10 Ways Not to Be a Perfectionist:

1) Read the rules, then accidentally break them.

2) Have a beer or two. Things don’t matter as much then.

3) If you’re missing an ingredient, add something else instead.

4) Forget about what other people think.

5) Forget about what you think.

6) Break something, drop something, spill something, scratch something, or do something else that pretty much ruins your whole project.

7) Consider the accidents as the best parts.

8) Laugh at yourself. Out loud. In front of a mirror. Don’t stop laughing until your stomach hurts. If you can’t laugh, force yourself to. It will make you laugh because it’s so stupid.

9) Stupid things are good too. They are just as good as beautiful, intellectual, polished, perfect things.

10) Have some tea, take a nap, cuddle with the dog, watch a movie, cook a delicious meal with cookies for dessert, go on a walk, dance in the bedroom, read a book, call your loved ones, do your nails, trim your toenails, make some art for fun, and then, well, just forget about it. It doesn’t matter anyway. Or if it does, do it again until you like it.

 

Image Source: Nobody’s Perfect

Searching for the Opportunity

These days I am searching for the right opportunity, the next step in my career as an artist, a move up the ladder to not just creating art on the side while trying to make a living doing something else, but finding a way to combine the two: art and work. Work and life.

The challenge is, it’s easier said than done. I am seeking out the opportunities, and I have a list of things I’m working on applying for. But the prospect of whether any of these opportunities will follow through is still up in the air. When will I get that one BIG SHOT? Or the many smaller shots that eventually lead to something bigger? And if I do get to that bigger place…. what does it look like? What exactly am I striving for, anyway?

When it comes down to it, to the bare essentials, there are four things that I need to make a living as an artist:

CREATIVITY

SPACE

TIME

MONEY

It’s really not a lot to ask. And of course there are more things than just the items listed above, such as friends, family, my sweet dog, a nearby park to run in, some space to do yoga, a fun place to go and see art/music/performance/film, inspiring collaborators, community, students who are eager to learn, and last but not least, OPPORTUNITIES. MORE OPPORTUNITIES. There are so many of them out there, but there are also so many people trying to get them. I’m trying so hard to get that next opportunity. The next thing, whatever it may be, that will lead me closer to my career path as an artist.

Image Sources:
Why Its OK to Fail at Kickstarter
Design Thinking: creativity in business and education
Temp Art Exhibit
There is Always Enough Time

Cardboard Theaters

The Puppet Theater of Cardboard City.

Untitled Vaudeville Models constructed by Annie MacDonnell and Rob Shostak (2006).

Vesnin’s cardboard model for the Kamerny Theatre’s cubo-futurist production of Phedre.

Puppet Theater

Cardboard stage with bird earrings.

Cardboard set design for “Only If Romeo Knew”.

A fantasy metropolis by Exquisite City.

Theater in an underground tunnel.

Aesop’s Fables stage set (2006).

Image Links:
http://www.core77.com/gallery/sofia-design-week-2011/117.asp
http://www.dioramasandcleverthings.com/2012/05/three-fab-cardboard-models.html
http://library.calvin.edu/hda/node/2215
http://www.dandee-designs.com/2010/08/puppet-theater-tutorial.html
http://luckypony.co.za/tag/cardboard-stage/
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Cardboard-stage-set/1484287
http://blog.ponoko.com/2009/01/29/on-site-the-exquisite-city-of-cardboard/
http://www.shoppedanddropped.com/2012/01/theatre-howls-moving-castle.html#.UPeVoaFFcqg
http://jeffreytbaker.blogspot.com/2009/02/natural-childrens-theater-design.html

Why Going Home Makes Me Wonder What the Hell I’m Doing With My Life

Going home for the holidays is always wonderful. I love seeing my family, lying around the house, eating Mom’s delicious food, enjoying the California sunshine and cuddling with the dogs. I also like passing by all the familiar places of my childhood: elementary school, the corner store, downtown, my first job, the old movie theater, etc. etc. These places bring back memories and remind me of what I am made of.

However, despite all the good things, going home can be challenging too. Back in my original element, I remember my original dreams and aspirations. I think about where I am currently, and start to feel depressed. Am I doing the right thing? Why haven’t a made it to the top yet? Why aren’t I living in a place with more opportunities? Why am I working a full-time job instead of pursuing my career as an artist? Why why why??

These questions started when as a family we watched the Kennedy Center Awards last night. Dustin Hoffman, Led Zeppelin, David Letterman… all these people whose careers reached the point of ultimate success. Who blazed through all the challenges and carved out their own unique niche in the world. I try to imagine what it would feel like to be honored in that way. Could I just give up at that point and be able to spend a week in my hometown without questioning whether I’ve made the right decisions in my life? Could I let myself off the hook once and for all and be happy with the path that I’ve taken? Don’t get me wrong- I am in many ways satisfied with what I’ve done and where I’ve been up until this point. However, I also feel there’s more to do, and more to overcome in order to reach my goals.

As a New Year’s resolution, I’m split. My goals in many ways are contradictory: follow my dream, and yet still manage to enjoy life along the way. Easier said than done, but no matter what I’m determined to be a successful artist and still have a life than is relaxing and enjoyable. The big question is….

