ciao ciao!

"mr. and mrs. rodriguez"
2008

in the last 2 months, 4 more of my most favorites were parted from me. "mr. and mrs. martinez" were the first favorite to go, here. it's a great thing but i have sentimental feelings towards certain ones. when i made them, how i made them, how long it took me, and how i named them...

"mr. and mrs. rodriguez" were one of the my first couples, if i remember correctly. they were purchased last week and that's when thought i needed to update all my loves that are now gone!

"amor a mexico"
2008

"amor a mexico" was designed with mexico in mind, obviously. the components were 925 sterling silver, swarovski crystals and rhinestones, czech glass beads, shell beads, hand carved yak bone skull beads.

"mr. and mrs. lopez"
2008

"mr. and mrs. lopez" had the highest viewers then they finally found a new home in australia! i remember i wanted to design them looking classy and sophisticated and they did turn out that way!

"salsa salsa ii"
2008

i must say, "salsa salsa ii" was inspired after the first "salsa salsa"  see below. so i had to duplicate them but i just couldn't allow myself to duplicate it 100%. so to keep the customers happy and myself, i stayed within the exact idea but with my own choices of colors and materials. so it wasn't purely my idea on this one although i prefer my "salsa salsa ii"! i need to continue to make a few more of these but they take a long time though worth it!

last note, all these i shared, i've made aceo limited editions on my best shots, you can find them at my grigiodesign etsy store, here.

100% deutscher schäferhund

"kazier"
this one i plan to make it into an aceo.

it's my favorite from over 80 shots!

today was such a beautiful day, the weather was perfect, it was as good as it can be! as i spent it with my family i was thinking of what i should blog about for today. then i remembered i photographed my brother's dog yesterday for fun.

the most beautiful deutscher schäferhund (german shepherd)! kaizer, he is 100% pure breed. he was born on december 8, 2004. his parents were champions!

i've been wanting to photograph him for a while now and finally remembered to take my camera to my mother's house. he's my brother's dog but more like our family dog. he spends most of the time guarding the house and with my parents.

i have to say, photographing a dog that is bigger than me was not the easiest experience. i had treats the whole time but i'm pretty happy with a couple photos! and his beauty just made it so much easier considering in my mother's backyard! i would have loved to take him out to the park or something but that would be trouble. he's so protective that when he sees other dogs or strangers, he shows his territory and he wants to take them down! seriously! and i won't be able to handle him, it would be him dragging me instead!

what a beauty!

he's sooooooo smart, when he saw my mom "touch" his towel, he knew to get into the shower because he knew it was time to be washed. without anyone saying anything! in addition, he rushes to the door with convictions when he knows my brother comes home, i find that really impressive. i can't even see who is outside yet!
he's so obedient to most of us, most of the time but to my brother, he is 10000% obedient! it's amazing to see that.

he makes faces when people leave to show them that he is going to be sad to be home alone or just with my parents! i rarely hear him bark but when he does, it can sound quite intimidating.

final thought, i remembered, on april 19th, approximately 6 sundays ago, while enjoying a relaxing day with some good friends out in canago park, i managed to check my emails. i got a random message from susan of yaffadreams, you can find her here.

she sent me this message, "you are soooooooo creative!" exact words. it felt so enduring to get a message like that out of the blue! so thank you susan! it's was so heartfelt and it just felt so great! i think it's the fact that you work so hard every day of your life as an artist, harder than any other professions because it is not up the par in our society compared to even a c.p.a.
but we do have to work harder because great art comes out of those who truly work hard at it! even if you believe how creative and talented you may be, if you don't work hard at it, just like anything else, it shows...that's why i believe artist and designers have to work even harder.

and on top of all, art is truly subjective. it's just not easy for any of us!

so anyhow, it was one of the most enduring thing you can get as an artist or designer from someone who may not know you at all but can see how creative you are by just looking at your work! truly truly truly enduring, i hold it close to my heart so i'm going to pay it forward. what a simple compliment can mean to another!

