And I love it.
It has been a while since I have last updated the progress of my current project. The last time I completed the first square. Down below is the compeletion of the second square. Ahhhh, the lovely background framing that is my rug. Doesn't it just add a wonderful touch to the pictures? Originally, I was going to have four squares and combine them together so I had one big blanket. However, I changed my mind, yet again, to just sticking with the two squares that I had. When I combined them, I had a rectangular shape and a way to work the border. The next picture has the borders that I added and trust me, it took a while. Like a couple weeks with my work schedule. At first I wanted to have solid colors, but I ran out of yarn and had to used what I had. Now later, when there was a sale, I went out and bought more Impeccable Impeccable to complete the frills of the blanket. And at first I didn't like my choice of colors, but looking at it for a while and asking for my sisters opinions, I realized that it was coming along nicely. As an artist, I always second guess my work because it doesn't end the way I want it too or I might worry about what others think. Then the thought, Just create, someone will love it, comes into my mind and sure enough, it puts me at ease. In fact, I fall in love with my art work. I don't fall in love with it during the process because its incomplete and I don't see a whole picture. When I'm done, however, and I take a step back to look at what my hands and indecision has created, I look to see the good in my art. For me, after all the frustrating relationship symptoms, I find that at the end, I either accept it or love it.
And I love it.
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It's that time of the year where faith and food intermingle and create a wonderful atmosphere of food lethargy and spiritual fulfillment. Not Christmas, not Thanksgiving.
Easter. Down by the Precious Blood, our neighbors church had an Easter Bake Sale last weekend. They have it every year, and without fail, every year, they always sell home made chocolates and baked goods. My sis and I have helped them in the past few years, basking in the glory of dark and milk chocolate. We set up tables and arranged the goodies in plates that were decorated in an Easter fashion. If you asked me, it was a wonderful way to spend my weekend. Not only did we see everything, we were one of the first few people to have first dibs. After setting up everything and waiting for the people to start coming in, Luanettee kindly asked for a bucket, yes a bucket, and handed it to me to pick my birthday candy. Happy like a child during Halloween, I went from top to bottom of the candy tables and picked up various truffles, bars, and other delicious goods. By the end of it, my bucket was full and my inner child satisfied. All for less than $20. Until next year Easter. Until then. That's right, you read that title correctly. The Eds' took on the magical shooting friendships forever ponies' head on head. One of their creators, Big Jim, at the center of it all. He was one of the original artists for Ed, Edd, and Eddy and the current director of My Little Pony. This week I had a complete and utter throw back. University of Saint Francis hosted an event that invited the one and only, Jim Miller, as a guest speaker to talk about animation and his path to where he is now. I have to admit, my mind was blown away at the mere fact that meeting the person who helped to create the Ed, Edd and Eddy of my childhood was a possible.
My sister came in one night while I was sleeping and left the poster and a six inched Subway meatball sandwich on my counter. Of course, me and my sleepy butt didn't realize it till later. But when I did wake up and read the poster I was soooooo happy. I ran to the kitchen and put it on our calendar. It was going down Thursday for sure! When the day finally arrived I packed up my two most important sketch books and we drove over to the auditorium. The thing was packed with people of various ages. Some were there for My Little Pony, some for the animation world and process, some for remembering their childhood, and others....maybe for stalking? Anyways, my sister and I listened to the speaker. Big Jim was a casual guy who made jokes here and there with his sense of humor. He wasn't overly serious and even had a slide of a few steps in the process. So much review and work goes into just one episode, 22 minutes, that it was no wonder he was ready to be done with it in the end. All that revision would make my mind dull too. Think of all the papers I did in high school and college. Talk about numbing. At the end of his speech, there was a question and answer portion. A little girl asked if he did Season 1 episode 25, and another person asked about the voice work. I wanted to ask why the animation was done in the Philippines and not in the States even though its cheaper. But I held back and my sis asked about the steps he took to get where he is today. He said it varied, because he didn't plan any of this and that he didn't even really have an education behind it like most people think you would need. He did mention though, if you wanted to get your work out there, to always send samples to different companies. They are always asking apparently. Finally, it was my turn. After waiting to the very end, I got the mike and asked one, simple question. "When we are done with this, and you have time, can you please look at my sketchbook and give me some advice?" His reply: "Sure. and anyone else who wants to show me their's I will be happy to look at." Mind is blown away. Can you imagine how nervous and excited I was to ask? I was positive that there were other people who wanted to show him their sketch books, but were too afraid to ask. I hadn't been that nervous to ask a question since I was in India and asked the Bishop of Canterbury if he wanted to have tea with us after the meeting. Needless to say, after he was done asking questions, a flood of people came and lined up to meet him. He seemed a bit surprised or just really touched. Maybe he didn't expect such a crowd of people to show up or be interested. Maybe he didn't give speeches often. Either way, he welcomed everyone warmly and it made me think about the importance of being happy to the fans. Like Taylor Swift, she makes it her business to care and know, and it really feels great for us "normal" people. As Big Jim looked through my sketchbook, he noted that I liked anime and that I had a lot of completed work. "You should try drawing loose pictures, like gestures, to help you with your drawing and storyboards," he told me after I asked him about story-boarding. It wasn't like I didn't have ideas, but putting them down on paper was tough for me. "If you draw loosely you can get your idea on paper. Don't focus of making a completed picture." Of course! I had a feeling it was like that. Seeing his story-boards, they were nothing but scratches with notes at the bottom. He said if I drew my story-lines like that, it could help my storyboard ideas and everything. It made sense...I had been missing a step all along. After signing my sketchbook on the very first page of what I consider a not so great drawing, I stepped to the side and let other people have their share of Big Jim. I returned later though for a photo with him and I felt soooo happy! A lot of other people showed him their drawings too and asked questions and asked for his autograph. But I was the first! And I am sure Big Jim and I will meet again! After asking me what type of hat I wanted, I gave my sister a half-hearted answer. What could I demand from her to make that stood out from her previous yellow minion hats? After thinking about it for a while, I had a revelation after watching Despicable Me 2.
