5.05.2009

Triptych Triptych

Three series of three photographs. Three locations important to me, in California. These photographs were taken in February of this year.




The Doubletree Hotel, in San Jose, where Pantheacon is currently held. I like to hang out in the bathrooms and think about the women who come and crimp the tissues every day. That's my mother's flask sitting on the entertainment center, overpowered by the reflection of the lamp in the gloss on the particleboard; I like to think about who polishes those surfaces, and the surface of the faucet. I'm aware that the job is most likely a boring/grueling one, but when I imagine myself performing these tasks, it is in a meditative state. This is the state in which I took these pictures, and the state in which they ought to be viewed.




Ragle Park, in Sebastopol, where I spent many days between the ages of one and sixteen, and which I visit every time I'm in town. It is a beautiful, expansive park, with creeks and hills and little paths and little gardens, tadpoles in the summer and mud pits in the winter, and lots of trees to climb. This spot in the park, specifically, is special to me. It's one of those places that feels completely magical and private. It is always lit ecstatically. The branches of these trees defy logic, constantly flexing to extend, heavy, further away from the trunk and parallel to the ground. These photographs look unreal, and for that reason I find them more factual. Look at the blue here, and the gloss.




In-N-Out Burger. There's not much to say that hasn't already been said about how amazing it is. I encounter a lot of people in Chicago who are jealous of my California heritage soley based on the fact that I get to eat In-N-Out every time I visit. I really love these photographs because of how eerie they look. The restaraunt looks like a demon hellhole with grey zombie employees, somehow still spotless while infested with decay. All of which just makes me love In-N-Out more. Quality you can taste.

5.01.2009

Night City (Part 3)



A composite dream narrative, compiled from various nighttime adventures, both conscious and unconscious. We had the option to either write a ten page paper or create a six page comic in response to a graphic novel, and I picked one of my all time favorites, Daniel Clowes' Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron. There was no penciling in the creation of this comic. Everything drawn straight up with a pen, yeah.

part 1
part 2

4.20.2009

Stationary: Long Day


This was the first set of stationary I ever made to sell at Pantheacon, about a year and a half ago. I cut a linoleum print of a witch with a cigarette and a martini, made 20 prints, put together 20 different cards with scraps of found patterened paper, and then designed 20 envelopes for them.



You can see here how the envelope opens; it's pretty cool, you don't need tape or anything. The five pictured at the top are all of these I have left.

4.17.2009

Dramatic Enactment



The first film I ever shot, in the fall of 2007, in my Media Practices class. We were supposed to be inspired (like all beginning film students) by the French New Wave, which is where all the cigarette smoking came from. My classmates on this project were Nick, Melissa, and Mark. This is probably the most straightforward narrative film I'll ever shoot. All editing is in camera.

4.14.2009

Motion Sickness



Um, I think this is the best drawing I've ever done. And will ever do. T-shirts, anyone?

4.10.2009

Stationary: Fat Man



I make a lot of cards and envelopes and things out of recycled materials. One of my favorite materials is old calenders, because they're big, glossy prints on stiff paper and make the most wonderful envelopes.


The cards to match these envelopes are collaged from images I found in this book from the 70's, apparently trying to illustrate the role of the perfect husband. It was a small gag-feminist paperback, and while confusing and potentially offensive, I really loved the photographs. I've been selling this set of stationary at school art fairs and Pantheacon.




4.07.2009

Scarf


I finished this scarf last fall. It took me a year and a half to complete, in short episodes while riding the bus. It's just pearl and knit, but I would switch the direction every now and then to create this paneled look. It's the first thing I've ever knitted that wasn't for a class.



4.03.2009

Lamplight


Assignment (which you can see written in the margins here): Person 1 trips Person 2. Person 1 laughs as Person 2 tries not to knock over a lamp. In my version, the lamp is also a character. This comic made me realize how attracted I am to drawing faces wracked with anxiety.