Aijung's news

i still exist...

2009-01-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

it's been a long time since i posted. at least, it feels like a long time. i've done a lot of things since moving to Portland, Oregon, but somehow never had the energy to write about it. i made a new zine in August, just in time for the Zine Symposium, participated in a group art show at the Pony Club, and did a few craft shows. i moved in with my boyfriend, Evan, in november, and we are still trying to make the apartment cozy. i started knitting again recently, and i think it would be fun to design my own hats. i also felt really tired and stressed, and i'm trying to get my chi back so i can do all these damn things i want to do.

so it's the american new year today (chinese new year is the 26th), and i was looking on Etsy and became inspired by the featured artist: http://www.behappynow.etsy.com/. her stuff is so cute and free-looking, like she had a lot of fun creating her art. she mentioned a website called http://www.pikaland.com/, a blog that showcases different artists, which led me to http://www.undergroundartschool.blogspot.com/, a blog about art and creativity. anyway, they were looking for creative resolutions for 2009.

i have to think about it for a bit, because it's really easy for me to make resolutions or lists of projects, but i usually only do a tidbit at a time. my project priority changes lineup all the time as well, but for the present moment here is the long version:

"I would like to have more fun with the art I make. I want to keep a sketchbook to doodle in, and not worry about making mistakes. I want to develop an illustration portfolio and send it off to magazines and children's book publishers. I want to work on a children's book on my own, both the writing and pictures. I want to make an illustrated poetry chapbook, work on my novel, and perhaps make a small comic. I want to try my hand at cut-out animation. I want to experiment more, and above all enjoy what I'm doing!"

that was a long resolution. there's more I could've written, too. i should probably write that down and tape it to my wall.

anyway, i'm going to be in a group art show at the end of february, so i will have to start making some art! i definitely want to be experimental and have some fun trying out new things. i've had ideas for little sculptures, and this would be a great venue to show them. i also need to apply to the Stumptown Comics Fest before it's too late. so it would be good to make a "real" comic. my zines do have pictures and words, but i haven't done a real comic in a long time. damn, i just have too many things i want to do. the problem is i think about it all too much instead of doing it.

okay. above all, i want to be less uptight, and just enjoy the process.

well, that was my rant. oh, and i love portland, by the way. it's a beautiful, artsy, flower-filled city with lots of decent people and great roads to ride bikes on. the only draw-back is it's stuffed with too many people my age, making jobs scarce and competitive. hence, i have little money, which depressed me for awhile. but i think i'm over it. i just gotta make do, get a little help from friends (ie. parents), and make the most of it. as long as i keep working in whatever ways i have to, i think some nice little opportunities might come along.

oh, and here's my overall resolution:

PATIENCE.

happy new year!

love, me

Portland Zine Symposium

2008-08-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

For those of you living in or near Portland, Oregon, come visit my table at:

The PORTLAND ZINE SYMPOSIUM
Portland State University
Smith Memorial Ballroom
August 23rd and 24th
Saturday 10 am - 5 pm
Sunday 10 am - 4 pm
***www.pdxzines.com***

There will be lots of zines, comics, and art. I'm trying to have a new book ready for then, also. I'm pretty excited to be part of this.

South Wedge

2008-06-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

The South Wedge event was a lot of fun and many of the friends I invited stopped by to see me, which was the best part. I'm having trouble posting pictures here, but you can see some on my flickr page: http://flickr.com/photos/sprouthead/2597338873/it . It's a farmer's market, so not as many people were in the mood to shop for crafts, but I did get a good amount of sales and all is going towards my Moving to the West Coast Fund.

I am majorly excited about the move. I have to say, I have the best feelings about moving to Portland. I really feel that things are going to work out just fine, I'm not even that nervous about it (though anxiety comes in waves). I'm jumping into it, I don't have any job or apartment set up, but I'll try to work on those things as the time approaches nearer. Everytime I look on the internet at a cool artist or organization, it just happens to be situated in Portland, Oregon. And there's a ton of amazing comic book artists living there. That's the next step for me, working on comics again. I've been making a bunch of illustrated poem-books which I really enjoy doing, but I would like to create a more narrative work and some actual speech bubbles and things, you know the usual comic book stuff. I hope to be inspired by my travels and get settled in as soon as I can so I can sit down and work on my art.

Wish me luck,

Aijung

South Wedge Farmer's Market

2008-06-16T21:17:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I'll be at the South Wedge Farmer's Market this Thursday, June 19th, from 4-8 pm. I'll be selling my crafts and wares: bookplates, poem-books, pins, mini letterpressed art, t-shirts for women, infants, and toddlers (including a few new designs) and a brand new poem-book/zine. The crafting gals who call themselves Second Storie (www.secondstorie.net) have organized a different artist to show at their booth every week, and this week it's me - so don't miss it! Visit my etsy shop if you want a preview: www.sprouthead.etsy.com

The South Wedge Farmer's Market is located at the corner of South Clinton and Alexander Street in Rochester’s South Wedge Neighborhood, right behind Boulder Coffee. See their website for more details: http://www.swfarmersmarket.org/ They sell organic and locally grown produce, as well as bread, pasta, ice cream, coffee, vegan desserts, and there's live music... plus, right now it's strawberry season. Support your local farms and bakeries!

Hope to see you there!

Aijung

P.S. Catch me now before I'm gone. I'm moving to Portland, Oregon in July!

100 Drawings

2008-05-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

*I meant to post this a few weeks ago, but was having trouble with posting at the time.*

I just issued a challenge to my artist friends to make 100 drawings within one month. I sent it out to a lot of people (50 or so) and only heard back from a handful of them, so good luck to those who are taking it on. I'm excited about the challenge, and look forward to the things I will create. I'm tired of procrastinating and "saving up" all the good drawings for the future because I'm too afraid to do them! My friend Andy told me about the artist Kara Walker, and how when she feels stuck she does 100 drawings. The first bunch are really bad, but then comes the good stuff.

Since starting the challenge, I noticed that it's psychologically a lot easier to draw when I feel less pressured to make something good. If I do it in the spirit of fun and discovery, it is definitely a lot more fun and I find myself doing things I don't normally do for fear of it not turning out "good enough." I also realized that I need to do a lot more observational drawing. Here's the flickr group if you want to join the challenge and upload photos: http://flickr.com/groups/100drawings/. Here's the e-mail I sent out to everyone (and feel free to invite anyone you know to join the challenge):

Hello, I’m issuing a Challenge to all you artists out there: Make 100 drawings (or paintings, sculptures, collages, etc.). You have one month to do it. Pick a starting day and mark it on your calendar, and then go at it! Why? I issued the challenge to myself because I am a perfectionist and procrastinator, and I get so attached to the ideas in my head that I end up not creating anything. Or I feel the need to make a “masterpiece” and become so paralyzed that I avoid making anything at all for fear that it won’t be good.
This is a way to break free of that, to ignore the part inside of you that judges everything you do, to experiment with materials or techniques that you don’t ordinarily use, to work more quickly than usual, and to have fun making things again. There aren’t really any set rules, but I ask that if you pledge to take this challenge, please commit yourself to it so that it doesn’t become another one of those
ideas that ends up in the dustbin in your head. Do it in a way that is achieveable. I suggest starting out working small and using fairly inexpensive materials, onlybecause the expense and size factors could easily become an excuse not to do it. Also, don’t be afraid of ugly and/or “shitty” drawings. In fact, I encourage you to deliberately create a few ugly drawings just to get it out of the way and know that there still is life after ugly drawings. Rid your soul of all that scares you. Try doing things that you don’t ordinarily allow yourself to do – because they seemed too silly, stupid, or just not in your usual style. Liberate yourself!
Whether or not you finish exactly 100 drawings within a one-month span is unimportant if it leads to discovering something new about yourself and becoming inspired. And if you’re not a visual artist, do 100 other things. This is not a new idea, but it can only help you if you actually do it, and not just think about it!
Anyone up to the challenge? Please join me!!!

Buffalo Small Press Book Fair

2008-03-07T18:11:00.001-08:00

I'm going to be selling my lil' books at the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair! I'm excited about the event, as it's going to be full of poets, publishers, artists, zinesters, and all sorts of bookish people. I hope to have a chapbook of my poems ready for the event, though if I don't get it done in time I will have a poem "teaser" available and it will be for sale on my etsy shop eventually. I'm excited about the process of choosing a group of poems and illustrating them to create a harmonious work. I've made one-of-a-kind chapbooks for myself and my family, but this is the first time I'm making something for the public. Yay!

If you are near the Buffalo area, stop by the fair. It will be held on Saturday, March 22, from 12-6pm at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, Porter Hall, 453 Porter Avenue in Buffalo, NY. Go here for directions to the Museum.

I {Heart} Handmade

2008-03-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

I was happy to be a vendor at I {Heart} Handmade, a craft show run by the gals at Second Storie. That's me in the picture on the left, and my friends Pete and Marlene on the right (they are also members of Comix Club). Marlene designed the beautiful poster. They sold some plushies made of silk-screened recycled t-shirts - my favorite was the Recycling Bin - and Pete made awesome silkscreened posters.

