dynamic environments

the segd conference presented some interesting case studies in what was coined as mediatechture, designed dynamic environments and interactive media. we toured the recently built new york times building by architect renzo piano, including the moveable type exhibit. the conference ended with a tour of times square signage and led billboards.

my cousin was too low energy to meet for dinner, so we rescheduled for tomorrow, and instead took the w to chinatown and ate at joe's ginger. the tasty dinner not only was satisfying, but induced a near comatose state, so we are going to bed early to give us energy for a full day tomorrow.

p.s. i found out who my secret gift pal is, and hopefully, will find something nice for her at one of the yarn shops i visit tomorrow.

the big apple

we made it! no photos yet, since i invariably manage to forget something. this time, it was the cable for the camera. doh!

the seeming brevity of the direct flight surprised me. i napped some, then knitted. about a half hour into the knitting, i wished that i had brought something more challenging to work on, then proceeded to watch something on the tv while i knitted. when i finally looked at my watch, i realized we had only 40 min before our scheduled landing.

i planned our trip out in relative detail using google maps, yet i failed to think of packing a lunch or printing out a map of the streets where we needed to transfer from one train to the next. with some wifi via mike's cell, we found our way. in the waiting area in the airport, i thought they could have used more signs to point out the way to get to the subway. we found the information booth, and made it to the airtrain. the signs around the airtrain were great, so it didn't take us long to get on the right one to take us to the subway connection.

coming out of the subway can be confusing to reorient one's self to know which direction to go. twice, we went the wrong way.

for dinner, we ate at this great little italian place my uncle fred had recommended called noodle pudding. sounds like the name of a kitschy japanese restaurant, but it is actually a cozy neighborhood restaurant with excellent food. mike & i shared a beet, goat cheese arugula salad. i had the bucatini all'amatriciana. i really enjoyed my dish, but i think mike found his seafood fettuccine a little too fishy. we finished up with a goat cheese lemon cheesecake, which was on the crumbly dry side. you could subtlely taste the goat cheesiness of it. considering mike's love of cheese, i was surprised he didn't like it as much due to it being dry.

it's not quite 9pm in cali, but i am in brooklyn and experiencing coma-inducing fullness from dinner & wine & a brisk walk in the chilly night, so off to bed soon. we have an early morning and full day of the dynamic environments workshop.

block yourself out!

sock blockers
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

so excited. my new sock blockers came in the mail. i have yet to block any of the few things i've knitted, but now i cam block my socks off. ha!

busy day going through my to dos, including returning my friend peter's call, which included a congratulations on your engagement. it's been months since i heard from him, so it was not too surprising to hear his news. life takes hold, and you're moving along, not keeping in touch with your friends as much as you like. i'm at that age when i don't talk to my friends every day, and then bam, one gets married or has a baby.

sadly, i also learned that a friend and professor, jerry, is having to go through chemo. after his surgery, they discovered the cancer was worse than they thought. it's so unfortunate that something like this happens to such a good and caring person. i wish him well.

i'm in!

after a somewhat frustrating day debugging cross-browser issues yet again, then dealing with paying for overpriced services from incompetent people at the dry cleaner's, and having difficulty squeezing into a parking spot out front because some idiot couldn't pull forward a foot so there would be room for 2 cars instead of his/her one (there really is no excuse since there is clearly 3 feet between the front of the car and the driveway), i found out that a show i had entered and forgot about has accepted my piece into their group show "Internal Illuminations."

it's retarded, but i was starting to wonder if my Body of Evidence piece was crap as i've been getting little love for it. i feel i've long moved on from it mentally, but with the way things cycle out, i have to keep working at showing pieces that i may not be excited about. not much time has to pass after completing a piece before the excitement wanes.

the timing is a little tight with my travel plans. i realized two shows ago that the original connectors are loose and come apart easily, so i need to replace them, figure out how to safely package and ship it. this whole business of promoting and getting your work seen is a job in itself.

starting is the hardest

i've been ruminating on a piece i want to make about my personal family history that incorporates knitting, systems of expression and the process of connecting with my family that i will go through in order to complete this piece. the piece i am making will be a family tree constructed from the names of my family members translated from roman characters to ascii numbers to binary to knit & purl stitches. my interest in identity has moved beyond the physical to more specific cultural and personal experiences.

i made the first steps this weekend as i sat with my mother and my uncle and later my grandmother to begin to piece together the names of my ancestors. i've realized that there is more information than just names, including gender, simple facts such as deceased or not, and complex relationships such as that my grandmother's brother married my grandfather's sister. i'll need to figure out how far back i want to go, and how much i want to include or not include. i'm very excited to begin this.

