April 6, '15 ~ Here's a smaller ink piece on watercolor paper I obsessively worked on the last two days. It's small, but quite a few hours were needed to finish it. I used a compass and ruler and tracing paper to get the proportions and symmetry exact. I noticed I have been getting much better at symmetry in the past year or so, but sometimes it still never comes out perfect! So tools are a very helpful hand in cases like this. I love the detail you can get when working with paper (instead of canvas) ~ I think a lot of my art will be going in this direction in the next year or so. Smaller, but more detailed. Sometimes less is so much more...
March 4, '15 ~ Finished piece for a friend's acupuncture clinic in San Francisco. This has been a couple months in the making, and in-between starting this piece and finishing it, 5 weeks of travel to Myanmar (Burma) & Thailand. Before I left I knew I needed to add something else to bring it all together. When I returned, I knew exactly what the answer was. Dots. So simple but really adds a lots of depth & definition to the final piece. Funny how sometimes in life you have to go so far away for the answer to something so obvious. But what an adventure it all was.
Dec 5, '14 ~ I love doing the UGG Customization events during the holidays all around the Bay Area. This pair of boots was from the event @ Stonestown Mall, San Francisco. Designs made from a wood burning tool create permanent art to individualize & personalize them to make them one-of-a-kind! UGG's are super comfy but they all look the same. This adds a lot more flavor :)
Nov 7, '14 ~ I am in such gratitude that is has been such a busy summer full of amazing opportunities! I have been meaning to find the time to add to this blog, as its already November, yet there is still sooo much to do. One recent opportunity that I have been really excited about is the making of a new painting for a friend's acupuncture clinic in SF. She had given me some ideas of what she was looking for, and some themes to go along with the piece. She loved the idea of using cherry blossoms in the painting, so I incorporated some imported Japanese paper within it ~ one of my favorite things to do with my art! It's been a while since my last larger piece so I am so grateful to have chance to do it again. I love seeing the beginnings take shape, and love how the pieces gain a life of their own. It truly is my meditation.
July 10, '14 ~ Pregnant belly henna has always been my favorite. It is such a beautiful experience connecting with the mama-to-be and hearing her story of such a life-altering time in her life. Its almost surreal seeing the baby move, sometimes more than others, but without fail, every time. Every woman has her story, and I feel so grateful to be able to listen to each one. Truly a blessing, one of gratitude and love.
July 8, '14 ~ It feels SO good to be applying henna to canvas again. It puts me in a truly meditative space and I end up completely loosing track of time. This is an unfinished canvas piece that should hopefully be done soon. I will post the finished piece hopefully in the next few days :) Always curious to see the end result!
July 4, '14 ~ I wanted to say thank you to Hiram Chee at www.hiramchee.com for these fantastic photos. It was truly a pleasure to work with this brilliant Santa Cruz local photographer. He also taught me a few things about grid lighting, which are now currently in the mail :)
July 1, '14 ~ I had a fun Sunday this weekend setting up a small body art table downtown Santa Cruz with my good friend Lisa (www.facebook.com/pacificfacepainters). We wanted to see if there was any interest with henna and facepaint to random people on the street. She is an exceptionally talented body artist & mural artist and feel grateful to work and collaborate with her brilliance. Though there are some very specific city regulations to abide by for street artists, it was a super fun day, especially in the social aspect of the experience. I saw a very old childhood friend I haven't seen in years, along with many other familiar faces. A perfect way to spend an unusually hot Santa Cruz summer weekend day :)
