldn't take this piece home, for it weighed more than 2 of me.  so i ended up trashing it.  all that hard work and all those all-nighters i had to do, into the dumpster.     





yup... that's me.  doesn't that tell you, how heavy that thing would have been if it was able to support me....???

anyway.... i won't be posting any blogs till i come back... so ta ta for now! :)