i think you're magical

so in case you've been wondering where i've been...

i got dressed up last weekend to attend the opening of an art show at project one, curated by one of my favorite sf artists, chor boogie -- who i spoke about in a previous post. i got to meet him, tell him thank you for the kind words he responded to me with in an e-mail, and met a ton of other amazing people. i love sf.

i'm teaching kids (between the ages of 5th and 9th grade) how to be graphic designers and digital photographers, in the east bay, full-time, by day, at a technology summer camp [called ed tech], until august. i am simultaneously cocktailing at great american music hall (a popular sf venue), by night.... freelance designing greeting cards on spare hours for tiny prints.... setting up a commercial live/work art+music gallery space in the marina, making&showing fine art all over the bay area... still working with freelance art & design clients, all while also trying to be a bikram yogi, loving friend, decent family member, and compassionate human being. hello life.


i thought i met the boy of my dreams last weekend and got overly excited about the concept of love at first sight.


"i think you're magical," i said.


too bad i didn't know then what i do now...


i guess that's just how it goes though sometimes.


so without giving up all the petty details, lets just say the search for the love of my life continues....


will i ever meet my dream boy?


anyways, aside from being disappointed about my love life... (or lack there of, rather) -- my image/character was put in a comic, alongside my dear battlehooch band friends!:

what's even funnier about this comic is that it was based on an interview with the band in november, 2010, when they had just returned from their first 4 month long, u.s. tour. they played a show at bottom of the hill in san francisco, as a sort of welcome home, for noise pop weekend, and i just so happened to make an appearance, wearing a werewolf mask and a short skirt with leggings. the werewolf mask got passed around from head to head that night, but i personally started rocking it in the back green room area where all the bands hangout before and after their sets. it was at this time that i met the makers of the comic who were observing battlehooch (miss kelly martin and danger bob), and laughed wondering why the band would even bother to mention me for their interview? 

months later, now viewing the comic, i can't believe the title is what it is.... i wonder if these boys still feel the same way about me....? especially since a lot has changed since then and i'm really not sure that they all still love me as much as they once did. although i certainly hope they do... this comic says a lot about the time span we all spent living together in the battlepad on 30th ave and taraval st in the sunset district of sf before we all got evicted in april of 2011 and went our separate ways. i love these boys though, regardless of our weird times with one another, and i know that they're my friends for life. 

on a separate note, i made a new music discovery after working 2 of zoe keating's shows at great american music hall this weekend :) she's a cello player, originally from canada, who makes some incredible, instrumental, thought-provoking music. i am now just a little bit obsessed. 

efterklang is also a new recent obsession. 

i can't believe it's almost july.... july 15th will be my 1 year anniversary living in sf. i never thought i'd be living in a city... it was never something that i ever really envisioned myself doing, nor was it even a goal of mine. now that i'm here, now that it's happening, and now that i am beginning to live a life that i'm proud to lead, i'm appreciating this beautiful city more than i ever could have imagined. i'm a lucky lady.

on that note, here are some very poor quality photos of the still under construction, but close to being completed, live/work space we're living in now :) the pictures i've been taking still need to be edited and i'm falling behind with all the other things i'm involved with lately, so thanks to won lee, my loft mate, these photos are all i have right now to show:

this is the recycled/found materials scrap wall that won lee and i build to separate/divide up the living loft space. we found all of this wood ourselves and painted over it.... we'll be doing more painting on it in upcoming weeks

this is the start of the art studio/work space in the commercial area that i built using found/recycled furniture and scrap wood... san francisco has a lot of free junk all over the streets...

aside from trying to be an amazing individual, working 4+ jobs at once, and living life to the fullest, i'm also still trying to be a bikram yogi and this is my tree pose in my summer bathing suit

music, art, life, and the future

favorite music video of the week, reminding me of spirit animals, bicycles, femininity, dreams, night time, life, and love -- all things i can definitely relate to:

what's a girl to do? by bat for lashes 

and a favorite song lately... i'll be seeing this lovely man at great american music hall in july, with my dear friend, and band member of battlehooch, aj:

baby's arms by kurt vile 

in the meantime, i'm finishing up my instructor training tomorrow, as well as finishing up decorating and setting up my classroom for the non-profit organization summer camp i'm working for in the east bay! i hope i can take some good pictures and post them soon.... i'm falling behind on photo taking and editing. (what else is new though?) in case you haven't been keeping up with my blog posts -- i'll be teaching graphic design and digital photography to 5th-9th graders this summer in the east bay. i never thought i'd see the day....

won and i are almost done with our creative, recycled and found materials wall installation in the loft of our live/work space, and i'm also almost done setting up the art studio area of the commercial live/work space -- also out of recycled and found materials. things are coming together beautifully and i could not be happier!

hopefully in the next few weeks, art will also be hung up on the walls, and we will be organizing a soft-opening/house warming event in the new space! can't wait!

pictures coming.... at some point.

what else? 

