small-scale

another small painting. it's two separate sheets of watercolor paper, & the background one is 3.5" x 4.75"

i set up an etsy store here. this one is listed there, as well as some of my trading cards from the last post. one of them sold!

"An" (natural light)

"An" (artificial light)

detail

detail

i am unstoppable

i did well this semester. i've come to set very high standards for myself, & i'm pleased to say that i virtually always meet them. my education (& thus my future) are extremely important to me. i don't ever let myself forget that. a 3.974 GPA for four years of college so far isn't bad. i just hope i can maintain that for my final year next year. i'm a little worried though, considering i've got two online classes this summer that certainly won't be a cake walk as well as seven classes again next semester. we'll see how it goes.

anyway, i've started making some artist trading cards (more accurately, ACEOs) to sell because it's virtually impossible for me to find an extra summer job. i've posted some of them on eBay (click here for the listings).

하나

Jia

I'm just tired

What if?

that's what i've got so far! i had no idea how to price them, so i started them between $7-$10 each. once i know how much they sell for (if they sell at all, for that matter), i might try to sell some on etsy. i'm a little disappointed with how they photographed, though.

more instagram

deal with it

i'm trying really hard to be productive this summer. we'll see how that goes.

break time

today was the first official day of my summer vacation. no more classes or meetings to go to. it was pretty nice. it was really not unlike any other saturday, but just knowing i don't currently have a ton of work hanging over my head was sheer bliss, quite honestly. i spent the day playing the sims & doing other silly little things.

as of tonight, though, i was back to work. did this little painting, inspired by Meng Jia of Miss A:

ps. i'm addicted to instagram & I REGRET NOTHING.

deviant art / art show success!

so, all three of the pieces i submitted to the student show were accepted, and two of them placed! i won best painting for the 3rd year in a row, and honorable mention for sculpture.

비 - best in painting

Rats - honorable mention in sculpture

becoming hua mulan

anyway, i had to set up a site featuring my portfolio for my senior seminar, so i got myself a deviant art account. check it out! it's got photos i haven't posted here: http://kaliwallace.deviantart.com/

late night painting session

accompanied by:

t-minus 10 more days

the semester is rapidly coming to a close, and once again i find myself wishing my professors hadn't waited until the last minute to assign massive amounts of work. why do they do that? because that's what they do in movies, so everyone assumes it should be so? it would be much better for everyone if things were more spread out.

anyway.. no point in harping on things i can't control, so i have to work with the cards i've been dealt. i really should be sleeping, seeing as i've got a ton of work ahead of me again for tomorrow both in class and homework afterwards. you can tell it's around finals time because i've got various projects of all typed strewn all over my usual workplaces at home. i've got a textiles project drying in the kitchen, hanging from a beam in the doorway. my ceramics projects are all stacked up in the living room, waiting to be painted (along with my actual paintings from painting studio class).

this weekend was dedicated to curating & hanging the student show at school, for which i was extremely happy to have help from my family & a few friends. it's sad how few people care about helping out. of course, everyone wants their work in the show but no one's willing to do the dirty work of setting everything up.

assuming everything works out (since my dad getting laid off a week ago has been no picnic) & i can come back to school in the summer & next semester, these are the classes i've got lined up for myself:

looks like another busy semester is headed my way... hopefully.

i've been working on this mulan triptych for a little while now.. hoping to finish tonight!

times are changing

unfortunately, my father got laid off yesterday after twenty-seven years of working in his field because his company has outsourced to places like china and india. at this point, nothing is certain. we've got an appointment with a real estate agent tomorrow. my dad lost not only his job, but our family's health insurance & any benefits, not to mention (on a selfish level) both the upcoming opportunities i had to study abroad this/next year. i'm going to try to find a job so i can have my own health insurance & help my family out, but the deposits for my china & italy study abroad programs are due in less than a week & i don't think i've got much of a shot at those. honestly, i don't even know why i'm worrying about it. there's a strong chance i may not even be going back to school next semester if i can't get a new scholarship or renew the one i have now. sure, i could take out loans, but i think i'd rather use them to keep the house.

i'm scared.

crazy times

i've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off lately, trying to get all of my work done. this week i'll declare my current  asian studies minor a major instead, meaning i'll have three majors (yes, you read that correctly. three majors). i'll soon be a BFA studio art major concentrating in painting and sculpture, a BA art history major AND a BA asian studies major concentrating on east asia.

what am i doing.

although, i must say.. most of the BFA studio majors i know graduate in five years with just one degree. i'll have three degrees in that time. one year left to go!

i'll have more art up soon; i've been too busy to photograph things! in a week i'll be volunteering in new orleans, and once i get back there's less than a month of school left for the semester. where is the time going?

the creep factory..

..is up & running:

as i said yesterday, this semester has been crazy. i'm exhausted. i've not got many things completed, but i've got a ton in the works. these faces are part of a series, all of which are turning out pretty differently. i'm seeing them as an installation.. & i'm seeing a LOT of them. they're all going to be painted like actual faces, lipgloss & all.

i said i'd post a ~real photo of this a while ago, buuuut i never took one, haha. it happens. here's a picture i took on my phone while it was hanging up during the critique.

good thing i have to photograph my work for my seminar class later on in the semester.. i'll probably make a massive post with everything i'll be putting in my portfolio, along with my portfolio itself. i decided to go with a homemade leather & wood portfolio rather than one of the big black rectangular ones. i think it mine suits my work more so than the commercial ones do.

i'm still alive

more to come.. this semester is crazy.

i swear i have a real camera

i'll post real better pictures later, but i took these on my phone the other night during my painting class. just a few progress shots of that cardboard painting! it's nearly done now & due on wednesday, so if nothing else i'll have actual camera photos by then.

