Easter weekend, the end of Lent

Meant to post this a long time ago.... uh.

Well, yes, Lent is over which means I don't have to fast anymore (MEAT) and I'm finally back and kicking it up on facebook.

There's a lot going on right now, namely the stress from finals.

You know, a lot of older people say it just gets harder when you're done with school and out in the real world working, but honestly, I think it'll actually get easier for me. No more writing up bullcrap papers (doesn't mean I don't like to write, people) or going to classes for many hours a day, juggling working to pay the rent with actual homework, etc etc. Once you've graduated, you can just....work. You can either get a day job if you're not ready to go full throttle into your creative field yet, or if you're really lucky and talented enough, you get hooked up with an awesome job doing what you love and trained to do for four years right after graduating.

I don't know which I'll be, but for these next few weeks, I really have to make sure these raps and illustrations get done, so I can actually pass and uh, graduate.

Wish me luck. >.<

Spring Break should be two weeks

Because it takes a week to get into the break mode thing, and once you get used to it, it's back to school. And guess what. No progress.

Immediately back from break and classes our preparing for final projects. Oh boy.

It's gonna be a hella crazy last month. Everything is due in like, five weeks. My brain can't even compute how much work I still need to do.

Spring Break! Spring Forward! And too much sleep.

I spent the entire last weekend just being absolutely lazy and sleeping the days away. It may or may not have been a good thing. And I totally totally forgot that it was Daylight Savings Time on Sunday. Must have thrown off my entire start of the week.

Spring break has started officially yesterday and I spent it working at school most of the day, and taking a nap when I got back, woke up to check emails and play on the internet only to go back to sleep again. How lame.

But now I really have to face the mountainous homework pile that's waiting for me. Homework specifically meaning thesis illustrations.


Wish me luck.

Thesis updates, and midterm stress...

I remember saying something on a previous (way previous) post that I would explain what my senior thesis project really is but I don't think I ever got around to it....o_O. My bad.

It's midterms still, technically for another couple of weeks, and I still haven't gotten around to explaining the fundamentals of it over and over again.

But basically, the long term assignment is for us to produce ten pieces of works that makes a statement of some sort. The simplest being making 10 spreads to a children's book, illustrating a novel, creating something that is of great importance to you. Some classmates are doing more editorial stuff, like getting articles from The New Yorker, and illustrating important articles, some are doing celebrity portraits in a circus setting, etc etc, you get the gist. We also need to put together our ten images into a book of some sort, as well as compile our preliminary work to make some sort of promo piece that showcases all the thesis illustrations at once. Bit daunting, right?

My proposal is a bit unconventional.

I said I would very much like to produce and illustrate a CD mixtape of ten songs that would also serve as a semi autobiographical project featuring an alter ego. Alter ego being mizMLee.

Not only am I illustrating ten songs, I am also writing respective lyrics to each song, and the lyrics themselves serve as a companion to the illustration. The end result would be a cd with a booklet of lyrics and illustrations.

Interestingly enough, the instrumentals I've chosen and edited to create this mixtape are all from the Asian music industry. I decided then that I might as well go the whole 9 yards and present this thesis project to be as true to me as possible.

Confirmed edited tracks so far, and their respective new titles =D

Meilin (How About Tonight) -- Manifesto ft. bnguh

Son Dambi - Cry Eye -- A.ll R.isk T.aker

Koda Kumi - Taboo -- No Taboos

Utada Hikaru - Prisoner of Love -- Prisoner of Love ft. Utada Hikaru

alan - 天女 ～interlude～ -- Storm ft. alan
Epik High ft. MYK - Heaven -- My Heaven ft. Tablo & MYK
BoA - Eat You Up -- Fresh
Koda Kumi ft. Tohoshinki - Last Angel -- If the World Ends Tonight ft. Fli Guy

I'm hoping to figure out some issues with the last two tracks over spring break. Also, I'm getting behind in completing these pieces....>.<

Midterms are finishing up this week, for now anyways. I have one last presentation on Friday in my poetry class, (wanted to go last week but we ran out of time...) and I've fallen a little behind on website class because I skipped Monday night class in order to finish a project for critique on Tuesday. Hey, it's all about compromising. There's still one big assignment that's waiting for me in middle of March in the poetry class. No idea how to go about that yet.

I'm hoping to catch up before Lauren's birthday party this weekend. Yeah, I can't wait for a good break to just relax and party. But I gotta be good and productive before then.

Resistance

Poetry of Resistance class homework. Got some positive feedback about it, so I'm posting it here on the blog. =D

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I say it every time, I’ll say it again,

that’s just not my scene, it gets out of hand.

