Here's to 2014!

Hello! My my, 2013 was definitely a eventful and turbulent year. There was a lot of that "out of my comfort zone" stuff going on, but ya know, I (like everyone else) emerged reasonably intact. And with a new affection for all things bird-patterned (in addition to my skis, I have a bird-themed shirt and skirt now)! 

I'm still recovering from NYE, but I'm feeling good about 2014. Wonder what surprises/horrors (hopefully minor ones) it has in store...

"2014"

P.S. Like the little birdies I drew?! Hehe, this tablet is awesome!!!

Intergalactic

It's become weirdly luxurious to just sit at home and fiddle around in Photoshop. What's going on? Who am I?! Lol. 

Anyway, I can barely keep my eyes open, so all I have for you today is this cheesy, retro galactic graphic (with some Halloween colors forcibly mixed in)!

"Intergalactic"

 

Time

Holy cow, my life is moving at warp speed! During the years I spent in Durham, I would sometimes think of the time that was depressingly passing me by, taking with it unmet people, unexplored places, and unfamiliar feelings. I kept feeling older and older, smaller and smaller. 

Now that I'm in SF and experiencing all those "un"-things, time remains a very scary entity. The more I do, the more I want to do, and the less time I have to do all of it!!! I'm kind of learning to go with the flow though, because it seems that things have quite a lovely way of falling into place.

"Geometric"

 

Xplosion

Step 1 is over, I'm a year older, I've moved into a new place, and I've finally started my fancy research position (which has quite quickly reminded me that I actually hate working)... whoa, it's an explosion of big events! To celebrate all this, I'm taking a step away from the pastel kick I've apparently been on: 

"Xplode"

P.S. After this, I'll also be done with my gratuitous and inexplicable use of the letter "x."

Back to basics

Wow, what an anticlimactic ending to a months-long ordeal, haha. Whenever I spend a long time preparing for something important, I always expect jolts of pure, unbearable happiness and triumph to rip through my body when I'm done with that thing. Yeah, that rarely happens. At the end of my exam, I just felt beaten up. So I went shopping. :D

Now I have no responsibilities... minus all of the paperwork and administrative hoops I have to jump through to finally kick off my research. Ha! Exciting and dreadful. 

What will my life in SF look like from this point on...? Time to get crackin'!

"Basix"

Zen

Step 1 is finally here, and I'm doing everything in my power to remain calm. I'm so scared to wake up tomorrow, but I'm also SO EXCITED to get it over with! Now, excuse me as I fake a zen state by bingeing 'Breaking Bad' until I can't keep my eyes open anymore. Ha! 

"Zen"

Off balance

Where's my sense of balance?! I can't wait to get my life together once this horrendous Step 1 is out of the way. There's a gigantic, sunny, beautiful, flashcard-and-question-bank-free world out there, waiting for my havoc! >:)

"Kilter"

Modern art

An afternoon amongst masterpieces yields my MAGNUM OPUS! Lol, really I just craved some Mondrian cake, which I will NEVER get to eat because the SFMOMA is closed for the next 3 years.

"Nredom"

Contours

Cartoon hearts are really lame, but playing around with their contours was actually a pretty interesting exercise. 

Cuuuuuurvy...

"Contours"

Interior decorating

I have a friend who's getting ready to move into her first house. This will immediately be followed by a giant paint-every-room-a-different-color project, for which she is recruiting the slave services of her pals. (Un)fortunately, I won't be in the area long enough to help out with this hellish/fun-seeming undertaking, but I'll be in spirit! Here's what would probably happen if I got to re-do a tiled room (a bathroom, maybe?): 

"Regrets"

I suppose it's for the best that my talents won't be utilized. :)  

Ugly pretty... or just ugly?

Time to spice things up a bit! I've decided to go for the ugly aesthetic today, and what I ended up with was this somewhat-artsy, bad-90s-videogame-graphics thing that I have very ambivalent feelings toward. When I look at it, I get this weird taste in my mouth that usually only appears when I'm surrounded by lots of gray-colored objects (e.g. those ugly tiles with lego texture, gray walls, etc.). Ahhhh make it stop!

"Ski free"

 

Dots, stripes, what have you

A study in shape and texture.

"Along the dots"

Happy 4th!

Hi all, happy July 4th! Hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy some fireworks/sparklers/cake tonight. 

Check back tomorrow for my big announcement! 

"The 4th"

Random

Checkerboard, remixed.

"Remix"

Man of steel

I've become quite fond of the new Superman, Henry Cavill. I've been wondering whether the % of women dating scruffy laborers (a la Cavill in the early scenes of Man of Steel) has increased since the movie's release. And how many men are now 'roiding out to replicate Superman's body. 

Cavill aside, I thought Man of Steel was the most engrossing superhero movie I've seen in a while (maybe ever..?). The 2+ hours goes by in a flash. Time well spent.

"Steel"

 

Retro

When I was a kid, I loved drawing out good 'ol fashioned bubble letters. Any poster project was a chance to showcase my superior artistic skillz! This, mind you, was ages before I discovered the scourge that is Comic Sans. 

Here's to the days in which I worshiped balloon letters, the curvier the better!

"Retro"

The cave

When Brett and I were in Paris two summers ago, we checked out the Pompidou, a fantastic modern art museum just a few blocks from where we were staying. There were several exhibits that blew my mind, but there's one in particular that still stands out quite vividly (possibly because I have a picture of it on display in my apartment): Jean Dubuffet's "Cave," a whacky, cavernous installation that invited visitors to enter and romp around to their hearts' content. The thick black lines, which seemingly flowed without direction, made the walls appear simultaneously flat and bulging. I kept thinking of rubber bands and Dr. Seuss when I was in there!

"Pompidou?"

Greenery

This beautiful weather makes me want to be outside all the time (I know, I keep going on about the weather, sorry)! Everything's so lush and green, plus we don't have to deal with that disgusting, neon-yellow coating of pollen any more. Thumbs up! 

Here's a design inspired by summer-y jaunts into nature:

"Greenery"

Popcorn

Ooooh, look how sneaky I am, hiding popcorn behind paint splatters! 

Yeah... I'm too tired to say anything even remotely intelligent.

"Pop"

 

Citrus

Just poppin' in to share this fruity mix -- citrus fruits are the best! Blood oranges, though, are by far my favorite. :)

"Citrus"