the next card designs that tiny prints will be putting up on their website, by moi, are birthdays! yay! this time, since i'm on a new contract, my personal logo design will be on the back of the cards! yet again, i also never thought i'd see the day that this would happen. 

links coming soon for that!

i feel like i need to contact all of my former teachers from college and high school and even jr. high and elementary school and let them know what i'm up to... it's constantly changing and i feel like i'm in a good place. i'm proud of my accomplishments and happy that i keep moving forward... always in motion. many great things to come. i can feel it!

now if only i could find more time to accomplish everything else on my infinite to do lists... that would be great.

never stop believing in yourself, work hard, dream big, and you will achieve your goals. i know that people say this all the time, and sometimes these statements are over-used and seemingly meaningless, but truth be told..... success is not defined by money. and money is not defined by success...

i don't have a lot of money, i drive a beat-up, self-painted car with no grill and no hubcaps, i don't wear designer clothes, i find all of my furniture for free on the streets or take donations from friends, i don't have health insurance, i don't look beautiful or perfect every day, i smell bad sometimes, i get stared at for looking like a ragged-sloppy bum on most days of my life, i've had the same blankets on my bed since high school and my mattress is still on the floor, i know nothing about sports, i don't have a boyfriend, my family relations are far from perfect, i cocktail waitress at a music venue by night, while i work as a freelance artist/designer by day, along with teaching kids at a summer camp,  and i can never find enough time in my days to do everything i want to do..... 

but you know what.... 

this is my life. 

and i love it for what it is. i aim to inspire, create, support, and be all that i can. i hope you can do the same for yourself. peace. love.

be who you are

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." -- Dr. Seuss

 and on that note -- i just finished repainting the hood of my car a little over an hour ago :)

 this week is going to be a hectic one.  

 today's aries horoscope, via yahoo (not the most reliable site, but entertaining to ponder nonetheless):

A shocking situation might come to pass today but make no mistake: You are prepared for this. You're always prepared, aren't you? Your unbeatable flexibility and positive state of mind will come in handy yet again. You should be proud of the way you've carried yourself in an increasingly stressful situation. Don't camouflage your status to save another person's ego. Do not let someone else's insecurities force you to feel ashamed of where you are in life and what you have.

morning music

a great jam to start your day:
orange blossom by gardens & villa

bear by the antlers

 i had the pleasure of seeing this band at my work last week for my dear friend guia's 25th birthday :) they were incredible:

"bear" by the antlers

 

pitter patter goes my heart

pitter patter goes my heart is a pretty magical song for the day.


in the meantime, this is the first photo of me in my half-hazardly set-up personal loft corner:

i still have piles of stuff everywhere... and a partially built wall with no door, barely separating me and won lee. 

but you know what? 

that's okay. 

because i don't know anyone else rocking a space like this in sf. or anywhere for that fact. it's one of a kind. this is a one of a kind life.


live your life the way you want to live it. how do you want to be remembered? what memories do you want to have? what do you want to accomplish? 

sometimes, we have to ask ourselves these questions.

xo

latest music obsessions:


Tune-Yards and more Tune-Yards



and


Efterklang



and aside from music, i can't get enough of susan miller's astrological readings -- this woman seriously predicts my future all too often... it's honestly a little frightening how accurate her predictions are.

under construction

the live/work space has been under construction and oh boy, is it ever looking good :)

ryan and his dad put up a wall and a door -- dividing the commercial space. won and i are in the process of dividing the carriage house loft space, and building a "creative" wall, installation art style. we're also painting a mural on the main wall in the loft -- well he started, i'm intimidated and haven't begun yet.

i painted both bathrooms -- blues and greens. we need more paint! hopefully we get some free paint donations in the next week.

we installed a fridge, a stove, a sink, and some shelves, too.

i had 2 art shows/openings this month.....

in the beginning of this month -- one was at the sports basement on 15th st & bryant in san francisco, called "comment here." this was a group show that i got involved with because of a lady that also showed some artwork with me last September with RAW. we had cork boards up next to each artist's work that people could post their hand written paper comments onto. everything went quite well, the sports basement provided free beer/wine/food, and several good friends showed up to enjoy the casual fun :)

a week later i had some art hung in a group show at blue seed resource alignment's fundraiser event in an awesome live/work warehouse space in the mission district. the opening had some sweet bartenders, mellow live music, delicious snacks, and a bunch of great people involved. oh yeah, and a raffle! they strategically setup a camera to take pictures the entire night for a time lapse video -- which i'll be sure to post a link to soon :)

i'll be teaching summer camp full time in the east bay in about a week and a half until the end of july! graphic design + digital photography instructor to 5th through 9th graders. it's gonna be a whole new kind of summer for me. not to mention there are thunder lightning storms in sf this weekend and it's june?

in august, good friends are getting married, a good friend from boston is coming to visit, and  i'm hoping to travel to michigan to visit my mother and the rest of my fam jam :)

good times ahead!