My Art Rantings

bits and pieces

2008-05-09T05:27:00.000-07:00

Going through some photos and there is this piece I wanted to post some time ago. Forgot about it. LOL

It's Monica and I being silly

Doll-like - A Senior Thesis April 2008

2008-05-01T19:53:00.001-07:00

So my show has come and gone. It was a great evening, especially the opening. Too much running around and meeting everyone and their awesome family that I even forgot to take any pictures for the night. Anyway, took some photos of my show before taking it down. The gray wall was chosen by Cassie and I. It just look very nice and warm.

Anna and I

Ji Young and I pulling at Patti's strings

Giving myself the disapproving finger.

Katie doing the ho-down next to her own portrait.

Save me from the evil clutches.

With Megalicious.

Reenact.

And here are the ink paintings in a better light. They are subtle and gray.

Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

Pull Strongly

Megalicious

Ghetto Forrest

Pulling Veltri

Fly Me to the Moon

Golden Arches

Malaysian Reject

Posing Pulley

Left to right: Gerry Nichols, Malaysian Reject, David Kettner and JiYoung Byon

Under pressure

2008-04-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, not that I have disappeared or anything, it's just that for the past few months, I have been really busy, under pressure and partying like crazy cause, well, I am cracking under the pressure of graduation and teachers who kept ripping me apart. Okay, this is my blog, I guess I don't have to censor myself, so I can be uninhibited, so let me rephrase, The teachers are ripping me a new asshole.

I have been questioned so much, I have lost my focus, lost my direction, and am wondering if I understand what I am doing at all, so I have stopped doing any work, Yup, stopped in my track, lost my momentum, can't even manage a flutter, let alone fly. I am reaching rock bottom, downward spiral, the end of the world for me, goodbye, sayonara, zai jien, sorry, bu zai jien...phew...what a mouthful, gotta catch my breath here...

Well anyway, picked myself off the sorry ground again, 3 more weeks till my show, gotta do it right and get things working.

All I have been doing for my thesis show end of this month, I am not posting them up here yet. Instead, I am posting this doodle that I did today, cause I bought inks, lots of inks!! of something utterly irrelevant to my thesis. Back to what I love best, painting fantasy :)

Enjoy...

More doll paintings

2007-12-06T09:16:00.001-08:00

My last two paintings for this semester.

Through the looking glass
38 X 70 inches
Oil on canvas

Legs
68 X 34 inches
Oil on canvas

5 Random weird things about me

2007-11-23T03:07:00.000-08:00

Hoo-kay, I have been tagged by both Jac http://jac-jac-jac.blogspot.com/ and Lynn http://brikbrac.blogspot.com/ to do this random list of quirks about me.

The rules are as follow:-

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names & links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here comes the list. Hmmmm...

1) My windows are always wide open in winter and I only close them when the snow starts getting in. ^_^ I love the cold too much. I eat ice-cream when it is cold out. Especially when it snows. Whenever I buy ice-cream during winter, I get stares. Oh well, it's the only time when you can slowly eat your ice-cream without it melting.

2) I have 2 large dolls. 60-ish cm tall. I love to change their eyes and hair. I spend more on their clothes than I do on mine. They are always seated on the table in my painting studio facing the door, so whenever I walk into the studio, they are there to greet me. Kowaii.. X(

3) I sometimes skip when I walk. No I don't skip all the way, just skip a beat while I walk. I don't know why.

4) I take a 2 hour bus ride to New York early in the morning just to have Dimsum and be back by noon, just because the Dimsum in Philadelphia starts at 11.30am and I want to eat Dimsum at 9 or 10. Well, I enjoy the trip anyway, so I don't really mind it. LOL

5) I am an extremely clean painter. I am the only person in my painting department, that paints large painterly paintings without having any paint on my clothes, brush handles, my hand, and the floor. I freak out if I get any paint on my clothes and I will spend the whole day scrubbing at the paint. :-) There are packets of baby wipes, hand sanitizer, hand lotion, hand soap in my painting studio.

Here are the list of people I am tagging.
Elaine http://goodbyetracy.blogspot.com/
Juju http://juppie.wordpress.com/
Sheryl http://sherylp.wordpress.com/
Gerold http://geraldmooney.blogspot.com/
YenLing http://y3nlin9.multiply.com/

Latest Art And stuffs~

2007-11-12T22:01:00.000-08:00

Did a light installation with light and fabric that I dyed and felted.

The heart-Veiled

A Hugeeeee drawing in the hallway for open house ^^

Festival of Light. The front of my school.

This funny lady at the Festival of Light drawing a caricature of Patti and I.

Cirdan went blond and Fuyuko got some red eyes. XD

NEW YORK! NEW YORK!~~

2007-11-12T21:13:00.001-08:00

Went to New York last Tuesday and Friday.
The trip on Tuesday, my friends and I went to Chelsea to visit some Art Galleries with Charles Browning. It was fun. Patti drove us there and here we are, crammed in the car.

Fly Catcher Laura ^O^ and Patti the driver.

Patti concentrating on driving.

Jamie, Melanie and JiYoung. All smiles.

Yup, Me squeezed on the side trying to take a picture together.

This odd building as we drove into the city.

Friday, Pik Yew came to New York and I went up to meet her for a day trip. Did some tourist thing by going around tourist spots. Well, being in America for 3-4 years, I have to do that somehow.

On the Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty.

Brought Pik Yew to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Posing beside Buddha. ^^

The common tourist picture.

Ownage Revisited

2007-11-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

This is a sequel to the first ownage photo story where Toyo was being a big mischief and he got owned by Ba.

Enjoy this second part where Toyo is joined by Roro. Double the mischief ^w^

Installation art 2005

2007-11-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

Lol, I searched myself on Google and I came across this page and I just remembered I did an installation art with a few people and the picture the Schuylkill Center used was the one I did. :) It is called "Nepenthean Rebirth". Scroll down and you will see it. I will try and find if there are any photos I can dig up to post up here

http://www.schuylkillcenter.org/departments/art/past_exhibitions.html

White

2007-10-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

Testing some high key photography.

Bare

2007-10-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

This is the most humorous painting I have ever done. HUGE painting, 62" X 42" so it is in your face meat..... It is so outwardly in your face sexual for one. It is a male I am painting...that's 2. And it is a doll. XD

Everyone's first reaction seeing this painting was to...Laugh. LOL I can't help laughing either. Such a loaded image, serious and sexual and yet. Humorous?

Halloween, Pumpkin carving

2007-10-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

Couple of nights ago, I decided to go to Patti's house to carve pumpkins for Halloween. ^^
Ji Young, Laura, Patti and I.

Ji Young and Patti

Laura and Ji Young

Taking my own photo. Pathetic...

Patti. LOL Pumpkin-licious

Laura's frightening expression.

Ji Young gobbling pumpkin seeds...

Our pumpkins and I. ^^ Mine is on the right.
My first pumpkin carving.

Doll Meet-up at Liberty Place, Philadelphia 21st Oct

2007-10-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

So, I went to this doll gathering and didn't chicken out, which I normally do cause I hate going to these kinda meet ups and to socialize. But I digress... I really wanted to see other dolls in real life. Anyways, Lots of images. Here they are.

Lots of pictures but I only selected some that are really nice. Loads of pictures of other dolls that are not in here. If you want, I can just link you to photobucket if you are interested.

Updated:--the photobucket for more picts. I didn't move the pictures cause a lot of links will be broken if I do. :P So don't mind the other picts.
http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb304/lordjarodius/

Cloud, Squall and someone else. :P

Squall has a very nice face.

Those are very nicely painted makeup and lips

Chibi Itachi and Gaara

Balancing a bottle on Gaara's head.

Very cute sleepy head

In your face cuteness

The wonderful Fuyuko and Cirdan of course.

Not her hat, but cute nonetheless

Not his hat either.

First time seeing a Hound doll. Larger than my Cirdan

Nice. But Squall behind is mooning everyone the whole day.

Fuyuko hugging the two chibis XD

Little angels.

