Green Glass

I was watching the news this morning and they had a segment about going green around the house. I thought this was so cool I had to post it. These are glasses made from recycled wine bottles from the Green Glass Co. The goblet is from the top half and the tumbler is from the bottom. They also sold the hurricane candle holder.
check it out: wwww.greenglass.com

ACC

Last week I worked at the ACC show at the Baltimore convention center with Biba Schutz! It was amazing and a great experience. I'm so glad I did it. There's too much to tell right now but i'll post more about it. Hopefully i'll be able to work with her again. =)

www.bibaschutz.com

Bird by Bird

Currently I'm trying to read the Anne Lamott's book Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. It's hard to find the time to read extra things for fun but it's the kind of book that grabs you instantly. The way she uses her words are captivating and easy to read. It's almost like you are having a conversation with her. I've only started and read a few chapters but I would love to have the time to just sit down and read the whole thing.
She intergrates stories about her family, childhood, experiences, with the lessons she's trying to teach her students. One point that I like is that you can't write for the reward of getting published. You write for the reward of writing. You cannot just think about the monatery rewards when it comes to art or you will get no where. You do what you do because you love it.
Lamott said that a major problem her students have is that they think they can't write. When Lamott says not to worry about it and to just write anything down. Dedicate a certain amount of time each day and write about anything, a memory, what happened that day, a person, etc but they important thing is that you do it. You must be dedicated and worry about the technical things later.
I think this is the same when it comes to the visual arts. Sketching is one of the best ways for me to brainstorm. I try to sketch my very first ideas down for a project even if in my mind it doesn't seem to be a good one. I just sketch to get it on paper and out of my head not thinking ahead about my final grade. I hear others saying they can't draw and so they don't in their sketchbooks. Even if you don't feel like you have the skills, i still think it really helps to get your idea down from your own hand and not just relying on computer images that sort of look like what you wanted.
I'll keep posting more about the book once I read a little further.

exploring symbols and shapes

hanbok

Me in my Korean hanbok that my parents bought me at a korean festival. ---->

Since i was adopted, my parents decided to keep my korean name- Na Ree as my middle name. It was the name the foster home gave me.

When I say my full name people don't usually ask about it because it kind of sounds like Marie which i have found to be a REALLY common middle name!

Researching Korean jewelry has been really difficult. There doesn't seem to be many books dedicated to just Korea. There are a lot about China and Japan though. So in order to get more information I had extended my research to include details about the hanbok, the traditional korean dress. I have found a great book The Art of the Korean Hanbok which I bought off amazon.

I would LOVE this book but it's too expensive! ($155) --->

...maybe i'll get it some other time.

Korean Crown

5th century

National Museum of Korea

National Treasure No. 87

The crowns were mostly sheet gold that were cut and pierced.

Jade carved in comma shapes were used in many pieces of jewelry from the same time period.

ART413-pjt #1 first thoughts

For ART413's historical research project I chose to look at Korean culture.

My parents (both caucasion) adopted my older sister and I then had my younger sister. Melanie was adopted from Sueol, Korea and 3 years later they adopted me from Pusan, Korea when I was 4 months old. Melanie and I are not blood related. Then 2 years after they adopted me, Joy was born, surprise! After adopting, my parents taught other parents around the area the process of adopting from Korea. Three of the adopted girls' parents i know were taught by my parents.
I never knew much about Korea. I never had the desire to learn more about a culture that was so distant from me as anyone else. No history classes ever taught much about Korea except about the war. Not until recently have i learned to be comfortable enough with myself to be able to explore my heritage. I never felt any different from everyone else. I grew up in a 97% white school in the country where i was harassed all the time for being different. it was so difficult when i didn't see myself as being different from them. I grew up just like everyone around me. As far as i can remember, kids would make fun of the way i looked. Racial slang yelled at young child can really do some damage. To this very day i still get rude remarks but i learn to live with it. Most of it comes with the territory of living in a small town. I think i'm old enough where i can accept myself for who i am and i can be proud of being different. I can look at it as being a positive instead of a negative.
People used to ask me, "Do you know your biological parents? Can you speak korean? Do you remember what it was like there?". No, I was only about 4 months old when I came to the US. Do you remember anything when you were that young? Now that i'm doing research I can tell people more about the culture instead of getting angry about it. One of the main things i want to come across in this project is that i will be proud to wear whatever i make. i want it to be out there and close to the heart. I don't want to feel ashamed anymore. I'd like the piece to be beautiful, unique, and korean.

I am researching korean adornment like crowns, jewelry, decorations, and the traditional dress. I'm learning about symbols, colors, animals, etc and what they mean. The designs that were cut out of sheet metal or sewn into fabric are beautiful. They are one of the most inspiring things i have found yet.

Here's the link to watch the "Diamonds" video by Kanye West

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Fgqd80026xU

"Little is known of Sierra Leone,

and how it connects to the diamonds we own."

- Kanye West

Recently in my research I found that Kanye West did song on his latest album about the issue of blood diamonds. I never heard anything about the subject in the media except when I saw the Hollywood movie. So, I thought it was interesting when a popular rapper would write about it in his song. West is also expressed in the media as being self obessesed and cocky. In the music video he shows clips of children in mines and working in rivers. They appear even more shocking because they used black contacts in their eyes. Some of the lyrics are:See, a part of me say keep shinin’ How? When I know what a “Blood Diamond” is …

Creative Caffeine #1

Some SURFACE TEXTURES i took with my new camera: