2014: A Year in Pictures

This is me, right now. And Dozer, my cat.

As the caption says, it is glorious. I'm taking a rest - a self-enforced laziness. I feel like I should get up and do stuff, I have my to-do list filled with activities, yet they're getting ticked off so slowly.

YES. To sluggy-ness. It is so healing.

I know that a new western calendar year can mean a clean slate, but truth be told, I usually get depressed after Christmas is over. November and December mean lots of craft shows and art sales for me - it's really the one time of year I can dependably make an income from selling my artwork. And it's very exciting and rushed, but that means post-Christmas blues.

This year, after my busy-busy-busy season, I spent 10 days at my parents' home in Rochester, NY celebrating Christmas with my family.

My mom and older sister looking at a branch on our Christmas Day Walk. It was unseasonably warm for Rochester!

After so much nurturing energy, good food (including Thai, Indian, and Bar-B-Q restaurants), and being around people who have known me my whole life, it felt sad at first to return to regular life. And because my artist lifestyle is not the most predictable, a clean slate can be somewhat terrifying. I have to evaluate what worked and what didn't in the last year, and modify how I will make my living this year. But weirdly, I am not that worried about it. I think things will fall into place.

2014 RE-CAP

Last year was a very busy year, perhaps one of the busiest in terms of variety of activities.

I was a panel judge for a students' art award. That was fun. I had to quickly move to a new apartment after my old apartment's two chimneys caught on fire. I worked on illustration commissions:

An album cover I illustrated in linocut.

An extremely intense hand-embroidered portrait I did as a wedding present/commission.

I travelled to the SCBWI conference on children's books in NYC in February and was totally inspired.

I took a pastel class with Sarah Masters which I loved. Here's one of the still-lives I made:

Starting in April and continuing through the rest of the year, I did at least one or two craft shows per month. I ended up doing at least 20 craft shows/markets total this year.

In the summer I started re-invigorating the notecard business I had begun the previous fall. I printed 8 new card designs, made a catalog, and contacted more than 100 new stores - whew! I also read a lot of books, internet articles, and watched videos to learn how to run my business.

 I had a 2-person art show of my prints at Rivermont Studio in Lynchburg, VA in November:

I fulfilled a dream of mine to learn the technique of Moku Hanga (Japanese woodblock printing) by taking a class with Miwako Nishizawa. Here is the print I created from the class (I still have a lot to learn!):

In late summer, I sold out of my limited edition of 300 Golden Moth Illumination Decks! I re-formatted the files, updated the Handbook, and had a new (unlimited) batch printed in November.

I traveled to visit my family in Rochester twice and my boyfriend's family in Kentucky twice. In August I drove to Vermont for a camping-style wedding of a childhood friend (and on the way visited the Eric Carle Museum of the Picture Book - something else I've wanted to do for a long time!) Here is the wedding gift/commission I made for my friends (it got a little battered from being in the rainy cabin):

I illustrated the cover for my friend's Songbook. He reproduced lyrics and figured out the tablature for more than 250 songs!

I donated artwork and time to some art auctions and events. I cut back on teaching a lot, but taught a few printmaking classes, Etsy Seller workshops, and private art lessons. I worked two part-time jobs and quit one in March and the other in August. I was able to survive on art sales and teaching from September until right now (although that may be subject to change!)

You know what? I'm proud of myself. I worked really freakin' hard, and did some really fun things. But you know what was lacking last year? I didn't make that much new artwork. Okay, now that I am writing this post, I realize I created more than I thought I did. I did commissions and re-printed some pre-existing artwork, as well as made a couple new things, but there was so much more I wanted to do. I did not have as much creative energy last year because I was so focused on learning how to run my card business and selling artwork.

I was fixated on making it "the Year that I truly began my art career," meaning a sustainable and predictable form of making income. I had hoped the card business would do that for me. But because I threw myself into it really intensely, I am now intensely burnt out. Honestly, I'm not sure if I'll continue the wholesale card business, at least not in the grand scope I had planned. But I'll keep creating cards to sell on a smaller level at least.

For right now, I'm taking some time off. I've been watching a lot of movies and reading lots of books. I'm basking in the glory of slug-style living and not having an enforced schedule. And I'm trying not to push myself to do ANYTHING. I think it is well-deserved, and much-needed.