Specky

I love how these turned out. Made the doll look life size.

My Dark Angels

2007-10-21T01:06:00.001-07:00

Halloween is around the corner.. Got her a pair of black wings and dressed him up as an emo kid. lol

Tori Amos American Doll Posse Tour Oct 15th 2007

2007-10-16T01:05:00.000-07:00

My third time going to Tori Amos concert. I am beginning to sit nearer and nearer each time I go to her concert XD
Anyway, I just came home from the concert. Melanie got real good seatings for us, 4th row......
OMFG can you believe it? fourth row. WOW. Marena can't make it today, so I randomly pulled an excited Junior friend who said she would go, and we enjoyed ourselves so much. My friend was so tired after that, we decided to let her sleep in my studio. I wonder what would Patty thinks when she opens the door in the morning to find someone in the studio LOL

Anyway, back to the concert...OMFG she was so closeeeeeeee ahhhh, but my damn camera, cacat one, 3X zoom =_= and too dark to take any good pictures. i dont dare to use flash.
Here are a few of the ugly picts...

This is how close we are to the stage...

The opening act, Yoav. FARKING AMAZING. His link on my space http://www.myspace.com/yoavmusic

On his page, you will hear the complex music, which he made with his guitar and his voice. Then he steps on a pedal and it loops and he does it over and over again, and it becomes a piece of great music. Then he plays his guitar like a percussion. AMAZING
Really a one man band. The music you hear on his "myspace", that is what we hear on stage, him alone. WOW double fucking WOW

This is how he makes his music XD

The stage, the curtain behind and above the piano. Beautiful. Works so great with the lighting

And tori WOW, triple WOW WOW WOW. i just cant stress enough, being so near WOW WOW WOW

Some bad photos. Sorry :( I might steal somebody else's if they post up better pictures. XD Hide in shame...

She came out as "Santa". One of her persona from American Doll Posse album. I wanted to see "Pip" or "Clyde" and she came out as them in New York....Quote unquote Tori "New York gets everything. So, she said she decided to give Philadelphia something special. It will be her first recording of the concert that will be posted online for download. XD YAY to Tori

Then she went back into her Tori persona for the second act.

Once again, I cannot stress this enough, her concert was AMAZING!!! Go TORI!! Best concert ever. and double encore to boot. XD

The excitement lingers. Can't sleep yet even though it is 4.30am now. sigh. Anyways, gotta go. Nights~~

OWNAGE

2007-10-12T20:55:00.001-07:00

More picts of Cirdan, Fuyuko, Ba-chan, Toyo and new additions

2007-10-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

More time today to properly take some closeup shots of the face-up. Wonderful job they have done. Cirdan closeup

Another closeup, with Fuyuko and Ba

So cute, Fuyuko leaning on his back. :)

Group picture. ^_^ New addition to the family, Poporing and Poring will be sent to Les. ^_^
Toyo is just too funny laying there.

Meant to be a hug, but the hand slipped. Seems kinda naughty. LOL

One more group pict before Poring goes away ^_^

The grand arrival of Cirdan

2007-10-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

Today's class ended at 3.45 and at 4, there is Ancient Art. I checked my phone and I received a message saying I got a package waiting for me. I knew it would be the arrival of IpleHouse Soori and so I was contemplating whether I should take a cab home to pick up my package or wait till tomorrow and go to class. Melanie and Paloma were like, "GO!!! If you want to go and get back here in time for class, just go and don't stand thinking about it." And off I went and took a cab to pick up the package.

So I came back to school feeling excited and 15 minutes late for class. :P 3 Hours of waiting till grand opening. Ran back to my studio with my friend, Patti and here are the photos ^_^

As usual, all packages will arrive in a sorry state. I wonder if the sign on the package shows the emotional scar of the sorry state of the box, or a warning telling the postal service to be careful...

