Should I Continue to Blog or Not?

I've been wondering if I should keep this blog up.  Now with all these other social media platforms, it feels a little redundant.  But, I also like it as a slice of my brain from time to time.  So here's at least one more entry.

The election.  I don't really want to talk about it, but to say that it has given me a renewed energy that is surprising.  An energy to create and express and share.  An energy to not procrastinate but to move and activate, engage with others and put my own doubts and despair aside.  I wonder how long this will last...

Here are a few photos of things I have been working on.   As usual, there are cards being made.

In September, I participated again in the Luna Park Chalk Festival.  This year's theme was inspired by our residency at Lotus Preschool.  I loved working with those kids, ages 3-5.  They are so open and lovely.  And funny!

I painted this the day after the election.  "Peace and Love Fish."  Swimming upstream together, against the tide.  I wanted to wash away the connotations of blue and red.  I love blue and red.

And the painting urge continued to make this Taiko Garden.  The night after the election, I had to go to the studio to play taiko.  I imagined how the founders of San Jose Taiko felt when they started the group, to do something.  To make something beautiful to express all these feelings.

We have to get to know each other better in order for things to happen, but you can't get to know me if I stay quiet.

Late Bloomers

I went to go and see the artichokes on 7th Street today.  If you don't know, I'm kind of obsessed with them.  (Previous blogposts here.)

I was surprised to find some blooms amongst dried up flowers on one of the plants, because I think they normally bloom in the summer.  Hello late bloomers!

I very much relate to late bloomers.

Wikipedia says, A late bloomer is a person whose talents or capabilities are not visible to others until later than usual.

And may I add, not just to others, but to the self?

I remember learning in my art class that the painter Henri Rousseau was a late bloomer - he didn't start painting until he was in his 40s.  Interesting that I held onto that tidbit of info...  Looking him up now, I found this painting of a bunny!  Rousseau claimed he had "no teacher other than nature."

Here is the classic, "The Dream."  I wonder if he liked artichokes...

What have I been doing the last 6 months?

A lot of things, mostly taiko-related of course.  And watching my little cactus plant sprout flowers, always reaching towards the sun.

It seems done flowering for now, but I'm still watching it. 

Ketubah

A very close friend got married over the summer and asked me to make a ketubah for her and her wife's wedding.  This was something new to me and I had to do some investigation on what a ketubah was, what it typically looks like and then, how I could add my own artistic voice to this project.

The ketubah is a significant popular form of Jewish ceremonial art.   Ketubot are often hung prominently in the home by the married couple as a daily reminder of their vows and responsibilities to each other.  They have been made in a wide range of designs, usually following the tastes and styles of the era and region in which they are made. Many couples follow the Jewish tradition of hiddur mitzvah which calls for ceremonial objects such as the ketubah to be made as beautiful as possible.  You can read more about them here. 

I had some themes to work from - and started with oak trees.  I do spend a lot of time looking at trees in general.  If you know my drawings, I am always compelled to draw branches and growing, sprouting types of organic shapes.  So this excited me.  I always enjoy the investigative part of an art project - looking closely at something I know nothing about or have never looked at before.  I walked around my neighborhood in search of oak trees.  (And discovered, they don't really grow in downtown San Jose, but found some oak leaves to at least take with me.)

I got down to drawing.  And decided to try a new medium, coloured brush pens.

It started out ok, and I was happy until I got here. 

Looking at how cold and hard/spiky the trees looked, I tried to add some colour, experimenting with the properties of the brush pens.

But in the end, I gave up on this one.  Maybe I can use it for something else - like a children's book.

I started over, with my ink pens that I am used to.  And this time, I really drew more by feel than the last time.  Letting my hands draw the way they want to, they drew this.

It's such an overused phrase, but it came back to me - "Be yourself."

I added some washi paper, swirls and whimsy.

This is my first ketubah, inspired by my friends' love for each other.   The wedding reception was held under a huge beautiful oak tree. 

(Words intentionally blurred out.)

(Words intentionally blurred out.)

Happiness sometimes comes in the little things

A few years ago, I posted this drawing after a trip to Maui.  I was fascinated by taro leaves. 

 

An Idaho artist found my drawing online and asked if he could use it for some bags he was making for a farm on the Big Island of Hawaii.  

This is they type of art-making I enjoy!  It keeps going around and around...