| graphic novel days daze |
[Apr. 30th, 2008|02:39 pm] |
Hello! Almost two months since my last post, during which several general life things happened, including moving back to Northern California and turning 24. But most importantly I finished Phase One of my graphic novel on Monday! I don't want to say much about it now, but hopefully over summer I'll be able to give more concrete information and can stop being annoyingly discreet. I still have about two weeks of non-drawing work to do (for now) but at least the craziest, most introverted part is over. At least I hope. As for how've I been, this approximately sums up my state of being over the last few months:
Needless to say I've been very crazily-focused and M.I.A. so I wasn't at Stumptown this weekend, or anywhere at all for that matter. On a semi-related note, I just bought my tickets to New York for MoCCA this year! It'll be my first visit to NY and attending the festival so I'm pretty stoked. I'm just going as a spectator so I won't have anything with me, though I could probably be found hovering around the vicinity of Miss Lark Pien when I'm not going out for long lunches and museum breaks or something.
More updates as they come, maaaybe with more frequency now? |
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| This is what blogging is for, right? |
[Mar. 3rd, 2008|12:49 pm] |
I was reading the NY Time's China, Choking on Growth series yesterday, in particular the Yangtze turtle one, which of course was mega distressing. But a couple endangered Asian marine mammal links later, I saw this photo, and it made me smile--despite the depressing context.
I could look at this all day. How great are Irrawaddy Dolphins? |
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| Art Sale! |
[Feb. 27th, 2008|11:43 am] |
Hey, took a break from drawing comics to do some original art for sale. Hope you like melancholy girl drawings. Email me at jwiggy at gmail:
Underneath Sheets - watercolor on 5" x 7" SOLD
Morning Kitchen - watercolor on 5" x 7" SOLD
Okay, thanks guys! :) |
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[Feb. 5th, 2008|08:59 pm] |
Refreshing the NY Times is making me so nervous! |
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| SFO |
[Feb. 2nd, 2008|11:43 am] |
A panel I did earlier this week...
Hi! I haven't posted at all in the new year so why not in February?
I've been in hibernation mode for a little while, partly because I'm not feeling well, but also due to working and focusing hard on my comic and side commissions. Not too much else. I have the desire to interact, post, and be a part of the community again, but other than a long list of Really Nerdy Thoughts! about the books and movies I've been devouring recently, I'm feeling a bit fatigued to contribute. Once I get over the hump, finish the manuscript, and hopefully once the weather gets better, I'll have more to say. I'm really excited about new influences and ideas I've had stewing quietly over the past months that don't necessarily apply to my book, or to comics even, and I'm looking forward to experimenting once I'm off the hook! I wanna loosen up, do more life sketching, especially now that I'm 400% better at drawing buildings and environments.
(By the way, I'm typing this next to the window overlooking our yard and it just started snowing. Slushily. But snowing!)
But just one small anecdote: I'm re-reading The Great Gatsby right now, which I only read the once in high school, 15, 16, or so. At the time I couldn't really connect to it. The characters were a little too adult, rich, and fabulous, and I was fascinated but unsure of the significance of the scene where he's tossing crazy Italians shirts on the bed and she breaks into tears. I must've brought this up with my English teacher (or somebody did) because I remember being assured, "read it again when you're older. You'll like it". I've been thinking about it for a couple years now and finally doing it. And just wanted to say: they were absolutely right. It's really lovely and I'm having a good time.
Wish I could be in California for Super Tuesday! I'll be keeping close watch.
(p.s. Someone had asked about RSS/Atom feeds, and actually LiveJournal automatically creates feeds for their accounts, so it'd be : mao.livejournal.com/data/rss or mao.livejournal.com/data/atom. I know most people know about this but, I didn't!) |
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| lit law |
[Dec. 28th, 2007|09:33 pm] |
Here's a question for those savvy on the legal end of literature:
If I were to do a nonfiction semi-biographical piece on, say, a writer or writers (non-living) and wanted to incorporate selections and quotes from their work, is it enough to just credit them? Would I need ask for certain permissions? I'm just toying with ideas at the moment, nothing serious. Obviously if I decided on something I'd look into it more specifically, but for now I'm just curious. |
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| quiet holiday |
[Dec. 20th, 2007|08:08 pm] |
Starting a new chapter and looking forward to it. I'm not in an objective position to say "my best", but I think I'm doing some of my most personal favorite work these days, and I hope it comes across. I think these things do.