Fuyuko and Ba were feeling sorry for the box, but of course, they were just as excited as I was. :) Fuyuko's brother is in there. ^_^

The bag, we are the lucky batch to get the black bags :) So pretty

Ahhhh, Naked ( @^_^@) But he knows modesty. So let's not linger too long on his naked body. :)

Cirdan.. Isn't he wonderful? I was surprised his features were so much smaller and detailed than Fuyuko. Really a wonderful sculpt.

Fuyuko welcoming Cirdan. Isn't she sweet?

Another view.

Ba felt left out and just had to get into the picture with him. :) Awww

LOL Toyo is joyful at his arrival. Happy family and pets :)

My friend, JeeYoon brought Evie to my studio and so I thought I shouldn't break the tradition of including a furry feline to the grand opening.

I got a lot of shirts and jackets and a pair of shoes for Cirdan too. Also the wigs :p And not to forget Iple's generosity with their freebie jeans and shirt. :)

Hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. ^_^

Ribbon

2007-10-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

This is a 48" X 48" oil on canvas painting.

Still in Progress

2007-09-29T22:26:00.000-07:00

Second layer of the dress which I finished sewing today. Still have to dye and sew the Obi.

Grrrr sewing sucks

2007-09-26T23:55:00.000-07:00

Took a fabric (dye resist embellishment) class this semester. Past the add drop period the teacher said this class, besides dyeing, is a sewing intensive course. bleh...

Anyway, this class is taking up a lot of my time since I can't use sewing machine. (never learnt how) and Nui Shibori (stitch dye) technique of dyeing takes up so much time to stitch. But I did dye some very beautiful silk, and for the first project, we were supposed to make a piece of garment with the dyed fabric. and I chose to sew a dress for Fuyuko.

Dyed silk using Arashi Shibori (pole wrapping) technique
Clothing design by me...and all hand sewn.
This is the under layer of the full costume.

I will be using this second fabric for the second layer of the costume.
The length of the sleeves will reach her feet. Because it is so transparent, the layering effect will look very lovely..or so I hope.
This piece of fabric took me days to stitch and a full day to dye.
I used Nui Shibori for the white spirals. Dye and wash.
Then I made a thickener and added the dye to make a dye paste to paint the flowers. Dry, iron (heat set) and wash.
Lastly, I dip dye the ends with red.

Costume still in progress...

Dolls

2007-09-22T04:20:00.001-07:00

We are given the free will to choose from the day we are born, or rather, led to believe so because our freedom is rather limited and rarely free. We do whatever we choose to do but in fact, that choice has been made after careful evaluation and scrutiny due to consequences that might come. There is an invisible hand that nudges us towards the direction of the social norm. So, our “free” choices are governed by rules and regulations, and influenced by responsibilities and obligations. We are not unlike a doll, moved and posed by the society.

My art now is very much influenced by classical paintings (pure art) and also Japanese anime and manga which I grew up on. Fine art (pure art) has become so expensive and made exclusively for the rich due to tax, as there is very little incentive to support them. Due to this, a large amount of money and a larger amount of creative minds and artists venture into commercial art, and thus, all new ideas and styles are churned out in that realm. Commercial art's expression, styles and concepts are far fiercer and expressed better. I guess that is why my passion for art, though deeply rooted in the classical style, is still very much influenced by Japanese manga, anime and the Otaku culture.

Asian Ball Jointed Dolls, one of the new Otaku culture is a form of art which I am very much interested in. The collectors see the dolls as a manifestation of themselves. They can dress the dolls in ways they will never dress and become someone they can never be in real life.
I also see the dolls as a form of domination, To move the dolls in ways they cannot object to. Some sort of perversion maybe.

Hang. Woodblock print. The ultimate symbol of possession. Also, this piece is about the stereotyping of women, a symbol of fertility.
Lift. Ink on paper. Perversion. Dominance. Sexuality.

In parts and pieces.

The line-up. This brought about many Racial and Feminist issues.

We are meat. Reference : Edward Hick's painting

Past works

2007-09-22T03:57:00.001-07:00

For the past two semesters, I have been running about not knowing what I should be painting. I paint from fantasy to landscapes then ultimately, decided that I should be painting dolls. Will update on the reason why I paint dolls later. But first, let's take a look at what I have been painting when I was running about like a headless chicken.

