February in retrospect

This has been a crazy month for me especially career-wise. I built myself the mental block in revising the curriculum. I postponed it until almost the last minute. However, when I actually worked on it; it went well. This had drained me tremendously. At one point I don't even want to touch a computer or even be on the Internet, not even my beloved Wetcanvas. However, things seem clear up since the semester is about to finish in 2 weeks. Apart from work, there are some happy amazing moments.

One morning we saw baby Iris arranged her toys like a real architectural model as seen in the picture. Another weekend, Iris and I got to share a small desk and a set of color pencils. We both tried to draw/paint something. Tone said that it was too cute that he had to snap a photo. Pls. be the judge.

Self portrait with baby Iris

A week ago, my school brought in so many flowers to decorate our front lawn as part of the graduation prop for our students during commencement. So I took a chance to take several family photos. Tone took this one of me and Iris, which later inspired me to do a postcard size mixed media (color pencils and gouache). I know I did not nail the likeness but I guess I am so happy to get to be a mom and Baby Iris came out fine. Once the substitute doctor told me during my pregnancy that the fetus was too small than normal. That had freaked me out until Iris came out perfect and grow up to be a cutie.

Tagged !!

I have been tagged by Martha. I guess I have to list 5 things about myself. This is my first time being tagged. I am so flattered.

1. I was raised to be a perfect students and an Asian obedient daughter (I tried to be one). So that I can report to my colonel and later my general father about how many "A"s I got. My dad were always stationed at the base far from our home in Bangkok but when he came back, the only thing I found comfortable to talk to him is about my good grades.
2. I was very creative since I was in 2nd grade; I just did not know myself. I made a patch work similar to a quilt and sewn it into a big apple pillow as a part of my home-economic class. Other than that I did not get to do any art or craft because my mom would yell "go read your book" as soon as she saw me doing it. So I never thought that I could be good in art/craft.
3. I fought hard with my dad to come to America for a one year exchange program in Vermont, which gave me so much beautiful experience and joy and first time skiing and playing sports, singing in high school chorus. My American host mother knows more about my intimate thoughts than my real parents.
4. I took a watercolor workshop at Shelton community college while I almost half way in my Ph.D in computer science at the U. of Alabama. That workshop saved my life. I painted away my stress, frustration, loneliness, sorrow, etc... and I try as much as I can to paint. However, I cannot quit my Ph.D to change to art profession because it is paid for by the Thai government.
5. The last year of my Ph.D study, I moved in to a small Bohemian ghetto old building apartment and found one of my neighbors to be a great pianist. So I ask him to post as a pianist model. I painted about 6 painting of his pianist portrait and gave the best one to him. The following year he flew to see me in Bangkok and we got married in 2003. He is the biggest fans of my art.

Well I will try to tag: Joan Tavolotte, Michelle Himes, Jeanne Grant, Rose Herczeg, and Kate McNally. They are my lovely art friends.

Surrogate Dog

This evening Tone, Iris, and I went out walking and biking around our gate community. One of our neighbor has a golden-retriever which I have fallen in love with since they moved in our community a year ago. Iris and I rang their door bell, and I asked my neighbor if I could take his golden-retriever for a walk around the village. He kindly said yes and put a collar on "Kung-King" neck. At first Kung-King gave me little struggle but a few minutes later she was well cooperative. Iris enjoyed walking with her too. I've never seen Iris walked by herself around our neighborhood for this long distance. We all ended up walking about a mile and got big smiles at the end. I took Kung-King back to her owner and felt so good. I wish I could have my own dog but right now things are just too crazy for me. So having Kung-King as my surrogate dog today was such a nice solution. Tone said he could see that I smiled a lot when he jogged by. He said it must be the blond thing that does it to me (as Tone is also a blond.) Thank you God for giving me this opportunity.

A Day of Painting

This is a gouache postcard of me a few years ago, back when I was early pregnant with baby Iris and was painting plein air during a vacation. May be this is the secret why Iris is always such a blessing, happy and laughable baby today. This is my first time with gouache, still feel very much similar to watercolor to me. I expect it to be much drastic different.

Being Normal

This is an oil-pastel still-life postcard of the peppers in the black foam grocery tray on my normal chest X-ray film. I have been looking at my old chest X-ray film for a long time. Each year the mobile health check-up caravan will stop at my univ. in August. They provide us all basic health check. The bus is equipped with X-Ray machine. We take X-ray then the result will be sent to us a week later (with the film) from the hospital lab. My reading was normal. So today I decide to combine a bell pepper still life on this old film of mine. It looks rather odd when I did it indoor but after I hold this film in the sunlight it seems to pick up more character. What do you think? I hope this postcard will arrive safely at destination for our art exchange project.

The first one is the postcard exposed to sunlight. The second one is taken in natural light but in the shade.

Anyone has any experience of sending oil-pastel work over the postmail pls. let me know "how" not to smear it. Thanks a lot.