Aside from a visit from my buddy Omar and some cat sitting next week I've no official plans this holiday. My mom always takes the time off to visit her mom in Taiwan so X-mas is usually pretty quiet in my family. This year I just happen to not be home. Instead I'm way overstocked in library books and movies so I'm taking it easy and focus on drawing.
I'm watching Joseph Campbell's "Power of Myth" and reading Rilke's "Letters to a Young Poet", both for the first time. I can see now why both are considered major creator inspirations. In some ways I wish I read Rilke before watching Campbell because Campbell's mish-mash of Western and Eastern philosophy really hits home for me, and its sort of overshadowing my appreciation for the former. And on the topic of Back To My Childhood Roots, I finally listened to the Glen Keane interviews at Animation Podcast and they're really pretty worth it. Not that everyone hasn't heard it already. My heart sings in the tune of Glen Keane!
Also! Not that I need any more book and comic recommendations at the moment, but I've been catching up on my manga classics. Lots of Tezuka (who really blows me away), reading "Nausicaa" for the first time, etc. And I never got the deal with shojo manga, but I'm really intrigued by "Swan". Lookit that layout! Whew! I can't get my head around all the new and popular stuff, but I'm actually finding some interest in it again, which has not been the case in oh, 5 years. I feel like I'm going through my artist Sabbatical period these days, and there's a lot to learn.
Happy Holidays everyone! |
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[Dec. 3rd, 2007|02:49 pm] |
I really needed a wall calendar (I already have a pocket one) so I made one...out of a Trader Joe's bag. There was enough bag left to make January too. It's barely not-that-ugly, but still a little too ugly for my walls so we'll see how long I keep 'em. Also, it's been raining for about two days straight now. It's not bad except it takes forever to run any errands by bus.
Mainly this is an excuse to link to the new Snoop Dogg video, which is pretty great. I promise, it's not what you think. |
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| prints, updates, comics |
[Nov. 29th, 2007|04:06 pm] |
I've been pretty secretive so far, but here's a preview illustration for the comic I'm working on. I hadn't done any full cast illustrations yet so I thought this would be a good halfway point to start doing some. At this point the looks of the main characters aren't going to change. And don't hold your breath, it may be awhile! But rest assured I will continue to discreetly point to its existence.
Also, 11" x 14" original sized prints are available now for "Birthday" on my website! I went with an eco-printer which cost a little more, so I only made 50. But if these do well I have a couple more in the works, so there will definitely be artwork available for people who want them in the coming month! Here's a crappy photo for scale:
This hasn't nothing to do with anything, but I joined Shelfari recently. It's like a hybrid social-networking book club site. So far there's not much to do but check on your friends and write reviews, but I think it has the potential to be a good resource for writers, publishers, and folks involved in books. And readers of course! I think we can do better than Amazon book reviews. Maybe you'd like to join?
And even less to do with anything, I was offered my first taste of Intelligentsia coffee today. It might have been some of the best coffee I've had. I envy you Chicago and Silver Lake. |
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[Oct. 27th, 2007|08:44 pm] |
Construction of the new California Academy of Sciences was completed and turned over to academy officials today!
Phase two: installation!
I hold a lot of sentimental value for the Academy since it was the first real musuem in my life, and fieldtripping there every year in elementary school was always a big deal (packed lunches! chaperones! aligators! excitement!). Initially I was apprehensive about it being torn down and fixed up for modern eyes (for good seismic and eco reasons) but now all I can think is, "Look at it! Look! Look at the new Academy!"
