The Doodles

I love to doodle and name portraits are by far some of my favorite projects to work on. Here are the three latest for my good friends LaLa (Lauren), NahNah (Hannah), and Mel. Enjoy.

no.383

I love stories, especially other people’s. Some make you laugh so hard you can’t breathe. Others are so outrageous you wonder if they could ever possibly be true. And every now and then you come across one so powerful it completely changes your life.

It was the end of my first semester in art school when I was introduced to a word that would breathe down my neck until my very last day there. The word was “Thesis” and it referred to the final project of CCA’s Graphic Design program. The premise was simple: choose a topic you feel strongly about and design something to express that through whatever means or media necessary and appropriate. I knew from the very beginning that my final project would tie back to my family and my happiness. I just didn’t know how.

I struggled through the better part of my Thesis class trying to understand and define Happiness. Completely overwhelmed with the project, I cracked and drove 400 miles to the only place that could have comforted me – home. I asked my parents what Happiness meant to them and they told me a story. It was then that I realized my project wasn’t about Happiness at all; it was about Gratitude. Their story was the one that changed my life.

There were only four weeks until Thesis presentations and I worked feverishly to compose what would be the most important project of my life. I realized I never shared this here, so without further ado, my CCA Graphic Design Thesis project: no.383.

Jump.

A resolution should be much more than just something you say you’ll get or get done; it should be a promise to make changes that’ll better your life. There are two ways to do this. The first is simply to add more of the good stuff. The second is to do just the opposite: take away all the bad stuff. Life is too short to commit to anything but living, laughing, and loving. Don’t be afraid to expose yourself to new things. Immerse yourself in the world around you and discover what moves you. Take a chance. Some of Life’s best experiences are the ones you least expect so close your eyes and…

Inhale.

Life can be a little overwhelming sometimes. Falling in love. Falling out of it. Finding yourself . Finding you’re broke. Giving everything. Giving in. It’s only natural we feel the way we do, but that’s all we’ll ever feel unless we find the courage within ourselves to change things. Change is difficult though, especially when we have no idea what’s in store for us, but sometimes we just have to…

Jump.

This is the best part though. It’s in this moment that we realize not only who we really are, but how we really feel. It’s a moment of discovery that can only be had by letting ourselves be fully immersed in our experience, if even for just a bit, and it’s when we begin understanding ourselves a little more. We discover what we do and don’t need, what we do and don’t want, and how we do or don’t want to live. We’re distinguishing between the good stuff and the bad stuff and now that we have a little more clarity and the world makes a little more sense, we can finally…

Exhale.

My resolutions are lifelong promises. They’re lifestyles and mindsets, not just aspired goals and achievements. It was New Year’s Eve 2009 when two of my best friends and I made a promise. We promised to go all out, to hold nothing back, and to make the most of every single moment of every single day. It was a promise to rock 2010 so hard the memories would be chiseled into our brains for the rest of our lives and let me tell you, we fucking ROCKED it. Everything from letting a coin flip decide we’d go to Vegas twice in a single weekend and zooming up LA freeways to party on Skid Row to eating 4lb O.M.G. Burgers and dropping hundreds of dollars on cow tongues and gizzards on sticks, we did it all and never have I felt so enriched and fulfilled.

I’m continuing into 2011 with that same optimism and love to live, but now even more focused on immersing myself in the world around me and in everything I do. Whether it be art & design, music, culture, food, health, community, travel, or anything else, I want a slice of each and every cake. I’m hungry for life and I want nothing more than to get out there and sink my teeth into it. I’m going to bite off more than I can chew, I’m going to savor every sweet little moment, and I’m going to keep this promise for the rest of my life.

You guys are all amazing people and destined for such great and wonderful things. May you never lose sight of all the good stuff and always have the courage to jump. 2011. Immerse and discover.

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This is my first post for WordPress’ Post a Week 2011 challenge. I’ve always admired beautiful storytelling and my hope is that, as the weeks go on, I’ll become a more eloquent writer, and a more articulate speaker, and a more engaging person.

LOL (Live Out Loud)

The same question arises every Thanksgiving: “What am I thankful for?”

I’m thankful for touchscreen phones and keyboards. If I had anything else, the ink on my “L” and “O” keys would be completely worn out from overusing phrases like, “LOL,” “LOLLL,” and the occasional, “LOLLLLL.” (ROFLs and LMFAOs have also been known to cause wear-and-tear).