Is that possible?????

Image Sources:
http://theberry.com/2010/06/02/back-in-the-day-20-photos/

Brutally Honest Stories About Being Human

There are those times when you feel alone. Even if you’re surrounded by people, you are alone. And you alone love the people around you so much that you fear losing them. I will not lose my life and I don’t want you to lose yours either. We are humans. We breathe & fart. We have air coming out through all sorts of holes. We thrive on routine and live for play. We are nice to each other, or we should be.

Life is too complicated. We are too driven by our brains. And fear.

I fear death as much as I fear being humiliated in front of tons of people. And yet I humiliate myself and call it art. For some reason that’s okay. I allow my creative juices to interpret and embellish on my everyday experiences.

I’m reading a book, What’s Not to Love by Jonathan Ames. It is the most honestly grotesque book about male puberty and bodily dysfunction. The chapters have titles such as “An Erection is a Felony”, and “I Shit My Pants in the South of France”, and “Insomni-Whack”. The titles say it all. I am in love. With honesty that exposes the inherent imperfections of human nature, Ames has a witty sense of humor and wonderful knack for autobiographical storytelling.

One summer during my teenage years, when I was waiting for my Godotish puberty, I went away to a Jewish Camp in Upstate New York. I was in the Levi division (Levi was the name of one of the original Hebrew tribes before it became a pair of jeans) of newly christened teenagers, and to my horror I discovered that I was the only boy who still had a small, undeveloped penis and no pubic hair! So I had to hide myself the whole summer. I would quickly change my clothes with my back to my tentmates, and only showered early in the morning when no one else was around. It was nerve-racking. (Ames, pg. 8)

Several weeks went by and I didn’t hear from them and I forgot about the whole thing. In the meantime, I was busy regrowing my hair. I had done some research on the subject and I was taking certain actions. I was trying to quit coffee since it robbed my body of hair-related vitamins, and I was avoiding masturbation because I read a book on Eastern practices of semen-retention, which told me that masturbation dried up my spinal fluid and made my hair fall out. I’ve now come to see my bald spot and the bald spots of other men as the mark of Cain for excessive self-abuse.
I also purchased rosemary oil, which is very good for the health, and a rubber scalp invigorator. And I started eating lots of sea vegetables because I read that people in Asian cultures had very good hair and that their diet was rich in seaweed. (Ames, pg. 20)

These are the stories I want to hear, and want to tell. Stories that capture universal human experiences and humorously assure the reader that he or she is, indeed, not alone.

Image Sources:
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/tag/jonathan-ames
http://www.condenaststore.com/-sp/I-ve-never-been-so-humiliated-in-my-entire-week-New-Yorker-Cartoon-Prints_i8472479_.htm

References:
Ames, Jonathan. What’s Not to Love? New York: Crown Publishers, 2000.

Visual Aesthetic

Hello readers,

It’s been so long since I’ve posted on this blog! So much has been happening these days. In celebration of being active, I thought I’d write a short post on my own visual aesthetic. I got an MFA in Studio Art after doing my undergrad in Theater & Original Works because I knew the importance of both the theatrical and the visual in my work. I create objects for theater and theater for objects. When I write, I see images. This translates into performance and film projects (often both at once) that are stylized and visually bold. Below are a few inspirations that I use frequently in my work:

1) RED CURTAINS
Face Off

Mamma Donna Falls in Love

Buoj iz Jeb, Professional Figure Model

2) POLKA DOTS & STRIPES
Isabel Jukes Karaoke

Red Blob Massacre

Red Blob Massacre storyboard

3) Sexual Body Parts
Ode to the Boob

The Dick Tater

Red Hole Circus

Buoj iz Jeb, Professional Figure Model

4) Cardboard & Foam
Hot Ripe Burning Sex Parts

Red Blob Massacre

Beneath the Concrete

5) The Grotesque
Red Blob Massacre

The Shooting

Face Off

6) Influences
Food by Jan SvankmajerBe Nice to Me by Pipilotti RistLighting Strikes by Klaus NomiPsycho Beach Party

Short video #2

Short video #1

Home Art VS. “Art” Art

Moving can be a pain. From the packing to the cleaning to the moving to the hauling to the cleaning to the unpacking again, it is a HUGE task that should be done as un-often as possible. That said, my husband and I just moved. It was our first move in three years, which was a nice buffer time from the previous moves we had done while living in Indonesia from 2005-2009 (a total of 4 times in four years, including repainting the walls in every house!). Unfortunately this time around, buffer time = more stuff. In the three years of my grad school artist career, we managed to go from the 4 suitcases we brought with us from Indonesia to I don’t even know how many boxes, furniture items and random trinkets we managed to accumulate. Furniture/belongings + large art projects which include Red Blobs, suitcases of costumes, mansuits, masks, oodles of clamp lights, big hunks of clay and random goodness that perhaps someday will feed inspiration, end up being a major pain in the ass.