i'm really loving my senior seminar class. it's teaching us how to write a proper artist statement, make cover letters, write up our résumé.. all the practical things i'd never know how to do otherwise. hahah. it's perfect because it's for BFA students, who don't benefit much from the typical business major-esque résumé writing workshops they have at school. it's tailored to suit our needs & specific skills.

my other classes are all going relatively well. there are only four other people in my korean class, so it's very personal & much less threatening/embarrassing. chinese is going well too, but we haven't really gotten into anything difficult. i love learning to write the characters-- they're made up of pictures that actually make sense & look like the objects they represent. i was fascinated when professor cong showed up some of them in chinese ink painting class a few semesters ago, & i can see myself really getting into it.

my textiles class is fun, but i'm really itching to dive into the more complicated stuff. we've been making/printing handmade stamps on fabric, which is fun... but i really want to do other things now. i've got tons of ideas for that class.

my internship is going very well, as it did last semester. it's like a break from all of the normal work i have to do because it's so different. i like it. the reasons behind why siona works on the subjects she does are really interesting. she's such a cool person.

the only bummer this semester is my ceramics class, i guess. it's a shame. some semesters i'm super prolific in ceramics but not so much in painting, & sometimes it's the opposite. i think that's going to be the case this semester. the class is WAY too crowded/loud, so i can't even work or think comfortably. it's just a totally different dynamic than it was last semester. i don't know. at least painting is going well, haha.

start

first artistic venture of the semester! my painting professor suggested we paint on cardboard for our first project, which could be anything we wanted as far as the subject matter goes (& it didn't really even have to be on cardboard.. he said to only do it if we wanted to do so). his idea was to do a painting on something really cheap & disposable so we wouldn't get attached to our work.. buuuut i don't think it's working, haha. i'm pretty pleased with how this is coming out. i'll post more head-on photos so it doesn't look as skewed later on down the road.

unfortunately, i'm working on my kitchen floor. my ~studio is still being used as storage, & the floor in there isn't even visible. oi. i've got some work ahead of me.

i've been painting to this song all night. i'm not one for rap, but epik high is always one of the few exceptions.

must try

i've been creeping through riusuke fukahori's work for a little while now, & i'm obsessed. i've got some resin lying around waiting to be mixed up.. maybe i'll try something like this. it's really inspiring! plus, it's no secret that i love painting fish..

source

source

progress

i finally got the last grade i've been waiting on! i honestly had a tough time last semester, so i'm pleased as punch with this. it's irritating that my gpa is actually a 3.969, but it only shows on my transcripts. i think everything is updated the following semester, so 3.968 might be what my gpa was after my summer classes rather than my fall classes. but REGARDLESS. it's good & i'm proud. the best thing, though, is seeing how proud my parents are when they see my grades. they're one of the reasons i try so hard. doing well in whatever i go out for is the least i can do for them.

the new semester starts in less than a week, & i have a feeling it's going to be even more difficult than the last one. here's a look at my schedule:

monday:

11-1:30pm - textiles & design

2-4:30pm - senior seminar

tuesday:

9:30-10:45am - basic chinese I

11-12:15pm - intermediate korean II

2-4:30pm - ceramics studio

wednesday:

11-1:30pm - textiles & design

2-4:30pm - senior seminar

5:30-10:30pm - painting studio

thursday:

9:30-10:45am - basic chinese I

11-12:15pm - intermediate korean II

2-4:30pm - ceramics studio

**my internship times have yet to be decided, as i have to work out a schedule that works for both me & siona this semester. i have fridays off again, so i'll probably work in her studio then. i'll also end up going on one or two of the days that i get out at 4:30, but that might end up being worked out on a week-to-week basis depending on both of our schedules.

i'd like to get an extra job this semester because i need the money & my weekend job is slow in the winter/spring, but i don't think it's possible. i've already got way too much on my plate. maybe i can sell some of the stuff i've been making, or something. whatever works.

inspiration in strange places

marilyn manson is someone i've always respected as an artist. even if his stuff isn't really your thing, i think it's kind of difficult to deny him as a visual/performance artist.

down to the wire

i've had to create a makeshift "studio" in my living room because everyone has been piling their junk in my designated workroom at home. it's really frustrating, but i've got work to do.

i've got three (very) small commissions to do, & i'm hoping to finish one of them tonight. i'm in serious need of the cash, and i will have no time at all once the semester starts next week. i've also got quite a pile of work to tackle for my internship & some personal work to take care of as well.

i visited the scholarship office at school the other day, hoping someone could point me in the right direction for getting another scholarship for next year. this is my fourth year at william paterson, & if i didn't have two majors & a minor i'd be graduating. this has put me in quite a tight spot, because my scholarship only lasts four years & is non-extendable. however, while i was there, they suggested i write a letter to the head of the scholarship office & ask that they review my case. apparently, they do extend scholarships like mine, but it is EXTREMELY rare. i'm hoping with my 3.968 GPA & involvement on campus i might be able to get something. anything. i need it. i don't know what's going to happen otherwise.

keep your fingers crossed, my friends.

anyway, i should hopefully be posting more over the next few weeks as the semester picks up & i throw myself back into my work.

take me back

fall 2011 semester

sadly, the colors in these photos are very.. off. the wall the paintings are against is stark white in real life, for your reference.

if you remember my favorite photo from the china post, i painted it in a 3D painting this past semester.

the hand detail i posted a while back belongs to this painting. i'm disappointed in how flat/distorted this painting looks in photos.

detail of another painting. these colors KILL me. the face is very blue & the gessoed background is stark white with slight washes of a pinky/red color in real life.

2012

happy new year, everyone. i hope 2012 is a success for you.

do what it takes 'til it takes everything you are.