Laughter is one of the best gifts of friendship and it’s unbelievable how much I laugh because of you guys. Every laugh of every day is a reminder of how blessed I am to live the life I live with the ones I love. Never have I ever laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe, never have I ever smiled so much my cheeks were tired, and never have I ever loved life so much. Everything from our sily quotes and gestures to our spontaneous ideas and adventures is a reminder that we should be living out loud . Living out loud is about enriching each other and making the most of every moment we have together. I love the nights we dance away, the days we chat away, and especially all the food we nom nom away. You inspire me and bring out the best in me and I hope I inspire you and bring out the best in you too. I hope I make you feel just as alive as you make me feel and I hope you love me just as much as I love you.

Again, thank you for being the wonderful, wonderful people that you are. I’m truly blessed to live a life so full of love and laughter. It’d be so much quieter without you so please, hang around for a bit…or forever *ahem*.

Live Out Loud. Love you guys! :]

The Unfulfilled

We’re falling apart. Confused. Angry. Lonely. Sad. Insecure. Discouraged. We’re missing something. Friends. Family. Work. Love. Hopes. Dreams. Some of us need the thrill of a weekend adventure to escape the monotony of our jobs. Some need to be freed from the truths and lies we’re imprisoned by. Others simply need the peace of mind knowing we can keep food on the table for our families. Our feelings are symptoms of our needs and when those needs aren’t met we’re left floundering in waves of emotional tension.

Ever noticed that happier people tend to have fewer needs? It’d probably be more accurate to say that happier people tend to have fewer needs that still need to be met. The fortunate ones know what their needs are and how to go about fulfilling them. The less fortunate fall into one of three groups: those who are still looking for an answer, those who’ve found it but can’t have it, and those who’ve found it and let it go. It’s understandable that the more we need the more difficult it is to meet them all, but how do we differentiate between what we think we need and what we actually do? How strong are these needs and how far are we willing to go to fulfill them?

Sometimes there’s a fine line between our needs and our wants. We don’t always want what we need, we don’t always need what we want, and every now and then we find they’re one and the same. Sometimes we’re forced to make hard choices, choices that challenge our values, beliefs, and moral integrity. Are we willing to compromise others’ happiness for our own? Are we willing to lie to others to get what we need, willing to lie ourselves that we don’t need that something? And why is it that sometimes it’s right in front of us and we just can’t seem to reach out and take it? Have we gotten so used to not having it that we’ve accepted we can live without it?

How much more we can take before we crumble?

One Step Closer – Thanks

Life is full of challenges and disappointments. It’s full of things that frustrate us, people that hurt us, memories that haunt us. There are times we feel lost and alone. Others, discouraged and broken. But what is life without challenges or disappointments? It’s empty. And it’s because of them that I know how wonderful life can be.

Tomorrow marks a pivotal point for me. Tomorrow I’m one step closer to the rest of my life and while my internship with Disney is a humble (and perhaps belated) start, its significance to me is far more than many might realize. I’ve gone through a lot to get here – a risky leap from biochem to graphic design, leaving everything behind for art school, the compromises and sacrifices – but it certainly wasn’t solely through sheer will power and passion; it’s because I’ve got the best friends and family I could ask for.

This is a thank you to all of you no matter how big or small of an influence you’ve been, to all of you who have been or are still a part of my life, and to all of you who’ve believed in me, especially when I had my doubts.

Thanks for helping me find the courage to confront my fears, for giving me the strength I could never give myself. Thanks for all the drinks that helped me forget all the crazy things that happened, for replacing them with crazier things or things that I don’t even remember. Thanks for taking me out to see the world, for exposing me to the things I could never have discovered myself. Thanks for inspiring me when I’ve lost my motivation, for rekindling my passions. Thanks for all of the breakfast burritos, hot wings, steaks, cheesecakes, smoothies, and yakitori nights, for helping keep some meat on this Cheetah’s bones. Thanks for being the angels on my shoulder when I’ve lost my way, for being the devils on the other when I’ve gotten stale.

I could go on all day; you’ve done more for me than you’ll ever know. Thanks for being who you are, for making life that much better. Sometimes I’ll thank you over and over for all of your gestures and sometimes I won’t, but know that I’ll always appreciate everything you do for me.

Forks & Stars

Do you remember what it was like to be a kid, to lie on the cool grass and stare into that deep midnight sky? Do you remember what it felt like to drown in that ocean of stars? Do you remember what you wished for?

There’s a little place I like to runaway to, a place with beautiful mornings and even more breathtaking evenings. It’s a place I can watch the waves crawl up the sand, a place I can smell the gentle breeze that embraces me. It’s on those cliffs, beneath that white-speckled sky, that I’m a kid again. I always dreamt about and wondered what the future held for me. Some of those dreams have come true. More will. Others haven’t. Others won’t. Dreams are a big part of who we are and they’re the stars that guide us. We all have a big one, a North Star, that drives and moves us forward but usually, somewhere along the way, we run into others that change our course.

As we chase these bigger dreams, it’s inevitable we’ll come across some forks in the road and veer off course, but it’s also in these departures that we‘re enriched with experience and discovery. If there’s any one thing to realize about the myriad of forks we encounter though, it’s that there’s no one way to get to the end. It’s only with time that I’ve seen how interconnected many of the choices of my life have been – one thing leading to another and another and another until somehow I’m back right where I started, richer with experience, with the opportunity to take the previously untraveled roads. By letting ourselves temporarily deviate from our main course, we free ourselves to play among the stars, to live and experience all of our other hopes and dreams.

Admittedly, I feel like I’ve lost sight of things lately, trying to find my way through dark, cloudy skies with no sense of direction. I’ve lost that zealous wind that once pushed me forward, lifted me up, and breathed life into me; it’s paralyzing. I’m in serious need of a few waves to get me back to land, back on my feet, and back to chasing my hopes and dreams.

14 Days

I can’t believe I only have 14 more school days left in college. It sounds so close when I think about it like that, but when I think, “I’ve got 3 more weeks,” it somehow feels so much longer. It’s both good and bad. I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally let off the throttle once I’m done – I’ve been bouncing off my limiter for the last 3 years – but at the same time it’s a little overwhelming to think about how much still needs to get done.

I was floundering in my thesis project for the first 2.5 months, flailing my arms just to try and keep my head above water, and I hit all kinds mental and emotional lows. It was certainly my greatest design challenge to date and it still is, but after 12 weeks of walking in the dark, I’ve finally found a light at the end of the tunnel. On the first day of my Thesis class, Michael Vanderbyl and Dennis Crowe said, “Welcome to Thesis. You are all, at some point, going to feel frustrated and pissed off and depressed and you’ll hate your project and you’ll hate us and you’ll want to give up, but trust us, stick it through. You can do it, and at the end of the semester, you’ll be happy you did and you’ll love your project.” I’ve stuck through and I’ve endured and as the end of the semester quickly approaches, I’m also finding myself much happier and more in love with my project and I’m sure that during presentations on the last day, I’ll be proud of myself and what I’ve accomplished. The fiery passion’s been ignited in me and all I want to do now is work on it more, and more, and more.

14 days ’til Thesis presentations. Here we go…

Checking In

Forgive me for having been MIA, but these last weeks (probably months) have been full of all kinds of ups and downs and I’ve barely been able to keep my head above water. It’s currently Week 13 and I’ve just 3 more weeks before my big thesis presentation. Needless to say I’ve been putting in some serious overtime to stay on the ball.

At 5:00 AM Saturday I finished the most important piece of design of my life to date, but that’s for me to know and you to find out (which you will after I’ve presented my thesis on April 30th). It took me 383 versions to finally get it right so that’s a little testament to just how significant it is. If you’ve enjoyed some of my past illustrations and doodles, I think you’ll enjoy this one too.

Things are also going well with my mentees at Peralta Hacienda Historic Park. The kids and I have really developed a bond over these past months and they’ve really learned a lot. My fellow mentors and I have been focusing on color theory as our throughline, a key foundation for them to apply to whatever media and creative endeavors they decide to pursue after this experience. Our final project with them will be doing a series of Andy Warhol-like images of photos they took last week. I’ve only got three more meetings with them and I definitely know I’m going to miss them.

It’s been a great year so far with so many things falling into place, taking place, and being replaced. It’s also hard to believe that I’ll be graduating in 4 more weeks. It’s the final stretch and I’m going full-throttle ’til I cross the finish line. A few of my closest friends and family will be driving out here for my graduation and I’ve got to say, I’m absolutely looking forward to going back home with them.

Summer will be a much needed break before I look for a job and start my career. I’m nearing my mental and physical limits and the perfect remedy will be nothing but beaches, barbeques, and buddies. 4 more weeks! Let’s get it done!

The Shop

Friends and family have been suggesting for ages that I sell some of my work and while it’s something I’d thought about, it wasn’t until now that I’m finally making it happen. I’m currently selling limited edition prints of 2 of my recent screenprints for starters. I don’t have an official fancy shop or anything so my Facebook album will have to suffice for now

Take a look and let me know if you’re interested in purchasing a print to support my creative endeavors, or if you want to suggest/request reproductions of my others works you like. Thanks and happy viewing, cheers!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=153955&id=500723463&ref=mf