monkey socks progress

monkey socks
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

sad sad sad monkey

after letting october almost pass me by with little to no progress on my monkey socks, i was quite proud of myself tonight when i pulled them out finally, rounded the gusset and was moving along the foot. just as i was about to put them away, i thought i would try them on to admire my progress, only to discover that they are too big! the pattern calls for a #2 us needle, which is what i used, but apparently, it specifies a 2.5mm needle, and the one i have is 2.75mm. huh? i've already ripped this thing back and am too depressed to do it again. i'm hoping that with a little washing in warm water, it'll shrink to size...

photo of my late father progress

progress
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

1500 boards with leds soldered and counting. 11,000+ to go...

halloween weekend

long beach dog parade 07
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

who would have thought that a dog parade would leave a person exhausted? i am knackered. mike & i went down to 2nd street today to find hair dye, the third place i have tried, incidentally, and have been unsuccessful. apparently, bright temporary vegetable dyes are not as readily available as i remember.

the dog parade called to us, so we stayed to watch and enjoy the creativity of costumes. i wish we could have dressed our cats up as dogs and brought them to the parade. there was no way that would happen without consequence. the parade is the closest we will get to "participating" in halloween. although i was invited to a party on sat, mike and i sadly did not have the energy to muster up costumes, and rather than be lame, we stayed in and had another relaxing evening being productive. i guess that could be considered lame as well, but don't underestimate the satisfaction of spending your evening doing laundry and soldering leds.

halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and my friends and i usually went all out. dressing up on that holiday proved insufficient, so my roommate and i often threw theme parties in college. i would advise against covering yourself with oil-based silver paint, even if it adds greatly to a 70's star trek alien seductress costume for an outer space themed party.

sometimes, i feel old and settled, which is fine. my life of quietude, which contrasts so greatly with the extreme ups and downs and insanity of my 20's, revels at filling as much time as possible with "working" on art projects. if i'm lucky, it's meditative, but sometimes, it is repetitive and mundane. i'm not sure if enjoyment quite describes the feeling that i have when i'm zoning out sewing thousands of square after square of paper or soldering as many leds. a force seems to propel me. and i'm not sure if it's the ending that i'm after. though there is some satisfaction, i often feel empty and in need of filling it up with something else. i have managed to take all the energy and mental instability and idiosyncracies of my youth and am pouring it into the various projects du jour.

i laughed to myself when my friend, who i tried to convince to give knitting another try responded that it was too repetitive. true, when you think about it, it can be. however, it is great if you are obsessive compulsive and exhibit symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

kafe neo

kafe neo
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i do my laundry at the laundromat on the corner of 4th and temple. so when the auto shop across the street was demolished and a simple and somewhat designed building slowly began to emerge out of the rubble, i was curious. the terrible renderings that showed a cafe in a bright neon green troubled me. new buildings pop up here, and there, but they often have fresh paint in a bad color choice over stucco, which seems to either show dirt well or make a building look dirty.

as the place was coming together, it showed a lot of promise..including a soft around the edges yellow orange not neon green exterior as pictured in the ill-proportioned rendering. i was very excited that a potentially good food place would come into existence within walking distance of home. mike thinks i'm crazy for getting excited about this place, considering that there are two other places within walking distance that we haven't even tried. i wasn't sure either why i was getting so worked up.

the place finally put up an open sign a week or so ago, and today we walked over for a late lunch.

although it was no starling diner, it is a treasure to discover tasty food we don't have to drive to. how i miss my days living in san francisco's mission district where lots of good food, lounge bars with awesome jukeboxes (you could tell a lot about a place by its jukebox) and plenty of unique shops. this was before i became accustomed to mini-malls and traffic. this nostalgia is probably why i was so excited. i remember when i didn't have a car and drive everywhere. i cursed the unreliable buses and loved the bart, but i was out communing with fellow man, even if he sometimes smelled of urine and could clear a train in seconds. but i digress...

i quickly glanced over the story on the back of the menu before the waiter came to take our orders and whisk it away. opened by two brothers, sons of the man who owned the autoshop, the "kafe" serves typical greek food (and exotic teas apparently) along with other casual foods such as burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches. i ordered a shrimp pita with rice and salad. mike had the grilled veggie pita, also with rice and salad, and we shared some fries with feta (mike loves cheese). i think i would have preferred the fries smothered in garlic and/or parmesan rather than feta, but they were still really good and actually tasted like fried potatoes lightly seasoned. the grilled shrimp tasted fresh. the rice was bland, and the salad lacked some character.

i thought the interior was tasteful and clean, although the three huge lcd screens, two of which were broadcasting cnn, were out of character. the weirdest thing was the ceiling, which had way too many light fixtures, electrical outlets (what would you need ones in the ceiling for?) and power backups. it didn't bother me, but i really wanted to know what it all was for. mike seemed to think maybe they were friends with an electrician.

we will be back.

ocma: a little art history

ocma
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

the museum is providing various art history lectures in their education center the last thurs of each month through june. i found out about it while looking up the helvetica screening (which was a disaster because of the damaged dvd that went berserk about 30 min into the movie). i decided to check out this evening's lecture on the european avant-garde art movements.

on a rare occasion, i arrived early, and was getting in some knitting, when i suddenly found myself surrounded by a group of 20+ college (barely) female students, engulfing me in bubble gum, overwhelmingly fruity shampoo and hot pink plastic. wow. to be young and pink.

art history prof karen kleinfelder's energetic presentation and intimate knowledge of the work made the concerns and influences of the european avant-garde relevant to today. marcel du champ is one of my heros, and i've heard of many of the other artists discussed from the period, but the lecture really brought the different movements together and put it in the context of the time and place.

bleary-eyed by the end by the account of guernica the city and guernica the painting by picasso, i contemplated the effect of war on art and vice versa. i am disappointed already that i will be missing the next lecture, which will be on american modernism.

photo of my late father progress

photo of my late father
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i've been itching to get into the trenches with this project, but have been distracted with show submitals, updating my portfolio and other projects. what little bit i squeezed in felt good. it's probably not good for my health, but i kinda like the smell of melting (or maybe it's burning) solder. i need a bigger jig though. i have one so that i can set up and solder three boards one after another. it feels like it is going faster soldering than with the previous method of pushing through and flattening out the pins on fabric. i feel like i need to be looked in a cell with this and get it done, but it really is a challenge to prioritize the time. it's too bad it's not portable like knitting...

mixed messages (warning: extreme negativity)

habu textiles
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

my feelings about this blog are mixed, and my direction, like everything else in my life, is unclear. (of course, that's not really saying a whole lot.) on the one hand, i feel the need to share my thoughts with whoever comes along and might care or get something from. on the other hand, do i really need to be opening my head up for scrutiny by anyone but a mental health professional and my poor boyfriend?

i began by documenting my work partly to motivate myself and partly to put down some thoughts. as if the internet were not enough distraction, now i feel the need to keep this updated. if i am doing this, there is a part of me that hopes someone is reading it. it's like art making. sure, artists want to have the freedom to do whatever the hell they want, but at the end of the day, we need someone to see it. we may make work in isolation, but to be complete, it's got to come around and be experienced.

moving on from neurotic rambling...i also received some mixed feedback about my portfolio. the person from the sculpture dept at sf art institute could see the progression of my work into sculpture, but thought i needed to frame my artist statement and portfolio in such a way that it takes into account the kinds of concerns that people working in sculpture have. i guess that means thinking/talking about the formal and material aspects of art making. he thought my presentation looked clean, which is good.

the person from the school of the art institute of chicago had a number of comments, including that perhaps i should reshoot or video my work to show more of the experience. he seemed to think that i had a lot to say in my artist statement that didn't come through in the work in the portfolio. not sure if that has to do with the execution or the presentation of the portfolio.

i'm glad i had the opportunity to get some feedback from people who could potentially be looking at my work during the admissions process, but it did feel a bit rushed, since i had about 15 mins, and then the aftermath to decipher what was said. i've made progress since a year ago, when said portfolio did not even exist. half of it remains as convincing renderings and boxes of leds. and once again, i'm faced with the need to really focus, and fight my many interests and distractions. where do i want my work to go? i have to decide and spend a good amount of time going there, and not off into a zillion other ideas. it's a difficult decision as there are too many good choices.

another thing that i need to do and that mike has pressed upon me is to cut back on extracurricular activities such as knitting & sewing. i stopped with the jewelry & woodworking. unless i can bring those things into the artmaking, i have to do less of it, in order to have more time for art.