My reasons for being so, people misunderstand

But what’s so hard about it to comprehend?

Don’t demand an exact explanation, it really is quite simple,

I only ask that you respect my decisions, even just a little.

I’m used to the same reactions, started way back in high school,

since then I still haven’t changed my opinion,  I’m no fool.

Not that I’m calling fools those who partake in this conventionality.

It’s just that I’m always at the sidelines watching this social activity,

And slowly grow more bored as everyone around me

lose sense of significant rationality, and eventually

I’m forced out of boredom to care for some dear to me.

Even so, I still refuse.

I’m not sure what the exact reason is anymore.

I’m of age now, what am I torn for?

If I go along, I wouldn’t be stressing as much as I would have before.

I should relax, and enjoy myself so they wouldn’t feel bad for going hardcore.

But I still refuse.

It’s like automatic now.

My body would instinctively turn code red if my mind disavows, succumbs and sways.

But a little buzz is okay, they say.

Oh, might as well get tipsy, anyway.

Or, hey, let’s get drunk, no crunked,

And in that funk it’s hammered in the slammer time,

Wasting time shwasted,

No reason or rhyme appreciated while plastered,

A messed up master of disaster, on the ground

all around, one by one,  about to pass,

and they’re all going and going, wait, they’ve gone at last.

But I’ve been saying all along in my inhibited state, haven’t I?

Limited in my choices, drowned out by other voices, isn’t that right?

Nah, I still fight it, and I guess I really don’t know why.

One thing’s for sure, I see eye to sober eye, perhaps to a fault, every time.

Redone, Redux Reception

Tried not to look tired for the reception but fail. Just not possible with all those all nighters ^^;;

So after some days of crazy hassling and drama and random bullcrap Sunday, show was finally set up completely by the end of Monday, and the reception went pretty well today. =D

I'm pretty content. I felt nervous and really worried at first because I was super paranoid the work was too last minute/wasn't good/competing right next to Dean's/thesis etc etc, BUT.

Everything went ok. ^^;; Several people really loved my digital work, which I had initially planned to do for the whole show, but I only had time to do three, which I felt wasn't enough, so I put together the whole redoing illustrations from classes 1-5. Ended up missing a piece from Illustration 1 due to time restraints and printing issues, but no one questioned the concept behind the show. All's well that end's well.

I'm so glad it's done. I talked to several teachers about my thesis today too, and got some really positive feedback about it as well as some "this might be too ambitious here, be realistic." I'm already getting that feeling of some people underestimating me, but hey, I've probably overestimated myself several times in the past.

Not this time, though.

I know this challenge is gonna be a lot of work, but this future portfolio combines illustrations, writing, and music; three parts that make up my art.

I'll go into more detail about my thesis in the next post. Until then, enjoy these pics of some of the work up in the Bruce Galleries at this moment. =)

Postcards are on the way, and my senior show draws nearer.

*Freaking out*

And I'm feeling more competitive when I heard that a fellow Illustration student who has his show the same week as mine, is presenting twice as much work as I am.

Making last minute changes to the plan here....

Whew, what a week!

This week has been the craziest first week back to school I've ever had in my whole life >.<. So it started quite horribly but things got better as each day progressed.

Today, I did manage to get my friend's wacom tablet back, ohhh thank goodness.

So what happened was that the one girl who supposedly knows me (I have yet to figure out who that is) offered to take the bag from the bus driver to public safety at Webster on Wednesday, but FORGOT. So, she ended up giving the bag BACK to the bus driver who in turn handed it in to the public safety desk in  SAN FRAN.

While I on the other hand, have been calling from the lost and found, to public safety in oakland, to the residential staff at webster, emailing people, EVERYWHERE, hunting that motherfreaking thing down like a madwoman. Spent everyday since Tuesday, freaking out about it.

Whew. You can only manage my relief when public safety black guy came back to me at the desk earlier today carrying that yellow forever 21 bag towards me. I almost cried from relief. Almost, haha.

Anyways. In terms of thesis, I got the go ahead from Bob Ciano, my thesis teacher. He really likes my idea, which is great. Before I can go hardcore on it, I gotta make sure this exhibition is successful. Still have lots of work to do about it, though. Postcards to print out, mat boards to cut out.

It's just gonna get more intense from here on out. FIGHTING!!

Oh yeah and apartment!

No more homeless worries, I'm officially moving in with bnguh by the end of the month. At her old place. The freaking suing thing scares her enough to stay, but would still leave me hanging, so the other girls compromised and are willing to have me stay there for four more months.