...in other beginnings, i have moved into the next phase of the large led piece of my father by soldering resistors. the nature of the process makes this part go much more slowly than the led soldering. there was also a pause and procrastination, typical of when i start something new or move onto a new phase of a project as i am cautious.

the uncertainty and conservatism makes me feel nothing like an artist. there's this view that artists are daring and bold, and that the mark of creativity is venturing where others do not. i think it is partly misinformed by a perception that someone is born an artist with talent and not realizing that a body of work is a thing cultivated over time. there are moments when i feel a certain confidence and clarity in what i am doing, but there are also times i feel doubt. so starting is hard, but once i'm in it, the momentum carries me.

...of note, i found a company that will break down and analyze a person's dna for $1000. what does this mean? nothing yet--aside from that it is prohibitively expensive, i'm not sure what i would do with the information. i am extremely curious to see the genomic breakdown of my dna compared to my mother's and my grandmother's.

our trip to new york in google maps

my trip to new york via google
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

even though i can be very anal and have had many a stint as project manager, i don't consider myself to be one of those people who has to have every detail planned out. still, the planning of our trip using google's my maps has been intriguing—more obsessive geeking than anal retentiveness. now if only this could be sync'd with a calendar...i'm sure there's a way to hack it, but hey, i'm too lazy to be that geeky.

stash enhancement

stash
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i was debating for a while whether to force myself to knit this shrug i really want to knit in the pink yarn that is the right gauge called for and knowing that i may not wear that much because how often after all would i wear an all bright pink sweater? broke down, and bought this yarn at the sale at a mano. a nice neutral color that would go with many things. pink yarn will go to making a knitting bag and extra pink yarn skeins will go on ebay. halleluja

stash enhancement

stash
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

hi, my name is dao nguyen, and i'm a yarnaholic. must post some yarn to ebay. we are drowning in yarn.

stash enhancement

stash
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

stash enhancement

stash
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

stash enhancement

stash
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

kitty obsession

yesterday, i made a disgusting discovery. white roll-y poly round worms wriggled round henry's anus. that's right. so gross. this morning i took a not too happy cat to the vet, who also discovered he had inflamed cauliflower ear canals. apparently, it had grown over from repeated infection, and there's not a whole lot that can be done, and that he is probably partly deaf. i don't understand how this wasn't caught one of the last times i brought him in to the vet.

henry was due for an exam, urine, blood and blood pressure tests. of course all of this came out to be close to an iphone. since reading this article on caring for cats using holistic health practices, i've been giving henry natural and organic cat food made with animal protein (vs. grain protein) instead of prescription k/d food, which has less protein.

according to the article, cats are obligate carnivores and are used to having lots of animal protein. i asked the vet about this who explained that cats with reduced kidney function couldn't digest the protein, which made me feel bad. i thought i was helping him to eat and get better. i hope it hasn't made him worse. i will have to try to mix the foods. he eats less of the k/d food, and one of the things i have to do is maintain his weight. henry's having all kinds of health issues. i want to do everything i can for him, but it is definitely taxing, worrying about him and the expenses.

knitty obsession

mini-sweater progress
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

for black friday, i made a mini yarn crawl up the 405 as there were two different yarn shops, wild fiber & a mano yarn, that were having sales. at the former, i picked up some twinkle chunky for a vest and made an impulse purchase of soft merino by pear tree australia yarn. also picked up some superwash cascade 220 for a shrug, some trekking sock and alpaca lace yarn from a mano. shannita was so nice to give me an extra 5% off for bringing my own bag. i guess it pays to do one's part for the environment.

the mini-sweater grows. i separated the sleeves and joined the body. in retrospect, the substituted seed stitching for the garter stitching is not really visible in this dark thick & thin manos wool yarn which has somewhat felted.

turkey day w/ the nguyen clan

turkey day w/ the nguyen clan
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

we had chicken instead of turkey, soup, shrimp, salad & mashed potatoes at our usual get-together. although i could still feel all the bones in my grandfather's back when i put my arm on him, he looked better and was alert to the various conversations around dinner. my family pow-wowed to decide what to do. it seems my grandfather is capable of gaining back his mobility and strength, but does not want to. typical of our family, he is very stubborn. he will most likely be sent to another nursing facility for 24 hr care.

