Opening of Corporeal Clusters

Thanks to all who stopped by October 19 for the opening of Corporeal Clusters!
Many people showed up despite the fact that there was a game playing that same night. It was quite a crowd. Thanks to Hi-Fructose who posted pictures and did a small write up on their site. Here are some photos of mine:

Melissa Arendt's work

Paintings by Kelly Allen

Seven of my most recent paintings all together!

(photo cred: Heather Wee)

The exhibition goes on until November 10. Do stop by 111 Minna Gallery to check it out :-)

The Rusted Souls

If you enjoy adventure,robots, and apocalyptic scenery, you should check out this show- The Rusted Souls at  1AM SF Gallery, illustrators transport us into the future; see what it's like when machine and man clash!

My friends Emerson Tung and Eve Skylar are showing there amongst other artists. Their work is amazing!

Some of Emerson's work

Some of Eve's work

 Other illustrators participating include Christopher de Leon, James Garcia, Jesse Hernandez, Dino Ignacio, Ivera Pennant, Karlo Santa Ana, Jeremy Sorrell, and sound installation by Pu22l3. See it before May 6th at 1000 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103.

MOMENT

Last night I went to check out Gold Star Bar. Great art is currently being shown there! The title of the exhibition is "Moment":


'All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that' - Baltasar Gracian

We are all connected and connecting through a series of moments; these women artists show their works of the moment with an underlying cohesion, dynamism and force.

Moment is a group art show featuring contemporary female artists from San Francisco. Curated by Angela Casserly. Showcasing; painting, photography, mixed media by artists:

Kylea Borges
Chelsea Brown
Krescent Carasso
Angela Casserly
Christelle de Castro
Claire Colette
Xiau-Fong Wee
Nicole Hagen
Danielle Lawrence
Tracy Timmins
Rachel Znerold


All the art there is great! There is a good variety from photography to drawings and paintings, as well as surreal sculptures. I have two paintings from the 'Concept' series shown there- "Dance from Below" and "White Demon." Thanks to Angela Casserly and Andrei Bouzikov for curating and setting up the show! Click on their names to see their amazing artwork!

So head over to 1548 California Street for a drink and to see "Moment!"

OFF Mag

Check out this cool visual arts blog, OFF Mag!


There is so much talent in the world and this Barcelona based blog gathers it all in one awesome site.

Thank you, OFF Mag, for the feature!

Artists of 2011

Happy New Year!


Hi-Fructose took a look back at some great artists of 2011. Here is a list of the top 20 articles of 2011 as decided by Hi-Fructose's readers. Lots of fun to read and gawk at!

Part One

Part Two

Tribute to Kazu

I am participating in the Tribute to Kazu Project.

Kazu Sano was a great person and he will be missed. Students are invited to participate in this project dedicated to Kazu and all works will hang permanently in 540 Powell street, the Academy of Art University building in San Francisco. The last of the paintings are being collected and soon the art will be hung. Click on the link above to view all the artworks. All art is 4 x 4 inches in size.

Here is my piece- It is titled "A New Way," and the medium is acrylic on canvas. Click here to read my post on the Tribute to Kazu blog.

Drafting My Next Soldier

I am always working on expanding my army. Check out how I go about that in the Form a Fighter page, or just click the tab above.


The process involves Snoof! Credit for naming this drawing goes to artist Paul Konzen. Upon finishing the drawing and to my dismay, anteaters are silent animals. Complaining to my friend that anteaters do not make noise, Paul responded with "Yes they do...They go sneepapasneep snoof!"

Thanks Paul! For more of Paul's creativity, click here.

Kazu Sano

I have been feeling sad lately, during this unfortunate time. Kazu, you were not only a great artist and teacher, but you were also a kind, knowledgeable, and respectable person.

You have impacted my life so much. I wish I could have spent more time with you.

I send my love and support to friends and family of Kazu.

I really miss you. I will always remember you...

Kazu Sano's website: http://www.kazusano.com/

Art Around the World

It is good to be back in San Francisco!!!

Thanks to my aunt for letting me stay at her wonderful home! Her place is filled with paintings and sculptures; take a look:



This one hangs above the bed of the room I stayed in while I was there...... one of my favorites, painted by Dao Hai Phong:

I really love the play of shapes and the use of color to convey Hanoi streets and village scenes.

Here is another one I thought was pretty good. It is an abstract image of two figures, but it also reminds me of Disney's "It's a Small World."


