Transformation...

The theme is "Transformation." How fitting as I feel like I've been morphing and transforming this whole year - from cooking to modeling, from aspiring entrepreneur to artist. I just submitted 2 experimental pieces of 12 x 12 x 2 wood panels for the Maranda Pleasant Holiday Art Box Show. Neither of my pieces turned out as I had envisioned, of course. Nevertheless, this is a tres cool art event that I'm happy and excited to be part of for the first time.   Art, food, wine, music. Perfect! I got a sneak peak and it's amazing to see how a 12x12 frame can be transformed into so many one-of-a-kind pieces of art!

I had spent a few weeks doing research and contemplating what kind of mediums to use: paper, pen, paint, natural dyes, henna, goatskin, and thick leather scraps. I asked lots of art questions and bounced my ideas with artists and friends. (Thank you!) I've been spending after hours at Jerry's Artarama, Tandy Leather Factory, and Hobby Lobby. In the last 4 weeks, I discovered Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens (instead of black Sharpie markers), rapidiograph pen sets, how to use and color gesso, how to stain and stretch goatskin with henna, coffee, tea, wine, and how to silkscreen. All of this is completely new to me and the projects were entirely experimental. I love the challenge of trying to do something I've never done before. Creating art is a risky business but the excitement of the unknown is thrilling. I think I am mastering the art of improvisation but I have a lot to learn in finding my creative voice.  What is art what is not?  ...if it moves you, it's art.

Reflections on my 2 experiments...

"Meditation in Space"

As I was drawing the mandalas, I was meditating on the theme of "Transformation" and the meaning(s) of mandalas. I love the symbolism and the depth of the meanings of a mandala: the circle of life, a microcosm and macrocosm of the universe, a tool for meditation... It's fascinating how all things in nature are mandalas from the very nucleus of our body cells, to flowers, to our solar system. (also check out the Mandala Project) For this piece, I was attempting to transform my henna skills into a piece of art and drawing the mandalas was helping me find my center. It is of mandalas in space of different sizes and drawn freehand with sepia ink pen. I painted and sanded 4 layers of gesso and colored the gesso with coffee and tea. That was fun! Originally, I had sketched a large mandala  in the center and one in each of the 4 corners. However, it turned out to be the opposite, a lot of white space and a few small random mandalas. This was a very mentally challenging project for me, especially because I had stayed up all night working on the henna pea-drum project and was already mentally and physically drained. I did not sketch a detailed drawing beforehand. I make it up as the tip of my pen touches the board. I had to be extremely focused with a perfect steady hand. It's being in a meditative space and a calm state of mind. It's finding patience and balance. The most difficult part of it all was knowing when to stop and let go. I could have spent hours adding layer after layer of details but I decided to stop when one of the mandalas got a little smeared. I was gutted but I had to accept it. I do like the simplicity and the contrast between the details of the mandalas and the openness of the white space. As Carl Jung might say, "it is a representation of my unconscious self." Forever transforming...

"Henna Pea-Drum"

I spent most of my time researching, planning, and testing this piece and had high hopes for it but I ran into a lot of obstacles along the way. It was a very long process involving heating whole cloves, a blowdryer, ammonia, henna paste, lemon juice/sugar sealant, and other miscellaneous stuff. I wanted it to be a warm henna peacock on a goatskin canvas illuminated like a lamp. But it didn't quite make it. While I was shopping for the light for my henna peacock lamp, the man at Home Depot said to me, "the project took on a life of its own, huh? That happens!" Art (and life) certainly has it's surprises! Even though you try to plan things out, things don't always happen as you hope and that's ok too! I guess I can say it's at least a drum with a henna peacock on it. Practical art. A Henna Pea-Drum. Why not? In fact, one of my favorite nights of all my travels was spent deep in the Sahara Desert camping, drumming, singing, and speaking English, Arabic, and French with Moroccans and Berbers.  Totally exotic and in the rough...!  I will not give up on the henna lamp and drum idea.

...and through all of this "art" world, what I appreciate the most...

the inspiration
the visual connections
the energy felt
the ideas exchanged
the vibes
the chemistry
the excitement
the chaos
the craziness
the dedication
the perfection
the support
the friendships
the passion and love of creative expression...

Mission Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle

"Shit! I have less than 2 weeks to become an artist," I said to my friends before E.A.S.T. (my first East Austin Studio Tour).  The henna peacock bag idea was conceived one cool night in Austin. I was chillin' in the backyard, drinkin' a Lonestar with my inspiring artist friend and talkin' shop. He started a women's clothing line Darkeyes Clothing where his drawings are silkscreened on shirts and dresses. We put 2 and 2 together and decided I could draw a henna design to silkscreen on canvas bags. Actually, I had the bag idea sitting on my entrepreneurial bookshelf 3 years ago when I was living in a fully-equipped 32-footer 1982 Southwind Winnebago in Arlington, Texas, and working as a Program Coordinator for the Student Conservation Association. I was feeling really green and environmentally friendly at the time and that was when I started using the reusable bags for grocery shopping. I was also still under the influence of the German way because I had just come directly from living in a small German town outside the Ramstein Airforce Base. If you've travelled to Germany, you would immediately notice that the Germans are very environmentally conscious and progressive. At all central shopping areas, you will find several large bins for recycling paper, plastic, and different colored glass bottles. At grocery stores, you don't get plastic bags and they don't pack your groceries for you either. They all use reusable bags. It's totally part of their culture and it's called the Green Dot (Der Gruene Punkt). I remember the first time I was living in Germany in 2000 and went to the market in Hamburg. I panicked when I realized I didn't have a reusable bag to put my groceries in. "How the hell am I going to carry my groceries," I thought. No one warned me and no travel guide even mentioned it. I was ashamed of myself for not having my own reusable bag. Lucky for me, I was able to purchase a plastic bag at the checkout for 10 euro cents but I'm sure the cashier lady was frowning at me.