The event took place on February 1st at Spot Coffee in Rochester, NY. There were 26 vendors selling handmade wares of jewelry, t-shirts, plushies, pottery, prints, letterpressed cards, and more. It definitely perked up a snowy, slushy February night. I made some special valentine "Love Tokens" for the occasion. Thanks to all who attended, and thanks to Second Storie for putting it all together. Thanks also to Karen, who made vegan gingerbread-chocolate cupcakes with orange-chocolate frosting for all of us. They were the best cupcakes I've ever tasted, and I'm not even a vegan. She was kind enough to share the recipe with me :)

Little Red

2008-03-07T17:39:00.000-08:00

It's a bit out of season, but here's me as Little Red Riding Hood on Halloween of 2007. I got the dress at a thrift shop in Corning, NY and I made the cape myself!

New Website, Shop Items, and ArtMart

2007-11-26T21:21:00.000-08:00

hello!

lots of exciting things going on. first off, say hello to my new website! thanks a million to shane keaney who redesigned it. i'm am very greatful to have such a talented friend. i've added a few new categories: Artists Books, Botany, and Illustration and Comics are now separate pages. There are a bunch of new DRAWINGS here. have fun looking around! and shoot me an e-mail if you feel like it: good_old_fashioned_smell@hotmail.com.

i've just listed a bunch of new goodies for purchase on my etsy shop: http://www.sprouthead.etsy.com/. pictured here clockwise from the top left are: "First Song" (an illustrated book), "Punk Love" linocut print, Paper Ornaments, and Shy Snowman notecard. i'm especially excited about my book "First Song." i plan to make many books in the near future, and i should have another one ready before christmas. i recently took a memoir class and one of my friends in Comix Club lent me "Invincible Summer" - it's the collected personal zines of Nicole Georges, a punky, vegan girl who writes about her life in Portland, Oregon. it got me really into the idea of zines, so expect to see some of those in the months to come.

all of the items mentioned above will also be on sale at the ArtMart event at Pink Elephant Projects Gallery at 64 Washington Ave in Brooklyn, NY. Click here for the PEP website.

Opening Sat Dec. 1 and Closing on Dec. 22nd.

There will be a holiday party/shopping event on December 15th from 4-6 pm.

i can't make it to the opening (i'll be in rochester), but i hope some of you brooklynites stop by to support the artists and get some holiday shopping done early!

well, i think that's it for now.

love,aijung

COMIX CLUB

2007-09-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

We had the first meeting of the Comix Club on Monday! It was so cool to be around other people who are passionate about comics. We shared comic books we brought and passed around our portfolios and sketchbooks. I have a new favorite comic artist: Taiyo Matsumoto. I'm reading "No. 5" right now, and his drawing style and storytelling is really amazing. I love the slightly sketchy style and the way he lays out his panels, and how there are these birds and strange animals in the scenes. I've only read about 10 pages so far, but I'm already blown away. Our first "assignment" is to draw a one-page comic about "trees." i have my ideas and some thumbnail sketches, but I must get to work on actually drawing it!

As of last month, I've begun work on some poem-comics. I've written a bunch of poems in the last couple years that I have a lot of visual ideas for. This will be an ongoing project for me, but I hope to have a few mini books ready by Christmas.

Okay, must get to work already!

Miniature Art, Pins, and Comics

2007-08-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

hey, more items in the Shop (http://www.sprouthead.etsy.com/), like these cool little miniature doo-dads that you can hang on your wall or use as ornaments. They're mini pictures in mini picture frames, and have a little string that makes it easy to hang over a nail or push pin. I also posted some plush cloth pins, bookplates, and a silkscreen print, and there's already some t-shirts in the shop.

ATTENTION ALL COMIX FANS: i'm trying to motivate myself to do some comics now. i've done a few in the past, and really enjoyed the process but i've been stuck in artist's block land for a few years and really haven't done much with it. but COMIX WILL PREVAIL! My friend Melanie and I came up with an idea for a Comix Club, where we give each other subjects for comics and try to come up with one inspired by that idea. If anyone from the Rochester, NY area is reading this and would like to be part of the club, e-mail me at good_old_fashioned_smell@hotmail.com. If anyone outside of the area would like to be part of the Online Club, e-mail me too and we can all share comics through e-mail. This is not a contest, it's for fun and to help comic artists motivate themselves! i know that i certainly need a lot of motivation to get anything done. P.S. if you know of any cool comics, let me know so I can look at them.