Unfortunately, all I know of the artist is that he or she is Cambodian. If somebody happens to know more about this artist, drop a comment below please!

I Have Four Hands!

I have discovered how to clone bodies! or parts of bodies!

A great artist and good friend of mine, Anderson Lewis, makes awesome sculptures. See some of his work!!! The other day, we made molds of my hands for him to work from as reference. I thought this is a great idea to get the pose you want so that you can work from it almost from life, without having the model pose for infinity.

I want to record this process here so I don't forget it and share it with all. Sorry, no step by step photos, only photos of the finished product.


I may want to try this one day. I can build up a collection of random body parts! Then I can piece them together and with a few bolts of electricity, make a monster assistant he he he...

Anyway, let's start with the materials:

• water

• alginate- the one Anderson used was called "dermagel."

• plaster- any type; your main options are red tag ( the normal one), hydracal ( a litle denser, and ultra cal (that's the one Anderson used)
  

• 3 buckets or containers- one to prepare the alginate, one to prepare the plaster, and one for the mold. Make sure you puncture a hole in the bottom of the container being used for the mold. Then seal it with tape. This is so that after the plaster dries, the mold can be easily removed.

1. Measure out equal parts of alginate and water. Pour water into alginate and mix with your hands until you get a smooth runny consistency. No lumps!!! Add more water if necessary.

2. Pour the alginate in the container for the mold and insert the item/ subject matter to be replicated. This is when I stuck my hand into the alginate and held it for about 10-15 minutes until the alginate started to set. Setting times may vary depending on humidity and temperature of the environment.

3. While the alginate is setting, prepare the plaster. Fill up a container with water and scoop in portions of the plaster until it emerges on the surface, like the formation of an island.

4. When the alginate is ready, carefully wiggle the object out of it's cavity. Fill the cavity with plaster tap the sides of the container to release trapped air. The plaster is ready to be removed when water and moisture has completely evaporated from the top.

5. To remove the mold, turn the container over and remove the tape over the hole. The whole thing should slide out- alginate and plaster. Carefully remove all the alginate by carving away at it. And, if you did everything right, you will have a sculptural clone of your subject matter!!!

Every detail is recorded - the nails, finger prints and knuckle creases!

Decimus

It is always interesting to see how different artists live and work. Curt Anderson is an artist and the founder of Urban-Muse (link is on the left side of this page). I got the opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes-glimpse of Curt Anderson's space.


His walls are adorned with an impressive collection of books, movies, games and artwork, of all different styles, topics, and genres. There is a constant flow of inspiration everywhere.


I got to see many of Curt's artwork in person. Very cool. He shared some older drawings, his recent drawings, and ideas for future projects.


The above image is "Chobei." We talked about the direction and meaning of this charcoal on toned paper drawing, it was surprising and insightful!

Curt recently started a painting! I am looking forward to seeing it finished; it is something new and different. I won't give too much of it away though... we just have to wait and see.

Visit his website and see more of his art!

The Mafu Cage

Looking for more beautiful captivating images? The Mafu Cage is a virtual exhibition of paintings, drawings, sculptures, animation and photography of various artists. Scroll down the page for the archive, a list of all the artists, and links to more great stuff.

Go to The Mafu Cage


The latest post so far, features me in 2 Rooms (Room 1 | Room 2), along with a couple portraits of me painted by artist Leo Bugel

Artist Profile: Karin Regenass

Karin is a great artist and a good friend of mine!

She is nearing completion of her studies at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and her work has really developed these past years.

See some of her amazing art

Visiting Art Explosion Fall Open Studios

My first time going to Art Explosion's Open Studio! The building is three stories tall with at least fifty artists a floor. I headed straight up to the third floor and went to check out Paul Konzen's studio!


There were some paintings I recognized from the past, and plenty of new artwork I have not seen until today; they all looked awesome.

As Paul was showing me around, we ran into Janet Ji Song! She is an amazing painter as well, but her website is not quite developed yet.


Jamie Lee's super tight paintings were also shown:


But there were more than paintings there; I saw interesting sculptures, fashion, weaving, and mixed media work. Before I left the telephone wire sculptures hanging in the corner caught my eye.

These are made by:


Tuan Tran's work is very impressive. I am glad I got a chance to meet him!

Leo Bugel

Leo Bugel set up a website! Check it out:

http://leobugel.com/home.html

There's a painting of me there too :-)