Marz & Me

Hello,

My sister, Molly, recently graduated high school. As she waits to enter college in the fall she has created a curriculum for herself to learn about different art fields. I am guiding her in learning about art history. While I am desperately trying to find supplies in Korea this is what I have been doing to keep my mind exercised. If you would like to see what Molly and I are doing visit Marz & Me!

Thanks,

Kate

Tea Bag Sketches I

I have no new work to share online. I have been working but I am in the process of resharpening my drawing skills (I hate drawing, I hold pencils like paint brushes). My dear friend Casey gave me a few ideas and one of them was to draw myself. So I have been sketching my face. I decided that by the time I die I want to be able to draw my own face without a mirror. That could be tricky because as much as I don't want to admit it, I may get some wrinkles on the way. Oh, well more of a challenge.


So, tea bags. These sketches are from December 15, 2008. I was sitting at my desk at school and digesting the fact that the teachers were drinking mushroom tea. It smelled horrible. The taste is just earthy. This whole tea thing sent my mind on a tea bag craze.

The first picture above is an idea to design tea bags that describe characteristics that I think are Korean. I then started thinking about North Korea and the differences and similarities, how little time has gone since they became separate. The sketch bellow is what I came up with for that. You can guess which is which.


Other words for South Korea: homogeneous, backwards, naive, beautiful, untouched, unaffected, tradition, whole, value, calm, secret, ritual

I kind of stopped with this project because the last idea is what interests me the most (SK vs. NK) and i feel that I am in no position to make art about the situation. I can't make judgments because I just don't know. What happened here is deeply seeded and silent. I have occasionally tried to ask questions but most people have family who are in North Korea, it is a sensitive subject.

So, this is where the tea bag from the last post got it origin. Maybe I will continue with this idea but in a less blatant way. I loved the cropped photos of the improv tea bag, maybe I'll use those methods to communicate these ideas.

Well, time to stare at myself with a pencil in hand.

One more thing, two good friends of mine have just started new blogs. Zane Davis, a photographer in Chicago is now writing Plane of Focus. Another good friend, Marty Sorge , a wino/foodie, just started a catch-all blog with a food and wine twist, Blue Bottle. Zane and Marty are both very close friends and incredibly talented in their respective fields.

Tea Bag I - Mixed Media Study

I have set a goal for the new year to paint and post more. The last few months all of my creative energy was suddenly consumed by communication and digesting a new culture. Now, after living here almost 6 months I am ready to treat Korea as though it is my home and not let it keep me from doing the things I do at home.

Last weekend I tried to do some drawings from a leg of our trip in Malaysia, Penang has beautiful buildings. On a side note, Penang, was incredible, you can learn more about our trip there when we post about it on Spicy Fishy. If you don't get a chance to check it out on our website, in a nut shell Penang is the melting pot of Asia. It was full of different religions and cultures that live in harmony. Wow. Refreshing. I got the same architectural inspiration I had wandering the streets of Cortona. Anyways, just like myself, I got very frustrated by trying to keep my movement limited to a piece of sketch paper. I promptly decided that an improv painting was in order so I could at least feel creative.

Tea is a very Asian thing (so is instant coffee). I have done some sketches about tea and different kinds of tea bags. I grabbed my sketch as visual reference and went to town.





Music, Kings of Convenience, "Live Long" from Riot on an Empty Street



I enjoy blogging for three main reasons. One, I like to see my progress, its a nice feeling. Two, I think sharing art is more important than making it. Three, it is good to see artwork you create from another prospective. If I am frustrated with a piece I usually look at it with a mirror or upside down or through my digital camera. This third reason helped me feel better about the study I am sharing with you today.

I do not care for the piece as a whole. It looks transparent and incomplete. I really like the cropped in images, maybe I will go somewhere with that in the future.

Chunky Drips! I love them!

I no longer have the humus-looking acrylic medium so I used coffee grounds mixed with tempera!

A final note, this study reminds me of a "Tweaked" Tea Bag.

Alright, I am off to the gym with my fiance! WHOA, yes, we got engaged about two weeks ago! Again, I direct you to SpicyFishy!