(Digital) Studio Notes

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I was hoping to get some pottery studio time before the end of year but things have been busy! Meanwhile, I’m so grateful for digital illustration in all its portability and ease. Squeezing in a little session after work is such a nice way to decompress

Last month I did every day of the Making Art Everyday prompts, but this month I’m only doing select ones. Below: Walt Disney Day, National Llama Day, and Let’s Hug Day.

Thank you Lisa Bardot for all the inspiration!

What I've Been Up To- Home in NYC

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Making Art Every Day

Lisa Bardot has a fun Making Art Every Day challenge, and I joined in for Novembers prompts which were ‘The Secret Life of Objects’. Some days were definitely better than others but I’m happy I stuck it out until the end. It was really nice to slow down, and pay closer attention to some every day items that I may sometimes take for granted.

(Her December prompts are up for anyone interested in joining next month!)

No. 12 was done with a tutorial by Tatyworks.

I reckon most procreate users are familiar with Lisa Bardot, but if not you MUST check her out. I’ve recently joined the community and love her brushes and approach to inspiring creativity.

Around NYC

It’s nice to be back in NYC, back into the whirlwind.

Also enjoying all the New York foods. (To me, nothing beats Barney Greengrass in the UWS.) For fun, I made a NYC print with some favorite NYC treats.

We also caught some fun shows this month. I absolutely loved Cabaret at the Kit Kat club. I started this doodle of Emcee though I think it still needs something…

Holidays!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we can officially start off the holidays. I love stopping by Macy’s, the Rockefeller Tree and seeing Patience and Fortitude (the lions of the NYPL) ready for the holidays.

I also made this silly holiday pic with Santa at a hotdog cart. What does it mean, I don’t know but it was fun to make!

Hope you dear reader, take care and be well!

Field Notes: Storm King

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Took a field trip to Storm King, a 500 acre sculpture park in Orange County, NY. I was surprised to learn that this space was originally to be a museum for Hudson River School paintings!

Now dedicated to large scale sculpture, we enjoyed exploring the grounds, soaking in the November sunshine. Knowing winter is around the corner made it all the more worthwhile.

Side note: that is Noguchi’s- Momo Taro that I am sitting in. (Visitors are welcome to touch and sit in it.)

I only connected with sculpture more recently, after i moved to NYC. Makes me wonder if my relationship between the form and the space it occupies has become all the more meaningful…now that I inhabit a dense city!

Happy Friday and thanks for reading, whoever and wherever you are!

Studio Notes

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I mentioned my hiatus from ceramics and realized I never shared these pieces I've made in the past! They've been quietly hanging out around my home and I still have so many more not pictured. My personal favorite is the mug with the potato dressed in various costumes. He’s the Tayto Potato which I cannot get enough of lol.

Glaze Parties

Glazing used to be the part of ceramics I dreaded, but it totally grew on me. It was messy and unpredictable, but that’s what made it fun in the end.

Some pieces with underglazes below. I’ve started to love drawing on my ceramics as you can see. Pictured below are works in progress, before the final firing.

Perhaps 2025 will bring in a regular pottery practice again!!

What I've Been Up To! Autumn 2024

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Oh my old neglected blog! I’m reviving my little corner of the web. Dusting off cobwebs and will likely give a facelift in the coming weeks.

But life has been going!

Rothko and me above- both pics taken in San Diego. @MCASD la Jolla

What I’ve Been Up To

I made this Chomp Chomps poster which cracks me up. It’s a pass at making a cohesive art series and I just find them so cute. I used Lisa Bardots Playful Painters brush set in Procreate which is really fun to play with.

I also recently learned how to create repeating patterns so I’ve been having fun with that. I should definitely go back in and add more Gilmore Girls icons, perhaps a key from Dragonfly Inn or a Hep Alien poster?

The second print was just messing around with random shapes. It literally took 30 seconds to make, but I like the festive happy mood it gives.

Also after a long hiatus, I got back on the pottery wheel at a local studio. While I’ve taken a step back with pottery this year, I just know I cannot live without some clay in my life, so I’ll continue to squeeze in a session here and there.

And lastly some pics from our recent California visit. While I may spend more time in NYC, I still feel like California is home. We stopped by San Diego, LA and of course San Francisco.

The Dia De Los Muertos photos are from the Mission District, SF. I made an altar with some folks at Lotusland Yoga which is an amazing studio I would recommend if you are in SF.

I first moved the Mission District over 10 years ago, on the same year my grandmother passed away. When I saw the procession and altars, I was touched. Inevitably, as time goes on I have lost more loved ones and I take comfort to think of their spirits visiting temporarily this time of year.

It’s hard to believe its nearly halfway through November already. I resolve to work on updating this blog more!

Travel Log: Europe 2024 Pyrenees and San Sebastian

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Pyrenees

This has been on my bucket list for so long! Ironically it rained during most of our stay but we made the best of it. We stayed in the most cozy yurt, and found that a fun rainy activity was exploring the caves. The Pyrenees is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to, I can’t believe people live in this paradise!

We stayed in this little yurt, which was essentially 10/10 glamping. Despite the treacherous road to get here, we would come back in a heartbeat

San Sebastian

We crossed over to Spain arriving in San Sebastian.

Influenced by Anthony Bourdain (he has said there is no better place to eat in Europe!) we went on a mission to eat all the pintxos and basque cheesecake we could find.

This unbelievably beautiful city has it all. The natural beauty with beaches and hills with car free Parte Vieja (Old Town) nestled in, it was truly a delight to wander around and get lost.

It was my first time exploring Basque Country. I did try learning some basic phrases in Euskara: Kaixo! Zer moduz? but I found it was best to just struggle with Spanish lol.

Amazing meal at Arzak which I had been fantasizing about since seeing Anthony Bourdain’s A Cooks Tour. It is an exquisite modern take on Basque cuisine and we even got to meet Elena Arzak whom I admire. Definitely one for the books!