It'll be a little cramped with five girls in one apartment, but there are three rooms, and I don't have much to begin with having sent most back to Utah before going to Korea. Plus, I'll be working a lot at school. We'll make it work.

Things are getting better, see? ^^

T_T

School could be the death of many of us.

If it's not at school trying to make it through all your classes and pass, it's definitely after school when you're at a loss for how to pay it all off and survive.

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If I were to go nerd mode and use a quote from FMA to describe things right now, equivalent exchange exists. To gain, something of equal value should be lost.

I've noticed that trend a lot since I've started college, and it's definitely has hold true when I was overseas. I gained so much more this past semester that I suppose this time around it's time to lose just as much.

My mom has always scolded me for thinking like this. She tells me God doesn't punish you after something good has happened, etc etc, He doesn't work like that. I don't think God works much like that either, but it's definitely how LIFE works.

You can't be happy all the time. You have to be sad half the time. There's a balance, there's a warped sense of equivalency.

A.ll R.isk T.aker

One thing I'll miss about drawing class here, is having the freedom to do rap videos like this, lol.

Tango lessons in drawing class?

Only possible with American art teachers, haha.

Yesterday was a good day, until I went to a birthday party and got myself stuck surrounded with Koreans gulping down the beer and soju. >.<

I haven't been sleeping well lately, I think mainly due to upcoming finals stress plus the bittersweetness of going back to America soon, and after last night, I woke up today with fifteen minutes to get to my morning class on time.

I know the time will come for me to take my first serious shot of alcohol at some point, but right now I don't think my mind, body, and soul is ready for the impurity yet. I don't know I think like this. And it's not a relgious reason that I don't drink. It's actually more quite personal, but at this point, I don't really know how to explain it anymore.

I'd go more into detail, but I really want to go back to my dorm and take a nap.

All I'll say is, being around alcohol stresses me out. More so to me than other people who has had alcohol before and prefer not too drink for whatever reason. For me, I either get bored or get worried about the people around me. I'm sure if I had some in my system, I wouldn't be worrying as much and enjoying myself more, but something about this whole drinking culture.....I just can't bring myself to be a part of it. Not yet anyway.

So really, I can be TOTALLY Korean in a lot of aspects; the look, the language, the music, a lot of things EXCEPT for the drinking.

Mmhmm.

One month left...

So today marks the day that I leave Seoul in exactly one month.

Wow, did time fly by fast. There's only a month left, but right now, it feels like time slowed down juuuuust a little bit. Like that split second that slows down in your brain before the scenes suddenly pick up the pace again. I think cold weather has the tendency to do that.

Goodness it is really cold nowadays. After spending the majority of my winters in California for the past three years, I forget how cold it could possibly get. In Utah though, the climate is drier, so the coldness doesn't bite as hard. Oyyy, but in Seoul where there's more humidity, if it's windy, the freaking wind finds all the spaces between your clothes effortlessly....>.<

Classes right now, they are going well. Most of our classes are just preparing for our finals, our finishing up paintings and such. I have two exhibitions that I need to go, both by teachers of mine. Oriental painting, and Western painting. Should be interesting.

Art update, post midterms!

My Oriental Watercolor Midterm presentation was on Tuesday. I uploaded the ppt file for anyone willing to see the sketches of mountains, rocks, and trees I've done for that class up until now.

It's surprisingly big for a powerpoint file....but it has pictures of all my work in this class so far, if you're interested to see how I progressed. Er, I'm presenting it this way because I accidentally deleted the original pictures from my laptop...^^;;

Oriental Watercolor Midterm Powerpoint Presentation
Download Link

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Still life painting is done. It's not perfect, there are some perspective issues, but I'm pretty ok with how it turned out.

In Basic Painting class, we've started on our third painting, and it's also our second figure model painting. I think also, this is my breakthrough piece in terms of painting and in understanding the human body. Quite excited to see how it turns out.

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My second painting in Painting Studio class, the one where I did the eye painting for. We're required to work on 50F size canvases, and they are HUGE. I'd say about.....three by four feet or so. How in the world will I send these paintings to the states, I do not know.

Anyways, the point of this painting is to explore space, and how objects take up space naturally/unnaturally. We need parallel objects and unparallel objects. This is a snapshot of the inside of my desk drawer, which I found to be a little too literal, but the perspective makes for an interesting composition. I want to add something else to make it less literal, and maybe more symbolic. Or maybe put in some interesting textures somehow. I don't know for sure yet, I just hope I'll figure it out while I paint it.

In progress updates

This painting's done! The critique was last Monday. I didn't get much feedback from the professor, though...