2015 is going to be a much different year. I'm intentionally going to back off of busy-ness and take things slow. I want to:

Learn from the slug.
Learn from the tortoise.
Learn from the placid well.

I want to do another update on this using the Golden Moth cards to illustrate my points, but this post has been long enough for now.

To everyone, Happy New Year! What have you done and learned from last year? What are you excited about this year?

What I Did This Summer

This has been one of my busiest summers yet. Here is a recap of how I spent my time from spring through the end of August.

This Spring, I took an Intro to Watercolor class at The Visual Arts Center of Richmond, taught by the lovely and thorough Susan Quinnild. I have done watercolor all my life, but never received formal training for it. Getting all the basics was a great experience for me. After the class, I wanted to test my skills in glazing and layering color and contribute a piece of art to the People's Portrait Project at the VisArts - a project where anyone could donate a 5 x 7" portrait. My boyfriend buys and sells records for a living, and I was inspired by an Art Blakey record that he brought home one day:

 

Thinking this would be a "test," I used paper that I had previously painted on which you can see a bit in the right side of the paper during the early stages. I really enjoyed the process of creating this painting. However, there are a few things I learned from it. One: I need to map out my composition better before painting! I left out his ear and didn't fix it because I didn't want to have to re-do my drawing. Also, I rather liked the looser, low-key (not as much contrast) version right before the final version. Next time, I'd like to build my painting so it incorporates more of the looseness and color blossoming. But overall I'm happy with it.

I created this small watercolor for a friend's baby shower. I think of the dog as a guardian, protecting the little one on his long and adventurous travels.

From May to July, I was busy assembling Golden Moth Illumination Decks for my Kickstarter backers. This took an incredibly long time, and stretched into mid-June when I started teaching classes to children during VisArts' ArtVenture summer art camp. I was hoping to have decks for backers finished before then, so it was a busy time for me with teaching and assembling decks during every spare moment. Luckily, I received a lot of help from friends and my boyfriend, and my dad single-handedly corner-rounded 50 sets of decks when I visited my family in Rochester! Here is the mess that was my kitchen:

It was physically and psychologically draining to have hundreds of unfinished cards in view for months on end. I have since put them away in a big box and only take them out when I need to assemble more. There are still over 100 decks to assemble.

On June 16th, I had a Golden Moth Release Party at the Blue Elephant, a vintage and home decor boutique. Friends visited, people bought decks and artwork, and I gave several Intuitive Card Readings (similar to tarot readings). Patsy, owner of Blue Elephant, and her daughter Jessica, manager, provided refreshments and a colorful array of tasty donuts. They are awesome people, and so is their store which has relocated to 119 Robinson St between Grove and Floyd Avenues in Richmond, VA. The new space is even bigger and better than the last. It is such a fun experience to sift through all the treasures in their shop. There will be a similar event at their shop coming up on Saturday, September 15th from 1-4 pm. I will be giving readings and selling decks and art.

As I mentioned before, I began teaching art workshops to children in June through the end of August. Here are some images from my Paper Toys class for youth ages 6-8.

This student spent all class working on his elaborate pop-up card: "Ryan Lochte crushing Michael Phelps." I myself did not follow the Olympics, so it was fun hearing the kids talk about it.

A student came up with this cute paper turtle. Note that the mouth opens to reveal a tiny pink tongue.

I also taught a Paper Bead Jewelry Workshop at the VMFA Studio School.

Some cool jewelry made by students in the class. The paper beads were made using recycled magazines, comics, and maps.

Most of you probably don't know that my parents have their own Paper Bead Jewelry business. They sell at craft shows and in shops around the country. As the story goes, my mother was inspired by me - when I was a child she saw me creating paper beads for fun. She and my dad took the craft much further and have a multi-step process of selecting papers, painting them, rolling beads quickly using a special drill that my dad created, applying several layers of varnish, and creating jewelry designs. I am proud that I can spread knowledge of this craft through my classes. Most of my students find the process of rolling beads to be soothing and even addictive! Here is a picture of a student rolling beads during a spring workshop at The Visual Arts Center of Richmond.

