Sumi-E- Part 1: Intro

            It has been over two years since I graduated from OCAD U and crated “Reclaiming the Body”. I used Sumi-e ink to create my series which became my thesis. Each work is detailed; it seems more like a watercolour than an ink painting. Since finishing and continuing my research on my materials I have begun to teach myself Sumi-E.

                Sumi-e, means ink picture in the most simple translation.  The painting style embodies the Japanese Zen ideal of simplicity.  The materials are even simplistic. All you need is a brush, ink, ink stone and some paper (preferably absorbent rice paper). Another portion of this art form is Shodo which is calligraphy. Small stories, poems, or even a short saying are added to works occasionally.

                The main part of this art form is the Ink and ink stone, as any brush can be used (I prefer Chinese brushes or sable though because of their ability to hold alot of paint/ink).  The ink is in the form of a stick which is ground on the ink stone with a touch of water. Both come in various forms from very ornate to basic stick and stone form.

                The paper can cause some headaches; it’s fragile and super absorbent. You have to let go of control when painting on rice paper or else you will be setting yourself up for failure. Of course this medium can be used on any surface if you desire.  Watercolour paper is just as absorbent but acts differently.  Even contemporary Sumi-E artists utilize alternative papers for the different feel and look which the paper allows for. 

Working with water

 This year has been great. I have joined the AGO and the South Asian Visual Art Centre. In addition to attending great workshops, documenting and  self-mentoring.
    To begin the year I showed Hysteria that was a return to an old process that I used. One of which I am working on still on the side.
    My other work is branching out slowly. Watercolour has come back into my work, and I need to understand it more. Just as I need to learn more about sumi-e ink, I hope to play, make mistakes and possibly take more classes on them. This coming year is very important to me as I am turning 25. No longer am I a young adult but a full adult. Its time to make everything fall into place, a lot is planned for 2012. I have a whole to-do list dedicated just to my art practice which is displayed in large print on my wall next to my desk. Seeing it since I printed it just reminds me of how much needs to get done for the more technical side of art. Website, professional business cards and networking sites. Everything links together.  Exciting! Exciting things are going to happen.
                    Over the next day or so I will be finishing a work for a e-card for my mailing list. I have added a few people whom I hope want to be included but this initial Holiday "card" will allow them to opt out if they so please.  If you would like to be added to my list I have a link to the right of my blog for you.
    It has been a long few weeks leading up to the holidays. I am off to be for the night to be prepared for another day of work Studio and Work-Work. Happy Holidays everyone~

Tea and Business

Around work people are slowly understanding the effects of tea in comparison to coffee. Switching over for health reasons and to reduce caffeine intake mainly and for some enjoyment. Setting up a small set for tea at your work is simple.
Many have opted to get their own Tea master for their desk while others have chosen either a cup with infuser or a teapot. Individuality is quite apparent in their quest for the right tea ware.
Instead of getting something individual, which is okay for yourself, why not opt to get a set for large business meetings? Tea can calm the mind and aid in focusing it as well. It is much healthier (if that is a concern) than coffee and easier on the body (the caffeine goes through the blood stream and not the nervous system like coffee , leading to shakes).
If you have the time talk to your manager about setting up such a set in your kitchenette. Work on a small budget for quality leafed tea for each month. It is quite easy to set up~
What have you set up at work to enjoy the leaf?

Tea and Stress

A bit after my last post, last Tuesday, there was a fire at my building. Dispite everything I have been pulling through quite well. I technically have no home and yet I am fine with all this. What has been keeping me going has been strangely Teaopia, or rather tea itself. Dispite what happens I know I can go to work Monday to Friday and have a warm comforting cup of tea. Black, green, white, oolong, tisstanes, Mate or Rooibos.
Does not matter which I turn to total relaxation comes with it. I have read a lot about tea over the last while. Each stating that it does something good or something bad. Health benefits or downsides. Etc etc.
I believe that if I did not have tea on hand I would fall apart. Does anyone feel the same out there?

Moveing and art?

So no real painting or anythidng has happened the last while. With exception of a fundraiser peice I will post once I locate my camera again in this mess.
I ended up moveing finnaly out of the student Co-Op I was in before to Cabbage Town. Very friendly area and quite relaxing. Only problem now is that I have to un pack and re arage things in between working. Thankfully I have two helpers who have been working on painting while I am working full time at Teaopia. Hopefully I will beable to get something going once I have the room and the level of cleanliness I want in here.
Still waiting on my dad to make up a bracket for my futon which won't sit up right without it. I could suffer but It would be nice to have a couch and to get the coffee table I have been eyeing in chinatown which folds up flat.
Anyhow enough moving talk. I will have work going soon. I am hopeing to take some knitting to work for my break, that way I will not loose it from not working on some kind of art object.
That is all for the time being.
Best to all <3

Thesis exerp - Past Work

Past work
I received a quote from Cathy Daley attached to an assignment on child hood memories, “We are all rooted in our childhood” from Ida Appleboorg, perhaps this is what fueled my work. My ink work began in her class Representation from Memory and Desire (third year), each assignment consisted of a series which tended to be more than 5. All my work from that class related to a childhood memory, but my final series on fear relates to it most. My fear of carrying a child to term and delivering, something my mother will not be told till after I have my first child. Twenty ink drawings 9.5 by 10.5 rice paper I had purchased at The Paper Place to experiment with the summer before.
The year (second year) before that I had taken Chinkok Tan’s watercolour class, where he taught us to work without prior drawing before putting paint on the surface. I tend to switch between drawing before and direct painting since this class. It also fueled my admiration for Chinese brushes. Not only were they more than affordable but their ability to hold the ink was much better than the acrylic brushes I had before then. I have acquired squirrel hair brushes since then but I still find myself going back to these goat hair brushes you can get as cheap as a dollar.