Luckily, we managed to survive!!! And now here we are, five blocks away from where we used to be, in a cute little house with a giant backyard and garage (which I referenced as the new art-studio-to-be in my last blog post.) Things are still half-packed, and there’s plenty of cleaning left to do, but finally we feel glad we have moved. Yay!!!

And that’s when the creative ideas start to flow.. The fun thing about moving to a new house is that with it comes lots of new artistic possibility. The artistic possibility is partly for projects that are non-home related, however in the beginning the bulk of them have to do with interior decoration, DIY yard projects, garage studio designs, and an overall ‘plumping up’ of the home environment. As I face this new creative excitement, there’s unfortunately still that grad school critique voice lingering in my head..

“Emilia…” it gurgles, “don’t spend too much time on your house! Don’t forget that you still have to be an Artist (with a capital “A”). Don’t forget about the artist residencies you still need to apply for, the exhibitions you need to submit to, the film project you need to finish, the CV you need to update, the website you need to complete, the new project ideas you need to think of and propose…. the grants you need to apply for, the artist statements you need to write, the creative work documentation you need to gather, the collaborations you need to nurture, the creative brainstorming you need to do!!!!” The list could go on and on. Choosing the path as an artist unfortunately comes with its own set of baggage, and no matter where you move to or how great your house looks, it’s still going to hover behind your back as the constant task that you “should” be doing. Being an artist is a full-time job. So.. how the hell am I supposed to decorate my house??!

HOME ART VS. “ART” ART:

An argument for Home Art: Home art is art that makes you feel good. It’s creativity that you get to enjoy every day, without feeling like you have to sell it or give it away to someone else. Home art is inspired, designed and created for you and you only. It can be argued that an inspiring home environment fuels the artist in you to be creative.

An argument against Home Art: Unfortunately, home art projects are endless. With the amount of space that our new backyard offers, and the other creative possibilities that exist within the house and garage, I could foresee myself spending the next year or longer just working on home projects and never, *sniff*, being a Real Artist (with a capital “R” and “A”) again.

Oh, the terror!!! Of never being an artist again. Every artist’s worst nightmare. The haunting question that comes back and back again, especially after graduating from art school and suddenly being out on your own in the world… “Will I EVER be an artist again???????!!”

Well, hopefully yes. And honestly, there’s nothing wrong with letting your creativity follow its own instinct. If I’m not feeling like making that stop motion film quite yet, or designing the next Buoj iz Jeb mansuit, then maybe artistically upgrading my home environment is the next best thing I can do. Certainly working on the art studio in the garage, even if it’s not considered making “real” art, will influence the art made later on. Likewise, the hangout area for the backyard, the filing cabinet for the bedroom, the space-saving design of the kitchen, the art on the walls of the bathroom… Who knows, really, where artistic inspiration comes from? Quoting Anais Nin: “”My ideas usually come not at my desk writing but in the midst of living.”

And so, without further ado, here are some of the Home Art projects I have in mind!!!! :

DIY Large Work Table:

DIY Jewelry Organizer:

Salvaged Door Coffee Table:

DIY Cork Pencil Holder and Organizer:

DIY Backyard Theater Screen:

And maybe someday.. a Backyard DIY Rollercoaster!!!!:

Image Sources:
4 Tips for Social Media Beginners
Monster Mouth
Three Property Rights Judgements
Reminiscence of Childhood
DIY Large Work Table
Roundup: 12 Swoon-Worthy DIY Jewelry Organizers
Make It: Salvaged Door Coffee Table
Make It: Easy DIY Cork Pencil Holder and Organizer
DIY backyard theater screen
Make a Backyard DIY Roller Coaster

Garage Art Quickie

Hi there! This is a semi-quick post because I have to PACK!!! My husband and I are preparing to move from our current apartment (where we’ve lived for three years) to a rental house five blocks away. Distance-wise, it’s a piece of cake. Furniture/packing-wise, it’ll be a drag of course. But space-wise, it’s going to be AWESOME!!!! While the house itself is not that much bigger than our current apartment, new added features include a two-door garage, and giant backyard. Not to mention no-one living above or below us. There are two things that I’m most excited about, and that’s the backyard, and the garage. 2-door garage = art studio. My husband and I are both artists, and the prospect of having a private space that we can turn into our artistic hub is SO EXCITING!!!!!!!! We can’t wait to move in, arrange things, and get creative.

So, for this brief taste of inspirational art smoothie, I’m posting some cool garage-converted-to-art-studio pics that I found on the web. Once we’re settled in, I’ll share a pic of our own!!

The Art of the Garage Art Studio:

There are so many possibilities!!! That said, I need to keep packing. There’s nothing like a little bit of random garage art inspiration to get the wheels turning.

Image Links:

“Art Studio”
Mid City Garage Studio
Step inside the studio of designer Keith Scharwath & writer Alissa Walker
Two-Car Garage Turned Art Studio
Allied Seahorse
Wonderful Garage Door Art
James Marshall.
Movie Magic: Backyard garage turned into lavish Home Theater
the garage-in-the-alley theatre
of a garage theater, lighting rigs, the future and kids
Garages Beyond the Ordinary
The Garage- Charlottesville’s Most Intimate Venue