Now, a decade later, you can see reusable bags sold at most major shopping markets and stores in the U.S. However, we have only recently started advocating the concept of replacing plastic bags with reusable bags. It is great to see the U.S. doing this but we can still do more and be more green.  So please reduce the use of plastic bags, reuse the ones you have, and don't forget to bring your reusable bags with you to the store. Here's why:

The facts: We use well over 500,000,000,000 (that's 500 billion) plastic bags annually, or almost 1 million per minute and they stay on our planet for up to 1,000 years.

The impact: Plastic bags cause over 100,000 sea turtle and other marine animal deaths every year when animals mistaken them for food. Plastic bags don't biodegrade. It takes 10 years to break down into toxic waste that contaminates soil and waterways and enters the food web when animals accidentally ingest them. And there's more of course.  (source: http://www.reusablebags.com/)  Other links to learn more about plastic bags: No Impact Man Blog, Natural Environment,http://www.earthday.net/plasticbags

(please scroll down to the bottom to purchase a bag.)

It will be an amazing cultural transformation when we are all using reusable bags for our groceries and only using plastic bags when in desperation or if we've suddenly come down with amnesia. We need to keep advocating environmentally friendly practices and hopefully in another decade, we won't see plastic bags in our grocery stores anymore or be using other harmful plastics for that matter. So, my henna peacock bag project is killing 2 birds with 1 stone (no pun intended). Not only did I start drawing after having taken only 1 drawing class in high school but I transformed my drawing into a side entrepreneurial project with an environmental cause. It would make sense that the more we like a bag, the more we will use it. Plus, these are special bags that are not made of ordinary cotton, it's 100% recycled cotton! Be aware of using cheap quality bags that won't last long and will end up in the trash after a short time. It's nice when you can have a bag that is eco-friendly, durable, practical, locally made, meaningful, attractive, artsy and affordable - all in one! I so enjoyed coming out as an artist and the process of making these bags and I hope you enjoy using it (frequently) too.  Thanks again to JLaw, Big Medium and all my family, friends and fans who have shown your excitement and support for my henna peacock drawings and bags.  I am inspired by you. Thank you! Love, Peace, and Namaste, LPN

Escaped artist "American Dreaming..."

What IS the "American Dream?"  Traditionally, it is the dream of fame, success, and wealth.  In history, it is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement." [first used by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America, 1931]  I like this.  For my parents, I think the "American Dream" is having the freedom and opportunity to lead a happy successful life and anyone can achieve it with hard work. This is what makes America so great. It truly is a land of freedom and opportunity where anything is possible, if you work for it. I share the same "American Dream" as my parents, but with my own little twist.  The twist being the definition of happiness and success.  Naturally, this is different for everyone.

This week, the Austin Asian American Film Festival is premiering All About Dad, a comedy about a Vietnamese-American family with generational and cultural gaps.  The main character, Ty Do (I also have the same household nickname), tells his dad he doesn't want to be a doctor, but rather a filmmaker.  I, myself, am in a similar boat. Growing up in a very traditional Vietnamese and Catholic family, my Dad constantly reminded me that if I don't work hard for my education and career, my future would not be so bright.  And he was absolutely right.  Thank God I listened to him!  I studied biology and women's studies, got a Fulbright scholarship and a Master's degree.  I thought I was doing it all right, but there's something that still doesn't feel quite right for me. I've come to realize that my parents' idea of happiness and success is not the same as mine.

Finally, after years of working hard for a good education and a stable career while trying to figure out who I am and what I really want to do, I've decided to take a turn to the wild side.  I am exploring my creative side.  It's ironic that the same parent that I get my creative side from is the same parent that would love for me to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or teacher. I don't want to quit my public health career that I've invested so much in, I just want to transform my creative side into something more tangible for my future.  So, here I am, living in Austin, Texas (the perfect city for aspiring artists and entrepreneurs) and at a fork in my journey, where the options are endless and I have the freedom to choose my destination. For me, the "American Dream" is not about success, fame or wealth.  It's about what makes you happy. I'm a boat girl, so whatever floats my boat, right? Seriously, it means having the freedom and opportunity to do whatever makes you happy and only you can determine your idea of success. This is often taken for granted because not everyone can do this (if you've been to a Third World country, you know what I mean).  But fortunately, I can. I am an aspiring artist who has been dreaming and has escaped....with my first henna design to be screenprinted on 100% recycled cotton canvas bags. Keep on dreaming America!