Large works?

Been so busy with papers and such I took a moment to start some larger pieces. I have always been fascinated by the old art of the east. Gods and Goddesses, Buddha, immortals and demons. Especially the Bodhisattva with a thousand arms.



After thinking it over I have decided it was time to reincorporate my old themes into my new work. I am hoping this piece turns out as well as I wish it will. In addition I have plans to create an even larger piece which will play out the HIV advertisements I saw last year. Bodies covered in many arms, clining and possesing the body. I am beginning to wonder if these new pieces are still part of this collection or not. They do not invoke innocence but desire and the want to be loved or held by someone. It has been perhaps too long since I have seen my girlfriend that it's unconsciously being put to paper with my ink brush. Oh well time to get back to work <3 ----------------

Now playing: ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION - Rewrite

via FoxyTunes

New peices

This series is currently titled "Reclaiming the body" and ongoing series I am working on. I hope to reach 25 before my final critique.

Holiday clean-up tommorow

I went home for a while but I'm back to tidy up my apartment and thesis studio. Going to work hard tonight to finish a portrait of my late Grandma for her husband. So far it looks Impressionist so It should turn out well as I know I can do that well. I will post pictures either tomorrow or later to night of it's progress.
On a side note I am going to work on studies for final works for thesis and do some drawings etc. I might even start the files for my photo series I want to do. Although I am wondering how much it will cost to print when I do it. Size is always an issue for me it seems when talking to peers about my work. I'll do some research on it and decide it all out before I compile everything together. I'm going to go make some tea and tidy up for dinner/lunch and my painting session <3>

working more on the body

After Wednesday and Thursdays critiques I've been working aggressively on various works. I hope to get about 10 works done by Halloween, various sizes. It's a goal, a good one at that.
I'm trying to get good-old-rough-copies of assignments that need to be done. If all works out, Monday will be a studio day. Tuesday, I am hopeing to head to the ROM for a few hours (2-3?) to see the Vanity Fair show. It's free for students to get in so I save 10$ ( I usually go on half price nights, aka friday).

This work I have though is done on Velum with charcoal. I really think I need to make a large version of one like it on the same paper. I am working with the ideas of Donna Haraway and her Cyborg. I quite like the construction of the body. The biology, the mechanics etc.

This other piece is in process, same idea but trying to use the same candy like colours in it. I started to use gel transfers as well, their prity interesting. Going to see how this piece goes.

This watercolor is done actually, but here is it before it was. It's at the studio, I will get around to documenting it soon. Really nice, I wonder what Catherine Will say about it. I'm off to bed, going to open tomorrow. Good Night world.

Candy ~ <3

I've been working on some new stuff as midterms are this week. My experimentation with ducktape has lead to the following works. The blue/teal/orange one is still being worked on. These paints, candy like, are so, well edible. I have been reading alot about pornography and how the female body functions. My reference recently has been playboy, which I really adore right now. The pink/neon green work is actually on packaging tape adhered to canvas. Because it was finicky , there are a lot of folds and crinkles in it, making the texture wonderful to work on. I am debating looking into finding ways to adhere saran wrap to the canvas, or just use it for texture, we'll see how that goes. The smaller work, which is WAY too shiny, might possibly get donated to WhoDun it?, I am not sure.

We'll I am off again to go do readings, either for thesis or my postmodern class. Latter.

Finnally some progress

I've been playing around the last little bit, materials as well as techniques. Here's some work that has come out of it all. All of which were fueled by my new reference material (Playboy, Curves and Glutes) of women, I do plan to get my hands on transgender imagery (non internet and tasteful, hopefully). I will be visiting both Glad day books and Stag Shop , to decide which is best image wise.

The first two are not for thesis , although I might re work them larger for it possibly. It is an option. Two works are actually on Styrofoam and the black-neon-green-orange one is on black Duck tape. Very interesting effects each surface gives to a work. I quite like the texture of the Styrofoam and duck tape. I'm deciding to possibly use packaging tape over a canvas I prepared for another work, we'll see how that goes. I'm off to sleep. Good night.

Thesis process-update

I took some images of my studio again. These were taken on Wednesday night. I really just wannted to put some images up to show my progress as well as process in a way.
The peice on wood is for my class with Dan Solomon, I might reproduce it for thesis in color and on canvas, maybe. Tommorow I am going to go to the studio for about an hour after classes. Just work more on the series I started, I might cut some paper and bring it back here to work on it. I really don't know. Nina is coming along slowly, which is the general idea since I'm trying to expand my vocabulary in techniques.
The series I started seems a bit vulgar and rude, but I guess that's the point. I'm thinking of doing 20 of them so working on them back home would be good as well. I bounced some ideas off of Amanda today and I think I will let this peice go and do what ever needs to be done with it (the one on wood). I think it has potential for a series of large works, meaning I might have to get that 3 feet by 6 feet piece of stone henge paper out. It migth just mysteriously disapear to the studio this weekend.
Although that would happen AFTER seeing some galleries.
I should sleep now, I'm beginning to ramble. Goodnight all <3

Work Presentation

It went well. I showed "IT", although on my laptop. Really wish I brought the real thing. Paul Sloggett suggested to maybe turn to video or photography for my thesis. I'm really unsure about photography, I'd rather produce something by hand if I can.
On another note the night before I spent time takeing pictures of my work, time wasted in a way, but it will be put to good use. If he did not say show one, then I would of shown my mini slide-show with some real works as well. I will talk to him latter perhaps, I really need to sign up for critique next week.
I really look forward to this weekend to work in my new space. I just need to get my ID authorized since it does not work. That is what needs to be done today. I should be on latter to post the other new images of past work.