Composition Workshop

Lecture on Composition by Nathan Fowkes at LAFFA was so inspiring. I think composition is kind of an innate thing for me. I'm not that good, but I don't think I'm horrible either. At least I know when something looks odd or unbalanced. It's more of a gut feeling. He went over many interesting points regarding compositions that I find very useful, and his workshop was very enjoyable. His paintings were beautiful. I need to start practicing a lot, if I want to become a better artist. I'm so inspired!

Amazing Race Asia 3

Look who's on Amazing Race Asia 3 lol. Cheer for Pailin & Natalie!!

Coco's Blood Pressure

After getting back from Comic Con, I found out that Coco's Blood Pressure is high (180) which caused Retina detachment. He was on Benezepril then I changed it to Norvasc after doing some research. He was pretty much blind for 2 weeks. The 3rd week, it seems like he can kind of see again. I'm not sure if he can see very clearly or not, but anything is better than being blind. His blood pressure is now 130 (Normal BP is 120). He will get another check up in 2 weeks. T_T

Letterpress Course

I took an Intensive 1 week long Letterpress course at the "San Francisco Center for the Books" (August 4-8). I have always thought that Letterpress things are really beautiful. The way the letters are embossed down is so elegant. My teacher was Mary Laird. She was wonderful, so positive and energetic. You really feel the love that she has for Letterpress. Teachers really do make a difference, and she really made the class super enjoyable.

I didn't know that there is so much work involved in doing this. Finding and preparing the types takes forever. Often, some types wouldn't work properly because they are old, so you have to use the tweezer to pull out the types and replace them until the prints come out clean. You have to set the pressure, prepare the papers, and manually work out the math to make sure everything line up @_@. Thank god we have computers nowadays lol. I'm so glad I took the class because I learned so much. I probably won't be using the Press that often because it requires so much effort and patient, but I will definitely use it when I have special projects in the future ^^. I met so many wonderful people there too. My classmates were so sweet!

Carmel By the Sea

CP, FSc, and I went to Carmel. It's such a pretty town. There are a LOT of galleries there. The coolest thing is probably the feel of the place. It feels like an old fairy tale town... so magical. The houses didn't have number addresses, but they have unique names instead. They were all pretty. The shops and cafe were so cute. FSc and I took so many pictures.

Here are some pics of the Candy Store. It has a vintage feel to it.

We went to eat at Hog's Breath Inn for dinner. Someone brought his dog with him, and the dog was sooo big! His dog was 160 lbs. He looks like a cute giant fluffy stuffed animal.

Then we hit the beach. The breeze and the sun was so nice. I fell asleep xD.

Chihuly Exhibit

FSc and I went to Chihuly Exhibit at De Young in San Francisco. I have always been a fan of Chihuly. I wish I can paint something that gives of the same feel. The reflections are so beautiful. Saka was the one that told me about the Exhibit, but I couldn't take her there because we ended up going on a week day. (Saka is stuck at Gaia office.) FSc only had 2 days left so today is Chihuly day and tomorrow we will be hitting Carmel.