Evil. Minions. Heck. Yeah. Of course! No one else I knew had a purple minion hat. My sister had made the yellow ones, and even on pintrist there were several people already making their own yellow followers. But what about the evil ones? They were so funny and strong in the movie, it automatically drew me in. This was my hat! So the following day I told my sister, "I want a purple minion hat. Make me a purple minion hat." She looked at me and laughed, asking if I really wanted it. I starred at her and stated: "They are purple. evil. minions. I want it. Please." Needless to say, she smiled and started to work on it. I will admit to nagging her to the point where she almost didn't do it, but I managed to wait it out. I waited for a week. And the results are in the pictures. It didn't get as much recognition as the yellow ones, but I LOVE my hat. Maybe others may not recognize my hat right away, but at least I knew I was walking around with a bad-ass version of the memorable characters from that popular movie. Not to mention, I rock purple! If I had children, we would be a clan of the evil fuzzy purples. Us with our red eyed minion hat that can shoot out lasers. Pew-pew! Peeew! Winter is almost over, and the sun is coming out, yet there is still enough time to walk around outside rocking my minionness. Here is my new project that I started! As you can see, I have my materials on the left molded by my lovely stuffed toy, Ducky. I choose two colors, using Impeccable Impecable yarn, and started my design. I used a copy of Annie's Lace Throw instructions from my neighbor. She's an avid crochet and needle worker as well, and she has done beautiful works that decorate her home and her loved ones. She's sometimes my supply person for designs. Well, she gave this one to my sister and after she was done I started. The right photo is the one with the ends and without the borders. For a while I try to decide, what colors and way did I want to do this? Did I want the whole thing in one color? A lot of photos online had them in one solid color...and well, I love to be different and do different things. I noticed that the middle looked like a giant sun or sunflower. I wanted that to pop out more than anything, so I adjusted the rows and exchanged the colors to make it fit. I kept stopping and worrying about my colors and how it might look like, not sure if other people would like it. But I stuck to what I wanted and it turned all right. Slowly but surely, it came out and the pattern was seen by me and everyone around me. Can you see it? Of course, the next step would be to do the edges and frills. However...I'm thinking about being different again. Wonder what it will look like in the end?