and tonight...

i hope this will be a blast! i will post the verdict tomorrow! until then...

eminem...he is back!

as i mentioned in march, here, i was so excited on tuesday, i picked this up from best buy! eminem grew up, he's matured, you can hear it in all the songs. he's back, really back, so excited! his style, matured in a very nice way. i smiled the whole time listening to it.

see the horror-inspired commercial for his new cd relapse banned from commercial...

it's a bit ridiculous but i love it cus i bought it! :) more on eminem or here.

feature of the week: idlehandsdesigns

"tie one off sutured heart necklace"
idlehandsdesigns

oh i'm in lovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvve with this!

"inspired by kenley's use of rope on project runway. i too am thinking of ways to get a rope around your neck.

made with my hands using sterling silver. this piece is three dimensional (hollow), 1 inch in width, 1 & 1/4 inches in height and 1/2 an inch in depth at it's highest point. sutured with silver wire and strung on a 2 mm silver rolo chain (shown above). the chain is 15 inches in length and is adjustable to 16 inches with a lobster claw clasp. finished with a dark patina."~idlehandsdesigns

as one of the newest member of etsy dark team, i decided to feature an item every wednesday from one of our members! this wasn't my idea, i borrowed it from one of our team member, todoteordream! be sure to check out our site or search for etsydarkteam when you are on etsy!

be back next wednesday for feature of the week!

i love...winner

june 15th giveaways:

"los ingredientes"

"bloom"

the above earrings will be the giveaway for june, you can see it at my etsy store. i had decided in honor of "j", i will be giving 2 giveaways! "los ingredientes" is one of my favorites because it's really long and it's grey = grigio! i will duplicate it but the skulls will not look exactly the same due to the nature of "hand painted".

all you have to do is send me a message through email or convo me through my etsy store. i will randomly select a winner from the email messages. your email address will be only used for the giveaway for the month. i will notify the winner by email and i will post your name on this blog!

may 15, 2009 giveaway winner >>>

"i love..."

congratulations to:

sandy jackson of new york!

jakob valentine

"she devil"
this takes my breath away, i just love love love it!

i'm bouncing back nicely compared to the last two weeks. i know that i must keep going with my optimistic view in life, with art. "j" was the cause for me to be here today and continue my mission. i will never forget him and i know that i will create even more and better works in everything i do. for myself, for "j", for my familly, for humanity...:)

mondays are always the busiest so after a few hours of hard work, i find it necessary to share my new find artist of the week! i really enjoy the process of discovering an artist with real nice works and talents. when i fall in love with their works, i just wish to collect everything they make! this process truly helps my heart, i don't really know how to explain it in words but the joy i feel finding what other artists create, is speechless!

jakob valentine...what a nice name to begin with! i had some time to search for more things on the devil and i discovered jakob valentine! take a look at his etsy store, love love love it!

"frida kahlo"

jakob valentine is an artist from el paso, texas. he paint and sculpt at speed of full force of 100,000,000,000,000 plus his furry kitty, calcifer!

"i love all dark & ghoulishly cute things & collect everything from asian art, books, toys & vinyl figures, to posters, films, vintage clothing & more! i am fascinated with the 1920's/30's/40's & 50's hollywood movies & the fashion...i also love to collect day of the dead collectibles & is why i sculpt what i sculpt! so without further ado, here is my shoppe on etsy.com & ENJOY!" ~ jakob valentine, and here.

"santa muerte"

obviously, he is creative and extremely detailed with his pieces. my favorites are all shown here, but "she devil" and "frida kahlo" are my #1s. i can't decide which one i should get first...i will share when i do!

i'm not crazy, i believe i have a good eye for unique arts. there are gazillions of artists out there, just as there are gazillions of actors or actresses or even doctors. but jakob valentine is a true talent in my books!

anyways, be sure to check out jakob valentine's etsy store and his myspace page, here.

"diablo"

my tattos

healing my soul at home this weekend was the best decision i've made...

while chillin' at home, i thought i'd update my blog by sharing my tattoos...i thought of tattoos because i have decided to get 3 other ones in the near future and cover one of my existing tattoo (not shown). yeah, it's that bad.

here they are...

"grigio"
2007
huntington park

frutiger, i designed it with my all time favorite typeface. my first tattoo, on my left hand side wrist.

" 南無妙法蓮華經 "
nam-myoho-renge-kyo
2007
huntington park

it only made sense for me to tattoo this down my spine. :)

"pig" amida 阿弥陀
april 2008
taiwan

ronni was born during the year of pig. buddhsim derived from india, so it only made sense to me...:) hindu astrology pig symbol. on my right inside wrist.

"ronin"
april 2008
taiwan

this is little c's middle name. on my left inside arm.

ronin in chinese is which is read rounin.
the chinese/japanese word rounin means "masterless samurai" and is composed of the kanji (read as "rou") meaning "wave; wandering" and (read as "nin") meaning "person" . the chinese character literally mean "wandering (or wave) person".
ronin were masterless samurai (samurai) though today the english word ronin implies one who is independent or one that "goes their own way" in the sense of a lone wolf.

death

leaving for "j" 's viewing in an hour...i've been reading about death, thought i share a quote...

"death will come to each of us some day. we can die having fought hard for our beliefs and convictions, or we can die having failed to do so. since the reality of death is the same in either case, isn't it far better that we set out on our journey toward the next existence in high spririts, with a bright smile on our faces, knowing that in everything we did, we did the very best we could, thrilling with the sense that "that was truly an interesting life"? ~diasaku ikeda

lotus seed

"lotus seed"
acrylic & digital
2009

"life is the foremost of all treasures. it is expounded that even the treasures of the entire major world system cannot equal the value of one's body and life. even the treasures that fill the major world system are no substitute for life."~nichiren daishonin

"lotus seed", an original acrylic painting and design, here. 人間革命 stands for human revolution in chinese characters.

i decided to design this piece from the painting. this was decided as a series from my "fortune baby". as i mentioned last week, here, that this was painted and designed from a personal experience. what do i do that isn't personal?!

so the story goes...
i was diagnoised with i.c.p. when i was pregnant with little c in 2006. i.c.p is known as "obstetric cholestasis (oc), refers to a specific liver condition in which the normal flow of bile is impaired in a woman's body resulting in itching that can vary in severity and type. the itching can be bothersome to severe itching and is often worse at night. there is rarely jaundice when suffering with i.c.p. although i.c.p. has been reported as early as a few weeks pregnant, it is more common for it to begin in the third trimester, when hormone concentrations are at their highest levels. the figure for the percentage of women for whom i.c.p. will recur in future pregnancies is still somewhat debated, but some sources claim it to be as high as 90%. i.c.p. is also referred to as cholestasis of pregnancy and pruritus gravidarum." for more info, here.

simply put, my obgyn informed me that with i.c.p. i had to be monitored weekly because of this disorder. otherwise, my little c could just stop breathing. what great news huh! i remember, due to i.c.p. i also had problems eating regularly, i couldn't eat normally, what a pregnant woman was suppose to. it was pretty tough and scary.

however, as a practitioner of nichiren buddhsim, we believe that "a fortune baby is born to a woman who practices buddhism while the child is in the womb. it is thought that through practicing buddhism while pregnant, your child will inevitably inherit the good fortune accumulated by actively participating in your faith by chanting..." for more info, here.

thus, the only thing i was able to do was to keep my faith and did my best to bring this fortune baby into this world, safely. and i did. he's a little fortune kid, full of life and energy, i almost forgot what i went through to bring him into this world!