.....

what a change--coming back from san francisco and fall weather to an arid and global warming climate. our black moor, moraes, died yesterday. that's what i get for anthropomorphising him with a character from one of my favorite books. he's been sick, and we've done everything we could. he was a fighter, but i guess that was not enough. poor guy.

rather than ending on a death note, there's this...after over a month of anxiously waiting, i finally get a call from wild fibers that my habu sweater kit #74 came in. yay! meanwhile, i've been adding a gazillion projects to my queue on ravelry that i may never have time to knit now that i'm cutting back on extracurriculars. a girl can dream...that's all i have, for now.

sf trip fall 07

sf trip fall 07
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

mike & i went to san francisco so that i could take advantage of graduate portfolio day at san francisco art institute.

in addition to getting feedback on my portfolio work from representatives from sf art institute and the school of the art institute of chicago, we experienced exhibits by olafur eliasson and joseph cornell, ate lots of good vegetarian food, stocked up on some meyer lemon preserve, tapenades and a marinade from lulu at the ferry building, checked out yarn from art fibers and kicked ass at snatch a new word game.

lonely monkey

monkey sock
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

progress on my monkey socks has been almost non-existent. it's not that i don't care for it, it requires a bit more attention than i have lately. i started on a lace rib cowl neck warmer which i thought would not require me to pay so much attention to the pattern, but already, there have been some unexpected twists (literally). twice now, i've ended up short on stitches. i'm also coming up short on yarn as i near the end, so don't feel the desire to rip and redo. it'll be faster to start a new one. this was suppose to be a gift for a friend, but i think i'll be knitting something else for her...pooh.

pretty in pink

stash
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i started wearing pink for the irony. pink was the new black. there's a lot of pink inside the human body. it makes sense to be wearing that on the outside as that's what you are on the inside? suddenly, at least to my own perception, pink has gone out of control. or rather the pink yarn in my stash, which is in and of itself out of control. i like pink, but do i wear that much pink? not really. do i want to? not really. i made some pink leg warmers, but i don't think i'll be wearing them too much.

yesterday, i was looking at fabric, and had to make an effort not to buy anything pink, seeing as i will be working on some home improvement projects, and my bff would be too nice to really object, but not be into living in pinkdom.

acrylic semi-translucent white would make a great new black, but white in general gets dirty easily (poor ipod). lately, a warm grey seems to be the thing for me. not very exciting, but it masks dirt and tea stains resulting from drinking and driving. i often feel like a walking disaster (tomato bisque how i love thee but oh you spill and splatter at any opportune) and would like to avoid looking like one.

yarn swap

yarn swap
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

susan graciously organized and hosted a yarn swap for fellow stitch n' bitchers at her house this weekend. kudos to susan! it was a lot of fun. i got some knitting done (apparently, i'm a poet as well...), and i can't say i left with less yarn, but i'm happy with the new yarn, which has invigorated my already busting at the seams stash, and hopefully, contribute to some finished projects. i've been eyeing the orangina. now i have yarn for it.

regen projects II

regen projects II
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

after dealing with technical difficulties with my printer whilst making prints for a show submission and dropping it off 30 min before closing, i went to see lari pittman's paintings at regen projects II this past friday. i like the squirting tomatoes.

she's come undone - close up

she's come undone
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

she's come undone, documentation

she's come undone
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

she's come undone, finis?

she's come undone
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

it's finished. at least for now. this is one possible form this could take, suggestive of handwriting. i'd like it to change with different spaces.

i had some problems photographing this. most of the power packs weren't working so i had to use hot lamps, which weren't making for the even lighting that i wanted. using the reflective umbrellas made the already almost too long to be handheld shutter speed longer. i had to take the overall photo from a ladder, so no tripod.

i'm initially a little disappointed with it's lack of fluidity, due to it being composed of squares instead of a continuous strip. if i had to do over, i would still stick with the sewn squares as the fragmented suturing is part of it. i will have to reshoot when the power packs are fixed. i know. a lot of excuses. i need more time to think about it.

she's come undone

she's come undone
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

satisfaction. almost. i finished sewing all the squares for this prototype which will be a piece on it's own about existence and beauty. the next hurdle is the form and installation. i have a clear idea and visualization of the sister to this piece, which comprises similar squares of my body from head to toe, and will spiral outward from ceiling to floor.

initially for this piece, i thought about a dress, but changed my mind as it's too recognizable an image. i have been thinking of a quote by chuang tzu which i'd like to incorporate and is shaping it's formal aspects, at least for the moment.

"Once upon a time, Chuang Tzu dreamed that he was a butterfly, a butterfly fluttering about, enjoying itself. It did not know that it was Chuang Tzu. Suddenly he awoke with a start and he was Chuang Tzu again. But he did not know whether he was Chuang Tzu who had dreamed that eh was a butterfly, or whether he was a butterfly dreaming that he was Chuang Tzu. Between Chuang Tzu and the butterfly there must be some distinction. This is what is called the transformation of things." -- Chuang Tzu

zephyr cafe

zephyr cafe
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

when natalia, our hairdresser (mike and mine), recommended the zephyr cafe, i was excited to discover a good vegetarian eatery in long beach. we don't often frequent downtown as much of it caters to tourists, so when we found ourselves in the neighborhood, we had to check it out.

