Xmas 2010 - A Very Good Year!

All the shopping is done, the tree is up with all the presents wrapped and today starts my 2 weeks of winter break, OH BOY!!! Two weeks to sleep in and go to the gym to work off all the yummy stuff I'm going to chow down. Think I'll do a little bit of baking with my girl, Dan, and a couple of day trips with Jim. I think we might go out to Palm Desert for a bit of after Xmas shopping, and we've also been wanting to visit Fallbroook. For New Years, Jim's band is playing in Vegas, so we'll be there for a couple of days as well (this will be my very first time to gamble). My son Zach is leaving for a week in Tahoe with friends on a ski trip, and daughter Dani will be driving to Brianhead, Utah for a winter holiday with her boyfriend's family after Xmas.

So happy with my tree this year. It's a little cutie, with mostly handmade ornaments done by my children, my students, myself and a couple by pro artists like Leslie McCabe, Judy Coates Perez, Kelli Nina Perkins, and Mary Stanley. And several that my mother made for me when I was a young girl.

This is my first Xmas in my new home/studio. My Aunt Stella and her husband Gene are driving in today from Arizona to spend a few days with Jim and I, and to attend our annual family Xmas party. I will probably be taking some time off from this blog to spend with my kids and Jim, so look for me to return on Jan. 3rd.

Bette and Vinnie, I wish so much we could be with you and Rocco this Holiday season. We will give you a call on Xmas day after Julie flies in. Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year. And from my home to yours, have a fun filled, warm and toasty, wonderful holiday with your family and friends. To Kim and Rick, I miss you guys a lot. And to all my alum out there, stop by for a visit when you can. It's always great to see you all.

Senior Jason Kwon - Future Car Designer

Wanted to show off my 4th year 2-D student, Jason Kwon. He has been taking both my 2 and 3-D classes since he was in the 7th grade, and excelling in all. Many of his subjects revolve around cars, his passion, and he likes painting in acrylic. He is currently working on his portfolio in hopes of getting accepted into Art Center in Pasadena, as a Car Transportation Design Major. He should have no problem, he is a very talented young man as you can see. This is his 3rd car he's painted for me this year, I think his best one. He tried painting each one in a different style: loose, tight & graphic. I should be showing them all except I'm too lazy to dig them out from Open House storage. But knowing myself I'll eventually get around to it. LOL So please stay turned. :)

Ceramics I

Even though I haven't posted any clay pieces yet doesn't mean these kids aren't working their tails off for me. In fact here are seniors Jesus Calderon and Andy De Avila working on their clay whistles, trying desperately to get them to whistle. The reason I haven't showcased any of their work is because they just recently learned how to glaze and their pieces are in the kiln ready to be fired. So when I get back from Xmas break, I'll be sure to show you what clever designers and superb craftsmen I'm working with this year. In the meantime say tuned for Ceramics II. I have one student this year in that class and she is fabulous. You'll see :)

Finally Finished - My Work

It's only taken me a good 5 years to finish this bag, but it's finally done, and boy oh boy does that feel GOOOOOOD! The yarns were demo. yarns that I hand spun for my Beginning 3-d students. (Hand dyed rovings came from Lori Lawson at Cap Fib Arts) After the assignment was over, I used all of them to crochet 34 granny squares. Then the next year I sewed them together leaving the tail ends exposed and then tossed the bag into the washing machine to felt it. The following summer I designed and sewed up a lining with several sized pockets for scissors, glasses, etc., and then realized that the bag was too floppy and wouldn't stand on it's end. So I lost interest cuz I knew what I needed to do and I was dreading it. Eventually I pulled it out again, went to Joanne's and picked up some plastic sheeting grids used for cross stitch or something like that. I cut them up and sewed together an inner lining to help hold up the bag. But guess what, when it was done it wouldn't fit right, it was too large and too high. So back went the purse into storage till this year when I was visiting a yarn store in Lake Forest (Yarn Lady). There I found the most perfect rubber liners just the right size. All I had to do was to sew them together, then insert my cloth lining over top and overcast it to the bag's lip, sew on my handles, and wella, my new crafts bag.

And like I said, it feels so good to finally be done with this LOL

Wire Pendants - Student Art

So excited to share these beauties with you, the work of my Beginning 3-d kids. This group of kids are just doing fabulous work for me. They come in so enthusiastic everyday, raring to go. These were actually their practice pieces before they took on the more difficult wire sculpture assignment that I will be posting soon. For almost all of them it was their first time to work with wire, a very unforgiving medium. Above we have sophomore Rita Labib's amazing pendant. Everyone including me want to buy it from her, but sadly it's not for sale. Below we have senior Elle Quimpo, who made this cameo even more wonderful with all the twists of the wire.

And above we have junior Elsie Aquilar. I have been featuring her work regularly, she is a very talented designer and craftswoman, and had better be coming back to me next year! LOL Below we have the work of junior Noel Kim, senior Nicole Gimeno, and junior Jaimee Chirico. Just look at how clever each of these pieces are.