so, with original photography and painting, my concept is to show that with courage as a mother, within me, i carried my unborn who is protected by the lotus flower. from my deep convictions, as a practitioner of nichiren buddhsim, i believed with my soul he was protected in a mystic way. "it is like the lotus seed, which contains both blossom and fruit. "~nichiren diashonin. my little c has now blossomed and became a little man! :)

14 x 18 canvas board
acrylic
2009

red

this was on sunday lunch, our whole family went for yum cha 飲茶 for mother's day. also known as dim sum, which is not the correct term. all of us sisters had this photo taken, it's funny so i had to share. the chinese writing on the back happened to say "for 4 people, $9.99"!

"untitled"
canvas board
acrylic
2009

so instead of finishing the other pieces, i had the urge to start on this. satan, i love the idea of him. no, i do not worship him in anyway. i'm still going through this birth and death issues. i meant to just make this piece for my customer but i kind of went off on just the idea of satan.

satan, why is he always portrayed with the color red with horns? as i began, i knew i wanted to paint a skull of him or her. then it lead to my thoughts of satan once loved, but he can still love right? so maybe that's why he is red? i guess it's hard to associate evil for me with red because i grew up with red as celebrations! especially new years! red at weddings, getting red envelopes, etc...

then i thought, satan can carry babies, not just one, but twins! he can be a she...she can fly away with her unborn babies which she loves dearly...even if she is satan!

happy mother's day!

happiest happiest happiest day to all mothers around the world! a human cannot understand the heart of a mother unless they are a mother...

"fortune baby"
acrylic & digital
2009

i woke up this morning and got a message from sundrasandrusi on etsy that she had featured "fortune baby" in her treasury, here. i took a screen shot (above) in case it disappears. be sure to check out her etsy store and her magical blog, here.

it felt really nice because it's mother's day and "fortune baby" is a piece directed at mothers, so what an honor! not only that, it's my latest creation! thank you sundrasandrusi!

for a brief description behind my painting, here.

til 4 a.m.

in process...
(birth & death)
canvas board
acrylic
2009

all this week, all i wanted to do was to paint...it's been hard and the only way i know to escape is to paint. the process of painting something with meaning allows me to think and then paint. painting provides this smooth feeling of healing and i just paint til 4 a.m. and wake up at 9:30am. that's been my last few days. :)

i started on this piece after the news of "j". i have to paint a few pieces of frida kahlo for my customers so i began with this. birth and death. it's perfect for what i am personally experiencing life at the moment. i'm learning that life is eternally and to not be afraid of death. thus, i believe in celebrating death the same way we celebrate birth. this skull frida represents death but she's in the form of a butterfly representing birth of a new life. if life is eternal then life goes in a circle. i will try to finish this piece over the weekend...until then...

in process...
(lotus life)
14 x 18 canvas board
acrylic
2009

i'm not sure where this will end up as a designed piece or just a painted piece. it's the sequence of my "fortune baby" which i just finished. obviously, it's a fetus in a heart protected by a lotus flower...i chose to paint in dark colors because sometimes in life we just don't know what the outcome of a pregnancy will turn out. i'm painting this from a personal experience which i will continue once it's finished!

in process...
archival paper
acrylic
2009

as for this, i was testing out some really nice archival papers, it's not done but i did this from something i once saw and i was trying to recollect what it was from a long time ago then i end up making it frida kahlo...

still in process...
30 x 30 canvas
mixed media
2009

"in lakech" might just be the title of this piece. i am still not finished! it's been over a month! no excuses, i just wasn't feeling it until earlier this week so it's really almost done. i've even received a great amount of compliments when people see it at my studio :) i just need to feel otherwise i will be unhappy of the turn out.

