私てさ、負けず嫌いで、やりすぎた

The title is a little haiku I wrote to explain what happened today. While it's not visual art, I think poetry is artsy enough to be on my artist's blog.... though I don't consider myself a poet either

Translated the haiku goes like this:
Watashi te sa - you see the the thing about me is...
makezugirai de - I hate to lose / I'm hyper competitive and so....
yarisugita -  I over did it.

Just so you all know, the haiku works best in Japanese, and so if you've got a thing for poetry, I suggest looking into some authentic Japanese haiku. I think it'll bring more appreciation for the art form.

That aside, here is the result of my over doing it in soccer with my friends from church.

Confidence

Now first, I don't really consider myself a photographer and second I know that the world doesn't need any more photograper's "Self portraits". So, that being said, let me just tell you why I like this picture as to share, rather than validate.

I took this on my way to church Sunday while waiting at the train station. I wore my new skinny jeans, blouse and high heels that my mom said I'd never wear. I felt nervous and a little uncomfortable. So, when I was looking at myself through the reflection of an advertisement frame, where you'll usually see pictures of pretty girls, I thought, "Yeah, I'm a pretty girl." and took the picture.

The moon is the same.

So, I haven't done any art yet... haha, but like I said, I'm going to get back in the habit of posting every week. So, in order to keep it up I'm sharing this picture.
Still working on settling into my work schedule as well as preparing for the events and upcoming school year. Not to mention getting everything that I need to live like  resident instead of a tourist.
I'm getting an official "Han"  It's the stamp that every household uses for letters and official documents, the same as an official signature. I think I'll use to sign my pictures in the future. It may be cool. I'll have to draw something up quick when I get it to see how it feels.

Back to Saturdays!

Well, I'm in Japan. I have a bed and all my stuff unpacked. Tomorrow I take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test and the day after start training for school.

 The plane ride

My room My friend and trainer!

I'm very happy to be here. Just praying that I don't get lost tomorrow. My strong goal is to once again start posting every Saturday again. Of course, it may or may not be Saturday for you. Haha! Wish me luck and continued prayers are always appreciated.

美人

Took a while with everything going on right now, but I finally finished my "Super Secret Project"! These portraits were drawn for my friends who graduated this year. I'm seeing a doll-like quality in all of these, but I hope they like them either way. I've been scanning all my old drawings to bring with me to Japan and have been seeing that cartoon/comic look that I've always used in my drawing. These are no exception I guess.

I want to get better at realism, but for right now I'll focus on my move. Just over 2 weeks and I'll be Japan bound! I hope to share many new and interesting posts with you as my future takes this dramatic shift.

Part of the pack.

I'm house sitting right now for a co-worker and taking care of their 3 dogs. I came over a few days before the owners left to meet the dogs and learn the specifics for caring for them.
Come the time I'm supposed to move in, their owners are already gone and I just come on into the house after I got of work. About 2 minutes of the dogs barking to let me know who's really in charge, I'm a part of the pack and they're following me around greeting me happily when I get back, sleeping at my feet and butting into my lap to get pet.
How cool would it be if we, as people, only waited two minutes before allowing people into our lives? Then their wouldn't be all those awkward situations in waiting rooms and new classrooms and in store lines... if people gave others acknowledgement and acceptance, just because they were there.
That would be cool.
Just a thought.

The best fix to a bad start...

My apologies for falling off the radar for a while there. Though I want to be consistent, things get busy and I have to make choices about my priorities.
On the flip side, now that I have some time to write, I have a lot to say!

A lot's been going with graduation! My little friends more so than my own. I made the decision not to participate in the graduation ceremony, so I have more time to work on projects and focus on my friends who are graduating high-school. My studying is falling in a grey zone as I try to finish my super secret art project, but I'm trying to maintain consistency with that as well.
The biggest pitfall for my studying is that I've fallen into the, "School's over. Let's party!" mindset. Being at home sitting in front of my desk or computer is wracking my nerves, and so I'm happy when I have the excuse to spend time celebrating with my friends.
That's really bad, but that's where I am. No judging people! Hahaha!

Another exciting event is a mother/daughter tea party that I hosted a table for at my church. It was a great success, from the invitations, to the table decorations, not to mention the cooking! Everyone was impressed.
Here is the invitation that I sent out and some pictures of the setting. It was another fun project to distract me.... but really... I need to study more.

Lastly, as far as art news goes, I'm finishing up these portraits.

The 2nd one I worked and worked and worked; finally putting too much spray fix on and ruining it... I was going to just do what I could to make it look "okay" and then call it done. But, it hung on the wall, staring... haunting me, until I decided to suck it up and re-draw it. I'm so happy that I did too. Here is the first version of it.

Awful, no? My revelation, then, is that the best fix to a bad start is a re-start.  I'm not sure why I didn't just do it right away... I've had so many wrecked projects in my classes that turned out 120% better the second/third time around! Anyway, I'm not going to be a slacker or afraid of letting go of a lost cause anymore. I only have one more portrait to go for this project and then I can really swing into my Japanese studies.
Time is growing short, so I need to hustle. Feels good to stay busy though. I think I'd go crazy if I finished school and then had nothing else to look forward to or work on.