The kids were required to bring in a special something to wrap. I love how senior Tiffany Wang brought these shells in and turned them into an angel. Clever girl.

And these last 2 were made by senior Suzanne Kang and junior Marissa Fierro. I'm thinking Marissa should crank out several of her guitar pick pendants and offer them up for sale at Sam Ash and Guitar Center. She'd make a fortune. :)

Sewing Machine Review with Watercolor and Collage - Student Work

Before my 3rd year 3-d students begin their big art quilt unit, I have them review their stitching skills with the sewing machines that they learned to use in the 2nd level class. I ask them to draw in permanent pen and ink a simple subject. I also require them to glue down a few pieces of text from books or newspapers, and then I take them thru a couple of watercolor demos. and then have them choose the technique they liked the best to watercolor in their image. When all is dry they put the pieces under their presser foots and stitch over the pen lines at least 2 -3 times for a very whimsical look. The idea came from Kelli Nina Perkins in an article from Quilting Arts Magazine a couple of years ago. Since these are my crafts kids the hardest thing for them to do is the drawing aspect, oh well, too bad LOL I think they did fine. The top 3 were done this year by seniors Breanna Johng and Olivia Hill.

I posted these sweet ones last year done by alum Audrey Pulido, so they might look familiar.

Self-Portrait Collage Final - Student Work

My Beginning 2-d kids had to put all the Design Elements and Principles they learned together into this one piece for their 1st Quarter Final. Their subject matter was themselves so you will be seeing some very powerful, thought provoking pieces. A few of them will be upsetting, so prepare yourself. The top piece was done by junior Michelle Lee, one of my up and coming superstar designers. She calls it "Holding onto Virtue". A powerful statement, especially in this day and age. Look at how beautifully she has built this piece, I just love it! Below we have another up and coming star, sophomore Ashley Tang with her piece titled "Abandoned Halfway".

The one above really caught my eye, done by senior Marivel Aguirre called "Solutions" with the razor blade, noose and pills. The good news is that this is not where Marivel is at anymore. She has found positive solutions :) Below we have "Finding A Way" by senior Karen Pan. What a clever design hers is!

And then above, senior Michelle Guan gives us "Dancing in the Rain" an extremely uplifting piece. It's nice to know that not all the pieces are dark. LOL And below junior Janice Min does a very intriguing piece called "Shape-Shifter". I'm also hoping that Janice will return next year, she is doing great work for me this year and is growing into one of the best drawers in the class.

And what a sweet piece junior Sarah Zhang has created with photos of she and her younger sister called "How to Fly". Sarah is another one I hope will be coming back next year. And finally we have senior Jennifer Park who I've featured several times this year with this lovely piece called "Metamorphosis". When my daughter came to visit me at work recently, she told me Jennifer's piece was her favorite. Now for EXTRA CREDIT: which piece is your favorite? On a piece of purple paper, cut into the shape of a butterfly, with your name and period on one side, on the other write down the name of the person whose self-portrait you liked the best.

And The Band Plays On...

We had 3 band gigs this last weekend, and we had a blast at each one. I just love being a band groupie. LOL Here are Jim and Little Richie clowning around while I was trying to get this shot. Sorry this pix is out of sequence, I accidentally deleted it from down below and don't know how to bring it back where I need it. Still learning how to use this blog thingy. By the way, nice shoes Jimmy!! LOL


The Rockits played at 3 different venues so we got a lot of free good food! The first one was here (above and below) Saturday nite at the Yorba Linda Country Club for a Xmas party for the club's members. It was very upper crust if you know what I mean. Lots of money, lots of jewels, lots of fur coats, the works, and so beautifully decorated like a winter wonderland. The band on the other hand was in complete darkness, I'm surprised I was able to get the pix below. Lots of dancing that night. The club members really let loose, with a lot of liquor being consumed.

On Sunday afternoon the band played for the Orange County Corvette Club's Xmas Party at one of my favorite restaurants, Ive's Bistro in Anaheim Hills. I got to sit at the bar and watch the chef prepare our food. It was so delicious, and I finally figured out that line dance that everybody else knows except me. Again, lots of singing along and dancing. This is where that first pix is supposed to be. LOL Below are 3 of the Highlites that drive in from Vegas to sing with the Rockits, Big Richie, his daughter Kelli and wife Donna. Their son, Little Richie is in the first photo, and he sings and plays electric guitar for the band. Quite the musical family! Their cousin Dan is the band's sax player.

Sunday morning J and I made a trip to the cemetery in Villa Park to visit my mom's grave. It was her birthday. She would have been 94. I lost her 2 years ago after she struggled for 10 years with Alztimer's. What an awful, wicked disease that is, but I hear they are very close to finding a cure. I've got my fingers crossed. I don't want to put my kids thru what I went thru with my dear mother. Just in case I get it.

