Now after how many years? I am back to Blog again. 

It's been a long journey, and now I am here, in Lunenburg Nova Scotia, with my Mr. Clean husband - he just gave himself a new nick name last night while cleaning the kitchen. No cats, but a full size studio and a sweet little store front. My CC Lord Studio Gallery is shaping up. 

Nick has the ceiling done with knotty birth tree planks bought from his friend who owns the mill directly. Cost me less than $600, plus labor $2500. Great deal!

Snow outside, but I am not bothered at all. In fact, I gladly take it as one of the accomplices that help makes this world so beautiful. 

This is 8:30 am and I am going back to bed, up since 6:30, and get more ready for today's farmer's market with Mr. Clean - also a Mr. Late-Riser.

I don't know how i can be less serious and more fun, carefree, spunk.... I don't enjoy reading what i have written, but every time i write anything, i am serious, even when i want to be fun!

Getting serious

4th year into my artist life, I'm getting serious now. Art is a serious business  that much I have learned.

Once I read about a quote from an artist, "Respect each and every stroke (on canvas)." Now it means more to me, not just respect the work I am creating, but respect art itself. Yes, it's getting serious and I am not joking about it.

Now when I receive a $20 dollar bill for my work in the market, it means more than the value, it means the connection there is between the customer - the viewer of my work and me - the creator of the work. And you know what? That is huge. Yes. It is huge to me.

It's a serious business being an artist.

SELF-LESS

In general I want happiness in life, but I found the path to unhappiness often is more obvious and easier to take; jealousy, suspicion, self-righteousness, etc. I'll make an effort to exam my "feelings" when I am not happy, and most of the time, it was me who need to detour.


Joy, my daughter misbehaved last night. She talked back at me and her auntie, i.e. my sister. Joy thought the comment we made at dinner was unfair, so she was arguing with me first and later my sister in the restaurant. The dinner ended up abruptly as we all felt miserable.  So, instead of hang out in the night market as we planned, I walked out of the group feeling really bad. I saw Joy left the group shortly after me heading back. I could see why she wouldn't stay... That's when I decided to walk back to the group and continue exploring the night market with my sister and her daughter without Joy.

We had fun. But the mixed of anger and humiliation and sadness about Joy's behavior bothered me all night and this morning.

I worry this 26 old daughter will suffer in her personal relationships as well as at work if her temper is so short and strong. As a single mom, I also felt I spoilt her - I didn't do my job bring her up "properly" in her manner,  And now, like my sister commented after Joy left, that it's a little "too late" to "discipline" her as a child. I will just have to let her go, make her own mistakes, and live her own life. It's difficult for me as her mother, but it is the only way that she can grown up, just like I did.  

Pike Place

Market has been kind to me this summer. (Or was it me that's been smarter? Smarter in how I set up my booth, mat my prints, etc.?) I feel blessed that I could safely say I have a viable job now. (Which is important to me as I love to be financially independent at least to some extend.)

Unfortunately in my Chinese friends' eye, this gig is not about art or talent, it's about survival, and they praised me being "brave" for making a living with this low-life job, a market vendor! One of them showed up with her husband, going through my work (while the husband standing afar looking over his nose), picked up a print, and decided to "go for the smaller size" - as a favor. Yes, as a favor to me!

I kept my smile on, thanked her for coming. Yes, at least she showed up and showed me her graciousness.  

Illustration Day One

Slow in the market as expected. I decided to start on the illustration project for my story books instead of sitting there moaning. It's really COLD.
Pencil first - as I didn't know what I'll do eventually - acrylic? oil? water color? Or even collage? I thought I leave that decision to a later date. I should find out first what this woman (me, of course) could do first before I assign her more specific task. So, yes, the harmless pencil first.

Drawing seemed not overly difficult to her - of course with a lot of eraser work, two images came out before too long. One is the swirl before the mirror - I like to know if she could do the swirl. One is flying high up - the perspective was a little challenge.

My design is to make the main object(s) - where the eye should go - with stronger and more realistic and to leave the rest in kind of sketchy and cartoon style. Still, this is only in an experiment stage.

Let's see what tomorrow will bring.

Skyline WA

I went online and searched under "paper painting" - an artist came up. Elizabeth Nelson. I was amazed by the way she uses acrylics first before putting paper pieces on. I was very very tempted to follow suit and planned to do my next piece her way. But then, when I started this piece, my "task mode" kicked in again (logically, I still think it's harder to use paper to deliver the shades in the background, although my painting skill is not as good as my collage making), so I chose the long way this time again. After I made the background, I thought it would be much easiers if I painted the thin branches, I was this close to start painting.... Now I have done it, I'm glad I did it with paper only. 

Painting? Next time. I promised.