Winter Solace is a piece of painting that comes in four separate canvases. I wanted to paint a winter landscape scene with bamboos. Sorta like an attempt to paint an eastern painting with western technique.

Winter Blossoms. One of my favorite painting. Was experimenting with brush marks.

Weeping Cherry. A painting I painted with my left hand. I was trying to loosen up my painting style.

This is where I died. A painting .... not going to elaborate on it.

Pulang Kampung. My emotional turmoil that was caught between staying or flying home.

Imitation Of Life. A painting of my doll in the classical portraiture style.

And the semesters before this

King Of Pain, a self portrait.

Eve.

Tarian Suria.

You Never Came. this was what started my obsession with Winter landscapes.

Back to the studio

2007-09-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

A new semester marks a new beginning.

Got moved into a studio room which I share with Patty and Erica. Yay. We turned the studio into a comfortable place with a "dining table" and comfortable chairs. Carpets make a wonderful face-lift to studio by hiding the dirty remnants the previous people left behind. ^_^

My side of the studio

My painting studio at University where I spend most of my nights...

far left, a painting in progress

the table against the wall holds my glass palette and paints, on the floor is my toolbox.

right of the table is another tool box for paints

hanging on the wall is a scarf I dyed using the shibori technique..should be dried by now

next to it is the woodblock print
and then furthest right is the ink drawing I did.

The table on the right carries a lot of evian bottled water, starbucks cup which I need to trash, some books and watercolor palette.

On the red table is my Fuyuko and lots of junks.
basically this table is where some of my classmates and my studio mates gather to eat or chat. hence there are so many chairs there.

behind that red table, that black shape you see overlapping the silk scarf, is actually a very comfortable cushion chair where u sink in deep when u sit. I have slept in it countless of times, that's why i don't get much work done.

Ramblings

2007-03-24T02:33:00.000-07:00

It's funny how when I was in Malaysia. time seems to be at still and I resisted change. It was a fight for the mundane. All goals and dreams were left in a jar on the top shelf, sealed. Everyday that passed me by seemed to be just another day, yesterday felt a minute ago and a year ago felt like only yesterday. Those many years of living life like a protected hermit felt short. I guess I felt that way was due to the fact that nothing every changes. When a long lost friend asks, "how's life?" the usual answer is ."The same. Nothing changes."

Malaysian lifestyle and weather made sure that nobody moves at a faster pace. Why do I say that? Well, after 2 1/2 years in America, I can say that my life has taken a drastic change. There is definitely a sense of time here. For one, there is seasons change and also, there the people here are more hurried than Malaysians. No more 'tidak apa' attitude. No more "cannot-lah" when met with a problem. Services here are better than our rude culture. I suppose in a "happy-sue" country, one has to watch his/her back all the time.

Education here is definitely...how should I put it, different, than Malaysian education. Having gone to two art colleges/U in KL had not been a waste I must admit, but really, that was all there is to it. Schools in Malaysia are trying to churn out workers for the blooming industry without encouraging critical thinking. Do as you are told, get good grades, get out of school, get a job, get married, buy a house and a car, have two children, grow old, retire, die happy. Die happy. Die happy?? Really??? How mediocre.

Well I guess a lot of Malaysians wouldn't be naive and mediocre if our media weren't as censored and controlled. Any displeasure with the way we are governed is hushed or frowned upon. Seriously, ask any students, or even adults any contemporary issues, be it politics or anything important at all, they will mostly have nothing much to say. "let sleeping dogs lie" they say. "As long as I am not affected, I don't care. Better not to get into any trouble by voicing out." Trouble? Yeah, unrestrained censorship in Malaysia does not only affect the arts, but also our lifestyle and mentality. So let things be the way they are, live your life the "proper" way, that one way we were taught to live without questioning or doubting the authority. So, back to my point that nothing ever changes. But I escaped that, I have changed, and I will continue to. I don't want to remain a naive unquestioning lemming. I want to be a concious entity; unrestrained, uncensored and ever changing.