Hope Floats




After 4 days of pontificating, tea and wine staining, drying, shading and creating...here's my final product.

hope.


I'm doing an art-poem collab with my well versed friend...here goes the first run...
Writing it down always makes things real... my scribbles to come...

Draft



HOPE

eyes open to the drops of first light
rain red on the window in the confusion of the morning
the past is too close and the future is far
living in the moments and in the spaces in between

snap back to now and think again about then...
the sweet limbo of waking sleep carries drifting thoughts aloft
i had it all, but nothing at all
too young to know that i didnt, too old because i did

lived life in the helplessness of perspective
waking life bares stark witness of the comfort of moments past
saw all sides and made them my own
idealized identity to soften and steel

given up, given in, living as a chameleon
consciousness grips, grasps and regains control
forgotten about the gift i'd been given
the power we all share to give meaning to reason

a thought, so fragile as to fear its own existence
movement unnoticed until it had taken hold
the undeniable truth now safe in heart and mind
free from fear of lives past, the real journey can now begin

the destination is not important, only the question
no matter how lost the body, mind and heart can always get me home
new knowledge sits close to the core
there is only one life and only one meaning

to admit life exists to dare and dream
to believe in the power of every moment
to live on in the beauty of ideas
to be a new hope.

high heel

My digital photography finals are coming along and I'm doing well with my concept of heels. I've named my triptych studies 'high heel'. It's getting very positive responses so far which I'm happy about....but going to explore some alternatives today before I make my final composition...but more importantly...I get to dust off some of my favorite high heels :)






tree bliss



9x12
PrismaColor Premier 10%-70% on Bristol
Black and Red ink

an inspiration from a friend...we go through the savages of life...like a tree through the seasons...losing our leaves in one season and blossoming after the storm passes...here's a tribute to the changing seasons and the welcoming of a new one....

slick




for part of my product advertising shoot, I decided to take a picture of an LV wallet in amarette from the vernis line. I used rocks and drops of water to mimic the smooth and reflective texture of the wallet. I kept the background in neutral colors (rocks, coral and wall) and put an emphasis on the jewel toned wallet.

On my mind...

I thought I'd mix it up tonight and start posting what I use to post back in the myspace blog days...

Art is a huge part of my life along with work but what can keep me talking for hours is the stuff of love, the spirit, and how love comes about at the deepest level.

Sure it starts with loving oneself and then that feeling spreads to everyone around you. But how do you get it? Do you find it under a rock somewhere? Do you luck up on it? Did your mom just pack it in your lunch on your way to school? Absolutely not. My friends always make fun of me because I'm expressive and deliberate about this fickle thing that's intangible. I truly feel everything I do comes from the foundation of love and the practice of sharing it with others...And it doesn't have to come with pain, suffering, greed or manipulation...it naturally comes from awareness...the process can be hard sometimes...but what process isn't when you're trying to achieve something amazing?

I've discovered and practice awareness in every situation (or at least try) with love and compassion, be it good or bad. And to break it down...this is basically what I noticed.

Whenever there is a problem:

There's a question trying to ask itself

Instead of fixing the problem with logic (which is important to a certain degree), I approach it by understanding what question is trying to be asked.

What intelligence is trying to happen?

What gift is trying to be given?

When you're interested and you stay awake, the answers come...and what you do becomes intentional instead of allowing life's noises, fears or perceptions get the best out of you.

What question do you have?

Portraits





Portraits are hard to capture, being on both the subject and photographers side. This week, we had to do outdoor portraits and I really like this one. The focus was on lighting (2 sources of light from the top left and bottom), textural interest from the background and the smoke, and the cropping of the composition...I stylized the shot so there would be direct light focused on his expression in the eyes...

Boxset art

I love collecting really pretty boxes = shiny, ornate, sophisticated...But I never knew how to justify keeping them without being a pack rat (seriously, who keeps all these boxes!). I use to stack them on top of floating shelves which were cool...but suddenly, tonight I had a quick and super simple way of showcasing a chic art installation using my candle, lotion and perfume boxes...compliments of clear thumb tacks :)...I love how the light hits certain panels of the boxes to make them reflect and sparkle....



My favorite Laura Mercier decadent pistacio body cream...Think of smooth, creamy, nutty smell of deliciousness...







peek-a-boo



some images from my favorite makeup brushes and japanese figurine. i just got a simple canon sxi to shoot and experiment with...let the fun begin...:)

more sketching


warmed up with my lines and sketched my favorite lavender aluminum cased hand cream from L'Occitane.

next week, more on perspective...ug

sketching fun today

I'm working with a mentor at work to grow my art skills. I love it and it's rigorous. This week we're practicing warming up with ellipses and drawing lines...then doing a sketch...here's a quick sketch..

pencils


Took some images of of my Prisma Color pencils this past weekend practicing depth of field. My professor submitted to our Spring Show so fingers crossed it gets selected :)

fleur



Practicing with ISO this week. I decided to check out the flowers in my backyard and take pictures when the sun was peaking from the sky...here's what I came up with (ISO 200)...but what I didn't come up with is the name for this flower?

Digital Photography



Been doing a lot of photography the past few weeks for my class and I'm really enjoying it. I'm hoping to dedicate more time now that I just got a new camera (Luminx DMC-ZR1)I figure I should get a DSLR at some point but I want to focus on composition and just getting use to taking good pictures with attention to light, shape, reflection....etc...Here are a few images I've taken so far.



Watching

simple, gamine, glee

gamine glee


people comment on my style and I'm starting to find it interesting that my philosophy of wearing simple, effortless and sometimes unique pieces can do the trick. i think we have so much potential to express our sense of fashion by wearing things that embody our character be it the cutest sweater dress to a favorite patent italian leather bag. This is the beginning of dreaming, of being creative..or using what you have to enhance your naturally beauty...it's feeling feminine, curious or glamorous. Audrey Tatou always had that sense of allure...

fashion among other things start by simply opening your eyes to dream.

ps thanks T for telling me never to wear make-up