“When you completely identify with your role (mother…doctor…), then something vital is missing. If you play a role at work, you always have a secondary motive because the ego is at work. You’re not totally focused on the task at hand because there is some self-interest there. You want to protect yourself. You want to get credit for yourself…or use the people around you.”
Eckhart Tolle
Kevin the Complainer. I was going to make his complaining in red ink, but then realized it would look like he was spitting up blood. I think I’ll re-do this one. He looks much plumper than the first rendition and the fourth stripe bled out.
“You should see my house. It’s sort of explosive. Like a crazy person lives there.”
Sandra Oh
“There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself.”
Hannah Gadsby
Gadsby’s stand up is pure genius. Check it out on Netflix. Here’s the trailer.
Warning: Her one hour stand up is not for the timid.
I’m playing with form, color and inspiration. No great art here, just having a lot of fun. For the last one, I didn’t know I was going to write my name in Korean until I did it. It might have something to do with recently reading about Bruce Lee and how proud of he was of his Chinese ethnicity and because I’m so happy that Sandra Oh is the first Asian-American actress nominated for a best lead actress Emmy award. Who knows?
I started with acrylics, but it’s so hard to clean up (requires rubbing alcohol) and gouache is more forgiving. I’m sticking with gouache and watercolor for the near term.
This is a continuation of exercises from Flora Bowley’s online class. Check her out, she’s a great teacher.
Stay curious. Ask yourself, “What would happen if I dipped the whole side of the brush, for example…”
While experimenting with my own brushes and hearing her words, I thought of how critical it is to stay curious in life. It’s so easy (and debilitating) to allow things and people to get “old” on you.
We complain that we’re bored, but maybe WE have become boring.
Stay curious.
Ask yourself, “What if…” (and act on that question!) at least once a day.
Labels separate us.
I’m typically identified in my country and community as “Asian-American” because I’m 100% ethnically Korean (but I was born in Iowa). We have Mexican-Americans, African-Americans, and Native-Americans but rarely do we ever call white people European-Americans. What is the ramification of this?
Why not do away with these labels?
Who cares if someone is gay or straight? Religious or not? Conservative or Liberal? Poor or rich? Why not label everyone simply “human” and treat each other humanely?
A religious woman I know told me, “I love my gay son, but too bad he’s going to go to hell.” Labeling her son and categorizing him as a sinner effectively created an unnecessary distance and one I believe she could regret.
Labels are used to create differences. It’s time we emphasize how we are the same.
Here is an in-depth, research-based study on the effects of labeling people:
Why It’s Dangerous to Label People (Psychology Today).
I finished reading Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians. It was hard for me to get into because materialism does not interest me in the least and the story line itself was pretty “soap operatic.” But when I abandoned judgment, I found it to be pretty entertaining albeit predictable. It’s Kwan’s first novel which became an international bestseller. I am planning on seeing the film when it opens in August: an all-Asian cast!
Next on my reading list is the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu. It’s really the antithesis of Crazy Rich Asians: a book that extols virtuous characteristics and behavior and rejects external rewards such as fame and wealth.
This painting is highly imperfect. The face seems to be floating around, detached. The fur is stiff and square. Painting it was not as fun as painting the hedgehog and it shows. The process reminded me of this quote:
Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.
Mary Tyler Moore
Some pieces will be better than others. I love watching August Wren (Creativebug.com) paint because she talks out loud and often laughs at her mistakes.
*Theodore Roosevelt
“Do you create anything or just criticize others and belittle their motivations?”
Steve Jobs
You might not admire Steve Jobs as a person or even as an entrepreneur, but there is truth in this quote, as Kovie Biakolo points out.
Social media is a tool of communication. As with any form of communication, it can be utilized for productivity and education or noise pollution.
I’d like to add: it can also be used purely for consumption – for hours on end.
Something worth considering: What is your consumption/criticizing to creation/production ratio?
Maybe it’s time to praise and produce more, and criticize and consume less?
Kismet 