Using my characters to pose in some hats my sister has done for her clients. Already one step towards greatness!Finally, after making the pieces last year while I finished my Masters degree and coming back from China to sew them together, I am done! I have to say, it turned out nice. Although at times I thought it wouldn't look so nice, once I knew what my sister wanted around the border things went smoothly. It was a momentary artist block :l After I completed it, I stowed it away in my room and used it as a pillow. This went on for about a week before my sister finally came into my room this morning and asked: "Where's MY blanket? Where is it? Are you done yet?" Needless to say, I told her I had been done with it long ago. She promptly then took up the blanket I handed to her, wrapped herself in it, and posed in the mirror. Picture to the right. I hadn't realized how big it was on her until she tried it on. Most of my blankets had been medium sized, like a lap blanket. With this one, she could completely wrap herself. I imagined her rolling it around her body, and lying on the floor just because she can. Sigh. At least she loves it. I was in dire need of a winter hat that not only kept my head warm but also treated my natural hair well. I needed a hat that covered nicely when I had my hair in small or big braids, and or when I wore my hair out. This season I wanted to try something different and for the first time in a long time, I made something other than blankets. I made winter hats!! :3 Yes, I gathered my yarn that I bought on sale from Micheal's Craft Store and looked up online for winter hats. Now, I kept in mind that I wanted a hat that fitted my head well, but also fitted over my braids when I wore them during the winter time. So....I went for the slouch hat and a normal top hat. Here are the links. Before I dive into my experiences I would like to note that I used two different types of yarn, so the end results varied. At the same time, I didn't use two colors, but instead a vibrant multi-color yarn. The normal hat was made with Impeccable Impecable yarn, which is soft yet durable enough for the winter. The other yarn I used for the slouch hat was Charisma, which is a two string yarn and a bit harder than Red Heart yarn. The first hat I made with the Impeccable yarn was the normal top hat. It was simple design that I could wear continuously while my hair was in braids. Like a summer hat, only in winter. With a single color you can't immediately tell the pattern, which is a good excuse for people to stare at your work longer trying to figure out which one it is :J I'm not a professional photographer, so its a bit fuzzy. At least you can tell the design here. This one was much easier than the slouch hat, maybe because of the softer yarn....My brother said it looked like a giant acorn :/ The next one I did was the slouch hat. What a piece of work! Evident mistakes, dazzlingly green and purple color mix, and a bit stiff. Like most of my Red Heart yarn, I'll have to wash it in hopes that it will get softer. Let me show you the evident "line of struggle". Isn't it pretty? :'D Needless to say the indent will be going in the back when I wear it. Now, I did this large, thinking I would wear it when I had bigger braids or my hair out, which made sense because when I tried it on over my small braids...it looked like Turks hat from Danny Phantom :l Inspired by such a fashionable cartoon character, I flipped the back and let it sit a bit loosely on my head. I could get away with it. Was it perfect? No. Did it fit my head? Yes. Did it look like the example photo? Heck no! Would I make another one? In a smaller size and different yarn. The Impeccable yarn is defiantly more for scarfs, while the Charisma is more for hats, so with the left over brown yarn, I'll tackle another slouch hat. All in all, an adventure worth part taking in. Until next time...Keep crafting!
LOOOOOOK!!! A PUPPY!!!! So this is how it looks like after I complete a full scale of the color sequence. I was actually a bit worried that the colors wouldn't stand out that much, but they actually work well together. The green was a good choice. I'm happy I choose that color. Its one of my favorite colors, the other two being yellow and purple. Maybe I'll use one of those in my next project :D I placed my little doggy money bag to help with scale, although the end is tucked in a bit. As you can see the first row seems to bunch up a bit and doesn't lie flat, but I figured it's one of those designs that when you've progressed to a certain length it will lie down straight. The ends aren't exactly the same, as you can see, which is understandable because I did make one end longer than the other. You know, technically I can stop here and make it into a lovely scarf :D I prefer it though to be a blanket and have it as a study fuzzy. When There is more progress on the next color sequence I will update some more! Haven't decided when or what my next project will be since I still have classes to take care of. Look out for updates to find out! Here is a closer look at the color sequence :D The Calypso project is slowly under ways. I keep thinking that I'm doing something wrong, that little feeling of insecurity about your work and whether or not it's going to look nice.
I'm sure we've all had that feeling sometimes with a project we're doing. It can't be helped: part of our upbringing is to question the quality of our creations. To bad we aren't taught to think that no matter what I create, "It will be perfect and beautiful. Even if I make mistakes and it doesn't please everyone's eyes, I have created something with my power and abilities. And it is GOOD." Shoot, if I thought like that all the time I would rolling in some cash :D But I don't, I have my insecurities, I have my doubts, I have my weaknesses even in the things I love to do. I can only shape my thoughts and actions in ways to better help me understand that what I am creating isn't for quality sake: it's to help me express myself, even when it DOES get messy. So my pep talk is this: "I don't think I'm doing this right....wait, let me check the directions. This doesn't make any sense! Darn it, I think I made a mistake....well, can't go back now. I'm defiantly not unraveling all of that! It won't be so bad, maybe no one will notice....but I will know. Arrrgggh, okay! Just keep going, it doesn't really matter. I'm learning as I go. I can do this, I can finish this. Like a BOSS!! .....it doesn't look so bad actually, I really do like it. It'll be fine in the end. Yeah, everything will be fine." This conversation frequently crosses my mind in some shape or form whenever I do a project because I want it to be perfect and I want it to look perfect. However, I REALLY must remind myself. Everything I already create through my mind and hands will be perfect already, and any judgments that follow are of personal preference. Tally ho I say, tally HO! |
AuthorHello! Welcome to my blog where I share my crafts, ideas and daily experiences. Enjoy! Archives
April 2014
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