....

the last few days have been eaten up with research for our ny trip. i have been playing with google maps' awesome feature called myMaps that allows you to place markers in various colors on a mapped area. the difficulty will be to decide what makes it into our trip, and what doesn't. apparently, there's a lot of good food to be experienced...most of the markers point to restaurants.

turkey day w/ the nguyen clan

turkey day w/ the nguyen clan
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

earrings for my aunt van

thank you

mike--so kind, patient and giving. who puts up with all of my shit, embraces my insanity and inspires me every day.

my family--always there for me. generous, good people. strong people who embrace life and new experiences which they have shared with me.

my mother--who's strong will and determination i have inherited.

my friends--unique, wonderful, good individual who make me laugh and smile.

community -- my fellow crafters who share a passion and obsession.

my kitties & fish who make life much more interesting.

being alive another day to savor feasting, the usual terrible sexual innuendos and word jokes with the ones i love.

more things to do in nyc

5. visit the whitney - articularly excited about seeing kara walker's work

6. check out the guggenheim - none of the exhibits look that exciting at first glance, and sadly, the building is covered in scaffolding, but we may go anyway.

7. ground zero - walking tour - because it's a part of history

8. central park walking tour

9. brooklyn's prospect park - audubon center - bird watching

wow, i'm remembering why nyc is popular. much to do. i hope we can squeeze most of this in. i haven't even looked up food places yet....

the blahs

today, i am a big magnet for the blahs. blah blah blah. a precious day off to work on art, and not much happened. i soldered some and spray-painted more boards this morning, but spending more time casting on for a shrug has left me feeling guilty and bereft of any sense of accomplishment. this seems to be happening a lot lately, partly due to not having any kind of schedule. often, there's only a vague "to do" list in my brain. the one this morning seemed long and impossible, so my natural response was to not do anything or very little. i have it in me to be insanely productive, but i haven't had one of those days for some time. i can only blame it on the blahs.

on top of that, the situation with my grandfather seems to be getting worse. the problem isn't so much his body health as his mental health. given an ultimatum that he wanted to die at home, my family has been forced to bring him home even though he has been unwilling to make any effort to get better, and there is no one to care for him. i'm not sure why, but it makes me angry. i want him to get over himself and recover, not whither away and wait for death.

maybe it is because my father killed himself, and i am feeling the same sense of helplessness that i am angry. sure, there is an opportunity for me to speak to him, but i don't know what to say. instead, i do as i often do when faced with difficulties. with a long list of excuses, i avoid the problem. my family has already tried with no success. there is this wall of age difference, cultural difference, language difference that separates us.

things to do in NYC

3. see Martin Puryear's solo exhibition at MOMA

4. visit my cousin & her baby

felt club XL Holiday

felt club
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

what an exhausting day! i remembered (with mike's help) to put out chocolate croissants last night to rise for our quick breakfast this morning before heading up to LA for felt club XL Holiday craft fair event.

i didn't realize there would be so many vendors. we spent hours walking around looking at all the handmade goodies and shopping for xmas gifts. even though we arrived as the event was opening, apparently, we weren't the only ones who decided to go early, and there were people who were there long before us. some booths were impossible to go into because of all the people.

it was difficult making decisions and trying to be somewhat budget conscious as there were so many cute things. we stayed until we were dizzy from not having any lunch and absolutely had to leave to not be horribly late to the reception for the show in Long Beach one of my pieces is in. it's barely 7pm, but it feels so much later. the rest of the night will be spent vegging...

#2 on list of things to do in NY

2. visit lys--
purl
habu textiles
string
the yarn tree

jaywalker envy progress

jaywalker envy
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

yay! i finished one sock, which happily fit. i think it could be more snug, but i'm ok with it. this knit up pretty fast. now let's hope i can keep the momentum going.

sock yarn

stash
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i really like the colors on these. the one on the right is classic elite, and is a blend of wool & alpaca.

for footlets

stash
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i stopped by alamitos bay yarn to get some for footlets for my aunt. of course, i couldn't leave with these two by themselves...

stash

stash
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i needed some long cables for future sweater projects, and convinced myself (not hard to do) to get some yarn to meet the $45 min for free shipping. have been anxiously awaiting this, which came in the mail yesterday. the blue will be for some cable socks, and the variegated essentials will be for the roundabout vest. it's my first time buying knit picks yarn, and i am quite impressed with the quality at least from first touch considering how inexpensive it is.