In July, I visited my hometown of Rochester, NY. One of the best things about going home is how accommodating my family is. They understood that I was utterly spent from The Golden Moth Project, and they helped me assemble decks and encouraged me to do some heavy relaxing.

It was perfect timing to be able to see art exhibitions featuring my sister Olivia Kim and her boyfriend Dario Tazzioli. Olivia had some sculptures and painting in a group show at Nazareth College. 

 

Here is an example of the new direction in her work - a more gestural approach to figural sculptural. Olivia is currently investigating the intricacies of the human body and how it moves. I have trouble enough drawing a moving figure, let alone trying to sculpt it! But Olivia has never taken a challenge lightly.

Dario had a solo show, The Inner World of Dario Tazzioli, at Ock Hee's Gallery in Honeoye Falls, NY. He is a stone carver, in heart and soul. I learned so much by reading descriptions of his process and inspiration for each piece. At the age of 16, he apprenticed with a stone carver who told him that a pyramid was the most challenging form to carve. So of course he went ahead and secretly carved a pyramid.

Dario draws inspiration and design from the stone itself - allowing the striking forms, color, and individuality of each piece to reveal itself in the artwork.

He also created fresco portraits of people from the small village where he lives in Frassinoro, Italy. The process of fresco painting is much different than traditional painting. Pigments are mixed into wet plaster, creating an image that is embedded permanently.

And here's Greg outside of Ock Hee's Gallery, communing with a stone buddha.

On August 2nd, I had the unique opportunity of giving Intuitive Card Readings at the Artist's Reception of two woman who I greatly admire, Robin Kranitzky and Kim Overstreet, at Quirk Gallery. Their elaborately-detailed assemblage jewelry was based on the concept of Rorschach Tests. You can read a great article about Quirk Gallery and their show here.

As you can see, their work is just amazing.

And finally, on August 11th I took a Greyhound bus to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to attend a one-week workshop in Embroidery at Arrowmont School of Art and Craft. I have lots of photos for this one, so I'm going to end this entry now and start a new one about my amazing experience there.

Moth Screenprint

Last Wednesday I made use of my summer membership to Studio 2 3 and completed a 2-color screenprint! I really enjoyed using the studio, hanging out with other printmakers and seeing them create their artwork while I created mine. I am now inspired to make more screenprint editions. I enjoy the process because I can paint with ink directly onto a sheet of mylar or acetate and then create the screen using the drawing. I might post a little step-by-step to show you what I mean for further editions.

Here is the completed screenprint! I used gold and brown ink. I actually editioned two versions. The first version is on the left, and it shows my original intended image. Version #2 on the right shows a slightly off-register image - I printed the brown slightly to the left of the gold moth. You can see it a little better in the detail photo. I made an edition of 29 for Version #1, and then halfway through I decided I liked how it appeared off-register because it made the moth look more like it was fluttering in motion. Version #2 has 20 copies.

 

This past Saturday was The Golden Moth Release Party at the Blue Elephant. It went well! I was very nervous before the party, even though most people who came were friends who I had no reason to be nervous over. But it was the first time I publicly released the deck for other people to take home with them, so there is always some anxiety before presenting my artwork to an audience. I will post photos and write about the event in more detail very soon.

Today I went to the post office and sent off 24 packages! More will keep rolling through the postal system throughout this week and next. Whew! I can't believe that it's really going out into the world! I feel relieved, as if I am finally coming to the end of the road. But I know that putting this deck out into the world is just the beginning. It is a way of reaching out to others, and I don't know what other surprises await me. While the process has been difficult in some ways, it has taught me a LOT. I plan to write more about what I learned from it all, and also share some advice for people who want to start their own Kickstarter campaigns.

That's all for now. More soon, I promise.

love,
aijung

Golden Moth Assembly Party and Notecard Illustrations

This past Sunday I held a Golden Moth Assembly Party for people to come and help assemble the card decks. It was a lot of fun! Everyone was so helpful, encouraging, enthusiastic, and full of ideas. It was great to share the deck with other people. So much of this project has been created in near-solitude, and in the past month or so I've come to realize that I need to establish and maintain stronger friendships with others for my own happiness and mental health. My default mode tends to be hermitude, so it's a push for me to reach out to others. I'm glad I did :)

Since all the counter space was taken up with cards, I had to set food on top of the washing machine and stove. I have lots of leftovers to eat this week.