Also, I went to the last opening day of the old museum in winter 2003. It is now almost 2008. Jeeze. |
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[Oct. 19th, 2007|10:46 pm] |
I haven't posted in a bit so I figured I take the opportunity of being meme-tagged to jot something. A lot of things make me happy, but I mostly came up with nostalgic things I think.
Various Ten Things that bring a kick to my day:
1. When kitties return affection. When they don't it totally hurts me!!
2. Karaoke rooms
3. It's 4am and you're about to cap off your awesome night with some greasy food at Sparky's.
4. Cheap eats / asian street food
5. Listening to news radio while cooking.
6. Conservatory of Flowers
7. Pineapple on pizza (only Neil Babra understands me)
8. Nature shows
9. That moment after you meet someone when you think "oh, I think we're going to be friends!"
10. A successful run at the library
I've been wanting to draw a girl wearing a coat buttoned with one button. And now I have. |
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| "birthday" |
[Oct. 3rd, 2007|09:22 pm] |
Popping in real quick to give a heads up. I have a piece up for Floating World Comic's October show starting tomorrow night. It's a "ladies only" group show and should be pretty good. Those in Portland making their First Thursday rounds should check it out, or just check out Floating World sometime in general. It's a good store. Here's the link for info to the show. You can also contact FW directly about the piece, if that is a thing you would do.
11" x 14"
Link to a slightly bigger version. You can see where I ran out of time and got sloppy.
Detail on birthday girl in bathtub.
If enough people like it I might make a small batch of limited prints? I still need to figure out where my go-to places in PDX. I'm going to be churning out some original art, prints, and possibly random other trinkets over the next three months to fund my sitting at home and working on my comic. Things have been a little all over the place the past few months, but I can feel the "hunkering down" setting in, and those things will come with the flow. Updates soon! |
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[Sep. 9th, 2007|03:19 am] |
| [ | mood |
| | Yes!!! | ] |
| [ | music |
| | dirty projectors - what I see | ] |
Lessons are being learned in early September.
For one, further delaying the likelyhood of my getting a car by another 10 years: biking in Portland is great.
Secondly, less I keep missing things, I have finally gotten over the fear of going to movies and shows by myself. The only downside to this is I have no one to share my ethusiasm with afterwards. It's like a secret. So just for tonight I'm going to bother the internet about the
DIRTY PROJECTORS!!!
DIRTY PROJECTORS!!!
DIRTY PROJECTORS!!!
(p.s. the secret is they are great)
And just so the post isn't wasted, here's an "outtake" painting from my last show. I liked it but I felt like it needs to go with a series.
( cut ) |
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| at sea |
[Jul. 16th, 2007|05:22 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | kim doo soo - bohemian | ] |
Lately I haven't been able to stop looking at / reading "My Little Dead Dick" everyday. My world feels incredibly small and stunted right now and being able to look at their photos fills me with so much courage, wonder, and hope. |
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| new attitude |
[Jul. 2nd, 2007|10:51 am] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | portland | ] |
| [ | music |
| | dirty projectors - a labor more restful (live) | ] |
I haven't really updated since I moved, but I only get internet at work and there hasn't been much in the way of completed works to show lately. On top of that I've been quiet, myself. To be honest I'm not very happy, but making any bold proclamations seems inappropriate when you haven't been someplace very long (even though I don't think it should be like this anyway. Hey, I have STANDARDS). Lots of heaviness and moody baths and the worst is I imagine this is what it's going to be like for a long while.
But the point I wanted to make: even as I roll in the pits, there has been movement!
There's new material in the works that I've been (and am) keeping on the downlow for various reasons. Being able to give myself completely to something has been getting me through the days even though its cutting into my sleep (I also work a 9-5 job). But watching it start to gasp and breathe on its own after a period of manually pumping life into every page has been very worth the pseudo-insomnia. I want to say it's maternal, along with all those other motherly feelings of self-recognition, pride, and yes, high hopes.