hot and cold

the weather's vacillation between hot (on the days i'm home from work in an un-air-conditioned apt) and cold (when i'm at work where they pump the ac) has me discombobulated. since i pulled out my winter clothes this past weekend, i've been rearing for the passing of the season, but between global warming and santa ana winds, i'm only getting teased.

as deadlines for graduate school applications approach, i get more anxious at the thought that i have so few finished pieces, and must wait until next year. there's this unsettling feeling my work progress moves slowly yet time moves too quickly. i know i am making some progress and need to be patient. i think part of the worry comes from wanting the chance to have kids or a kid. i don't have much time left for that. it would be easier if i could just let go of this worry.

at the same time, the time for our trip to NY is also fast approaching. i want to make a list of the things i'd like to do while there, but it's not highest on my list of to dos right now. thinking about it is exciting though. i've been once, at the end of my college years, and only for a few days by myself. this time, we are attending an environmental graphic design conference, and have several days for sightseeing.

even though mike & i mostly enjoy spending our time as recluses and don't often go out, there's this travel bug in me that likes to have new experiences. Here is one for the list:

1. Moveable Type at the New York Times Builing

i've got twelve days. i could come up with eleven more couldn't i?

articulating

a request for a bio/artist statement for the 2007 National Open upcoming show at Long Beach Arts, where one of my pieces is installed, led to a long overdue revisit of my writing. since my portfolio review in san francisco, i have been mulling over in my head what my work is about, how i talk about it, what i want my work to be about or what direction i want it to go. it's really been a big soupy mess that i've come back to here and there, but mostly avoided--my usual response to problems--sitting down to sort out.

the revisit this morning helped to somewhat clarify or at least better articulate certain things. others are yet to be decided. i hate to make any decisions about the specific direction of my work as i feel they might be limiting, but at the same time, it's what i need--parameters that is--somewhat arbitrary rules to coral my wandering interests du jour.

mike's advice to me has been to not overload individual projects with too many overblown ideas, but to keep them simple and direct. it is definitely challenging balancing the desire to layer one's work so it is intriguing with not creating a confusing muck and losing the message.

i whittled my artist statement to one very general paragraph and the project statement to be less physically & technically descriptive and more about the work. writing about one's work is tough. i used to think that one of the reasons i make art has to do with my inability to articulate in words the mess in my head, but now i think it's an exercise in organizing, reorganizing and revisualizing it. the writing seems to help it not be a literal brain dump.

photo of my late father progress

photo of my late father
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i am half way through soldering, and still have a ways before i'm even halfway done with the project as a whole. i've been thinking about it some more, and want to add some elements that will make it more clear that it is about reverence and the vietnamese custom of honoring dead ancestors. not sure if it will take the form of a large matt in front of the piece that you have to take your shoes off to enter or pillows in front or the sounds of a wood knocker faint in the background.

jaywalker progress

jaywalker progress
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

when i switched needle sizes, i moved to knit picks nickel-plated dpns. pros & cons as follows:

easier to pick up stitches (and drop them), easier to do the double decreases, quicker to knit (jury is still out on this, as i invariably drop a few stitches each time i put this away in my bag, and have to spend some time with recovery upon restarting), not so fragile (i really felt like i could break the bamboo takumi us #1's at any moment)

it's coming along. i should be able to start the heel tomorrow. i'm making it longer than the pattern indicates (i like long socks) and can only hope that there is enough yarn.

feist spoon concert

feist spoon concert
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

i almost forgot that i had purchased tickets to this show a while ago. mike & i got to universal citywalk early enough to leisurely trek to the theater, and were able to look at the completed cinema which he, via his company, sussman prezja, worked on the redesign. i thought it was colorful enough to stand in with the other shops & restaurants there, but not too over-the-top, although that seemed to be the overarching theme of the place.

spoon was fun, and feist's lovely voice carried me through the night.

feist spoon concert

feist spoon concert
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

mike & kimeng baby shower

mike & kimeng baby shower
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

mike & kimeng baby shower

mike & kimeng baby shower
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

complacencies of the peignoir

more social engagements this past weekend, so not so much time devoted to art. yesterday, i spent the afternoon renting a uhaul van, loading my 28 days piece into the van along with winter clothes, then taking the piece to long beach arts where it will be in a group juried show and unloading it there. i still have to return on tuesday to install it.

mike & i ate veggie burgers & fries and had a bit of respite before having to run to babies r' us to pick up baby shower gifts (somehow, i didn't pay attention to the dates, and all of a sudden, it's last minute) on the way to my grandparent's house to celebrate my uncle's 64th birthday with family. the baby shower, which was today, is unrelated to the birthday dinner, other than that it fit into the schedule.

dinner with my family consisted of hot pot with meats, fish, tofu and veggies. dessert was a decadent thing with layers of flaky crust, custard, cream puffs, chocolate and whipped cream. i sat knitting afterwards and listening to my family reminisce and make dirty jokes then have a serious discussion about my grandparents and what if anything they should do. living in close proximity to my mother's family these past few years has allowed me to enjoy and share a certain amount of connectedness. i'm often off to the side listening, but i feel like i'm a part of something, though not always without strife, that is special, and fleeting.

today included wrapping said baby shower gifts, attending the baby shower and catching up with friends we hadn't seen in a year, during said time apart they went to europe, bought a nice digital slr & became pregnant--8 months pregnant to be exact. oh, and before and after, i unpacked several boxes of sweaters and other winter clothes while packing away some summer clothes and remembered why i really don't need to shop so much. today felt like the beginning of winter--as wintry as it will be for southern california anyways. i wore my heavy green scarf for the first day of the season. now i have to squeeze in typing up my mother's resume for her...

....

am making progress on the jaywalker sock. realized about two-thirds the way down the leg, that it was a little loose and went down a needle size. i noticed the knitpicks nickel-plated needles run smaller than the wooden takumi needles--at least comparing the us#1. maybe it's an illusion...

lacey cowl/neckwarmer fo

lacey cowl/neckwarmer
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

the momentum on knitting this cowl has been sporadic, with moments of it flying by, and then pauses while i was distracted by other projects, but i finished and posted this on friday. i am happy with the way it turned out. the pattern was interesting enough to keep the momentum up, but not too difficult to memorize and work while watching tv.

the original pattern calls for a laceweight yarn and comes out to be 22.5" around. i thought that was large, so i modified the number of cast on stitches to be 20" circumference using a sock weight yarn. it was still loose, presumably to fit over the head, although i would knit it at 18" next time, so i bought a beautiful handmade pin to secure it.

the yarn, artfibers' carezza, is a blend of baby alpaca, silk & wool. the silk gives it a subtle silvery sheen, which i love, and the baby alpaca and merino wool are soft and slightly fuzzy around the neck, which i also love.

let sleeping cats lay

let sleeping cats lay
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

let sleeping cats lay

let sleeping cats lay
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

disturbing

disturbing
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

thinking 'bout you

mouse & shrug
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

tuesday, i went to visit my grandfather, who fell a month or so ago and fractured his hip, at the rehabilitation center he is staying in. i can see why he is afraid of and dislikes places like this. sterile, hospital-like and full of sick seniors, it leaves much to be desired.

as i walked along the hallway to my grandfather's room, i could see the infirm laying in bed watching tv, moaning and/or wandering the halls aimlessly pulling themselves along in their wheelchairs by one good foot. when we found his room empty, we were hopeful that he was out getting some exercise. my mom went looking for him and returned saying that he was having dinner.

i followed her to a medium-sized room with about six or seven square tables, mostly occupied by elderly people slumped over their trays in wheelchairs. i scanned the room, but could not locate my grandfather. my mom beckoned from the other end of the room.

when i walked up to the table she was standing next too, i found the emaciated and frail shadow of my grandfather, obscured by another elderly man at the next table over. his eyes had sunken into his face, and when i put my hand on his neck and back, i could feel his bones protruding from under his shirt. he stared blankly at me, rendering me speechless. i couldn't tell if he recognized me or was conscious of my presence, but he murmured something i could barely make out that indicated he was lucid.

the next half hour or so frustrated the hell out of me as i watched him eat with difficulty due to hand coordination issues. i wanted to do something, but felt helpless as my mother indicated he needed to get his strength and mobility by doing things himself.

the worse part had to have been watching him attempt to eat the noodle soup which was more slippery noodles than liquid, which my grandfather usually likes with meals. it was just within reach, but picking up a spoon full of noodles and some broth seemed to require more coordination than he could muster. every time he got more than one noodle on the spoon, the other would slip off, and it seemed near impossible, what with using only one hand, to pick up some broth. i guess my mother couldn't take it any longer, because after five minutes, she started to help him.