Sadly, I am an only child, but fortunitly was extremely close to my mother, especially since I lost my father at such a young age (8 months old) so I made sure we will be together always. She was the sweetest, most generous, unselfish , loving and giving person I have ever met, and an amazing cook, auntie, grandmother, gardener and seamstres. And the very best mommy. I miss her everyday. My Jim has a lot of her characteristics, it's probably why we are so drawn to one another. And I feel so lucky to have him in my life, especially after losing my mom. Anyways, getting back on track here, this is the view below that my mom's grave site looks out upon. Villa Park in Orange is a very affluent, horsey community. There is a trail down there, and I often see people riding their horses, mountain biking, jogging or strolling. It's so peaceful, and I go there often to visit.

On Monday nite, the band played at an Italian restaurant in Cypress called Dominick's off Walker and Ball for La Palma Travel's Xmas Party. And boy oh boy, talk about good eats. I could live on their garlic bread, it's even more scrumptious then Wood Ranch if you can believe that! But my batteries died again in my camera and I couldn't get a pix. I had to leave early cuz I had to go to work the next day, but I think they stayed till 11:30, and J told me everyone was up and dancing, even the cooks and waite staff. Sounds like I missed a good time. Oh well. Had to get my beauty sleep :)

Modified Contour with Pen and Ink Washes, Watercolor and Collage - Student Work

Rarely do I show every piece a class has made but I'm making an exception today. And that's because all these pieces turned out so well. I have 6 students in my 2nd level 2-d class, and the assignment was part drawing and watercolor review, but then also incorporating pen and ink washes and collage. So a lot of hoops to jump thru for a small little review piece. The assignment was also about learning to cut a professional matt to frame piece with (very difficult for young kids), but as you will see, these kids are all pros already. Each student got to pick a shell to draw from and I gave them a sharpened dowel that they dipped into india ink to draw with. No pencils allowed!! They were to use their modified contour line that they learned in the first level class. I teach them to draw out of Dr. Betty Edward's book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain". After ink was dry they were to mix up 3 values of ink washes and brush washes into shaded areas. They were also to incorporate at least 25% of watercolor and 25 %collage into the work. The results were so varied and wonderful that I had to share them all. Here we go with the piece above done by senior Paul Kim. As you can see he is so creative and such an outstanding craftsman. I adore his playful solution.

Above we have sophomore Sam Arias who came up with this sweet piece and look at her how she also incorporated collage elements into her matt, and how the whole flows so well visually. Below we have another talented senior, Kevin Aquilo. Look at his beautiful watercolor background and

oops, I posted him twice. LOL Anyways look at his collaged foreground and all the layers he used. Beautiful work Kevin.

A close up so you can see how sensitive his work is.

And then look at sophomore Hannah Park's playful piece above. Two shells this woman drew for me! With her fabulous fore and backgrounds. And below we have another sophomore, Cindy Kim, with her sensitive and serene piece. Lovely!

And last, we have senior Elsie Engly with her super creative solution to this assignment. Aren't these kids terrific! A close up below so you can see her attention to detail. For EXTRA CREDIT: On a piece of pink paper cut into the shape of a shell, with your name and period on one side, on the other side vote for your favorite artist of the bunch.

Varsity Girls Golf Banquet

Last week my girl Danie had her Golf Awards Banquet at Black Gold Golf Course in Yorba Linda, the girls home course. And not surprisingly, most of the evening was spent with each other posing for pictures for their Face Books. This is Danielle's first year on Varsity, freshmen and sophomore years were spent on the J.V. team. She discovered the game in 8th grade and has had a club in her hand ever since. I'm hoping she will go on to play in college. We'll see. Those are all the Varsity girls in the top pix, and below is Dan with her best golf friend, Paulina.

And of course I had to get a pix with my girl too :) She's really not that much taller then me, it's those ridiculous shoes she has on!

Junior Jaimee Chirico, from my 3rd year Advanced 2-d class, just finished up her latest assignment, this lovely watercolor with pen and ink, collaged flower. It's so funny, Jaimee came into this unit telling me how much she hated watercolor, yet look at how beautifully this piece turned out. She really worked hard on a preliminary first to get her watercolor skills in place. What I love about Jaimee is that she sends a lot of time finding the perfect resource to work from, and then she comes up with a solid design from that resource. I really like how she used her collaged text, both within the flower and stems, and then also as cornerstones. Very clever girl! Congrats Jaimee, you conquered your fears :)

Felt Pouches - Student Art

Aren't these the cutest? They were done by my Beginning 3-d students as their First Quarter Final assignment after they learned to sew, embroider and work with color. There are 36 students in the class and these are all of their pouches.

They had to jump thru many design requirements as well as learn to bead, and string a pouch. I think the results were terrific! These top 3 were done by juniors Noel Kim, Lorena Morales, and Catherine Aguilar. Adorable!!

And these next 3 belong to seniors Kathleen Santiago, Anisha Mistry, and Elise Aguilar. Their craftsmanship is impeccable.

One of my favorites was the one above done by senior Elle Quimpo, simply gorgeous work, and then look at how sweet 8th grader Karisma Dev and senior Tiffany Wang finished off the back side of their pouches. Beautiful work all of you! Just wait till you see their wire sculptures that will be posted in the next couple of weeks. Some truly amazing pieces coming up.