Along with that, I'm also helping myself cope by trying to teach my brain something new everyday, many thanks to a forgiving work environment. I obsessively blew through the audio archives of "To The Best of Your Knowledge" (better than TAL bitches!) within my first 3 weeks and I've been listening to lots of new music. At the risk of sounding pretentious I'm growing to new sounds I don't think I necessarily understood before and it's very exciting. There's a group watercolor show coming up soon and I'll have previews of that in a few weeks. Until then...check out these amazing homemade underpants Mary Grunstra made for me out of the blue! Definitely the best pair I possess. |
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[May. 15th, 2007|06:21 pm] |
Oh, I forgot to mention:
Those of you in the LA area, Saturday May 19th is the 2nd Power In Numbers group show at Gallery Nucleus. Proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. I submitted three watercolor paintings:
( 2 more under the cut, some nudity )
In addition, here're two last minute commissions I kicked out last night to cover some moving expenses:
 
And while I'm throwing out art links, my two paintings ("Matador" and "Seed") for the The Indie show at Gallery 1988 are also available online, among a host of other nice pieces. Check 'em out! |
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| comin' on up! |
[May. 14th, 2007|04:18 am] |
I've finally booked my train ticket to Oregon. May 23rd and no looking back!
Cleaning is so great. I'm pretty happy about limiting my material posessions to a suitcase and three boxes (they're organic apple boxes from Rainbow. D'aww). I'm going through the 2nd round of the book selection process right now and already I feel ashamed that almost all the keeps are comics. Prose books are more library accessible, that's what I'm telling myself. Tomorrow, library donations and furniture donations.
Also, as my one "junk" purchase, I bought one of those Otona no Kagaku home planetarium kits last week. I can't wait to get settled and put it together! I figured I wasn't going to step inside a Kinokuniya again for a while--or at least not on a regular basis--so why not. Man, I'll miss you super great bookstore.
I feel like I have a million things to say but I can't possibly write them all. I get to see so many people this week and nibble my last Mission burritos from a long time! Time. And time! So many thoughts related to time! |
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| via Tanya, naturally |
[May. 10th, 2007|11:29 am] |
A couple style-nerds on my friendslist might get a kick out of this:
 
Hairsalon Yumeya, the best Japanese retro hairsalon website on the internet! There's not a lot of logic to the navigation so just click on everything. Just about everypage is good. My mom sort of had hair like this at some point, but then so did/do a lot of Asian women her age. Not that it suited her in the least.
[oh, and someone pointed out the frontpage might not be work safe. thank you!] |
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| show time! |
[May. 1st, 2007|04:56 pm] |
Locals! This Saturday, May 5th, if you're out in the city celebrating Cinco de Mayo and getting your drink on please stop by My Trick Pony for free wine and possibly a custom T-shirt!
( a few of the designs )
Reception starts 7:30pm,
My Trick Pony
743 14th Street
(between Belcher st. and Church st.)
San Francisco, CA 94114. Mapquest.
I'll let people know after the show how they can order shirts online, but if their online store doesn't launch within the next week they are always open to email requests for the time being. Sorry this isn't more e-convenient yet.
In other news, APE was good. I don't really have too much to say about it and I didn't take any photos, but you can't really go wrong with these events. I had a good time and I thank everyone who stopped by and purchased a thing or two. Or just said hi! Sunday Lark and I went to the release party for EXACTLY, the by-teens-for-kids children's book anthology organized by 826 Valenica. Hellen Jo's piece is still the best. Hellen totally rules, if you didn't know. But it was also good to see my girl all dressed up and glowing, especially since she seemed so shy and self-conscious our first meeting. And I was glad to find in the book credits she had volunteered time to putting the book together as well. We got to sign each other's books yearbook style! So fitting!
In even more real life news, I'm moving soon. I don't have THAT much crap, but I'm sure I'll want to pass on some junk that I can't really bear to toss or donate. Definitely that table I painted. More on that later as I get more organized! |
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