being a chain-smoker all of his life, he must feel unhinged not being able to. he coughed quite a bit as he ate. all i could do was rub his back. the whole experience was rather strained as my mother, my grandmother and i stood awkwardly around the table watching my grandfather eat very slowly. there really weren't any other chairs in the room as all the sick were in wheelchairs. in general, i am not the most adept at navigating social situations, but i felt utterly clueless as to what i could/should have done, like someone standing and wondering what to do with her hands while everyone stares.

he finally finished, and we wheeled him back to his room, where we left some change of clothes for him. resistant to any offers to make his stay more bearable such as books, newspapers and home-cooked meals, he seemed to have lost any desire to do anything but sit zombie-like in his room. he couldn't even be persuaded to watch any tv.

i realize that he has been depressed lately, and this accident has only brought things to the surface. i also understand what it feels like to wallow, having been through various bouts of depression and general melancholy. Even when things got fairly horrible, as it felt to me, i would realize that i had reached rock-bottom and that things could only go up. at least i was optimistic. i hope that he doesn't hurt himself or hurt too much before finding the strength to get on.

it's got to be difficult being old and feeling emasculated, being from a vietnamese background. i want to suggest he take up a hobby like knitting. something he could find some simple joy and meaning in. i'm not sure what that would be. the world is a different place than the one my grandparents know. our generation is bombarded and overstimulated. i complain more of not having enough time to do everything i want to do than of being bored. i could suggest a zillion things that i would find interesting to put my energy into, but i don't know if they would take to it...

...

on another note. i finished my one skein wonder, mostly. it really was a fast knit, because i was bored with other projects in progress and was fueled by the thought that this was the stepping stone project i needed to take to start knitting clothing. it turned out ok. my guage was a bit inconsistent, i barely had enough yarn, and the sleeves are a little loose around my arms. i have rather thin arms. and still there is some finishing work. i'd like to try another of stephanie japel's sweater patterns.

weaving & fiber festival booty

weaving & fiber festival booty
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

amy visits for a day

amy visits for a day
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.

feeling more like saturday than black sunday, yesterday indulged my favorite fancies, not even sparing the extra hour for rest, and included a fiber festival, murakami at the moca, the santa monica beach at night and a lovely dinner with mike and his sister amy.

weaving & spinning fiber festival in torrance
the hurried exploration of festival goodness rationed my usually ridiculous consumption of all things fiber. i say ridiculous because i bought more roving when i haven't done that much spinning nor do i have the time to, but the touching and the looking enticed me. photos coming soon.

murakami at the moca
if you are interested in japanese buddhist iconography or pop culture through the brightly tinted lens and subversive cuteness of big-eyed cartoon characters with sharp teeth, you cannot miss the murakami exhibit. in spite of the crowded insanity of the opening weekend, i really enjoyed the show. although i have seen murakami's work in the context of group shows, i have not had the opportunity to reflect on and appreciate the references and the humor.

i liked the huge gotee'd buddha with one serene and one mad pointy teeth baring face sitting on a flattened elephant sculpture made of titanium and the room wall-papered with silk-screened faced flowers with flower paintings sometimes appearing to recede and sometimes appearing to bulge out of the walls. i thought the cutesy mushrooms with big eyes were sinister in the context of the mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb. confused and disturbed was i to all of a sudden walk into a louis vuitton store selling bags with murakami-ized LV logos.

santa monica beach
we missed the sunset, but could still see a spectrum of colors in the sky over the ocean horizon and glow of the amusement park rides on the pier. only mildly chilly, we walked the long expanse of sand to smell the sea.

ammo
still a favorite even after a long time away, ammo did not disappoint. we started by sharing a market beet and avocado salad. my dish of spaghetti with bitter greens and proscuitto was simple yet delicious and light. mike had the farotto with beets in a pomegranate reduction which had complex sweet, salty and tangy flavors. amy loved her slightly sweet lasagna filled with grilled shitakes and fresh vegetables. we ended with a rustic apple tart with mascarpone and sundae with trio of coffee, chocolate & vanilla ice cream blanketed with caramel and chocolate sauces and sweet graham(?) chunks.

mike's quick rush to get a replacement air mattress from target (cats punctured the previous one) resulted in one twice the thickness. it looked so good, i was wanting to sleep on it myself.

...

a victim of the time change, i left work an hour early because i was following the computer clock, not realizing it had not been updated. doh! well, at least i had more time to catch up on some sewing in class where i made good progress on the pajama pants.

Weaving & Fiber Festival in Torrance

Weaving & Fiber Festival in Torrance
Originally uploaded by bluepupae.