 

The still life is still a work in progress. I have to finish the chair, the red thingy, and the cup under the chair and in front of the wood. Sigh, when you think you're almost finished with a painting, add 10 more hours to it.

Midterms........T_T

It seems everyone has the case of the stresses currently. Ah, the joys of midterms.

I started two other posts before this one, but they both are still simmering in the writing department. And of course, Red Striped Sketcher's dream interpretation is long overdue. I have to mention it often now, to force myself to get on that as soon as possible. But I haven't seen her posting much these days. Probably because of busy midterms. Go figure.

I just got back from dinner with Madison. We decided to make it a weekly thing, to go eat out for dinner the two of us. One, so that we get to go outside, and two, so that we actually get a decent meal at least once a week, haha.

We went to a Korean restaurant called Yoganeh, and it was actually a pretty good place. I would go there again. Then, we decided to get waffle ice cream for dessert. The Belgian waffle thing is the current craze right now in Seoul. There's a waffle shop everywhere.

Anyways, so while most of you have papers and tests to study for, I have paintings and sketches to finish, yaaaaaaaay. The still life painting is due next week, and Chang Sara kyosoonim (the other teacher in my Basic Painting class, with the German guy) is checking both that and the nude painting from the very beginning of the semester. Sigh, I guess I really have to finish that this time. Tsk, I just know I can do better on the next round of figure painting, but I guess I have to face the mediocre attempt that is my first class assignment. Well, that should be interesting.

In Oriental Painting, I have to prepare a slideshow presentation with all the sketches I did at Bukhansan Mountain and talk about my progress from the first sketch until now. Can someone say NERVERACKING. T_T

Han Kyosoonim said I can do it in English, and then Esther goes "No you need to practice your Korean!" Omg.

I had a critque in my Painting Studio class this past Monday, and I did that in English and that was very very very nerveracking. I just can't think in art terms and stuff in Korean....not yet.

Hmm, what else? Oh, and I have to make a pinhole camera for Drawing class. Our sketchbook is our midterm grade.

I have a healthy amount of busy this semester. Esther and I talked the other day how we were very much busier in the States. Right now at Hongik, we seem to have more spare time on our hands, so she persuades me to go to the KIMCHI debating often. Only yesterday's debate got canceled because most of the Koreans are really busy with their midterms, haha.

Well, good luck all my peoplez with your midterms. I hope I see the Infamous Trio of Nerds posting more soon.

In progress paintings

Remember when I had put up those sketches way back when, and I had to choose between the books concept or the eye concept?

That was many weeks ago, but I had chosen to do the eye painting. It's due next week in Painting Studio, and I took some in progress pictures to show you all where I'm at with it right now. Sorry I didn't get down to it sooner!

This is where it was going for a week or so, but I ended up changing it to this.

I think I'll put some red back into the eye lashes and shadows. I also need to make the lashes longer. The overall mood seems too cool for me. The red was a nice contrast.

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In my Basic Painting class, we're working on our second painting now. The first was a nude painting that I didn't finish all the way through, but I don't really like it so I'm not bothering with taking pictures of it. We're doing a still life of glass, and it's actually quite enjoyable for me. We just finished our second week of working on this painting. The above two pictures is a before and after working on it in class yesterday. I have only one week left to finish this so I might actually have to go in this weekend to work on it more in order to have it done in time.

Meh

So technically I'm in class right now, supposed to be working on my painting, but I stole away to head back to the dorm so I could pick up some books and a different sketchbook. But also, to update my blog since it's been quite a while and I'm falling behind on the things I'm supposed to be talking about. >.<

I have to constantly write to do lists in all aspects of my work, so that I can somewhat keep track of things. On this blog, for example, I have yet to get that dream interpretation out, discuss the Epik High concert, and now the Cheonju trip.

That trip really threw my schedule off. >.< It was fun to go to a different city and learn all those cultural traditional stuff, but zomg my homework.

In Oriental Watercolor class today, I found out I actually didn't have to finish those mountain sketches 'cause they weren't actually homework, and the homework that WAS due, totally looked lamed (it got ripped in the wind T_T) compared to everyone else's, but we have to do that particular assignment over anyways. Then in this Painting class right now, I realized Madison and I are painting on the wrong size canvas, but the teacher said it was okay, but still.

Fail.

Sigh. All of a sudden there's all this homework due, and I'm getting a little frazzled o_O. Once this week is over, I'll be able to breathe a little.

This week is Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving holiday, so that should be some good rest time. Hopefully.

I climbed a freaking mountain today.