located on 4th street in a small enclave known as the arts village in downtown long beach down the street from a health store and across from one of the new downtown lofts, the cafe looked down to earth and promising. we came in around 2pm, so were surprised to see the nine widely spaced tables occupied.

the cafe had a more coffee shop feel, with customers queuing up to the counter to place their orders, but definitely specialized in serving healthy vegetarian fare. mike grabbed us a table while i ordered him a portabello burger and and myself a grilled vegetable bowl. after five minutes, a guy with a laptop who appeared to be a regular (i deduced this by his comfort level chatting with various strangers who happened in the cafe, plopping his laptop on one occupied table and plugging in) asked if we would trade tables with him so he could have the table next to the outlet. we thought it was rather forward, but didn't really care either way, so we moved to a smaller table by the window where we ended up waiting an hour for our food.

i really wanted to like the place. the food was simple but healthy, fresh and tasty. luckily, we had had a large lemon blueberry waffle breakfast so were not starving. i didn't mind waiting until it was getting on to the hour mark.

you have to understand that time for me is crucial. i am a type A person who is painfully aware of my own mortality. i cut back on my time working so that i could spend more time on my art and my portfolio for grad school. i'm not always good at it, but i manage my time.

it was so disappointing to not want to come back to this place because of how long it took for us to get our food. there aren't any other decent purely vegetarian places i know of in long beach. i don't understand why it took so long. there were a good number of people, but not a lot, and there were four people busily working behind the counter. the guy who took my order was extremely apologetic when our food finally came, but i felt confused that no explanation was offered as to why we waited an hour for our food.

art: 21 Romance

the LACMA pre-screened the romance segment of the latest season (4) of art:21 art in the twenty-first century set to air on pbs beginning October 28. the series presents various contemporary artists talking about their work, and each segment organizes four artists around a theme. there is not the usual interview format or leading questions. instead we get a glimpse of the artist at work in his or her studio and speaking informally and generally about his or her work and process against the backdrop of the work.

although there were some initial technical difficulties with starting the dvd on the correct segment and then skipping the feature on Laurie Simmons, it was a special treat to watch on a large screen and then have one of the featured artists, painter Lari Pittman, answer questions afterwards. my only experience with Lari's work involved a few paintings in the Eden's Edge show at the Hammer Museum. i found the work to be youthful and contemporary with a bright color palette, so was surprised to find out that he has been around for some time. that seems true of most artists that are well known and makes sense, since it takes time to develop a body of work and a mastery of materials, which is evident in the work.

richly decorated and boldly graphic, Lari Pittman's paintings envelope you in a tableaux of crowded interiors often bisected by playful yet sinister objects suggesting violence. some work prominently feature cacti with sharp points, while others contain medieval instruments of war such as a sword or an axe. meaning shifts as recognizable objects are depicted in unexpected ways juxtaposed with other seemingly unrelated objects. there is a subtle sense of humor evident as Lari mentioned one painting in which a supernatural action appears to happen in the center of a floor that swirls and opens up to reveal a banal living room. i found it interesting that he was not aware that he was grouped in the romance theme and that he only learned of this when the film was completed. some of the artists in earlier segments of the series did not seem to fit very well with the assigned themes, but that is part of the problem with categorizing complex work.

Although Lari Pittman spoke generally about his work and left much to interpretation, he brought some context and background to his work that made it more decipherable. of note, the familiar and accented voice of edward goldman behind me made some interesting comments whilst asking the artist about the elusiveness of the messages in his paintings. for those who are not familiar, edward goldman has an all too brief segment on kcrw called art talk where he speaks insightfully and passionately about art and more around LA and beyond.


Lari Pittman's work is on exhibit at Regen Projects in LA through October 20. Not sure if i will have time to since i will be going out of town that last weekend, but my limited exposure has left me wanting.

slow dancing

slow dancing
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

after deciding it was silly to kill myself finishing up the latest project for a juried show deadline and better to take my time, i went with mike to the music center in downtown LA on the last night of the slow dancing installation.

David Michalek, a filmmaker, produced this series of 43 slow motion video portraits of dancers that are randomly played over four screens. each portrait stretches out 5 seconds of a dance movement captured by a high speed camera to about 10 mins. there is no sound other than that of the spectators milling about.

the experience was sort of a meditation on dance. one could see in detail the gestures of the bodies as they slowly jumped, turned and moved like they were under water. the way the fabric and hair moved in response to, with and sometimes against the body was fascinating.

we were there for a couple of hours, but were not able to see all of the 43 dancers. more information about the project is availble here.