"j"

photo: arcspace
the ellwood walkway
art center college of design
pasadena

yesterday was an extremely difficult day to get through. early morning, my best friend's brother phoned me but i missed his call. then i got a text message right away. my best friend, peter, is on a job in shanghai, china, so we haven't been able to speak to each other.
anyway, he wanted to let me know that my mentor "j" had passed away. he was only 33 years old.
it's 17 hours later and i still cannot stop my tears.
what i want to share is that, if it wasn't for him, i would not have got myself accepted into art center college of design.
he was the only one who saw something in this 19 years old girl, he inspired and encouraged me that the sky was the limit. to think back, when you are young, it is so crucial to have that and i am forever grateful. i wouldn't have struggled to find myself as a designer and an artist if it wasn't for him. he didn't just tell me to go for one thing, he taught me to keep my options open, try everything until i find what i love. and i did. it was graphics and photography. i never looked back to do or be anything else. i would not have it any other way.
now i realized, i must inspire and i must encourage, even just one person at a time.
"j", i will never forget you and thank you for guiding me out of the box.

fortune baby

"fortune baby"
acrylic & digital
2009

"a child absorbs with great sensitivity the mother's teachings and training, her actions, her emotions, and the whole image of a human being. and in this process, the child imperceptibly amasses personality traits and thus inherits fundamental human culture. an old proverb says that the child is the mirror of the mother. institutions may conduct course of education and may impart great knowledge to their charges, but it is beyond their power to give all that a mother and a family can give."~daisaku ikeda

this is a piece celebrating the conception of a new life from two worlds in the 21st century! i used acrylic paint for the main subject, the fetus. then i designed the rest in photoshop. it took me a couple of days to finalize the concept for this piece, once i decided, it was easier to design it. i love it!

just briefly...
the concept behind this piece is that this new life is an integration of two distinct cultures. in nichiren buddhism, when a new life exist in a practitioner, this unborn is consider a "fortune baby". thus, you see 南無妙法蓮華經, the mystic law of the lotus sutura, as the other main component. the mother is a nichiren buddhist, as the father is of mayan decent. i decided to use the mayan astrology symbols to illustrate the mayan part of this unborn.

with my own personal experience, i decided to design this piece on behave of all single mothers who have to carry an unborn for 9 months all by themselves without the support of the biological sperm donors. and because of this, they are heroic revolutionist of our time and they always give birth to greatness! so it was very important for the red revolution stars within the lotus flowers!

you can find 8x10 prints here, my etsy store. i will have them in the local stores next month!

syphiell

"underwater"

syphiell, emilie dionne, is a young fantasy and horror artist whom i discovered on etsy a few days ago. after browsing her etsy store, here, i fell in love with her art. now it's a must for her to make a piece for me...

what i love about her art is, she doesn't just draw or paint something pretty. some of her pieces are pretty however, they all seem to have a twist to them. and that's what caught my attention.

"burning flame"

the above was the first piece i discovered, ohhhhhhhh, i love it, i felt that burning flame! then i needed to see more and more and more! i wonder what's the story behind this piece!? i should ask her!!!

"death dance"

i love this one because it's not the expected female who has a skull painted face. you see those a lot but look at this one, it stands out because it's a bit on the horror side but it's not!!! love love love it! it's dark but on the soft side, i like that!

"rosana"

of course this caught my eyes! smaller eyes, high cheekbones, and it could look like me! :)
anyways, check out syphiell's etsy store and her website.

unagi salad

for a super fast and healthy lunch date for 2, try preparing unagi (eel) salad. i believe the proper term is called uzaku = unagi salad.

what you will need:

1. a bag of salad from trader joes
2. 1/4 lb grilled eel (unagi ni kabayaki)
3. pinch of salt and sugar
4. 1 tbsp soy sauce (optional)
5. love

i eat very light so i don't use any sauce, and that is it! that's about $10 before taxes, super delicious and nothing can top this! one of my favorites! but of course you can add any additional items, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.
although it's so simple, don't forget make it with love! it makes a huge difference!
you can find grilled eel and everything else at 99 ranch market, or here. seriously, right? :) enjoy!