Oriental Watercolor class. 'Nuff said. I'm too tired right now to go into details, but I definitely will tomorrow.

Instead, I'll ask you guys to help me out with this. Well, more like ask for your input.

What you see above is a word by word copy of a translation a nice Korean student gave me and Madison of the topic sheet for our painting studio class yesterday. Last week our teacher Choi Inseon, handed out this topic sheet (in Korean of course) but they ran out before I could get one, so I was at a loss yesterday about how to go forward with this assignment, until Madison showed me this translated topic sheet given to her by another student.

Even for other Koreans, the topics we had to choose from are just plain weird. Translate that into Engrish and you get serious WTFage. Yes, I copied this exactly as I saw it. That does say "Japan and condom," and "leggings on toilet" to name a few.

Anyway, we were supposed to have a few sketches based on these topics, and do a painting of it due in two weeks. Ideally, Choi Kyosoonim should check your sketches before you choose one to go forward with. However, I was told several different things by Madison, other classmates, and the professor himself. After all the confusion, in the end I really just choose whatever sketch I want, and next week the professor will check our painting progess and ask us about how this relates to the topic, etc etc.

So. Help me choose one, I ask all you readers. Whichever one that you think would look most interesting as a painting, has the most interesting concept, whatever.



"Love that is piled up and added."

"Diamond shape that makes us sad."

"Being in existence."

"Faster, higher, stronger, white fear."


Haha, again, I didn't translate any of that....>.<

Once I can narrow it down to I guess, two sketches, I'll do a tighter more final sketch on those topics, and then decide the final one.

Burger

My current roommate, Juyoung, is so nice. Well, we both started leaving each other snakes and stuff on each other's desk since the semester started. Juyoung started the trend, I think, to be nice and make me feel comfortable, but I started to give her treats too in return, and it's been like that since. Today, she got me a little mini burger for dinner from the convenience store. It's not a fancy dinner, but the act is very nice of her. I'll be leaving cookies on her desk tomorrow morning, haha.

What you see here is a picture of the Olympic Hall that Epik High will be performing at. My ticket gets me standing in that Purple Section B part in front of the state on the right side.

I spent about an hour grinding ink today. For the Oriental Watercolor class. I bought premade ink too, though that is just for practice, and probably in class. Tomorrow, we start sketching plants. I'm a little nervous for tomorrow. While I am well settled in my other classes, it's only the second time I meet tomorrow's teachers, since the semester started on a Tuesday and not a Monday after all. I hope I don't make a total fool of myself. >.<

Paintbrushes and the Shoutout

It's done! The rap is finished! xD

I still don't' know how my creative process works, so when I start formulating raps, it takes a couple of sessions before the final thing is set. Just now, I finished working out the tough spots and it's ready for video! YAY.

The internet wasn't working last night, so I couldn't post this blog like I wanted to. Just some notes about painting class so far:

Finally started painting Wednesday =D. We're just working on painting nude models and stills for several weeks. Each painting is worked on for three weeks. This first week is over now. The class has four models, two men and two women, and they pose at both ends of the classroom, so any student sitting anywhere has a view and choose which set of models to study from.

My first time painting nudes. The process is a little different from drawing nudes. Where I'm used to warming up and doing a lot of gestural drawings of one model, and having that model pose many different ways, painting nudes require them to pose the same way the whole time. We sketch initially onto the canvas first, and that is where you should be able to work out all the proportions and compositions first before applying paint.

And that is where Koreans really excel at. Their technical skill is really amazing. One of the big reasons I decided to go to Korea for study abroad is to improve my technique. What one of the painting teachers, Ingo Baumgartensomething mentioned to me yesterday, though, was that he could tell my painting style was quite different from most Korean students, and that I should be happy about that.

See, these Korean artists studied in an art academy (high school?) prior to taking classes at Hongik where they practice their technical skills all the time. However, their work all looks the same. What my drawing teacher Timothy Blum said once was that most Koreans don't have a distinctive voice in their work, despite the amazing technique behind it. In other words, the conceptual stuff I learned at CCA won't really help me much here, but it's keeping my own voice and style distinctive in my paintings in addition to learning as much technical stuff as I can during my short time here.

I wish I had brought more of my anatomy books but that would have just added another 10 pounds or so in my luggage. >.<

Oh yeah, and the other painting teacher Chang Sara told me that my Taklon brushes aren't suitable for oils and I should get harder bristle paintbrushes instead. Sigh, sorry Mr. Rainbow. I can't use the brushes you gave me for my birthday after all. T_T I really hoped I didn't have to buy more brushes here....gah, the money T_______________T