SHOP!

2007-08-09T18:49:00.001-07:00

Announcing the new SHOP!

Right now I have women's and toddlers' t-shirts for sale! Soon I will have art, pins, stationery, more shirts, and other doodads. Keep checking back as I continue to stock the store. Click here to visit the shop, or you may access it directly by typing http://www.sprouthead.etsy.com/. Tell your friends!

My friend Shane and I are busy updating and revamping the website. Very exciting. Check back soon for new art! If you'd like to be added to my e-mail list, drop me a line at good_old_fashioned_smell@hotmail.com and I will send you updates about the new site and new items I add to the shop.

Thanks!

July 17th, 2007

2007-07-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry I haven't been updating this site very much. I've been working on a bunch of different projects this summer, but not all of them have materialized yet so please be patient. I will be posting some new watercolors soon as well.

Coming Soon: The SHOP page will finally have some things to purchase. Still in the works, of course. I'm working on silk-screening t-shirts for women and infants/toddlers. Sorry, no guys designs just yet. I'm trying to work on a guy-oriented design, but so far the male spirit has eluded me. I'm also going to put up some artwork and crafts for sale. All of this in due time, but keep checking back for new stuff.

I took this summer off to not have a job and just to work on art and simply be. It feels wonderful. It took me a long time to relax enough to feel creative again. I've been stuck for such a long time, and I feel so grateful to have this time to figure things out and enjoy life. Artwise, I've been working on some drawings and watercolors and I have tons of ideas. But one thing I've learned is that things take their time, so I'm not trying to force it. I've been working in my garden a lot too, and learning more about when plants bloom and what they need to thrive. It reminds me that everything has its own timing, and if you want something beautiful to happen, you have to let it go its own way and give it space to breathe.

That's all for now. Hope everyone is having a great summer.

aijung

February 1st

2007-02-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

Hello, there's not much news to relay right now, but check out the new print called "Grow" that's in the Print section. It's the one I exhibited at the Kindling Show.

Well, since I have the opportunity I may as well rant a little. Who reads this stuff anyway?

February's a very special month. It's a little month, and so if you're loving life right now you won't want to see it go, but if you're in a rush then you won't have to wait for long, it'll soon be gone. Advice of the day: Love February like it was your little brother or sister. Make it feel as big as the rest of the month, make it special!

I'm putting the hiatus on visual art for awhile and have taken up writing again. It's such a great change! I will come back to art soon, but for now I'm in the land of stories. I feel that artists need to take breaks sometimes while the new ideas grow inside of them. It can drive me crazy if I don't realize that, because I get too hard on myself and try to force myself to create things. Second word of advice: Trust yourself even when you have no idea what's going to happen next.
Well, if anyone happens to read this send me a word of hello. Be well and flourish!

Love, aijung

KINDLING ART SHOW!

2006-11-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

Come to the show! I am exhibiting new artwork at a group show in Brooklyn, NY. The KINDLING Art Show will take place at Gallery 193c on November 17th - December 22nd. The Opening Reception takes place on Friday, November 17th, 6-8pm. Be there or be square!

The gallery is located at 193 Meserole Avenue, on the corner of Meserole Avenue and Diamond Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The gallery is connected to Cafe Grumpy, so you will have to walk through the cafe to get to the beautiful gallery space. Directions to get there are on the Cafe Grumpy website: http://www.cafegrumpy.com/directions.php

Kindling Letterpress artists include: Jon Bocksel, Katie Commodore, Eyal Danieli, Jan Drojarski, Brad Ewing, Sayre Gaydos, Damara Kaminecki, Aijung Kim, Miko Keski-Vahala, Peter Kruty, Kevin Morosini, Matt Robinson, Chris Ulivo, Tae Won Yu & Chuck Webster. Artists have worked in woodcut, linocut, or polymer-plate letterpress printing.

I will be selling some crafts at the show, and all the prints will be on sale.

The amazing artwork shown above is by Tae Won Yu. It is a fine sampling of what's to come, so don't miss it!

Allendale-Columbia Craft Show

2006-11-09T14:10:00.000-08:00

I just participated in a craft show at Allendale-Columbia School in Rochester, NY on November 4-5. Thanks to all those who stopped in to view and buy work. I really appreciated your support!

Welcome to the site

2006-06-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

hello, this website is finally happening and i am so happy! not much news, but for those who don't know, last month i moved back to my hometown of rochester, ny after having lived in brooklyn for the past two years (six, if you count school). i am happy being in a greener place, no tall buildings to block the sunshine. doing well, trying to take it easy, and who knows what will happen next.