The energy of a group of people with different ideas and perspectives can be so uplifting. Their help and good company allowed me get over the near-paralyzing magnitude of this project for me into something much more manageable. Thank you Cate, Leila, Betsy, Nina, Jacob, Emily, and Greg!

***

Lately, I have been working in watercolor. I took an Intro to Watercolor class with Susan Quinnild at The Visual Arts Center of Richmond last month and I loved it! Although I've used watercolor for most of my life, I've never been formally trained in how to use it. Turns out there is a lot to be learned! I'll be posting some of my work and process in a future post.

One of the rewards for The Golden Moth Illumination Deck are notecards. I finally finished the designs for those today. I don't know what took me so long, since when i actually sat down to paint it took only about 8 hours combined to complete them. I think what holds me back is not feeling clear about my ideas for the finished product and feeling overly ambitious about what sort of image to create. I find that if I sit back and allow myself to simplify, I usually arrive at a happy result.

Here are the two illustrations. They are based on images in the card deck.

Golden Moth Sneak Peeks!

In terms of The Golden Moth Illumination Deck project, the past few weeks have been a time of waiting and recuperation. But now it's time to get busy again! Here is the latest progress:

A couple weeks ago, I visited the Archaic Mess studio to do a press check. Taylor Ball (right) of Parcell Press and Travis Robertson (left) are the duo behind the Mess. Taylor mostly handles the printing and Travis mostly handles the finishing (paper trimming, stapling, etc), though I'm sure both help out in either realm.

A glimpse of the workspace where the magic happens.

Taylor wrote a detailed printing task list!

Out of the contraption and into the stacks - hundreds of golden moths!

Keeping in mind that we are but human individuals with varying schedules working on this project, Travis delivered most of the cards to me a few days ago. "Most" - meaning that there are still some cards that need to be trimmed due to the fact that he needs to get the guillotine blade re-sharpened, but it shouldn't be too long before he can deliver the rest. Check it out some of the cards!
May 21st Update: Everything is now trimmed and ready for me to get crackin' on it!

 

Some of you may notice that I changed the design of the border slightly. I was going to use blue in the border, but decided that it looked too busy.

In the meantime, there is still some work for me to do to get these cards into the hands of my Kickstarter backers, and then to the general public. I have to corner-round the cards:

And I have to hand-cut the boxes and assemble them - this is the step that I think will be the most time-consuming!

Then the cards need to be collated into numbered order for each deck. All of this goes into a package with the Arrow Spread Sheet:

and Handbook!

The Handbook looks really cute, don't you think? For some reason, I was almost more excited about seeing the Handbook than I was with the actual card deck, maybe because I still have to work on the deck but the Handbook was delivered all finished and pretty by Archaic Mess.

I was so worried about writing the book, but once I finally got into it everything flowed well. My aunt and older sister helped a lot with editing. I hope that the Handbook will be helpful and informative to others.

Oh, almost forgot - I also have been working on the mini-art that goes to Kickstarter backers who pledged $30 or more. Here is a sampling of some of the art I have finished:

So now I need to get back to the drawing board and chug away at all the details. I also need to finish the notecard and poster designs, and I will hand screenprint the poster. I am hoping to start sending packages near the end of this month, with the goal of having everything delivered by June. Thanks everyone for your patience! And if anyone in Richmond is interested in helping me out with some of these finishing touches, give me a holler. I can compensate your time with food and artwork!

With the extra money I raised from my Kickstarter campaign (I raised $4,800 when the original goal was $4,000) I decided to up the quantity of decks, spread sheets, and handbook from 250 to 300. I was also able to order a larger variety of postcards.

Thanks everyone who cast their vote on the postcard and bookplate designs. If you are a Kickstarter backer, here is the choice you will get if you ordered postcards:

 And here are the bookplate designs:

For those of you who weren't able to get in on the Kickstarter campaign but would like to order a deck or related products, I will be listing them for sale in my etsy shop, Sprout Head, after I have shipped out orders to my Kickstarter backers.

Until then, you'll just have to wait a little longer!

love,
aijung